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zaebeecee · 3 months

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Fight and Flight ••

Pre-RadioDust Oneshot •

Read on AO3

•••

Based on this headcanon from @alastorsfluffydeertail. Thank you for letting me use this as a prompt, my dear, and I’m sorry I took it a bit off the rails (as I am wont to do). This is what I get for never planning anything out.

But also if anyone thinks the Hazbin Hotel residents wouldn’t prank each other, they’re wrong.

•••

When Angel Dust had first agreed to move into the Hazbin Hotel (back when it was the Happy Hotel, whose name alone was almost enough to make him refuse no matter how well he was paid for the evening), it was the first time in his entire existence in Hell that he had known exactly what to expect. The princess had a fucking stupid plan about getting sinners into Heaven and her bodyguard/girlfriend/what the fuck ever was apparently determined to help her see it out; Angel knew a hopeless cause when he saw one, and more importantly, he knew how to capitalize on it.

Of course, he had forgotten one very key detail: sinners were human at their core, and when humans spent a lot of time in close proximity, they got to know each other really well. And when people got to know each other really well, that meant bonding was basically unavoidable.

It was easy to forget the ‘human’ factor of sinners at VoxTek, particularly when someone spent too much time around the Vees. Sometimes, Angel thought of them as less ‘humans’ and more ‘evil entities that had learned how to mimic the worst of human behavior with extra capitalism’, and because of that he had kept company with them as little as possible since Valentino had showed his true colors and backhanded Angel for the very first time. But the Hazbin Hotel was not VoxTek, and the other residents of the hotel were not the Vees. They were mostly relatively normal people, when you put aside things like noble station and overlord rank, and that complicated Angel’s initial plan.

Originally, he had agreed simply to take advantage of not having to pay rent and not having to live under Val’s thumb at all times. It was a simple scheme: follow just as many rules as he absolutely had to in order to avoid getting kicked out, keep as much of his drug usage off the property as he could, and bat his eyes and make super sappy apologies about ‘trying his best’ whenever he got caught. It would have gone great if not for one tiny little hiccup.

He liked them.

Damn them to a lower ring of Hell, but Angel liked the fuckers, and it wasn’t long before he realized that they were becoming friends. Of course, they were also a bunch of pricks who’d been punished with eternal damnation for the crime of being assholes in life, so with friendship came the inevitable bullshit of having asshole friends. This, frequently, meant pranks of varying degrees of severity and creativity.

In Angel’s defense, he didn’t start it. The whole thing began when someone (who was never actually identified) convinced all of the Egg Bois that they were named after different members of the Rat Pack (to go with Frank) and that Pentious really loved being serenaded with ‘Ain’t That A Kick In The Head’ at all times. It had started out kind of funny—the Egg Bois couldn’t keep time with each other and it got even worse when they tried to manufacture their own Dean Martin impersonations—but it had quickly grown into the absolute worst thing Angel had ever had the displeasure to suffer. Husk, accurately, determined that it was “proof of Hell’s eternal punishment”. Eventually, Charlie helped Pentious right them, but it was way, way too late.

The war was on, and it quickly spread to everyone in the hotel without mercy. And, unpredictably, it seemed everyone was in on the game in one capacity or another.

Everyone had their own weak points when it came to getting ‘punk’d’, as Vaggie called it with an impressively straight face. Charlie could be convinced of just about anything if you said it with enough conviction, and Husk was alarmingly easy to gaslight if you could rearrange or abscond with his bar equipment when he wasn’t looking. Niffty was, of course, weak to cleaning pranks (but they had quickly determined the Stabbing Threshold, which was the point where it wasn’t funny anymore and she would legitimately gut someone), and you could do a million things to Pentious if you got into his lab, as long as you didn’t break anything. Angel was particularly proud of the time he got Vaggie to fully arm herself and go all the way up onto the roof of the hotel to ‘challenge an intruder’ who ended up being a hellsquirrel, but she had gotten him back by coming into the kitchen while he was cooking, staring him dead in the eye, and breaking all of the spaghetti before he could stop her.

And Alastor? Well, no one could get into his room, or his radio tower, or even find him if he didn’t want to be found, which rendered him immune to most forms of planned tomfoolery. But when he was there? He was easy, because he was a jumpy fucker if you caught him off guard, and a single loud noise close enough behind him would send him shadow teleporting onto some other surface (the mantle of the lobby fireplace on one particularly memorable occasion).

It was fun. Or, at least, it was supposed to be fun. That was why they had a set number of rules: no staining anything Niffty had to clean (and no glitter, which was a personal rule for Angel after that one time), no making Charlie cry, no breaking Pentious’s equipment or Husk’s bottles, no fucking with Vaggie’s weapons and armor, and absolutely nothing involving Fat Nuggets. Other than that, it was open season on everyone.

Charlie was conducting one of her little trust building exercises one evening, the entire hotel (sans Alastor) her captives for the duration of the entire exercise. Cherri had made the mistake of showing up just before it began, and curiosity had roped her in; now, she was sitting next to Angel and watching Charlie coaching Vaggie and Husk through some kind of role playing exercise with an open sort of fascination.

“Is it always like this?” Cherri murmured, leaning on Angel’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Angel whispered back. “I got no fuckin’ idea how this’s supposed to get us redeemed, tho, all it’s ever done is made me hate kids.”

Cherri snorted. “Why isn’t Radio Face here?”

Angel rolled his eyes. “He’s the hotelier,” he said, exaggerating Alastor’s transatlantic delivery and overly precise French pronunciation. “He don’t gotta participate, apparently, because he ain’t up for bein’ made better or whatever. Come to think of it, I ain’t seen him in a few days. Think he’s been out.”

Like Angel had spoken a cue, the radio on the lobby table made gentle static noises, and a couple of the lights flickered, just slightly. Everyone stopped, glancing around, because that meant one thing: Alastor was nearby, and he was either very angry or very tired, and either way it meant he wasn’t checking his power as much as he usually did. It had freaked Angel out the first time, but eventually, he learned to interpret it as a sign that Alastor was returning after a long bout of ‘personal business’ and probably wasn’t going to be bothering any of them.

Cherri grinned. “I’m gonna fuck with him,” she said into the silent room.

Angel let out a single barking laugh as Charlie said, “Oh, no, don’t, he’s probably exhausted.”

“That’s the best time to get him,” Husk said reasonably, immediately discarding the script he’d had thrust on him as soon as he noticed that Charlie wasn’t focusing on him anymore. “He’ll probably be too tired to actually retaliate.”

“Besides,” Pentious said, “he hasn’t exactly held back with anyone else. I’m still positive he started this. I just need to prove it,” he hissed, hunching over his clasped hands and rubbing them together.

Niffty patted the table with her palms a few times, grinning brightly. “I wanna see Cherri scare Alastor~”

“You can’t scare Alastor,” Angel said with a disbelieving snort. “Startle him, sure, but scare? Bullshit.”

Vaggie sighed. “Do I need to prepare damage control?”

“Relax, I’m not gonna cause property damage,” Cherri said. “I just wanna get the bitch back for what he did to my stuff last time I was here. I’m still finding ticker tape everywhere, even in my own goddamn apartment.”

Charlie looked uncomfortable, but of course, she was always the most hesitant when it came to their petty little game. “Okay, I guess that’s fine,” she said reluctantly. “But don’t overdo it, okay?”

Everyone waited with bated breath, Cherri tossing a small bomb over to the corner near the front door. It was only a few seconds before they heard the click and Alastor stepped in, looking as though he had been through the wringer and was doing his damndest to hold it together. He didn’t even notice any of them, shutting the door behind him and immediately beginning a slow beeline for the stairs.

Angel had only half a second to form the thought that it might not be a great idea after all when Cherri clapped her hands sharply and the little bomb behind Alastor went off with a loud crack and a spark of bright pink light. The sound Alastor made wasn’t quite a scream; it was really more of a startled yip, a high and animalistic noise that hurt Angel’s ears with its sharp edge. He bolted instantly, dropping his microphone staff along the way and running blindly straight into a wall. There was a loud impact as he collided with the immovable structure of the hotel, the sound a little weird and followed by a series of loud yelps. Almost immediately, everyone could see exactly what happened: in his alarm, Alastor’s antlers had expanded, and they were now stuck pretty firmly in the wall.

Cherri was the first one who laughed, but she wasn’t the only one. Angel had to admit, it was funny, watching the big bad Radio Demon struggle to unstick himself from a wall, of all things. The laughter was contagious, spreading through the group in a rippling wave. In moments, the only one who wasn’t laughing was Charlie, who dropped her own script pages and ran straight over to try and help Alastor liberate himself.

Angel leaned forward as Cherri slapped his back in her laughter, and he rubbed a tear of mirth out of his eye, looking over to where Charlie was failing to even approach the struggling overlord. Angel watched as he took a swipe at her with a clawed hand, ineffectually scrabbling at the wall with the other and kicking the baseboard in an attempt to extricate himself without retracting his antlers.

The moment Angel heard Alastor’s distressed keening noise, he realized Alastor couldn’t retract his antlers. He wasn’t just exhausted, he was panicking and…

Humiliated.

Angel jumped to his feet, guilt smothering his amusement like a bucket of water on a birthday candle. “Shut the fuck up!” he yelled over everyone’s cackling, his unusually sharp tone enough to startle all of them into a silence that highlighted the way Alastor’s breathing had become high and far too fast. Angel didn’t bother with any admonishment, instead running over to where the other sinner had trapped himself and taking Charlie by the shoulders. “Move,” he said, not taking his eyes off Alastor.

She looked up at him. “But— but he’s—!”

“I got it. Move.” As Charlie backed off, Angel approached, trying to put himself in Alastor’s line of sight. His sclera had gone entirely black and his smile was tight and stressed; Angel couldn’t actually see, but he was pretty sure Alastor’s irises had turned into radio dials. “Hey, Alastor,” he said gently, immediately bending backwards as the overlord took a vicious swipe at him, too. “Whoa, whoa, big guy, it’s okay.”

When Alastor put both of his hands on the wall and ineffectually shrugged with a cry that was almost pathetic, Angel took the opportunity to swoop in, hoping Alastor’s physiology was as close to human as it looked and that this didn’t get him gutted. He pushed one hand up into Alastor’s hair from his nape, cradling the back of his head with his palm and gently pressing his fingers into the bases of Alastor’s antlers. A second hand cupped the back of Alastor’s neck, thumb and forefinger immediately seeking out the pressure points at the base of his skull. His third hand went to Alastor’s back, stroking down his spine before lifting and repeating the motion as though he was trying to calm a stressed animal. And his fourth hand just rested on Alastor’s shoulder, primarily so he would feel it if the Radio Demon lashed out and could attempt to evade if necessary.

“Hey, Smiles, it’s okay, it’s just me,” Angel said as soothingly as he could when he felt Alastor’s muscles growing so taut that he feared the other demon would snap into pieces. “Shh, it’s okay, ain’t nobody in here gonna give you any shit, I promise. And if they try, I’ll kill ‘em for you, or at least hold ‘em down while you kill ‘em, okay?”

