#its all designed to make u feel negative

[elliebartlets]

I rarely go on Instagram anymore but I redownloaded the app today cause I wanted to share the video of the otter I took on my story and wow! I’m so glad I don’t go on as much.

[umbrvx]

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

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

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

[incoming wall of text lol]

ANATOMY:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(^ that first guy is mad someone else)

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

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

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

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

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

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

[nightcolorz]

I must confess something, I do not understand white Vox lol is it just his VA? He may be just a TV with a body but his eyes seem to be drawn as east asian and thats his most prominent human feature. Majority of the time I see people draw him as a human they actually erase his real eye shape to (I assume) make him look more white. There's no real canon so people can hc whatever but I am so intrigued by how people are interpreting him white. I promise there are nasty tech/media ceos that overwork their employees all over the world... maybe im reading too much into it because the show is otherwise verrrry western-centric. Just curious how you view it, you're definitely in the majority and i realize people like me are the outliers but just saw your post and had to ask (if you didnt mind sharing).

Anon is referring to this post btw for context: https://www.tumblr.com/nightcolorz/746235899544813568/my-hot-take-is-that-i-think-that-a-vox-human?source=share

Anon ur hella polite and ik u got good intentions so I was stressing a little over how to respond without invalidating ur headcanon cuz like, I never want to be the guy saying “this character is white and u can’t headcanon them as a racial minority” cuz that’s pretty shitty no matter what. We definitely have different takes but when I’m explaining my interpretation I don’t wanna sound like I’m trying to boss ppl around and say there’s only one way u can see these characters. This is just my personal interpretation and I was being funny in my og post implying that my interpretation is the “correct” way. But since u asked I’ll explain my reasoning why I (and prob other ppl) see Vox as extremely white lol.

I don’t take Vox’s physical appearance into account at all when thinking about his ethnicity cuz in a show were everyone is pretty racially ambiguous design wise Vox is one of the most ambiguously humanoid characters, like my guy literally has a tv for a head with eyes and a mouth, and that’s it. I don’t see ur point about his eyes at all tbh, to me Vox’s vaguely slanted eyes have always come off more like a devious squint than an ethnic feature. Even still I don’t read slanted eyes as Asian automatically so it never occurred to me.

I don’t read as Vox as white bcus of his VA being white or him being a tech bro billionaire (but ig they play a part). I read Vox as white mostly bcus I see his background as a former religious extremist/cult leader from the 50s with a skill in life and in death for male manipulating ppl and using them for his own gain as very white and western. (I got this info from his official reference sheet for auditioning va’s, here that is)

His capitalistic ideals and business practices r meant to mirror (extremely white) billionaires like Musk and Bezos, which adds to my perception of him. Of course being a billionaire tech guy is not a western white man exclusive thing, but I feel that if we were meant to perceive Vox as someone not from America that would definitely be coded or in some way communicated. And I say this with as little ill will as possible, but for me I wouldn’t want to perceive Vox as an East Asian tech bro billionaire specifically bcus there r negative stereotypes and connotations attached there. East Asian men have a history of being negatively stereotyped as corrupt tech business owners. I don’t think u are trying to imply those stereotypes with ur head canon (frankly it’s hard to avoid negative stereotypes in fiction a lot of the time bcus stereotypes encompass such a vast range of things that its hard to take them all into account). But regardless, it’s smth we should try to be conscious of.

Anyways, I also usually take these character’s personalities and values, self image, etc into account when im thinking about race, bcus race is more then color, and especially for characters with lives and personalities based in much less tolerant time periods, it’s significant to consider how race would play a role in forming the way they navigate the world. Based on how Vox behaves I can’t see him as being racially marginalized. I’m gonna compare Vox to alastor a little cuz alastor is canonically creole and I think he serves as a good reference for someone I perceive as not white in comparison to Vox and how I think he differs and contradicts the experiences of a racial minority.

Vox to me comes off as someone who thinks he is entitled to power, respect, privilege, etc, which is a very standard type of attitude for a white man who was alive in the 1950s to have. He’s very emotionally immature and volatile, doesn’t seem to concern much over his public image beyond petty dick measuring contests with alastor (he regularly publicly has angry tantrums and doesn’t break a sweat over how this will affect his status). He obviously cares about it (scolding Valentino for embarrassing him and such) but he doesn’t seem to worry about loss of reputation in any sort of real way. I get the impression that Vox has always had at least a standard amount of social standing and privilege and can’t see a life for himself without the fundamental privilege he feels owed there to support him. He’s basically a man baby, a man baby who still manages to garner power and respect effortlessly (it comes naturally to him) while remaining whiny and insecure. Very white man of him! White man behavior!

in comparison, Alastor, (who I do not read as white) is always frantically clinging to his composed self image and his power as if it will slip away from him if he loosens his grasp at all. He has an extremely firm grip on his composure to the point where he never allows anyone to see him slip at all, let alone frown (despite his mental health and emotional well being being equally fragile as Vox’s). Alastor understands deeply how little the world owes him and how difficult and unreliable his acquiring of status actually is. He is borderline neurotic about retaining his power and staying on top. Despite the smile, Alastor is always defensive and fearful, picking fights with anyone he thinks might be a threat like a small dog or a prey animal would. Meanwhile, Vox conducts himself like a man with nothing to loose. I feel like Vox grew up with money and doesn’t know poverty or a lack of privilege in any intimate way that would drive him to guard it in anyway beyond flippant. To Vox power, status, and privilege are inherent. Same can’t be said for alastor.

tldr in conclusion Vox’s brand of bad feels very specific to a white man, alongside his emotional immaturity and his attitude, mindset, and behavior. This is why I see him as white asf, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong or it’s in anyway less correct to headcanon him as a different race. That’s just how I see him. Thank u for sending the ask anon it was pretty interesting to write! Have a good day! (btw i love Vox he’s one of my fav character lol me calling him a white as shit privileged entitled man baby douchebag is out of love and all I find interesting and fun about him)

[hydrxnessa]

DUDE, YOUR HEADCANONS OF ENTITIES IN YOUR DOORS AU IS SO INTERESTING TO READ

Also, do you have the headcanons about the friendly entities? Like Jeff, El goblino, Bob, and Sally/window

THANK YOUU!! <33 im so surprised a lot of people like my silly little ideaas-- i'm just a silly little guy making silly little designs of silly little creechurs- much appreciated !! ;;

yes ignore the fact that i didn't want to draw skeletons. sorry bob

and headcanons for the safe entities? hm let's see here ..

(jeff, el goblino n bob go by he/they/it, while sally uses they/it)

both jeff and sally have no tangible bodies, with the exception of jeff's tentacles. shining a light does not work (you will only see darker darkness), nor does trying to get closer to touch. though, it will feel immensely cold if you feel their 'bodies'

sally only appears in places where it can only show its face - meaning, it will never appear out in the open. it's commonly seen in outside windows (hence their nickname 'window'), and in the very very dark corners of the hotel.

like A-120, sally cannot change their face appearance. it will constantly appear smiling, no matter its emotion

no one knows where jeff gets his items. he likes to claim that he finds them scattered around the hotel, but el goblino says jeff has never left door 52 (his tentacles have always been present ever since they were situated there)

jeff is an optimist! positivity radiates off the guy!! rarely are there ever negative vibes in doors 52 :]

when figure had stumbled into door 52 (in a fit of rage, so accidentally did it wander in), jeff used its tentacles to grab a hold and slam it to a door. it broke the tip of one of figure's protruding shoulder bones. and that was the last time jeff used violence. he's a pacifist, after all.

the door 52 entities prefer to stray afar from the other entities (figure's learnt its lesson already - if it needs to go through, it will knock, wait, and silent walk through). jeff having a crucifix is enough of a safeguard for entities to not even think of bothering them.

bob is actually an entity - but no one expects it to be (except jeff and el goblino). he moves when no one watches him.

el goblino, as he said, causes all the 'knockings' and 'scatterings' in the hotel. the entities brush it off as just rats.

when going on 'supply runs', el goblino likes to collect things to stash with jeff's collection. it's quite a large collection actually. (and many entities wonder where some items have gone missing)

no one knows how the door 52 gang got into the hotel. but then again, no one knows how any of them happened to be here.

thank u for the ask <33

!! please do not use or repost without my permission !!

