#great art should be able to stand on its own

[magick-musings]

[svsss-fanon-exposed]

Exposing SVSSS Fanon: 16/∞

LUO BINGHE HAS A "STEREOTYPICALLY MASCULINE" APPEARANCE

Rating: FANON - CONFLICTING

In fanworks, Luo Binghe is often portrayed as particularly muscular and buff, broad-shouldered, often with tanned skin and sharply-defined features-- all traits that are considered to be stereotypically masculine in the west.

All of this directly contradicts his canonical description.

Necessary disclaimer: I'm not talking against depicting Luo Binghe with a naturally darker skin tone. While that still contradicts the canonical description, I can understand going against colorism (something very rampant in east asian beauty standards!) in fanworks. This sort of discussion is particularly toward those who portray him as fair-skinned on Qing Jing Peak, darker skinned after the abyss, hence "tanned." While this sort of thing might have issues of its own, that's also not the topic of this post, and as a light-skinned Asian person, I don't feel particularly qualified to talk about it.

In truth, deep down, Bing-ge’s fair and clean pretty-boy type didn’t really suit the tastes of “Great Master” Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky.... The art of growing stallions was grounded in science, and the research was clear: women preferred men who looked cultured, pretty, and even a bit soft and feminine. (7 Seas, Ch. 26)

The buff and bulky Luo Binghe often seen in fanworks is not what I would consider to be cultured, pretty, soft, and feminine.

Luo Binghe is described this way just before the conference:

A seventeen-year-old youth, slim and tall and graceful, dressed in white robes, lips turned upward in the hint of a smile, gazed at him with a pair of shining eyes. (7 Seas, Ch. 4)

And again after his return:

The other party was a little taller than [Shen Qingqiu], slender and willowy, dressed in clothes as black as ink that exposed only a fair neck.  (7 Seas, Ch. 7)

And a description of his hands later on:

That hand was slender and unadorned. It didn’t look like the hand of a young lord of the demon race who had already taken countless lives, but rather one whose master had been born to pluck strings, his hand to burn incense and bathe in snow. (7 Seas, Ch. 14)

Consistantly, Luo Binghe is depicted this way-- slender and refined, with fair skin and a softness to his appearance that contradicts his actions.

Furthermore, Luo Binghe is also described as looking very similar to his mother:

Luo Binghe was beautiful, and he looked quite like his birth mother. (7 Seas, Ch. 4)

and

Yue Qingyuan’s knuckles slowly brushed along Xuan Su’s hilt. “I was able to meet Senior Su Xiyan once at an Immortal Alliance Conference, many years ago. Luo Binghe’s appearance is seven-tenths identical to his mother’s.  (7 Seas, Ch. 18)

As for Su Xiyan's appearance, not much is directly stated-- it can be inferred that she likewise looked quite similar to Luo Binghe, but the only description of her physical appearance that we have is found here:

Even if she wasn’t burly and heavyset, she should at least look like a martial arts master with fierce and ferocious eyes. For all that, when he finally met the culprit behind Tianlang-Jun’s bout of philosophical soul-searching, which had tormented Zhuzhi-Lang for many days, he realized that the culprit in question was not quite like what he’d envisioned... ... Just as these two tourists were standing penniless in the street, a tall woman dressed in black strolled by, sword on her back. (7 Seas, Ch. 25)

The only positive descriptor here is that she is tall, but it can also be implied that she does not have the appearance of a martial arts master, and did not look as fierce and ferocious as Zhuzhi-lang expected, especially in terms of her eyes. However, she is described as a cold person-- whether or not that carried over into her appearance, though, is up for debate.

Su Xiyan's eyes are another matter for discussion--

In appearance, Luo Binghe resembled his mother Su Xiyan, but you could more or less see the shadow of his father in him. For example, in the eyes. Tianlang-Jun’s eyes were deep-set, his brow strong and heroic, the irises dark like fathomless water. In this, he and Luo Binghe were very much alike. Luo Binghe had a pretty boy appearance in the first place, but if his eyes had resembled his mother’s too, his face would have been excessively feminine and the effect would be lost. (7 Seas, Ch. 15)

Here, specifically, Luo Binghe is noted as having his father's strong brow and deep-set eyes, as opposed to his mothers, which based on this passage were most likely to be round, soft, and "feminine"-looking. It's also interesting to see that if not for having his father's eyes, Luo Binghe's features would be "excessively feminine," therefore implying that the softer look applies to all parts of his face except for his eyes and brows.

(thanks to @furbygoblinxiv , @bijoumikhawal for bringing up this point)

So, Luo Binghe is a lithe and petite pretty-boy. Nonetheless, he is still notably muscular. Specifically with a surprising amount of lean muscle-- something that Shen Qingqiu actually remarks on:

Luo Binghe was on top, and Shen Qingqiu was on the bottom, so he was smushed under a considerable weight and almost unable to draw another breath. What had this child been eating?! He looked quite slim, so how was he this heavy?! ... A person’s abdomen is supposed to be the softest spot on their body, but Luo Binghe’s was uncomfortably hard against Shen Qingqiu’s stomach. The farther down he pulled him, the more he was sure that Luo Binghe had an eight-pack. Was that a rock slab down there? (7 Seas, Ch. 16)

(thanks to @verycharismaticdragon for bringing up this point)

As for where the fan depiction of buff, tanned, "hyper-masculine" Luo Binghe may have originated?

I'm not certain where the first such depiction came from, but as for the logic behind it, such phenomena could be explained as thinking of Luo Binghe, the stallion protagonist, as having an "ideal masculine" appearance.

For western audiences and beauty standards, this would certainly be that same sort of muscular, tall, with tanned skin and defined features. Naturally, when first thinking of what a "stereotype of an ideal man" would look like, these traits would come to mind to a western audience.

It is a bit different in eastern standards. While muscular appearances can still be favored, lean muscle is vastly, vastly preferred over bulky muscle, and fair skin, which represents elegance and status (as those with fair skin tones are perceived as those who are wealthy, and do not need to work outdoors) is preferred over tanned skin. This is, of course, a generalization-- but as a representation of ideal masculinity, Luo Binghe's appearance would also be a generalization.

Particularly, Luo Binghe's figure and appearance is described not as those favored by men for themselves, but as those favored aesthetically by women. Therefore, that gentle, refined appearance is a must.

While western vs eastern beauty standards may play a role in this, it is also possible that western vs eastern character design standards may also be coming into play. While in eastern character design, things such as color and style of clothing and hair play a very large role in creating visual contrast, in terms of western designs, body shape and style, along with hair shape and style, seem to be far more important, with the idea that a character should be recognizable by silhouette alone. This may lead to western-trained artists, and also those who grew up watching primarily western cartoons, unconsciously applying those same standards to their own design-- such as making Luo Binghe broader-shouldered and with rounder shapes, the "heroic" type character design, in contrast to sharper, narrower shapes for Shen Qingqiu, the "villain" type character design.

(thanks to @gaywarcriminals , @mu-qingfang-stan-account , @temporoom for bringing up this explanation)

One additional possible reason would be the potential for heteronormative/"het-coding" standards being applied to a gay relationship, where the gong is being given more "traditionally masculine" features in order to align with gender roles. This is something that is fairly common in BL/MLM shipping and designs in general, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that it might apply in some fashion to Luo Binghe's fan-design as well (Note, this does not apply to actual fem/masc mlm pairs, because those do exist and it isn't always about heteronormativity. This is specifically referring to taking characters with roughly similar build like SQQ and LBH and making their designs distinctly more masc/fem based on who tops and who bottoms).

(thanks to @mysteryteacup and @gurggggleburgle for bringing this up)

As for the true source of these design elements, it probably cannot be narrowed down to just one-- rather, it would be an amalgamation of bits and pieces of all of the above, as well as the popularity and spread of certain designs throughout the fandom and artists taking inspiration from one another.

So often i've seen that Luo Binghe's bulk and muscles are shown as key traits of his physical appearance, despite the fact that this directly contradicts his actual depiction in the novel. Thus, it is inaccurate to depict him this way.

Luo Binghe's canonical body type and build is tall, slender, and willowy with lean musculature, and his features are soft and a bit effeminate. The best example I could give for reference would be to base his body type off of a pretty-boy type idol.