Angel kept up his gentle touches, leaning close to murmur low enough that only Alastor could hear him, and silently marveled at the fact that he was touching Alastor and Alastor was letting him. His hair was soft, and his coat was clearly made from expensive material, but even through the thick cloth Angel’s fingers could have counted his ribs and each individual vertebrae. And slowly, in response to his touch, Alastor actually began to relax. His breath slowed, his smile grew less tense, and with a crackle of broken plaster, his antlers slowly began to recede.

“You can rip everybody up into tiny pieces, and then I’ll help ya make jambalaya or gumbo or whatever you want outta their bits. Or I can make bolognese outta them. Whatever you’re feelin’.” That was enough to get the smallest noise of amusement from Alastor, more of a huff of breath than anything else, but with that his antlers returned to their usual shape.

As he finally freed himself from the wall, Angel made to release him, but Alastor spun to face him at an alarming speed and seized him by his upper arms. “Alastor—?!” Angel’s voice was a soft exclamation, but he froze, watching Alastor hang his head and regain control of his ragged and pained breathing.

Angel was anticipating having his arms ripped straight from his body—nobody touched Alastor, especially not when he wasn’t expecting it—but Alastor just held onto him like he was genuinely afraid Angel was about to disappear. His grip wasn’t even painful, just tight. Desperate, maybe, though with his panic gone Angel couldn’t begin to understand why. But even as he held onto Angel’s arms, Alastor’s wicked claws didn’t so much as scratch him, and his hands… they were soft.

It felt like an hour passed before Alastor’s breathing evened out, but Angel knew it was only a few seconds. Slowly, Alastor raised his head to look up at Angel, his ears laid flat against his head and his eyes wide, but no longer manic. Before, Angel had always associated Alastor’s eyes with the color of blood, but this close… they were more like deep garnet set into rich ruby. For the eyes of a mass murdering serial killer, they were almost alarmingly warm as they caught Angel’s gaze and held it.

“…thank you, Angel.”

The words were spoken so quietly Angel wouldn’t have heard them if Alastor hadn’t been mere inches from him. Before he could even consider formulating a response, the shadows Alastor so fondly called his friends swirled up from the ground, wrapping around his body and pulling him into blackness. It was his hands that pulled away last, gently releasing Angel’s arms and leaving trails with fingertips that made the spider’s flesh tingle. For the briefest moment, Alastor’s shadow remained, and Angel thought it was watching him with something that felt like wary curiosity before it too vanished.

Angel stared at the broken wall and the plaster that littered the carpet as Charlie stormed back to the group, lighting into them for being mean and immediately beginning to lay new ground rules, but Angel barely heard a word she said. He folded his arms and placed his hands where Alastor’s had been moments before, like he could still feel the other sinner holding onto him like a lifeline, and marveled at his own foolishness.

When, he wondered, had he started caring this much about Alastor’s wellbeing? When had Alastor decided that Angel Dust of all people was worthy of breaking his five foot rule, even in such extraordinary circumstances? When had Angel determined it was worth risking his own health and safety to prevent Alastor from hurting himself?

And, most importantly, what was he doing thinking about Alastor at all?

•

The next evening, Angel was in his bedroom cleaning his toys when a dome of shadow manifested on his floor mere feet away from him. He squealed in alarm, launching himself backwards and tumbling off the other side of his bed to land in a graceless heap on his floor. Swearing he could hear something giggling somewhere around him, he grabbed his comforter and hauled himself up, leaning on the mattress with his arms and peering around suspiciously.

The shadow was gone, and Angel didn’t see any threats or blood or threatening animal corpses. He did, however, see a plate sitting on his floor. That plate held a stack of some kind of pastries and a folded card with his name on it.

“…the fuck…” Angel muttered, clambering over his bed and hopping down to land beside the plate. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the plate was full of freshly-baked beignets, generously covered with powdered sugar and still so warm that the sugar was beginning to melt. He picked up the card and looked at the delicate penmanship spelling out ‘Angel Dust’, then flipped it open, taking in the simple message written so beautifully.

Tell no one. You know what will happen if you do.

Angel felt himself actually smiling in a way that he hadn’t for a very long time, folding the card again and pressing the corner to his lips. He considered for a moment, then glanced at a nearby shadow. “You can tell him I ain’t gonna let anybody know he baked somethin’ for me like a sweetheart.” He didn’t see Alastor’s shadow, but he heard another giggle and he knew it was there.

He picked up the plate and carried it to his bed, opening his bedside table drawer and slipping the note in with a few other belongings that he didn’t want anyone else seeing but liked having on hand. As he laid on his bed, petting Fat Nuggets and nibbling on delicious baked goods and texting with Cherri about how Alastor had apparently gotten into her apartment and hidden all of her explosive components around the city, leaving only a very obtuse list of scavenger hunt-style clues… Angel wondered if he was starting to remember what being happy felt like.

•••

#my writing #hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin angel dust #radiodust #hazbin radiodust #radiodust fanfic #queerplatonic radiodust #pre relationship #hazbin charlie #hazbin vaggie #hazbin cherri bomb #hazbin husk #hazbin sir pentious #hazbin niffty #writing prompt #hazbin headcanons

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mochinomnoms · 9 months

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Something I've been wondering is if Yuu has a baby with one of the mer boys, will the kid also need a potion to change from fishy to leg haver, or will them having a human parent means they would be able to do so without it. I've also been wondering if a human has a kid with one of the beast boys, will the kid have a tail and ears no matter what? I feel like in general their genetics are probably stronger than humans.

I think it would depend on several factors, and considering I barely pass bio my sophomore year in uni, I'm gonna combine a bit of Google and pulling shit out of thin air for some reasoning.

It would seem that most of the creatures in Twisted Wonderland take on a mostly human appearance in some form or fashion, with merfolk having the most extreme difference. I would argue that non-human features, such as bright hair and eye colors, teeth type/shape, ears type/shape, and extra body limbs such as horns, tails, as well as physical evidence of curses/blessings.

For merfolk though, having such vastly different features, it would depend on a few other factors as well:

I imagine that whether they're in human or merform would be a large factor in what genes get passed down. Looking at Ariel and Melody in the second movie, Melody was only passed down human traits. She also didn't turn into a mermaid until she had magical assistance. So most likely, if Azul or the twins decided to have children in their human forms, their children would turn out completely human with a higher change of inheriting their hair color, teeth, and other mer traits.

However, if they were to have the kid while in their merform, I'm inclined to believe that they would take after them and their merforms. I like to think that in this case, their children would be able to transform into their mer and human forms at will without a potion, unlike full-merfolk. Transfiguration spells and potions are highly restricted according to some lines from Azul and Jack in their vignettes, so it would be most beneficial for a family blended between the land and sea.

Alternatively, if they were approved to get a transfiguration spell or potion for Yuu to permanently turn into a mer, then the child would be full mer. In that case, there's another discussion to be hand about which mer-traits are dominant/recessive.

For the beastmen, it's significantly less complicated:

Beastmen traits are going to be dominant, so any of the Savanaclaw boys will find that their children will take after them. It's not only the ears, canine, and tail that remain, but the vibrant eye and hair colors as well! Why do you think so many of the humans in Twisted Wonderland still find themselves with brilliant, unnatural-natural hair and eye colors? Beastmen-human families are incredibly common and have been throughout history. Even when those descendants have their own children and the more obvious ears and tails are lost, you have to wonder a little where those sharper teeth and nails come from. Where does the pretty green, perfect for blending into forest foliage, or white, clean and pretty like the snow, come from in their family line?

It's gotta be from somewhere, generations ago, right? And that's not even touching on fae traits…

#mochi asks #twst #twisted wonderland #worldbuilding #maybe?

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jackiepackiee · 5 days

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𝒟𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓃 𝒮𝓁𝒶𝓎𝑒𝓇 𝐻𝒞

𝒜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓁! 𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇

𝒲/ 𝑀𝓊𝒾𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓇𝑜 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒮𝒶𝓃𝑒𝓂𝒾

@zandik-kidnaz request

𝑀𝓊𝒾𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓇𝑜

It’s not too often that Muichiro sees something he is taken aback by so much he stops

He is the sort of boy who doesn’t look twice, acting at first and not backtracking

Then… he met you

Wings on the back of your head, perfectly entangled with your hair

Soft and bright skin, such kind and gentle eyes

You even had eyes on the back on your hands!

He never before considered beauty to be a factor he cared much more… but wow

You changed his mindset a little

He didn’t for a second think you were a demon

Even with your otherworldly appearance

He knew demons

Their coldness, hunger, and evil eyes

A sort of aura of destruction

But not you

You seemed to brighten up everything you came in contact with, not kill

And he was floored

He follows you around like a puppy, unaware of anything else

Staring at your wings and comparing them to the clouds he sees

He’ll even make paper airplanes the same colors as your wings

If you get closer, he doesn’t ask very many questions

It’s not that he doesn’t care, it’s actually the opposite

He doesn’t want to come across as rude he also just don’t mind too much for details

The mist hashira may have a lot to learn, but an angel would definitely help ;)

𝒮𝒶𝓃𝑒𝓂𝒾

Sanemi is a man… a complicated man

Even if you are the kindest, and most loving person on earth he won’t immediately be kind to you

It’s not that he doubts your credibility in kind character, he is just like that

He doesn’t want to become to close with anyone

Now… when you first met

He is ashamed to say it, but he did mistake you for a demon

It’s not that he was going to attack, he is just so paranoid

Ready to fight anything and everything

That’s until he really looks at you

A gentle smile that takes your whole face in expression, eyes that seem to comfort him wordlessly and reassure him everything is okay

He freezes… how could one person be so perfect?

As you get closer, don’t expect many questions from him

It’s not that he’s not curious, he’s actually dying to know

It’s simply that he doesn’t wanna come off as overbearing and he’s afraid of offending you

When you two get together most everyone is surprised

How is that hotheaded man with a literal angel?!?!

It’s easy, your kindness is perfectly reflected by his

He’s just not the best at showing it

He always makes sure to detangle any hair of yours that gets stuck in your wings

And holds your hands/waist gently as to not bother your eyes

He is immensely protective

He would do anything to keep you safe

Especially with how you are, he trusts very few people with you

The wind hashira is a harsh man, so an angel is just what he needs

#kny sanemi #sanemi shinazugawa #sanemi x reader #sanemi shinaguzawa #demon slayer sanemi #muichiro x reader #muichiro tokito #kny muichiro #demon slayer muichiro #kny #kny x reader #demon slayer #demon slayer x reader

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metalgearstranding · 2 months

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Big Boss' Boyfriends: a Retrospective? A Character Analysis? A Bunch of Words Strung Together For Sure

Re: this post about Ocelot being willing to die FOR Big Boss versus Kaz willing to die WITH Big Boss. I think it's absolutely true, and I just wanted to expand on the subject and talk about Ocelot and Kaz, and why they're different on that front because of their personality and their history.

