#im sorry for the wall text

[clouvu]

Cooking up an older Clervie outfit design so I don't have to keep drawing her looking like her child self but Long

[w1f1n1ghtm4r3]

so...... april fools shuffle unit vs anyone?

welcome to the usual keep reading lore yapping section. will try to keep this fairly concise but i make no promises it did not stay concise. im sorry in advance

aoharu - park sekai vs theme: high school students in a band, but unlike leoni vs, their afterschool practices are outside of the school

miku - the "cool senpai", except shes not actually older than aoharu... in fact, shes younger than all of aoharu (if only barely younger than ichika)! shes a 1st year high schooler like ichisaki! but she is the mentor figure to them in her experience with music. - shes also not actually that "cool" once you get to know her, although shes pretty chill shes also got some rather silly interests. including collecting stickers to stick on her guitar case. - the main vocalist of the band, but shes got a bit of experience with most of the instruments that the others play. shes no expert but she knows how to play any of them. currently trying to improve her guitar skills! she brings it around with her a lot of the time for the impression it gives to others

len - alongside rin, they main guitar and keyboard. most of the time its len on guitar and rin on keyboard, but theyre both capable of filling both roles and swap occasionally. hes the one usually helping miku improve her guitar skills! unlike miku though, he doesnt carry his guitar around everywhere he goes. - playful but laidback. hell mess with his friends but hes not going around getting into trouble besides that, really - also a 1st year! in fact, the kagamines and miku are childhood friends :) theyve managed to stick together for a long time

yyj - backstage sekai vs theme: idols who have been kind of... abandoned by their management and have to take up those roles themselves

miku - cheerful, bubbly, what you'd typically expect from an idol... except shes also stressed out of her mind because yeah, the sekai isnt exactly... hospitable, to say the least. it doesnt always show and she can cool down from it, but when you live in a world of sprawling hallways and rooms that should have people in them but dont, it definitely has some Effects. - when shes not worrying about that shes quite dedicated to her practice, after all, an idol never stops! - her energy transfers into a bit of everything she does, really. fast talker, fast walker, she can be hard to keep up with if you arent ready for it.

luka - a more mature, gentle idol. she can put on plenty of energy when performing, but she takes things at an easier pace outside of practice. she enjoys her quiet free time. - a lot less tense than miku is about the whole sekai situation, not to say she doesnt feel the effects of it either. shes just better at hiding her feelings about it.

fts - alleyway sekai vs theme: street musicians, but in a darker, rougher direction than vbs

miku - is this a miku or a mikuo? no one really knows and theyre not telling. theyll answer to miku regardless. - very much a troublemaker, gets into fights a lot. can be tough to get along with because theyre pretty abrasive, but they also know their purpose as a sekai miku. getting help from them can just be frustrating sometimes - kaito has been trying to get them to cool down a bit, to mixed success

kaito - livehouse owner (i havent named his livehouse yet...), kind of a stern dad guy. cool, tough, serious, you get the idea. not a bad guy, but he will be hard on fts and the other vs when they need to be straightened out. - despite that, his livehouse is open to performers of all experience levels. just prove youre willing to give it your best shot and hell let you perform. this is a problem for fts, when theyre struggling to get things together as a unit.

hapisen - headquarters sekai vs theme: comic book/cartoon superheroes! they even live in a superhero tower!

miku - shes kinda your straightforward superhero prodigy type, extremely talented as a hero despite her young age. loud, energetic, but very kind and happy to help anyone in need. - by extension shes also got your very typical superhero powers. flight, super strength, etc. she doesnt use them that often around the base though, in fact, most of the vs dont use their powers in the base that often. better off saving them for when theyre out doing hero things!

rin - one half of a superhero pair, obviously. her powers do function on their own and shes capable of doing things without help, but shes a bit weak on her own. but when together with len, their powers amplify to something stronger than either of them separately. i think they probably have electricity powers. - shes a bit reckless in the field, but shes very enthusiastic about being a superhero! super high energy girl, always bouncing around the base getting ready for whenever shes needed next

kyushumi - woodland sekai vs theme: fae royalty, specifically with a butterfly style focus

miku - very quiet and reserved, shes a bit awkward during interactions with most people, but shes well meaning. no ones sure where she came from, even the other vs, and that might have something to do with how she acts - she will stare at you from the bushes and youll just have to get used to it. shes just curious about things, and she wants to observe kyushumi to figure out the best ways she can try to help them.

meiko - technically the fae queen? but she doesnt often act like it, she tries to be more approachable. shes still got a bit of an imposing aura, but shell act more warm and kind to those around her. she is secretive though, and despite her kindness, theres a bit of detachment from everyone. - mikus guardian, since no one really knows how miku got here, so someone has to keep an eye on her. she also considers herself kyushmis guardian, but since theyre not always within reach due to the disconnect between sekais and the real world, theres only so much she can do. she tries her best with what she can

[3416]

Thoughts on how Samsonov has navigated the last month: "I've been in those moments as well, and it's not fun. I mean, everyone's against you really, and everyone is coming at you on all different angles and thinking you're not good enough. For [Samsonov] to fight through that and come back as he has and played as well as he has for us and won us the last couple games in net... you know, he's done a great job of it. It just shows how mentally strong he is. I've tried to talk to him. We know he's a hell of a goaltender. We know he does amazing things for us when he's in that net, and you know, obviously everyone goes through spells sometimes of where stuff's not going your way. And it affects you, and then you hear all the noise outside, and it affects you more. He's just done a great job this last month blocking it out and really focusing on himself, training himself, and being the best he can be in the last month."

