#its so renaissance-esque

[connorsnothereeither]

were there any specific styles/cultures you took inspiration from when designing the telchin clothing styles?

Honestly the tricky answer is: a lot-

Initially, it was very much just like “okay does this shape and colour palette and design look cool? Sick” and just throwing thoughts at a wall.

When it came to defining those broader shapes/colours and adding things like specific cuts, details, patterns, etc, I sort of worked backwards to grab inspirations.

Ulysses initial/main outfit is honestly quite Medieval, European (but notably Norse/Scandinavian in its cut/style), albeit with a ridiculously plunging neckline for some reason lol-

(it was even a bit early on that every time one of the cast drew Ulysses, we’d make his neckline just a little bit sluttier)

HOWEVER the details on the collar and sleeves are directly lifted from ancient Greco-Roman designs, specifically influenced by the “Greek Key” or “Greek Meander” pattern which can be seen in pottery, jewellery and architecture all over the ancient Mediterranean!

Specific to Ulysses, his clothing has currently reached a fairly fairytale-esque “fantasy” stage, drawing a lot of early Renaissance and pirate-style influences with his little poet-shirt and sash, since he’s been on the Overworld so much, and is slowly growing to become a part of that culture and world, and I really wanted to show that in his clothing changes.

Honestly, a lot of the broader telchin clothing when I have sketched it up is very Greco-Roman, at least in the way I tend to depict it (that is my field of expertise, given my degree haha) but there’s honestly a lot of broader Mediterranean ties in as well. The army and their armour is designed to be very Ancient Macedonian, and a lot of the more casual clothing skew very Ancient Egyptian.

Canonically the Telchin clothing style also definitely develops rapidly over the course of the war with the drowned, mostly for practicality sake more than fashion (loose flowing fabrics aren’t doing anyone much good escaping the undead), leading to an almost 1950s/60s American aesthetic? Of course still mingled with the Greco-Roman patterns. Especially in the way the scientists are presented in lore/my art, they always had a very retro-60’s almost sci-fi scientist aesthetic. If I was to give it a fancy/proper-sounding name I think “Wartime-Americana Retro-Classicism” would be more or less it, potentially lmao-

(You can even sort of see similar shapes and patterns in that first reference image to Ulysses eventual design!)

There was of course always a flair of Victorian-Mad-Scientist too, because I have a bit of a brand and I can’t help myself. And given the blurring of science, alchemy and magic in Fable I think it definitely fits.

It’s a shame Tumblr only lets me upload 10 images per post on mobile because I have A BUNCH of reference images for all of these stages of the Ulysses/broader telchin clothing design lol, but sadly I can’t include them here :(

But I hope this was somewhat useful/interesting!! I’ve had so much fun coming up with this kind of stuff over the course of Fable s3 for the telchin and I’m very grateful to Ocie and Metta for kind of just letting me go ham on a bunch of aspects like this lol-

[landgraabbed]

hi Cat, can you share your thoughts/criticisms of DATV? i think the game is gonna flop.

hey nonners, idk. this is a complicated question. i mean, game's not even out yet so it's unfair to pass judgment on it. i can only judge bioware's approach to pre-release marketing. and i got a lot of thoughts on that.

honestly i think it will be a perfectly serviceable game and technically it will run well (i mean, it has been steam deck verified which tells me that performance was a big concern for devs). i don't think quality has much bearing on the love people can have for a game. and vice-versa. the people who are hyped to oblivion and want to preorder will like it. the people who hate it bc it has poc and queer and disabled characters will still hate it. people who analyze the game's mechanics and writing will dissect the game and be predisposed to finding things they dislike. over time opinions will mellow out and we'll see how the veilguard will be remembered.

i can't trust bioware to make an rpg that i will want to play after their last failures. different people will differ on where the string of failures started. from a quality standpoint my line is dragon age 2. me3 to me failed to deliver on the promise of the first 2 me games save for shining exceptions like the citadel dlc and javik. from a numbers standpoint the last successful game was inquisition which won goty in 2014 due to a serious lack of competition mostly, especially since witcher 3 was pushed back to 2015 (which pains me personally as that put it directly in bloodborne's path to goty in that year). thing is bioware seems to be doing all they can to avoid a flop. veilguard is bioware's hail mary after a string of failures. they are ditching the ea app to capture as many people as possible. the combat has fully careened into action, and although they keep telling us these will be the best companions ever, really, guys, the gameplay is more and more focused on the protagonist alone. the crpg roots of the series are getting cut down to attract a broader audience. perhaps at the cost of ostracizing some like me who enjoy the party-based, party-building mechanics like me.

how well this will go i don't know. on one hand i think bioware has been historically bad at showing the full scope to new and returning players. empress celene has been haunting the edges of the world since origins. the full grasp of her character is locked behind books. afaik some companions have been introduced already in supplemental materials. this sort of move didn't go well for ff15. on the other i think this game missed its window. the gaming landscape of today isn't the same as it was in 2014, and in 2014 the skyrim at home open world design was already outdated. i've been hearing about the crpg renaissance since 2016. i accompanied it. it remained a niche part of gaming until it didn't: baldur's gate 3 released last year to audience and critical acclaim. going forward i expect mainstream rpgs to take cues from bg3. and the mission based almost extraction shooter-esque design that veilguard seems to have might not land as well in 2024 as it would have in 2020.

eta: or it could go well, idk. morrowind and final fantasy were bethesda's and squaresoft's hail maries and saved those studios.

right now the marketing has missed the mark on me. it is patronizing and seemingly needs to punch down the previous da games to prop this one up. it concerns me that the game may be releasing in 2 months (as per jeff grubb) and we quite frankly haven't seen shit. just bioware telling us that trust me, these companions are deep. trust me, the combat is good. trust me, the city built on slave labor is totally the coolest one you've seen. everyone copies fromsoftware but they don't seem to learn to drop a trailer and shut up until they got more things of substance to show. and this isn't just a bioware issue.