(Notes: 1 English is not my first language so forgive the mistakes and the general lack of polish 2) those are of course my personal interpretations of events colored by bias. I'm not pretending to know the Correct and True version of anything. Also I might be misrembering/forgetting things. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about CANON informations, add important infos I might have forgotten, and share your own interpretations of the characters and events if you want!)

Unlike Ocelot who went on to do his solo thing after MGS3, Kaz was taken in by Snake after they met, and MSF was born shortly after. Kaz was vital to the creation of MSF, it was his baby as much as it was Snake's. MSF was more than a base, it was a home, for both of them. It brought them close, not only because they shared something they made together, but also because they spent a lot of time together, physically. Even when Snake wasn't on mother base, they constantly kept in contact through the radio. They had plenty of opportunities to get to know each other personally and become close. It's ironic that Kaz probably never knew Snake's real name, because for a while he was in a better place than Ocelot to really get to know "John".

Officially, Snake was the boss at MSF of course, with Kaz serving as his XO, his second in command. Their relationship never really felt particularly hierarchical however. Despite his talk in MGS3 about being loyal to the top brass and willing to die for them, Snake never gave me the vibe that he cared very much about ranks and rigid military rules, especially not after leaving FOX to do his own thing. Kaz didn't have that much military experience to begin with in comparison, so he was probably more than comfortable with the loosey goosey operation Snake was conducting. So yeah, to me, Snake and Kaz in Peace Walker felt more like equals than anything.

Even without a romantic angle, their relationship was very symbiotic, so it makes perfect sense that they'd both be willing to go down with the ship, considering the amount of time, money, love, and blood that was poured into their new way of life. Kaz especially -in contrast to his sharp business acumen and practical sense- always struck me as a very... intense guy, for better or for worse. Hell, the bbkaz meet cute was Kaz almost blowing both himself and Snake with a grenade... So yes, straight from the beginning, Kaz was very willing to die with Snake, first as an enemy, and then as a friend/lover/partner once Snake's rizz won his heart over. And it was both Kaz's practical sense and his passionate nature that cost him Snake's companionship (in part).

Ocelot's case is simultaneously both simpler and much more complicated. He and Snake are as inextricably linked together as Snake and Kaz, but in a different way.

The two men have known each other for a long time, and they were around each other for one of the most formative moments of their lives. Snake lost an eye to Ocelot and gained his absolute loyalty (and the coolness factor that comes with an eyepatch). Meanwhile, Ocelot simply wouldn't be Ocelot without Snake: the revolvers, the interrogation fetish, Ocelot's chosen Purpose in life, all of that can be retraced to Snake. They share a mother, one spiritually and the other genetically. They've tried to kill each other several times, and saved each other just as often. Aside from the nod to Ocelot and Snake's plot armor, MGS3 loves to show how Fate brought them together. First, by making the Boss -he most important and influential person in Snake's life- Ocelot's mother, and second, with all the moments where Ocelot COULD have killed Snake, but wasn't "allowed" to.

Even without the events of the story bringing them together, unlike Snake and Kaz who are complimentary but very different, Snake and Ocelot are very alike. The Sorrow spoke of the Spirit of the Warrior, which both men have. Snake joined the military very young (15yo), and that life is all he's known and wanted. Ocelot was literally born on a battlefield and raised to be a spy. Both men live by the sword, are perfectly content living that way, and they understand that about each other. The notes for the MGS3 script about their meeting in Rassvet speak of them immediately liking each other: "a pure love". If you ignore the strong connotations of the word "love", it's clear that both men recognized as kindred spirit in the other at the very least.

No matter how strong the bond and the understanding between them, Snake and Ocelot rarely came into direct contact after MGS3. It's very possible they met more often when the Patriots were founded, or were in more direct contact after Snake left, but we don't get to see that in game. With or without hints to Snake and Ocelot's contacts through the years, the games make it clear that Ocelot is someone who prefers to work alone behind the scenes, and is actually quite happy and more comfortable that way. There are several hints that he DOES miss Snake sometimes though in the script of MGSV. Then there's this amazing line: "Foxes spend most of their time alone, but they'll keep the same mate. They say that in the case of the Blanford's foxes, it's for life. *hmph* Can't see the sense of it myself." Ocelot is obviously full of shit, because this describes him to a T: he too spent most of his time alone but kept the same mate (Snake) all of his life.

Ocelot being apart from Snake most of the time seems to be in major part a decision of the former. But that means that despite sharing their formative moments, Ocelot didn't get to know Snake -"John"- as he is in his day-to-day life like Kaz did. Snake's more intimate habits, quirks, tastes, what makes him laugh, how long he takes to dress up in the morning, that kind of stuff you only learn by sharing someone's life he didn't have access to as far as we know. In MGSV, Ocelot says this: "She (Quiet) fell in love with the legend (Snake). I was the same way, once." You can interpret this line a few different ways, but it's indeniable: Ocelot fell in love with the legend. And I think in a way, because of the physical distance between them, Snake remained a Legend in his mind, a distant deity he had chosen to devote himself to.

Ocelot might not have had the privilege to be raised and taken care of by his parents, but he is definitely their son. The Boss and the Sorrow were characterized by their strong sense of loyalty, love and duty. When the Philosophers forced the couple to face each other in battle, threatening to end their son's life if they didn't, the Sorrow willingly decided he'd be the one to give his life. And of course, the Boss' life is filled with examples of her self-sacrificial nature. Through the sacrifice of her life and reputation, she saved millions of lives.

Ocelot wasn't as noble as the Boss, he doesn't exactly share his mother's wish for peace, but he is just as self-sacrificial and loyal to a fault (well, to HIM at least). He didn't like Zero's vision of the world, and he went to impressively absurd lengths to destroy it. Whether or not he truly believed that hard in Snake's pet project, Ocelot still went to MORE impressively absurd lengths to help Snake see it through. Not for honor, but for Him.

But what about Snake's in all of that? Snake is kind of an idiot, the end. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

Seriously though, I don't think I'm being very controversial if I say that Snake is single-minded to an unhealthy degree. He doesn't seem to care about much outside of war, guns and cigars... And the Boss. And that's where the problem lies.

The extent to which Snake was attached to the Boss was a little erm... worrisome? For a man who said he didn't care about other people's lives, Snake sure was interested in the Boss as EVA points out in MGS3. Snake didn't take their time apart well, and he took her death (at his own hands) even worse. The events of Snake Eater pretty much singlehandedly ruined Snake and all remaining hopes he could've had to someday live a healthier life.

One of my friends once said about Snake that he was incapable of love. I don't think it's wrong, but it's also very much not true, because Metal Gear Solid as a series happened because Snake couldn't heal from the pain of losing someone he loved so deeply. Sadly, it did affect his relationships after that, especially the ones who loved him most, Ocelot and Kaz in particular. Of course, the death of the Boss wasn't the only factor for that, there were also the betrayals, the many, many betrayals... I'm not gonna talk about Zero here, but aside from the Boss, he's the one who did the most damage to Snake.

After he and Zero parted ways, unable to reconcile their difference of opinions about the Boss's will (and Zero doing the first in a series of Very Fucked Up Things), Snake went on to do his thing and met Kaz. They found each other when they needed it the most, and despite their ideological differences, joined forces to create a home for the both of them.

The day they met, when Snake explained to Kaz what he was doing in Columbia (mercenary work). Kaz's first reaction was: "so you go where the money is". Snake denied this, told Kaz that they were fighting for themselves. Kaz insisted: "so, for the money". Snake should've seen this as the red flag it later came to be. Snake does what he does for the love of the Game. He fights to live and lives to fight. Kaz does what he does for money. That served Snake well during the MSF days, because Snake is not a very practical guy outside of the battlefield, logistics aren't his thing and neither is handling money.

And that's when Kaz did an oopsie. MSF was struggling, and when a golden opportunity presented itself, Kaz just couldn't say no. Blinded by the prospect of getting a lot of money to help MSF grow, Kaz accepted to work with Zero... without telling Snake. Snake who had just been more or less stabbed in the back by Zero and had trust issues up the wazoo at this point. Snake didn't say much when it was revealed, but you can feel the disappointment in his voice when he says Kaz's name.

When Kaz learns in Phantom Pain that Snake has left to make a bigger, better MSF, he gets pissed and vows to send Snake to hell. Aside from being the consequence of his actions in Peace Walker, Kaz's reaction is both puzzling and very understandable.

Snake and Kaz were close, they were partners. Or so Kaz thought. Kaz would've been ready to die with Snake for what they had created together, but Ocelot informed him that he wouldn't get to be by Snake's side while he built his new nation of fighters. Kaz had been... demoted, essentially. In his mind at least. No longer an equal partner, he was now working FOR Snake, not with him. And he couldn't take it. He had become so comfortable sitting at the right hand of God that he thought he was now entitled to share the throne with him (Which I guess makes Kaz Lucifer in a way in this analogy...? And Ocelot Archangel Michael? XD).

Snake at this point had bought into his own hype, rejected the Boss and claimed the title of Big Boss once and for all after struggling with it for years. He went along with Zero's Phantom idea, and rode away from a burning hospital with a smile on his face. If Snake had second thoughts at the time, if he felt guilty or grateful about the enormous sacrifices that were made in his name, we don't really get to hear about it.

Kaz lost his partner status but he wasn't kicked to the curb completely however, which means Snake still wanted him around in some capacity at least. Or Snake assumed that he had Kaz's loyalty no matter what, and would gladly get along with the plan just like Ocelot. In a way, he wouldn't have been wrong, because despite Kaz's anger and his vow to get revenge on Big Boss via enfant terrible one day, he still stayed around to help with the Phantom project. It's unknown if Kaz submitted himself -willingly or not- to hypnotism. Ocelot being over-committed is nothing new, but I wonder if he would've insisted to do the same to Kaz...

If Kaz had carefully proded the limits of his position in Peace Walker, in Phantom Pain he kept poking at them with his crutch . Kaz had always been intense, but his anger and lust for revenge during the game were very loud next to Venom Snake's calm attitude. Kaz constantly went against Snake's decision, demanding where Ocelot suggested. The best exemple is Kaz outright telling Venom Snake that if he took Quiet back to the base, he'd "just have her killed", sending choppers with armed men pointing their weapons at Snake. Once again, Kaz acts as an equal, not someone who's taking orders, which either means he WAS hypnotized and didn't learn his lesson, or he wasn't hypnotized, and doesn't recognize Venom Snake's authority as his commander at all. Even if he gave no shit about a hierarchy, if he was pissed against the real Snake, Kaz still seemed to yearn for him, at least at the beginning. They get so close so often in the first hours of the game that you really wonder whether they're going kiss or not.

We know where Kaz ends up at some point after this (training Solid Snake, then getting killed -presumably by Ocelot- in his home). I'd really like to know when he left Venom Snake's side, and how Venom took it...