How Mitch handled going through something similar: "Talking to people. Um, you gotta express your emotions. When you hold onto stuff by yourself, you know, it gets in your mind. It puts you in a dark spot so. We're lucky enough to have people around us that care for us and wanna hear how you're feeling. That's why you have loved ones, that's why we have people around this team as well, so. You gotta talk your way out of it. Just know that you're a great person, a great player, and you're here for a reason. You're here to help this team, and it's just about believing that you can do that."

Media Availability 01.24.24

[trans-jon-rights]

Wake up babe, new design for The Blorbo by your favourite artist just dropped

Mechanism!Jon belongs to @therealandian from his fic Search Through The Stars, and the design has been taken from this post by @dcartcorner !

[ID in alt text]

Close ups :

[sleepygaymerdisease]

Does anyone else think about how Shinji said this twice...

The first time was somewhat innocent, because he didnt believe in the idea of fate. He refused the idea outright because it was just too bleak. He wanted to think that there was a way for everyone to live, so why believe in something like destiny or predetermination?

And yet... He likely said this out loud to comfort Tezuka, to motivate him, to keep him from giving into despair. Shinji does not believe in fate, but the person he is dragging out of the battle field does, and he wants Tezuka to borrow his own feelings of determination and passion for just a moment, so they can both live to see the next day.

But what Shinji doesnt understand is that Tezuka did this sacrifice precisely because of Shinji's passion. Shinji has nothing to offer to this man because Tezuka has already made the choice to purposely refuse the benefits of Shinji's savior complex. He make his choice the moment that he walked out the door of Atori, and purposely distanced himself so Shinji wouldn't try to die for someone else. Tezuka explains that he changed fate for Shinji to live. Tezuka explains that he took this man's place so that Shinji can fight in this war, so that Shinji can find an end to the violence. Tezuka wants him to continue where he would fail, where he would have blamed himself for the death of another friend and never gotten back up.

Shinji wishes there was another option, that he could have somehow seen this coming and stopped Tezuka and figured out a way to live too... But what can he really do? Tezuka's last words left such an impact on him, and while Shinji originally didn't believe in fate, he could not help but lean into the idea after Tezuka's death. He tends to weigh other people's ideas more than his own in his head, so when Tezuka dies because he followed his principles to the end like this... He just can't deny it as much as before. Denying that fate exists would be spitting on the face of his friend's choice, right?

So the idea sits with him. The idea that fate was already changed... He's not sure if he can believe it, but he can't not believe it, either. There had to have been another way that things have gone, right? That's what he wants to think, but he cannot deny the weight of Tezuka's ultimate choice. He has to learn to accept this, somehow, but it's hard for him, it's hard to remember which thoughts are his own and which thoughts are borrowed from his memories of Tezuka. Shinji slowly becomes burdened by the idea of fate. Believing in Tezuka's last hope is the only way for him to continue, it's the only way for him to cope.

And that's when the narrative throws a fucking curveball. This character, wrattled with grief, finally trying to move on from that horrible moment of senseless violence, is forcibly dragged backwards. Six months. Six entire months happening all over again right before his eyes. Shinji gets an impossible second chance to fix what never should have happened. He knows who is going to die and he has the time to prevent it. He can change it.

But he discovers that he cannot change himself. He watches everything in horror as it happens all over again because he cannot break out of his own skin. He can't change his habits, he can't think different thoughts or change his actions, he can't seem to remember the details of that future that has not happened yet. His future self, and his future grief, is buried deep inside of him. He tries to claw his way out in any way he can, but he is trapped in the prison that is himself. He can only catch the smallest glimpses of clarity through the bars of his cell, and by then it is often too late.

When Shinji finally gets back here, to this moment, he must have repeated these words. He cannot change his thoughts, after all. So he says it and it means the same thing as before; he wants to comfort Tezuka and lend him his own determination and will to live. But there is now an additional meaning to it, isn't there? There is now a layer of despair. A part of Shinji is so, so desperate for things to change. A part of him knows that Tezuka diverted fate for his sake, and isn't that diversion a part of fate now too? Can't we change that too? Do not die when fate tells you to die. Don't do this, don't leave me again.

[oliviawebsite]

you really do get famous in music by being as mid and bland as you possibly can be. but you have to pretend its novel. and aesthetic and coquette and vibes and crazy but still comfy and warmcore and sexy but also pure and wholesome but its also about mental health too wow and it has to have a part that people can dance to on tiktok you have to make a reference to a current event so people now you are withit everything you do has to be a response and if its not a response it needs to be seeking responses and blog posts and articles and interviews and thinkpieces you have to be nothing your answers are an amalglam of comments ur advisors read on instagram. coffee is so cunt and charcuterie is my life right now. ive been really into watching the sopranos lately.

my newest album is a bold step away from the old, this time its about how sometimes i cry if i burn my dinner and how pickle jars are just too hard to open sometimes. im just like you. youre just like me. we will never be each other and forever strive to become each other.

i worked out a deal that counts the sale of every lime lacroix 12 pack as an album sale to boost chart position. im hosting an instagram live where you can ask me about my favorite starbucks order sponsored by starbucks. my album has an interlude that gives you 20% off your first month of hellofresh. this single is brought to you by betterhelp

[re-colligere]

With all due respect...why do some shippers think that shipping comes with a legally binding contract where it says you HAVE to ship two people specifically, and liking any other pairing that involves one or two parties from the first pairing is a punishable offense that could send you to jail unless you officially "switch sides". I feel like the fun part of shipping is leaving our hands fellas. It's not supposed to be a competition of which ship is the best because of so and so--any ship can be the best because, guess what, this is an extremely subjective matter! Any ship is someone else's best ship!! It happens!!!