[theresattrpgforthat]

do you have any recommendations for crunchy games with good magic item / crafting systems? Or anything that has a between clouds or salvage union esque home base / transport design system?

Theme: Crafting/Journey Crunch

Hello friend, I did a little bit of digging and I've got a few games that hit one or the other of your requirements, and possibly a few that do both. I hope something here tickles your fancy!

SCRAPS, by Cezar Capacle.

Ayera is a hopeful world built among the ruins of a long lost ancient civilization. It is a place of harmony and symbiosis, in which unimaginable flora and fauna is to be found by anyone who leaves their settlements and travels unexplored paths. You are a Scrapper, an adventurer who devotes their life to exploring the land, finding special ingredients, bringing them back to their workshops, and crafting their wondrous personal and community projects.

Scraps is a feel-good game about sharing, about harmony with nature, about bewilderment and curiosity.

This game uses polyominoes and d6s to help design things that you’ll be crafting throughout play. The entire game loop revolves around crafting - you draft a plan, gather materials in the wilderness, and then come home and craft. The game is also non-violent: your obstacles don’t require combat to bypass. It is both solo and multi-player friendly, so if you want to play this game and don’t have a good group for it, lack of other players is not an obstacle. This was the winner of the Best Solarpunk DIY game in the Applied Hope: Solarpunk & Utopias Jam, and I can see why.

Mectors, by Chubby Crow Games.

In Mectors, players take on the role of a farmer, miner, fisher, carpenter, or some other worker in a labor intensive field. Mector Owners come from all kinds of backgrounds. Some own a Mector that’s been in their family for generations. Others came across theirs recently, through purchase or luck. And a rare few have managed to piece their own together using scraps from decommissioned Mectors, but this is even harder than it sounds. No matter how they got it, they now have a powerful tool with a long history.

This game has a few elements that might fall into what you’re looking for. First is the creation of your community. This is a fairly simple process in which you decide what kinds of guilds and political forces might affect your community, the names of specific NPCs who live there, and points of interest connected to your character playbooks. The second element is the use of Scrap, a resource that can be used to improve your community or improve your Mechs. There’s not really a lot of picklists or option sets - much of what you decide will either be determined by the pre-written setting or created wholesale by your crew.

Buried Treasures, by iotsov.

Buried Treasures takes place in a dangerous setting without modern-day tech. It contains two suggested settings: Whitewater, a town surrounded by danger, and “Let Me Out” a post-apocalypse.

At the core of this Renaissance-inspired TTRPG is its recipe system. Recipes are non-magical spells, and can be anything from combat maneuvers through invention schematics to actual cooking recipes. Players are slowly eased into creating and upgrading recipes, allowing them to design unique characters. Recipes also typically become the source of greatest power – in the unlikely event that the characters survive that far into the game.

I’m not a big fan of the Whitewater setting, and I’d recommend taking some time to write a bit of your own history and world instead, if you want something more similar to fantasy. The “Let Me Out” setting includes the idea that you have a bunker from which your characters have merged, with some questions you can answer as you create your colony. From there you will adventure into a landscape that references the SCP website for encounters.

What this game does have, however, is an interesting advancement system. All of your skills are based on “recipes”, which require research and various ingredients if you are to level up your skill. These skills can be magical or non-magical, and while they affect your character’s abilities, the in-game conceit is that these abilities are granted through crafted items. Some of the details of those items are left to the character’s imagination, but if you want a game with meticulous inventory and record-keeping required, you might want to check out Buried Treasures.

Cast Away, by Afterthought Committee.

Cast Away is the definitive tabletop survival RPG. Its Diminishing Dice mechanics reflect the ever-worsening condition of survivors in the aftermath of a disaster—without tracking Hit Points or burdensome injury tables. Death is permanent, therefore, we've created a Haunting system that keeps players engaged long after their characters pass away. Cast Away contains a modular set of guidelines and is easily adapted to any setting, environment, or circumstance. 

Survival games will either necessitate travel or a home base to keep yourself safe. Cast Away contains recommendations on how to facilitate role-play in hostile environments, and also makes passing reference to building shelters. If your characters are stranded, I can imagine much of the game will revolve around how they use their resources around them to stay alive. There’s very little to no mechanics for combat here - instead you have skills related to crafting, cooking, hiking, navigation and more.

The rules themselves are very simple, but I think including a pre-generated setting may help with the sensation of discovery and danger. One such setting might be Backwoods Cartography, by Backwoods Cartographer, which includes plenty of dangerous flora and fauna - although the NPC encounters might be best left for a different style of game.

Cosmos, by Neoth Games.

As a resident of the Belt you’ve seen exploitation, you’ve seen struggle, you’ve watched those around you be slowly ground into shells of their former selves. Now you’ve had enough. Its time for someone to do something.

Your crew has set out to make a difference, to be the fly striking back at the giant corporation that has seemingly set out to single-handedly ruin life in this sector of space. Struggle will not be easy, but any difference you can make counts for something.

But just remember, Oracle is watching.

Cosmos features all you need to play a game of resistance within the corporate controlled asteroid belt. Inside are all the rules, advancements, example journeys, locations, and adversaries.

