#outfit inspired by the advent children outfit

[avanchnzel]

cloud strife pkmn partner mimikyu. real and true? hes a fairy type trainer because the idea of that is very funny to me

[canned-pears]

Cloud & Tifa designs! First two are after the events of the OG story as things settle down. This is also around the time they start deciding on how/where to rebuild seventh heaven & find work. Cloud & Tifa both have to get a bit of savings so cloud works as a mechanic & tifa as a cook or server (both help out the community however they can and in exchange, lots of favors r done which gives them a headstart on rebuilding the bar). Cloud gets his own bike & customizes it over the years, affectionately naming it fenrir.

And next up are designs that count as both advent children redesigns and post-advent children outfits. I took a lot of inspiration from works of Yasuhiro Nightow. The multitude of buckles was also an idea I got from lulu's dress for ffx. The sword doesn't look that great since I'm not good with drawing weapons, but the idea is that cloud keeps his fusion swords & modifies them as he pleases. My favorite part of doing these was making tifa & cloud match in hairstyles. Cloud has the classic ponytail & tifa has a bun that is purposefully styled in a way to spike out, much like cloud.

I have some more stuff in store-like even different looks for aerith-but I'll make that a separate post!

[emberfrostlovesloki]

Aaron and Criminal Minds December Prompt List [a ramble]

Photo credits after the tag list

Good evening loves! We made it to November! It’s hard to believe. I know it felt like crawling over some metaphorical finish line to get here, but I made it and you did too, and I’m proud of you for that! As we start ramping up to the holiday season, I’ve been having Hotch thoughts, as per usual. This month I thought I’d make a prompt list and share it with anyone who would like to write along, a la @imagining-in-the-margins. I won’t write for all of these, but I will for at least a few. The rules for using these prompts are that there are no rules! You could use any Criminal Minds characters, OC’s, reader inserts, etc. You could draw, write, make mood boards, or anything else you can imagine. I have included 31 prompts for each day of the month. I also get inspiration from plain old words, so I’ve included 10 December-y words that might inspire something. I've tried to keep the prompts non-holiday center as everyone has their own traditions/faiths. Lastly, I’ve included a few dialog and art prompts too. You can find that all below the cut. If any of these prompts inspire you to create, I’d love to be tagged to see what you have made. This is all just for fun. I wish everyone a great start to the month. Please know I’m proud of you wherever you are right now. Love - Levi ❄️❄️❄️

General Prompts

Character A gets Character B and an advent calendar. 

Character A’s child is in the school pageant with Character B’s child. 

The team gets snowed in on a case. 

Character A goes caroling and sees Character B get into a dangerous situation; Character A intervenes. 

Character A buys some holiday-themed underwear to surprise Character B with. 

Character A buys a gift that can’t be wrapped for Character B. 

The sidewalk is icy and Character A unceremoniously falls into Character B. 

Character A is too sad to celebrate the holidays and Character B provides some comfort. 

Characters A and B get stranded in the airport trying to get home for the holidays after their flight gets grounded. 

Characters A and B read A Christmas Carol aloud to a group of children. 

Christmas dinner at Rossi’s. 

An unsub strikes while the team is off, so they have to come together. 

Characters A and B bump into each other at a Christmas tree lot. 

Character A knits/crochets a scarf for Character B which is way too long. 

Characters A and B find a stray kitten in the cold and decide to adopt it. 

Santa Clauss is a woman this year. 

Character A buys gender-affirming clothing for Character B as a gift and to let them know they accept them as they are. 

The team watches the most cringy Hallmark holiday movie they can find. 

Character A shares their spice wine recipe with Character B. 

Characters A and B serve at a shelter for those less fortunate. 

Character A and B are forced into the office alone - work does not get done. 

Characters A and B meet at an ice skating rink. 

Character A has been overworking themself and Character B does the holiday prep for them. 

The team makes sure everyone’s dietary needs are met before the office potluck. 

Characters A and B take the next step in their relationship. 

Characters A and B find themselves under the mistletoe. 

Character A makes a revelation about Character B. 

Character A hears Character B sing for the first time. - forthcoming for my love, Rome (@criminalskies)

Character A looks for a sexy outfit for New Year's Eve. 

Characters A and B plan for the future. 

Classic New Year’s kiss shenanigans. 

Word Prompts

Yuletide 

Twinkle 

Snowball 

Sweater 

Bitter 

Gingerbread 

Fireplace 

Avalance 

Stocking 

Flannel 

Dialog Prompts 

“Wait, you LIKE eggnog?” 

“If anyone says anything about mistletoe I’m going to scream!” 

“I’d tell you what I want for Christmas, but it will make you blush.” 

“Ohhhh… I didn’t mean it to be an ugly sweater…” 

“Hey, just a heads up. My friends will think we’re fucking.” 

“Let’s skip the office party and go out on the town instead.” 

Art Prompts

Any CM kid asleep under the tree. 

Any BAU member in an ugly sweater. 

Any BAU member wearing reindeer antlers. 

Characters holding hands.

