#oops bit of a long post

[abyssal-ilk]

taking in elgar'nan and solas' view of ghilan'nain vs how she presents herself is so,, okay.

in one of the memory scenes we see, solas refers to her as "the most sensitive of us." in a letter written to ghilan'nain, he claims that she has some moral standing that she is sacrificing for her love to andruil- just as he did for mythal. solas and ghilan'nain clearly knew each other prior to both of these interactions and potentially even knew each other very well, but!

ghilan'nain denies his claims in her letter back to him. she says she is doing this of her own will and that andruil is supporting her want for more magical ability, not that andruil is pressuring her or she is sacrificing something for this. yet. in the same letter she says she could not make something like the halla again. not that she did not want to, but that she couldn't. something has changed that is preventing her from being able to.

thanks to two seperate codex entires, we know that elgar'nan has insisted that ghilan'nain needs to take time to mourn andruil, implies that she has a soft spot for the halla after she vists them, and makes active efforts to try and "cheer her up" after the loss of razikale. he clearly expects ghilan'nain to need some sort of emotional care/recuperation after losing her lover and archdemon, but what does she say in response?

she holds no fondness for the halla, her interest is purely to investigate how they have changed. (she is grimly pleased when the venatori killing halla are slain.) she does not need to mourn andruil, for andruil has been remembered in this new world as being fierce and swift. (she will build a monument for her once they have won). she does not need time. there is work to be done.

(in contrast she DOES mourn razikale quite openly. or rather, she rages over her death and vows revenge while onscreen, while elgar'nan describes her as being listless in his own written accounts.)

idk!!! just the way solas and elgar'nan insist that there is something more to her and the way ghilan'nain shuts it down to try and seem in control of her situation and emotions is soo,, shaking her in my brain

[thedaythatwas]

on nagito komaeda and love

I just think it’s sort of funny that for a character whose (arguably) most well-recognized CG is this: 

komaeda’s narrative so heavily centers love. and I don’t just say this because I’ve had komahina brainrot for years (though this is true!!). even if you don’t care about komahina, it’s tough to deny komaeda is a walking tragedy in large part because of the role that love plays in his life. his characterization is driven by the way his luck has denied him love, and how he seeks it out regardless. in that sense, I think that without understanding komahina as at least one-sided, you miss out on one of the juiciest, most miserable pieces of komaeda’s character development.

tldr; a love-centered reading of komaeda makes sense, recognizing komahina as “a thing” in DR2 (whether you ship it or not) is pretty important to understanding how komaeda operates, and I’ll try to prove it right here under this page break!!

Part 1: Komaeda’s Love Life (or, his life without love)

I think it’s safe to assume that if you clicked here, you know about komaeda’s absurdly miserable, tumultuous childhood, but I’ll do a quick recap just in case! meteor kills his parents on a plane, he inherits a ton of money. he’s kidnapped by a serial killer, he finds a winning lottery ticket in the garbage bag he’s thrown out in. he’s diagnosed with terminal cancer and dementia, he gets into hope’s peak.

in his free time events, komaeda *explicitly* frames his luck cycle as something that takes away the people he loves. it only “takes action” against him after his relatives have died (for the sake of this essay, let’s assume that komaeda loved his parents, or would have at least been hurt by their passing). by way of other close connections… well, his wording here implies that by the time of his diagnosis, he didn’t really have anybody in his life. 

either komaeda didn’t allow himself to get close to anyone after the meteor incident, or he did, and they were taken away by his luck. at some point during his childhood, komaeda learned he should view himself as a death sentence.

so, how does this loss of love shape the komaeda we know? I’ll talk about this in terms of four of his defining (and connected!) traits in DR2 canon – the ones that really make his actions make sense: his self-loathing, his hope-seeking, his learned helplessness, and his certainty that his existence poses a threat to those around him. komaeda’s experience with loss makes him view himself as a source of death, which in turn fuels these tenets of his character. ultimately, his loss and the complexes that arise from it give him good incentive to push people away.

his self-loathing

komaeda hates himself. he views himself as worthless outside of his potential to serve as a “stepping stone” for the hope of the ultimates. he claims that this is driven by his beliefs around talent, which are in turn linked to the way his worldview rests on viewing hope as “absolute good.” the talentless (himself included) are only good for advancing the hope of the talented. still, his self-loathing is a bit more personal than that. take what he says and dig just below the surface, and it’s a clean cut trauma response all the way down. which leads us directly to…

his hope-seeking

komaeda is willing to do literally anything to serve hope. on the island, this (in short) means dying. this is where I prod at komaeda’s reasoning a bit more: komaeda’s willingness to act the way he does in canon also stems from his belief that his dying would be a net good for the world. his existence kills the people around him. his illness will kill him anyway. he has less than no value, and hope is invaluable. to go out for the sake of hope would give his wretched life purpose; it’s his dream come true.

and it’s no mystery why komaeda cares so much about hope: again, it’s a coping mechanism! komaeda’s belief that all bad luck is a necessary precursor for good luck and that hope will always triumph over despair is (as he himself says!) the only reason he’s managed to stay alive. I’ll say it again because I really can’t emphasize it enough – komaeda thinks that just by existing, he kills the people he loves. ouch!

learned helplessness / his existence as a threat

komaeda has, essentially, learned to submit to his luck cycle. all bad luck is good luck in the end – isn’t that amazing?! almost paradoxically, he’s hyper-vigilant about the negative impact his luck has on those around him. this is a tricky one. I make sense of it this way: komaeda’s perception of how much his luck impacts the people close to him isn’t inflated, like, at all. the supernatural way the world bends around komaeda to screw him over really does pose a danger to himself and others, and he takes measures to minimize that danger. his stated acceptance of his luck cycle is… well, again, he’s coping. 