[twstunes]

looking at the Mirror Chamber very intently. come with me for a sec. Take My Hand.

First thing catching my eye are the windowpanes. They're pretty busy in general, but those thorny curls…suspicious. As is how the overall flow of the panes seems to resemble an inverted form of the design Draconimom's appearance is built around (which is itself based on Maleficent's general character design).

But u know what really gets me? These aren't the only windows with distinctly thorn-like windowpanes. For some reason, the uppermost windows in the normal classrooms (like in Trein's magic history lessons) have a thorny design too. NO clue if there's any relation there, but it feels too overt to brush off, y'know?

Next up: the rose arches over the windows. If you look closely at Draconimom's lace cape-thing, you'll notice the roses worked into its pattern (sorta in the 'ear' area of the pattern)– and one of masquerade Malleus' home screen lines has him saying how fond he is of the rose embellishments on his outfit. It's a bit of a stretch, but considering the extreme similarities between Draconimom and our dear buddy Hornton, I'd be willing to bet that roses are A Specific Thing for them. (Plus there's the obvious thorns –> roses connection, and how Draconimom's staff is a giant flower, AND it provides a convenient visual tie-in to the first dorm/major boss we encounter in the main story…)

Now for the chandelier. Pretty messy-looking for such a fancy chamber, yeah? But with such a distinctive floral pattern to it…and to the lace it seems to be wrapped in. The main focus of the lace seems to be that sorta three-leaf pattern in it, the shape of which is reflected in the bud-like decoration dangling down from the center.

I know I'm making the lace of Draconimom's cape-thing do some heavy lifting in this analysis, but that sorta three-leaf/bud-like shape does appear in it. More noticeable, though, would be how the dangling bud seems to resemble the central decor of Draconimom's heavy belt– just without the sword.

Less relevant, but the presence of chains on the chandelier give me pause. Symbolically, chains are used to represent containment or (a negative sense of) security. I've joked about Draconimom being in the Dark Mirror, but that chains would be placed so nearby…it makes me wonder. Is the person in the mirror being actively restrained or otherwise held by force, as opposed to passively being trapped?

Also, if you look closely…at the top of the chandelier's lace, nearly hidden in the gloom, appears to be the image of a rose.

Moving along, the bottom of the chandelier looks quite similar to the construction of the botanical garden, just inverted. The four large beams visible in our view of the botanical garden also have a very…pointy quality about them, thanks to the spear pillars acting at their supports. You could say they look almost like thorned vines.

Looking from the campus map view shows that those large beams fully encircle the building, just as the decorative lines on the chandelier presumably encircle it. In addition, we can also see that the Hall of Mirrors has a somewhat similar construction. (Not using the outer view of the HoM from the official manga bc idk how much artistic leeway the manga artists are allowed.)

The circles on the coffin lids alternate between being bright green or glowing cyan, depending on whether or not you're summoning cards. It could be that the green is their default "inactive" state, and the cyan glow is caused by them being "active" during the summoning sequence? Seven ("active") coffins appear during the summoning cutscene, which is all but assuredly in reference to the fact you can usually only summon from the 7 available dorms. (The 12 "inactive" coffins seen during the normal view of the Mirror Chamber don't appear to correlate to anything in specific.)

The lamps lining the Mirror Chamber each have seven lights on them, which could also be a subtle nod at the 7 dorms – it's a bit of an odd design for a lamp, otherwise. All of them together gives me the impression of a grove of saplings.

last but not least, this is slightly off-topic but WHAT is up with that fountain. why's it got the nastiest lookin water known to man. when was that thing last cleaned. looks bad looks rancid. still feel compelled to take a lil sip tho

[sashimiyas]

bodyguard!samu also tells you youre pretty all the time, but not like 'you look pretty' he specifically tells you 'you're so pretty,' like there's an important distinction ya know?? OH sometimes if its really late and its just the two of u in your stunning en suite he's like 'you're the most..' or 'no one else compares..' I DONT KNOW REINA i just feel like cause reader is so sheltered she's not used to genuine, raw truths from a person who has nothing to gain from telling you them, only so much to lose

i want a bodyguard! osamu so bad

you do this thing that osamu’s noticed.

you do a lot of things actually that osamu’s noticed because that’s simply his job to. most of them he enjoys.

he likes that sleepy hum you make whenever he asks if you had fun. after an event where his ears still ring, the smooth run of the engine is a stark contrast to the lively rumble of a party. you tip your face away so you can press your cheek against the cool window and it’s that small little vibration in your throat that creates aftershocks on his skin.

he likes that you check in on him every so often when you get stuck on a long phone call. it makes him flutter despite his cold bodyguard façade and when you wrinkle your nose after you sneeze, he has to stop himself from pinching it.

everything about you he adores except for this one thing.

it started with, “you stupid idiot.”

he had to do a double take when he heard it, heart dropping just at the sound of someone speaking so poorly of you only for it burden him heavy when he finds out it’s you. you’re the culprit. you’re the one berating yourself over something as simple as running late to a meeting.

osamu reasoned that it was simply a one off. he’d noticed that you’re not quite fond of thursdays and maybe that particular thursday was notably bad.

but you do it again. right in front of him too!

he’s only half a step behind, right at your side, as the two of you walk the main road. it’s whimsy and picturesque with colorful patios and people. nothing like the countryside.

then you pass a confectionary shop with reflective windows and one simple glimpse of yourself has you frowning.

“ew,” you say, disgusted, “i look so gross.”

suddenly osamu hates all things sweet if it makes you feel paltry and bland. he takes one look at the gaudy designs and wishes for the place to burn because he knows their artificiality cannot compare to your natural flavor.

“ya ain’t.“ he’s mad. he can hear it in his voice. not only does it shock him, it shocks you as well. you stop in your step and eye him, perplexed.

“what?”

“ya ain’t gross.”

and it’s the fact that you have to take a moment to even process it, that you probably mindlessly say those hurtful kind of comments without a second thought. that your instinct is to see yourself in such a negative light when all he sees is—

perfect.

“ya ain’t gross.” he has to grit it out one more time before this anger of his consumes him.

“i was just saying it like a joke,” you try but it only takes two instances to have osamu fed up. he doesn’t know what’s happened in your life, if someone’s ever said something to you that’s made you feel any less or if you’ve never been able to live up to unrealistic expectations, but he’s your bodyguard now. and shit like this won’t happen on his watch.

“well ya don’t deserve shitty jokes like that.”

he sees you wilt immediately. your shoulders pinch like a book ready to close so he takes you by them. carefully pulling you to him, he inhales a breath to expel it out and soften his heart.

leveling his face with yours, “i’m here to protect ya.”

you don’t look at him, but he’s already forced his hand on you too far. there’s this pull at his fingers that wants to laden your skin with affection but they stay where they are.

“and i don’t care who i have to protect ya from. i ain’t gonna let anyone talk about ya like that. not even ya.” you still have nothing to say. it takes all him not to sigh. “ya know i think you’re beautiful?”

he watches your bottom lip protrude at his compliment. you hear it all the time, take it in grace when someone says so during social events. he wonders why you wont accept his.

“i do.” he tries one more time, “and i think my word holds weight because i’ve seen ya after a ten hour plane ride.”

you tilt your face up at him unwillingly but hope buds in osamu’s chest, enough for him to grin down at you. you can’t help but provide a small smile back.

