#one whole new icon!!!

[ahalliance]

just finished Nimona… DAMN does it feel good to watch such an openly queer movie man

[purpleshadow-star]

So I went to an early screening for the first two episodes of the Percy Jackson show yesterday (Saturday), and let me just say, it is 100% the adaptation we deserve. It was amazing. Once it ended, I wanted more.

The characterizations were amazing, any changes there were made sense and made the situation more realistic and added tension, the story was straight from the book, it was just amazing.

I went with my mom and she, who doesn't know the books, really enjoyed it. I asked her how she liked it (literary just the first two episodes) compared to Harry Potter (which i had her watch a few years back), and she said there was no contest. She likes the pjo show much more. She said it was engaging and even had her wanting the next episode once it was done.

Everyone needs to watch this show. It was amazing. It lives up to the hype. We need to make sure it gets greenlit for season 2.

[neo-punks]

i just fucking love neopets so much 😭

[akimojo]

i just saw someone call ffxiii overrated like? what?? it's literally one of the most hated games in the franchise wym "overrated" 😭

[pierogi-png]

doing an arven doodle page bc a friend said he'd look good in my style so yall already kno i had to oblige :3c im still working on the rest of the page but i liked this sketch in particular so i colored it !!

[inpursuitofnunchi]

[batsplat]

following on from this. not to always bring marc into everything (sorry marc) but if assen 2015 had happened against jorge, valentino would have very likely pulled something similar again imo. rather than what he actually did, which is approach marc almost immediately for a nice normal friendly handshake and backing off during the podium celebrations. should be noted that during laguna seca '08, valentino was very much committed to yapping at casey on the podium with the world's biggest smuggest grin on his face

partly that disparity is because jorge not marc was the direct title rival, partly it's because valentino was treating marc with kid gloves right until the second that he wasn't, which marc was seemingly entirely oblivious to. if anyone other than marc had said what he said in that presser, had then continued on with similar rhetoric during sachsenring, valentino would quite likely have gone nuclear. he's done it over less than that. his fondness for marc made him continue to exhibit uncharacteristic restraint... except that fondness unfortunately is what left valentino feeling so very betrayed when (to his eyes) marc could not leave well enough alone

[bacchuschucklefuck]

Can you expand on what you mean by Baron being "too cool" to really fit a horror monster? It's a very interesting concept and I'd love to hear your thoughts. Is it that they're too active/involved/tangible and it detracts from their scariness?

I feel like I should preface this with a wall of disclaimers lmao 1/I am a hardcore, down-to-the-marrow, avid, deeply sincere horror enthusiast, esp. horror creatures. this usually means my mileage is vastly different from the average populace's, and my scaredy bone has been disintegrated by longterm exposure. most things in a piece of horror media won't scare me! so I practically never use that on its own as the scale to talk abt horror experiences, but when something does scare me it's always a special occasion to be treasured. 2/canon d20 is never really meant to be horror horror, and for good reasons: it doesn't fit the company's output, it takes a kind of carelessness in production estimation that is always a huge risk, it's often vulnerable in a way that kinda goes against how TTRPGs usually facilitates vulnerability, and for most people it's just! stressful! d20, even with the "horror-themed" seasons, generally just plays with horror tropes and stays focused in its goal of being a comedy improv tabletop theater show. 3/fantasy high's chosen system is DnD, which as I've mentioned before is before all a combat-based game system, which means the magic circle of play is drawn based on stats that facilitate and prioritize combat. want or not this affects every interaction you have in the game, and given fantasy high's concept from the ground up (everyone's going to school of DnD stuff to get better at DnD) it's doubly relevant. 4/This Is Fine I have no quarrel with this. my meters are internal, I do not ask this show to be anything it doesn't advertise itself to be, and what it is is fucking great! I like it! when I expand on this ask's question it will be like a physicist going insane in a lab. that's the mindset we're going in with.