if komaeda really thought that all bad luck is ultimately good luck, he wouldn’t try to protect his classmates from his bad luck. but, as we see in island mode, he does!

but really, who could blame komaeda for lying to himself? I’ll restate the facts. komaeda thinks that luck is absolute power. he says that he’s powerless against it. his luck has taken his family, and it’s left him with nothing but money that he doesn’t want. he’s certain he’s a curse, and there’s no end to that in sight: so long as komaeda exists, he’ll keep on losing – murdering – everything he loves. 

in the face of all of that despair, what can you do but abandon your self-esteem and pray for something good to come out of all of it? how else could somebody possibly survive carrying that burden, truly believing that load will never be lightened?

tldr; komaeda thinks his existence is a threat, and a big chunk of his personality is a frankensteined way of surviving the pain that comes with that. still, we should question how much of his worldview komaeda has really internalized without inner conflict. 

Part 2: Enter Hajime Hinata

we get some answers on that front when we see that despite the clear and obvious danger it poses, nagito komaeda still finds himself falling hard for hajime hinata. that’s really, really loud.

I’ll preface this part by saying that you don’t need to actively ship komahina to understand what I’m trying to get at here. this said, I’ll be recapping an argument you’ve almost definitely seen before: komahina is definitely “a thing” – at the very least as a one-sided thing. to this, I’ll add the (perhaps bold?) claim that without recognizing that much as true, you’re missing out on a big part of what makes komaeda so interesting.

komaeda’s FTEs make it abundantly clear that komaeda has feelings for hinata. apart from his famed failed love confession, the fact that komaeda is willing to allow hinata to get close enough to learn about his views on hope and luck is telling. 

(the smoking gun here hinges on trusting that komaeda was telling the truth during the time you spent with him; in so many words, that he only lied about lying. so, for the sake of argument, let’s assume this is true! there’s good proof for it, anyway.)

if you read his final FTE as komaeda flashing his soul to hinata and making a decision at the very last second to retreat, turning to old coping mechanisms to protect hinata from his luck, it’s sort of a komahina bombshell. that capitulation spells out for us that komaeda understands sharing his life experiences with hinata to be one of the most intimate things he could possibly do.

he recognizes the exact moment he lets hinata get too close – when his life story is finally told – and he does what he’s learned he needs to do to get them both out of that situation safely: he tries to make hinata hate him, and tells himself (and hinata!) that he did it for the sake of hope.

(and yet, komaeda let hinata approach him every FTE, knowing damn well that they were both playing with fire… very interesting.)

now, let’s say you don’t consider the FTEs to be integral to canon. I mean, you can really easily miss out on all of komaeda’s content if you choose not to hang out with him in chapter 1! so, for the skeptic, in the unskippable main story, komaeda tells hinata this:

komaeda cares about hinata despite everything. and I really, truly mean despite everything. at this point in the story, the fact that he still cares about hinata calls into question basically every single one of his core beliefs. he’s read his final dead room prize – not only does hinata not have a talent, we can presume that komaeda also knows hinata became ultimate despair along with the rest of them. 

hinata has continually sought out komaeda’s company, even though komaeda knows himself to be worthless at best, lethal at worst. komaeda was willing to let him get closer, even though he knows how dangerous that is for hinata. he can’t help but let hinata try to know him. 

isn’t he awful? to want what he knows he can’t have, even though that wanting has never done anything but cause pain? he’s really the lowest of the low, to love someone who destroyed the world, who makes him question the views that will allow him to do the only good thing he’s ever been able to do for it: to die for hope. 

and yet, it’s a nod to how incredibly capable of love komaeda is that he’s still willing to reach out for it, no matter how many times it’s burned him in the past, and how much it hurts him in the present to want it. he understands more than anyone that his feelings can only result in disaster. reading komaeda as someone who can’t help but go on loving anyway makes his story hurt so much worse. 

but, you miss a whole lot of that without an eye for komahina. seeing hinata as the eye of komaeda’s emotional hurricane (and keeping tabs on their connection accordingly) allows us to glimpse past the cracks in komaeda’s front. we see that komaeda’s worldview is less stable than he presents it as – hinata is where komaeda’s coping mechanisms, for better or worse, run up against a wall. that tends to be uncomfortable for a guy who’s just barely coping in the first place. then again, growth is supposed to be uncomfortable, isn’t it?

Part 3: The Future He Chooses

so, all of this considered, I think one of the most interesting ways you can flesh komaeda out post-canon is by asking how he’d find himself willing to accept love. whether that love is from hinata or the ultimates, whether it’s platonic or romantic, love is the thing that komaeda wants AND fears in equal measure more than anything. it’s the source of his self-loathing and his obsession with hope. it’s the reason he’s lived the way that he has for so long – lonely, and afraid of being anything but.

getting into a relationship wouldn’t solve komaeda’s problems for him, and that’s a good thing. it would force him to confront old ones, and probably create dozens of new issues for him, too. writing him through that makes for great character study!

hinata (or anyone else, for that matter) can’t love komaeda into loving himself, but he can give him a shoulder to cry on while he works through 22 years of fear and sorts through the wreckage of a worldview that’s long since stopped serving him. I don’t think his progress would be linear. but, I think that he could do it. komaeda learning to accept care is what his healing looks like. 