Of course, fanartists are perfectly free to continue drawing him however they please, but it should not be assumed that a Luo Binghe with bulky musculature, tanned skin, and sharp features is a canon-compliant depiction.

Luo Binghe is a pretty-boy.

[nekropsii]

hello oh great provider of art and analysis, do you have any tips on how to correctly analyse a character?

Funnily, I don't think there's a correct way to analyze media, but there are incorrect ways to do it. But my advice for sound analysis is as follows...

Look at Canon. Reference it as heavily as physically possible. Take into consideration who the author is, and what their intentions would be. Extradiegetic Analysis is extremely important. Commit to it. Do not pussyfoot around Extradiegetic Analysis. Take into consideration the story, its tone, who it's made for, who it is marketed towards, what messages it's trying to convey, how, and why. Use Occam's Razor heavily. Ground yourself, turn off "Fandom Brain", and your own personal headcanons. Remember that Characters are Plot Devices, not People- they are put in the story for a reason, and they serve a particular function within the narrative. Ask yourself what that reason is, and what that function is. It's important to get a firm grasp of the story and the characters in it before extrapolating. Ponder their relationships with themself, others, the world around them, their task at hand. Try to take into account framing, themes, motifs, and symbolism.

Grab anything that really stands out to you, see what you can do with it. Analyze why it stands out to you. Does it match your own personal experience in some way? Does it remind you of something else? Does it seem to be setting something up within the context of a story? Are the curtains blue for a reason? If not, should they be? What if they did? What function would that serve?

Analysis is largely asking questions and trying to answer them. Sometimes those questions are posed by the thing you're analyzing itself. Sometimes the question comes from your heart. Sometimes it emerges from something you've latched onto that isn't quite there - a blind spot in the narrative, missed potential, et cetera.

Again, Occam's Razor is your friend. Get very familiar with it. And... Do not consult Freud on anything. If you feel the impulse to consult Freudian analytical concepts without prompting from the narrative itself, that's the devil talking to you. Beat it to death immediately. We do not need Freudian analysis of children's cartoons. We literally do not need that. It will be wrong.

This is one I'm seeing more and more disregard for lately, especially with regards to minority headcanons... Consider the real-world implications of your analysis. I do not think it is very "woke" to headcanon unrepentant sexually abusive assholes as trans women, or characters who are known for their loudness, aggression, and abusive natures as Black. Consider optics for maybe, like, five seconds. Analysis is just as much an act of introspection as it is an act of dissecting a piece of fiction. You need to be able to ask yourself why you're seeing characters the way that you're seeing them. Sometimes that answer is latent bigotry. Unpack that. Work on it. Sometimes the answer is that the author is a bigot and trying to tell you something about the group of people a character is supposedly representative of. Acknowledge it. Unpack that. Work with it. And I mean that seriously- you cannot just skirt around bigotry without perpetuating the bigotry yourself. Analysis will, by way of the vulnerability of the practice, get uncomfortable at times. Be ready for that.

Think critically and think for yourself. A lot of people shoot themselves in the foot by being reactionary, and/or letting other people do the thinking for them. Again, analysis will get uncomfortable at times. It is vulnerable, introspective, and an act of challenging yourself and your worst habits. Commit to that.

Oh, and have fun. Yes, I just spent several paragraphs talking about how analysis is challenging and uncomfortable, but don't make yourself have a genuinely bad time on purpose. You truly do not need to give yourself an attack or episode for the sake of an internet post or something. Horror movie rules - know your limits and respect them.

That's all for now, I think. There's infinite nuance to this subject, but I believe this is a decent 101 post.

[sadlynojellybeans]

Please, imagine a post-TOA scenario in which Apollo manages to become Co-Director of CHB.

He can now spend as much time as he wants with the kids. Better even, he can share his passions with them, unbury his teacher abilities (coughGodofKnowledgecough) and combine his desire to share what he loves with his desire to help the demigods improve their lives. I bet he would introduce new music, art and poetry courses. He would help with archery lessons, but he could also help with other things. He is over 4600 years old. That is a lot of time to get good at or at least knowledgeable about things, even if they are not strictly part of his domains. Furthermore, I think he would simply be delighted to listen to the kids share their own passions.

Apollo would ask Harley about his creations, starting a passionate rant that ends up with the both of them in the forges and Apollo maiming a piece of metal, because he might be the god of arts and crafts but metalworking is not his thing.

Apollo would hear by chance the kids from the Aphrodite cabin either complaining about fashion or gossiping with each other and would not be able to resist joining the conversation. I imagine him and the kids having "girls' night" kind of meetings where they put on make up, nail polish, try on different outfits and complain to their heart's content about the silliest things.

I imagine Apollo, theatre kid supreme, deciding there needs to be a theatre course in CHB, and butting heads with Dyonisus because "What do you mean you what to teach them theatre, theatre is MY domain!". I imagine Dyonisus finally agreeing to co-teach because like Hades he is leaving Apollo in charge of a theatre production. I imagine Dyonisus seeing Apollo teach the kids for the first time (because of course up until then D tried to stay as far away from the demigods) and being shook to the core by how much Apollo cares, by the passion and attention he puts in everything. By how close he let himself become to the mortals (so stupid, he of all gods should know how it ends, how it always ends, even when tragedy does not cross their paths but their life just makes its natural course).

I imagine someone suggesting a musical for the next production and Apollo literally lighting up because that is a fantastic idea, all the while Dyonisus complains he will not stand for it (but is secretely pleased to see his brother so incandescently happy, especially after the difficulties of the last few years).

I imagine Apollo, sooner or later, coming up with the idea of adding philosophy classes (because apparently that's also part of his domains) and he starts all of them with apparently inane questions ("what is the best shape for potato chips?) that then devolve into deep discussions about the meaning of beauty, individuality and life once he keeps pushing the kids to explain themselves and their opinions.

I imagine the Hermes kids realising that Apollo has a tendency towards starting tangents and making up a game of seeing how far they can make him stray from the original topic of the class without him noticing. Once Dyonisus happens to pass by and asks why the hell they are talking about the cut of women's dresses in the 1400s when they were supposed to be learning beginner guitar. Apollo just stares at his brother for a moment, completely baffled, then looks at the kids around him, down at the guitar in his hands, and you can hear the gears turning in his mind, trying to figure out what happened. Even after he figures out, he keeps falling for it, because they are asking, it wouldn't be fair not to answer, especially when it's such a simple little, question... Eventually someone (probably a child of Athena) is put in charge of keeping him on track, to the great displeasure of Cabin 11.

Just imagine all of this. He is happy. He is with the people he loves, doing what he loves.

Life is good.

[eunkitarot]

Enhypen Jay ideal type please

Hi sure lets see the cards i pulled are:

6 of cups: for Jay, he seeks someone that is comforting to him. Someone when he is together with them he feels healed. Someone that has a youthful energy to them. A carefree vibe. This person may have a warm smile. He likes people who are kind-hearted. Jay also likes people who are simple all around. Maybe in the way they wear or their routine is simple. He likes someone that is not so picky or complicated.

I think this make sense with my tarot read of him as bf where he is fast in resolving problems. He likes to deal with it and move on. So if his ideal type is complicated and very nitpicky its going to make it difficult for him. So someone that is simple and understanding is what he likes.

The hanged man: i feel like his ideal type might be someone that is in the creative aspect when it comes to career. Anything that involves art ,design or crativity. With this card , Jay may find someone that is willing to stand apart from a crowd attractive. Maybe because not everyone have the courage to defy social norms. So when someone dares to stand out it shows bravery and having a backbone even when their own views can be unorthodox /unconventional.

Judgement: so again with this card , similar to the hanged man, Jay finds people who stand out attractive. Someone that is the catalyst for change in society. Their actions may impact people in a good way and inspire others to confront truths they may have ignored. For eg someone like Greta Thunberg or Malala Yousefzai. Someone that is brave to voice out and take actions so that other people will follow suit and not be a blind sheep.

Tbh im kinda shooketh that these eg are coming out but ofc this is jay, he is someone that is knowlegable and have this kinds of facts on his fingertips. While channeling his ideal type, a lot of fun facts kinda pop up in my head so yeah...