“do you mean it?”

“what? that you’re beautiful?”

you nod.

“of course,” he admits and finally, his hands lose any modicum of self control. they come to cradle your neck, memorizing the weight in his palms. he brushes a fleck away from your cheek with his thumb as the other traces the line of your jaw. he dotes on you, memorizes the crevices on your face that’s been loved by the sun. “no one else compares.”

he matches your gaze and finds one more thing that he loves about you.

the way black devours color the same time your eyes land on his. the hunger inside him mimics it.

he kisses you.

osamu stands by it. he hates all things sweet unless it’s the taste of you on his lips.

[burstfoot]

Arknights, 2 and 13

2 because i'm curious

13 because of the ask i got :)

Thank you for the prompts annie!!! 2. Oh jeez to pick from three??? To pick from three??? I guess if I had to pick (and this isnt from most to least fav just an arbitrary order) Goldenglow is one of my all time favourites, I love her design sooo much its so cute I stockpiled emotes and used her as an icon even before I actually started playing the game, and then when I actually got to Light Sparks in Darkness I was glued to the event the whole time... her story about trying to give the Infected and poor of Caladon dignity and having such a simple dream crushed by the greed of the rich in the area hit really close to home... I don't think people talk about the scene where Haze talks her down from committing suicide enough, that scene is REALLY good and one of the standout moments in Arknights for me. Also s3 carries me through every boss thank u susie <3

I probably have to choose between Silence and Ptilopsis cuz they're so intertwined so it would be sort of pointless to just do both of them for 2 and 3. I'll go with Silence cuz she has way more screentime even though I do love Joyce a whole whole bunch Unlike GG I had 0 clue about her before I started playing and sort of experienced her story out of order, I read Dorothy's Vision and was like "yeah she's cool :)" and then didn't think about her that much and then I finally got convinced into reading the manwha and it transformed my mind forever... the complexity of her story and relationship with Ifrit and Saria and Rhine Lab, how selfless & passionate she is to make up for the things she did wrong... ;-; < 3333. The underdog story of all of these great minds in columbia being unfolded by a tired, dedicated 5 nothing owl mom is so good. I also really love her design and Nori might be my favourite AK artist so every piece of art he does of her I love seeing. (also i really like guardians of gahoole as a kid so im obssessed with owls)

^ the bubo bubo For my third I could go with like, Specter or Muelsyse or Flametail or any other character within my favs who actually has lore to base my love upon them on but I wont. Pudding

Pudding :) Shes so cute. Let me get straight to the point. I have seal 13. I don't want to be too negative on my account hashtag peace and love... BUT... Related to earlier mentions... I kind of can't get behind Redblade/GG anymore. It's not necessarily that I hate the idea of them together, but it feels like "red miraculously showing up to save GG from problems" is pretty much the weakest storytelling aspect of Light Sparks in Darkness that exists just to move the plot along and as a whole the pairing almost always feels like it severely downplays the depths of her character in favor of STRONG MAN protect CUTE GIRL. It's a very stereotypical M/F pairing I'm much more interested in her relationship with Quercus or Haze, both of who have seen Susie at her lowest points and reached out to support her, as opposed to Red who pretty much just like. is nice to her and saves her from goons Also every single male doc / female operator pairing kinda grosses me out, it's pandering that reduces the characters to one note caricatures of themselves. If you read doc as male all of his actual in-universe relationships are made less interesting by being romantic or you are inventing a sex god chad that does not exist to magically seduce operators that do not interact with him in the story. I was going to call it self-insert garbage but the male!doc/female operator fan content i have seen is an insult to self-insert garbage.

[I don't hate m/f pairings btw mr nothing kroos nation. Men getting pegged. Mountain and domma and/or robin is cute too]

P.S. I like wracked my brain to find a yuri pairing i didnt like becasue i dont think being like. straight people are NOT COOL is going to be controversial at all on tumblr dot gov but i legitimately could not think of a popular one that i couldn't at least slightly get behind. even the worst yuri mischaracterization is fine to me ive seen the horrors of gachabro fancomics

[drinkinggblood]

wof makes me angry because i wish it would decide are these like watership down (animals with a basic hierarchy, rules, etc. but still.. Animals that do Animal things) or Animals With a Complex Society and Are Essentially People But Dragons. why is this important?? because it pisses me off and i think its dumb to have shit like "oh princesses must kill queen to become queen!!" when they can just... make... civil.. agreements... theres no reason for them to be super violent and the entire "princess v queen" fight shit isn't even an organized event?? its not like a princess offers to challenge a queen and they duel it out somewhere it's more "princess can kill a queen basically whenever wherever without punishment" like a princess can just murk a queen in private and everyone would accept it

like,,,, im kinda rambling but i need wof to decide if murder is ok because these are Animals with Basic Hierachy and Rules or is this just a bloodthirsty ass society. is murder punishable in wof? or is it not?? is shit thats immoral to us just ALLOWED in wof? why?? ???? im rambling sry. at parts this seems to be a middle-age society but at other parts it feels more like just Animals with a Hierachy/loose society than actually civilised fully functioning thing. its annoying. wof worldbuilding pisses me off in general, i hate how generic all the dragon designs are to eachother and how their adapations do not make sense, i hate the animus shit it makes me annoyed how loose it is and little sense it makes i wish itd just have.. clear rules and i reallyyyyy hate how loose the rules are of this society of dragons. makes me confused n angry. AGRAAAAAAAAAAGH ARAGHHH.

its an issue the laws and worldbuilding is THIS bad because it makes shit like that happens in arc 3 MORE THE ALL CONFUSING. also can i say how much i hate arc 3 my god i hate the sorta "two sides" bullshit that goes on with the hivewings and leafwings. hivewings essentially own silkwings as slaves.... and tried to genocide the leafs off the fucking continent. you cannot 'both sides' that.

i also hate how if you really look at it a bit more, the othermind feels more like way to excuse all the really gross shit the hivewings do as 'they are just mindcontrolled!!! they dont have control!!!" which really muddles the anti-racism parts of it for me. like.... tui you cant really write a anti-racism story that has mindcontrolling of citizens to do Bad Racist Stand-in Things then go "oh they r innocent they couldnt control!!!" it just feels so fucking off to me and is reallyy bad for a anti-racism message. people who do racist things are not mindcontrolled and dont 'have control of their actions'; it feels wrong to do that and then essentially go "oh they r innocent !!! just this ONE ruler of the country/state/whatever is racist!!! the rest dont have control" like??? am i insane??? thats not how that works and comes across as 'racists cant control their actions' to me am i insane. ????!??! it really feels like that to me. in general arc 3 is really shittly written especiallyyy and in general a lot of the anti-racist stuff in wof is really... bad... like the entire weird shit in arc 1 with the stereotyping of tribes, only to be proven right with 90% of them is really icky and feels weird. like rainwings are stereotyped to be lazy, idiotic, etc. and glory is actively like "no we are not" and then in book 3 it turns out they are 100% correct and glory is like "oh my god :/ :/ everyone's assumptions about my tribe was completely right and they all suck and are lazy" like are u kidding me. what the fuck was the point of that?? why have glory be the character defending her own tribe just to have her be proven WRONG about it. what was the POINT ?? why was it THERE???? is it that stereotyping is right sometimes?? i dont??? what was le point ! it adds nothing and its frankly dissapointing to see rainwings turn out to be exactly that negative stereotype. it wouldve been great to see they aren't that + add more worldbuilding to the rainwings and make them more interesting that "giant hippie tribe that is lazy and is fine w them dying to nightwings lol"