I'm feeling there's like secret shipping rules we have to abide for some reason. And at some point you've gotta ask why you have to stick by them. "Oh I can only ship one ship for x character" "I have to put all of x's ships in one timeline so some of them won't work out naturally and thus I don't like them" "multishipping is like cheating" these are all lies designed to pit us against each other. None of these are true. Other ships don't exist to attack you or your tastes. There is no need to say who's the best and therefore the ONLY ship allowed to exist. And the thing about multishipping is that these characters' relationships are fictional. Whatever they "do" does NOT have to directly affect anything ever. Different ships can exist in different scenarios. It's okay to play with your touys.

Not saying you have to like every ship there is in your fandom, nor you HAVE to multiship, you CAN have your opinions and interests obviously. I'm just saying if those opinions are personal or whatever (goes against my personal hcs / doesn't make sense to me / nuanced or simple bald answer. etc) you don't have to attack each other or put other ships down. In fact you can enjoy multiple ships if you want. It's fun. It's fine.

You're not going to go to jail if you give a character multiple bitches. I promise.

[maliciousalice]

@thresholdbb omg tumblr ate your ask but thankyou for asking!!!!

👕Character whose fashion you like.

Phoar! Startrek really isn't a show I associate with being fashionable. It's very camp isn't it? In theory a lot of the wardrobe is really cool and they wanted to gain that retro-future aesthetic. Did it work? I'm not sure. However it does make a statement. The Startrek aesthetic is really recognizable and that's important! I think that's where modern trek kind of looses the plot. It's not as careful about the unique visual design as a whole anymore and as a result it doesn't settle in our minds. Is it bad artistry? No but it's not as stringent. What I mean by that is older trek cared about nuance. For example every haircut was done the same way on men, or suits were tailored in a way to look sleek but practical (they weren't). Gaudy patterns were important to denote things like status. It looks ugly on the outside but when you're watching the show it envelops you and makes you feel welcomed into the universe.

I digress.

To answer this, the most fashionable character, hands down, is Quark! That mfer always looks good, and has the finest drip in the galaxy. Love that.

🥲 ST moment that makes you cry.

There are two moments that make me particularly sad. Kate's acting in the climax of Resistance is incredible. I read somewhere she had a special-wink-wink- relationship with the Director in the early seasons and she was being tested by this episode in some regard. I think it paid off. I treasure any time her captain-hood is removed, and the extreme vulnerability of Janeway is on display-MWAH MWAH poignant. This episode is beautifully intimate, particularly this scene. It's overall gorgeous and unique in how she whispers to him, as if there is nothing more important than to secure his peace of mind as he dies, and it's heart rending when it ends with her just crouching there, emotionally alone. I love how Janeway is forced into the father-daughter dynamic between her and Caylem, one that she would ordinarily resist (heh themes) because I think it inherently weakens her status. The back and forth throughout the episode of them taking care of each other's welfare is so it's terribly sad when it's torn down and we discover the truth behind Caylem's family. If you've dug around her character you know that her Admiral-Father has had impact on her life. She's haunted by him in both a figurative way by being a Captain, and literal sense later on in Coda. Much like Caylem, she looses her father in a violent manner that she has to carry around while she forges ahead. It also reflects well on Kate's relationship with her actual father, she recently revealed that she was never able to get him on her page, but in spite that she adore him with all her might. So a scene like this is really revealing-I believe she was able to draw upon those feelings and that's kinda neat to be so raw as an actor. SIGH.

This one just straight up made me cry fr because Prodigy s1 is a really mature, well done piece of (Startrek) media. Holo Janeway has an irony about it where in the end she is program designed to be a teacher, and she didn't expect to develop a strong bond with the crew. Her final moments are of displaying a huge amount of selflessness and courage to help the kids get out of trouble, similarly to how Janeway would approach dire circumstances. The music swelling and the ship activating is just OOOOF!!! I love how it parallels Dal's initiation of the first Protojump in a Moral Star. By that means It suggests how proud she is to get to do this for them. As a character she is really interesting to think about, in a way I can't entirely articulate. A lot of her moments are quite sad in general, she has to keep an active role so she isn't ignored, and help where help is needed, but at the same time she has constraints, one being that she manipulated by the antagonists. And In contrast to that, the kids do their best to help her feel like she is important and more than a command program to be used insincerely. She grew to love the Protostar crew, that's evident in her body language in this scene. She has a lot of depth overall. Equal to the real Janeway she deeply feels love, guilt and pain, but importantly she is transformed by the her time on the Protostar and while active, learns and grows with Dal, Rok-tak, Zero, Jankom and Gwyn. It's REALLY sweet that they care all care about each other.

I love her and I love JANEWAY!!!!

🥹 Favourite behind the scenes picture.

Ooooh I love all behind the scenes stuff. My brother in Christ It's super difficult to just name one thing and I'm very greedy!! I wish we had more BTS content for Voyager but sadly, it's a matter of grab what you can, however you can. Anyway, I have an inherent interest in seeing the cogs behind the wheel. I chose these samples because I think they're charming.

The continuity polaroid's are so fun and a lost technique, I like to think about assistants having to pull the actors aside and asking them to take those. How daunting! Kate's grin in the one where she is offset is SO cute. So she must have been in a good mood, super Cheeky!

Following that is a screenshot from a video of her having her makeup done. A rare catch. I like this because she often sooks about how much time hair and makeup was spent on her to become Captain Janeway. I get it's a huge time-sink, but love or hate it, the full irony is that her early season appearance is really iconic and in it's own right adds to Captain Janeway's sensibility. Silly goose Kate! Besides that, she looks hot checking herself out, haha.

