#btw: the mapping is from wiki

[justworthlessreblogs]

i have such a love hate relationship with the precure wiki. like sometimes it's amazing and has exactly the info i need but other times i go to look for something that should be a basic piece of information and it's nowhere

[katamarigender]

put the maps of Pebbles and Moon's cans together as best I could, including the precipice + exterior areas

[erisgekko]

Day 8 - Passages

[glimmeringtwilight]

What do you think dottore's vision would be had he received one? Maybe Pantalone as well?

Honestly I think Dottore would be electro, if we're going off of younger Dottore (manga ver.)

Gonna put this below a cut for spoilers since this is all still new content and ik many people haven't gotten to play the story quest yet. Spoilers for 3.1 quest (Dottore) and I think the Pantalone stuff is all just leaks.... I don't. Recall....

Iirc, electro is speculated to be given to those who are seen as "outside the norm" and given that Dottore is first mentioned as the "outcast" in the 3.1 quest shortly before we see him, I think it fits!

Assuming he is indeed Zandik (which I'm like. Fairly sure he is), he was the weird guy with an interest in robots. He was expelled from the Akademiya. He's was scorned for his desire to create modified humans, etc. (I'm going mostly off of recollection here bear with me).

Though I'm sure he's mellowed out over the years, if he DID get a vision in his younger years I think it'd be electro.

But if we're just going of aesthetic and vibe– he seems colder (read: fine as hell) and not as hot-tempered– probably cryo. I wouldn't be surprised if (on the off chance he does become playable– I won't bank on any leaks) hyv makes him a cryo character. I can honestly see cryo catalyst unless they just straight up add. Gun. As an option for playable characters later down the line LMAO. I can't see him using a bow either, but I can definitely see him with a projectile-type catalyst.

As for Pantalone... I want to say geo because what little we know of his story kinda lines up with Ningguang, but I don't know if he actually worked hard to get where he is now or if he just cheated his way there through underhanded means. Plus he did bitch about only getting half a day off for Signora's funeral LMAO. Honestly dendro might fit better because I'm sure he's really intelligent and he probably earned his spot as harbinger more through wits than through nose-to-the-grindstone...ing it. No I do not say that because of Baizhu gkjdkgkd

I admittedly don't have a super good grasp on his character though because there's so little to work with 😩 I WANT to thirst over him but beyond knowing that he's rich and hot... yeah. In my mind he is just Goth Ayato.

[crystalflygeo]

Last of her kind Emperor!Alpha!Zhongli + Omega!Dragoness!Reader

cw/tags: This chapter has no smut but still contains highly suggestive themes and sexual implications. Mentions of slavery and past sexual abuse on fem!reader, A/B/O dynamics and heat mentions. fem!reader suffers with self-worth and bad memories, including past insults and abuse.

notes: After so long finally part 2!! EEEEEEEE I am so excited but also so nervous pls ;w; like if you want the first part can be read as a standalone and have a "happy ending" but now I am committed to the emotional roller coaster, A/B/O dynamics and LONG BURN PINING so yep >:3c hope this does justice to everyone's expectation tho. And hope you like it and accompany me on this tale hehe

As a lil sidenote brackets [] now indicate past actions/words and bad memories, regular italics for emphasis, inner thoughts or the little pinyin I sprinkled here (which btw is taken straight from genshin wiki so...).

<- Part 1 Part 3 ->

Being precious all of the sudden was… different.

Your hand subconsciously kept touching your bonding mark, as if to make sure it was still there, to soothe you.

After a quick meal just between Zhongli and you, consisting of some soft rice buns and delicious minced meat packaged inside a crispy pastry shell, you were then offered some new clothes. It was much more elaborate and certainly more layered than anything you’d worn before: a long skirt and flowy sleeves in a silky soft fabric, beautifully embroidered and hastily modified to make a hole for your tail to slip out. A sash keeping everything in place while accentuating your figure. You immediately loved it although it felt a little heavy and restricting.

Now, you quietly follow Zhongli as he leads you around the palace. He’s back to his former fully-human appearance, wearing an elegant attire, and everywhere you go, people bow at him and cast curious silent glances at you. It was rather unnerving.

It’s fine, you are used to being stared at, judged. You hold your tail up close for comfort.

The place is huge and you quickly get lost trying to map it out in your head, simply following along until you reach a large room with a few simple beds scattered around. Bookcases and cabinets stacked the walls, filled with all sorts of books, papers, jars and things. A pungent smell present in the air.

A green-haired man leans over a desk, glasses perched on his nose as he frantically scribbles some notes. What seems like powders and plants litter the space around him, along with a few more glass containers, incense, and a tea set with a steaming fresh cup.

“Baizhu.” Zhongli’s voice calls and you stiffen a little, hearing it again after a while of silence. It is still warm and deep but with a more reserved and regal tone like when he first met you.

The green-haired man (a Beta, you recognize) looks up and blinks in surprise, then smiles brightly and says some words you do not understand, you shuffle in place.

“Yes, this is her.” Zhongli replies. “I will ask you to speak in in common tongue so she can understand as well, I don’t want to unnecessarily unnerve her.”

Well, that is… very considerate. It eases you a little.

“Of course, your majesty.” He turns to you, his eyes were a bright amber, also with slitted pupils. Was it common in liyuens? “My name is Baizhu, the royal doctor and apothecary, pleased to meet you, empress.”

Empress?!

“E-Empress?!” You can’t help but blurt out.

“Why of courssse.” A high-pitched voice hisses and you almost jump when a white snake peaks her head from her coils at the desk, staring up at you. “You’re mated to hisss majesssty the emperor, sssso, it would be underssstood you’re now the empresssss.” Her split tongue flickers.

Baizhu chuckles. “Changsheng, be nice.”

You don’t know what to answer, mostly because you’re still reeling from the fact that you’re apparently now an empress, and because there’s a talking snake.

Liyue is weird…

“I decided to bring her here exactly because of that.” Zhongli turns to you and suddenly holds one of your hands, softly, staring at you with such affection it makes you melt. “Darling, would you let him check your bonding mark for a moment?”

You’re a little nervous, but it is not like you can refuse… right? You nod quietly.

Baizhu approaches and examines your neck and you fight the urge not to flinch or growl. No Omega likes it when a stranger is so close to such a sensitive spot. He hums and tilts his head but doesn’t touch you. “It seems it’s already healed due to her illuminated beast blood but the scar is present. I’d say the bond has been properly established, congratulations your majesty.” He smiles warmly.

A grateful bubbly feeling creeps up your chest. Properly established. So, it’s true.

You feel Zhongli’s hand squeeze yours lightly and look down at it, then back up at him. “Thank you, Baizhu. I will not keep you any longer. We still have a lot to do and I’m sure you do as well.”

Baizhu bows at him (at both of you, you realize) and then you’re on your way. Not before hearing the snake’s hissy whispers again

“A fine yin, hm…?”

--------------------------------------------

This is… your new home.

Zhongli shows you around some of the areas in what he called the “inner court” of the palace complex. Everything is so… large and open and lavish it has your head spinning, your eyes darting in every direction trying to take in all at once, walking fast on your new clothes. He guides you along the dining hall, a small temple, crosses through an enormous main hall where he explains audiences are held, and then a gorgeous outer garden that completely takes your breath away.