Eight of pentacles: Jay finds people with great work ethics attractive. Someone that is educated and have skills that they master in their craft. He likes when his partner is absorbed in their work and focused. Someone who commits wholeheartedly to their endeavors, constantly seeking to improve and perfect their skills is very admirable for Jay. So his Ideal type is someone that is a professional in their field of interest. I am getting like scientist or reaearchers could also be his type of people.

9 of swords: with this card his ideal type may be someone that works in high-pressure environments or deals with crisis management. Where stress and worry are prevalent. Their job may demand constant vigilance and problem-solving, which contributes to their state of mental overload. A profession where the stakes are high and the pressure is constant. So if his ideal type is someone that is about to change the world, obviously its going to be heavy on their shoulders.

So overall, he likes someone that is career oriented. And if that career influences people and able to change others lives for the better , thats is even more admirable to him. He feels that if everyone is a blind follower, the world could be a disaster. So once in a while humans should take control of their lives and find ways to make the earth a better place.

Help the ending is just taking me out. But honestly i understand what he meant.

Anyways i hope yall love this reading and dont forget to like💗

[illarian-rambling]

Character Introduction: Mashal, lucky number six

For a moment, Mashal wondered if a brief spring rain had passed overhead, turning the leaf litter glistening and wet. It wasn’t until the light from his eyes hit the shimmering ground that he realized all the moisture was red.

Strewn about in a fiendish halo were the remains of the two bandits. A hand here, a face there—less than mincemeat, really. He could see a leg crushed in the exact approximation of his jointed grip. Mashal felt as if vomit should have been flooding his mouth, but his only reaction was the faint whir of gears. Guts dripped from the trees…. Iron in his mouth….

“Mashal!”

The robot whirled toward the sound of Astra’s voice, heady and rich even when strained by terror. There was a prickling pressure around his eyes, though he didn’t know why.

“I–” He paused, trying to wipe the dirt from where it clogged his vocal output, but the joints of his hands were caked in a slurry of bone and gristle, trapping them in closed fists. That cold was back now, trapping him in its suffocating embrace. “I’m over here!”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Mashal regretted them. He was dangerous! He could still feel that icy voice slavering away in the back of his mind. Kill her, run, hide, anything, do whatever it takes!

Yet, words could not be unsaid. Faint it might have been, but Astra picked up on his voice and soon the witch pushed her way into the glade-turned-abattoir. Her piebald face was shadowed with fear and speckled with a bloody constellation of its own. It was her eyes though, that made Mashal take a step back, that made his excuse for a heart crumple in like tin foil. Because reflected in them was a shining devil, bathed in gore. Riveted and rusting, like some mechanical horror that had torn its way out of a man’s skin.

The sensation crept back in—the ice, the pain. I shouldn’t be feeling pain. The acid-needle ache in his arms and legs, his everything. It wasn’t a malfunction. Nothing ever is, ever was. Mashal felt sick as he looked down at his trapped hand. Hands that couldn’t be his.

No, no, the sensation was worse, so much worse. It was a memory.

So, I'm going to do this introduction a little backwards. Mashal's backstory contains some pretty big spoilers for the whole of Mystery of the Mortal God. Feel free to keep reading if you don't mind things like that, but you've been warned. The backstory will be at the very end.

I'll start with his personality. Mashal has no memories beyond waking up in Astra's wagon, so many of his quirks and habits are a mystery to him. He's a kindly, honorable man, with a strong sense of what's right and wrong, and a desire to protect people. Yet, he's not brash in the slightest. He's soft-spoken and appreciates even the smallest beauties in life. Probably, this is connected to his stellar artistic abilities. He enjoys listening to stories, hoping to one day be able to tell stories of his own.

Darker things lurk in his mind as well. It frightens him, how paranoid he can sometimes be around magic and its practitioners. It can also be alarming how certain he is in his morality. Mashal makes decisions based on what he knows to be right, sometimes to the detriment of those around him, especially when he doesn't understand the whole situation.

As for what he looks like, Mashal is a human-shaped robot standing at a towering 6'10". His face has some basic mobility (he can move his eyebrows, eyelids, and the corners of his mouth) but nothing special. His plating is bronze with steel underneath, and his eyes glow white. He wears loose-fitting, highly concealing clothes and a bandana over his head. These are usually patched, because he tears clothes easily. He covers as much bronze as he can due to a strange sort of robotic body dysmorphia.

Fun facts now!:

He's great with animals, especially horses, though no horse could support his weight for riding.

Graphite is his preferred medium, and landscapes are his preferred subject for art.

Despite his anxiety around it, Mashal is actually getting pretty good at picking up runes and mechanics.

He speaks Skysheerian Elvish and has no idea why.

He hates the rain because he's scared of rust and frightened of the sea because he knows he'll sink to the bottom with no way to get back up.

He has a bit of a stutter when he's nervous and his voice tends to go a little static-filled.

He's very curious about Unitian-made robots who were raised around other robots.

His hypothetical favorite food is honey. He just likes the way it looks.

He once scratched the paint job on Astra's wagon, painted it back in the night, and never told her. This is the one time he's ever lied to her and he feels terrible about it.

He teaches Mercher's Day (a fat tortoiseshell cat) tricks when Astra is asleep.

Now's where we get into the meat of things. Spoilers will follow.

Sir Mashal Darezsho was born in the Sulu'Okan city of Bouerco as the second son of the noble Darezsho line. With his older brother taking care of the whole heir thing, young Sir Darezsho was allowed to do as he pleased. Most thought he would go the path of the scholar due to his modest sorcerous talent, however, the young man was enraptured by the sword from the moment he was allowed to hold one. When he was sixteen, he enrolled in officer training for the Sulu'Okan army, the fiercest fighting force within the Republic's grander military. When he was twenty, he was knighted by High Lady Zuli N'Jogu herself.

Sir Darezsho served his people by protecting the roads between Sulu'Oku and Skolan with both sword and sorcery. The borderlands is a crime-ridden area, so he had his work cut out for him between bandits and selkie raiders. Thanks to the efforts of him and his company of fellow knights though, the borderlands became a marginally safer place to travel through. He ensured that they all upheld the Sulu'Okan military code of honor to the utmost degree.

Things changed with Sir Darezsho when he accepted a small assignment in the border town of Bekridge. An alchemical distillery had been experiencing a string of thefts and wanted someone to investigate. Thinking the job would involve scaring off a petty thief at most, Sir Darezsho went to stake the place out alone. This mistake would cost him his life.

That night, a door appeared from thin air and a figure stepped out, a half-moon grin glowing from under a shadowed cowl. Sir Darezsho tried to fight, but he was no match for the powerful sorcerer. Vermir spirited him away into her demiplane. And there was where Sir Darezsho died.

Mashal wakes up some time after this. All he knows is his name and that he is lost. And that his metal body feels so terrible cold. He just wishes he knew why....

Hope you all enjoy my sweetheart robot! Lmk if you have any questions. Next up will be blueboy, Ivander Montane!

@amandacanwrite @elsie-writes @riveriafalll @kosmic-kore @kaylinalexanderbooks @bard-coded @carrotsinnovember @patternwelded-quill @somethingclevermahogony @whatwewrotepodcast @goldxdarkness @the-angriest-author @mk-writes-stuff

[styrmwb]

I beat Chrono Trigger

And I beat it like, nearly entirely unspoiled too. For the longest time Chrono Trigger was "The most Styrm game Styrm has never played" and I felt silly cause my super cool ADHD brain never decided it was gonna decide to play it until now (I also had to get it done before FFVII rebirth or it was NEVER gonna happen lmfao) So like, what are my onions?

The game's so fucking good, it stands up so incredibly well that I regret not getting to it sooner. The music, the story, the gameplay, the art (backgrounds and spritework), every single part of this game I absolutely adored. I can MAYBE think of like 2 things I would have changed about the game but they're so minor.