disclaimers done. my stance on horror as a genre is that it's a utility genre rather than a content genre or a demographic genre; it is the discard of narratives. it's the trash pile. horror, above being scary, is about being ugly and messy, it's the cracks on the ground any story inevitably steps over to stay a genre that isn't horror. the genre's been around long enough to develop a codex and a general language that medias and makers and enthusiasts of the genre can use to talk about and build onto, but if you go into individual pieces there's really no unifying Horror Story. one person's beautiful life can be another's horror story, it's just how it is.

this makes The Monster a deeply intriguing piece of the genre. thing is a monster is in a decent percentage of any story - it's just when the antagonist force steps into something past a certain line traced out in the story's world. monstrousness is in pretty much every western fantasy story, it's in any story with a hero and something to vanquish or win; more than anything it's a proxy of that thing up there. the line in a narrative's world. the monster is the guard of the unknown lands, where heroic, civilized people don't tread.

what does this mean in the context of horror? the genre is about that perceived lawlessness, that "unknown land" so to say. we're in the monster's home. that's the literary context that we often walk into a horror piece with; the monster knows more than you about where you are. it may not understand you, but it holds more information than you, and with that it moves swifter than you, has more covered than you, and is more assured in its existence in this context than you. it's a struggle to catch up to it, it's nigh impossible to get one over it, and you're never sure it'll 100% work, because you just don't have the information necessary to.

with that framing you can kinda see where I'm coming from here: horror's often about the breaking of rules. I always think a monster's most effective when it breaks well-established rules of both existence and visual storytelling. think Possum (2018) or Undertale's Omega Flowey or the Xenomorph Queen - unique change in medium, unique change in graphic, unique change in design language, etc. in that sense I actually really like how canon baron plays out: they don't really function like anything else in the fantasy high universe, the bad kids have not managed to kill them when they've felled literal gods, their domain in fhjy literally introduces new mechanics to encompass their existence! from an experience design standpoint they slap mad shit. BUT! I can't help finding their character, like as a character riz (and the other bad kids, eventually) interact with, to be very... coherent? in design. this is kinda hard for me to articulate in words, it's more often a sense you get once you've looked at enough of these scrumptious fuckers, their general design and the way they show up is just kinda too clean, so to say. always kinda newly made? fresh unboxed. it, once again, makes sense for their lore - they are looking for more about themself from riz - and their function - they're an antagonist in a game experience, they're meant to be interacted with in a way that produces results and meshes with the existing magic circle - but that shininess takes away from the implied history they should have dominion over and the person they're haunting doesn't.

from another angle there is kinda something there about how put-together canon baron is as a concept; the domain they call home is riz's deep-seeded fears, extremely vulnerable things he's drawn borders around to quarantine and refused to walk into. things that from his perspective would irreversibly shatter certain pleasant fictions his world is built on top of. canon baron, While Extremely Cool, I feel is kinda too neat to connect with and signify the apocalyticized mess that'd result from this paradigm shift. the part where they're in riz's briefcase and looking through every mirror is Very Cool And Fucked Up! but ultimately the show draws a line around them as well, by making game-physical, tangible spaces they're in (the mirrors and the haunted mordred manor) and put riz and the bad kids there only when they need to confront stuff. riz is meaningfully narratively away from baron's unknown land for most of fantasy high.

with that and all of my disclaimers in mind my conclusion here is if canon baron wants to be a Horror Monster they'd have to cross way more lines. be a Lot more invasive. hence (holds up my class swap baron like a long cat)

[emblazons]

Finn saying the kids (the Party) grew out of D&D now they got older (suggesting that older ppl cannot or do not play D&D) when he is literally sitting with The Duffers, the two older/adult people who are hardcore D&D lovers and play the game when they're adult people..... will never stop being funny.

LMAOOOO that whole interaction was something else

Finn literally tries to save it by saying "it was more arcade than DnD" n S2 (which Matt concedes to) only for Matt to double down on the "its okay for adults to play DnD" point—and have Millie then say "from experience, right Matt?" trying to sass him?