All the while, Ocelot had always been working in Snake's interests and never waivered. Ocelot stayed behind as a spy for Snake when the latter left the Patriots. Zero was probably aware of that fact, but by that point, Ocelot's loyalty and love for Snake was beyond question, so it's no wonder he was chosen to watch over Snake for the next 9 years while he was in a coma. Meanwhile, Kaz was informed that Snake was alive and safe, but was not told where, and he was not allowed to see him either (because his presence would be a dead giveaway for Snake's enemies). Whatever news he received were via Ocelot.

Kaz's emotions always get the best of him, he's very expressive, so we know how he feels at all times. Ocelot on the other hand is calm, composed, in control. He's made a career out of pretending to be what he's not, so it's hard to say how he really feels. I'm sure he was devastated by what happened to Snake, but we don't really get to see it sadly. In MGSV he acts like a professional, he offers his expertise to Snake when it's needed. He's not subservient, but he's fully aware of his place and his role. Despite his poker face, I think you can still very much feel Ocelot's affection for Snake during the game (and possibly even some jealousy towards Quiet).

Ocelot's insistence to work alone, his history with Snake, and his reverence for Snake saved him from a lot of the heartbreak Kaz had to go through. It also guaranteed his place in Snake's life until the very end. We don't really know what Snake thought of Ocelot, how he really felt about him, but we know he trusted him fully, which, considering all the betrayals Snake went through, really means something.

Kaz made errors of judgement and let his emotions get the better of him, which cost him Snake's trust and the place at his side he wanted so badly. Ocelot's independance and dedication to his mission cost him an opportunity to really get to know the man he had worked so hard for. He never really got to see the fruits of his schemes: the end of the Patriots, and Snake himself, gloriously back to life, free from them at last. And because of his single mindedness, his selfishness (or obliviousness perhaps), and the heartbreak he could never heal from, Snake was never able to give back to the people who loved him and gave everything to him.

#bosselot #bbkaz #revolver ocelot #naked snake #big boss #kaz miller #kazuhira miller #mgs #mine #i could have added eva in the team of blondes doing dumb shit for snake but this was getting way too long lol

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bloomeng · 1 year

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“Genshin character designs are bad.”

You really can’t navigate through the Genshin fandom without hearing this take. It’s stale at this point, but it’s…. also true. Except that’s usually not what people are actually saying. The true question up for debate: Are Genshin character designs ugly?

It irks me because there is validity to the original statement, and yet the conversation immediately moves into the territory of strictly opinion, leaving the true discussion never to be had.

So I’m having it… with myself…. in the form of a long post, because actually I find Genshin an interesting character design case study.

Before I really get into it I must address the elephant in the room; are Genshin’s character designs colorist?

Yes. Moving on.

Okay, okay, I’ll address it a little, Genshin has a problem with colorism. It’s a fiercely debated topic and honestly it’s one of the only real valid discussions I see around Genshin’s designs. That being said, I have nothing new to add to the conversation. If you don’t know why, sorry I’m not qualified to answer that, but you’re in luck because tons of qualified people have explained it across all platforms.

What I am partially equipped to talk about is character design. I’m no expert but I have taken a few formal classes on the subject, so I do have some insight to share. Character design at its core is usually quantified by how much of a character’s personality can be clearly determined from sight alone and how recognizable their silhouette is (though I’m not gonna touch on that today). Now there’s a lot of factors that go into both, but the fundamental thing that contributes to both is something known as shape language.

Shape has meaning. What that meaning is often depends on culture factors that determine your associations, but the Western simplification of shape is that circles are good-natured, rectangles/ squares are reliable, and triangles are energized. (these are my own personal words for them, there are countless ways to go about describing these associations) Shapes are then combined with each other to create more complex associations, and so on and so forth. It’s impossible to create a character without evoking some form of shape language, because art at its core is just shapes. The classic example are the round shapes seen in Mickey Mouse, though often times it’s far more subtle, like how Barbie has soft, round lines in her hair and face, but her hourglass figure is comprised of triangles to tell you she’s sexy, but the soft curves say she’s sweet not sexual— and it quickly gets very complicated. Basically character designs are rarely comprised of one shape alone, and when combined the “vibes” they evoke become complex.

So what does this have to do with Genshin? Genshin has poor shape language. The most obvious example of this are the faces. Genshin has same face syndrome, which I partially contribute to budget constraints with the models seeing as they reuse them over and over. Though it also has a lot to do with Genshin’s need for their characters to be conventionally attractive. Everyone must be beautiful and, as the current trend in anime artstyles dictates, not look a day over 12. The only thing that changes is the eye shape, but even then, it really doesn’t. There’s diversity between the male and female models, but calling it diversity seems generous, because they are practically the same. All the viewer has to go on to differentiate between faces are the expressions (and color but we’ll get there), which are also limited by the models.

The poor quality of the shape language continues into the bodies, seeing as the only thing that really changes is the height, not a lot of room for show casing contrast. (Also body diversity is just a good thing to have for the sake of having body diversity.) Visual contrast is one of the key things good shape language should deliver. It’s within this contrast that the viewer will have the opportunity to compare and thus make these associations. One character design may tell you things based on previous knowledge but it’s like an experiment without a control group.

Then we get to the character’s outfits and hairstyles. While it’s true there is a fair amount of diversity in clothing, the shape language continues to falter. Genshin characters have so much going on constantly in their designs that it seems like that should provide plenty of opportunities to showcase personality. Unfortunately what ultimately happens is that the details compete amongst themselves so much that they overshadow any sort of unified message they might have had about who this character is. Basically there’s too many different shapes. They don’t create a pattern and therefore don’t form any strong associations. You can have a good design with a lot of details but they should communicate a pattern together. A design is not good simply because it has a lot of detail. I will say there are definitely times where the clothing and hair do actually come through to tell me stuff about the character, but overall this over designing tends to be a detriment.

Genshin’s hair while in different styles usually relies on the same type of pointy strands and blunt edges.

(these characters were randomly selected to prove my point that you can quite literally pick any character in genshin and they will have at least one of these two components)

On their own pointy strands might tell us something, but considering every character has them, the pattern within a single character is rendered moot. “If everyone’s super, no one is.” Of course how they choose to wear their hair does speak to the character but its effect is limited when the structure of the hair is fundamentally the same. And then when you consider that the styling of many of these hairstyles doesn’t actually say a whole lot, it becomes obvious that Genshin is more concerned with creating hair that stands out. The problem is that details, asymmetry for example, normally tell us about the character, but considering so many hairstyles utilize asymmetry, it looses its meaning. Overall I will say I think Genshin is more of a 50/50 toss up on whether or not the hair suits the character.

I want to take a moment to point out a couple hair style designs in Genshin I think are really lovely and work very well.

And now I would like to do the same with some outfits.

(honorable mention to Bennett for being over accessorized in a way that actually tells you about his personality (goggles, a scar, bandaids, work gloves, utility belt), to Barbara for somehow mashing the concept of a nun and an idol together, to Klee for her childish whimsy and finally to Scaramoche for the sheer amount of subtle character growth motifs fit into all three of his outfits (the cultural stuff is really cool too))

Genshin I will say does a great job of creating and repeatedly using the elemental imagery as well as Khaneira’ah’s star. I also appreciate that every Archon has that ombre hair shift that glows during their burst. Makes them feel unique.

I think Genshin shines the brightest when they successfully incorporate cultural elements into their designs however, the only nation that does this with any sort of consistency is Inazuma. Inazuma’s aesthetic is so instantly recognizable. No one dresses exactly the same, but there are common through lines in the shoes, the style of the armor, and patterns in the clothes. (The design aesthetic is so strong that even after Scara got a Sumeru makeover he managed to keep elements that were clearly identifiable as Inazuman) Every other nation falls short in this department. I will give credit to the knights as there is some level of consistency in their designs, mostly in the metallic detailing; not quite a uniform but there is some commonality. Liyue does have cultural influence that definitely shows but it suffers from an overall lack of consistency in aesthetic, and doesn’t lean into its Chinese inspiration the same way Inazuma does. Mondstadt on the other hand is just vaguely European, but also half the time not even.

And then there’s Sumeru. I distinctly remember looking at the full Sumeru cast the first time and thinking that none of the them looked like they came from the same place. (It’s almost as if Sumeru is based on a bunch of separate countries that are culturally very different.) Pretty much no character has any real ties to any any real culture, but instead they just sorta grab vague elements. And at its worse just leans into orientalism (Nilou and Dori). I think personality wise the designs do a fairly stable job of saying at least something about their characters (Dehya and Kaveh). The designs do well individually but between the vague references and inconsistencies they falter. (I will say Cyno’s whole design being a reference to Yu-Gi-Oh is both hilarious, charming, and also mildly appropriative.)

On the topic of appropriation I think it’s important to note that Inazuma suffers from this too. While I absolutely love the way a lot of Japanese elements were integrated, outfits like Yae Miko’s shrine maiden garb bring forth this sexualization of cultural dress that I’m not particularly fond of. But then again you can also critique Rosaria’s sexy nun design for the same thing.

I also want to touch on something briefly because it’s important to note, but it’s a separate, much bigger conversation; Genshin, like anime, falls into a trap of catering their style to lolicon and shotacon enjoyers. It’s the reason all the characters look so young, why all the age discourse exists, why they refuse to confirm ages, and why all the children with the toddler model have some weird age work around. I don’t like it. It’s gross.

Another brief mention because it’s its own conversation; the female characters in Genshin are often over sexualized. Their clothes are skin tight, they almost always have weird random cut-outs, their skirts and dresses are designed to show off their breasts and asses, and all of their designs are high fem regardless of their personality. Give a female character baggy pants Genshin I dare you. Dori doesn’t count, she’s a toddler model in just a bra. I don’t have a problem with a female character being hot, but when that’s the only requirement…. it’s tiring. The classic female character design video game debate…. yah.

I think my overarching issue with Genshin’s clothing design is it says nothing about whose these people are. What jobs do they do? What do these accessories say about them personally? Take Yanfei. She’s a lawyer, yet nothing about her outfit speaks to that in the slightest. I remember the first time I sat down and looked at all the playable characters with a friend of mine. I didn’t play at the time and we thought it would be fun to see if I could guess their personalities. As you can imagine I did pretty poorly, and that’s because these designs just don’t suggest a whole lot.

And then we get to color.

Color is probably the most complicated part of art let alone character design. I feel as though we all have some familiarity with the concept of color coding in character design. The classic red/blue character foils. Color often suggests specific traits similar to the way shape language does, except unlike shape language color coding doesn’t always apply. You can’t just assign a character a color and call it coding, the character has to physically have that color on them in some significant manner. For example Naruto is clearly an orange coded character. He appears in the color throughout the series, but I couldn’t classify Eren Yeager as a green coded character even if it suited his personality (which it doesn’t) because it’s a uniform everyone wears. Attack on Titan does not evoke color coding the way Naruto does, so it’s not applicable.