Moreover, I love on-set editorial photos of actors in costume. While we did have heaps of them in the Starfleet uniform, I wish we had a larger collection with clearer releases, it would have given an opportunity to see in things of interest better detail. Particularly the lower half of unique costumes. For whatever reason special outfits weren't often established or framed for us to see the legs in the show, so a nice big photograph would have solved that. Also I love that these style of pictures capture an impression of an episode without giving it away.

Similarly, fly on the wall on-set photos are cool. They're way more intimate and candid than anything else and it makes me feel as though I am spying on the actors, but they're also a good way to document how things might have been on set.

The Timeless one is interesting too because it's of a deleted scene, we never see Chakotay look at a dead Janeway (how deliciously macabre!), but at some point in time it was in the script and they filmed it.

Hmm this bts picture of Janeway in the Cardigan is adorable! I believe it was worn by Kate for a Charity but look how cute she looks? Makes me wish we saw her mess around with things like that more because 7 Years is a long ass time to be in uniform everyday ( coming from someone who went to school in a Uniform and enjoyed it for the most part). Casual Fridays anyone?

I love this gif. It's from the first shoots of Caretaker and Kate looks so radiant! Her smile is is breathtaking! Whenever I see this gif I get a sense of delight. Poor thing had no idea what she was getting herself into, haha. Really though, check out the original Caretaker photos, they're super-cool. The history behind it is fascinating; I'd love to see more footage from that version of the pilot episode. Unfortunately, it's probably not preserved well, much like lots of Paramount's historical material.

On a similar trend, it's fun to see this set of pictures too. It's for the First Contact film / maybe the Universal studios ride, when she reprised her role as Vice AdmiralJaneway. Kate was genuinely delighted to do this cameo and it shows. As per her operandum she put her whole self into this small segment and that's so darling. It makes me wish we had more of this Janeway at that point in time. I love post Endgame chubby-Janeway. In a fictional sense it denotes that she is comfortable or stressed to be an Admiral (sadly it's the latter in real life) or whatever and I love that for her.

These kind of pictures are fun because it's been said that at times it was the most playful set to be on. There are tales that the cast were not that serious all the time. You get that impression here, and it's probably why the majority of them are still good friends to this day. They're like a family bros!!! Having worked in media I know that wrapping up after working on something for a long time is really rewarding and I bet they had a good time at parties.

Apropos previous, the opposite can be said. While they had fun, the hours were long and the scripts intensive. Kate was around for all of the episodes of Voyager in one way or another, and still managed to bring her A-game each time. She is truly admirable! Seeing her so exhausted is charming. She had a lot of weight to carry for the franchise and did an exemplary job performing her way through 7 years of weird and wonderful material. I wonder how often they fell asleep on set? I know I would. Get some rest queen!

Finally, I've been following Prodigy bts as best I can, and because of my career in animation I get pretty interested in Production art. I love seeing the fast metamorphosis of a visual style. It's really impressive how much attention they applied to the designs, maintaining the older stuff, while adapting a new frontier. One of the lead artists made some pretty neat observations to get Kate's appearance right. It's so cool that they documented that journey, because from my dabbling I know she has a very beautiful, distinct face that isn't easy to capture.

ANYWAY Thankyou for reading my fat thesis fellas. tl;dr i love this stinky Startrek Voyager and by extension the franchise.

[intermundia]

i'm curious, have you ever talked here about your opinions on star wars' politics and the jedi involvement with it? if not then i'm very curious about your thoughts on it. i understand star wars' politics are quite basic and non-radical (republic good dictatorship bad) and i don't necessarily disagree with it but i wonder if the jedi shouldn't have been more involved and possibly more radical (to the left) instead of just, idk, not giving their two cents on it. i know it's a hot take but it seems to me they would benefit more if they were more into politics. i would love to know your thoughts on it.

So, I think the answer depends on if you want a Watsonian or Doyalist explanation. If we’re looking though the lens of fictional in-universe reasons, we know that the Jedi HAVE tried being directly involved with running the government—it led to thousands of years of destructive civil war in the galaxy, with splinter groups of dark side users attempting to seize supreme executive power, and the Jedi militant about preventing it. They willingly surrendered power to the representatives of the people of the galaxy for a reason, not out of negligence or indifference to galactic suffering, and we should always remember the history.

The Jedi chose to work inside the guiding structure of a sovereign civic government, outside the Order and answerable to the people as a check on their power, as they are not democratically elected. It takes strong democratic civic institutions to fight against greedy corporate ownership of society. Would the Jedi’s direct, undemocratic lobbying or enforcement have been enough to change the minds of everyone and reinforce community bonds? I simply don't think it would, and the risks of them trying are unacceptably high. The Jedi are powerful Force users, and that’s always relevant to consider.

You have to be careful when what you Can do becomes what you Should do becomes what you Must do, despite any collateral damage, especially when the range of your potential is broad. The Jedi know intimately that the more powerful you are, the easier it is to feel entitled to interfere and impose your own judgement, which is dangerous, as it will always be based on partial information and informed by unconscious bias. If you do not stay impartial or only help in limited ways, you can begin to lose your sense of perspective. It is also a self-reinforcing behavior, and the consequences rise for getting pulled into a control loop that dives into the dark side out of greed can lead to considerable fallout for you and society.

You can easily begin with good intentions but be corrupted over time by even the smallest original selfish impulses snowballing on each other when the consequences don't stop you but instead encourage you to further exert control. There’s a children's story about not giving a mouse even one cookie, because it will always take more afterward. The wisdom of the Jedi is in their restraint. It may seem frustrating that they don't interfere whenever and wherever they see fit, accepting that they cannot stop some particular injustices, because their intentions are to prevent a worse evil from happening later.