Characters

I loved every single party member. The ones with character felt so alive and enjoyable, and the ones that didn't really have much character were super fun to use in battle. Crono MIGHT be one of the most broken JRPG protags I've played as; I gave him a counter item for the whole game and he would constantly attack with high crits. Marle is one of my favorite characters; being all adventurous and shit, rejecting the stuffiness of royal society but like, not NOT caring? I like it. Plus she was instrumental in having me not die lmfao. Lucca had a really great character arc with Robo and her mother, and blowing shit up was super fun. Speaking of, Robo deserves the entire world; I would die for him. Unfortunately he didn't get as much use in my playthrough as I would have wanted, but I still dearly care for him. Ayla was a powerhouse even though i completely neglected her thief mechanic, and despite her caveman speak and relative lack of goal compared to the cast, I really appreciated her presence as I almost felt like she was a pillar For the rest of the cast. Magus was hype. I'll describe thoughts later down the list, but for his gameplay his magic annihilated battles, and the dude pretty much solo'd the Lavos boss rush. Finally; Frog. The absolute best character in the game. His design? Creative. His story? Heartbreaking yet heroic. His gameplay? Essential. I loved Frog from the moment I saw him and he was with me through thick and thin. Something I really appreciated was that HE got Masamune rather than Crono. Sure, Crono is the main character, but Frog is the hero. I love my amphibious mans.

Lavos is super cool to me. It's not really a character (but kinda is?) and more like a force of nature. I also think it's kinda conceptually funny that the main villain of this classic game is the meteor that killed the dinosaurs. I don't think I FULLY understood what it truly was, but it's a concept that I very much enjoyed.

Overall, all of the characters in this game are great. Everyone has a role, everyone is enjoyable in their own way, and I really love seeing how the time travel aspect would let you see fates of characters and their role in history.

Gameplay

I loved the lack of random battles. Every battle felt planned and like its own individual puzzle, especially with the positioning gimmick; what enemies get hit by what abilities, how do I avoid hitting this enemy with the element that heals them with my super strong AoE ability. The idea of dual and triple techs enhanced this further: am I gonna use individual turns for heals or am I gonna just have Crono and Ayla fuckin decimate the entire area?

The aspect of time travel felt overall very well used. Past experiences affecting the future, but things in the future not affecting backwards; it feels like it should be obvious it works that way but it just felt like, well executed. this paragraph proves i need to get better at writing cause ultimately I just said I liked it

I also feel like the whole beginning section with the fair leading to the trial really makes you think harder about what to pay attention to and what matters: it teaches well without shoving it in your face. Might just be because I play a lot of RPGs and this is an older one, but I was able to discern the knowledge i needed easily.

Story

So to clarify here, I know there are multiple endings, but I got two; the Die To Lavos Ending not sure why i got this one nope and the real ending; I tried to do everything that I possibly could, so that was my experience.

It's great. I kinda loved how it was less a "party vs a bad time man" and more of a "party vs a natural calamity": I feel like that's not done often in games, there's usually a big bad (which I don't hate!) but it was a nice change of pace. I absolutely loved how each timeline had its own individual struggles, and the nature of time travel made them flow together very well in small ways (like defeating Magus makes Ozzie the worshipped one). Being able to go into it unspoiled really improved the huge moments, like Magus and Crono's big events (not gonna say in case there's someone like me out there), and I very much enjoyed guessing what would be next and what would affect what.

The Only Major issue I have is the 3 party limit, and character dialogue being locked to who you have. I feel like there would have been some really cool moments had everyone been there, like the campfire scene where everyone got their time.

Music

I mean, it's peak. I've already heard some of Mitsuda's work in later games, but hearing him here do (pretty much) the whole soundtrack was just a treat to my ears. The main theme is stuck playing in my head daily. The overworld and cutscene songs I think are where it shines, although I did really like the battle songs as well. and as always shoutouts to Uematsu we love that man.

Art

Again, a short section, but this game is beautiful, and I could tell that a lot of the techniques they used felt advanced for the time, like the time travel effect, or the car race; the spritework felt bouncy and alive, the backgrounds were beautifully detailed (Like Magus's Castle holy shit), and the entire game was a joy to look at.

Unspoiled

So yeah, I beat this game unspoiled somehow. I knew a couple characters like Crono and Lavos (the fact that they Existed), I've seen some backdrops like the campfire and Masamune in its sheath, and I've heard some songs; but other than that, I didn't know anything!

(warning for spoilers if you are like me and have gotten unspoiled don't read this)

Like I said in the story, it was really fun to figure out how things would be affected by the nature of time travel, naturally figuring out side quests like Fiona, and being hit by moments that I never would have expected. I didn't think my actions at the fair would affect anything until I saw the trial which made me question everything (I'm sorry old man for eating your lunch) (twice). I remember getting what i thought was the full party cause that's what the box art was, until I noticed what I thought was a 7th party member slot, leading me to wonder when this person would join and who it is; discovering Antiquity (also a surprise to me) convinced me that the person was here, and then that said person was Boy with cat that said I was gonna die, and lo and behold I was right! But not in the way that I thought. Seeing Magus be the final member was incredibly rewarding, and I probably wouldn't have gotten him if I didn't get reality checked by my actions mattering in the trial (although I do wish he had some more party interactions and dialogue). Also close to this: I did not know Crono STRAIGHT UP dies. Like, OBVIOUSLY he was gonna come back, right? But to have that happen to your main character? Felt revolutionary for the time. Didn't think Lavos was gonna be like, a humanoid creature, and I ESPECIALLY didn't think it was gonna have a phase 2.

(ok spoilers over)

Final

I could not be happier with my experience for this game. I can absolutely see why it is considered a masterpiece, and it's clearly going to stick with me for a good long while, the rest of my life, even. My negatives are incredibly minor, really only wanting more party dialogue and interactions (and to remove Golem FUCK that fight lmfao), and for that, I can probably consider it one of my favorite RPGs.

10/10, thanks for reading my ramblings if you did.

[adobe-outdesign]

Can we get a review of Tinkaton and her line since there’s scans of its sugi art floating around now? I love the murder muppets

The Tinkatink line is honestly one of the best lines in terms of overall concept we've gotten in a while. "Small cute Pokemon with hammer" isn't really that remarkable on its own, but the fact that they're part fairy-type and go from being bullied by steel-types to making their hammer out of their body parts and using said hammers to attack them is absolutely incredible. It not only lends to some great worldbuilding (like how Corviknight aren't used for flying taxis in Paldea because Tinkaton keep launching rocks at them), but throughly explains why they have their object and where they get it from, something Pokemon holding objects sometimes struggle with.

Tinkatink itself is fine, looking appropriately pathetic and being a fun little abstract gremlin. I really like how the future hammer is only a nub in this stage; it looks somewhat hammer-y but also resembles a rattle, giving it a slightly baby-ish vibe without going overboard with it.

Visually, I like the super funky mouth (Forretress, eat your heart out). However, I do think the colors are a bit weird; pink on Slightly Lighter pink makes for barely-visible shading, and it's strange that the hair is like half pink and half cream rather than it just being all cream like its evos.

I'm also not a huge fan of the metal diamond on the chest. It's really weird that it goes down past the start of the legs and above the neck; it creates a lot of weird tension points and overall looks way to big relative to the rest of the body. The eyes also look weirdly flat, mostly because the line for the highlights is diagonal instead of curved. It's got the right idea, but could've been refined a bit.

Tinkatuff comes dangerously close to bland transitional middle evo, but I think it just barely scrapes by. This is mostly because of the hair style (ponytail instead of longer hair), the hands being all-pink without the cream of Tinkaton, and the in-progress hammer.

I do think it could've been visually differentiated a bit more however. Tinkatuff has the same metal bits around its waist as Tinkaton, just less of them; it could've easily had metal "boots" or bracers; something that's substantially different than the other stages. I also feel like the legs could've had some cream on them, or the hair to be rounded at the base instead of zig-zagged; once again, just stuff to differentiate it a bit more.

I also wonder if they could've done something more fun with the hammer at this point. It doesn't really look like it should be able to hit things with it at this stage, and while I get the idea of it being "built up", I feel like it could've been a bit less literal about it. Maybe the hammer is more of a baseball bat at this stage; some other blunt-force weapon that makes sense in-between that could be something unique for Tinkatuff to own. None of this is a huge deal obviously—it's not bad as is—it just would've helped to make it stand out a bit more on its own.

All that said, I have virtually no quibbles with Tinkaton's design. The stupidly oversized hammer is delightful, and I love the shape of it and how you can clearly tell it's cobbled together out of a bunch of different parts. I also like how the metal bits around the waist resemble blacksmithing tools, appropriate for its concept.

Tinkaton also has a lot more cream in its design than its pre-evos, which work to break up the body. This is also helped by the zig-zag markings in the hair, which are paralleled by the top of the hammer. The shape of the hair also gives a more unique silhouette than Tinkaton's otherwise very simple body would allow for.