The wooden gilded architecture in golds and reds, the fresh wind and gentle sun. All sorts of new sounds and smells. The painted walls and high ceilings. The new plants and flowers. The chatters in a different language… everything is so distinct from the desert.

You soak in the new environment. Inhaling deeply.

It is both terrifying and exhilarating.

Finally, he guides you to another room, it looks similar to the nest room where you’d first been at, but larger. It is sparsely decorated with a large and comfy looking-bed, a desk, mirror and a small table with a couple chairs and a tea set. It smells nice enough.

You peek up at Zhongli.

“This will be your room.” He explains.

…What?

“We kept it simple for now but you are, of course, free to furnish and decorate it however you’d like. It’s close to my own room and anything you might need.”

Wait what?

Your ears lower down and you seem to deflate a little, disappointed. “H-Huh? But… I-I won’t be sleeping with you?” You ask softly.

Mated pairs sleep together, don’t they? They share living chambers and mix their scents together to symbolize their union. That’s what you’ve always been told. You are to always be near your Alpha, at his beck and call, warm up his bed and be ready to please.

Maybe things are different in Liyue? Or maybe it’s because he’s an emperor. Master didn’t tell you anything, so maybe you are just making a fool of yourself right now on your-

Zhongli clears his throat and looks at you a little surprised “I simply thought you’d be more comfortable having your own space, we… don’t really know each other very well yet, and I wouldn’t want to impose.”

Impose? As in order? But he’s your Alpha! “B-But I want to! Please! I-I mean… I thought that since we’re b-bonded…” You mumble shyly.

His cheeks turn a little pink, you like when that happens, he looks a lot less serious. He cups your cheek and you inhale looking up at those gorgeous golden eyes. “My dear dragoness. I don’t want you to feel forced to do anything you don’t want to. I know you were raised… differently, I cannot claim to understand your experiences, but listen to me: you are safe here.” He says the last part slowly, enunciating each word. “No one will scold you or punish you, least of all me. I want you to be free to speak and choose what you want.” He sighs. “Though I know it’ll be difficult...”

Furnish, impose, free… you don’t know any of those words.

But no punishment, to choose what you want, to be safe… it sounds surreal even.

What do you want?

His eyes soften at your nervous silence. “Let’s try this… do you really want to share my room, or would you like to stay here? I won’t be upset if you do.”

“I…” Your tail curls around you. “I want to stay with you. Sleep together. Like mates.” You mumble.

“Then it would be my honor, however, this room will stay ready if you change your mind, alright?” You glance around at the room again, and nod. “Now that that is settled, I have one last thing to do. I need to introduce you to a few very special people before I leave to-”

“Leave?!”

You didn’t mean to yelp like that.

“J-just to do my duties, I am not leaving you, I promise.” He corrects, a little taken aback. “I am sorry my dear, but as much as I’d like to spend every moment by your side right now, I have a few pressing matters to tend to. I know you’re nervous, everything is new and scary and overwhelming but I promise I’ll leave you in good hands and be back as soon as I can.”

You nod, now feeling a little embarrassed at the whole ordeal. You’d been feeling so at ease with his presence, showing you around, listening to his voice name and explain everything you saw that you’d almost forgotten. “You’re the emperor, I’m sure you’re very busy. No need to worry about me, I’ll behave, my lord.”

He frowns a little at that but says nothing, and you choose to say nothing else either.

Going back to the main hall, you immediately spot three people lined up looking at you with a mix of the already expected curiosity and excitement. One of them in particular immediately catches your attention, he’s an Alpha and you can’t help but feel a little nervous…

“Allow me to introduce you, these three are my most loyal and closest council members: Ping, Ganyu and Xiao.” Zhongli gestures at them and all three bow lightly. “Like you and I they all have the blood of xiānshòu, and you can ask them for anything should you need help or have questions. I hope you learn to trust them and feel at ease.”

You nod quietly, still a bit fixated on the other Alpha.

“Xiao, or general Alatus, is one of Liyue’s strongest, most resilient and skilled warriors. He usually keeps guard at the palace to ensure my wellbeing and now yours as well, if you ever feel danger call out his name and he’ll come.”

Ah, did they notice you were staring…?

With a gesture of his hand Xiao manifests a gorgeous Jade spear, crystalline green shards reflecting light as he taps it by his side, standing firm, you flinch in surprise. “My spear shall now serve you too, empress.” His eyes too are golden and sharp, filled with a certain rigidness and determination you can’t quite put your finger on.

“Thank you, Xiao, dismissed.”

Xiao hums quietly and promptly disappears in a burst of black and green smoke, you stand there a little startled, your hand clings to the brown fabric of Zhongli’s sleeve.

“He might be an Alpha as well, but I promise you he’ll cause you no harm.” Your alpha murmurs softly towards you.

“O-okay…” You squeak, a bit embarrassed.

“Ganyu here is one of the most reliable people in the palace, perhaps the entirety of Liyue. Everything of importance reaches her ears and passes through her eyes. She’s able to organize meetings, events, report, compile information and assist every negotiation and decision of this palace with stunning efficiency. She too will help you with anything you need and might be in charge of a little logistics regarding you settling in for the next few days.” Zhongli smiles.

The young woman with long blue hair and… horns? chuckles and blushes a little. “Your majesty, you're too kind, I merely love doing my job.” She puts her hands together and beams at you, sunset eyes bright. “I’m so honored to meet you, rest assured I’ll take care of anything you need. I hope you feel comfortable and welcome at the palace!”

That sounded like a lot. You weren’t used to people coddling you like this. You didn’t want to give anyone trouble or work. “T-that’s alright, thank you.”

“Now, Ping is probably going to spend the most time with you, she’s very knowledgeable in culture, history and the inner workings of the palace amongst other things. She has graciously offered to teach you liyuen and anything else you’d be interested in.”

Unlike the other two Ping has a certain calm aura to her, contrasting Xiao’s seriousness and Ganyu’s excited energy. You can tell she’s a gentle old soul as she approaches you with a soft wrinkled smile and graying hair.

“Don’t worry young empress, while Lord Morax here is regrettably busy with a work-packed schedule,” She gives him a playful side stare “You and I will have some fun. I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.” She takes your hand and pats it comfortingly. It’s kind of an awkward gesture for you, but you still welcome the warmth and good intentions.

Zhongli chuckles quietly. “In that case, I’ll leave you in her care and see you at night for dinner, alright?” He seems to hesitate for a moment but then cups your face in his hands and places a soft kiss at your forehead. The unexpected gesture has you blushing scarlet and your heart speeding up like crazy. His thumb brushes at the scales under your eyes, so affectionate in the smallest ways… “I know it’s not ideal, but it’ll be fine, yes?”

You stare at his golden eyes, the red lines, his handsome face framed with dark hair, his serene smile.

You don’t like this. You don’t want him to leave. The idea makes you uncomfortable.

But it’s not like you can say no.

You nod.

“Thank you, Ping.” Both of them exchange a glance and then he turns to the blue-haired woman still in the room. “Ganyu, if you will.”    

“Right away your majesty!” She scurries after him, talking quickly in foreign tongue while both walk away.

You stare after him for a moment longer.

“It’s a little difficult, isn’t it?”

You quickly turn back to Ping and then look down, ears folding back.

She laughs softly. “No need to be ashamed dear, it is understandable that you are unsure with all this, it’s a lot of changes for such a short time and you bond is still fresh, but let’s take it easy.”