(well. and physically recovering from cancer and dementia. but that’s neither here nor there!)

a post-canon komaeda learning to love narrative is also in line with the themes of DR2. hinata leads the survivors out of the neo world program because he makes the decision to choose his own future, creating a new version of “hope” for himself and his classmates. likewise, komaeda can make the decision to save himself. that is, if he trusts himself enough to actually touch and hold the thing that he’s never been able to stop reaching out for, anyway.

after all, hinata is lucky too. (and if it turns out he isn’t�� y'all like angst fics, right?)

(shoutout to @cynopter for looking this over and confirming that I'm not spouting nonsense <33 thank you for reading my thesis of the week <33)

[scribz-ag24]

I've recently seen again a post talking about the Sableye and Dusknoir's relationship so i'd like to put my two cents in the discussion, for I love screaming into the void about PMD. (this isnt meant to discourage any other interpretations btw this is just my take on theirs and Dusknoir's relationship, bc I think they're very fun characters and I am very glad the game actually gives these minions a bit of relevance in se5).

Tbh I don't buy that Dusknoir treats the Sableye nicely, at least not out of kindness. I don't think he's a tyrant or inexplicably mean, of course, and I think his minions ADORE him, but i also believe that doesn't mean he's nice to them, sth that i consider meaningful for their character arcs.

Throughout the entire game he's exclusively giving them orders, in se5 he concocts a plan that involves thrashing them MULTIPLE times (he's lucky Grovyle isn't one to try and kill enemies in battle ig), and the cherry on top is that the first time we see him being fully genuine he does this:

(yes, he is in turmoil in here, but there's not a single thing implying that 1. this is an unusual response towards the sablye, 2. dusknoir feels bad for it at some point or is surprised at himself, 3. this has any impact in the sableye at all. You can argue these reactions happen off screen and we don't see them, they don't happen bc they have pressing matters to attend to or they happen after they return to life, and that's perfectly valid, but i'm sticking with what the game shows us, here.)

I must say, though, the fact that the Sableye, despite having been almost mindless pokémon up to now, STAND UP TO AND ATTACK Primal Dialga for their boss and even try to look after him despite him ordering them to check on Grovyle and Celebi first is SO important to me. they are goons to the bone and they love that scheming ghost so much.

My own view is that Dusknoir is generally polite to them (you wouldn't randomly break your own revolver or weapon without any reason, would you?), but is quicker to get mean with them than with people he doesn't know or he is seeking to manipulate. He doesn't care about their behaviour as long as they get the job done, which is why I think the anime thing of the Sableye climbing onto his shoulder isn't that remarkable, rather it's a very cute moment, one that is showing how they've been working together for long and how their size difference affects their interactions, but it is not necessarily conveying an affectionate bond (this is a bit random, but it reminds me of Disney's Jafar with Iago lmao. throw your pet sableye at your enemies so they mock them and then return to your shoulder). Additionally, Dusknoir letting the Sableye onto his shoulder is probably as close as we are gonna get to a villain turning around in his chair while petting a cat in PMD lol.

[this isn't meant to be a one-to-one comparison, it's just a detail i find cute and shows that this gesture can have multiple interpretations, with none being the only right one]

Leaving that aside, I hesitate to claim Dusknoir trusts his Sableye as allies, as Grovyle makes a point in the main story of how the Sableye (your Sableye, he says, as if objectifying them; not friends, but tools, weapons at Dusknoir's disposal) are lacking compared to the way hero/partner/grovyle support one another (power of friendship and hidden information babyyyy). The Sableye are used to Dusknoir's way of doing things, though, I'm sure. They know what happens when he's displeased, after all.

I think, most of all, the Sableye are meant to look disposable: they are 6 identical pokémon that almost act like a hivemind, and we are not supposed to think at all about how we may hurt them in battle any more than we do with the angry Manectric pack or random dungeon pokémon. This, I believe, is why the game has them stand up against Dialga and gives them unique dialogue at the end of se5. They're meant to show their inner shine, just as Dusknoir managed to do. They suddenly gain an individuality they had never shown while they were working to maintain the dark future.

Where they abandoned Dusknoir in the Old Ruins, now Grovyle has motivated them to look for their dignity and fight for a better world, and that starts with protecting their leader from Primal Dialga's rampage, and supporting his new objective and allies in their quest to save the future. In their own small way, they've also grown as characters throughout SE5.

I believe that, overall, Dusknoir saw the Sableye as tools, but thanks to their growth and clear care for him, there's a possibility he might start to see them (and by extension other pokémon) in a more genuine, less pragmatic / objectifying way in the future. Now that Dusknoir has the chance to live a fulfilling life, he may learn to care for others without surrounding himself by so many walls. If anything, I think their future is quite bright. Not that the Sableye would mind if he still thrashed them around, though lol, they're clearly not bothered much by it (special episode 0 had a great depiction of the sableye imo, you can check that romhack if you haven't yet).

In conclusion, look at these little guys who adore their can-get-mean-but-is-mostly-polite boss and probably have a body count but now are good, they're so cute:

[dentpx]

PANIC! PANIC! PANIC!

[molathesunfish]

my limbus bugs mainly based on characters that may or may not show up later... and one mystery feature for your guessing fun:]

[twisting-in-wonderland]

Whenever i can't think of something to draw, from the heavens the song 'Matryoshka' by Hachi (Kenshi Yonezu-) will descend and I'll draw something based on it lol

'line art' - for funnnn

[basschan]

Today I drew Iris a little bit! Her ‘younger’ form though, I always liked the little side-jewel on the belt detail.