It's hard to appreciate counterfactuals, like yeah the galaxy fell after a thousand years, but we have no way of knowing what suffering would exist in those same thousand years if the Jedi had not surrendered large parts of their political discretion to the Republic. When they did, there followed a golden age of peace that it flourished for a long time before undergoing a crisis where a Force user took over again, before returning to civic governance with a New Republic. If we look to the OT and beyond, that's what the division of Luke and Leia represent, in a way. Leia has a different perspective and priorities and channels of power. Luke should be a warrior monk who occasionally touches the divine in his quest for peace, not involved in politics.

If we’re looking at it through the lens of the author, I think you have to resist the urge to try to make the Jedi into some real-world equivalent religious paramilitary force, or leftist group despite caring a great deal for those values. You have to remember that it's space opera, it's myth. They're theatrical characters demonstrating the ideal of public service without recompense, an impossibly good group of people with legitimate and earned moral authority, who act in the best interest of peace and collaboration, as inspiration to children to model in their interior lives and moral understanding of the world. They're conceptual of pro-social hopeful generous spirit in our hearts, glorious moral knights with glowing swords, not politicians at desks yk.

They're an icon of something that every person can choose to do in their own lives, not just something we can demand from public servants. I know this may be a bit unsatisfying intellectually, but you have to keep the genre of Star Wars in mind, the space opera has mythic logic and operates in the realm of symbolism. When Lucas uses scientific sounding and political sounding language, he's still trying to communicate with the 10-year-olds who don't care about the complexities and nuances of the real world. It's about narrative shorthand and moral signaling that symbiosis, mutual thriving through selflessness, is better than greed, selfishness, and cruelty. That's the genre, you know? Making the Jedi into politicians wouldn't serve the narrative purposes of Lucas's epic story.

[kimeoshi]

the way I'd devour a fic of aven and ratio with your buckshot crossover, that thing has EATEN my brain

if anyone writes one 🙏🙏🙏🙏

YES!! I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING

If nobody does it I will do it myself HOWEVER that doesn't mean I wouldn't like any additions heheh

(in that case I MUST be sent a link to that fic before getting admitted to emergency care)

If anyone has the tiniest urge to write too, I implore them to join me!! Even if it's just one particular dialogue or sentiment that comes to mind, one small idea can surge much more once you end up starting it.

I really love this crossover particularly because the game's undertone themes (not saying what due to potential spoilers) deals with the exact same things Aventurine struggles with, oh, the angst potential.

[sunnys-aesthetic]

I have had this certain itch to say this. I'm surprised you never got mad or despised Naff for being more well-known about a dca detective au and people stealing your designs to make fanart for her

I had to think over how to respond to this ask because by all means I didn't want to give a quick answer and dip without leaving things properly, genuinely answered or explained. I'd like to minimize any misinterpretations or misunderstandings :<

I think the best way for me to properly address this is to section it into 2 parts? One part for how I feel about Naff and the second part for how I feel about some of my designs being used without credit! Also sorry for any messy typing as admittedly I'm nervous typing all of this out after so much time has passed and I haven't really thought about this in eons FHSKJDHFSDGJKHJF

Long body of text warning So I'll place down a 'keep reading' down here! v

I want to answer this ask truthfully on my experiences and how I overcame this, what my mindset was then, and what it is now.

So! First part- Naffeclipse! Right off the bat I want to say that, no, I don't hate or despise Naff. Yes, I used to feel hurt by how they used my work, but I don't feel that way anymore. I think you're the first ever person to have asked me anything regarding this in almost two years. If I'm honest, no one online has ever made a comment regarding this so I was a little surprised! I began the DCA Detectives and dubbed it "Sleuth Jesters" in my original post back in mid-June 2022. And from there the concept's popularity kinda exploded.

I'm proud of Naff for the wide range of followers, love and support that they've cultivated using my au, and I don't want to take away from the fact that yes, the story, the world, the character interpretations they created was all their own work! That's something i want to make known first and foremost. That is all 100% their own hard work and skill as a writer. And I never want to take credit for that.

Now, I know this may look really unfair and believe me, within the first few months of Sleuth Jesters taking off from not my own platform but from another persons, I thought it was too. I was possibly going through one of my roughest periods, as all of this was very new for me and I had a lot of IRL personal stuff going on at the time. The main reason I hadn't made any remark or mention aside from one post asking for credit the same day I had talked to Naff about it privately in DMS is because I inadvertently developed imposter syndrome with the whole situation, and I privately decided to not work on that au of my own volition and lack of want to continue it on my own terms!

Why did you have imposter syndrome? Well! Because for me personally it was a feeling of 'hey! I know you racked up tons of followers and created a big platform, and you personally put the work into it, but can I please be credited for your hard work? Because they're my initial idea and designs?' was essentially my mindset for months back then, it was a sticky tricky situation! ^^; and it was not very healthy for me.

However I don't want to dive into too many details on my emotional & mental wellbeing during 2023! I was a new artist, and I was absolutely scared I would be the one who would make or initiate the first large discourse within the DCA community if I spoke up about it, possibly receive unwarranted hate or backlash, and I felt the pressure was really on me to keep the peace because as far as I had known, the DCA community hadn't had any 'big drama' since its making during that time.