I'm like 99.9% sure that was the moment he decided to death-by-1000-cuts even mlvn's cute moments....and seal byler with a "lets just play dnd for the rest of our lives." Like...this smile ldjhflkdjdslk they really caught Matt choosing violence in 4K

[moongothic]

Hey so also have Sir Crocodile brainrot and have recently reread Impel Down. This is probably nothing at all but it made me question the artistic choice made. Like we dont see Crocodiles full face until Luffy recognizes him. Before that tho he joins in on Jinbei & Ace's convo about Whitebeard and is shown to (non-)react to Boa Hancocks visit. But we only get his face in shadows or see the hook. Which. Why. Oda we know what he looks like and who the guy with the stitches on his face and the hook is. WHY OBSCURE HIM.

My friend, this is what we call a "cocktease"

Okay jokes aside, yes it was an artistic choise. More specifically, a storytelling technique Oda masterfully used to build up hype and excitement to Crocodile's eventual reveal and re-introduction into the story.

So thanks to Ms Goldenweek's cover story (which ran back during Water 7/Enies Lobby) we already knew Crocodile along with Daz, Bon-chan and Galdino had all been sent to Impel Down, when we also learned about Impel Down, Marineford and the Gates of Justice (+ the giant whirlpool between the three locations) to some extent. ((Now of course, if you were an anime-only then you would've had no idea about the former BW members being in Impel Down. And even if you had read the manga you still would've had to actually pay attention to the cover story and its lore, and not forgotten all about it))

So even before Luffy decides he's going to head to Impel Down to save Ace, we know Crocodile's going to be somewhere down there. The second Luffy arrives there, we are immidiately reminded of the fact when Domino mentions Crocodile taking the traditional "bath" new inmates take at the entrance. And as we descend deeper and deeper into Impel Down, with those cuts to what's happening down at Level 6 every now and then, as well as with the Baroque Works Countdown, Oda time and time again keeps on reminding of us of Crocodile's looming presence in the background. This is all absolutely deliberate. Crocodile was arguably the most iconic (maybe not most popular but iconic) One Piece villian at the time, if given an opportunity of course the readers wanted to see him again. But just letting us see him right away would be anti-climactic, and distracting from what's actually important (Ace, and Luffy getting to him as fast as possible). So keeping him hidden could serve multiple purposes:

For one, Crocodile doesn't get to steal the spotlight from the other characters (at least not too early). We can focus on Luffy, Ace, all the new Impel Down characters and the other returning characters in peace, while Crocodile waits for his turn. Another thing is that Crocodile's presence being downplayed gives off the impression that perhaps him being there isn't that important to the story. Thus, him teaming up with Luffy to break out isn't such an obvious twist (and so when that happens, it's ever more hype as a result)

But indeed, the most important part is that by teasing us constantly through out Impel Down, Oda creates hype. He makes us the readers excited if/when we might get to see the bastard, even if it was just a quick little cameo. So when Luffy finally reaches Level 6 and we finally do get that reveal, everyone loses their fucking marbles over the HISASHIBURI DANA MUGIWARA when we finally get to see The Motherfucker Himself. (And indeed, then getting to see him fight alongside Luffy is cool as fucking hell, completely unexpected and absolutely delightful)

But there's also another thing building up to Crocodile's reveal does. Compare his original introduction to the re-introduction

Compare Crocodile at the height of his power and influence, to the absolute rock bottom he has hit. No longer happily laughing while looking down on people (literally), he's filthy, he has given up on life, with sunken eyes and a hollow look on his face, only moved by a thirst for petty revenge (/an opportunity to go out with a bang). He doesn't even get the whole page for his grand reveal anymore, he's been shuffled to the side so the plot can progress on the same page.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

And to some degree, this is kind of meant to be a shocking realization to the readers. That this is not the same Crocodile we remember from Alabasta, that Crocodile died when Luffy defeated him. This is just the husk that remains, a shadow of what was once there. It's a sad sight, and probably not what the readers who loved Crocodile The Villian wanted to see. It's not the epic Return of the (Evil) King they wanted. And that juxtaposition helps, because Crocodile doesn't return into the story as a villian, but as a frenemy/ally-on-thin-ice. And that idea is easier to signal to the readers in a lowkey manner when you do his re-introduction like this.