In Cosmos, you’ll have a spaceship that carries you from place to place, and if you like the idea of improving a home base, this game has options for you. You can increase available space, as well as add medicine and weapons. You’ll have to maintain the hull if it sustains damage, and running out of fuel sounds like a possible problem as well. There’s also different size ships, which don’t just play into what’s available to your crew - it also shows you what kinds of craft you could end up fighting as well.

Cosmos also has Journey rules. Each Journey has an origin, a destination, linked encounters, difficulty levels, how stressful it may be, and example obstacles or events that may occur as you travel. As rebels and renegades, travel is fraught and dangerous, and it looks like the journey rules are meant to reflect that.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Reclaim the Wild

The Wildsea, by Felix Isaacs.

Numenera, by Monte Cook Games (Especially the Destiny book and the Building Tomorrow supplement.)

[solar-return]

wizard101 mutuals i'm currently working on my alternative-canon version of celestia (before it sunk) for the sake of a fic and i would like to introduce you to my two main characters :)

(created using baydew's avatar maker my beloved)

here are mariam iacta and adorine ettil, two women whose respective quests to join celestian high society cause their paths to collide! when their stories begin, astral magic in celestia is still in its formative stage, with only star magic approaching the point of collective mastery. mariam aspires to become a successful astral engineer and make enough money to move her family out of stormriven, an area vulnerable to frequent heavy flooding. adorine aspires to become a diplomat so she can travel the spiral and eventually move away from her toxic and overbearing family. neither of their plans go exactly as expected.

my designs for the celestians are vaguely inspired by the alien-esque forms we see them in ingame; they are more humanoid but still tend towards variations on cool colors. celestia is an island atop a massive ocean, proportionally somewhat similar to earth but visually i want you to imagine like. a massive super mario galaxy world. their culture is historically tied to the ocean and storm magic, but when this story begins the society is in the midst of a massive technological renaissance and thus astral magic, academia, and diplomacy (typically land-based activities) are celestia's priorities. they also have a language (the rune-based one we see ingame) that pronunciation-wise somewhat resembles italian and/or latin, but i doubt i'm going to develop it fully lmao.

all of this is subject to change but in general i'm just having a great time fleshing out my version of this world. if anyone reads this i hope you find it cool!!

[everydayyoulovemeless]

A Night Out ↠ Veronica x Reader

➼ Word Count » 0.5k ➼ Warnings » None ➼ Genre » Romantic

"The Ultra-Luxe, huh? Can't say I ever took you to be the classical type."

"I'm not," You quipped back at your chatty companion, "just looking for something other than the casinos across the street. I thought they'd be too much for our night out."

You wandered down the well-maintained halls of the old-fashioned building, doing your best to raise as little suspicion as possible. Neither of you was hiding anything, you just felt severely out of place in a palace such as this. Everyone here was so nicely put together, it made you feel like a fish out of water, and you could tell Veronica felt the same as you watched her occasionally fidget with her robes. You both held a stark contrast against the Renaissance-esque gallery you sauntered through.

"Our night out? What, is this a date?" She teased, a glimmer of mischief in her eyes as she followed close beside you.

You didn't say anything, only winked in reply before stopping suddenly and turning to face the scribe in question, "Ooo, I have an idea."

"Oh yeah!" She answered excitedly, "What is it?"

You smiled at her, whipping your head to peer down either side of the hallway, before grabbing ahold of one of the doorknobs and forcing your way in.

The rooms here were larger than you expected, which had already been a high expectation, so they no doubt caught you off guard. The walls seemed to stretch forever in every direction, shrouding the place in its own sort of private luxury, separate from what could be found out in the waste. It was a welcomed change of pace compared to what either of you were used to, and you found yourself even more eager to scrounge through its belongings.

"I knew the society was posh, but... jeez." Veronica breathed out in awe of the neatly decorated area. "The Brotherhood could pick up some decorating tips from this place."

You nodded in agreement as you quickly made your way over to the drawers, opening and closing them repeatedly until you found something you liked well enough to wear, gesturing for Veronica to do the same.

"They desperately need it." You said, "Pick out whatever you want from here. I'm sure they won't miss it too much." You told her, rummaging swiftly through the piles of clothes being kept. You'd look back at the door every now and again to make sure no one was coming in. You'd hate it if you were forced out so soon.

You both eventually found something appealing and wasted no time throwing it on. A wide grin found its way on both of your faces as you inspected each other's outfits. Neither of you felt or looked this fancy in your lives, and tonight was the night you both experienced what it really meant to live with the finer things.

"Ready, my love?" You teased, holding out your arm for her to take.

"Always," She giggled, intertwining her arms with your own as the two of you continued along the same path, this time feeling a lot more in place.

[uriekukistan]

Kaneki for the uni thing :)

ooh wait okay this is so interesting to think about because we already have a canon uni kaneki, but i guess how does he fit in at my university is the question

so kaneki's major is canonically japanese literature, so i would say the parallel equivalent at my school would be english literature. i think he would end up really interested in the british medieval/renaissance literature classes because he of all the fairytale-esque tales of heroism and tragedy. bros a bit of a nerd (affectionate) and will definitely be reading passages in class in a full old english accent. the english department also brings in a lot of authors for writing workshop and he attends all of them.