With Genshin color is complicated. Genshin does have an established color pattern for all the elements, but not every character wears the color of their element. Now normally I would say just having a color pattern for the elements wouldn’t be enough to justify character color coding (since it would fall back into the uniform category), but in Genshin their visions connect to their personalities, so therefore the color of the elements is connected to them. For some the color coding is very obvious (Kaeya & Diluc) and for others it’s practically nonexistent (Yun Jin & Heizou). In all honestly I don’t know what to make of this other than Genshin is inconsistent in their elemental color coding but always consistent in their high saturation. Because color is complicated and a weaker area of mine it is equally likely that I’m missing something or that Genshin isn’t coding anything and it’s all pure aesthetics.

Which brings me to my final point; aesthetics. Hoyo as a company cares that you spend money. That is the number one goal at the end of the day. That’s why all their characters are conventionally attractive, why their art style is the way it is, why their shape language suffers, and why their outfits are overly detailed. It’s all about aesthetics. As a brand Genshin cares less about their story and more about how pretty their characters look, because if their characters are pretty then you’ll spend money. It’s not like Hoyo designed characters with bad shape language because they were ignorant. They knew exactly what they were doing when they sculpted every last visually pleasing strand of pointy hair.

Which brings me back to the real question that people were actually arguing over in the first place; are Genshin characters ugly?

I can’t answer that question. I mean they weren’t designed to be ugly, but if they don’t appeal to your taste, then to you they are ugly. But it’s more important to understand that “bad” and “ugly” are not the same. Genshin character designs are bad by professional standards but that doesn’t mean you can’t like them. Genshin designs can be both bad and likable, bad and pretty, bad and cute. Those are two vastly different things. It’s the same way people adore cult classic movies. They’re not good in the eyes of a critic, otherwise they wouldn’t be niche. They’re cult classics because people like them. Personal taste is just that. Personal.

But the most important question of all; do I like the Genshin Impact character designs?

I didn’t use to but I gotta say, they’ve grown on me.

#genshin #genshin impact #long post #it’s an essay #i wrote an essay #character design #tagging the characters i look at specifically #in a positive light #yoimiya #venti #ayaka #zhongli #itto #yun jin #xin yan #tighnari #sorry about any potential typos #i have no beta reader #so it’s just me and my notoriously bad reputation for not spotting mistakes

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bestworstcase · 8 months

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@alullinchaos here

on this topic, do you think Summer will follow the pattern tai and qrow have laid out and show favoritism towards Ruby between the two sisters or that she'll do something else when she's introduced (versus Raven trying really hard to not show that she cares about Yang and as far as I know truly not being that concerned w/ Ruby)

it's tricky because on the one hand, narratively summer is inextricable from ruby's character and she is a much more central figure in ruby's character arc, with clear disparities in how present she is narratively (there is no yang equivalent of RLR2 for example). plus the lopsided "leave ruby alive" versus crickets for yang. but on the other, yang was parentified and her grief is complicated and to some degree suppressed by the reality that she had to be ruby's mom after summer left. plus she remembers summer as a fantastic mom. plus salem lets--not just yang, but all of yang's friends including oscar--go after yang identifies herself as summer's daughter, so while she's never said in so many words that yang is not to be killed, actions speak louder than words.

the only other factor we have to go on is what very, very little we've seen of who summer actually was, and how that compares to how she's remembered, and this i find very interesting because literally everybody who knew summer compares her to ruby, ruby's just like her, you sound just like your mother, summer would have pressed on, like you--and then. we get this fleeting glimpse of summer herself and she's so much like yang it hurts.

like the way she talks to raven. the snap in her tone. the resentment of raven for leaving. the shoulder check. that is exactly yang. even going rogue on a secret mission to do what she felt was right--is that not exactly the same sort of judgment call that yang made when she decided that blake was right and they should tell robyn the truth instead of trying to arrest her?

her loved ones had her on this pedestal, the heroic paragon, the best huntress ever, that's the comparison cast onto ruby when people tell her she's like summer. but the truth, the real person, was (at least in this small glimpse) quite a lot more like yang.

there is also the factor of ruby's silver eyes and summer's silver eyes, and the fact that we know nothing about summer's past. i think realistically she must have felt some special concern for ruby because of her silver eyes (whether it's true or not the inner circle believes that salem systematically picks them off and ozpin seems to actively recruit them when he can find them) and that this concern must have partly motivated her to go rogue (she doesn't want this life for ruby).

but at the same time i wonder if maybe that made it easier for summer to develop just a normal bond with yang (no baggage) versus ruby (all the baggage)--similar to how tai's unresolved and complicated feelings about raven color his perception of yang. like, i think if she hadn't left she might have tended to be more protective of ruby but closer to yang and more emotionally in tune with yang bc their basic personalities more similar

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moregee · 8 months

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Task 01.

PART 1: THE BASIC

What is your full name?

Her full name is Morgan Ann Ivy.

Where and when were you born?

Bronx, NY 2/22/98

Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.)

Nicole Ivy she is direct & candid. She consider herself a stage mom while also being a stay at home mother & wife. She only had one job in her life, where she met Morgan’s father while he was making a play. Joe Ivy is the complete opposite of her mother. He is more calm & secretive. He has his own tech company in New York City which expands over 38 states and 15 other countries.

Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like?

Morgan has about 8 separate siblings, 5 of which were conceived outside of her parents marriage and she has never met them.

Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people.

She currently lives alone in a townhouse located in Bel-Air. She has one cat named Shadow.

What is your occupation?

She is a socialite & works for her boyfriends company.

Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks.

Morgan identifies as African-American woman that is 5’6 & weighs 140 pounds. She is currently the heaviest she has been in years. Her hair is in a neck length bob, dyed jet black & occasionally complimented with bundles or clip ins. She has about 10 tattoos, she has matching tattoos with her best friends and her mom. She has 6 piercings all residing on her ears. Her personal style is unique, she considers herself a self-proclaimed fashionista. She enjoys designer items.

To which social class do you belong?

Upper.

Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses?

Morgan has seasonal allergies which include pollen.

Are you right- or left-handed?

Right-handed.

What does your voice sound like?

Her voice has been described as raspy with a New York accent.

What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently?

She often uses the words bro, yo and crazy.

What do you have in your pockets?

Nothing.

Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics?

She has a habit of rolling her eyes and kissing her teeth since copying her boyfriend.

PART 2: GROWING UP

How would you describe your childhood in general?

Morgan had a complicated childhood, to her. If you ask her parents she had the perfect childhood that they did not have growing up. She considered her life the picture perfect lifestyle if you were outside looking in. She was the middle child to her parents but the 5th child overall for her father.

What is your earliest memory?

Spending a weekend at her best friends house when she was 7.

How much schooling have you had?

Morgan graduated from UCLA.

Did you enjoy school?

She loved every moment of it.

Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities?

In school.

While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them.

Her grandmother was her biggest role model. She taught her how to treat people and how to get what she wanted out of life.

While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family?

Morgan only got along with her mother and siblings who lived in her household. She was cordial with her father.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A stay at home mom.

As a child, what were your favorite activities?

Playing outside and going to basketball games.

As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?

She was very confrontational and honest.

As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like?

Yes, she was popular amongst her peers. She had 2 best friends named Sarah and Mya they were both stubborn and confrontational. Morgan was the only water sign in the friend group. They were both fire signs.

When and with whom was your first kiss?

Jordan. 6th grade at grand central station.

Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity?

No, she lost her virginity at 15 to her long term boyfriend Jordan.

PART 3: PAST INFLUENCES

What do you consider the most important event of your life so far?

The most important event in her life so far is completing college with two degrees.

Who has had the most influence on you?

Her grandmother.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Graduating college.

What is your greatest regret?

Missing a year of college.

What is the most evil thing you have ever done?

The most evil thing she’s done is set her ex’s boyfriends car on fire along with his mothers.

Do you have a criminal record of any kind?

Yes.

When was the time you were the most frightened?

The time she was most frightened was when her father threaten to cut her off.

What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you?

The most embarrassing thing that has happened was when her father found out she was dating someone his age.

If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why?

She would change the fact she got caught with an older man.

What is your best memory?

Her best memory would have to be when she moved to LA for the last time.

What is your worst memory?

Her worst memory would have to be losing her grandpa and watching her grandpa live with a broken heart.

@la-rp - @la-citizens

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rawliverandgoronspice · 1 year

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I can kind of see why Hyrule reads as imperialistic to you in totk, but why do they read white? Sonia is brown and rauru is a black goat. What makes the difference between them and Ganondorf so bad?

Hey, thanks for the ask!

So... I have an answer, and it's kind of in layers. So I hope it's fine if I kind of go on Journey TM where I figure out my own feelings on the topic alongside you, the person reading! It's long! Kind of meandery! Sorry!!

Also, I had written a great version of this reply to this ask that Tumblr fucking ate and I'm furious about it, so this version is slightly more annoyed as a baseline because of Tumblr and not the ask itself. But I got stubborn and decided I would rewrite the whole thing tonight. So.

Here we go.

Layer One: My Basic and Unfiltered Gut Reaction

My first, potentially unwarranted gut-level reaction would be: I kind of think it's a stretch to consider them POC-coded. Sonia gives me more tanned Ariana Grande vibes than anything else, but that's... I mean, I'm aware that there are brown people with lushious blonde hair and blue eyes out there, that race as USA-infused Internet understands it is Complicated (I'm half-brazilian, and even though I'm very very white and don't consider myself biracial but bicultural, I had people discussing my ethnicity to my face a non-zero amounts of time, including quite recently, including in my own family! so I super get that it's more complicated than what I make it out to be here). But given vibes don't count as an argument, I completely get + accept if that reading on her ethicity is therefore dismissed. She could very well be brown. Fine by me.

(so, I feel like I have to add this borderline-conspiratory reason why I'm suspicious of her skin color being considered a factor here, which can 100% be dismissed but I still want to bring it to the table: I've been to several meetings and heard about many instances where "diverse traits" are being handed over to characters with the explicit purpose of using that diversity as shields against deeper criticisms of core aspects of the storytelling instead of fixing the storytelling itself, and honestly it could very well be the case here. I really hope it's just the team thinking Sonia would be prettier with a darker skin tone, because her design is genuinely lovely and I really like it, wish she didn't die like immediately and had a character arc of her own, but. Imagine the kneeling scene with two very white ladies and everything else, etc. It might be overly paranoid of me, but I can't help but squint a little bit in this specific instance, especially since the biracial trait here is so toned-down that it's barely there and barely committed to anything. Which would also make a good argument against this suspicion too tbh! Anyway. Just wanted to bring that up so you get the whole picture of where my brain is at.)

Rauru... Okay. Here's the thing: I can't unsee The Rauru. The original one I mean (and his Skyward Sword Gaebora counterpart), aka: the White Patriarch of all times.