Your hand brushes at Zhongli’s bonding mark again. “O-Okay…”

“Are you hungry? Tired? Perhaps you want to rest a little?”

You want to scurry away to your mate’s room and curl up there, that’s what you want, but…

“Um, aren’t you… going to train me?”

Ping blinks a little taken aback “Train? Oh! Teach?”

Same thing.

“Well, yes. I did offer, but only if you’re feeling up to it young empress. You can take your time, we don’t have to start right away. And like I said, take it easy, it's only your second day here.” She explains. “You won’t be absorbing any information if you are uncomfortable and jittery like this.”

“S-sorry-”

“No need to apologize at all. Now tell me, is there anything you’ve seen or heard today that you’re curious about, anything you want to do?”

What you want…

You think back a few hours earlier. The infirmary, the small temple, the grand hall, and…

“The garden.” You speak. “Can we go outside and see?”

Ping smiles brightly. “Of course! I’m sure there are a lot of things there that will catch your interest and cheer you up.”

Your tail sways a little after you as you follow the old lady along the corridors.

------------------------         

The garden is breathtaking.

More than a garden it feels like a whole different world. Bright and exciting and colorful, full of life. It reminds you of an Oasis, but just… more!

A grand pond with multicolored fishes and a couple of turtles sunbathing. Walk paths made of stone, plants everywhere you see: in trees with vibrant yellows, oranges and all shades of greens, in flowers with soft colors and small petals, in thick bushes. The light filters through the leaves and there’s the soft tweets of small birds.

“It’s… so pretty!” You exclaim happily.

“I’m glad you think so. Gardens like this are carefully cared for and preserved to impress, but they also represent beauty, abundance a sense of harmony.” Ping explains as she is now the one following after you, skipping along the path. “These trees you see are sandbearers, and that one is a ginkgo tree, you can tell the difference by the shapes of their leaves.” She points at each one and you follow with your gaze, picking a small leaf from the floor, golden and fan-shaped.

“Ooh…”

“See those smaller fishes? They’re goldfishes. The bigger ones are kois.” She gestures at the animals freely swimming around. Some of them are huge!

“What do they eat?” You blurt out.

“Well, usually algae and wheat. We can get some another day and you can feed them.”

“Really?!”

“Of course.”

“Oh! Is that a koi too? It’s so… long and pretty.”

“Ah, that one is a golden koi. Lord Morax has a few of them here. They are also called Jīnchì Jiǎlóng or ‘false dragons’ you know? For the small horns and long bodies. They do resemble your tail a little, don’t they?”

You move your tail forward and stare at it, then stare at the serpentine fish.     

“Yes, sort of… Jin chi… jia long.” You mumble.

“Here, I think you’ll like these ones. Come with me.” You eagerly follow after Ping as she rounds the pond and guides you towards a few red bushes. They’re dotted with pink round flowers. “These are silk flowers, Nícháng-huā, usually harvested to make clothes, but there are many special ornamental variants and between us both, your dear mate has a weak spot for these so he has quite the collection.” She chuckles.

“Orna…metal?”

“Ornamental, it means mostly for decoration.”

“Oh!” Suddenly you feel dumb, you’d thought for a second that was a liyuen word too. “I’m sorry… I don’t even know common tongue very well.” How could you even expect to learn liyuen?

“No worries, dear, learning a new language is a daunting task, it takes a bit of work every day. If you keep learning, using and practicing words, you’ll get there.”

You smiled softly. Ping was so… patient and supportive.

So much different from…

[You have to try harder.]

[Tch that is not good enough.]

[Are you stupid?!]

[Useless omega.]

You looked at the budding silk flowers and blinked. Once. Twice. Why was your vision blurry now? What was this feeling?

“Oh, oh young empress please don’t cry. It’s alright” Ping’s alarmed remark helps you understand. She fusses over you. “Are you ok?”

You wipe at your tears and smile, a genuine bright smile.

“I’m fine.”

And this time, you truly mean it.

----------------------------------------

After a rather fancy bath (the kind of like you used to take before being presented to Alphas, with bubbles and scented oils...) and a good dinner Zhongli and you headed over for his chambers for the night. You couldn’t help but be a little… nervous.

This is stupid. He’s your Alpha.

He’s been nothing but kind to you.

What if he wants to… d-do things?

Then you’ll do it. He’s your mate. It’s your obligation.

You were the one who chose this anyway.

Your heartbeat was loud in your ears, anxiety creeping up your chest. Were your fingers trembling? Was the room suddenly cold?

As expected, the bedroom was quite matching his style. Golds, browns and a bit of red and black here and there. Dragon imagery adorning some of the walls, a tea cabinet with a small table and shelves filled with all sorts of trinkets from precious stones and books to a beautiful fan and a tea set.

And then there was the bed.

A large canopy bed, enough to probably have your body and tail fully stretched across and still fit in the mattress, beautifully decorated and filled with fabrics and pillows.

The scent of Zhongli’s Alpha pheromones was definitely strong.

He yawns and runs a hand along his forehead, combing along his hair before pulling out the clip on it, letting his long dark locks spill free. He takes off his robe revealing his naked torso and you jolt.

It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine.           

You undress as well into your light sleeping clothes and gingerly slip into his bed, curling up around his pillows, surrounded by his scent.

His.

You are his.

It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine-

“Darling, is everything alright? Are you uncomfortable?” He asks concerned, climbing on the bed as well and reaching out to touch your arm. You squeak. “You’re… terrified, what’s wrong?” Then Zhongli’s eyes widen a little. “Oh. The scent… I completely overlooked that, my apologies. Is it too strong? Are you ok? Should have given you some things earlier for you to scent and include them here. This is no good…” He rambles a bit to himself as he sits up and crosses his arms thoughtfully.

You stare at him, anxiety still surging through your veins but now mixed in with confusion.

“Would you like to sleep in the other room we prepared for you instead?” He sighs.

“I… t-this is… you… would just let me leave?”

Zhongli tilts his head slightly, now he looks confused.

“I promised you that the room would be available-”

“So, you don’t want to mate?”

Silence.

He stares at you for a moment as you grip at the bedsheets, still tense.

His eyes widen as realization settles in.

Ah. The pink dusting in his cheeks is back.

“Y-You thought that… no! My dear, no, no, no…” He coughs into his fist awkwardly. “I apologize if I gave you the wrong idea. A-As I said before I want you to be comfortable and feel safe. No Alpha will force you to do anything you don’t want. Not even me. And you don’t have to feel forced to do things you don’t want to, either.”

You look down. Although you feel slightly more relieved.

“I want to stay here. A-and if you want to, I’ll service you, my lord. I was just… nervous, sorry.”

“I assure you there is no need for any of that.” He says softly. “Here.”

He pulls the covers and slips them over you both, lying down facing you but still keeping a little distance. You do the same, curled up face to face with him.

He’s so effortlessly handsome.

And kind.

And you like him.

But he’s still an Alpha.

“Is this alright? We’re just going to sleep, I promise.” He brushes some hair away from your face.

You nod.

“Is there… anything you want to talk about or ask me?”

You... don’t know.

You shake your head.

“Hmmm. Want to share about your day? What were you up to with Ping?” He gives you a playful smile. Suddenly he feels less like an imposing strict emperor, or like a scary Alpha. He’s just your Zhongli.