in tg we see him reading in anteiku and at a picnic table outside, so while we never see him studying, we can guess maybe those would be places he would probably enjoy studying? i don't think he would study at our campus cafe (will get to that thought), and it is extremely cold here however, my campus is on top of a pretty tall hill, and at the top, there's this thing we call the skybridge, which is basically a place that overlooks the entire valley and the walls are entirely windows. the view is so nice, and i think kaneki would feel really at peace there, so it would be his favorite study spot (mine too)

we know kaneki is not very into campus life, and i don't think he would be at my uni either...unfortunately, a lot of our social culture is based on superficial things like wealth and hooking up and who can drink the most alcohol before they have to go to the hospital...not a place i think kaneki would fit in easily (felt!). i think he'd end up pretty much the same in canon with one friend who lures him out to get a cup of coffee once in a while. safe to say he doesn't go to parties either.

i think he would also be a barista if he went to my university, but i don't think he would like it that much. it's very loud and chaotic and not at all the chill kind of haven that anteiku was for him. hence why i don't think he would study there. he also refuses to eat there (we're assuming he can eat human food). he hates working there tbh, but university tuition in the us costs a kidney and your first born child, so he does what he has to

his favorite place to eat would be the "late night" (it closes at midnight) "pub style" (its american fast food-ish) spot because they have the best hamburger

[kloppool]

analysis of liverpool's szn at the halfway point

i think the most apparent reason for our resurgence this szn is our midfield rebuild. i won't go too in-depth about our issues last year (cause we all literally lived it) but our midfield was old, injury-prone and just could not do its job. the thing that makes liverpool different is that our attacking facilitators are our fullbacks, so the midfield is expected to do more defensively. that was not happening last season, which left our defense exposed. this year, our brand-new midfield has looked amazing. despite a rough few games, domi has been one of the best signings, covers an incredible amount of ground a game, and can score some absolute bangers. macca has been played out of position so far, but has still been great. however, i think endo has been the best of the bunch, which might be a little controversial, but considering what the expectations of many were vs what he has delieved, i think the thing i love the most about endo is his attitude. even if he makes a mistake, he puts in double the effort to make up for it.

similar to our midfield, our defense is very much having a comeback season. as i touched on in the previous paragraph, the midfield left our defense very exposed last season. this was especially an issue at the fullback position because while taa and robbo are crazy talented, they sometimes leave a lot to be desired in the defensive area. our center back situation was also not great.

while the midfield being loads better certainly helps our defense, i also think that every single one of them is miles better then last year. virg is having a proper renaissance and looks back to his best. joel was phenomenal, ibou is hitting his stride and jarell is our best academy player since trent.

trent's position switch has maybe been the most interesting thing taticallly so far imo. by allowing him to play as an inverted fullback, trent gets to make full use of one some of his best skills- his passing and vision. he's directly gotten us 4 points this season through goals and his defending has improved

to put in perspective how good our defense has been our goals conceded per match is 0.84 so far

the funny thing about our attack this year is that normally it's the area we have the least concern with. for years, liverpool was defined by it's incredible attacking football and lack of defense soundness, which lead to (what felt like) constant 4-3s.....just look at 2017/2018.

so far liverpool have scored 39 goals, only behind city (43) and aston villa (40)

however, the problem is that liverpool are wasteful and not finishing enough chances. mo salah has 12 goals and 7 assists in having played 19 matches

the issue (so far) is that there is no other consistent goalscorer. while darwin has certainly been much better this season, he still misses a lot. if he can improve his finishing, i gen believe he could be fernando torres-esque. if not, we need to a. find someone to consistently score goals and b. allow him the freedom to do what he does best: which rn, is to cause chaos. i can see darwin taking up a bobby type role here and being a facilitator for mo and another strike partner

diogo is, after mo, our best attacker. he is so clinical it's not even funny. cody's movement and energy are fantastic, but his finishing needs to improve. luis diaz has been great at times, but has struggled lately and i think a little time off to reset after everything he's been through this season would be great

summary: our midfield and defense have improved massively thanks to new signings and players rediscovering their best selves. our attack creates great chances, but overall struggles to finish consistently. but, overall, i'm impressed. we've lost a lot of crucial players over the past 2 years, mainly in the midfield and attack (literally all of our midfielders left) and to be in a title race this season is truly impressive.

have not spoken of klopp yet, but he is as animated as ever and his ability to reinvent this team and reenergize them is truly special. i know he's "the normal one" but what he does is the exact opposite.

if you read this whole thing thank you so much.....also you might be a little crazy

[khalixvitae]

i usually give gifts like origami bouquets and other origami pieces, letters, and drawings to my loved ones. rook is naturally, artistically inclined and has a deep love for it so he'd absolutely adore it. what if your letters were all romantically comparing him to the weak quarry you've caught in your fist. entailing deeply strange expressions of affection that most fortunately (or unfortunately?) grasp rook's attention the most. wow..... you just wrote 2 pages dreamily touching on how you'd love to rip his throat out because cannibalism being a metaphor for deep, obsessive, and devoted love is the most apt way to express what you're feeling.... for him, him, ever elusive rook hunt to trust you and bare his throat to you! of course in any case should death come rapping at the door with her decrepit knuckles he'll die by your loving hand instead because is possession in death not the deepest form of connection to you little weirdos. he'll giggle and twirl his hair while rambling about you to vil and vil can't decide if he should flip between deadpan, concerned, or disgruntled or all at once! leaving little notes inside the origami flowers you make entailing your darkest desires for him ever pure because how can they be taboo when they are what you truly feel for him out of trust and loyalty!! he opens a gift box from you and there's a VERY realistic, human pottery heart inside because he's captured your own!!! drawings of you and rook in strange, baroque/renaissance esque compositions where your love is both dreadful and holy. you would consume him on the silver alter as if he were your salvation and the closest thing to god. rook would reciprocate your effort even more!!!! i love being gay... not so much, rook... /silly

See now I know we’re all on the same page!