(this has nothing to do with anything but Link's little recoil animation here is so funny to me, like he looks so shocked and his nose is so pointy)

I do think that removing the origins of this character from his DNA for TotK is kind of overly convenient when discussing this iteration, especially when his role in this game is basically a mixture of OoT Rauru and the Unnamed King of Hyrule (and every king of Hyrule that came after). I mean, okay sure maybe the Unnamed, Unseen King of Hyrule wasn't white but... it's obviously not true, right? And while I understand this is a different iteration of that character, many characters in the series maintain their base ethnicity across different reimaginings (even Blue Pig Ganon remains a gerudo at heart post OoT, at least in the way we keep on understanding him). And beyond this, given the fact that Rauru retains this energy of a Founding Father (in the largest possible sense), I feel that, at the very least, that patriarchal energy is extremely important to his character to a core degree.

But even so, yes. Rauru is now indeed a Goat Man. Not only is he a Goat Man, but he dresses in ways that are very inspired by mesoamerican cultures; undeniably so. So that would make him at least mesoamerican-coded, right?

I mean... I guess? I guess. Sure. But. I have now to introduce the Layer 2 of my argumentation, which is that...

Layer Two: Zonai Culture is Hylian Coded

So. Pretty bold claim I know. Let me explain.

Now I certainly do not want to say that mesoamerican civilizations are not *everywhere* in the aesthetic inspiration for the zonai culture in Tears of the Kingdom; I'm sure these real life references are overflooding the moodboards, from the color palet to the symbols to the artstyle, the costumes and the buildings. It's the main way the game communicates zonai-ness to us the player. And it's great! I wish they had went even harder in that direction (I think there's even pretty dramatic differences between the zonai ruins on the surface, much more interesting imo, than what was done with the actual zonai architecture at its peak).

But now, I will ask a question that I asked myself often while playing. What is zonai culture, beyond the feathers and the indented patterns and the swirls and the dangly bits? What characterizes it? I would say that zonai civilization is primarily interested in automation, technology, mining to develop said technology, and things that float in the sky. Beyond this, and from the limited perspective the game gives us through Rauru and Mineru, we see a society ruled by a patriarch (neutral term, it is just patriarchal in nature), married to a woman who is a priestess and doesn't seem to hold an equal amount of power (she doesn't speak as much, seems content to handle the religious side of things), who values collaboration and engineering prowesses, has an army, servants, robot servants, administrates other races through, to be docile and go the game's way, collaborativeness... It's Hyrule. It's just Hyrule, except older and with a different paintjob; but at heart, the style of society upheld by Rauru is very (eerily?) similar to what we get to know in the TotK/BotW era. Actually, this version of Hyrule seems extraordinarily similar to the Hyrule we get to see in BotW pre-Calamity: replace the zonai technology with the sheikah's, and what's the difference --except that this later version of Hyrule isn't trying to pass itself off as perfect? Zelda doesn't experience any kind of culture shock. Even the language seems to be basically the same. It is Hyrule, because it is. It's the origins of the kingdom. This is the whole point of the zonais: being that familiar thing that we know and love, except more pristine and more glorious and more mysterious so we can be sad when it gets destroyed.

So is it aesthetically inspired by mesoamerican cultures? Yes. Does it evoke specific details about said culture? The way politics and religion interconnect perhaps (unless we consider Rauru coming from the gods as such, but it's nooot super specific and not really elaborated upon)? What that culture valued, or what we assume it once valued? Cultural shortcuts we tend to make with these cultures, for better or for worse? I may be extremely uncultured here, and if that's the case I apologize, but I never really saw any of the aspects highlighted as the core pillars of the zonais commonly associated with either mesoamerican ancient civilizations, or current living native decendants of these civilizations. The biggest connexion or shortcut I see is the "mysterious ancient advanced civilization", which is pretty vague and was honestly more convincing in BotW.

Then of course, it doesn't invalidate that connection. But now, as a point of comparaison, to see what happens when Zelda takes active steps in coding one of their fantasy races... Let's take a look at the gerudos, shall we?

(Urbosa appreciation break. She's just so freakin cool look at her goooo!!! okay now we can keep going.)

I have said my whole spiel about the gerudos about a bajillion times now so I will try to make it quick. My tl;dr is: gerudos were always meant to be culturally disruptive. It's their whole point in the Zelda series. I won't rehash the whole thing about the crescent moon, the orientalism etc, but I think it's important to remember that they are meant to be considered foreign in a way no other Zelda race ever is. What I mean by this is, if we return to OoT: they are the only race hostile to Hyrule enough to not only consider and carry out an invasion, but to forbid entrance to their territory if you are not one of them. They have a different (apparenly evil-looking) god and their ears are rounded when everyone else is some sort of elf, their script is different, their cultural values are different, it's a weird semi-matriarchy where the man-king's occasional patriarchy has a very different social role than the king of Hyrule even if we don't get to see all the details... Won't return on the thievery and the 90s islamophobic kick of that time period, but the gerudos were very obviously crafted to be culturally deviant to the Hylian norm; their difference so great that getting accepted by them is an actual fighting and infiltration challenge. And even though they are much friendlier in TotK/BotW, they are still, by far the most innaccessible and different race out of all the rooster of, and it's worth mentioning, fish-people, bird-people and rock-people. They are the only one with their own language, their own strict rules that oppose your freedom as a player, a series of side-quests that directly address the subject of culture clash and differences; and, even then, they still parallel the real life western fantasy about the Orient TM (even more-so in TotK I would say, which I didn't love): the locked-in harem foreign men are forbidden to enter. This core idea is so entrenched that it becomes gameplay.

When it comes to Ganondorf, the parallel remains, more present than ever: in that game he gets to embody the foreign, cruel, brutal, cunning, manipulative, uncomfortably feminine at times, envious, physically intimidating, oppressive Man of the Desert in a long tradition of Men from the Desert and the rich legacy of literature and movies that portray them. It's not new to TotK, to be very clear: but TotK did double-down on the trope at the cost of Ganondorf's specificity as a character instead of questioning the trope that birthed him the way the series had tried to do in the past (even TP wasn't that bad, doing away with a lot of the baggage altogether --for better and for worse).

So to me... saying that zonais are mesoamerican-coded, in a world where we simply do not actively interact with these cultures all that much anymore (not at all to minimize the very real oppression of their descendants and the extreme and sickening violence their ancestors were met with to be extremely clear --I'm just saying that the violence wouldn't have worldwide cultural resonance in the same way and I don't think would have much reality in Japan unless, again, I'm saying dumb things and in that case please do correct me), or the extremely mild and non-invested way Zelda handled these cultures (to me it's much more costume than coding), positively too (good!), and comparing them to the active coding of the gerudos (and especially Ganondorf) as a means to equalize them as "basically the same thing" feels... a little off to me.

But! Now we're getting to the last layer!!

(you have no idea how long I searched for this gif, I typed "Ganondorf kneeling" in the gif search, like a fool, and parsed through much, much horniness to finally find my little dude anyway layer 3!!!)

Layer Three: It Isn't What Actually Matters Now Is It (at least according to me, the person writing this post)

Honestly, I don't really care whether Rauru and Sonia are white-coded or not. They could be, they could not be, cool by me either way. I don't really care if the zonai culture is meant to stand-in for mesoamerican cultures for Real for Sure or not, and heavily doubt it was done to increase diversity (otherwise Rauru wouldn't be, like, a Goat-Man but just a brown man). I do appreciate the visual diversity of the cast of NPCs, that hylians can look like a whole number of people and it's really cool Hyrule is moving into that direction instead of being very typecast into a sort of Japanese-ish representation of western middle ages/fantasy/fairy tale thing.

But at heart, what bothers me between this whole dynamic has less to do with whom is coded as whom than the fact that this game twisted itself into knots to tell a very suspiciously clean story about its complicated world and complicated history, and I feel like it's completely fine to ask for more than the bare minimum of visual representation and question the way these characters get to interact with each other and how their real life struggles are meaningfully talked about in the worlds Nintendo spend millions crafting? Sometimes, what they do is already great! Sometimes it's half-great! Most of the time, it could be so much better --especially when some of these subjects have been talked about to death for over 25 years (sorry to beat that dead horse one more time btw)

At the end of the day, the story itself is strange for many reasons. The power dynamic between the characters is attempting to be several things at once; maybe it's not on purpose, but either way, the world TotK paints is a strange one that only holds itself together if we accept to take it at face value. Which we don't have to.

And to me, TotK felt particularly shallow in that specific department of representation due to the whole... Imperialist Vibes thing (the other ask about this is queue'd, it's coming!), which nullified a lot of these efforts for me. It's not only about who's represented, but how they are represented as well, and, very importantly, why.

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enkisstories · 6 months

Text

Rose: "Hello, little guy! Do you have a name?”

Armitage: “I considered RA3, but then again, an R-name for a BB-droid is silly.”

Rose: “RA3... That stands for Rae. After Rae Sloane, the First Order’s founder?"

Armitage: "She was my mentor, back when we started rebuilding the empire. Said this time we'd do it right. I'm pretty sure Snoke had her killed, yet I had nothing better in mind than to follow his banner...

When Ben killed Snoke, and I proclaimed myself the new Supreme Leader, I thought things had come full circle. Well, I was wrong about that. But I like to imagine that Rae would approve of what I’m doing here and how I’m doing it."

It had been, how long exactly? Three seasons? Since Rose had heard Armitage claim that people and equipment were interchangeable to him. Resources either way.

An odd side effect of this conviction had been him accepting BB-8 as an equal teammember pretty quickly (as early as their trip to Komorebi, actually).

Rose: “Droids are still seen as something closer to pets than to people. If you wish to pass your mentor’s name down, and do it in earnest, you should consider saving it for a baby.”

Armitage: “A ba... by.”

Yeah, right. He should have known that five minutes without complications were a glitch in the fabric of the universe. A baby! Not that Armitage was averse to the idea of becoming a father, to the contrary, he had a long list of improved parenting techniques (the majority of which consisted of doing the direct opposite of what Brendol would have done) that he was ready to test in practise.

But having a child meant trying for one first. Repeatedly, probably.

Back on Ryloth, when he had been part of that unlikely threemating with Finn and Poe, Finn had been Poe’s main course, and Armitage the desert or the seasoning. It had been pleasant.

To the contrary in a committed couple the husband was expected to be the main course all the time. The idea of such frequent intercourse was not just not appealing, it actively scared the husband-to-be, and this particular fear wasn’t one of the kind one could train onesself out of. It was part of Armitage’s nature that he could change as little as his eye color.

His low sex drive had always been one of the many factors that had contributed to Armitage feeling superior over his agemates. He wasn’t just more calculated, determined and patient than the other officer cadets, he had literally been BORN better! But now all of a sudden this trait had become a liability.

Rose: “You do want children, right? I always figured you’d want. I just never brought it up, because I was uncertain myself. But then Lt. Dree’s little Jin toddled our way and I knew, yes, being a parent would be nice.”