“She… showed me the garden. I wanted to see.”

“Ah, the royal garden has many fascinating sights and it’s a beautiful landscape to retreat to and ease one’s mind. I had the feeling you’d be interested.”

“There were so many beautiful things. She taught me about the silk flowers, nícháng-huā. And all the trees and fishes and birds.”

“Oh? Are these your first words in liyuen, my dear?”

You giggle. “I… suppose they are. She also showed me your turtles Jiàn and Fù and told me what their names mean, they are so cute. Oh! And we saw the liúlí bah… bai… bǎihé! I sang to them and they bloomed! It was... amazing.”

“I see. Not everyone can achieve that, I’ll admit I’m quite hopeless at singing.” He chuckles “What more did you learn?”

Feeling much more content and at ease you continue retelling all the new things you had experienced and the vocabulary you had learned including how to introduce yourself and some greetings and basic words. Talking for what felt like hours until weariness and sleep claimed you both.

Zhongli simply listened and stared at you, captivated. He seemed content as well.

It made you happy.

------------------------------------------

For the next couple of months, you established a sort of routine.

You’d wake up early alongside Zhongli, even though you didn’t need to, you simply enjoyed having some morning tea and breakfast with him. Afterwards he’d go tend to some of his official duties and you’d stay with Ping Lǎolao, learning more and more each day. By now you could even follow some basic conversation (provided the other person didn’t speak too fast) although reading and writing was still extremely difficult.

You’d expressed interest in some gardening and even headed to the kitchens to prepare some food by yourself. The maids claimed there was no need for the empress to do such ‘menial tasks’ but as an Omega you pride yourself in certain things, and cooking for your Alpha was something you’d yearned to do.

You were overjoyed when Zhongli praised your Jade parcels.

You’d always have lunch with him and some days he’d accompany you for a stroll or you’d stay at his study for some leisure time, or even at some meetings. It had been a little unnerving at first but you also knew it was important to know others and be known in the council, as well as understand Liyue outside of the palace walls. After all, you are an empress now.

At night, you slept close to him. The initial awkwardness of sleeping at opposite sides of the bed soon traded for a much cuddlier approach, often with you curled up to Zhongli’s chest or him spooning you, tails often intertwined together. The bed and the entire room now have a mix of your combined scents, like true mates.

And so, life was good…

------------------------------------------  

You’re slowly pulled out of your sleep as Zhongli stirs in the bed. You grumble a little and yawn, already missing his warmth. It was so pleasant…

“Good morning, my dear dragoness.”

“Morning…” You mumble, not opening your eyes and instead blindly reaching for his pillow to hug and cling to. “Can we stay for longer?” You whine.

“You definitely can, but I have to go.” He kisses your forehead “Rest, my dear.”

You pout but say nothing. Squeezing at the pillow and burying your face in it.

It smells so good…

------------------------------------------  

“Hmm… is it warmer today?” You wonder aloud as the maids help you up with the layers of your hanfu. The clothes still hot and heavy in contrast to what you used to wear at the desert, but today seemingly more so… the sash feels more constricting than usual. “I-I think I’d like to wear something a little lighter… if possible.”

“Of course, your majesty, no problem.”

You smile at them, grateful.

 --------------------------------------------

Sitting at Zhongli’s study room you practice some basic liyuen calligraphy while he seemingly goes over some important documents. The silence is comfortable and a warm cup of Qixing tea steams at both desks. Yet, something keeps bothering you.

You huff lightly, scratching and picking at the scales of your tail, irritated with the uncomfortable feeling. Why is it so itchy? A couple of them fall off, revealing new glossy ones underneath.

“Ah…” So that means…

You stop for a moment. The feverish feeling, scents being stronger on your nose, the urge to nest and cling to your mate.

Hmm… part of you is a little excited. And yet, there is fear.

------------------------------------------  

“You have quite the appetite today, dear. Eat slowly, the food won’t go anywhere.” Ping chuckles as you practically pick a little of every dish while still trying to keep some modicum of elegance. Chopsticks weren’t that easy after all.

“Yes… I think… I think it’s my pre-heat hormones.” You sigh before munching on a shrimp ball.

Your heat…

Your first heat with Zhongli. With any Alpha to be honest. You’d always had to endure them on your own (Master couldn’t have you get pregnant) and they were excruciating and debilitating, crying out for days with your skin burning and itching, trying to sate yourself with your fingers and humping pillows. But now… you’re happily bonded.

Would it… feel good again?

Like, that first time you two mated…

You feel your cheeks heat up.

“Excuse me?”

“Hm?”

You’re brought back to reality to see Ping staring at you seemingly a little alarmed.

“Pre-heat? Young empress, are you going into heat soon?”

“Y-yeah? Probably um, tonight…? Or tomorrow.” The onsets are always so quick, and your cycle has always been more or less stable.

The elder places her chopsticks down. “Have you told Lord Morax?”

“Um. N-No, not yet. But… m-maybe he already caught on...” You tilt your head.

…Right?

Then again even you took a couple of days to identify the signs, and now for sure you were at the brink of it. Maybe he’ll mate you tonight…

Hm… how will Zhongli react to your heat scent?

You have to do your best!

[Be a good omega.]

Ping stands up, her expression still gentle but with a sort of urgency to it, your instincts catch the feeling she’s worried about something.

“I have to inform about this, please stay here dear.”

Now you’re nervous. You nod slowly.

Why does it feel like you did something wrong…?

------------------------------------------

After that, things get… chaotic.

It’s only a while later that you find yourself at the infirmary. Ganyu and Zhongli are also there and everyone’s anxious pheromones in the air do not sit well with you (subtle as they are, your nose is hyperaware right now).

“I’m sorry the symptoms are already settled in. At this point it is simply not feasible to give her suppressants, she has to go through this heat.” Baizhu says, looking troubled.

Feasible? Suppressants? More unknown words but…

Is there something wrong with your heat?

Ganyu scurries off and Ping starts talking with Baizhu on the other side of the room. You cling to Zhongli’s robe, trying to soothe yourself with his presence but his scent is… agitated.

You whine to call out to him. You’re scared.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Zhongli pulls you close, cupping your face again, staring straight at you. “No… no my dear dragoness, of course you didn’t, it’s just…” He steels himself searching for the right words, it doesn’t ease you in the slightest. “We didn’t expect your heat so soon. I should have known, noticed… I’m sorry.”

Why is your alpha apologizing to you? That is ridiculous.

“Is it a bad thing?”

“It’s… not the right time.”

You’re so confused.

Don’t Alphas like it when Omegas are in heat? Soft, pliant, warm, needy and ready to breed.

“I just don’t want you to feel obligated to do this…” He says. “And… you could trigger my rut, you could end up pregnant. I don’t want to… scare you, or hurt you. It’s much too soon for us to share your heat. I thought we’d have more time for you to get acclimated to Liyue or…” He shakes his head. “Nevermind. For the next few days you’ll be in a separate room, yes? No one will disturb you during your heat, I promise.”

“B-But then… I… what…?”

Alone?

“Usually omegas take suppressants, like a type of medicine, to stave off their heats so they don’t have to face these risks or suffer them alone, and then when they’re ready, when they want, they choose to share heats with their partners.” He explains.

“But I want to! I… I’ll be good!”