Rook would be on a whole other level of vaguely (highly) concerning devotion, and he strikes me as the type to really push the limits of a dynamic. He wants to see just how deep it goes, and so long as he feels like it’s safe(ish) and reciprocal, he’s going to be greedy for more.

On the note of comparing him to your quarry, ABSOLUTELY. Rook regularly fantasizes about death- like, the number of canon tangents he’s gone on about the prospect of being maimed is pretty outlandish on its own. Not to mention when ((BOOK 5 MINOR SPOILER)) he wanted to drink something cursed by Vil supposedly because he wanted to know what it would taste like (though I personally think there was a mix of things going on there, but I digress!). he wants to go all the way to that edge and come back purely for the experience. He’s nearly hedonistic; the only thing that keeps him in check are his responsibilities. I also firmly believe he wants to be chased after- there’s something exhilarating to him about being wanted so deeply that his partner infinitely pursues him. He may have claimed the title of Chaser of Love, but to be coveted? To be loved that intensely? That’s when he’s willing to bare his throat and any sense of self preservation goes out the window. There has to be something there that is deeply personal and trusting for him to toss his typical guard aside.

[tumblebagel]

I'm not sure how to make this post, because I know that Valerie is very much active on this site and very well may see it.

So, uh, hi. If you're reading this, I want you to know that you're an amazing person. Genuinely a big inspiration in my life. I'm going to express a bit of disappointment and sadness in this post, but I want to make it explicitly clear: I am not disappointed with you. This isn't your fault, and I need to make sure you know that. In all fairness, I DO know you know that. I read the confession. I just want to make sure that you REALLY know. Progressing a story that's hurting you more than its inspiring you is not worth it. Nobody deserves that. Emotions are messy and complicated and I'll be over it eventually. C/K/C looks amazing, and I cannot wait to see what you do next.

With that in mind, we get to the heart of this post. An incredible comic, only 1 and 1/2 chapters long, called Goodbye to Halos.

I discovered the comic right after I discovered I was trans. Literally the first thing I did after my egg cracked was look up: "trans webcomics", and there it was. Safe to say I didn't know that I was getting into SO much more.

I was instantly hooked by the worldbuilding. Even before it started to branch out, the visual contrast between skyport and lionsbridge was so striking. And as a developing artist, I got to see firsthand things I didn't know were possible to do with color. It was about at the time that I got to the "Why can't love just be a matter of fact?" page that I understood I was truly reading something special.

While reading I discovered parts of myself that I didn't know were there, like the often repeated philosophy that refusing to care about people is, in the words of the comic, "just so boring". The complexities of gender expression. Body positivity and the concept of non-sexual nudity.

I binge read the entire comic up to until Fenic waking up under the dragonfly. From that point I was glued to the page every day, constantly checking for updates.

The future of the comic has changed a number of times since that point. Including art style changes, hiatuses, video entries, and reboots. Until yesterday, the last I had heard was that the world of GtH would continue in a reboot-esque way with Unsave the World, a story developed in the same engine as C/K/C, focusing on Clarissa and Selin.

As, anyone interested in my blog will note, I am very new to Tumblr. Only joined recently. Yesterday, I had the idea to seek out Goodbye to Halos content, and Valerie Halla, which is where I got the confirmation that lead to this post.

"[Goodbye to Halos] was a hiatus when it went on hiatus. it took me a long, long time to come to terms with saying that it’s probably not just a hiatus, though. i will always love that story and those characters, and their spirits will live on in what’s to come, just like portside stories before it."

I... slept on it. I was distressed at the time. Honestly, I think writing this right now is still me working through it. Like I said before, emotions are messy.

But. That's it. Part of me is fixated on the word "probably", but the rest of me understands that thinking like that is only going to hurt my views on it over time. Not worth it to poison the past.

I've spent the time between that and now thinking, as much as it seems I've only done sulking that whole time. And from my thinking, I've come to a decision. I've figured out how to come to my own "don't be sad because it ended, be happy because it happened":

I'm going to make

So Much

FUCKING FANART

You're not gonna believe it. If I feel inspired by this story, and my brain's not satisfied with how the characters/worldbuilding/themes have been explored, I'm gonna do what everybody's done before me since renaissance painters after reading the Bible.

I'm going to make a frankly ridiculous amount of unofficial fan content, and when my brain finally burns out, I'll be over it and I can finally move on.

Look out Tumblr, I'm about to start chopping onions

[evita-shelby]

Hi july for the ssk game:

Is there any active tension within the polycule? If not, has there been tension in the past? How was it resolved? 

When did your OC first know they were polyamorous? 

How does your polycule celebrate holidays? Do they have group events and traditions?

You decide which partner! In my mind is Jack because I don't know if the other two are open to this (Especially Luca), so, it's your choice ❤️❤️

Thanks for sending the ask Flor 🖤🖤🖤🖤

Interesting lol, yeah Jack and Eva would be most likely to have a polycule because Joseph p kennedy slept around with so many famous ladies lol. And while i make au oneshots where eva shares luca or tommy(or they share her), they never happen in the main fic.

National Anthem will have a short term poly relationship with 1920s actress, Gloria Swanson in 1927

Putting the rest under the cut because this shit is long lol

But Eva has been in at least two polycules. One with Antonia and whoever she was dating at the time, amd the other with Diosdado and a fellow adelita named Lourdes who was from Tijuana.

Is there active tension, or has there been a past one?

When did Eva know she was polyam?

There is actuve tension because Eva is extremely jealous and possessive of her partners, and also once the novelty of Gloria fades along with her fame, the Nelsons dump her.