[trombonechurchill]

wait hold on hang on 911 Star Wars au????????? oh my god I wanna read (or hear about) that so bad!!!!

Yess hi hello, welcome! Star Wars AU is a brand new venture (and like 80% @emphasisonthehomo's fault) and I love that I get to start posting about it on May 4th lol.

It's mostly a series ideas at the moment rather than a cohesive fic for now. I suspect it will end up being a monster so we'll see what happens.

I don't know how into Star Wars lore everyone is (hopefully the actual fic will be friendly enough to non-star wars nerds to still enjoy), but here's a little bit of a lore drop if you're interested:

Set sometime in the years between Episode 3 and 4 (so around the same time as Andor, Jedi Fallen Order/Suvirvor, and parts of Rogue One as reference for anyone playing at home), Bobby's an ex-Jedi who's collected a hodgepodge of force users to help train and keep safe on his ship. And Buck. Buck is the only non-force user in the fic as of right now (Jury's still out on Karen, Eddie, and Athena I haven't decided yet...).

Bobby was a grey Jedi who's severed himself from the force after he was swayed to the dark side post Order 66 and who swore he's not the one to be teaching anybody. Of course the Force had different plans for him...

Hen is very strong with the living force, making her highly emphetic with a knack for Force healing (and also regular healing), but her emotion ties to the Force make it hard for her always stay in control and she's often wary to use her force powers unless absolutely necessary.

Chim gets force visions and premonitions. It means he's often keyed in to what the rest of the crew is doing or thinking about even if he plays it off. Chim's watching you... It also means he tends to have strange dreams, including dream conversations and visions of one missing in action Maddie Buckley.

Maddie has telemetry, the ability to access memories and emotions from items and echoes left in the force. It's a rare, highly valuable ability and made her a prime target to getting scooped up by the Inquisitors pre-fic canon.

Buck's not force sensitive and instead makes up for it by being more tech proficient. He helps maintain the ship, it's tools, and has a massive soft spot for droids. He's been searching for Maddie since they were separated and with Chim's help they've finally narrowed down her location to a dangerous nebula. One they have no hope of navigating on their own.

Unless they find a really good pilot.

You'll never guess who's the really good pilot Chim knows...

Meanwhile, Eddie is a Mandolorian bounty hunter hired to catch Bobby and the other force users aboard the 118, but in following them (or specifically Buck and Tommy), Eddie is starting to think maybe he could have more in his life than cold space, and fear. Especially since his son Chris has started showing signs of being force sensitive as well...

So uh yeah. Many thoughts! Very little to show for it as of yet but... Watch this space I guess...

[kanawolf]

Hera & Frealaf's Clothing

@from-dark-dunharrow (since you asked about it :D)

Please note that I am not an expert on anything related to fashion, much less historical fashion, and this all comes from my vague and general knowledge on the subject :D. This rant will go over spoilers since I'm talking about their outfits throughout the whole movie so, be warned.

SO! Hera's tunic and riding boots (? I'm referring to her thigh highs but I can't tell if those are boots or supposed to be like chapps) are pretty close to white in color, alongside the gloves she wears in one scene, and of course the frankly iconic wedding dress. Her pants and the trim on her tunic range from light-mid brown (tunic) to dark brown / black (pants), with golden accents for things like the buttons(?) on her shoulder pieces and her hair ornaments (ex. the crown at the end).

The one major exception to Hera's color scheme is the green dress she wears early on in the movie, a color that seems to be a more traditional color for Rhorric people to wear (considering it's use in the background of both WotR and LotR, especially for cloaks), with the dress itself being one that is used for a very formal occasion (the summoning of the Lords of Rohan). One thing I find interesting about this dress, alongside it being a very formal dress (that honestly feels a tiny bit off in terms of Rhorric formal dress, but that's due to comparing it to Eowyns' dresses in the movies), is that it features golden accessories that are far more elaborate. The dress looks expensive, something that a princess would wear, compared to the more adventure-y look that Hera seems to prefer. She dons the proper attire of a princess around the other lords during a moment in the movie where the Lords are talking about her as if she doesn't exist, almost as if, by wearing something not in her usual color scheme, she is hiding a large part of who she is beneath the title and expectations of "Princess".

This could also be me looking too deeply into the dress, but some thoughts on it (briefly, as I am trying to focus on the white & dark accents color scheme for this).

Frealaf on the other hand, his very first outfit in partially hidden underneath his dark (blueish black) cloak, and unlike Hera's, his color scheme is almost reversed initially. His tunic has a large chunk of white, but the sides and the middle of the tunic are a much darker color (can't tell if it's supposed to be dark grey, blue, or green from my own pictures). He also has very noticeable golden trim and decorations on his outfit -- similar to the green dress, his clothing for the meeting of Lords looks expensive, something befitting the nephew of the King and a Lord in his own right.

The next outfit we see him in is much closer to Hera's, with the tunic being predominately white with dark trim in the middle & dark pants (like Hera's), though he also has the addition of black and gold armor, alongside his blueish black cloak still.

His final outfit (excluding Helms' armor) is the coronation fit, a white tunic underneath the formal, royal green cape with gold, red, and blue accents that seem to be traditional colors of Rohan. It's an outfit that is laden with ornamentation and rich, vibrant colors, in sharp contrast to Hera's far more plain clothing, aside from her vibrant blue cloak, that remains in her usual color scheme of white / cream with dark trim.

Before I continue, I'd like to point out that green is also a significant color to both of these characters, and I have thoughts on this as well, which I might talk about after the next section, or might move to its' own post.