______________________________________________________________

Tag list: @tgskitten @geminitapestry

Want to be added to the tag list? Please see this post, CM tag list (linked)

______________________________________________________________Photo credits

Top row: Left (@sadgirlzluvdilfs) Center (@holly-days) Right (@peacefulandcozy)

Middle row: (@fallingforchristmasworld) Center (@sadgirlzluvdilfs) Right (@happyheidi)

Bottom row: (@happyheidi) Center (@rhiannonwrites) Right (@themoontaxi)

[cinderace231]

I could go more Cloud inspired but I want Archer to have his own hairstyle but this hair isn't that bad. What do you think about it? I want to point out that one of his outfits combines elements both of Cloud and Tifa for example the sweater vest is the same as the Wolfy Cloud attire and the white t shirt under the vest is a nod of how Tifa uses a tank top under her vest in her Advent Children outfit plus with his own twists

And another 5 years old Archer fanart

[maryse127]

Rewatched Advent Children and have Thoughts

My God I forgot how gay Sephiroth is for Cloud in this

The creators of the movie really went all in on amazing visuals and over the top action while having little regard for making a good story and while I respect that I would have liked a bit more story elaboration/clarity

Any and all references to Aerith make me emotional holy shit

ALSO the pink ribbons. I never realised Marlene and Tifa and Cloud were honoring Aerith in their outfits. Excuse me while I go cry about this

What's up with those baggy af suits the Turks wear. They look stupid. Like get some clothes that arent 2 sizes too big for ya

The voices also kinda messed with me. Am really used to the Remake voices so Tifa just sounds Wrong in this to me. Og Zack voice my beloved however. Reno's voice fucks me up the most because that is literally Axel from Kingdom Hearts and I do not like it. (Obviously I am aware Axel is inspired by Reno so it kinda makes sense but I still hate hearing Axel while seeing Reno) I was kinda dreading Cloud's voice because I am deeply in love with his Remake voice but it's pretty close in this movie sometimes actually!

The music rocks

Have I mentioned Aerith. I wanna mention Aerith again. I am not over Aerith my beloved

Zack my beloved as well

EDIT: How could I forget the FLIP PHONES MY BELOVEDS

[influencermagazineuk]

Horrors on Screen: Evolution of Horror Movies for Halloween

As the leaves turn golden and the nights become longer, the anticipation for Halloween grows palpable. People begin hunting for the perfect Halloween costumes, and stores start to showcase spooky decorations, and horror movies dominate your screens. It's a time for thrills, chills, and cinematic spooks. But have you ever stopped to ponder how horror movies, an integral part of the Halloween experience, have evolved over the years? 1. Silent Era Nightmares: Where It All Began Horror movies began in the silent era before the screams, jumps, and eerie background scores. The use of shadows, exaggerated makeup, and subtle gestures captured the audience's attention. Movies like "Nosferatu" (1922) utilized dark imagery and gothic settings to create an atmosphere of unease. Without words, these films relied heavily on visual storytelling. Can you picture sitting in a dimly lit theater, with only the flickering images and live piano music setting the tone? 2. Technicolor Terror: The Birth of Vibrant Horrors With the advent of sound and color, horror movies underwent a dramatic transformation. Suddenly, the monsters could speak, and the dark black-and-white world was replaced with vibrant colors. Films of the '50s and '60s, such as "The Birds" and "Psycho," highlighted the shift from supernatural beings to more human-centric threats. The audience started to see monsters in ordinary people, making the horror more relatable and, in a way, more frightening. Just as children parade in colorful Halloween outfits, horror films started displaying a richer palette, only with a more sinister undertone. 3. Slasher Surge: The Age of the Anti-Hero Come the '70s and '80s, a new breed of horror was born – the slasher film. Icons like Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers became household names. These characters weren't just faceless monsters; they had backstories, motives, and distinct personalities. It's fascinating how these villains, while terrifying, garnered a fan base of their own. Was it the allure of the forbidden, or did the audience see a twisted reflection of society's dark side in them? 4. Psychological Horrors: Delving Deeper into the Mind The late '90s and the 2000s marked a notable shift towards psychological horror. Gone were the days of visible monsters and gore. Now, the true horror lay in the unseen, the unsaid. Movies like "The Sixth Sense" and "The Others" played mind games with the viewers, making them question reality. This era celebrated the fear of the unknown. It proved that sometimes, what's left to the imagination can be far more terrifying than what's shown on screen. Smiffys states, “Choose from a huge range of Halloween fancy dress costumes with freaky full outfits based around a variety of themes, such as scary doll costumes, to quick and easy kits for the time-conscious and some frightening final touches available from our awesome collection of Halloween accessories.” 5. Modern Horrors: A Blend of the Old and New Today, horror movies have become a cocktail of the past and present. There's an appreciation for classic horror tropes, but filmmakers are not shy about experimenting. From found footage films like "Paranormal Activity" to socially conscious thrillers like "Get Out," the genre is constantly reinventing itself. And just as today's Halloween outfits draw inspiration from various eras and cultures, modern horror is a mosaic of influences. Horror movies, much like Halloween itself, have experienced an exciting evolution. The journey has been spellbinding, from silent films that sent shivers down the spine with mere shadows to thought-provoking modern-day thrillers that explore societal issues. As we dress up in our Halloween dresses and prepare for a night of trick-or-treating, let's also appreciate the rich tapestry of horror movies that have contributed to the spirit of this holiday. After all, what's Halloween without a good scare? Read the full article