and also i hate theres eugenics in wings of fire. like... why..?? why would u add that. it adds nothing and its just fuckin WEIRDDDD and it's mentioned multiple times in the series of tribes. its WEIRD AS HELL and doesn't add anything. n shut up if its "oh its cool worldbuilding thing :] yeah itsmorally wrong and weird but its just !! how this dragon society is" shut the fuckupmy god. it adds nothing to anything; youshouldnt have shit like fucking EUGENICS in your BOOK if its just... ICING ON UR CAKE. it doesnt add anything to the themes, messages, characters, etc. it's just "oh yeah [eugenics]" it's just THERE and it does NOTHING. it's not even an anti-eugenics statement everytime this shits mentioned, its always just there. it's fucking weird as hell to have that. and dont say "oh its for the anti-racism message" no its not and even if it was the anti-racist message is alreadyyyy so fuckingggg dumbed down and simplified i dont see how adding a topic such as eugenics to the mix would add anything?? this series is ULTIMATELY for 11-16. what fuckin 14 year old understands what eugenics is??? i GET theres adult readers of this series buthats still.. not. a reason to have shit like eugenics in it. the target audience for this series would not understand what fucking eugenics is and itsgross to just put it in as essentially window dressing

i also reallyyyyhate how some wof fans excuse themore problematic shit in the series w "oh its just how this dragon world runsits fine its not an issue at all :D" you do realise.... you cant rlly just excuse everything w that. like. glorybringer for example. ive SEEN people excuse the age-gap with "oh well maybe its normal in dragon society" OK??? thats not an excuse?? its fucking weird. you need to think about what the writer's intention of adding an element like that to a story; ex: the eugenics shit. why is that in there. for what purpose does it serve. you cant just excuse it with "oh its normal in dragon society" because it doesnt matter if it is, it's still WRITTEN by a PERSON and you need to think abt what the intention of adding and element like that was to the store. usually something thatsadded to the storyhas a intention by the writer to add something to it, for the message, themes, characters, etc. u cantjust excuse everything w "for worldbuilding" when most worldbuilding as an intention or reason why the author wantedit to be there. even if its a DUMB reason like say...... all the animals are enlarged for dragons to around the same height theyd be if animals are our size and dragons are our size because idk its easier?? i gues??

[narafeedee]

I’ve been forced to do the big think tonight and I need to put words somewhere before I rip my hair out. This is a stream of consciousness and may be a little unhinged; proceed with caution. It’s also incredibly long and whiny lol

Today has been really really weird and not necessarily bad? but I’ve had to contend with triggers and emotional responses I haven’t experienced in a long time. I have a wild amount of grace and compassion with myself nowadays, so I don’t see this as a negative but moreso a chance to further heal and make sense of my world and how I experience it.

I can’t speak to planetary alignment, but this is the time of year that Seasonal Affective Disorder usually becomes problematic. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of my aggravation is a product of the sun not doing the shiny thing so much anymore. Couple that with how I struggle with anxiety regardless of season, it’s a perfect stew of ick.

For the last couple months I’ve been struggling to feel like I have a place in feedism at this point in my life. Obviously this isn’t something I just turn off; I’m hardwired like this. It has nothing to do with the sexuality itself, but rather the limitations the sexuality places in your life when you fully engage with it.

I don’t keep feedism as a secret; if someone asks or brings it up, I’ll happily tell them all about it. Most people they know me in the real world either explicitly know, or they at least have some idea and I just haven’t confirmed it yet. I had to kill the shame several years ago, and it took more introspection and healing than I ever thought possible. My sexuality isn’t shameful, I’m proud to be who I am, and having this community has played a large (heh) role in me ultimately finding happiness and a life worth living.

But it sure is limiting. I have yet to find anyone who wants what I want in life as a whole. Much of that is self-imposed; I play a great fantasy role. I’m a feeder’s dream girl by design, and that’s been a really fun part to play for a really long time, but it’s misleading when it comes down to making long-term connections.

I’ve mentioned it before, but I want the standard trappings of domesticity. I don’t need a white picket fence and a nuclear family, but there are things in the world outside of feedism that I want, that are limited by my participation in the fetish. I want marriage. I do want to start a family. I want to be able to raise my kids and run around in the yard and explore nature and catch fireflies in the summertime. I want to live a full and happy life and grow old with the people I love. But I struggle with the thought that feedism can’t exist in the life I want, and it really fucks me up.

I’m tired of being told that there are “Feabie success stories” or whatever the fuck. I don’t feel like I can be open and honest about these parts of my life there, or really anywhere, but hidden under a readmore is about as close to comfort as I think I’ll get.

It feels like a losing battle; I know I’ve mentioned all this before but I don’t feel like I explained as well as I could have. This has been ruminating for a couple years now, and has really reared its ugly head since the start of summer.

I think I’m doing a lot of black and white thinking here - something I struggle with still, just not to the degree I used to - and it’s to my detriment. I’ve been really good at practicing mindfulness to mitigate it, but something like this sometimes eludes rationality.

Ultimately there are two ways I see this going:

1) I meet a non-feedist person who is perfect in almost every way. We align on all the major things we want in life - marriage, family, parenting, financial freedom, politics, hobbies, etc - except feedism. They fulfill me in every way but sexually.

2) I pursue sexual fulfillment in feedism and make compromises on my other aspirations. I’m terrified to find a really great feedist partner some day, only for us to be misaligned with the other things we want in life. One of us has to compromise; they’re no longer sexually satisfied when I l*** w***** to have the healthiest possible pregancy, or I’m not going to have the family I want. It’s worse if they check off most of the boxes but not all. The #1 thing I want in life is a family. That’s my dealbreaker. I’m scared that the years will continue to fly by and I’ll age out of my opportunity to have this. Or my health will become too bad to have children. That is my biggest fear in life and that really hurts to admit and realize while typing in real time, holy shit.

This is why I don’t like to poke holes in things. Ignoring these things makes it easier to cope with the reality of my situation, it feels bleak. This is starting to feel like the posts that are like “I’m so lonely I’ll never have a feeder/e partner wahhhhh” type shit I see on Feabs all the time. It’s way more nuanced than that. I’m just brain dumping at this point.

I’ve expressed this frustration with friends and family recently, and the “oh you’ll find your person, don’t give up”s really sting. Most of them don’t understand the depth of pain that comes from finding your person, marrying your person, and then them leaving you. Funny enough, I joke about it often but that’s clearly a coping mechanism, much of the split was due to our sexual incompatibility. Yay, feedism.

Jokes aside, the divorce affected me far more than I let on. Even if he wasn’t my person - clearly he wasn’t - something changed in me that day. I honestly haven’t been the same since. I am genuinely happy that we are no longer together - that part doesn’t hurt anymore. But the deepest abandonment wounds I have were triggered, and I became reclusive and angry so I could heal. I regret a lot of what happened in the year following the divorce - I sincerely do. The few things I’m happy about - moving somewhere new, putting most of my energy into work and attaining financial stability, focusing on enjoying the world around me - are sometimes overshadowed by the things I hate. I hate how I’ve treated people, I hate how my interpersonal relationships have suffered, I hate how much of my suffering was self-imposed.

But I’ve found far more healing than I bargained for in the last year. Hell, the last six months have been a trip. Realizing I’ve found peace and pleasure in my quiet, routine life… that was unexpected. I have found peace, but right now I’m shaking in my boots over feeling left behind. I mentioned it on the Orange Hellsite, but the last of my childhood friends got married last weekend. That’s also been a huge trigger for all of this. Yesterday was the anniversary of my husband leaving me. It was the best day of my life two years ago. It was… something, this time around. I’m definitely overthinking things (this shit is almost 1400 words at this point jfc) but I haven’t had the opportunity to really actually talk to someone in a long time. I’ve been internalizing all of this; this has been cathartic.