Zhongli sighs. “Darling you are good, you are precious to me. You don’t need to prove anything or do things because they are ‘expected’ of you.”

He’s not listening!

He asks you what you want. He says you can choose. But now that you tell him, ask him, beg him even… he denies you?

How come you’re always making the wrong choice?

Was it all a lie then?

“But I- T-then- Why-… YOU’RE CONFUSING ME!!” You yell, tears stinging in your eyes.

There are a few gasps and you see not only Baizhu and Ping, but Ganyu and some of the maids staring at you in shock. You cover your mouth, eyes wide at the sudden burst of fierceness and emotion.

You yelled at him.

You talked back.

You should be punished.

He stares at you, frozen like a statue for a few moments. You stare at him, pitiful, your eyes begging. A whimper leaves you and Zhongli lets out a shuddering breath.

Oh, your Alpha wants you, you know it.

"Please..." You mumble, voice so small.

"I'm sorry my dear, it's better this way." His hand moves towards you, to cup your face again or brush at your hair you're not sure, but he stops himself before you can find out. He sighs, averting his gaze and looking conflicted, and then turns around.

This is your punishment.

"It'll be just a few days, you'll be well-cared for. This is for the best." He says sternly, voice pinched.

And then he leaves.

Your heart shatters.

Everything is a blur after that. You’re gently guided along towards an empty nest room, the same one you'd first met him at, there are some things with both your scents on it but they feel sterile, washed anew.

Your hands start trembling. Your eyes start to water. Your lips quiver. Your throat feels tight, choked and dry. Your body feels feverish, hot and restless.

Zhongli rejected you.

“Your majesty please calm down."

[Useless.]

[Moron.]

[Whore.]

You could no longer breathe, hear nor see. You feel like you're drowning, unable to process what just happened. Your mate…your precious mate…he…he…

He abandoned you.

“Your majesty…?"

You scream.

[ecoterrorist-katara]

Katara would’ve been such a good diplomat (it’s canon)

everyone rightfully hates on the ATLA comics because the politics are baffling and the characterization is even more so…but if there’s one thing we can take away from the dumpster fire that is The Promise, it’s that Katara was BORN to be a diplomat and an international force for peace, okay? Especially since her besties, the Avatar and the Fire Lord, aren’t actually very good at this.

If you haven’t read The Promise, the Wikipedia summary is pretty good. The TL;DR is that Zuko and Kuei agree that the Fire Nation colonies need to be returned to the Earth Kingdom. The colony of Yu Dao is not happy about this because the people of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom have been mixing together (under inequitable conditions) for more than a hundred years and “just kick out the Fire Nation” is not as straightforward as it seems, since there are blended families now. Zuko refuses to kick out the Fire Nation people from Yu Dao, Kuei wants to play hardball, and they almost launch another war. Oh and there’s a weird plot about Aang debating whether to put Zuko down like a rabid dog

For all that the Wiki page does a good job of summarizing the events, it forgets some key facts: 

It’s Katara who first starts thinking about new solutions after witnessing the situation on the ground, and then comes up with the idea that Zuko and Kuei should meet and talk about the colonies:

It’s Katara who tells Kuei that Zuko has legitimate concerns (without saying that Zuko is right), when Aang tries to hedge and sugarcoat the truth: 

And it’s Katara who says to Kuei, wait, what the hell do you mean that you have no idea what your people want, that Yu Dao is just a dot on the map for you? We’re getting you out of this stupid blimp and you’re gonna talk to people before you make a decision that affects their lives, you coward

To recap, Katara demonstrates some pretty freaking key political skills, like: 

finding out what people want before making a decision for them 

seeing people as people first and foremost, not as fire nation or earth kingdom 

encouraging her loved ones, the Avatar and the Fire Lord, to resolve a conflict by beginning negotiations instead of brawling like a couple of drunks at a bar / kids on the playground (both analogies fit btw, 13-17 is a weird combination of ages)  

realistically reporting tricky disagreements without sweeping them under the rug

kidnapping a king to the middle of a battlefield to give him a reality check about listening to the people he’s trying to rule

Anyway, Katara is hyper competent at both war AND peace! We see this in the show, with her compassion for the prisoners of the Earth Kingdom (by inciting a prison riot) and the suffering people of the Fire Nation (by committing ecoterrorism), only now that compassion is backed up not only by her fighting prowess and speeches about hope, but actual ability to manipulate the levers of power. 

And have I mentioned that she has the ears of both the Avatar and the Fire Lord and her dad is Chief of the Southern Water Tribe? Even if Katara didn’t get a diplomat position based on her skills, or her status as a war hero, she could nepo baby her way in. The fact that she does not pick up a career in international diplomacy is a crime & a colossal oversight from the creators. At minimum you know Katara would’ve established Healers Without Borders or something. She deserves to be yelling at people at ATLA UN and then drafting world-changing resolutions. 

And as a bonus, Katara demonstrates her gift for diplomacy by not smacking Zuko up the head for attempting to legitimize colonization through the argument of economic progress…

…and by not smacking Aang up the head for seriously considering anti-miscegenation as a viable political solution: 

This patience is a new development because show!Katara did not have this in her, but maybe this is what growing up is all about and not just yet another strike on the “comics are wildly OOC” tally

TL;DR: ATLA boys lost their brain cells post-canon. All hail Katara, Sugar Queen of international diplomacy. 

[felassan]

this post is just some info on yesterday's DA:TV Fandom party at SDCC. :>

What was this party? [Here] is a post with the pre-event information that was made available. [Here] is a pre-event article that contains an interview with the organizer. And [this article] on the event contains some additional information, like on the versions of this party held in previous years, which helps for context. There was no new DA:TV information of note from the party

Links to Fandom (the company's) Twitter account, their Instagram. If you look at these (including on the Instagram Stories), you can see some pictures and stuff from the party. for those interested in watching a video version of some of these, Ghil Dirthalen posted a video recording that she made last night of Fandom the company's Instagram posts [here]. there are also more pictures and stuff from the party that you can see if you click through to [some of] the source links below here in the rest of this post.

As was previously reported the other week, Jason Derulo headlined the party (like as in a gig). Here's an image of him there [source] (the him singing DA stuff part was a joke tho btw hh). They considered having an orchestra because of DA's musical score but they got Jason Derulo

One of the party props was a big background of the DA:TV key art [source]. Here you can see the DA:TV logo on another backdrop. [source] This tweet contains both of these backdrops from a different angle

There was also an archway prop based on this DA:TV key art, and big screens which projected images from the game (including of Varric and this screenshot) [source]. It looks like these images were also projected to television screens? [source]

This tweet contains the questions and the answers to the DA-themed scavenger hunt (transcription of this at the end of this post), as well as a partial look at the map layout of the party

This is how photos taken in the DA themed photo booth look (this DA:TV screenshot was the backdrop) [source]

There was a VIP section at the party [source]. Gary McKay, the General Manager of BioWare, was there [source], as were John Epler and Zach Mendez (Lucanis) [source], Ali Hillis (Harding) [source], Nick Boraine (Emmrich) [source], Kari a BioWare Brand Director [source], Jessica Clark (Neve) [source] and Corinne Busche [source]. Erika Ishii (Rook) also visited but got kicked out of VIP hh [source]. Some cosplayers from the DA community were also personally invited by BioWare & PR at EA Games and attended! like Ladytoxie as Bellara ^^ [source, two], and some celebrities also, such as Doug Jones [source]

Ladytoxie mentioned that they will be posting a Vlog of their experience and coverage of the event, "probably next week" [source], having documented it at the time [source] (tysm!!)