But! At the same time all of this was happening I moreso delved into making my oc cloud drop + being with friends and having fun, and I simply personally didn't want to continue the AU anymore. It was not entirely due to Naff's usage but also because I simply just didn't have the time or energy for it! That's all there was to it. I struggled yes, sure! but,

What matters to me is not how or what i think or say, but how I choose to act or deal with situations that can be stressful or uncomfortable in the general sense. and despite any negative feelings I may have had, I think kindness can live a lot longer than any hatred ever could. I don't physically have it in me to hate someone or hold a grudge for too long, even in the heat of the moment, and I hope this mentality can be applied to anyone who reads this as well ^.^ Communication is key to me in any relationship, even if i know you or don't know you! And if you are not willing to make that effort in talking or speaking up it will negatively affect you in the long run. And I made that mistake by waiting for too long! sorry that was cheesy haha but its a personal mindset i live with.

So to answer the first part of the question, yes I used to be upset, but I'm not anymore.

What about the people who used your design(s) to make fanart for her?

wwweell, ill admit this was actually one of the bigger things that hurt me the most at the time, Nowadays I am being more properly credited, even if there's a few people who forget to credit me I wont take it personally. It's a much better improvement compared to when I hadn't spoken at all about it.

It's already gotten to a point where its thousands of people who associate the fanart to their fiction, and even if it wasn't with my permission at the time, it is now! We can't really force or change what happened in the past but at the v least I hope those who will make fanart are a little more aware of who to give their credits to! I still enjoy seeing everyone's art! ^^

tl;dr, i was really sad and hurt by it at the TIME, and yes it messed me up but not once did I despise Naff as person at all. Everything's all good now and I'm doing much better and all I can ask for now is the continued credit for at least my au and my designs ♡

And i very VERY VERY much urge you all TO NOT give any animosity towards naffeclipse as I already know they did not mean any of this in any ill will at all since the beginning, and we both already talked about it mid last year c:>

[treasureplcnet]

you think i can't keep talking about karl and esther you are so wrong btw episode four timestamp 34:40 he hesitates before rubbing her back, comforting her the way a parent or guardian might. the whole tube scene is karl finally deciding he has to do this ("i'm here, and i'm not going anywhere, i promise") he still HESITATES because he knows he's probably not the right man for the job. he's the man that got her stuck in this problem in the first place. but they've only got each other and he has to try. does it hurt that the moment he finally builds this resolve and determination to leave it all behind and to actually fight for something that matters to him and admit that, even though he hasn't known her for long, he cares about this girl like she's family, esther is murdered and it totally consumes him? does it hurt that he's then framed for her death even though he just spent the last 24 hours killing and taking revenge in her name? not only because he knows he's a dead man, but also because he's out of options to do something that matters, and what else can he do with his grief other than inflict it onto others? yeah it hurts a lot actually

[gplovestwdg]

hiii! loving your modern au!! do you have more info about brody <3, marlon and like the rest of the ericson kidss?

Thank you for your interest and sorry it took so long for me to respond to this ask! ^^

The main Ericson's group from season 4 is split across high schoolers and young kids in my au and they live in separate areas of the school. Characters that go to the Ericson's high school are exactly the same age and in the same grade even if they're a bit younger/older in canon while characters that are younger than high school age are their canon ages.

Everyone is mostly the same though, like I've mentioned before, their roles within this au are slightly different. Marlon and Brody are the President and Vice-President of their grade respectively and as juniors (yes they're in 11th grade) they're given a lot of responsibility considering they'll be graduating next year. Also they're in a not so healthy relationship...

They share most of their classes, and Marlon definitely has anger issues that are exasperated by Brody's anxiety troubles. Here's the two of them with some unnamed students during the gym class they share ^^

It's difficult to divulge all the information regarding every character without turning this into an incomprehensible block of text so I'll be brief with other characters:

Louis and Violet are mostly the same, Louis is Marlon's childhood friend and Violet is pretty closed off and in an also not so healthy relationship with Minnie.

Minnie and Sophie are both on the school's baseball team, Minnie is similar to herself in game personality wise. She can be pretty rude and is very prone to siding with authority figures (teachers in this case) compared to those close to her. Sophie is much brighter and values the independence of students over the authority of teachers. Also Sophie and Mitch have something going on (fueled by my silly crackship in middle school haha.)

Mitch is literally the exact same lol. So are Aasim and Ruby, Aasim is the same as he is in game but he puts up a front around teachers as he's grown attached to his fellow students and doesn't particularly want to go home, since in game he's canonically basically been rehabilitated by the time of the apocalypses start. And yes, he's still pining after Ruby in my au. Omar is also virtually the same as well, he volunteers a lot to help the cafeteria ladies and gentlemen with lunch and dinner.

Tenn and Willy live in a separate section of the school for middle/elementary school aged kids and have their own teenager that they get to see once a week(Minnie/Sophie and Mitch respectively), kinda like the big brother program if you've heard of it. Though Sophie and Mitch specifically are very adept at sneaking around and seeing them near daily.

Here's a little relationship chart with all the kids ^^ Some relationships are a bit one-sided and some are multifaceted as well! For example most of the friends/hate arrows are meant to show annoyance/resentment in the friendship.

Also AJ lives in this section of the school, unbeknownst to Clem for now. It doubles as a living space/common education for kids taken by CPS.

Finally all the teenagers mentioned are in a big friend group and since they're friends with their grades president and vice-president they're able to take advantage of certain aspects of the school like sneaking out late at night without much punishment. They like to hang out around the river near the fishing cabin and in the forest, but Marlon doesn't let them go outside his arbitrary safe zone cause he can't really make up an excuse for them to be out past there and the thought of getting into trouble with the adults terrifies him. Though they do take the train into the closest town and hangout on weekends!