Sorry if you read all that. There’s no intelligent ending to this. I’ve had a really weird week this week and I’m finally getting time off the next couple days, so I’m going to focus on doing things that make me happy and taking care of business. Tomorrow’s going to be great 💛

[eros-vigilante]

octopath stories favorite to least favorite? !! including both 1 & 2 if u want!!!

hey. hi. hwat's up. i'm the #1 apologist/defender of the ot1 stories so it's more like tiers than ranking OK. this includes my biases.

mild spoilers for ot1

tier 1: cyrus & therion this one is obvious. biggest parts i like are how strongly cyrus' story indirectly characterizes him through how he makes very scary situations feel lower stakes bc he doesn't treat them very heavily (even if he should) / and how well written i think therion's thought process + Brain Problems are. specifically in the area where his healing is not linear. in fact with how he acts in cotc (summarized as: about as "friendly" as his early ch3 but not as much as ch4) it makes me think the events in ravus manor was a big push back for him and it wasn't only wellspring that gave him a kind of relapse or obstacle...

tier 2: primrose, h'aanit, alfyn. primrose is carried by her backstory imo. disclaimer i hate her visual (outfit) design but this is stories. and it's soo cool that the game does not dance (eheh.) around her being a sex worker nor does it imply she hates it or was forced into it. she chose to work in sunshade knowing what she was getting into because she decided it was her best chance at getting the information she needed. the job itself is neutral to her and its helgenish that's negative. i love h'aanit's story so much because it puts such a focus on her love for her adoptive father. she's super nonchalant about every incredible thing she does in her journey because "master has done jobs like these all the time." until she gets to the monster her father hasn't killed and even then she's like OK i need to go reunite with my fath- i mean mentor now. alfyn's is really good in theming & using foil characters to the fullest with vanessa, miguel, and ogen. really good at the nuance of the medical field and such.

tier 3: tressa, ophilia, olberic. to me no tier is that far below the above one i love them all so so much. so instead of rehashing the usual criticisms i'm gunna keep saying what i like about em. tressa's is well-suited to the coming-of-age theme while still keeping her in the context and stakes of the world. i think putting her in a port town was a great way to have her already be very well-versed in how to handle herself and conflict. ophilia's makes sense in her being 'bland' or her early chapters being too calm because like. that's kinda how she's been her entire life after joining the church. i think people just ignore lianna's part of the story beyond [major spoiler ahead] her being morally grey/temporarily antagonist because their dynamic is incredibly important to the story. lianna was always the one participating more directly in the church, delivering the sermons, and she was the one who was supposed to do the kindling. its their fathers illness that forces ophilia into that role that wasn't 'suited' to her because shes 'just' adopted, 'just' an orphan, 'just' a nice girl. also lianna's half of the story is about how people get coerced into joining cults so i dislike when she's reduced to a villain for being actively and intentionally manipulated (one of my friends didn't know, but mattias poisoned their father. he killed him, specifically to have power over his daugher/s. lianna wasn't decidedly turning to him for answers, he was pulling her along.) OK. i will be the first to admit that olberic's story is super weirdly paced but its a fun story. it escalates a little bit each chapter and ends with finality and closure. also ERHARDT ! !!!!!!! ERHARDT ERHARDT IS IN THIS ONE. we love that guy. i love that guy. olberic loves that guy.

[aureliacetinn]

#Pathfinder2e improvement towards disability inclusion has been great the best a big company has done 

And it’s interesting to look at pathfinder 1e in comparison.

And great showing of the difference is the fetishy (imo) like brawler archetype that was removed in 2e there are still very small issue I’m finding with a specific archetypes’ portrayal of a specific prosthesis and its trope (more on that later) . I feel changes like this matter a lot as fetishisation of prosthetics/amputee is rampant in ttrpgs (see dnd ebberon, cyberpunk & shadowrun) but even with what I’m talking about paizo have still made amazing strides to include us and I’m not taking that away. Just want to talk about a complex thing we all easily can fall into

So I want to start the talk about the brawler archetype Constructed pugilist

It was built for the laying waste as a way for mutants to survive very cyberpunk mad max like, which explains it.

Its initial sentence structure can easily be read as a positive like “whose mutations make using standard weapons or other gear difficult” but then the problem starts.

“Attach mechanical prostheses to their existing limbs.”- this here makes it a problem to me in this context alone this can be good as it is written in 2e “some characters might want to make use of a magical prosthesis but not actually be missing the associated body part.  In this case, a variant of the prosthesis is available that fits over the existing body part instead and uses the same statistics.”, similar idea but phrased in a way with inclusivity in mind. But how 1e phrases it. This is when then cybernetics problematic debate occurs, the fetishizing of able bodied people who have working limbs but graft more cuz they can cuz “its cool” well the big issue with that is that tends to be the only way prosthetics get to exist, as aesthetics, pathfinder 1e doesn’t have prosthetics limbs as just something someone may have without it been some super power or for a “mutant” it’s not inclusive and this is what creates the ableism in the community.

So let’s pick some of this apart:

Removing or reattaching the constructed limb takes 10 minutes. - really now? 10 minutes in game time so my problem with this though it does take a bit of time to put your prosthesis on in a game like pathfinder you are enforcing that it stay on 24/7 which is unrealistic but no player going to want to remove this and I remind that this is designed for non-amputees so this just agitates more and brings on negatives and blocks gm can use on players

“She treats attacks with this limb as unarmed strikes that gain all the benefits of the brawler’s unarmed strike class feature”.-this is actually good and rare form a game of this time I just want to give a positive here.

Grapnel Arm:  oh, yay some played bionic commando and ever cybernetic fake arm-this is annoying also this is such a trope as usual more and more preventing a prosthesis form getting to be a part of you not a weapon

Vicious Blades: bladed prosthesis did you know when the movie Kingsman the director tried to find a amputee actor to paly the assassin but were turned down due to them wanting to purpurate the stereotype of their limbs been weapons and that been all its their for, yeh so no

Vicious Spikes: I mean this is just impractical this will hurt you and where would you attach it how do u use this is if its above the knee trans humoral stab your balls or crouth off, this is just agitating me also.

To add to this, I just to post an image from a study FROM VILLAINS TO HEROES: A CONTENT ANALYSIS ON THE MEDIA PORTRAYAL OF PEOPLE WITH LIMB LOSS findings to help you understand why I want more work to be doe and why I see pugilist as a bad rep.

I’d like to say that a prostheses been a weapon is impossible hated least not 100% a bad thing the bad thing is as stated before this is an attached limb is very particular in its phrasing that this is a cybernetics style this is cool for coolness  over mainly function, the gun arm is a bad trope that needs to be altered, prosthesis ae parts of a person not a tool and to see the only disability item in pathfinder 1e be this that has potential but is only thinking of it for non-disabled people who  want samus cannon arm. Is the very typical even to this day.

Yes I am aware there’s utility and once again this would be better if it was just worded and thought for amputee players in mind like they later did in pathfinder 2e

And once again I want to remind that there are better ways this is done; having attaching limbs when you do not need them.

Just makes me sad this is an archetype that locks u out of others and traps u on a path so if u are amputee playing pathfinder 1e this is your only option unless your gm is understanding and even then the way this is written sets the rules that prosthesis are weapons and nothing else, this matters people.

Now onto pathfinder 2e

Overall, they have done amazing I hear they actually worked with sensitivity writers, and it shows in places, look at the official items as a wheelchair user I am very pleased by this, and the even have a prosthesis ruling which is great

But,

Besides not making a sight cane for visually impaired that’s  not a weapon because that t is a  issues for certain V.I/blind community members who do not wish for that stereotype to continue (which u can get the non weapon sight long cane on my ko-fi free) though they did make assistance animals to cover that end.

but

Like the cane there is a issue I have found that has gone under the radar and does fall into a big trope that permeates ttrpg scene

in pathfinder 2e its just one grafting archetype.