Ladytoxie reported that it was a good, memorable experience and that everyone was lovely [source]

There was supposed to be some DA:TV-related pins and lanyards being handed out at the party, but these got stuck at customs, so there wasn't any goodies being handed out [source]

Links to some more images from the party: [one], [two], [three]

Scavenger hunt text (questions and answers) transcription:

"Clue 1: Step up to spot the flames where Fandom's 20-year tale burns bright, celeberate twenty years of worldbuilding where this terrifying Dragon Age wiki takes flight. Answer: Archdemon Clue 2: Follow the path and find the shining blue gem, discover the wiki of this Dragon Age elven hedge mage for your chance to win! Answer: Solas Clue 3: Search for the place where steel balls ricochet, where the flippers dance and the wizards gather to play. Find the wiki of a dwarf and son from the House of Tethras, known as a Dragon Age rogue with his crossbow, Bianca. Answer: Varric Clue 4: Venture to where 360 degree views are spun, where fans share your favorite #/fandom20 with props that are comically fun. Scan the QR code to reveal this order of warriors who defeat the Blight, and with the invasion of darkspawn, they put up a legendary fight. Answer: Grey Wardens Clue 5: Finish your scavenger hunt quest where Dragon Age lore comes alive, a photo booth adventure where fantasies thrive. Pose in a setting of this wiki's southern continent vast, two moons overhead, in a world built to last. Answer: Thedas"

[source]

[ahfuckaghoulie]

map with a possible route and shots from the show for anyone else who has been Wondering

vault 33 → Filly: 4-8 hrs, 10-21 mi

Filly → place where Lucy cuts Wilzig's head off: 2-5 hrs, 5-14 mi. it rly depends on where the hell Filly is (I've mistakenly highlighted LAX but it's further south than that just pretend for me I can't fix it now jfncnfkf)

Wilzig's body → lake with Gulper in it: 7 hrs, 17 mi. right by Universal Studios, btw

the ghoul drags her off course here

Gulper → Hollywood walk of fame: 3 hrs, 6 mi

walk of fame → super duper mart: according to the wiki super duper mart is near santa monica boulevard so i highlighted the whole thing, but it only makes sense for them to go through the walk of fame if it's the east side of the blvd,, 😥 anyways, it's a short walk, like 30 min and 1.5 mi tops

super duper mart → Max/Shady Sands → vault 4: Lucy links up w Maximus somewhere close, and they visit Shady Sands before wandering into Hawthorne medical labs/vault 4. I dunno how to estimate this part of the journey, they could've gone anywhere in that blue area

they spend more than one day at vault 4, I think. Lucy also mentions being on the surface for about two weeks when they leave

vault 4 → radio station with fiddle guy: 4-6 hrs, 10-15 mi

radio station → Griffith Observatory: 2-3 hrs, 4-7 mi

travel time: ~25-40 hrs

total distance: 60-100 miles

added some stuff, but the photos and locations are based mainly off this reddit post

[eepop-stuffs]

Btw here's some dope ass images and assets from the Fulla website

The polished and fancy heart swirl borders are from the reboot era version of the site. Anything with the wide heart and pastel pink/purple is from the reboot era. Before then the aesthetic was much more vibrant and more focused on a butterfly and flower motif. During the older era she used more hot pink and magenta, as well.

Still really want to know who the artist for Fulla is, maybe I could look for the rest of their possible work for the brand that way.

These are all that's left of the website since the website is mostly inaccessible through the internet archive, and almost every image asset is hard to find. The more modern website versions are extremely broken, and the most clear archive of it from the wiki is from 2006, and from the US version. The 2006 US version does have a lot of important things in it, however. It has a catalog from that time frame, one or two of the music videos, and an English translation of her theme song (which means we now have two confirmed translations, Indonesian and English)

(Above is an image of the Fulla mission statement from the website archive)

Fun fact about the mission statement: in Arabic it actually translates to "Every Arab Girl's Dream" which may be a little off bc I used Google translate but it seems simple enough that It shouldn't be too far off.

The website was advertised to have games from around 2010-11 and are labeled as "funs" on the website according to the site map URLs. None of these "funs" links lead to anything at all, as it says the website wasn't archived. I'm actually not sure whether there were actually flash games or some other type of interactive thing, but the controllers that pop up during the ad for the site leads me to believe they had at least something.

It is confirmed that they had coloring pages, though. Once again, according to the URLs that are not archived and do not function.

This all really frustrates me because the ad never showed what the website even looked like, and the only other place that possibly (like super possibly, I don't even know if it is of the website) could have a screenshot, the fulla house playset, changed the computer sticker graphic before release, along with a lot of the other stickers being turned into random product photos instead of cute detailed artwork (which is a decision I actually despise like omg)

The only things we have are what are saved in the internet archive's dumps of archived images. Any other file doesn't really work at all.

As of now, the fulla website, no matter what time frame you pick up until 2021, had a flash loading screen that you can't get past using normal means.

I am actually so mad that I can't find anything about this. Any other major doll website is completely able to be accessed, even the winx club one which has a similar issue with the loading screen. From past experiences before the winx site's arcive apparently just stopped doing it, the loading screen would lead to a pop-up window of something else which I forgot the contents of. So that may be the issue here, but I wouldn't know what's causing it or how to fix it.

All I want is a SINGLE SCREENSHOT OR RECORDING and i will die happy...😭

Because I'm a poor little high school child I sadly do not have the means to purchase a VPN. Maybe I could just do a free trial and cancel it after I've got what I needed, but there's not even a guarantee there will even be more if I look with a VPN.

[solradguy]

sorry if this an odd question, but is there a reason why neither the new wiki or even dustloop has the palettes for certain characters in older games? like revelator ky has his on both sites which makes sense but then rev ramlethal's arent

(love the new wiki btw yall did amazing on it)

Some of the games, like Dust Strikers, the GGXs, and 3 Xrds, are really hard to rip sprites from... It also depends on people having the motivation to want to rip them too. There're a few people working on getting the remaining missing sprites for the wiki now, but it's kinda at that point where each one has to be hand-edited out of the map background because there either isn't a greenscreen mod or the tools to just rip the assets directly😬 A decent chunk of the GG World entries had to be hand-transcribed too because we couldn't rip them...

In any case, all the palettes will probably be on the wiki eventually!! Some day haha Sometimes we get lucky and find a Wayback Machine archive of a fan site that had some hosted and that speeds things up too. We're very excited about the palettes tbh, the editors working on getting them have been making good progress.

(Thank you!!!!)

[salpho]

Howdy! I wanted to ask that, if you end up hosting that DCTL MAP, would there be set designs to use for the project? Or would everyone be allowed to use their own personal designs? I would be really excited to see either but I figured I'd ask <3 Good luck btw, I think this is a really cool idea!! ^^

Hello, thank you for the interest !!

All designs would be set and universal in the project, being based on book and in-game descriptions along with other official sources (Sammy's hottopic Takeover "ask me anything", for example).

Some specific ideas and notes- Joey would have his canon in-game design, Thomas and Norman would both be black men as they're coded to be as such.