[sys-garden]

Here are some Gender bent Tintin designs! This was super fun to do since I love history and I love fashion so looking up the History of Fashion was just *chief’s kiss*  I also got to practice drawing from a reference without tracing and alot of these drawings came out really good and simliar to my refs (maybe you recongize what reference photos i was using!). Im Gonna explain the choices under the keep reading

 For anyone curious Tintin’s designn was based off roaring 20s fashion since tintin in the land of the soviets was published in 1929 and the most dated aspect of tintin’s orginal design is the plus fours pants that came into popularity in the 20s. Luckily the fashions of the 20s woman were perfect for the type of tintin i wanted, Boyish, free spirited and feminist. Tintin does strive for a respectful but practical look, showing that they are simultaneously the most polite and unhinged people to exist and neither misogyny or concusions will stop them from saving the day. The masculine aspect of the boyishness of 20s fashion shows that Tintin’s open mindedness and strive for change while also exploring gender as a lesbian since I ship haddotin and being sapphic gives you a interesting relationship to gender when so much of feminity is centered around men and your life isn’t centered on men. And the youthful aspect of the 20s fashion shows a carefree spirit and connects to how the youthfulness of tintin made him such a beloved character and relatable character for children despite being an adult. the exceptions to the 1920s fashion were the tintin inspired by tintin’s new 70s look in tintin and the picaros on the top right and the tintin to the left of it inspired by this one drawing herge made of tintin where he was wearing 1680s clothing.

For fem Haddock I didn’t deviate much from their original design because I wanted her to have a Butch and more mature energy which the mainstream fashions of the 30s and 20s didn’t have. When designing her I was inspired by lesbian director Dorothy Arzner, photos from lesbian bar Le monocle and a drawing for a lesbian focused issue of an old french magazine (I espeically took infleunce from the picture when designing haddocks’ formal wear)

For the side character I think Chang is the one I’m most proud of, they came out so cute, giving off a humble gracefulness that is true to chang’s character. I was inspired by 1930s women’s fashion in china, after the loser clothes of the 20s the 30s went back to clothes that huged the curves and showed off femininity a bit more and this applies to the qipao in china, when fashion trends pass and are replaced with something new they often are replaced with something that is the opposite of the trend they are replacing. So Chang’s more feminine tight fitting clothes are almost opposite of tintin’s boyish loose clothes and I love the opposite attracts look it creates between them. But Chang’s adventous spirit is still shown in the modernity of their clothes, the striped textile made easily possible by modern texile manufacturing techniques and the knitted cardigan combinding western aspects to a tradtional chinese outfit. It shows that although Chang is a bit more sentitive than tintin they share the same open mindness and taste for new experiences while visually telling a story of China history when it comes to modernity that was visible in the fashions of the Chinese women of the time.

For Abdullah I was inspired by the fashion and modesty expectations of Saudi Arabia since Khemed is suppose to border the red sea so I guessed by that and a panel in Tintin in the land of black gold that features a woman that Khemed was possibly based on Saudi Arabia. Girls don’t tradtionally start wearing modesty clothing until puberty But since some people do hit puberty at nine years old (like i did (isn’t it interesting that abdullah is one of the only characters with a spefic age he is 9 years old) I drew Abdullah in a Niqab and Abaya, Alot of Abayas are plain black but I added some simple geometric shapes to it to add a sense of nobility (hey this kid can afford patterns and other colors) without being ostentatious about being nobility. Abdullah is a very expressive character but the niqab covers most of the face I tried to show in body langauge and eyes that abdullah is a kid that will ruin your day and laugh about it. I don’t get to draw muslim characters alot so this was great practice for future character designs!

Men’s fashion isn’t as diverse as women’s fashion especially back then because toxic masculinity is like “men can’t have fun” but I decided to subvert that for Bianca’s design. Bianca’s design is probably the 3rd design i’m most proud of because I wasn’t even planning on doing it because I thought it would be boring. But I decided to look at the classic fit fitting with lose pant legs tuxedo’s of the 1930s and spice it up with color of Bianca’s classic dress and jewerlly. Even as a man Bianca would be dramatic and want to stand out from the crowd so while many men were turning to more simple clothes and still wearing boring colors Bianca would try flaunt wealth and personailty where ever they went.

You know how Caclulus’ design is basically just scientist Auguste Piccard? While for this design I decided to make their design basically just Marie Curie but with caclulus’ classic color scheme and trying to keep the shape of caclulus’ original shape. Caclulus’ original outfit doesn’t quite fit into the fashion of the time with being just a tad too formal and too bright. And the marie curie inspired dress does give this caclulus a vibe of being an eccentric older person as he did before, and the hairstyle also gives calculus a vibe of not only being too busy to care if their hair is out of place, but also not caring if other people think their hair is out of place or if other people think they dress weirdly. Calculus is smart, eccentric, unhinged, and free from social anxiety and I hope I communicated that with this design.

Nestor was simply inspired by a tradtional maid outfit with the added yellow stripes as seen on nestor’s orignial design. And their the only character I added makeup on because the simple eye and mouth design of most of the male characters made putting makeup on them feel weird. But since Nestor has this eye design that is hooded I felt comfortable adding black eyeshadow to the ensamble. 