Now I get why it’s there and some of them are inclusive like the iron lung to a degree…. They aren’t negatives at least.. minus 1

 just one options but the THE ACCURSED CLAY FIST it doesn’t add mechanical negatives directly but, curses are afflictions in pathfinder seen as bad and my issue with this is I feel its falls into the losing humanity trope which is often with prosthesis.

now it is just 1, all the rest are overall good pathfinder 2e has prosthesis option when u don’t have to lose a limb u add it on top of yours for mainly able-bodied people or more complex issues with hands and its really good idea and fixes all the issues the constructed pugilist has!

 but so easily I feel this one archetype falling into fetishizing again and it bugs me I do think that if you have made a section that focus on prosthetics and give a really good explanation on how to use them but then,

you create grafting archetype  which is  similar to constructed pugilist of pathfinder 1e which is annoying you can be whatever you want in a ttrpg but if you are going to make as much an effort as making inclusive items for your game why then suddenly create a grafting thing that I feel feeds into fetishization and to me slightly undoes it a little because its sneakily in there and then to have one where you curse others with your golem hand that has replace your hand it’s really cool don’t get me wrong but this could easily be a spell or the wording be it a coating over arm you can remove but instead like all of golem grafting like Constructed pugilist 1e it’s a permeant change to be cool and that’s just a shame, now this does not remove from the amazing work paizo did they obviously hire sensitivity writers and groups and it shows I just see the disconnect that always occurs in ttrpgs where you add in different Colum and its put in disconnected from the sections that were worked on

I do not know this for sue but I know many places have loads of people working on a book and tend to direct sensitivity writers to sections. Is this really a big mark on stain on paizo.

Nope of course not its small when you see where they have improved and though this comes across judging or reprimanding I more just want to bring attention to how we still see prothesis character I as most artist are very guilty of such fetishizing and no that doesn’t mean we can create cool things like the golem graft but phrasing and intent are important and understanding tropes is too we don’t have to avoid them I have offered the alternative easily we just need to check more I want to prefix I’m and physically disabled have chronic illness finer motor cognitive issues and neurodivergent but I am not amputee I’m coming from a place of studying and my perspective so do not accept all as fact we can all get these things wrong.

I just want us to think of tropes and ways we can include things for are amputee brethren.

Like cane we please learn that most amputees do not keep their prosthesis on 24/7 and hook hands are just a hook there many diverse types please!

Rant over thank you happy disability pride.

.

[darabeatha]

@holymost​ said ; ok listen I know they're fictional characters named/based on but every time I see an aztec god's name pop up on ur blog I'm like "??? WHY ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT AZTEC MYTHOLOGY?" and then I remember JHSDGFSJHDFHDS my hispanic ass got my ass once again I simply know nothing abt fate

/  AOAOAOOAOAOOAOO IORYTOIYUTOY IT- REALLY DO BE LIKE THAT! it’s so cool! and I can’t imagine how funny it must be to see one day greek mythology and then boom; Aztec and Maya mythology,,, and then Indian mythology and so on so forth; and to someone who isn’t too familiar with f.ate, i can imagine how funny it would be to look at someone u’ve read about in books and look at their anime version OITRUTIUORT LIKE;; what do u MEAN Achilles has bright GREEN hair?!?! it’s so silly sometimes, and it has its good and bad things, but i’ll always be grateful to f.ate for helping me discover more about history and mythology from all around the world which i love love love reading about!. But talking about my mesoamerican muses, I currently write five (5)!! 

Moctezuma II: in game they gave him a different name (Izcalli) but that’s more of a f.ate lore thing and a specific kind of situation that doesn’t really have anything to do with Moctezuma’s story so in my portrayal he is directly Moctezuma II the ninth emperor of Aztec empire or more commonly known as the last Aztec emperor (even tho after his reign there were two other more emperors but their reigns were very short so usually its default like that). He was the one who had the first official contact with the europeans amongs more but i won’t get into details because then this will get super long but yes- There are a lot of misconceptions and myths around his figure and quite frankly, not as much information about him, or well; objective information about him; f.ate wise, I got too attached to him and he shakes something in my heart;; maybe something along the lines of being misunderstood, rage, impotence, his story in overall being kind of put to the side, the strong emotional side of humans, expectations, fears and how these affect us all, etc etc. I think his character was not explored much in detail in f.ate and was a little rushed, which in exchange brough a lot of bad opinions about him and as a result, increased my curiosity over him. There’s also this thing where in fiction its often discussed the ‘negative’ traits a character has but these tend to linger on the usual ‘not too disliked’ traits, so when a certain side of a character is explored that doesn’t really match what we are used to see, it tends to create some sort of rejection towards it. In this case, i think his rage was seen as something petty and only that, which i can understand since not everyone will enjoy all characters but,, that limits his character a lot u know? There is something that hits me when a character has a big dislike ratio (like with constantine) and it made me feel more curious about him and to try to understand him further than what we were shown, which in return has made me grown more attached to him. Its me and mocte against the world frfr 😤✊ /OK JKJKJKJK! For some reason he lives rent free inside my head and by god there should be more art of him so i’m always drawing him nowadays. I could ramble about his f.ate design endlessly and talk much more about him but i’ll cut it here before i go overboard.

Tezcatlipoca: one of the central deities in Aztec religion! he is the god of darkness and night, of conflict, war; characterized by his duality as a desctructive god and creator, the enemy and the merciful of duality itself; associated with hurricanes and obsidian, jaguars. He is an omnipotent, ( the definition being: '(of a deity) having unlimited power; able to do anything’) omnipresent, (that can be present everywhere and anywhere at the same time, making him something akin to an invisible being that you can’t see but that he is there regardless) and omniscient god (that knows everything; he can see the truth in human’s hearts). He can also see through the hearts of men! he is also the brother of Quetzalcoatl in some Aztec tellings and the two of them are central to the creation myth, and there is s o much more! very facsinating god. In fate he’s a silly guy, i think in terms of personality; his character was portrayed wonderfully; the duality of Tezca truly shows and its just -chef kiss-

Tláloc-Huitzilopochtli-Tenochtitlán: now this character is kind of confusing if you are not too familiar with f.ate, and even to me it’s still kind of ??? as her spirit origin’s story is mostly tied to f.go lore, but basically, in fate she is the personification of the city of Tenochtitlán but she presents herself as Tláloc or Huitzilopochtli, as she mentions that by enshrining these two gods, Tenochtitlan (the city, aka her) thrived, and I can kind of understand the general idea they might have tried to go with as it -is- true that these two deities were incredibly important; from the side of Tláloc, he was the god of rain and was turbo mega important and venerated in mesoamerica particularly with the agricultural towns, as he had a crucial role in favoring the prosperity of harvest. He was so important that there were a lof of festivities and ceremonies held in order to receive his favors (their economy on the side of agriculture demanded for a lot of rainy days as there were long dry seasons so Tláloc was highly praised) and we still have a lot of items related to him in museums! I wish i could emphasize more how important Tláloc was but I’m gonna cut myself here and introduce Huitzilopochtli real quick;; he is the solar deity in Aztec religion and he’s tied to war and sacrifice as well (like tezca as well) he was like the patron god of the capital city of Tenochtitlan so you get the idea of just how important he was as well

Kukulkán: in fate, kukulkán also has some kind of odd story tied in that takes place in the f.ate universe, but my kuku is mostly- well; kukulkán, or known as the plumed serpent who’s origins mostly trace back to the Maya most specifically around the classic period. To some researchers, Kukulkán is the same as Quetzalcoatl which is why in f.ate, Kukulkán and Quetz are more like sisters to say; kuku being technically the eldest between the two even though she looks up to Quetz a lot. Kuku was considered a creator god and was associated with the winds and rain as it was said they brough them in the first place. a lil curious note; when the weather gets moody, clouds tend to have this sort of serpent-like shape which is from where the association comes from. Funnily enough, in f.ate she claims to be quite an airhead which im not sure if its a reference to her ties with the wind or not but if that was the case, it would be indeed a funny lil detail.