If I had one minor nitpick, it would be that the thumbs being pink feels a bit random and makes them feel disconnected from the rest of the hands; it probably would've made more sense for them to either be cream or have all the fingers be pink-tipped for consistency. Everything else, however, looks solid.

Overall, while there are a few small things I think could've been improved with the pre-evos, this is a very strong line with unique visuals and a brilliant concept. Instantly iconic.

[free-and-to-none-accountable]

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Jean-Carl Elliott

Growing the IWW isn’t just about increasing the size of our membership, it’s also about increasing its depth. Part of “building the new world in the shell of the old” entails developing the people who will be able to run it once it’s built. We aren’t simply signing up workers from our jobs and industries for their dues. We are signing them up to make them into Wobblies! Being a Wobbly means that we know where we stand in the class struggle, we know the lessons learned from those who struggled before us, and we stand in solidarity with other Wobblies who are continuing the struggle today. Being a Wobbly isn’t just about having a Red Card, it’s about leveling each other up! I’ve met so many Wobblies throughout the years who sign a Red Card and then don’t know what to do next. Without a sense of direction, our members tend to gravitate towards other activist groups or they leave the union altogether. We want to keep workers involved and to give them a sense of purpose in the IWW. This article will be part of a series on how to level up your IWW membership. In this first edition, we’ll cover some ways that individual Wobblies can increase their participation in the One Big Union through developing their skills as workplace organizers. Future editions will focus on branches, committees, and other parts of the union. If you think of some additions to these lists, write them up and send them to Industrial Worker!

Take an Organizer Training

The IWW has two Organizer Trainings: the OT101 and the OT102. In the OT101, trainees learn the basic techniques of starting a workplace organizing committee.  The committee meets regularly and plans direct actions on the job to build power and address grievances. The training is revised every few years based on the experiences of IWW organizers. We keep the stuff that is working and change the stuff that has been falling short. It’s also a really great way to get in touch with other Wobblies who are organizing their workplaces. 

The 102 builds off of the 101. Once you have a committee up and running, you’ll need to learn how to sustain it. Business unions will usually start a committee and then once it’s up and running, they will petition the employer for recognition or they will file for a union election with the government. The IWW is a revolutionary union though. We don’t need or want the government to intervene in order to provide stability. We maintain our momentum through practicing better internal democracy and through recruiting more workers to take part in bigger workplace actions. You should take the 102 early on because it gets more into the details of practicing direct democracy, escalating direct actions, and sustaining your committee. It’s important to incorporate healthy committee practices and strategic planning at the early stages of a campaign. Our greatest weapon is solidarity and these trainings teach the nuts and bolts of Solidarity Unionism.

Start Organizing Your Workplace

There are all sorts of benefits that you and the union can get from organizing your own workplace, even if you just take the initial steps. When you start building good organizing habits, they will start to come more naturally over time. Getting people’s contact information will feel less awkward and you will start drawing your maps in more detail. One-on-one conversations with coworkers will flow more smoothly the more practice you get. And so even if you only make a small amount of progress at one job, you can build off of that experience at future jobs. 

Take Another Training

No two trainings are ever the same! Each time, you will be learning from different trainers and with a different set of trainees. They all bring unique training styles and organizing stories. And let’s be honest with ourselves: each training is 16 hours worth of material. We are never gonna memorize it all after one take, or even two for that matter. Take lots of trainings and have fun with them!

Become a Trainer

Organizer Trainers are credentialed by the union to give our official trainings. You can draw from your experiences to give a personal touch to your trainings. It can be inspiring for trainees to hear personal stories from the front lines, even if it is just you showing a map or social chart from one of your workplaces. When you become an IWW trainer, you will be paired up with other trainers to do trainings and so you get to learn from their teaching styles and experiences. It’s a great way to learn new lessons and to pass along your learning experiences in the union.

The Organizer Training Committee (OTC) can train you to be an OT101 Trainer, an OT102 Trainer and a Training For Trainers (T4T) Trainer. There’s a leveling up system for trainers as well. First off, you can’t become a trainer unless you have taken the training. So in order to become a 101 Trainer, you should have taken the training a few times and put it to use in your own workplace. Same for the 102 and to be a T4T Trainer. At the end of each T4T, you will be reviewed by your trainers and they will decide if and how you will be credentialed. 

At each T4T, you will learn some new training techniques, but it is assumed that you are coming in with some familiarity with the curriculum. This is why it’s good to have taken the training a few times and to have gained some first hand organizing experience. Don’t worry about knowing every single detail; you will get a better grasp the more trainings you do, and when you start as a trainer you will be paired with a more experienced trainer. On the flipside however, if your trainers don’t think you are ready, they aren’t obligated to credential you and they might recommend you go to another training and take another T4T.

Keep Organizing!

The more we organize and train other Wobblies to organize, the better organizers and trainers we become. Sometimes a campaign might only get so far as being able to draw up a social chart, but then you can use that social chart when you train other IWW members to do it! Maybe you participated in a direct action that flopped. You can turn that into a learning experience by debriefing with your coworkers or by writing about it. The more we learn to tackle the smaller hurdles, the better prepared we are to take on the next ones and to bring more Wobblies with us. Keep fighting the good fight and never stop leveling up!

[the-owl-tree]

kind of unfortunate that i keep hearing the g5 series isn't quite as good narrative cohesion wise as the movie, but also g4 was pretty bad towards the end, so maybe some of the problems from the end of that era carried over. I always expect the jump form movie to tv show to come with some down grades with things like art and what not but I feel like they also aren't using the 3d medium well enough. Idk, what do you think abt the differences between the movie and the show?

G4 took a bit of a messy turn (*looks at my rewrite* i could fix you i COULD FIX YOU-) but i feel like it did ultimately try and change meaningfully with the times....which is why it was such a bad call for G5 to so heavily intertwine itself with the lore of G4, it just undoes a lot and instead of being a love letter to G4, it ends up just sort of....being a poor sequel that kicks its predecessor in the teeth. If you wanna do a proper G4 sequel, should have made some of the mane six not ponies but that's besides the point lol

I like that the movie can stand on its own without G4, it's a middling kid's film to me but you know, it has that at least. I actually like how the 3D looks, I remember the rendered poses looked kind of...off, a bit too stubby and not stylized in a way that it worked like they did in G4. But once they got moving, it looked great! The fur rendering is cute and the style grew on me. I gotta agree that i wouldn't have done 3D for the mainline series, seeing as how the 2D YouTube series ended up being able to put out more content than the actual show. i also would not have cast a bunch of celebrities you couldnt get for the main show why does this keep happening it's always distracting when the va has to impersonate the one-off movie celebrity you brought in

that was a mess of thoughts lol i guess i just sort of find g5 to be a mess of ideas that it needs to get more confident in exploring. no more twilight! no more spike! just your new cast!

[sarnai4]

More Than Just Laughs

Something I love about ATLA is its handling of the characters. One of my favorites from it (and that's saying a lot since I enjoy so many) is Sokka. (Spoilers ahead)

Very easily, he could've been just the comedic relief. I've seen characters where they exist to make a joke and for no other reason. If they were real people, you'd probably try to have them go get therapy because clearly, joking is their coping mechanism for everything. Sokka's not like that. Sure, he's funny, but he's also the team leader. I do not think I have ever seen a show/movie/read a book where the main comedic relief is also the group leader. I love that. It's so unique. Automatically, it sets him up as more than someone you're not supposed to take seriously because you are supposed to take him seriously. He's in charge of this group of people who are going to stop the world from being burnt to ashes. On top of it, he's genuinely a good leader. It's not one of those times where the characters keep telling you someone can lead. Sokka has proven his skill with various plans like on the day of black sun and at Boiling Rock to name a couple.

One of the best episodes for Sokka was "Jet." I enjoyed that because it gave a contrast to their leadership styles and tested the Water Tribe boy. Everyone there thought Jet was the better leader. He seemed more commanding, he was cool, he could fight, etc., but Sokka was able to still come out on top and save innocent lives even when his own sister didn't believe him.