Thompson and Thomson were difficult because I couldn’t look at female cops of the time to be inspired by because there were none. But I decided since this is before cops had uniforms so they just had to buy simple cheap clothes to wear on the job (such as a black suit) I wanted to go with a simple black and white outfit inspired by 1930s fashion. I also had to not make them too fashionable because I wanted them to have a older vibe to them and make it so they look really simliar but there is something keeping them apart. I decided on wide long collar, a belt for a more form fitting outfit, long skirts, bell shaped sleeves, a classic slouch hat and short wavy hair for aspects of 1930s fashion to intergate into their outfits and I made the dresses soild color as many afternoon dresses at the time where, making them acturate to the times but luckly the fashion trends did give them the mature vibe I wanted since 1930s fashion seemed to go mature and feminine where the 1920s were young and boyish. I decided to make the dominate color white instead of black because something in my character design brain was like “if thats way too much black in this outfit” but im still debating if that was a good choice. The things to tell these two apart is that one has glasses, the other doesnt and one has a curl at the ear the curls inward and the other one has a curl that curls outward...though I’m not sure which one I made thompson and which one is thomson

[anthurak]

One of my favorite things about Ruby as a character is just how so much of her personality and design completely contradicts with conventional character design.

Characters with Ruby’s personality and mannerisms, particularly main characters, those All-Loving Heroes/Heroines who always strive to do the right thing and stay positive through adversity generally have pretty consistent design elements: Lots of warm, heroic colors like blues, bright reds/pinks/orange, greens, yellow/gold. Eyes that are usually blue or green. And uses a standard ‘Heroic’ weapon like a sword, staff, wand or shield. And they typically don’t wear hoods because those are for sneaky people.

Ruby on the other hand, follows exactly NONE of these design conventions.

Ruby’s two primary colors are Blood-Red and Black, with her very first outfit of the series being nothing but those two colors. Her hair is likewise a very dark red. Ruby also has Silver/Gray eyes, a trait more often seen in prophets, seers or characters with a sense of superiority above others. Also Snipers.

And then there’s Ruby’s weapon: The gigantic scythe/sniper-rifle. Two of the most Not-Heroic weapons in one! This isn’t some noble, heroic weapon. This is a Final Boss weapon!

Just about everything about Ruby’s design aesthetic just screams ‘Anti-Hero’, ‘Brooding Loner’ or even outright Villain. At first glance with no foreknowledge about RWBY, most people would never peg Ruby as some social-awkward, adorkable ‘always sees the best in people’ cinnamon roll kind of protagonist that she is. And I know this for certain because way back when all we knew of Ruby was the RED Trailer, that is exactly what happened.

If you want something really trippy, go track down some of the very first RWBY fan content that came out prior to the first episode airing in 2013. Back then, pretty much everyone was thinking that Ruby was going to be some combination of serious, brooding, quiet or soft-spoken. Heck, some people were thinking she was going to be outright mute, which is kinda hilarious in hindsight considering what we later got with Neo.

It’s no secret that RWBY, particularly early on, drew a LOT from Final Fantasy, specifically FF7 and FF8. But something I’ve never seen talked about very much is that in visual terms, the character Ruby takes most inspiration from is none other than Vincent Valentine.

(I mean just LOOK at what his cape does in Advent Children and tell me that didn’t directly inspire Ruby’s semblance.)

Ruby Rose, our adorkable cinnamon roll of a heroine, has a design aesthetic directly inspired by easily one of the darkest, grimmest, edgiest characters in all of Final Fantasy.

The Ruby we are introduced to at the start of the series is a character who dress and fights like a cold, hardened, brooding, edgy, badass anti-hero, yet has the demeanor, personality and overall character of a sweet, adorkable, kind heroine who wants to make friends and help everybody.

It’s a case of character design that I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen anywhere else and it all serves to make Ruby feel all the more unique as a character.

[aitaikimochi]

Final Fantasy 7 Remake MATERIAL ULTIMANIA and Walk Through Midgar Book Translations Master List

This is the Master List for all Final Fantasy 7 Remake MATERIAL ULTIMANIA Book and Walk Through Midgar Guidebook translations I have made! This thread will be updated accordingly when new information is posted on my Twitter. All links in this comprehensive post will redirect to my original Twitter posts. Enjoy! UPDATED: November 3rd, 2020

CHARACTER DESIGN INFO 1) Cloud’s Design 2) Tifa’s Design 3) Tifa’s Outfit 4) Aerith’s Design 5) Barret’s Design 6) Sephiroth’s Outfit 7) Rufus’ Outfit 8) Tseng’s Outfit 9) Reno’s Outfit 10) Rude’s Outfit 11) Young Tseng 12) Cloud’s Blue Dress 13) Cloud’s Light Blue Dress 14) Tifa’s Dresses 15) Aerith’s Dresses 16) Chadley’s Design 17) Rufus’ Character Design 18) Reno & Rude’s Character Designs 19) Rude’s Earring 20) Reeve’s Design 21) The Ancients Clothing Design Inspiration CHARACTER BACKGROUND INFO 1) Rude is willing to risk his own life to protect Reno 2) Rufus, Dark Nation, Rufus’ Pistol and his training 3) Tifa’s Deleted Quest 4) Sephiroth is fearsome and powerful 5) Zack’s Victory at the ending 6) Battle against Sephiroth