Camazotz: the Maya bat god from Popol Vuh! a god that dwells in the underworld (Xibalba) and is at the service of the lords of the underworld. Xibalba is packed with tests and trials, and if attempting to enter the underworld in the first place wasn’t already difficult, it keeps getting even more tricky! there are five houses and Camazotz rules over the house of the bats, where there is constant squeaking and shrieking. In the Popol Vuh, the hero twins must be able to spend the night in the house of bats (whose snouts are like blades that they use to attack) in order to pass the test, and they almost do it flawlessly until Hunanpu, (one of the brothers), by attempting to take a peak from the blowgun they were hiding inside of, tries to see if dawn has come, which ends up with his head getting decapitated by a bat. To this, other events pass by and he’s able to come back to life and with his brother they defeat the lords of Xibalba at the end. Popol Vuh aside, the bat as an animal had a lot of associtations such as with death, decapitation (from observing bats flying and snatching fruit from trees), night (even day! as they linger in caves but can also be seen flying in daytime across the skies), sacrifice (linked to the previously mentioned decapitation + blood), the underworld (as caves were a gateway to the underworld), etc, etc. Not to mention how important they are for agriculture as they help pollinate crops as well as help in controling over abundance of insects like mosquitoes. In any case, Camazotz is really cool and i love his design in fate!

[gallus-rising]

here we go. i’m doing it and no one can stop me

i am (going to attempt) to rank all stands by sexiness starting with the JoJo’s themselves. by the end of this “project” all of the winners will be pitted against each other in a final showdown, as judged by me, Standfucker Extraordinaire. unfortunately no TJL stands will be included as we’ve not seen enough of them in action. sorry Jodio 😔

plz keep in mind that these are only my objectively correct opinions u-u

11: Tusk Act 1

marketable plushie lookin ass

10: Tusk Act 3

change up the colors and this thing the world’s ugliest sleep paralysis demon

9: Hermit Purple

its just vines. idk what i’m supposed to say. comes w Joseph’s slut energy built in. it’s cool that its purple i guess?

8: Tusk Act 2

Johnny you have 4 stands and almost all of them are ugly as sin wtf man. the design is finally fun so points for that at least

7: Crazy Diamond

now we’re getting onto the fuckable stands babyyyy

Crazy Diamond is just a tad much. his colors are ok, the hearts coordinating w Josuke’s design are cute. but then there’s the plating, the helmet, the tubes(??), and he even suffers from jjba Codpiece Syndrome. it’s all a bit much and doesn’t quite fit. in some of the anime promo art they gave him a sparkly diamond texture, but besides that i don’t care for him all that much.

6: Star Platinum

using the DiU palette bc of all the Star Platinum colors it’s the best. the pastels are cute and make for a fun contrast w the big muscles

an oldie but a goldie. bc Araki hadn’t gotten his footing w stand designs yet Splat looks more unique in retrospect. hair and clothing, capable of facial expressions, a tasteful loincloth as opposed to Another Fucking Codpiece.

i also think it’s cute how artists like to draw him w starry hair :>

5: Gold Experience Requiem

GER? this guy fucks. there’s simply no other way to put it. he fucks so hard. unfortunately points have to be redacted for that dead eyed stare and unmoving grimace. GER could be so much higher if he didn’t have such an awful baked in expression and this will become an unfortunate running theme. maybe if GER had more screen time that could be mitigated, but alas...

4: Stone Free

one of the few female stands, which sucks bc Araki goes off w girl stands. just look at her. the blue accented by gray, the radical bright green sunglasses, the sexy hints at her string powers, she even complements Jolyne nicely if stand/user synergy is needed. she’d probably be higher up if we saw more of her bc Araki prefers to show off her powers via having Jolyne psychically unravel which is fun! but does mean this beauty didn’t get enough time to shine 😔 not sure how i feel abt the bumpy texture as well. makes things a bit busy

3: Tusk Act 4

finally!! after 3 shit stands Tusk strikes gold in the final hour. its weird, its pink, its got (jo)stars its a cowboy, what more could you want??

more screen time goddamn it!! Tusk Act 4 gets like 2 and a half physical appearances across 2 parts. Araki wtf man. Tusk Act 4 just fucks so hard tho so it’s gotta be top 3

2: Soft & Wet

YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEA!!! NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A FUCKABLE STAND! Soft & Wet is the platonic ideal of a MC stand. fun mechanical parts, cute little face, the Stand Tubes finally serve an aesthetic purpose and aren’t just awkwardly tacked on. he also has such pleasing colors and silhouette. i love him so much and he’s easily one of the best, cutest, most sexy stands in all of jjba

However

Soft & Wet has 3 variants and they all look the same. base Soft & Wet, Josefumi’s Soft & Wet, and GO ⭐ BEYOND are identical. so many good multi-stage stands and Soft & Wet drops the ball on every level 😔

1: Gold Experience

Gold Experience is not just fuckable, he’s h*rny. nonstop GE everyday all the time GE is just Like That and the sheer confidence of it all overpowers the few negative aspects of his design. even the Fucking Codpiece

GE has more than 1 facial expression and a sexy alt form to mix things up. he pairs w Giorno perfectly. he’s got a Lot going on w the loud colors, ladybugs, wings, helmet, teardrop markings, vague insect texturing, and hints of The World. but unlike Crazy D it all ties together. amazing. flawless. unbelievable.

and if you don’t know what i mean when i say GE is h*rny. BEHOLD:

in every one of his Iconic poses he is dtf. the h*rniest stand for the h*rniest part. this is how it was meant to be godbless godbless and goodnight.

[megasuperhappyfuntimestuff]

So, my growing position in terms of post-canon homestuck is disliking the epilogues and LOVING HSBC. I used to be an epilogues defender but I've been doing a reread and candy is so incredibly unfun. But I'm on meat now and...

Meat jadedavekat is kinda cute??????

Like. There IS a fundamental flaw in Jades approach. Her trying to logic it out and all that. But like... Dave and Karkats dynamic with her in that one is really cute and it seems like their fundamental issue with it is 1. The fact that they don't wanna communicate and 2. That they haven't reckoned with their feelings for each other yet.

Idk !! Meat still has got its issues, I mean the shit Dirk says about Jade are things people have said to me to justify why my polyamory is some sort of fucked up coping mechanism but rereading it has been really fun. Like I got so hyped for certain parts. Idk.

Not to sound like a broken record, but the main way both epilogues disappointed me so greatly is how it treated polyamory. And it had an actively negative effect on the fandom space regarding that. People were saying slutshaming, biphobic, and misogynistic things about Jade THAT PEOPLE HAD SAID TO ME IRL BEFORE. (Back when I id'd as pan). Like it seems like not only did a lot of people walk away from the epilogues feeling like there was a genuine "polyamory is just bad" message(like I did), a lot of people came away from it with "AND I AGREE, even though I don't even like this story". It was the first time I actually got harassed over fandom drama !! And I'm just a rando !!

Shrugs. I HIGHLY doubt hsbc is gonna end with meat jadedavekat. Tbh, I would WAY prefer if Jade asks about it and Dave and Karkat have matured to a level where they can just tell her that they don't want that. And Jade just gets to... Be her own person??? For a bit??? And kick more ass pls. God the hsbc chapter where she beats up ult!Callie is so good.

ALSO MAKE CANDY JADEROSEMARY GOOD SOMEHOW???? CONVINCE ME HSBC!!!!! I'm very willing to be convinced bc I do love that ship outside the context of how they did it. Show them grow and show them care for each other. Make it up to Kanaya. Instill trust into their relationship. Let them make boundaries. Idk. Help them heal.