Also, one last side note, Hera's color scheme is similar to that of the Great Eagle she tries to befriend in the film and I don't honestly much in the way of deep thoughts on that - I just think it's a neat detail (and maybe showcases Hera's relationship with the concept of her own freedom).

Now, I have a couple thoughts on the significance of white in their outfits.

White is often used as a symbol of purity (especially in the religious sense), which could be used to showcase Hera's youth and inexperience with the situation that she is thrust into (it could also be why her meeting dress is Green, as that is something that she could be very familiar with attending due to it being a regular thing for her family). This could also be part of why white dominates her color scheme, whereas it, while still being a major color, never is the true Main color of Frealafs outfits / why it's always heavily accented with darker / richer colors or under a cloak (being that he's a lord in his own right, he probably does have more experience in battle than Hera)

White is often used as a color related to life (I'm aware its' also used to symbolize death in many places, which also connects here). Hera and Frealaf are the two members of the main cast that are still by the end of the film, so by having white in their outfits when Wulf, Helm, and by extension Haleth and Hama, don't have much if any white present, might be a non verbal way to communicate that These Two Will Live. However, given that white can be associated with death as well, I think it also tells the audience something along the lines of "These two will survive this, but they will both experience death intimately, including potential death of an aspect of themself / who they were" with this being Hera experiencing the death of her family and her people firsthand, whereas Frealaf arguably experiences a sort of "death of the self" where he becomes the last heir to the throne of Rohan after his uncle and cousins all die. However, I'd argue that his very first outfit partially mimicking his coronation outfit is also a non verbal sign that this was always his role, to be a Lord and a Leader of his people, even before he became the king (seriously the main difference between his first and last outfit is the lack of black in the coronation outfit and the more elaborate adornment of the cape and the trim in the coronation outfit - there's a lot more gold for one)

Now one thing that's also important to point out is that, keeping historical clothing in mind, white clothing would have been generally expensive and, in my opinion, very impractical for people who actively / frequently ride horses. White clothing would get dirty very quickly, and in general, I think it'd be weird to wear white clothing while actively riding, so I think it'd be more likely that their clothing wouldn't be true, pure white, but probably would be more like a cream or light grey, the sort of colors undyed wool & linen (or sun bleached) linen sometimes become. This could also play into the general use of their clothing, they would have the money and materials that could allow them to have either actual white clothing (as impractical as that could be for them as Rohirrim), but it would also make sense for them to use undyed clothing as part of their outfits since that would arguably be more practical, especially for riding outfits that weren't primarily darkly colored.

Side note, this is also why I think it's important that we never see Eowyn where her white dresses while being "active" in the sense that we see them when she is waiting in Edoras while the Three Hunters arrive, when she is recovering from the Black Death, and in her Wedding dress / dress she wears during Aragorns coronation in RotK. Her white dresses and even her title, The White Lady of Rohan, have their own connotations that I think partially could tie in with #2 on this list

4) The use of brown in Hera's outfits compared to the use of black in Frealafs' outfits also strikes me as important. For instance, wool can be brown in color naturally, without any dyes, whereas black was generally an expensive fabric that only the weather or men or religion wore. Brown, being an earthly tone, also tends to associate characters with being grounded or stable / dependable (which I believe that Hera shows over the course of the movie in different ways, including her resourcefulness for taking care of problems, such as not fighting the Mumakhils' head on but using her environment / tower defense weapons for). Interestingly, dark brown (the color of her pants and the outer most trim on her tunic) could actually be an expensive color to make - which to me makes a fun duality of the colors in her outfit, they could all be achieved through natural means, but the dark brown and pure white are more expensive, a non verbal showcase of her station within Rohan. Black, on the other hand, is a more somber color, generally speaking, but it could also be associated with humility (hence a connection to religious and monastic lifestyle), which I'd argue Frealaf shows plenty of in the movie (gracefully accepting his banishment from his uncle while still being loyal to him, for instance). And again, black was expensive to make, so Frealaf wearing both white and black really shows that our boy was doing well for himself financially.

5) Onto Hera's wedding dress. The dress being eaten by moths and ragged does it's own work in nonverbal storytelling, but I think the best part of it all is that the sparkly white dress is in ruins. Hera does not want to marry anyone, and while she in experienced in some things (something that she kind of admits to when she pleads with Helm to come inside the gate and lead their people), she does not have the same sort of youth she had in the beginning of the movie (with her finely tailored and well kept clothes). She has grown and matured, no longer this potential pinnacle of royal purity, but a woman who has been worn down by the deaths of her family, the Fell Winter, and the siege of her people in the Hornburg. And yet, she still holds true to her ideals, while her innocence may have died, she remains a woman of purity, not just due to remaining unmarried, but due to remaining true to herself even in the face of such hardships. It was also like, definitely psychological warfare against Wulf, she knew the dress would provoke him, and I absolutely love that she used his own obsessions against him like that.

6) Her last outfit keeps her firmly in her normal colors, which I think once against shows that while part of her may have died during the Fell Winter as she grew more experienced in life, she still remains true to herself, and she lived when all the odds were against her. The biggest difference is that her blue cloak returns (she had it during the first encounter with the mumakhil, but during the siege her cloak was a darker green). I think the biggest thing about the blue cloak returning is that blue is often associated with serenity, calmness, wisdom, and the sky / ocean depending on the shade (which have their own connotations that I'm not about to get into). Hera has grown as a character, she was wise to pay heed to the mumakhil in her lands, and though her wisdom was not listened to, she grew wiser after the Fell Winter. She even feels calmer at the end of the movie, like she's found her own type of peace even after the tragedy she had to endure, and she feels sure and comfortable with her own skills and in herself in general. I think this is something that Frealaf and Olwyn both would have recognized as well.