Sokka is just so smart too. Outside of plans, he's great with inventions (it's okay that he has 0 art skills. Not everyone needs those) and offers a nice pragmatic viewpoint for the group. He's a realist with what they should and can do. A very cool/hard moment from him to me was in the final episodes while they're training with the Melon Lord. Even though it's just a melon, he demonstrates a willingness to get the job done and kill if it means more lives will be saved in the process. This isn't standard of a "joke character." Yet, Sokka can pull it all off without something seeming forced.

Sokka can be this goofy guy who is higher than the clouds on cactus juice without it seeming weird for him. His luck is terrible and we can laugh at that, him becoming the butt of the joke.

Then, we can also see Sokka really trying to figure out his skills and his place on the team in terms of combat. Him learning from Master Piandao was amazing. He's been this cocky kid so much, but he truly was humble here and it's why he was trained. Sokka still was by no means a master swordsman, but he did what he had to do to get better and be able to protect his friends.

Sokka is also a good big brother. I think people forget about his protective some because Katara is such a master, but I think it says something that the only time he really got aggressive with Aang was after he burned Katara. Besides that, it was great to watch him go from an ignorant, sexist guy to someone who could rely and be relied on by such amazing female characters. The moment of him standing up for Katara in "The Painted Lady" was an underrated sweet moment too.

Also, let's not forget that Combustion Man died because of Sokka's AMAZING aim with that boomerang. Again, he's cool with killing if it'll help.

I mean, maybe we should be concerned by that smile...but it's Sokka. Can't stay disturbed by him for long. He's great. Just ask Suki.

[fandomsoda]

Ok so let me start off by saying that this post is probably gonna be very clunky simply due to the fact that I’m addressing a two day old situation and I’m doing so without it being directly prompted,, please bear with me.

So, late Tuesday night an anon expressed concerns over the ways that I’ve brushed over the topic of aromanticism in the past, expressing that I only ever seemed to mention partnering aros and that it came off as if I was saying all of that only in service of shipping. These things of course are not things I intended, but are not unfounded claims nonetheless.

My initial response to that ask was definitely not great, I came off as very customer service-y and expressed that I felt as if it was exaggerated (simply due to the way it was phrased as “constantly”). It didn’t help that it was like 11 pm and for some reason my dumb ass didn’t actually go back and look through stuff, purely going off my notoriously bad memory.

Needless to say, this wound up coming off as dismissive and insufficient, and thus I’m making this post now as I have processed everything and want to give the proper actual respose (and in a sense, apology) that this situation is deserving of.

After going back through past posts, while definitely far from constant, I have been able to observe that whenever aromanticism was brought up I definitely had a really bad tendancy of only mentioning partnering aros and it definitely came off as scummy now that I look back at it. This was never something I consiously did, but it was shitty and potentially harmful nonetheless and should have been something I was being more aware about. I’ve already been trying to boost aromantic voices lately since the Valentine season’s been around, but doing that and centering non-partnering aros especially is going to be top priority from here on out.

Now let me real quick circle back around and address the shipping bit, as that’s like its whole own thing-

Now I definitely stand by the fact that I was never only talking about stuff in service of a ship, at least not consiously, but the topic often came up in reference to or alongside shipping and thus I acknowledge that that extrapolation is not at all a difficult one to make. And the fact that I even acted in a way that resembled that is not good.

And discussions with my friends have brought to my attention that I have not been making a number of things nearly clear enough and that whole mess is entirely on me so let’s get some things straight-

First of all, due to the more fluid attitude I’ve seen a lot of people have towards it, I never realized just how strictly romantic most people view shipping. Maybe I’m just a little bit dense but for the longest time, the term “ship” being used in a more platonic sense seemed more common than it actually is. And for the longest time, I’ve viewed shipping simply as “I think these characters have a nice dynamic and that they should be affectionate with one another”. But it has been a violent wakeup call recently that that is far from the most common thought process.

And in this I’ve come to realize that I’ve not been clarifying or establishing the fact that most if not all my ships are queerplatonic in some fashion because romance is a concept I’ve never fully grasped (not gonna go too deep into that here though, my weird perception of relationships is a topic for another day-). And things involving aro characters have especially always been queerplatonic in my mind.

I have not been nearly as clear enough about that as I should be and have failed to mention or establish that as much as I should. So from here on out, im going to be much more clear about that to avoid future misunderstanding or sending the wrong message.

It should also probably be noted that it’s very hard to convey these things given the type of art I do. I don’t properly write nor do longform comics, so it’s much harder to convey the internal complexities of things in the simple individual pieces my art often is.

Characters are also often left unpaired and single in my mind, but once again these types of things are hard to convey visually and the bonds between characters usually inspire art more often.

So most of this has just been a matter of “it’s all been up in my head but my ability to convey it or actually make content of it has been extremely lacking”. And again, in a sense, that’s on me.

Overall I know my handling of this situation has been incredibly scuffed from an outside view, for a lot of this I’ve been just very confused and all over the place so the few things I have said have been poorly summarized and basically just me completely tripping over myself. I’ve been processing things and getting things in order privately though, as you can probably tell. And in that I have come to the conclusion that I must take accountability for my actions as it is truly the only correct course of action here. I’m sorry to those this whole mess has upset, I hope this post is enough to explain everything.

I’m not super certain how to end this off but that’s about it, please let me know of any futher concerns. I’m genuinely sorry for all this mess.

[solarwynd]

https://www.tumblr.com/solarwynd/736542748902080512/this-still-interests-me-a-lot-because-he-said

if its not as ballad-ish as the “cover art”* suggests its most likely hip-hop or r&b based on the producer’s previous work. I would LOVE for it to be r&b (check out lucky daye’s f**kin sound and teyana taylor’s shoot it up both by the same prod) but its probably more likely to be hip-hop based on jimin’s taste and his work on face. i know this is a divisive statement in the pjm community lol but i really hope he’s not rapping in it 🥶

i just don’t think it favors him at all. with SMF, from a production standpoint its a masterpiece, but i never really got into the rap verses bc of both the lyrics and the vocal production. i get the use of the autotune both technically and narratively, but its just not a good fit for his voice imo.

*i say “cover art” bc smth about it is off, its not clapped in the typical hybe way lol as a graphic design enthusiast, it does look like someone put very different elements together in picsart in under 5 mins. still better than the average tacky hybe artwork though 🤷🏽‍♀️

Jimin’s very versatile in his music. Each song on face was a different genre and even with smf2 it wasn’t rigid hip hop. He still put his own flair on it and that’s what I like about his art. Your view on smf2 is fair I mean listening to it the first time the rap part with the auto tune portion did throw me off at first. I just wasn’t expecting it, but it doesn’t bother me. So i’m in the “fine with it” camp. It’s okay to not vibe with it, it’s okay to think it’s good. They’re all opinions. Only thing that annoys me are the people who do the most with pointing out how much they hate it cause it’s just not that deep.

Also I think jimin favors smf2 as a song and what it stands for, not so much that his taste lies with hip hop. Don’t think we should judge the next single or any other rap forward song he might do based on smf2 because that single nor the others will sound like that. They’ll all have their own style. But like you said, the producer’s repertoire is rnb and rap so chances are it could be that because you go to who specializes in something if you want something similar. He could also just be utilizing highlights of the producer’s production skills to lend it to a song that’s a hybrid like pop/rnb or ballad/rnb for example. Which leads me into the topic of jimin being great at melodic rapping. You see it scattered throughout bts’ discography and even that one part in face-off. I’d honestly be interested to see him tackle that more.

A direction I could see him possibly going in is dominic fike. The dance cover he did to his song “phone numbers.” And I think one of the producers he got pinged to work with worked on that and my favorite song of his “mona lisa.” too. Tbh we’ll never be able to pinpoint exactly what the songs jimin puts out will sound like cause he doesn’t have a fixed sound.

As for the cover art, haven’t seen it so I can’t form an opinion on it. It sounds like the cover for “come back home” from what you described though and that one was a choice that cost energy lol. But I mean as long as the song hits the cover art isn’t really a concern to me.