WORLD AND LORE 1) Edge of Creation Symbolism in the Sky 2) Aerith’s Church and the Rocket 3) Shinra Building’s restrooms modeled after that of Square Enix’s building 4) Ending Scene with the Lifestream versus Meteor 5) The Turks writing a letter of apology if they fail missions 6) Reno telling Rude “you have to write that letter of apology” in Chapter 12 7) Whisper Harbinger actual size and Rubrum, Viridi, & Croceo designer after Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo 8) Whisper Viridi’s special moveset against Tifa is based off of Loz’s move in Advent Children 10) Toriyama hopes that we can see Jessie perform at the Gold Saucer

CHARACTER ACCESSORIES AND HAIRSTYLES

1) Cloud 2) Aerith 3) Zack 4) Johnny 5) Sephiroth 6) Rufus 7) Reno 8) Rude’s Beard 9) Reno’s Goggles & Rude’s Sunglasses 10) Midgar Hair Tonic MISCELLANEOUS 1) Cloud, Aerith, and Sephiroth’s Voice Actors Comment about the Remake’s story being different

[timebird84]

🎄 PotO Advent Calendar 2020 🎄

By @flora-gray​

The Gift Exchange

(Rated T)

Erik was wrong. 

It was a rare occurrence, in Christine’s experience, but even geniuses don’t know everything about everything, and he certainly didn’t seem to know much about anything when it came to love. 

He had insisted that the distraction of a suitor would interfere with her studies — it had not. She hadn’t missed a single one of their covert lessons, but had continued to put in the endless hours of practice he demanded, with irreproachable focus and without complaint.

He had been adamant that a man of nobility could not be trusted to do right by her, yet here they were, six months on, an engagement ring on Christine’s finger and a gift in Raoul’s hands, carefully wrapped in bright red paper trimmed in gold.

After all those summers at the seaside, this was their first Christmas together, the first of what Raoul promised would be a lifetime of many. Christine chewed at her thumbnail — a nasty habit, Erik would say whenever he caught her — as her fiancé ripped open the paper, a smile twitching on her lips. 

“Oh, Christine!” Raoul exclaimed as he pulled a little ribbon-wrapped bundle from the box. The spicy-clean scent of peppermint filled the air. “Polkagris? Wherever did you find this?” He pulled a candy stick from the bundle, the glossy swirls of red and white glistening in the dressing room’s soft lamplight. “I haven’t had polkagris since we were children! I can’t believe you remembered how much I used to love them.” A smile beaming on his face, he tucked the candy back into the box and pulled her into an embrace. “Christine, you truly are the most thoughtful person I’ve ever known.”

“It’s just a little thing,” she replied, her cheeks glowing a warm rosy pink. “I remembered how you used to beg Papa for them, and I happened upon a candy shop run by a Swedish family.”

“Well, I’m afraid mine will seem rather uninspired compared to yours,” Raoul said, speaking up over the sound of rustling paper as he dug into the bag next to him, “but I do hope you’ll like it anyway. I’ve hardly been able to stand having to wait all week — I had to hide it away in a closet so I wouldn’t be tempted to give it to you early!” He placed a box on her lap and rubbed his hands together, nearly bouncing in his seat. 

The package was large and flat and covered in thick, heavy paper printed all over with shining silver arabesques, topped with an elaborately tied white satin bow. “It’s so beautifully wrapped, I almost don’t want to open it,” Christine said, trailing her fingers over the soft, shimmery ribbon before tugging it loose. Gingerly, she slid a nail around the edge to loosen the paper.

“You needn’t be so careful with it, I have plenty more of the stuff back at home. It’s all yours, if you like it so much,” Raoul laughed, his eyes lit up with anticipation.

“Good,” she smiled teasingly back at him. “Then I’ll expect you to wrap up everything you ever give me just like this from now on.” The paper fell away and she lifted the lid.

Layers of impossibly thin tissue paper covered the contents, and she peeled them back, one by one. 

On top was a fine linen handkerchief trimmed in lace, embellished with intricate embroidery. “It’s lovely Raoul!” Christine breathed, lifting it from the package and letting her fingers glide along the underside of the smooth fabric, all the while wondering vaguely if she’d ever stop feeling uncomfortable with such fine things. 

Raoul’s casual displays of wealth, though never snobbish, were evidence of the privilege he’d been raised with, so different from her early life of scraping by, of simple meals of bread and cheese and rough muslin against her skin. And even now, she was acutely aware of the gulf that lay between them. It was impossible not to, when she was occasionally mistaken for a shop girl while they strolled Le Bon Marché together, an experience he found much more amusing than she did. Even once they married and she went from Christine Daaé to Vicomtess de Chagny, she doubted she’d ever truly fit in amongst the fine ladies who’d been raised with finishing school and balls, who sat and enjoyed operas from velvet-lined boxes rather than performed them, sweating under the hot lights for a modest salary. And though Raoul was insistent that he loved her just as she was, that certainly didn’t seem to stop him from trying to outfit her like somebody else.