And this isn't related to the question, but tomorrow I may be making a post to correct some things I'm learning from other Bendy wiki staff regarding Christopher Hastings. Stay tuned I guess !!

[alukaforyou]

just saw ur tags abt getting back into tkrb and i just gotta ask 1) who is ur fave a) character-wise (personality) and b) aesthetics (design) and 2) have u ever drawn any of them ; w; ur art is so pretty ngl i miss it and id love to see ur tkrb art if u ever made any

oh em geee i cant pick omg i love sm of the charas 😭😭😭😭 im gonna answer 1b first, screen shots from my game:

my current fave is jikkyuu mitsutada cuz the art for him looks soooo tasty 😭 AND hes voiced by THE koyasu takehito like everyone SHUT UP DIO BRANDO / TOJI FUSHIGURO IS SPEAKING 🗣️ jk but his in game voice is so soft uwu i got him from the sea shell event, which i've never rly put in effort into before cuz its not one of my fave events BUT i grinded SO HARD to get My Boi 👍🏻

runner ups are kogi and iwachan, kogitsunemaru looks so 💯💯💯 the artstyle the outfit oof like the off shoulder kimono and the neck piece and the gloves with the fingers out 🥴🥴🥴 also the artist for his sprite is rly good at drawing everything feet?? akakskkal rly pretty looking peet & toez 💀 i nabbed him as a node drop on the regular map it took me 500+ tries, yes i counted 😭 as for iwachan his kiwame art is a Major glow up, i dont always like the kiwame sprite redesign (kogi & hotarumaru looks better reg version imo) BUT iwatooshi looks sm better 10000/10 also hes like 200cm tall 🫠 im gonna motorboat his b00bs who said that btw those 3 are also my fave bgs, i still rly like the old spring sakura bg so i use that one alll the time too 🌸

honorable mentions^ oodenta looks like. if u mashed up kenchan from bleach and madara from nardo. love the shibari bdsm top but i hate the gold stuff on his legs 😭👎🏻 kanechan is the og long black haired pretty boy, the way he talks is younger brother coded lol. fudo & akita r my fave tantous cuz they look like if me & madara had babies LMFAO shizukagata's design is so cunty 💯, hanjin is my fave pink haired boy 💖 wish he wasnt wearing camo tho 😐 and i got nukemaru & shichiseiken semi recently so they are sorta novelty faves rn xD

1a. the game is in jp and i cant read all that so idk abt their personalities much 😭 like i did google a lot of the charas dialogue lines on the wiki but ngl i forgor 💀 i just remem kogi and jikkyu being kinda flirty LOL? 👁️👄👁️ just off the top of my head, maybe fudo cuz i remem his pre kiwame self was rly sad, hes actually the first boy i sent off to kiwame :') im so here for the Character Development thats MY SON!!!! good for him :)

2. i've drawn kanechan ONCE a loooooong time agooooooo i dont draw so much lately RIP and when i do, its anime boys from Shows™ 💀

[swaps55]

How much of what you write in Opus about their armor is stuff from canon versus your own creation? How do you go about figuring out the tech in satisfying ways? I'd never realized how much I love the ins and outs of sci fi armor until Opus, but I'm watching The Expanse for the first time and Bobbie's armor is giving me similar vibes, and I guess I just wanna talk about sci fi armor and how it's secretly *so* emotional. XD

Canon is the jumping off point, and from there it's a mix of my own headcanons, brainstorming with Real Life Romance Option, and in the case of armor, @sinvraal's armor bible, which pretty much lives in an open tab on my browser (along with the wiki page on codex entries and a great galaxy map showing relay connections). I also use this wonderful comic as a reference.

The codex entries, especially from ME1, give you so much great stuff to work with, for biotics, weapons, armor, space combat, etc. etc. There are a lot of holes and places to color in and outside the lines, but the framework is a gold mine.

Armor in particular is SUCH a fun playground, not only because it's great sci fi and serves as one of the building blocks for the world of Mass Effect, but it gives you so many opportunities for characterization. How a character customizes their armor, the HUD preferences, the wear and tear, habits around its maintenance and upkeep, etc. etc. can tell you SO MUCH about them.

And in addition to making a character a total badass, armor can be astonishingly intimate. One the scenes I am most proud of is the armor scene in Cantata where Kaidan and Sam do their suit checks. I don't know if I've ever written a scene with more UST. One of my greatest moments as a writer was @urrone telling me that in a scene where there was no skin to skin contact at all, "I don't know if it's possibly to have sex with your armor on, but if it is, those two just did." XD

I LOVE attempting the harder science stuff in Opus and could talk about it all day, but yeah, armor is the shit and I love writing about it. Also, The Expanse is incredible and I would sell my soul to Bobbie Draper for a penny. Sam, btw, takes some influence from Amos Burton. My Admiral Hackett takes a lot of influence from Chrisjen Avasarala. He just swears a lot less, lol.

[chipped-chimera]

WIP WEDNESDAY - 21/06/23

(I mean it’s technically Friday now between timezones and spoons but have this otherwise I’ll keep forgetting) My first WIP Wednesday! Thanks @theviridianbunny​ for the tag! I’ve been really getting stuck into modding - as well as falling into my usual mod habit of ‘start like six project at once and end up with a million WIP files' but I guess I’ll talk about the major ones.

Graphic design is my passion ...

(Long) rambling about mods I'm making + things I've learned below the cut~

My V’s tatt project is still ongoing, and I’ve (somewhat begrudgingly) been trying out Substance Painter to work on bits of it, mainly polishing seams between UV maps. It’s definitely got a lot of benefits, especially for graphic placement in really tricky areas (like anywhere in the entire head mesh region for example) but I still think a lot of the heavy work will still be done in Photoshop so I’ll probably be writing up both experiences with them when I do that tutorial I keep hinting at for complex tatt work. I’ve started drafting a tumblr tutorial but I wonder if that’s the best format, maybe a PDF? Google doc? Github wikis look cool? (tho I think I need to pay for that) - if y’all got suggestions for tutorial formats pls let me know!

As for the other arguably overly-ambitious-project-where-I-bit-off-more-than-I-could-chew ...

H A I R.

Hair has been the bane of my existence for about the past week( ... weeks? Maybe two?), most of it involving cursing, a lot of reverse-engineering game meshes and smashing my head against blender. But if not already evident from my monowire post - I am a stubborn bitch with too much time on my hands so even though there were at least two moments where I wanted to curl up on the floor under my desk and just stay there - we got there.

This all started because my favourite hair mod which I cannot split from my V’s identity was acting funky and the shape of it had been altered since a physics update. It wasn’t her anymore. So I needed new hair. I tried editing the existing hair. I tried importing the old hair mesh. I tried so many things and they didn’t work out one way or they threw a million errors or there were an obnoxious amount of verts.

I even tried looking for replacement mod hair. None of them fit, all of them felt too ‘clean’ for my V. So I just concluded: FINE. I’ll make my own damn hair. From scratch. At least then I’ll actually KNOW what’s going on with the mesh, right?

Problem with hair is tutorials are very limited in respect to Cyberpunk, so I had to learn a lot of this by myself and looking at other processes used for building game hair. I’ve had a previous stint in game design at uni but it was very introductory and more broad-strokes concepts not specific stuff like what ‘real time hair’ is and how you actually go about placing hair-cards (there’s a million different ways btw) but after another 3 days smashing my head against blender I finally got shit to work to a satisfactory level using hair tools for blender and the particle hair grooming system (not the 3.5 blender system, maybe more on that at some point).