7) Frealaf's coronation outfit puts the white tunic once again under a cloak. This time, I don't think the white represents purity per se, I think it hold more to the association of light. He was the known / recognized savior of Helms' Deep, and with his ascension to the throne after the Fell Winter, I think the people of Rohan could have seen him as a literal symbol of a brighter future / new beginning for them all, especially combined with the vibrant, rich green of his cloak. Two colors that can be used to symbolize growth put together, and combined with the elaborate golden decorations and the red and blue accents, Frealaf's coronation fit feels (to me) like it is practically announcing a New Dawn / New Beginning / Time of Healing for Rohan and her people with his ascension to the throne and the end of the Fell Winter.

In general, I think it's really fitting that Frealaf and Hera have similar color schemes, in part due to them being somewhat similar in personality (calm and reliable royals, resourceful, loyal) and role in their story (being true to themselves and the saviors of their people). However, I really like that the differences in color and the ways in which color is used in their outfits also does a lot of nonverbal storytelling, which I personally really enjoy (even if I am like, completely way off base / overthinking this lol).

[can-of-slorgs]

The other researchers are also here! (magical edition!)

[ask-jean-vicquemare]

A random stranger runs over and sucker punches Jean in the face

Then runs off before he can see who did it

JEAN VICQUEMARE - The work day had finished... And yet the night still lingered onwards. Flickering lights faded and died from the precinct, each office light a candle being snuffed, leaving the sidewalk slightly darker until only Jean's remains at the back of the building. Unseen to the amber hue of the streetlamp.

His arms shuffled through his coat, back turned to the main doors of the reception. Calloused and scarred fingers lingered on the switch as Jean stared at the empty chairs. Tables with remnants of the people he worked with, the voices he'd never forget or learn the names of.

Maybe once. Maybe before. When he knew them by face and memory rather than rank and passing. When he was new and fresh and hopeful. When he was younger.

He could feel the weight of his cigarettes in his coat pocket. The one constant he could truly rely on.

With a click in the empty room, the lights turned off. He pushed back through the revolving doors of the precinct, a key in hand to lock them. His own shadow peeking over his shoulder, watching, obstructing, as his hands shook ever so slightly.

As he turned, Jean sighed. Eyes closed for a beat. He wondered where the other's had gone. If they remembered him. If he was an abstract part of Harry's failure to them or a diligent officer grasping at straws to keep his shit and everyone else's together.

Probably not the latter... if he met himself, he'd assume the former too.

With his mind wandering and his head filled with fluff, eyes vacant and thoughts lost to nearly ten years ago, the RCM officer hadn't seen anyone else around.

The bustle of the precinct in his mind mingled with the rapid footballs of the street.

A sharp pain knocked in to the ground. A clatter. Stumbling into the wall. Eyes shut. Head back. Brick on skin. His palm to his jaw as white hot pain seared through the bone.

"Fuck -" Jean hissed, throbbing in the back of his head spreading and swarming, a buzzing pressure behind his eye.

He spat blood. His mouth tasted metallic. His vision blurred. He chalked that up to shock.

"Fuck!" His voice reverberated into the dead of the night. And so, pushing himself to stand, Jean snarled, hands curled into fists by his side. "You fucking coward! Fucking - Fuck!"

Heavy footfalls snapped down the street as he forgot the need for a smoke, following after in the direction of whoever it was that had knocked him to the ground.

"Get fucking back here you coward! You have a problem with the RCM? Well here's your opportunity! Right here! Off the record! Fucking right now!"

[chimerahyperfix]

Run down your list. You are currently on your way to intercept the King, before he gets to the house. Whenever he gets there, it’s a bloodbath; metaphorically and physically. How many more times do you have to see everyone get frozen? See the King smash those who stand before him? You can’t see it again, you can’t you can’t you can’t, so you sneak out to face him instead. If he can’t get to the House, no one has to die, right? Simple as that. The endless night of his approach hangs right over Dormont, so you have to catch him, NOW.

You make a pit-stop at the Favor Tree anyway. It’s tradition at this point.

You did… something, here. Before you started looping. The hypothesis is that whatever you did at the Favor Tree caused the time loop you’re trapped in. You know you wished, a ton— at least ten times, or maybe twenty? All in as many different ways you could think of. Stretching outside the realm of how you know to wish. The desperation drove you to doing random things in hopes it would save you, and— well, it kinda has? You’ve doomed yourself for everyone else’s sakes.

That’s all well and fine enough, you rationalize. One person for many. Who knows what’ll happen if he actually takes the House; you don’t want to find that answer out.

The Favor Tree is huge. It’s a nice tree, lots of leaves, lots of shade. You could probably climb into its branches and never leave, get trapped in a web of tree bark and leaves like a cage, birds and squirrels and other such animals as your jailers. Maybe that wouldn’t be too bad. You could try that, next loop, if you failed here. You know you’ll fail, because nothing has worked so far. Your mind flashes with images of blood-stained floors, of screams both by and for many, many people. Hands reaching to you, hands reaching out.

Breathe. The memory fades away. Your hands curl into fists.

You depart, to fight the King. To stop the King.