Unfolding the handkerchief which likely cost more than her entire dress, Christine spread it open to admire its details. “I’ve never seen such gorgeous lace!” she gushed. “And are these our—” 

“Yes, our initials!” Raoul finished triumphantly. 

Christine’s brow furrowed. “Actually…” She brought the handkerchief up to her eyes and squinted at the letters. Her heartbeat began to quicken. “It says R, and...” She blinked, but the letter stubbornly stayed the same. “And...V.” 

“What? Let me see!” Raoul’s hand shot out and yanked the handkerchief from her slack fingers. Turning it over and over, he examined every inch of it, shaking his head. “There must have been some mistake! Perhaps the girl at the shop heard me wrong — I suppose the letters do sound the same.” He looked up at her, eyes anxious and searching. “I’m so sorry, my love, I can’t believe I didn’t notice! I can have it remade right away.”

“Oh no, it’s fine,” she said, her lips forming the words automatically. A formless sense of unease was slithering its way into the back of her mind, but, with a firm shove, she pushed the feeling away; there was no reason to let a simple mistake ruin their first Christmas. “Really,” she insisted, arranging her lips into a smile that was only a little forced.

Beneath the next layer of paper, enclosed in its own small, shallow box, was a pile of silk, white as snow and with that same incomparable look, as though it were delicate enough to melt under her fingertips. This new luxury unfurled as she raised it up between them, the folds falling, forming the shape of...a pair of ladies’ drawers?

The breath escaped from her lungs in a sharp gasp. Heat flamed at the edge of her ears as she dragged her eyes up to where her fiancé sat, stock still.

A red flush was creeping up from under his collar. 

His voice wavered. “That— that’s not a shawl?” 

“No, Raoul,” she replied evenly, despite the queasy fluttering in her stomach. “It is not.”

“Are those…?” He dropped his gaze to the floor.

“Yes, they are.”

“I—” Raoul squirmed in his seat. The flush was working its way up his neck, spreading across his face, leaving beads of sweat in its wake.  “It was meant to be a shawl. I would have never—” His words fell away and he looked up at her with pleading eyes.

“I know you wouldn’t have,” said Christine quickly. She jammed the drawers back into their box and shoved it all to the side, eager to leave the subject behind. 

And it was true, she could not think of a less likely thing for him to give her. Their relationship had been quite chaste, almost to the point of frustration, with nothing more than sweet, sinless kisses, always broken off far too soon. He’d never given any indication that he so much as even thought about what lay under her skirts, let alone considered the subject enough to buy her such intimate garments. The mistake would almost be funny in its outlandishness, if it weren’t so mortifying — and such an unpleasant reminder of her most secret insecurity: the fear that though he undoubtedly seemed to love her, perhaps he did not desire her. That perhaps he held her up against those lovely ladies of high society he’d been pushed for years to accept, with their bosoms spilling from their silk dresses and their ample hips swaying beneath their skirts, and found nothing inspiring about her waiflike frame. 

But no, he was just being a gentleman, wasn’t he? He wasn’t like the other men of the aristocracy, who took mistresses and visited brothels — no, no, he would never. Raoul, that sweet, brave boy from the salt-kissed seaside was now a respectful and honorable man, and he loved her for herself, not her body. There was nothing wrong with that.

But of course this was the last thing she wanted to be thinking about right now; Christine shook her head to fling away the thought and refocused the entirety of her attention back on the box in her lap. 

“Oh, look! There’s still something left,” she said, infusing her tone with much more enthusiasm than she felt, and she lifted a red velvet pouch from where it lay, heavy, at the bottom of the box. 

Raoul sprang forward. “Actually, why don’t you just give that back to me,” he said, his voice tight and trembling, reaching to take it from her hands. “This has turned out horribly so far, and I—”

“Darling, please.” Christine pulled the object out of his reach. “Certainly one of the three will be as you intended. Your luck can’t be that bad,” she laughed, though in the pit of her stomach sat a sour, sick feeling.

Grasping the pouch in one hand, she reached in with the other and slowly began to pull out a thick pillar of ivory, sculpted and polished, heavy as a candlestick — but not shaped like any candlestick she’d ever seen. It was too irregularly formed, the contours somehow too carnal, and her cheeks were already inexplicably burning before she’d even finished withdrawing it from its velvet enclosure. 

It couldn’t be… 

She’d heard that such things existed, but she never—

Too late she realized she should stop — not that she was sure she could have — but her hand kept moving, pulling the thing free from its covering to stand tall and proud in her clenched fist, absurdly large and luridly detailed — each vein, each curve of ivory flesh on display as she held it high, an obscene trophy.

Not a sound could be heard in the room. Not even a breath — not from her, and not from Raoul, who was looking at her, slack-jawed, with complete and utter horror written in every line of his face.

A minute passed, and then time unfroze.

Gasping as though she’d surfaced from deep underwater, Christine’s fingers flew open, loosing their grip on the vile thing; it hit the carpet with a muffled thud. Then she was on her feet, groping blindly for her cloak and gloves.

Raoul didn’t move from his seat; pale and trembling, he sat staring at the now empty gift box. “I don’t understand...”