[girlautism]

hi valen its hana can i still get a bandori card + essay or has the offer expired

HANAAAA this is so exciting for no reason LOL OKAY. i believe a little bandori propaganda wont hurt anyone. everyone should play bandori it has lesbianism and found family amd GAMBLING BY GACHA

whats there not to love....anyway im giving u....TWO kin assignments. And the first one...one of the highest honors i can bestow onto you. One of my top 5 fav bandori characters which is lisa imai. she really loves gyaru and fashion in general and she also really loves amigurumis but she denies it bcs she feels like it doesnt fit her whole cool charismatic persona LOL. shes really niceys. from the wikia: Lisa is a friendly and lively girl who appears mature and calm. Despite her appearance, Lisa acts as the mediator in tense situations, and takes care of everyone well. It's because of her that Roselia (the band shes in) is able to continue to stick together despite the contrasting members personalities and disagreements at times. She often chides the others if she feels necessary, bringing balance to the group.

Lisa is very caring in nature, and is able to notice when a friend is troubled, usually being the first to try and help. She does her best to do what she can, sometimes to a fault, where she'll put her all into something regardless of her own feelings. Adding to her caring nature, she sometimes calls herself an "onee-san", but the other characters have also compared her to a mother at times.

Despite her skills and proficiency as a bassist Lisa believes she is the least skilled member of Roselia, and can get quite sentimental at times as well. She easily cries when her friends, or especially Yukina, reaffirm just how much she is needed in the band or in general. However as time goes on, she becomes more confident and is able to call herself a proud member of Roselia.

some of my fave cards of hers (theres a lot more cards i love of her her cards just tend to be so so pwetty....)

And the second one is nanami hiromachi:3 shes SO silly shes in a horror research club at her highschool but all they do is watch horror movies rlly...shes so silly that she thinks shes TOO silly and is shy abt it. THE tism is strong in this one....And shes PINK how fitting is that. anyway from the wikia: It is due to her parents' odd nature that Nanami yearns to be a normal girl, as she believes that being normal is the only way to make and keep friends. However, because she inherited their intellect, talent, and artistic skills, people have had high expectations of her. As a result, others were jealous of her and she had no friends at all, especially when she won an art contest in middle school. This isolation resulted in her deciding to hide her talented and genius nature. She joined Morfonica because of the popularity of the girls' band trend, believing that way she'll be able to finally become normal. Nanami is a somewhat peculiar girl who longs to be normal, and constantly wonders whether the things she does or says are normal. She worries about standing out and hides her true self in order to blend in. Due to the fact that she hasn't had many friends, Nanami has no idea how to stop people when they argue and such, was even willing to search the internet for a guide for that.

Though she hides it, she gets excellent grades, has great artistic skill, and is a bit of a prodigy. She tends to brush her achievements off with phrases like "it was just a coincidence" or "this is nothing special". Adding to her genius nature, she is able to do things just with a bit of research on the internet, such as arranging songs or making accessories for the band's outfits. While pursuing the "normalcy" she yearns for, Nanami has sometimes ended up doing things that are hard to achieve normally or aren't regarded as normal, such as getting an average grade on all of her tests.

And my favorite cards of her of course...

I actually have the pond one i saved up for SO LONG to get her....And she came home....AHEEM...my silly genius he/she....

[animehouse-moe]

Ranking of Kings Season 2 Episode 8: Kage's Yearning | A Great Mother

This is a filler anime. This is a filler anime. I have to remind myself of that. That this season is just back stories and side stories that flesh out the world. But it's out here literally changing entire art and animation styles for the sake of an episode. Absolutely incredible. And I want to talk about it.

Now I don't want to be mean or anything, but the first half/A part of the episode is sort of "as expected" in comparison to the second half. It's story isn't bad, nor is its direction or storyboarding or animation poor either. In fact, it ties in wonderfully with the latter half, as both stories examine the importance of parents and dreams, though in different forms.

The first part is all about Kage wanting to grow up to being a law abiding and pure hearted knight. However, due to his clan's history he's unable to experience that joy and excitement with other kids his age, instead he's left to hide in corners as they play knight and chase him down (a bit of a grim callback to his mother's death).

However, that bitterness doesn't stop Kage from dreaming, and I really love this scene where you can see the stars reflected in his eyes. Feels like a bit of symbolism for how full of life and potential kids can be.

Anyways, push comes to shove and Kage ends up standing up for someone else at in important time, like a knight should, and he gets rewarded by a knight stepping in to save him. It brings the story full circle and allows Kage to express his desire to become a knight to his mother. It's a really endearing moment, and carries strong emotions as his mother's overwhelmed with how strongly Kage wants to be a good person in spite of his clan's nature and past.

Which in turn leads to this last piece from the first part, which was just so amazing. His mother is staying up late at night working away on creating a toy horse for him to play with, and it's just so full of warmth and heart alongside her wish for Kage growing up.

Anyways, onto the B Part!

Man, this was incredible. Right off the bat the art style change is noticeable as they go for that style that pins pieces together to create movement through rotation. A very typical style for telling fairy tales, and I absolutely adore it.

Now, this second part follows a sort of similar story to Kage's A Part. Though, rather focusing on the child, it focuses on the parent. Namely in how Bosse and Shiina want to change and grow as people as they've found a new reason to get stronger in their son Bojji. I think it's really great to see them relinquish their pursuit of violent strength for something more constructive, and it's a really easy allegory for the importance of using strength for others rather than yourself.

Anyways, in terms of specific stuff I liked from this part, I loved this two shot piece of Bosse and Bojji. Originally, Bosse feels guilt and remorse for the curse placed on his son, and for his own violent ways, so he shies away from making contact with Bojji. But down the road Bosse does the right things, attempts to rectify his character, and in doing so finds the courage to be able to show his son how much he loves him.

Also, I really like how they use scale through both halves of this episode. With each you get a lot of low and high angle shots that establish the scale of each character in comparison to their environments, and it flows quite well from one episode to the other.

And last but not least, I love this scene from Shiina and Bosse about Bojji. The amount of love that parents exhibit in this episode is just so heartwarming. The utter faith and confidence they have in their children achieving their dreams and living how they want is so inspiring.

So there you have it. Incredible cute and incredibly important episode about the love that parents share for their children, and how experiencing that love can shape both parent and child alike. WIT continues to kill it with each and every episode, putting on a clinic for what the standard "filler" episode should be.

[super-ion]