Armitage: “Uh-huh... Nothing to be anxious about.”

Rose: “But don’t get ideas! Even if there wasn’t a war ongoing, it’s not that I’d want to start immediately!”

Armitage: “Heh, good. Although the mental image of us chasing criminals with baby carriers on our backs sure is something...”

Rose: “On our backs? You’ll want the rugrat front-carried to maximize the spit-range, haha! - Now back to work with you! I’ll babysit B3-RY.”

Armitage: I have to bring this up rather sooner than later... But I’d rather surrender to the Resistance for real, because once I tell Rose, it’ll be over.

Needless to say, it wasn’t the best day for the organized crime.

#rae sloane #armitage hux #rose tico #gingerrose #sims4journeytobatuu #star wars #simblr #newstarwarssims #battleforbatuu7

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blorbologist · 2 years

Text

Cat’s Cradle - Chapter 12

Ch 1 … Ch 11

With Curio inbound in the next few days, the division of space needs to be re-organized. Complicating factors include, but are not limited to: Curio’s recovery following an intensive surgery, five of the kittens having never actually nursed from her, Trinket’s boundless enthusiasm for everything, Curio’s unknown disposition towards dogs, a quarantine period being ideal, and Vex’s sanity.

So: Curio in the bathroom, kittens in Vax’s bedroom where Percy sleeps, and an improvised baby gate to keep Trinket away from both.

Trinket does not take this exile well.

“Awww, buddy,” Vex coos as they move the kittens. The sad, sad whites of Trinket’s eyes show as he looks up at him from where he’s melted into his doggy bed. His tail thumps pathetically, jowls puddled onto the floor. There’s a hopeful twitch of his ears when Percy looks at him -

“Ignore him, darling, he’s trying to pull at the heartstrings.”

Percy huffs. “Well, it’s certainly working.”

Trinket forgives him for the unabashed cruelty.

Vex shoots him a knowing look when she returns from work the next day to find no less than four new toys, already well-loved and drooled on, all over the apartment.

Percival is not above bribery.

With the kittens now in the room with him, Percy finds he does not really need the alarm anymore - they wake him up quite readily, the little fiends. They quickly begin to expect prompt service from him, given he’s so near. He thinks it’s Ratchet that clues into the light of his phone meaning he’s awake, meaning he can hear them, meaning she can throw a tantrum and get fed. The rest of the litter catches on surprisingly quickly.

“Too smart for your own good,” he mutters, proud and peeved in equal measure.

It’s something like two, three in the morning when Percy wakes to the kittens throwing their very best impression of a riot.

He scrambles upright, pawing at the bedside for his glasses. There’s light from a phone, and a shape, and -

“Shit - Percy, it’s me,” Vex whispers quickly. He sits, frozen, tangled in the sheets - she kneels, frozen, by the kittens. Though her phone’s light is pointed their way, the ambient glow to it makes her into a fae. Smoothed, wild-eyed, hair a briar thicket. A nymph, maybe. “I couldn’t sleep - wanted to check on them.”

“By all means,” he grumbles, dragging the comforter over his head.

He can feel her wince from here. “Sorry, darling. I’ll feed them while I’m at it - in the kitchen.”

“Much appreciated, dear.” He’s not going to object to more sleep if it’s so readily offered. Percy’s out like a light before Vex is out the door.

Percy vaguely registers Vex sneaking back in to return the basket of kittens to their place next to the closet. It’s not quite enough to wake him, just stir a gurgle and a smile from him before he finds slumber again.

The door opens again.

“Vex?” Percy yawns.

She sighs, trying to put a stopper on her irritation, not quite succeeding. “Trinket got into the garbage. And then on my bed, while I was feeding the kittens.”

“Revolting,” he sympathizes.

The door closes.

Vex doesn’t leave.

“Vex’ahlia?”

“Scoot over, darling.”

He scoots, because it’s Vex and he’s pliant to her whims, even when he can’t quite grasp them.

Percy thinks he blinks. He must doze off, for a disorienting moment, because Vex is under the covers. In the bed. In this bed. With him.

“What are you doing?” mumbles Percy, because he’s genuinely not all there, still all dreaming, or this feels very much like a dream. He’s familiar with the sort, though there’s more color and everything is somehow sharper.

It registers, then. Just at the fuzzy periphery of consciousness: her settling in disturbing his sheets because she’s under them, too. The glow of warmth he feels, faintly, at his back. The dip of weight, father down, where her legs must be.

“My room stinks, Percy.”

He hums. Yes, that’s unfortunate. He would not want to spend the night in a room perfumed with garbage and dog drool.

It must come out like a question, because she swallows, adds: “And I - might have had a dream, earlier, and - usually we’ll get up and watch some cable until the mumbling knocks me out, but-”

But Vax’ildan isn’t here.

“We could do that,” Percy says, because if that would ease her he’s more than happy to comply.

“You’re beat, darling,” she says. “I’m beat. I just -”

He means to promise you can stay. What comes out instead is, “Hrng, stay?”

The relief is palpable. “Thank you, Percy.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he thinks he says, “I snore.”

She snorts and jabs him with her foot. The nails are surprisingly sharp.

He does not snore.

It turns out sleeping on your back is great for relaxing your airways.

For a habitual side-sleeper as Percival, who has tried and failed to accomplish the feat before, it really comes as a surprise to wake to his back flat to the mattress, sound muffled so kindly by the pillow.

He knows he does not snore because there’s Vex, her head on his chest, who smiles. Mumbles, still drowsy, “You didn’t snore.”

“Ah,” says Percival.

He is, immediately, keenly, very much awake.

Shifts slightly. Vex isn’t.

(She could be feigning it - usually she’s clear-headed hours before he.)

(Or maybe her body really needed the safe slumber.)

“Sleep well?” he rumbles. Way deeper than usual - he does not dare clear his throat of it.

“The excellentest.”

Oh, good gods. This is a dilemma.

The kittens will need to eat shortly. He could let her get more shut-eye, but that would require moving, and that would disturb her. She deserves the comfort, and if it’s his fate to be a pillow, well, he’s been worse before. But isn’t it selfish, to drink this in?

(Her breath is muse for gooseflesh, her weight day-drinking intoxicating, her hair would so dearly appreciate a combthrough with his fingers, and her thigh thrown over - have mercy.)

He must tense, to some degree, because it’s not long until she comes to more fully and freezes -

and then deliberately relaxes, snuggling a little closer. Her ears are a little ruddy - a dusting over her nose, too. He can feel her sleepy grin.

(She can absolutely feel his heart hammering through his soft old t-shirt.)

“Good morning, darling,” she whispers. Maybe in the hopes he does not hear, maybe in the hopes the sound does not escape the moment, maybe just because she can and knows he’s close enough even her silences reach him easily.

“Morning, Vex.” As if he could do anything but echo her.

They don’t move.

The litter, keenly watching for movement, interrupt with an orchestral rendition of breakfast, right now, please.

Percy extracts himself, though it requires the mental equivalent of a claw hammer. How he sympathizes with the stubborn nail, pried away from where it believes it belongs.

Vex grumbles, perilously irate, so in a split second decision he shucks his sleep shirt, puts it on a pillow and gingerly slides it her way. Her arms almost snap shut around the bait, before he’s even grabbed a new shirt.

He’s fairly certain he’s going to hell, at this rate.

By the time Vex is ambulatory, the kittens are fed, Trinket’s been walked and just about everything Percy can strip from her bed or the living room has been tossed in the wash.

“Told you so,” she singsongs when she spies his crinkled nose.

#tlovm #the legend of vox machina #critical role #cr fanfic #critical role fanfic #tlovm fanfic #cat's cradle au #my writing #perc'ahlia #perchalia #percival de rolo #vex'ahlia

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dr-smita-goel-homeopathy-clinic · 4 months

Text

*Dr. Smita Goel Homeopathy Clinic*

www.thehomeopathyclinic.co.in

*Sunburn* — red, painful skin that feels hot to the touch — usually appears within a few hours after too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from sunshine or artificial sources, such as sunlamps.

Intense, repeated sun exposure that results in sunburn increases your risk of other skin damage and certain diseases. These include dry or wrinkled skin, dark spots, rough spots, and skin cancers, such as melanoma. You can usually find sunburn relief with simply home remedies. Sunburn may take several days or longer to fade.

You can prevent sunburn and related conditions by protecting your skin. This is especially important when you're outdoors, even on cool or cloudy days.

Symptoms

Sunburn signs and symptoms include:

Pinkness or redness

Skin that feels warm or hot to the touch

Pain, tenderness and itching

Swelling

Small fluid-filled blisters, which may break

Headache, fever, nausea and fatigue if the sunburn is severe

Any exposed part of your body — including your earlobes, scalp and lips — can burn. Even covered areas can burn if, for example, your clothing has a loose weave that allows ultraviolet (UV) light through. Your eyes, which are extremely sensitive to the sun's UV light, also can burn. Sunburned eyes may feel painful or gritty.

Signs and symptoms of sunburn usually appear within a few hours after sun exposure. But it may take a day or longer to know the full extent of your sunburn.

Within a few days, your body may start to heal itself by "peeling" the top layer of damaged skin. After peeling, your skin may temporarily have an irregular color and pattern. A bad sunburn may take several days or longer to heal.

When to see a doctor

See your doctor if the sunburn:

Is blistering and covers a large portion of your body

Is accompanied by a high fever, extreme pain, headache, confusion, nausea or chills

Doesn't improve within a few days

Also seek medical care if you notice signs or symptoms of an infection. These include:

Increasing pain and tenderness

Increasing swelling

Yellow drainage (pus) from an open blister

Red streaks leading away from the open blister.

*Causes*

Skin layers and melanin

Sunburns are caused by exposure to too much ultraviolet (UV) light. UV radiation is a wavelength of sunlight in a range too short for the human eye to see. Ultraviolet A (UVA) is the type of solar radiation most associated with skin aging (photoaging). Ultraviolet B (UVB) is associated with sunburn. Exposure to both types of radiation is associated with developing skin cancer. Sunlamps and tanning beds also produce UV light and can cause sunburn.

Melanin is the dark pigment in the outer layer of skin (epidermis) that gives your skin its normal color. When you're exposed to UV light, your body protects itself by accelerating the production of melanin. The extra melanin creates the darker color of a tan.

A suntan is your body's way of blocking the UV rays to prevent sunburn and other skin damage. But the protection only goes so far. The amount of melanin you produce is determined genetically. Many people simply don't produce enough melanin to protect the skin well. Eventually, UV light causes the skin to burn, bringing pain, redness and swelling.

You can get sunburn on cool, hazy or cloudy days. As much as 80 percent of UV rays pass through clouds. Snow, sand, water and other surfaces can reflect UV rays, burning your skin as severely as direct sunlight.