Christine rounded on him, hot tears pricking at her eyes. “You don’t understand?” That formless unease had now taken a sinister, serpentine form, snaking itself around her heart, which spasmed within its crushing coils. “What was all that, Raoul?”

“I don’t know! It doesn’t make any sense. I wrapped it myself — that wasn’t in there!” 

He stumbled to his feet, reaching for her hands; she pulled them away, pressing her clenched fists against her turning stomach. “What’s the explanation, then? Are you implying that the contents of the box were just magically replaced without you knowing?” 

“No of course not! I mean, I don’t think so…”

One desperate, near-hysterical sob wrenched itself from Christine’s throat, and she fell silent. The painful throbbing of her heart had ceased. That place within her chest was cooling, hardening until it was as cool and hard as the piece of ivory which lay on the carpet, that disgusting thing which forced her to admit the truth to herself, a truth she’d been trying to deny since the moment she saw those embroidered initials. 

How could she have been so stupid? This never could have worked out. He was highborn, she was practically a peasant. Perhaps he did love her, but likely it was a love born of nostalgia and pity, the love of a brother for his sister — and even if he had been willing to marry her, that kind of love isn’t the only kind men need. And perhaps...perhaps he really wasn’t different from other men, after all. 

Christine gathered her cloak and gloves into a bundle and shoved it under her arm. “Goodbye, Raoul,” she said with finality, and steeling herself, she turned her back on the man she thought she loved.

“Christine!” Raoul gripped her arm in a wide-eyed panic. “You can’t believe that I would ever give you such a thing!”

Shaking off his hand, she held her head high. “No, Raoul, I don’t believe you would.” She could not look at him, not if she wanted to hold onto the last scraps of her tattered pride. “Do you know what I believe?” Despite her best efforts, tears were beginning to leak from her eyes, making the words thick and strained. “I believe that gift was intended for another woman.”

“What?” he cried, nearly choking on the word. “No!” 

“The wrong initials,” she sobbed, no longer able to hold back the tide; bitter tears flowed freely down her cheeks. “I may be naive, but I’m not stupid, Raoul! Who is she? How long has this been going on?” Christine tugged the gold and diamond band off her finger. “Is she wearing one of these, too?” she demanded, brandishing the ring in his face.

“Christine…” Tears welled in Raoul’s beautiful blue eyes, but she would not be swayed by the obvious ploy meant to prey on her sympathy.

She flung the little piece of gold at him, and it bounced off his chest and fell to the floor with a pathetic clink. 

“I should have listened to Erik!” she cried, and slammed the door behind her.

*****

Erik was right. 

But then again, he usually was. 

It was never going to work out between Christine and the boy; affairs between the nobility and the bourgeois rarely do, she had to know that. Really, it would be a mercy for it to end sooner rather than later. It was inevitable. And hadn’t he tried to warn her?

Still, he pretended surprise when she showed up at his door, red-eyed and sniffling, her ring finger blessedly bare.

Wordlessly, he brought her inside, wrapped her in a blanket and sat her down by the fire, brought her hot tea and let her pour out her heart — along with a steady stream of tears. Eventually, she slept, and Erik carried her to her room, tucking her into the bed he’d readied for her. He brushed the curls away from her face, now so hot and raw from crying, but no less beautiful.

He hated to see her in such pain, but someday she would understand, and she would have to agree that it was for the best. Erik always knew what was best for her.

Just like he knew that idiot boy would never notice a few feet of missing wrapping paper. 

[cynthiaandsamus]

Custom Toonami Block Week 69 (Nice) Rundown

Code Geass: So this episode is kind of a ride, like fuck. We kinda yadda yadda how Lelouch fucking escaped from Nunally’s sinking airship and just have Rolo sitting over him in bed kind of conflicted that he’s still stuck on his old little sister, so therefore he programs the tvs in Lelouch’s train to blast Nunally’s appointment but it’s funny because he probably didn’t even have to do that because directly after that Lelouch runs into the station and Nunally shit is just everywhere, like I get it’s a metaphor but it’s just funny that Rolo had to plan for him to run into something Nunally-related only for him to run out of the plan and run into ten times more Nunally shit. Then we get Kaguya claiming herself, Kallen and CC as Zero’s harem directly followed by a depressed Lelouch hypnotizing a bunch of street punks to exercise, about to do drugs and asking to fuck Kallen, like this episode is fucking ridiculous and parts are hilariously contrived, thankfully Kallen slaps the shit out of him and Rolo’s like “yo bro we don’t need that bitch, come on and live it up in this ridiculously racist system and the one place where it’s slightly less racist with me” and then they go back to school and have the “Happiness is Like Glass” scene which is genuinely amazing and moving, like for all the weird zany stuff that happens in the first part of this episode, this is a little oasis of pure sincerity and quality where Lelouch makes a promise he knows he won’t be able to keep. Inspired by this amazing moment, Lelouch returns to the Black Knights with the thought of “Maybe there are other reasons to destroy an oppressive dictatorship aside from my one ridiculously crippled sister” which he probably should’ve thought of before. And then he defeats Suzaku’s navy with the power of FUCKING BUBBLES, like yeah, this episode is right back to being crazy ridiculous but Lelouch is back and wants in on Nunally’s special zones… okay, phrasing.