———————

The King is very tall. A couple stories high, you’d reckon. He towers over you, the trees and everything else. The clearing you’ve stopped him in is very close to the House. Too close for comfort. Shouldn’t have stopped at the tree. Everything is swamped with the scent of burnt sugar.

He looks down at you— do you look like an ant to him? One singular ant? Wouldn’t that be interesting. A single blockade to the anthill, standing its ground. One mistake and he’ll turn you into a dark stain, or an icy statue. One mistake is all it’ll take for him to rip through the House like paper.

The Craft Bomb is heavy in your pocket. The backup potions, seven or eight of them, all in little tossable vials, toxic and burning and acidic, weigh down the other pocket of your lab coat. You remember drinking at least three of them. They all killed you. Painfully. Curse your desk for not being clean before you started looping. If you’d just taken a few minutes before you wished, so many deaths would’ve been avoided…

But that’s not important now. The fire in your throat, as imagined as it is now, still hurts. Your voice has taken an odd rasp to it now, the consequences of toxicity and blind reaching for water forever etched into your very being.

“How have you done it?” The King asks. You can’t see his eyes, past his endless, wild mane of hair and his gauntlets covering his face, but he sounds both confused and enraged.

You don’t answer, instead brandishing the bomb you worked so hard on. You made it in record pace, this loop. It too reeks of caramel.

The King simply moves a hand. You know what’s coming, and you move before he does. The curse of being so, so tall, is that you’re faster. The bomb goes flying, and you toss the potions all in one go for good measure before skittering out of the way. The King lunges for you as the bomb explodes, sending waves of fire and craft energy everywhere. Blinding, deafening. Its force knocks you to the ground.

He still moves, though. Not enough. Damn. Maybe you need two bombs… do you have the materials for a second one? You hope, as he swings his giant gauntlet down onto you to mash you like a bug, that he sees the weird shade your eyes have taken lately. A pair of blaring, dangerous warning signs.

You’re not scared anymore. This has happened many times.

You still scream.

His attack hits, and through the veil of absolute agony, there’s a tug on your stomach. Back to the drawing board.

[salvatoraes]

headcanon : stefan & his ripper gene.

for so long, stefan always thought that something was wrong with him because of his bloodlust problem. he always thought that it was just his hunger that he couldn't control. he he didn't know at the time how bad it would eventually get. nor did he think it was an actual problem that could be fixed or helped.

seeing as it's pretty rare to come across someone else who has a bloodlust issue like he does, stefan thought it was only him. he thought that being a ripper & losing control whenever he feeds on human blood was something only he dealt with. it's something that's so deeply routed inside of him he can't imagine anyone else dealing with it. & even if theres others out there, he wouldn't know it. but he doesn't wish this sickness on any other vampires.

it was so bad that he earned a title for it, the ripper of monterey. he was heard about everywhere, by everyone. he was known as the ripper who tore through villages. stefan didn't even call himself a ripper until the word was made for him. since then, the word ripper was known.

once stefan found out his mom was actually alive & a vampire herself ... she told him that he's a ripper because of her. he found out it's a gene that was passed down to him but skipped over damon.

he's had an insane amount of guilt for over five centuries all because of himself & all the people he's killed. he writes every single name down, remembers them all. it doesn't matter how long ago it's been, he will remember his victims. he started writing down names in a secret wall in his old apartment in chicago & once he moved, he started to write the names down in a notebook.

when stefan feeds on humans, he blacks out to the point where he doesn't usually remember what he's done until after. every time he feeds on humans, he drinks them dry to the point where their heads literally come off due to the pressure on their necks. once he realizes the person ( or people ) is dead, he feels so guilty about it ( unless his humanity is off, but that's a different story ) that he morbidly sets them back up. he puts their heads back on their bodies & sits them down to make it seem like they're still alive.

there's much more i can say about ripper stefan but it would be book length so i'll cut it here for now, which is still pretty long lol. if you read this, bless your heart.

[todayisafridaynight]

🗣️🗣️LAYERS

[milk-crafting]

don't worry about me or where i am, i'm in my wonderland

reference used

[shallowoak]

Design Chatter - MLP Grand Line Gang!

>> Link to the art here! <<

I really enjoyed rambling about the East Blue Crew, so I'm back again to talk your ears off about the rest of the crew now that I've finally posted them! Once again, fair warning that this will be long and there will be spoilers!

I kept a few simple guidelines for myself in mind:

Keep it fun and surprising, in the spirit of the original!

I draw in the G4 style, but features from every gen and toy line are fair game

I love back card / blind bag style character blurbs. I live for crumbs of worldbuilding XD

I've purposefully not included cutie marks because I suck at drawing them and I'd never finish a piece if I had to draw them :v (maybe a post for another time?)

🌸Chopper🌸

In-universe:

Further than the Crystal Empire, even beyond Yakyakistan, Chopper hails from the frozen north. A skilled potion maker, he loves to brew warm healing tonics with ingredients found on the mountain. He's hoping he can learn to skywalk like the Reindeer in Robin's books!

Design:

Every now and again, it's nice to do a 1:1 translation of a character rather than a full reimagining! Reindeer appear in G4 during the special Best Gift Ever, so it's the little changes that make Chopper 'ponified'- the lighter patches on his face, ears and tummy. The swirls in his inner ears. Changing his hoof/antler colour to be just a little more pink. One thing I did add was little baby deer spots shaped like blossom for an extra pop of colour!