Putting together the hair cards I was 120% convinced this was going to blow up in my face, primarily through vert count. But this hair tool plugin? Alarmingly efficient. I was frequently checking my work against Alt's hair mesh (one I was planning on rigging to) and here's the final-ish stats -

This is with only Alt's hair mesh selected (no cap) and then only my mesh(s - lots of layering to build it up), and by comparison I felt I'd built up the density of a chinchilla. This is not a brag, this is mostly genuine confusion over how efficient this plugin is, all I did was smack around hair curves. It did all the UV mapping junk on the fly.

Although structurally complete, I still consider this a WIP (yes I know there's a reeeeal fun vert funkiness in that second render, it's been fixed) since I'm having to go back and fine-tune some of the UV's the plugins mapped that I'm not happy with and generally figuring out my density problem because if anything, after putting it in-game it felt too dense.

Because yes, somehow I got it in game.

WITH. PHYSICS.

This may have driven me absolutely up the wall between having to learn blender from scratch then what the heck real time hair is and how that works etc. etc. but ... god, seeing her move back from the mirror and just feeling that instant catharsis of 'IT'S HER!' made it so. Damn. Worth it.

It looks too thick - this might be because I chucked in the 'doubled' feature Wolvenkit comes with because I hadn't spent any time doing backfaces. But it also might be because it's black? That's going to need investigating.

The physics need a lot of work too, I did a pretty rushed weight painting job last night on a merged version of the mesh because I was worried whether it was even viable and I'd already dumped an insane amount of hours into this between trying to salvage the old hair and building a new one (with some more bells and whistles. Mainly - curly). That wasn't without it's issues -

This almost fucking cracked me, given this was one of the issues I was experiencing before trying to fix an existing mesh mod. Turns out I was just being dumb and forgetting to export the armature, which I'd thought I wasn't supposed to do after having blender throw a bunch of errors on other hair attempts. I gave it a try after one last shot and boom. Worked. (I dunno what those errors were about man but now I know armature? very important).

Will I release this hair? no damn clue, depends on if I can get it to a level I feel is 'releasable'. I already know what I'm calling it though - Venatrix her side-handle I've decided on.

I look forward to adapting it into maybe a comb-back version, as well as a tied up version, so I can show off both her undercut + have the option of NOT hiding every damn tatt I've obsessed over placing on her neck haha.

In other news -

My much-needed wacom tablet replacement arrived (as well as other things I was looking forward to 👀) meaning my Wacom Cintiq, workhorse of ten years can finally enjoy her retirement. Her controls were getting funky, she had a few dead pixels but man. I'm convinced they won't make them like her ever again. Either way she's done unfortunately - upgrading my monitor to 2k made this painfully obvious. I don't think it's even running in full HD, it's that old. And with Phantom Liberty coming out this year? I'm probably going to need a new videocard and DVI compatibility isn't really a thing anymore.

So for future I think I'll just stick to the basic tablet set up, invest in screens. Also now I FINALLY know what her hair is gonna look like and with the tablet here, I can get back to work on the tattoo bodysuit.

Anyways, that's it for now! (Jesus Christ did you really read all of this? If you did you're a fucking trooper). Sorry for the extended ramble but MAN I did a lot, I needed to yell.

Till next time Chooms! Thanks again @theviridianbunny for the tag~ <3

Oh shit wait, have the blender renders before I forget because hahah I figured out how to do that too lol -

[svturn-exe]

super important tmc hcs. ignoring the fact tht terraria and minecraft both came out in 2011

adam terraria: starts a new world every week bc it forgets what he's supposed to be doing next and it never occurs to him to look it up. bro doesn't even know the wiki Exists. never gets to hardmode bc he insists on playing master difficulty and also is bad at the game minecraft: exclusively plays creative mode in superflat worlds. makes ugly box structures out of diamond blocks and performs horrible labrat experiments on mobs in them

jonah terraria: almost exclusively plays journey mode! makes it his mission every time to 100% the research catalogue. the collection aspect of it tickles something in their brain minecraft: exclusively plays modded with like 20 different incredibly complicated tech mods tht each have a 200 page user manual . and also tinker's construct. they r a pro at it

mark terraria: gets to hardmode on expert mode, delves into the underground hallow bc he's excited to explore, gets jumpscared by a naturally spawning hallowed mimic and has a fucking heart attack minecraft: mark operates out of a dirt hut and yknow what fuck you they like it that way. brother rocking the greentop with the oak door. half the floor is gravel. no glass or trap doors for windows, just 1 block holes in the walls and one of the "windows" is blocked by a double chest. fully enchanted netherite and elytra btw

cesar has never played a video game. walks in2 marks room like are ya winnin, bro?

sarah terraria: plays w so many mods and texture packs the game is nigh unrecognizable. plays exclusively master mode and turns on every 'challenge' difficulty that comes with the mods at once bc she's seen the face of god and it was weeping minecraft: girlie is in the minigame servers. find sarah doing tnt run at 3 am she is going for it . good for her

evelin terraria: actually a pretty good builder. uses the wiki as a guide for npc happiness and builds little towns for them. beat moonlord like 2 months ago and just keeps going back to the same world to build stuff minecraft: plays adventure maps bc she thinks they're fun. evelin has played every minecraft horror adventure map that exists. i think she would love terra swoop force too dave terraria: once he gets far enough in a world to get access to wiring it's all over. spends the rest of the game trying to build machines to instant-ko bosses, with varying degrees of success. a master of the hoik minecraft: you know those videos that are like. using redstone to play minecraft in minecraft. yeah ruth terraria: plays vanilla summoner class in master mode for the worthy seed. she is god's strongest soldier and baby she's going for terraprisma. minecraft: spends the entire first night punching skeletons and creepers to death with her bare steve fists. has that Totally Legit Speedrun luck and finds everything she needs just from running around and raiding generated structures

thatcher terraria: terrible at building but god bless he's trying. favorite part of the game is old one's army, and she spends hours grinding to collect all of the sentries and the armor sets. somehow gets spawn camped by a crawdad and cries minecraft: keeps forgetting that you shouldn't make eye contact with endermen and it scares the shit out of her every time. is prone to lava-based mining incidents

jude tries to download minecraft free minecraft cracked no virus 100% safe trust me :) dot exe. is shocked when he gets a virus. how can this be

[jeannereames]

Huh. My article got picked up and reproduced (almost) in full by an online educational news site. It contains my original graphs and images, plus other images I didn't select--including at the top, the Getty head called "Hephaistion," which is probably a fake. Wouldn't have been my choice. There are also several typos and miswritten Greek words/names. They took it off of Karanos. (Vol. 6 is freshly out, btw! Go and read!) OTOH, it gets wider distribution and I'm cool with that. My name is attached and links are there to the original article (and it's not as if I make any money from this stuff anyway for it to be redistributed). OTOH, they should at least TRY to contact the author and and/or journal to let us know (and I could have corrected the image choice). If Borja is all right with it remaining there (he's the chief editor for Karanos), I'll contact them to fix the typos and the image--use the one from Thessaloniki we know is him. They probably used that one as it's on Wiki Commons.