With Lourdes and Diosdado, they would make up after, until Diosdado died in a raid and they decided to break up.

Antonia received radio silence from Eva for dumping her for her cousin, Francisco, from 1919 to 1921.

Eva's best solution for everything is breaking up lol

Eva thought that was just normal, she’d have boyfriends while dating Antonia and love them just as much as she loved antonia. When she was 19 she and Diosdado had a girlfriend named Lourdes who taught Eva how to do the dirty without p in v sex, Lourdes sadly died of consumption shortly after their break up when Eva turned 20.

With Gloria and Jack, Eva met Gloria at the gym run by a hollywood famous trainer and Jack couldn't stop thinking about fucking her at the party thrown to welcome Jack to Hollywood (for business, though these two coudl probably give acting a try). A hookup turned into fwb and then eventually a weird throuple where Gloria is the mistress of both Nelsons.

How do they celebrate holidays?

Since they spent the majority of their childhood together, Eva and Antonia were presumed to be just very close friends lol by their families. With Diosdado and Lourdes, they were in a military camp or wherever they were sent to, so it looked like Lourdes was just chaperoning them even if Panch Villa had like 70 wives at the time.

Gloria is invited to gatherings with the handful of people who know whats going on, they like her so they won't introduce her to the other members of the Riley Clan nor Jack's sister-in-law and Gina.

Do they have group events or traditions?

Eva once went to an orgy with the other members of the polycule where they could for a night they could be out in the open.

Jack, Gloria and Eva love flirting with danger so they've gone to parties, a premiere and on vacation together. There are rumors that they shot a porno(wrong its several) and there's a Renaissance-esque painting of the three of them as Adonis(Jack), Persephone(Eva) and Aphrodite(Gloria) that they will keep even after they break up with her in 1929.

[marzipanandminutiae]

If you were born in like 19th century England, do you think you would’ve been really into contemporary fashion, or would you have looked back at Georgian & Baroque? Do you think your love of regency/Victorian/Edwardian fashion more rooted in historical interest or aesthetic? Or do you think it’s too intertwined to parse?

I've thought about this a fair bit, actually. Whether, serious concerns like bigotry and inferior medicine aside, I'd actually make a Good Victorian. I'm not at all sure I would, even allowing for things like Humans Aren't Etiquette Manual Writers and People Have Always Been People. For one thing, until ragtime, a lot of the popular music was rancid IMO. There are only so many music-hall songs one can take, and only so many minor-key classical pieces or murder ballads to salve the pain.

But I digress.

In terms of fashion, I think I'd be able to find more things I like than I do now- but I'd still be looking backward somewhat. Even as a modern person pining for Victorian gowns, a lot of my favorite 19th century styles are revival movements: standing lace collars that whisper "Elizabethan," for example, or the 18th century influences of the 1870s-early 80s. Or Renaissance-esque puffed and slashed sleeves, or Etruscan Revival earrings. And of course, Gothic Revival has my entire heart in many ways. So I suspect I'd be quite artistic in my approach to dress back then, while still sticking to the basic silhouette of the times.

And good god, would I haaaaate having to update things to keep pace with the vaguely current Look. I'm very much a "find what I like and stick to it" sort of person in terms of aesthetic, and I like to wear and wear my clothing until it utterly gives out- in its original form, to be clear. For my own sanity, I'd be the happiest in a position where my support either didn't depend on respectability or where a bit of eccentricity in dress was allowed for.

So basically I'd have to either be born wealthy enough to never worry about money, or...I don't know. Marry a very rich gay man who runs in Artistic circles and doesn't need me to represent his business/law firm/whatever at parties.

I suspect, unfortunately, that I'd be somewhat curmudgeonly about fashion back then just as I am now (albeit less so). And this, friends, is the lesser micro-level reason I don't indulge in "born in the wrong era" talk.

[cullenakingirog]

I finally did Paraluman’s outfit lineup!!

It took me awhile with some pauses in between and NGL I love how this turned out!! Also I did not mean to make Paraluman’s outfit lineup into a rainbow theme that was a happy little accident cugff

Anyway onto each outfit!

Undergarments - legit just a chemise cause I HC’ed Ferelden to have Italian Renaissance-esque outfits because dammit I think everyone would look interesting in those and last I checked the chemise is the underwear for this (unless I’m wrong in which case pls correct me historical fashion is a fun interest)

Mage attire - I changed the mage robes in Kinloch Hold into something more to the fashion I gave Ferelden. The fabric is good but it’s not great, there’s some gold there but it’s more on a way to show what the Crown is able to provide while also not giving them too much because of the fact that the mages are still seen as non-entities of a sort so it’s kind of strange for them to give too much of a good thing for mages

Landsmeet attire - This was chosen by Eamon and it’s fashioned after older eras’ outfits meant to give off “Mystical Wise Elf Vibes” to make Paraluman a bit more palatable to the nobles of Ferelden..

Coronation - Now this is where you start seeing Paraluman start taking control over how she dresses and does her hair. Her hair style is different and more or less something you’d expect to see suited for a coronation but her outfit colour is still rather cold which shows some parts of the life she’d had in the Circle still somewhat having its hold on her.