(I may be biased because I literally adore Yiffy as a character like. Such a cool design such a cool deal)

Idk. I genuinely feel like homestuck kind of has to redeem itself big time with polyamorous fans and I don't know if the team knows that.

Anyway I literally adore this team so I will proooobably like what they do no matter what, even if they take the characters in directions that I wouldn't. I'm here for the ride and to support cool queer art. Worst that happens? There's an aspect I don't like of it and I write my own damn homestuck >u<

[transfemlogan]

Instagram Feb 2023. More of my sides stuff from IG that I 4got 2 post :P

I have no spoons to copy everything word for word so I will just simplify it all.

Colour schemes:

I didnt originally plan to make them colours of the rainbow like how the Sanders Sides +c!Thomas are, that was a very recent idea.

I am orange, Maddox/Impulse is red, Memphis/Egotism is pink, Melvin/Compassion is green, Medusa/Creativity is cyan & I recently made Mercury/Paranoia yellow. Maven/Fatigue is probably going to be purple & I don't have another side to make indigo.

[Non-coloured text: I am orange, Maddox/Impulse is red, Memphis/Egotism is pink, Melvin/Compassion is green, Medusa/Creativity is cyan & I recently made Mercury/Paranoia yellow. Maven/Fatigue is probably going to be purple & I don't have another side to make indigo.]

Symbols/logos:

My sides' logos r all over the place, instead of being on their chest like (most of) the Sanders Sides :P

Melvin's logo is two hands interlocked & it's a patch on his battle jacket. Its place on his heart.

Madds' logo is like the boom emoji (💥) or explosion. It is placed on the sides of its big combat boots.

Medusa's logo is like. An eyeball. Painbrush. This will change idk what i was thinking originally NDHSKFNFB. Kits logo is placed on the front of kits overalls pocket.

Maven's logo is a bunch of Zs like a sleeping person would be given in art (💤). It's placed on the largest pin on their beanie.

Memphis' logo is a pink, handheld mirror. It is one of the charms on her phone.

Mercs does not... have a logo design. & the logo is either on the back of Mercs' shirt or on one of Mercs' bracelets.

Relationship dynamics:

All my sides get along relatively ok & good. If the Sanders Sides wont love each other then MINE WILL!!!

The only sides that have a somewhat rough relationship is Mel & Madds. Mel, being compassion, wants 2 hear everything 1st in any sort of conflict & tends 2 have a more unbiased view on everything. He is still incredibly supportive & kind regardless of his personal opinion. He is like... Making soup 4 everyone and wanting to help as many people as possible.

Madds, on the other hand, being impulse & a lot of my ""negative"" violent feelings, refuses 2 hear ANYONE out. It will hold a grudge til the end of the earth even if it doesnt know the whole story. As soon as some sort of conflict happens it is choosing the Worse answer imaginable regardless if it even fits the situation ("did that guy just bump into you? We have to kill them" "im sure it was an accident—" "it absolutely Was Not").

OBVIOUSLY. THEY DON'T AGREE MOST OF THE TIME DNSHDKDN. Mel is like "lets talk this out. Communication is important!" & madds is like "Everyone here is wrong except for me. Lets kill them all now."

(They still will bend over backwards for each other if needed)

Maven's trait is fatigue bcuz i have CFS/ME*, though they also represent any sort of fatigue(??) Im. Unsure how to explain. Back in middle schopl before I developed CFS/ME, it was a lot of suicidal/depressive fatigue. It can also be executive dysfunction or autistic shutdowns/meltdowns. ETC whatever u get it.

They're the like. Apathy I feel? I do not experience empathy or sympathy (most of the time) & being aro, ace, and apl, and loveless I tend to not feel Normally. I am also autistic & have alexithymia. THIS IS HARD 2 EXPLAIN BCUZ I AM LOW ON SPOONS. ASK ME LATER OF UR STILL CONFUSED. I DONT KNOW.

WHATEVER. Because Maven is fatigue/apathy/etc they don't really care abt any1 around them. That's melvin's job! They're too busy sleeping in their wheelchair or on the floor. They aren't mean or anything, they're just apathetic & sleepy.

Memphis only cares abt himself but bcuz all the sides + me r Technically Also Him he kind of has 2 care 4 evry1 else. Though, if warranted, she would literally push us off a cliff to save herself (she would also push us off a cliff 4 no rzn).

Medusa likes to cling to Memphis like a baby koala bcuz I think I am TOO talented for my own good . Hence why creativity hangs around egotism.

Mercs likes to run to Madds or Maven bcuz my delusions, obviously, make me violent & afraid & i am actually pretty apathetic & chill in regards to my hallucinations. ALSO NOT MENTIONED IN THE STORIES, Mercs also hangs around Memphis since I have delusions abt being the most popular person on the planet & being better than everyone else & ETC.

*ALL my sides have CFS/ME. They ALL are autistic, have ADHD, schizophrenia, POTS, & all my other disabilities & neurodivergencies. It doesn't make sense to me (+ makes me a little uncomfortable) to have a single side represent my disabilities/NDs. My disabilities are not One Part Of Me, they are All Of Me.

In regards to Mercury/Paranoia, all my sides experience delusions & hallucinations, Mercs just experiences Most of it. Xe also represents more than just paranoia. In regards to Maven/Fatigue, all my sides are physically disabled and have CFS/ME & POTS, Maven just experiences the most of it & represents more than just fatigue.

[salted-caramel-tea]

Wait what is tiktok designed to do

oh geez hold on i’m not good at explaining things but let me link some video essays i watched on the topic (x) (x) (x)

it is designed to promote attractiveness. the results if that? tiktok is making everyone feel ugly

but tiktok has what is essentially a ‘beauty algorithm’ as part of its virality algorithm in which it scans your facial features to make a beauty estimation that will determine how likely you are to go viral .

that’s why famous people on tiktok tend to have the same facial features. and since race is a factor, why it’s harder for people of colour to end up on the fyp meaning and how women like addison rae get away with stealing their dances and trends.

there’s only a few bites studies and the study used by Benthamite on tiktok only featured white and asian faces, he made his own website using the coding from the beauty algorithm to test and see the odds of what would earn you a high rating. miss universe 2019 was only a 3. this is what leads a lot of ppl to believe that the tiktok beauty algorithm is programmed to adhere to a eurasian beauty standard. a lot of people use bella poarch as an example of this (and it’s not hate directed at bella she’s gorgeous and her songs are fire) but her tiktok gained popularity by,, bobbing her head to a beat. and that’s nothing to shame her for, but if it has been a creator scoring lower on the facial beauty predictions it’s very unlikely that the post would have reached the same level of virality

there’s also an obsession with beauty in trends. Madisyn and Salem’s videos points out trends like the corsets and the baggy t-shirts or the symmetrical face or that one nose shape trend i think we all remember it that are shown to make people feel negatively towards themselves and actively have negative emotional reactions towards their appearance after participating in these trends . not to mention how tiktok filters make you look lighter skinned and thinner than you are, or can completely change your facial structure, or how you can edit your videos to give yourself an entirely different body and face shape . tiktok thrives on your insecurities. trends are made to play into your securities . even announcing your insecurities on tiktok makes everyone else feel insecure. nobody cares about wide ribcages until a few weeks ago. because people go viral for saying ‘i’m jealous of girls with’ or ‘be glad you don’t have’

what does the algorithm penalise? skin texture and health, even skin tone, facial structure (placement, usually looking for large eyes large lips small nose) even things like disability

this isn’t anything new a lot of sites like instagram use it that’s why you sometimes get random ass white girls in your recommended posts

obviously this isn’t the only way to reach virality on tiktok there’s regular algorithm factors like initial interaction, shares, tags, video length and such u get it