Ahh movie night :')

[devine-fem]

i hate dc twitter fans… like a lot, at this point i have to be honest. theres a reason i’m on tumblr and not twitter. the good people on there who like unproblematic things, all they know how to do is fight and harass people and make fun of things people enjoy and on the other side is problematic people. im seeing a lot of people generalize a curtain type of shippers like jayroy, birdflash and jondami shippers and that is a seriously bad habit. (not calling you this or saying just having that habit makes you this) but the only people i know who have that type of habit are like… racists or something, the type of people who take curtain characteristics of a group of people and use it to assume things for anyone similar. all i want to EVER do is talk about and enjoy my ships cause they make me - us happy and i cant do that if im weird about them or always fighting. but oh well, im going to have to use their same mentality and assume because youre a dc twitter fan, you’re like the anti christ so i dont die before 20 from an aneurism.

god, they’re like kpop stans but instead its your favorite bat themed superhero or whatever. i hate the internet sometimes.

id like to really thank my mutuals and the people who interact with me and don’t make any assumptions about me. thank you so much for helping create and environment where we can fond over the things we enjoy like maniacs and just be happy.

its crazy how they all like dc and theyre to share their love of dc with each other but theyre so fking MEAN to each other.

i wish twitter would just cease to exist sometimes but not even, i need twitter to exist because everyone with a twitter like mentality needs to stay over there and i can still refuge in tumblr to be safe.

like tumblr has some discourse sometimes but at least people fight back and share the idea that if youre hating at all on something one likes then you’re the problem.

[umbrvx]

i like ur art. its great and interesting!! i really like your artstyle and i really like the way u draw hsy, yjh, and kdj. you captured them so well in terms of vibes/character. also i was wondering do u have any advice to improve on drawing anatomy/poses/faces?

wahh thank you so much...!! i feel like im still trying to figure them out in a lot of ways but i do really like ironing out my visual interpretations of them so im really happy to hear if people like what im coming up with

also anon you super activated the part of my brain that cant help but yap about art theory... i spent some time writing as many tips as i could think of. unfortunately i dont think i have the time currently to do a fully illustrated guide, but ill still try to include some visual examples:

[incoming wall of text lol]

ANATOMY:

to preface i think that like 100% of the time you should reference a real life photo for anatomy rather than other artwork or drawn references. the best way to learn the body is by… well, actually looking at the body! but also artwork is informed by a person's own artistic ability/stylization choices/sense of idealism, so while looking at art can help give you an idea on how to break down forms, i think you would be best served observing real life references. i labor on this point because i do think that having over relied on drawn reference material and avoiding photographic references on the basis of not being interested on realism hindered me as a largely self-taught artist as a kid, so i want to encourage live or photographic reference since anatomy is one of the foundations from which everything else is built on. that being the case, all of my doodles i'm doing for this are going to be for the sake of example rather than to strictly say how you should or should not be drawing something

-> when you are doing a study of a photo, just try copying it as best as you can. pay close attention to the natural lines and shapes of the body -- the S-curve shape of the leg, the triangular shape of the forearm, the trapezoid shape of hips/thighs when they sit, and so on. note where the body folds or squishes or pulls; how mass will shift to accommodate a certain position. if a form is hard to visualize, focus on the negative space and carve that out, rather than strictly drawing the positive space.

don't expect to get it perfect the first time. in fact, iterate on it multiple times to build understanding. try doing it to a timer of 15, then 10, then 5 minutes. doing this will force you to have to prioritize the most important shapes. you can help reinforce this by using a thicker brush or a brush with no pen pressure (no joke ms paint works great for this) to force you to be loose and not become preoccupied with details.

-> pinterest is a great resource for finding and compiling photo reference material

-> organic shapes are curved, so embracing/emphasizing that (particularly for the extremities) can help make your drawings look more natural or fluid

POSES: -> it all begins & ends with contrapposto… you've probably heard of the line of action, which is related. if you're offsetting the shoulders & hips, it: makes poses more natural, more dynamic, and helps the pose sort of "draw itself" -- the legs will follow the direction of the hips, and you can use the arms to reinforce the angles

-> context is key. don't ask: what pose should i draw? instead ask: what do i want this character to convey? what does happiness, anger, sadness, and so forth look on this particular character? how do they express that? consider these drawings: these are both ostensibly the same pose, but look at how changing just the shape of the spine recontextualizes it.

for more on pose design i recommend watching Tracer & Pose Design 101 - The Animation of Overwatch by New Frame Plus (i promise this is a genuinely super informative video).

to expand on this, in general, all of the components of a piece (background, composition, pose, etc.) are best considered in conjunction rather than separately. it is difficult to choose a pose and then choose a background because they are missing the context that would make a piece cohesive. when you are planning a drawing, try to begin with your general concept/idea/prompt and then do several thumbnails -- small and quick doodles that should take no longer than 5 minutes each -- developing it: you may find that the pose and bg will naturally fall into place.

-> silhouette: the degree to which you need to push this varies by style but generally speaking the pose needs to be readable; i.e. instantly recognizable. try to keep important elements of the gesture outside of the silhouette. for example, if the character is pointing, keep that arm out of the interior of the body. the same pose can be more or less readable or dynamic depending on where the character is pointed in relation to the viewer

-> exaggeration!! goes along with the previous point. push the pose as much as you can (and what makes sense for your style) to communicate your pose as clearly and as intensely as possible.