Writing some backstory for my D&D character and it kinda got away from me

Setting belongs to @sunnylucy31 (with a couple of my own head canons for some minor details)

~~~

An icy wind whipped over the Cryptfloe tundra. The twisted stunted trees that sparsely dotted the plains did nothing to stop it so it cut like icy knives. Worse, it brought the faintest stench of rot.

It was not yet mid-spring, but Artemisia had overheard the rangers speaking of an early thaw. This far north, there should have been little to fear from roving undead, otherwise they wouldn't have sent three students on patrol with one of the rangers.

The Frostborn prided themselves on being poets and scholars, trading more in song and knowledge than the material wealth of their lumber and coal. Kofar itself was so isolated, there was little need for any sort of standing army, a point of pride among the ivory tower types who dwelled in Whitespire. Beyond the city walls, beasts and monsters still dwelt among the mountains and the forest and the occasional undead creature made its way across the Cryptfloe. A loosely organized volunteer force of rangers patrolled the lands. It was a difficult, thankless job, but it was necessary.

Service assignments were one of the prices of education in the Frostlands. Everybody worked, everybody contributed. The work was meant to keep scholars humble and keep the skalds in touch with the common people. Some assignments were certainly cushier than others. Some assignments they reserved for particularly troublesome students.

She could endure this. She had to. She was going to be a skald and she was going to travel the world.

She was freezing her ass off.

Artemisia pulled her cloak tighter around her and her tail miserably as she trudged onwards. Instead of grand far off fantasies, she shifted her focus to imagining the warm meal waiting for her back at the outpost. If she played her cards right, she might be able to enjoy a warm body too.

Her gaze drifted to Valoshar. The ranger was half orc, tall and powerfully built. She had spied him in the saunas on the second day of her exile to the tundra and had been slowly probing his defenses. Intuition told her that she couldn't just throw herself at his feet, he had too much self respect and likely had all manner of folk clamoring for his attention with each batch of students that were sent out here. No, if she wanted it, she had to work fort it. So she had contented herself with long game. The best part was he was definitely on to her little game and might even be playing along. Their slow dance of seduction was the only thing that made this sojourn almost tolerable. It was a good distraction and gods above and below, it would be so worth it. Oh, to finally feel those tusks brush roughly against her lips and… elsewhere… it would be-

"I fucking hate this," Eriem muttered for the hundredth time, shattering her fantasy.

The half-elf had done nothing but complain since they had gotten here.

"Yeah, well," Artemisia replied spitefully. "If somebody hadn't been caught stealing from the kitchens, we might have been sent somewhere more pleasant."

"Anyone could have been caught," Eriem protested.

Artemisia scoffed.

"You were bumbling around like an owlbear. It's like you wanted to get caught."

"And I suppose you wouldn't have?" he snipped.

"Oh please," she replied. "I was stealing from my father's kitchen as soon as I could walk. There's an art to it."

"Then why are you out here stumbling around in the snow like the rest of us?"

"Because I'm cursed to associate with morons and idiots," she shot back.

Laru, the fourth member of their party, cleared his throat softly.

"I… I think it's a great honor," he said. "To see the frontier and the brave warriors who defend it."

The little gnome scholar had a soft, melodic voice, he might have made a good skald if he were able to hold a tune worth a damn. But he liked stories, so Artemisia had taken a liking to him. He had responded initially with suspicion, but gradually relaxed when he realized she wasn't a threat.

"Oh please," Eriem scoffed. "You got sent here as a punishment just like Artie and me."

Artemisia ground her teeth at the nickname, but she held her tongue. He knew she hated it and she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of witnessing her discomfort.

"To each according to their need-" Laru began, but was cut off by another scoff.

"This shit again?" Eriem interrupted.

Laru fell into sullen silence at that.

"Gods, Eriem," she muttered, "do you have to be such an ass all the time? Don't you think this whole situation might be just a little more tolerable if you were pleasant for a change?"

Eriem grumbled something uncharitable that she chose to ignore.

The sad part was Laru believed what he said. Well… she believed the words, she was Frostborn after all. They were a hardy people, but that hardiness came from community. The actual sad part was the scholar believed he had been specially chosen by the Conclave to patrol the Cryptfloe as part of his service curriculum. The maxim of "live together, die alone" took on a looser meaning in Whitespire where so many people living in one location in comfortable safety led to stratification. The likely truth was that he was a pawn in some political machination, somebody's nephew or cousin, shunted off to the tundra for a semester for some blackmail purposes.

Skald education was somewhat different than a scholar's. Artemisia and Eriem were both apprenticed to Gwynris Horthahk. The dwarf was a demanding teacher but when she sang, her audience hung rapt on every note, every word, every tiny gesture. Artemisia wanted that. She had wanted it more than anything ever since Gwynris had stayed at their inn when she was seven. The woman had traded a performance for a room and her father had certainly gotten the far better end of that deal.

Two years prior, word had reached Fardrift that Gwynris was seeking an apprentice and Artemisia had seized her opportunity and made the trek to Whitespire alone in late autumn only to discover that a rich family with an important name was already paying her a tidy salary to mentor one of their scions.

Artemisia, tiefling bastard daughter of an innkeeper from Fardrift, had a name that might have meant something a hundred years prior and a handful of silver that her father had pressed into her hands upon her hurried departure. But she was Frostborn: she knew how to be relentlessly patient.

It was rare for a skald to take on a second apprentice, but she decided to make her presence a problem until she secured that apprenticeship, no matter how long it took.

For two weeks, she hounded the woman's every move, charming her way through the staff entrances of inns, taverns and mead halls across the city, desperate for even a scrap of wisdom. It had taken Eriem three entire days before he realized they were being waited on by the same serving girl in every establishment, but Gwynris herself never commented on it. The woman just regarded her with a detached curiosity.

Eventually, either Gwynris had been impressed by Artemisia's persistence, or she had heard something special in one of her street performances, or maybe she just grew annoyed by the vagabond sleeping on her doorstep. Whatever the reason, Gwynris took her on and Artemisia quickly discovered how harsh of a mentor the dwarf really was.

Eriem, the pompous little shit that he was, was destined to be an orator, singing sagas for the richest families of Kofar and the wealthiest diplomats from abroad. His family's money kept Gwynris well fed and her sole interest in his education was ensuring that he didn't embarrass her.

Artemisia on the other hand, she worked three times as hard. There were endless errands and harrowing lessons that would go on for hours. Artemisia chafed under the preferential treatment and found herself questioning her life's purpose on more than one occasion. But she persisted, and slowly, grudgingly came to realize that Gwynris was preparing her to survive in the world beyond the shores of Kofar. Whatever spark Gwynris saw in Artemisia, she meant for it to thrive and even blaze in the wider world.

Artemisia was certain this assignment, patrolling the tundra's edge with the rangers, was another lesson. Officially, it was punishment. Eriem had indeed stolen sweet cakes from the Conclave kitchens, but Artemisia had the impression that he was being punished more for being caught than the actual crime itself. Artemisia had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time and "it would be good for her" and "she might learn something".

So she had decided to make the most of it. She swapped tales with Laru and was already composing an epic ballad based on one of the more obscure stories he told her. She had to embellish, of course. No sense writing an epic if it was just going to put people to sleep.

She also collected bawdy drinking songs and solemn dirges from the rangers. It was a fascinating subculture out here on the tundra where frozen undead thawed and slowly advanced every summer. She could probably write a book about it if she were so inclined. Somebody would probably read it.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Valoshar had stopped in his tracks until she almost plowed into him.

By instinct, she froze. She had grown up between the mountains and the forest. She knew that when a ranger stopped moving, something was afoot.

She cocked her head and strained to hear, but the tundra was dead silent save for the wind.

"What the hell is going on, Val?" Eriem shouted.

Before she could turn to tell him to shut up, there was a thunderous crack and she was knocked gracelessly to the frozen ground as a massive shape erupted from beneath them.

The wind was knocked out of her and her hands and knees smarted painfully from where she landed. She only had a moment to blink dazedly before the screaming started.

She scrambled painfully to her feet and whirled. The zombie might have been a bugbear once, but it had rotted and frozen and refrozen beyond recognition. It had its jaws clamped tight around Laru's leg as he beat helplessly at its face.

Her hand grasped the hilt of her rapier and yanked it free. Her mind raced as she tried to recall the details of all the lessons Gwynris had beaten into her. She had never fought a real enemy before, but her understanding was that stage fighting was very much different from the real thing. She squared her stance and raised her blade.

Eriem stood a few paces away, his eyes were round and panicky and his mouth hung slack in terror. He held the hilt of his own sword in a white knuckled grip, but shock had completely frozen him before he could draw it. Fine, if he was going to be useless, at least he had the good sense to stay out of the way.

That left her and…

A warhammer slammed into the zombie's shoulder with a crunch, spraying shards of mostly frozen flesh. The zombie released Laru and turned to face Valoshar. It opened its mouth to groan or howl, but no sound emerged from its frozen lungs. The whole effect was deeply disconcerting in Artemisia's opinion.

She had to do something, anything to assist Valoshar, so she did what came naturally. She opened her mouth and sang.

"The sun blazed high in the clear sky

O'er frozen ground, where no plants grow

The thrice cursed dead, he sent to rest

Their bodies thick upon the snow"

It was from the epic she was composing from Laru's story. Valoshar cocked his head at her in a moment of bafflement, but drew himself up at the words.

She took the opportunity to thrust with the rapier. It bounced ineffectively off the frozen flesh, dimming her bravado somewhat, but it was enough to give Valoshar a chance to deliver a devastating blow to the monster's head.

It went down with a crash, twitching and spasming before Valoshar dealt it another blow that brought it back to stillness.

Artemisia stood panting. They had won. Her words had inspired a mighty warrior into great deeds.

Laru moaned in pain nearby, shattering the thrill of victory. The gnome was in poor shape, his leg was mangled and too much blood lay freezing on the ground.

She swallowed. She knew what she had to do, she had seen it done before.

She held her hands before the wound and began to sing a wordless tune. It wasn't quite the same as when she sang for Valoshar, though there had been magic in that. This was rhythm and melody reshaping the world. There were tales that claimed the world had been sung into existence, but she herself had never come close to believing that until now. Laru's wound knit together, color returned to his skin and his breathing calmed.

She finished the song and continued kneeling at his side. She had sung countless times, for audiences of all sizes, but she had never sung like that before. She had done it. She had cast a spell. She had woven sound and magic together into the world and the whole experience left her breathless and exhilarated.