Wedding - Her wedding with Alistair involved a big decision for her. She refused the white and blue gown Anora had offered to commission for her (partially in apology since Anora betrayed Paraluman when Paraluman had promised the throne to her partially because Anora genuinely does want to do this wedding gown commission thanks) Instead, Paraluman returned to Kinloch Hold and asked her old friends to help with the making of her gown. (A Knight-Lieutenant Joseph Terrell offered to fetch the right dyes as well as handle her hair due to his expertise in hairstyling for his sister, the dye offer was accepted) Aside from that, Jowan visited Paraluman in the humble dwelling she and Alistair had gotten until things at Amaranthine were arranged. There, Paraluman asks Jowan if he could do her hair for her wedding since she knew he won’t be able to witness it due to his current standing with Irving and the templars as well as Eamon who will all be in attendance. Come the day itself and her gown was shown to be a soft yellow with some gold netting at the biceps of the sleeve with pearls also sewn in. This begins Paraluman’s stronger usage of warmer tones.

Arlessa - Her court attire is simple but instead of sticking to yellow, she went for a light orange and red ensemble. Her hair was kept in a simple high bun kept in place with the headpiece. Despite the rank of Arlessa, Paraluman doesn’t have any interest in getting more expensive fabrics due to her preference for comfortable fabrics.

Maternity - And finally, Paraluman’s maternity outfit. She really focused on stronger warm tones by then and her hair had returned to a more loose style but is now longer than before. This is when Paraluman finally settled on a style of dress and also her preferred colours. The Arlessa gown is the last step and IG this is her final product of sorts. 

also the recurring necklace is Reflection aka the illusion Jowan’s gift to her. She never takes it off since it was an important thing to her that ties her to her surrogate elder brother. She just wasn’t able to wear it to the Landsmeet cause Eamon said she shouldn’t.

[clevermird]

Review: Wolf Riders edited by David Pringle

I reviewed Ignorant Armies a few months ago and absolutely loved it. In fact, I believe it was tied with The Secret History for my favorite read of 2023. So looking at my TBR pile and finding another Warhammer Fantasy short story collection edited by David Pringle, I had high hopes. And while Wolf Riders doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor, it’s still well worth the read. 

Like Ignorant Armies, this book takes place in the grim and perilous lands of the Warhammer Fantasy universe, a Tolkien-esque world with an early Renaissance flair. The eight stories cover a range of settings and topics and although the focus on the malevolent Chaos Gods is downplayed, there is slightly more attention given to non-human characters to balance it out.

“Wolf Riders” – The return of Gotrek and Felix, the Dwarf-and-Human duo from the opening story of Ignorant Armies, this time guarding a group of human refugees through a dangerous mountain journey as bad luck seems to stalk the caravan.

“The Tilean Rat” – A Halfling is hired by a mysterious Elven woman to look for the titular rat statue, supposedly of only sentimental value.

“The Phantom of Yremy” – A mysterious thief stalks the streets of a Bretonnian town, seemingly with a vendetta against the magistrate.

“Cry of the Beast” – A young man and his adopted father find an Elven girl washed up on the beach after a shipwreck

“No Gold in the Gray Mountains” – Bandits hiding out in an abandoned, supposedly-haunted castle abduct a young noblewoman and must figure out how to keep her alive long enough to ransom her

“The Hammer of the Stars” – A schoolboy and his friends suspect trouble when exotic strangers come to town.

“Pulg’s Grand Carnival” – Seeking a place where he isn’t outcast, a young albino is persuaded to join a carnival run by the charismatic but airheaded Pulg, but a local businessman is out to get rid of Pulg an his carnival by any means necessary.

“The Way of the Witchfinder” – A servant of one of the Gods of Law sets out on his first mission.

Of the stories, “Tilean Rat” was probably my favorite. In addition to homages to the classic film noir The Maltese Falcon, the story was just a lot of fun, with twists and turns and a brisk, lively pace that made it an easy read. The last two stories, however, are by far the weakest of the bunch, with “Pulg’s Grand Carnival” being too long and having an unimpressive climax, and “Way of the Witchfinder” being too short to properly develop the characters or action. 

Gotrek and Felix’s return offers a lot of new development to their characters and dynamic and while I preferred ” Geheimnisnacht”, it was also one of the more enjoyable stories in the bunch. 

This book was pretty solid. I doubt that it will become a great favorite of mine, but each story was engaging and several of them are well worth rereading. 

Warnings: As is typical for the setting, expect plenty of violence and some light body horror, as well as spatters of animal cruelty.

Rating: 7/10

[empyrean-thrones]

The outfit descriptions at the Viscount’s house pissed me off. Why were the women wearing 2014 prom dresses in a palace surrounded by mythical gryphons? It could’ve been so much more interesting.

One of my many issues with the series is that the time period makes no sense whatsoever. It’s supposed to be a medieval-esque era but there’s stopwatches and indoor plumbing. They have a printing press which… existed in the 1400s but Violet was born in the year 613 (according to the wiki) which is so far from the medieval/Elizabeth/renaissance era. I know things aren’t exactly one-to-one with our universe but at least make the world consistent. I hate having to remember dates and do math just to keep the timeline in order so you’ll barely hear shit about that except in brief moments where it’s like “X happened Y years ago” or something. Math is my arch nemesis, I don’t even want to talk about it 😖.

But onto Vi’s dress is just… look at this description:

It’s supposed to look something like this:

Pardon the shitty thirty second sketch but you get my point. I have a suspicion Yarros wanted it to be like Daenerys’ Qarth dress in GoT.

It would seem the people of Cordyn wear loose clothing if we’re going by what Cat wears which makes sense since the weather’s hot there. I doubt Yarros thought this through though since it looks like she just put her clothes that’d show of her body

In my head, she wears something close to a saree.

Violet wears this instead:

Poromiel is supposedly known its unique textiles so I can only assume the country has much more clothes that would stand out compared to Navarre’s. It’s honestly disappointing that all of the clothing described in the books seem to be solid colors.