FACES: -> i highly recommend the app Handy Art Reference Tool by Belief Engine for all things related to drawing hands/heads/feet. its on both android and ios. it isn't free -- it costs around $3 -- but that is seriously such a small price to pay for the amount of utility you get out of it: the hands models are fully poseable (there's also pose presets), you can rotate the head models however you want, and there is 3-point customizable lighting. it is really helpful for getting those super tricky and hyperspecific head angles that you just can't find a real life reference for. that being said given that there's only a few different head model variants, bear in mind how differences in features can affect what exactly a face will look like in those angles.

-> i still recommend doing studies of real people. as with anything else, learning generalized proportions is important, even if you are going to later on bend or break this depending on style

-> as for my own approach... it kind of depends on the style i'm doing at that particular time. for my paintings (what id consider my main style) i approach a character with a few real-world features in mind and then apply them to the best of my ability. it usually will take a few iterations to land on an interpretation i really like as i try out different things. a lot of the face also gets developed during rendering rather than through my initial sketch too, as i adjust for lighting and correct proportions on the fly

(look how much this image changes between sketch and render lol)

if i were to recommend anything, i think it would be to nail down your most distinct features first -- the ones that will make your character's face recognizable, and could apply regardless of art style. in my case with kim dokja, i knew when i first started drawing him that i wanted to give him a longer face and down-turned eyes. when i decided to do the disco elysium inspired set, in which i was breaking out of my comfort zone by letting go of any idealizations focusing on conveying characterization/making them feel "real", i landed on some more specific traits (defined lower lids/perpetually tired eyes/eyebags(?) the crease there idk how to describe it) which i continue to try to evoke even if im drawing something much more cartoony

(pictured are my first kdj -> disco elysium style -> my post de-style kdj)

as a side note, this very same process changed yjh much more dramatically

(^ that first guy is mad someone else)

those handful of key features will be the thing that you can then take into a simpler style and simplify or exaggerate to whatever degree suits you. you can also play with shape theory (square = sturdy/solid, circle = natural/smooth/welcoming, triangle = energetic/dangerous). shape theory doesn't necessarily need to be so rigid -- you can combine shapes as you please to convey whatever vibe you're going for -- so please think of it as a tool that may help rather than a rigid law you must abide by.

-> expressions: exaggerate them. thats kind of it!! make it big!!! you wanna be able to really feel those emotions. the principles of squash & stretch help here: think of how the muscles move when you, say, open the eyes or mouth really big. as one side of the face stretches open, the other side squashes to accommodate it

even without changing the position of the jaw here, moving the nose and scrunching the eyes will sell the expression

you can also play with squash/stretch to break proportions to sell a feeling more

since expressions are just, well, poses for the face, everything else for poses applies here (and facial expressions & pose should also be considered in tandem). while the term contrapposto itself just refers to the offset of the shoulders & hips, the similar principle of asymmetry also carries here as that will help make the expression a bit more dynamic.

and i think... that's it!! all i can think of at least. i hope it helps anon!!!

[seriousbrat]

imo it's not so hard to accept that SWM takes place after the prank. I mean it is canon so too bad but it makes complete sense to me. there's no evidence the prank was some big life-altering character development moment for any of the characters involved and that they all learnt their various lessons. in fact we see that they don't. in SWM the marauders are clearly still tormenting Sev. In Sev's conversation with Lily post-prank he's still just as obsessed with the marauders and exposing their secrets as ever, if not more. he doesn't consider what lily's saying at all because he's too focused on his hatred towards them.

my hc is that sirius (rather masterfully) used reverse psychology on sev to get him to go down the willow. Sev isn't stupid, he wouldn't have let himself willingly be led into a trap by his worst enemies. I think Sirius probably "let it slip" and then "backtracked" and acted like Snape wouldn't be brave enough to go down there anyway and that he should just forget it. I doubt Sirius directly told him to go down the willow, I think cleverly he told him not to, knowing that Sev would do so anyway (not that this makes a difference ethically bc his intent is still clear, but anyway. this isn't about who is morally better because idgaf honestly lol, I'm just trying to work through their mindsets)

the marauders received no real consequences for the prank, so why would they learn their lesson? Objectively you can't really punish someone for telling someone not to do something if they do it anyway. Not particularly fair, but still. Which brings me to Sev's responsibility in the matter (which yes, does exist imo) we're shown that he was obsessed with finding out what the marauders were up to and particularly obsessed with Remus's secret. Yes, this is understandable given how they treated him, but absolutely not healthy and he still chose to go down there, whether out of pride, greed, curiousity, vindictiveness. He obv was manipulated but there's a reason he was so easily manipulated. As I said previously, his obsession with revenge is what causes him to be blind to lily's feelings.

James rescuing him wasn't some moment of epiphany about how bullying is bad actually. It was just a fundamental part of James's character already. He would never have let him die regardless of how he felt about him.

All of this makes SWM the PEAK moment of hatred between Sev and the Marauders, which explains a lot of their responses. Sirius and James hate Sev more than ever for trying to expose Remus. Sev, justifiably, hates them more than ever for trying to kill him (and he ropes James into this, which is incorrect but understandable in his position)

James "deflating his head" probably wasn't just based on one event in particular. He just grew up and learned what was more important- being a good person, fighting against voldemort. But Sev also had growing up to do of his own during this time. As I talked about in in this post yesterday I think post-swm Sev was beginning to realise that his lack of control over his emotional responses (calling lily a mudblood out of humiliation, for example) was dangerous both to lily and to himself.

Yeah they still hated each other and attacked each other in seventh year. There's too much bad blood there to do anything else. I've talked about the dynamic between Sev and James here and how that might have developed as they grew older. I honestly find it extremely interesting, I could go on about these two for hours rip. My point is that the development of these characters into adults wasn't instant or linear, it was messy and rough. people don't usually change overnight, it happens slowly over time because they have to.