So yes, Oda refusing to show Crocodile's face until Luffy found him was 100% a deliberate artistic choise. This is fantastic storytelling

[monarchisms]

i am not immune to being apprehensive to change when it comes to something i really like getting a redesign/rebrand/what have you, but i think what the try guys have been doing lately is an exception. in my opinion, the best like, refreshes of a long-lasting brand/group are the ones that have (at least some of) the same recognizable elements of its previous iteration(s):

from day one, branding with the try guys has had a heavy emphasis on color, with the blue/red/green/purple scheme representing keith/ned/zach/eugene, respectively. the colors were in their intro and outro to their videos, they're still especially present in their merchandise, the whole nine yards. with ned rightfully getting kicked out of the group for his "consensual workplace relationship" (jesus), it made sense that they had to stop and change their branding after this sudden event.

the orange era serves as a good bridge between the quartet group icon they started with and the neon triangle icon we have now, but it was kinda temporary. in a way, the try guys as a brand were having an identity crisis, having lost both a founding member and a (now former) friend. i think the current rebrand is a solid mix of their past and future, the blue/green/purple making a return + the triceratops remaining in the center, and the new elements with the triangles and general neon aesthetic (sidenote: triangle + triceratops + try/tri guys makes me go insane. i love it)

i also really like how the orange is reincorporated with the portraits for each of the guys in the pictures shared on their social accounts. alongside this, their poses showcasing their general personalities with the fact that the triangles are play buttons (which i didn't know until i read some alt text on one of their their tweets, whoops!):

overall present a strong sense of familiarity with the boys, but Also the excitement they have on moving forward with whatever the future brings, and i just think that's neat :)

*i didn't know where to fit this bit besides the very end,

but i like the idea that the triangles can also represent a fast forward button, further pushing the idea of the guys moving forward. likely more of a coincidence here but still cool nonetheless :P

[goldiipond]

these two images are strong contenders for the prettiest ray demizu has ever drawn

[lookstairs]

Trying to tell people I love Black Butler is so hard cause of all the weird ships

Oh isnt that the show where people ship a demon and a kid? Oh isn’t that the one where he’s dating his cousin?

YES

BUT PLEASE ITS GOT SO MUCH OTHER STUFF GOING ON😭

It’s got mystery, great art, interesting story, and fun characters.

It’s also FUCKIN HILARIOUS

[smashwolfen]

Decided while I had the focus to do it, I updated my Icon to reflect the me of today......

TOO GOTTDAM TIRED

I got my older icons under the cut to show just how much i've changed over the years, but yee this is the icon for me now XD

My previous icon was made back in 2019 vvvvvvvvv

and the one before that on Deviantart was from 2016 vvvvvvv

and the one I made initially for my first icon ever of my own creation was back in 2012

I had a theme and stuck to it XD

12 years of being active online its insane to think its been so long!!

[transfemswagbracket]

are people really mad about team rocket winning because its "just going oh gender!" because that is not true. vivian is canon trans but meowth was for nearly a decade voiced by a trans woman (maddie blaustein) that credited the experience to part of why she was able to come out! a significant amount of the votes towards team rocket will be a result of this (and the common man in a dress jokes around james, something that while intended as just a repeated punchline is commonly reclaimed by trans fans.)

YEAH no absolutely, couldn't have said it better myself

[inannasdream]

i think everyone should have That One Fanfic that they've read so many times over that they've memorized the words to heart and they think deeply of it even if it is not great or is very dated. for me it would be this gravity falls fanfic from like 2015-2016 that i read not too long after it finished and connected with it so deeply that i ended up rereading it so often i straight up could recite it by heart (it was 100k+ words). its not my favorite gravity falls fanfic let alone my favorite fanfic in general and it uses a lot of tropes specific to that fandom that i dislike but god if my soul is not still intertwined with it 7 years later. it's been a couple years i should reread it again