[kiwibirdlafayette]

There’s this song called Rakata by Arca and I think the instrumental fits Flash really well, the lyrics…not so much but the instrumental is so good

I!! I FINALLY LISTENED TO THIS AND YOU’RE SO RIGHT

ITS SUCH A GOOD SONG!!! I totes get whatcha mean by the instrumental, the timbre of the synth has this like certain shine to it that like it has like a shimmering technological sound, which is so Flash’s vibe 👀‼️ Someone bright and flashy like the sun, but his design is very much meant to feel more futuristic in nature v. like spark or jordan (specifically the boots n the patterns on his jacket) Im such a fan of the repeating lines at the heartbeat of the instrumental it gives such an imposing energy, the voice (lyrics aside, i did end up lookin up the translation n im like ayo?? /pos I was chucklin at the idea of those with Flash; man doesnt not have rizz like that xD) being someone with a lot of power and knowing it ✨ The key of the song and the repeating lines as well add to it too

Also im realizing it could so tie into the Flash’s enviormental sound too 👀 if like s1 was very natural/fantasy esque; S2 had that advanced industrial feel (in mianite's areas and dagrun was sorta renaissance flavored medievalism (in an king arthur sense except the king sucks), Aitheaca is both like liminal and cyberfantasy-apocalyptic with ianite's areas of control having a very grecian-cyber/steampunkish feel whereas mianite and dianite to represent their obscurity have a more liminal wasteland feel about them And!! this fits so well (instrumental wise) into that concept I love it so much

Song link

[cacklingblobbittyrabbitty]

unhinged rainbow magic post 11 of 12

Ok most of this is insane rambling but for one part of it you’re going to need to remember Bethany the Ballet Fairy’s tragic backstory of having a gay quarter life crisis because of a homoerotic ballet rivalry with a girl who she loses the lead role in a show to please and thank you

MAGICAL CREATURES FAIRIES (hurray for cute animals again!)

Ashley Dragon looks like a dragon version of nessie the loch ness monster, which is a great design tbh DRAGON ON THE JEANS YES Also different versions of dragons! we love diversity Outfit does not match but she makes me not care! It’s different colours but its the right shade of each colour (this is such good colour theory knowledge El well done) HAIR EXCELLENCE Pockets! Sandals are not the right shade of yellow, it should match the top or the dragon on the trousers - also the chunky looking design is ugly, she needs to either go barefoot or have jesus sandals

Lara So well put together oh my god This is a witch not a fairy Adorable kitty! Cat lady vibes (cardigan) but super super cool (skinny jeans and boots) I am WEAK for those boots omg Lovely hair as well

Erin How is her hair literal fire??? Idk but I am Loving It Lara’s a witch, Erin is a goddess Freckles!!!!!! THIS is how you do a headband! The honeysuckle fire flower thing? ADORABLE Viking esque fur neck thing is NICE it has how to train your dragon vibes She’d take me to a pagan ritual involving a bonfire and I’d enjoy it Dress? INSANE This is a GOOD BELT TAKE NOTES it’s a lovely asymmetrical waist ribbon band thing!!!!!  Her delightful sandals have greek goddess vibes I’m living Girl could set me on fire and i’d thank her

Rihanna AHHHHH THE LIL BUBBLE AND THE SEAHORSE ARE SO CUTE Congrats on having decent blonde hair! Barefoot + anklet = beach ass vibes babey Her dress gives me the feeling of being underwater and looking up at the sun Mamma Mia vibes! Groovy and beachy and blonde This dress is kinda growing on me ngl The hem looks good on her and I like the shape of the neckline, but it should be a thinner line of green Rihanna absolutely votes for the Green Party btw

Sophia  Her creature is a cygnet cos it’s small and raggedy but it’s white instead of grey? First impressions she kinda looks like a bad art project but still cute I really like her hair tho its very cute with the ribbon Movie sleepover vibes This girl is wearing slippers. A pyjama top. And a really nice skirt. Is she halfway through getting dressed???? Feathery inspiration of her skirt is good, it looks like she’s halfway through a swan transformation Colour scheme is very cute and dreamy vibes

HEADCANONS: please remember Bethany’s backstory again thank you! This is the girl who takes the role of Odette in Bethany’s dance company, and the girl with whom Bethany has a homoerotic rivalry. Sophia weaponises flirting because it amuses her, especially aggressive flirting, like Bethany can be leaning against a wall and Sophia will come and put her leg up on Bethany’s shoulder. Sophia just delights in getting really close to her all the time. Sophia is into Bethany, Bethany is into her, Bethany knows neither of these facts. She has a high ponytail when she’s doing ballet and it just makes Bethany's brain go offline. Later in life they’ll run into each other, when Sophia has a high-powered ballet girlfriend and Bethany has her wife the costume designer and her really chill life. Sophia will apologise for making Bethany freak out but she really was into Bethany, and Bethany will reply yeah you fucked up my life for sure, but I don’t think I would have quit without you so thanks. Also your leg gave me horny nightmares. 

Leona (unicorn) Shit this is horrific I hate it all Well done on having a cute animal and absolutely nothing else Long flowy blue dress with more renaissance vibes please (see below picture) 

ok good we fixed it moving on

Caitlin (ice bear) The bear is so fluffy and it looks like shiver from barbie and the magic of pegasus awwww Swiss ski resort vibes are top notch Colour scheme? Yes Fluffiness? Yes Cosiness? Yes The haircut is really cute but I want more of a brown shade with less green in it thanks