*Risk factors*

Risk factors for sunburn include:

Having light skin, blue eyes, and red or blond hair

Living or vacationing somewhere sunny, warm or at high altitude

Working outdoors

Mixing outdoor recreation and drinking alcohol

Having a history of sunburn

Regularly exposing unprotected skin to UV light from sunlight or artificial sources, such as tanning beds

Taking a drug that makes you more likely to burn (photosensitizing medications)

Complications

Intense, repeated sun exposure that results in sunburn increases your risk of other skin damage and certain diseases. These include premature aging of your skin (photoaging) and skin cancer.

Premature aging of your skin

Sun exposure and repeated sunburns accelerate the skin's aging process, making you look older than you are. Skin changes caused by UV light are called photoaging. The results of photoaging include:

Weakening of connective tissues, which reduces the skin's strength and elasticity

Deep wrinkles

Dry, rough skin

Fine red veins on your cheeks, nose and ears

Freckles, mostly on your face and shoulders

Dark or discolored spots (macules) on your face, back of hands, arms, chest and upper back — also called solar lentigines (len-TIJ-ih-neze)

Precancerous skin lesions

Precancerous skin lesions appear as rough, scaly patches in areas that have been damaged by the sun. They may be whitish, pink, tan or brown. They're usually found on the sun-exposed areas of the head, face, neck and hands of light-skinned people. These patches can evolve into skin cancer. They're also called actinic keratoses (ak-TIN-ik ker-uh-TOE-seez) and solar keratoses.

*Skin cancer*

Excessive sun exposure, even without sunburn, increases your risk of skin cancer, such as melanoma. It can damage the DNA of skin cells. Sunburns in childhood and adolescence may increase your risk of developing melanoma later in life.

Skin cancer develops mainly on areas of the body most exposed to sunlight, including the scalp, face, lips, ears, neck, chest, arms, hands and legs. Skin cancer on the leg is more common in women than in men.

Some types of skin cancer appear as a small growth or a sore that bleeds easily, crusts over, heals and then reopens. With melanoma, an existing mole may change or a new, suspicious-looking mole may develop. A type of melanoma called lentigo maligna develops in areas of long-term sun exposure. It starts as a tan flat spot that slowly darkens and enlarges.

See your doctor if you notice a new skin growth, a bothersome change in your skin, a change in the appearance or texture of a mole, or a sore that doesn't heal.

*Eye damage*

The sun can also burn your eyes. Too much UV light damages the retina, lens or cornea. Sun damage to the lens can lead to clouding of the lens (cataracts). Sunburned eyes may feel painful or gritty. Sunburn of the cornea is also called snow blindness.

*Prevention*

Use these methods to prevent sunburn, even on cool, cloudy or hazy days. And be extra careful around water, snow and sand because they reflect the sun's rays. In addition, UV light is more intense at high altitudes.

Avoid sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The sun's rays are strongest during these hours, so try to schedule outdoor activities for other times. If you can't do that, limit the length of time you're in the sun. Seek shade when possible.

Avoid sun tanning and tanning beds. Using tanning beds to obtain a base tan doesn't decrease your risk of sunburn.

Cover up. When outside, wear a wide-brimmed hat and clothing that covers you, including your arms and legs. Dark colors offer more protection, as do tightly woven fabrics. Consider using outdoor gear specially designed to provide sun protection. Check the label for its ultraviolet protection factor (UPF), which indicates how effectively a fabric blocks damaging sunlight. The higher the number, the better.

Use sunscreen frequently and generously. Apply water-resistant sunscreen and lip balm with an SPF of 30 or greater and broad-spectrum protection against UVA and UVB rays. About 15 to 30 minutes before going outdoors, apply sunscreen generously on skin that won't be protected by clothing.

Put on more sunscreen every 40 to 80 minutes, or sooner if it has washed off from swimming or sweating. If you're also using insect repellent, apply the sunscreen first. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend products that combine an insect repellent with a sunscreen.

The Food and Drug Administration requires all sunscreen to retain its original strength for at least three years. Check the sunscreen labels for directions on storing and expiration dates. Throw sunscreen away if it's expired or more than three years old.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends using other forms of sun protection, such as shade or clothing, for babies and toddlers. Keep them cool and hydrated. You may use sunscreen on babies and toddlers when sun protective clothing and shade aren't available. The best products for them are those that contain physical blockers (titanium oxide, zinc oxide), as they may cause less skin irritation.

Wear sunglasses when outdoors. Choose sunglasses with UVA and UVB protection. Check the UV rating on the label when buying new glasses. Darker lenses are not necessarily better at blocking UV rays. It also helps to wear sunglasses that fit close to your face and have wraparound frames that block sunlight from all angles.

Be aware of medications that increase your sensitivity to the sun. Common drugs that make you more sensitive to sunlight include antihistamines, ibuprofen, certain antibiotics, antidepressants, antipsychotics and some cholesterol-lowering drugs. Talk with your pharmacist about your medication side effects.

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krakenartificer · 1 year

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Tagged by tumblr bestie @turtletotem. Thank you!

Are you named after anyone: Nope. I was named because my parents didn't know anyone else who had that name. Sadly, however, the name occurred to them for the same reason it occurred to a lot of other parents at that time (presumably due to complicated socio-economic factors), so I ended up with the third most common name for my AGAB for my birth year. There were five of us in my elementary school year. It was a nightmare.

When was the last time you cried: God I don't know. I'm in the phase of my PTSD recovery where I cry like a toddler: because I'm tired, because I have too much energy, because I stretched and now my back feels better, because I made a typo, because I forgot to make tea after the water boiled, because it's too sunny, because it's too cloudy....) It's 10:47 am, I think I'd remember if I'd cried today. Did I cry yesterday? Probably. I definitely did on Friday. So somewhere in the last 24-48 hours.

Do you have kids: None biological. A lot of adopted teenagers whose parents don't deserve them so I'm their mom/aunt/cool older sibling now.

Do you use sarcasm a lot: Yeah, but I'm trying to make sure it's in a wholesome/ironic/silly way, and not in a dismissive/mean way

What sports do you play/have played: I had a run for a while where I played volleyball once a week with a casual family group. Have done a little shooting hoops with spouse. Other than that, not much; I prefer cooperative physical activity to competitive.

What’s the first thing you notice about people: whether or not there's something showing (T-shirt, hairstyle, pins on their bag, etc) that indicates an interest we have in common that I could use to make conversation if I needed to.

What’s your eye color: Driver's license says hazel

Scary movies or happy endings: Happy endings, fo sure. I've had all the terrifying depressing hopelessness I need in one lifetime, thanks.

Any special talents: Weirdly good at memorizing dialogue and song lyrics. Naturally good at fiber arts. I think all the rest of my "talents" are just repackaged ADHD symptoms

Where were you born: Colorado

What are your hobbies: Fiber arts. Writing. Guitar. "Overthinking" things.

Do you have pets: I wish T_T But the neighborhood cats stop by often, and I'm still plotting how to get unlimited access to the neighbor's husky

How tall are you: 5'5.5"

Favorite subject in school: I really cared more about the teachers than the subjects, but my dad is super into science, and my extended family includes a lot of people who genuinely, deeply love mathematics, so I definitely gravitated towards STEM. If we're counting "subjects" from elementary and middle school, then Reading Class

Dream job: Independently wealthy enough that I can live on my ranch and make art without worrying about whether or not it's profitable

Tagging: @stitchlingbelle, @floating-in-the-blue, @jasonsdeli, @animatedamerican, @oma-goodness (no pressure if you're not feeling it)

#ask game #gpoy

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ladyhindsight · 1 year

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CC is clearly biased for Herondales. She tries really hard to make the reader find Herondales attractive the truth is I never felt more dry reading about Jace, Stephen, Will and James. They do nothing for me. They all have the same personality except for James who has next to no personality aside for being constantly horny for Cordeila. I dare any person disagreeing with my statement give me 5 difference between Will, Jace and Stephen personality wise. Despite all her efforts to make us like Herondales I always found the other characters more attractive. Jem over Will. Anyone over Jace. Michael over stephen. Anna over James honestly anyone over James. Kit is a mini jace no originality. Freaking Manuel from TDA came off as more attractive than Jace and that says alot 💀.

Oh and can someone please tell me her obsession with eyes, weird ass body proportions and no one mentions the way shadowhunters walk sounds hilarious ngl like what what do you mean they walk like cats or lions or dancers. If shadowhunters's walks are like cats does that mean Jace walks are cattier cuz of all the extra angel blood. I try to picture Jace's walking and all I can imagine is Andrew tate's looney tunes fruity ass walk.

Her books are the fast food of literature as a booktuber described it as.

Period.

I said sometime before that the side characters are more interesting because they aren't (as) surrounded by Clare's bias or manipulative narration. Therefore more likable because I am not force-fed how great and amazing they are, I just get to take my time with them and get familiarized with their characters on my own. Problems also arise with Jace having problems more important than the others, that his issues are the grandest and most highlighted. Also Jace, Clary, and Simon are the only necessary characters whose stories are tied to the main plot. Even their romances (Clary with both Jace and Simon) have plot relevance. Others not so much.

As Clare's writing has always been more or less mostly telling than showing, it's not surprising that she needs to tell how amazing the Herondales are instead of actually basing her pretense on actually showing. Instead the readers are just offered this premise in every story, every other character is written just admiring and loving them, so it must be true? Just have characters fawn over someone and you bet the readers will also. Right.

Clare seems to think that other characters telling things is showing.

Clare's attention strips any side character of all intrigue and turns them into what Clare's protagonists usually are. Then they become all looks and hair and eye colors and wear white shirts through which their marks shine through (like Jace literally in every TMI book). Some concepts which Clare presents in her series are complex and complicated, I can agree with that, but her writing is unable to capture any depth or meaning of any of them. Attributing factor to this is her always ending up focusing majorly on love, especially the romantic kind of the main couple, as the motivator. I've read amazing pieces of TSC fan fiction, the kind of thoughtful and honest looks on the characters that Clare is unable to acknowledge on her part.

Her writing only presents the shallowest of emotions. Her writing on grief, loss, or love aren't really thought-provoking, just more cookie-cutter ideas on top of the previous ones. Not that all writing absolutely needs or has to be insightful, it's just that people pretend her writing is deeper than it actually is. Like people think chopped-up sentences are anything but surface-level poetry when in its essence poetry as an art and craft is more than that.

Everyone is so right on money with James' lack of personality. When he got furious with Grace (rightly so BUT) I felt really weird about it. Your message really helped me figure it out though: I had no idea of his personality nor any prediction on how he may react to more controversial happenings. Well, that's not true. Everyone on the Righteous Side of things in TSC always react with fury, roasting the antagonists crisp with their verbalism. But still I had no idea. Who is this guy calling Grace a criminal and a fiend? I don't know him at all.

And what makes the Herondales great really? I don't see why James or Will are anymore heroic than Clary, Cordelia, Emma, Simon, Alec, or Isabelle. I don't think Tessa as particularly heroic but that's also my faint memory of TID and disgust of her talking, so this is not to be entirely trusted.

#Series discussion #Reply

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