I chose to draw him in Defence Point because it's cuter 🥺 my mind also thought to draw Brain Point in the Equestria Girls style and I'm not sure the world is ready for that 😂 Defence Point was also supposed to harken back to a popular fluffy fan character- before I found out their creator isn't someone I want to be celebrating. But you live and learn when trying to reference fandom culture 🤷

📚Robin📚

In-universe:

Many hooves make light work! Having studied at the Mythica University and Golden Oak libraries alike, this magic scholar always has a spell to get her crew out of a pinch! During her travels, the wily CP9 tried restraining her magic with a tennis ball!

Design:

Hm. Put into pony form, Robin kind of looks like Twilight. Similar key colours and hairstyles can't really be avoided. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, though. Something about this combination must just give off 'bookish'! Besides, there are plenty of character foils to Twilight that look like her in canon, too. Moondancer, Sunset, Starlight... Robin could fall into this category- a promising student led astray by forces beyond her control. It certainly isn't easy being a magic student.

Rather than an odd outward appearance, Robin's fear factor is based on people's perceptions of her abilities. I feel like she's similar to Nami in looking normal and still getting demonised. Left to her own devices, she just likes to travel and study! So I didn't want to give her a super edgy design and feed into those misconceptions. Robin is at her coolest when she chooses to be wicked for herself!

She's a normal pony, but she's still a little more dark and mysterious than someone like Twilight. That sweeping black mane, heavy hooves, and curved horn—not to mention that colourful glint in her eye—make her sturdier than a Unicorn like Sanji, and her calm confidence lets you know it! I like to think Nami has inspired her to look into getting a big flowery leg design, but she's a little worried about being even more recognisable.

⭐Franky⭐

In-universe:

Self-acceptance and found family are super! Building each other up is almost as satisfying as building new airships... almost. This loud n' proud Griffon makes Canterlot cruisers and Ornithian pirate ships alike! Lately, within the crew, he's been helping Usopp come to terms with being a Cutie Mark-less creature. Every creature has worth and is deserving of love, with or without a mark!

Design:

Franky just kinda washed up from somewhere and that really ignited my imagination when it came to his appearance. From the start, I was adamant that he should be a creature with 'fingers'. There's something about crafting with your hands that can't be recreated with Unicorn magic.

MLP Griffons are known for their strong personalities and love of precious metals- so I thought one was a great fit for the unapologetic, totally authentic Franky! This larger body also gives him more space to customise, more feathers and fluff to style!

Horse noses are very closely linked to the shape of their mouths, so having the top half of his beak be metal avoided a lot of weird imagery. His pre-time skip design shows less of his cyborg nature, but being able to use bird forelegs definitely helped to dampen the weirdness of his bulky arms more than the noodly legs of a pony. Without the differentiation between fore and upper leg, I think he'd just look swollen! Besides, you do not want to take a strong right with added claws 😬

I think it's definitely easier to imagine a solo Griffon making ships than a solo pony! His large wings and long tail help keep him safe and balanced while he works high up, and his muscular back limbs help shift heavy materials. Those back legs are coloured to look like his Speedo, as they appear less fluffy than the rest of him.

🎶Brook🎶

In-universe:

This lifelong sailor knows no pony is an island. Music can bring every creature and animal on the seas together- if only you stop to listen ❤️ All our paths are bound to cross again one day, even if the seas are wide! Magic works in mysterious ways, no bones about it!

Design:

I felt that if I was going to go to the effort of drawing a full pony skeleton, I didn't want to then cover my hard work up with clothes. Now I'm thinking I should've- the structure on those limbs was hard to draw! I looked at real horse skellies, the Hidden Dissectibles figures, and even the 'Don't Mine at Night' MLP crossover parody song... None of it made it any easier 😂 would not recommend.

Seeing as there wasn't much I could do with his base design, I decided instead to add to it! In the climax of the Rainbow Rocks movie, the Siren villains summon giant magical projections of themselves to attack. This reminded me of Brook's soul leaving his body- so that's what I drew! Though it doesn't have any mind control powers, I still wouldn't advise touching this frosty apparition... or any of the sound waves it produces!

☀️Jinbei☀️

In-universe:

Design:

Keeps up with 'current' affairs! This sagely Seapony is a pillar of the community as well as Equestria! He helps the crew stay on course (emotionally and literally) as the world changes and expands around them- it's always an exciting time both above and below the surface!

I should've been more forward-thinking and drawn him up for Mermay! Seaponies have a long history with the MLP universe, appearing alongside their land counterparts at the start of G1- a fact I think is very fitting for his character. Of course, Jinbei's design is based on Whale Sharks, and Fishmen/Merfolk as a whole are so unique with how they can be designed. Seaponies too are different in every generation- so I had a lot of fun incorporating as many unique elements as I could!

I couldn't exactly make a horse wide and flat to mimic a Whale Shark's body as he does in his canon appearance, so I decided instead to lean in more to the cute spots and shark-shaped tail fin! Then I extended his sideburns to create a softer border between his body colours and to add back some visual interest lost by removing the large membrane fin G4 Seaponies have. Jinbei is already pretty hefty and strong, so a little extra fluff doesn't noticeably slow him down.

It's certainly more difficult to imagine hair as fins; they're so much more rigid. Without individual strands or the ability to curl like natural hair, it's a lot harder to suggest diverse textures. But I still think the semi-transparent look is a lot of fun to look at and layer, and it helps his blonde streaks stand out!

Though I could've put the sun brand on his flank, it just didn't look or feel right when we're so used to seeing it on his chest. Seaponies don't usually get their own marks, and the sun is a widely used symbol of freedom. Leaving his flank free still gives me the option of giving him a unique mark in the future- he's still a prominent individual in his own right!