Inuyasha: So we open with a scene of Kagome playing cards with Miroku which is genuinely adorable if pointless, but it just makes me laugh that Miroku and Sango seem to know all the rules of the game but are still stumped when Kagome tells them they’re Playing Cards, probably a culture thing. Anyway, Inuyasha has to kill a Barrier Demon to get the power to break barriers, which is a bit of a conundrum because Barrier Demons have, you know, barriers, which Inuyasha currently cannot break. Worse still said demon is a little girl and a half-demon like Inuyasha which understandably puts him in quite a quandary. Inuyasha does his usual thing of “Let’s just go in swinging and figure out the rest later but Shiori’s grandfather deflects the admittedly cool-looking Water Wind Scar Inuyasha throws at them with Shiori’s barrier. Shiori’s mom is all “Gimme back my daughter you said you’d stop attacking us if I let you have her” and he’s all like “Well make me, I have a fucking barrier and can hold you hostage” so everyone’s generally pissed off about the situation and Shiori’s granddad with the long name sends all the bat demons to go destroy the village which makes no fucking sense because the only reason she’s still cooperating is so they won’t hurt her mom, without her she has no reason to keep doing it but I guess he’s hoping having nothing to live for will make her do what he says out of nihilism or some shit.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Yusuke gets to face off against Suzaku, the final boss of the Saint Beasts and the gang get to demonstrate the teamwork lessons from this arc by doing a reenactment of the jumping Bahamut scene from Advent Children so Yusuke can get up the tower to fight him. It’s really pretty cool how they splice in Keiko’s Day of the Dead montage with Yusuke fighting Suzaku, tying things together thematically and culiminating in Yusuke and Keiko both fucking decking their opponents. I also really like how Yusuke’s so confident Keiko won’t go down to a zombie hoard so easily, like she’s not a fighter but she’s smart and has got guts so he’s pretty sure she can last a while while he pretends to punch Suzaku with his shoes. Overall a really good start to the fight that means Yusuke still has to wiggle his way out after using his Spirit Gun already and Suzaku still has a lot of shit to pull.

Fate Zero: So Saber and Lancer do their fight and there’s a bunch of fightnobabble talk that someone who’s actually held a weapon in their life would probably enjoy but to me is just “Oooh cool jabbies, flashing lights” which is still fun. Basically everyone’s watching though, Kirei has his ninja squad on the job, Kiritsugu’s Black Ops is monitoring things and Iskander is watching from the Radical Highway Bridge from Sonic Adventure 2. Eventually Iskander is like “Well damn they might kill each other if this keeps up” and Waver’s like “yeah duh.” And Iskander shows who wears the booty shorts in this relationship by storming into the fight against Waver’s wishes cause he wants to fight everyone anyway. So yeah, giant lightning chariot in the middle of this First Boss battle.

Konosuba: Now that the party’s all formed the group settle into a daily routine of Kazuma being Megumin’s wheels for her Explosion training, Aqua being a waitress and Darkness doing… probably better not to think about what Darkness is doing. Anyway, Megumin bombs the shit out of a Dullahan’s castle and before the Dullahan can call his friend Celty to come kick her ass, Darkness gets hit with a death spell and he issues a challenge to Megumin to come to the tower of the Four Saint Beasts and (wait wrong anime again) but Aqua just breaks the curse on her own and they just don’t bother showing up. In the manga this is really funny because Aqua’s in a maid outfit from her waitress job and just does it like it’s nothing and then they show a panel later of the Dullahan waiting for them like “The fuck when are they getting here…”.

Sailor Moon Crystal: So for some reason even though we only have three of the five Sailor Guardians, Luna decides this is the time to give a recap and reintroduce our protagonists for the first part of this episode. Anyway there’s a big party to celebrate a dated princess Di reference that’s kind of in poor taste at this point and Usagi and friends get in based solely on having fancy dresses and being hot, man I had no idea getting in with rich people was that easy. Anyway, Usagi gets a new tiara because of love and shit and gets an upgraded Ancient Egyptian Laser Beam from the moon. The Four Kings show up to be all “Ha-ha! You defeated my demon but now there’s all four of us and even though we still think you have the crystal and outnumber you and there will never be a moment when you’re weaker than this we will now… LEAVE FOR NO REASON!” like the logic of people in this show oh my fucking god. But of course the dated princess reference’s treasure isn’t the crystal they’re looking for and Tuxedo Mask kisses Sailor Moon while she’s asleep which is definitely sexual assault there was no fucking consent there, I don’t care if they’re moon soul mates or whatever she barely knows who he is and wasn’t conscious. But yeah Luna calls him out on his shit and despite clearly being an ally he has to be all edgy and be like “Well maybe I’m a friend, maybe I’ an enemy, who knows~” because I think he gets his power from how mysterious he is, like he’s going to be utterly useless if anyone figures out who he is, not to mention Luna already knows his identity but for some reason doesn’t tell Usagi. Idk man I just have a hard time following the logic of this fucking show…

Durarara!!: So yeah, this is the “The Yagiri Family is fucked” episode Namie has a weird fucked up brocon yandere thing going on, Seiji’s an asshole that because of having two stalker yanderes going after him has become a fractured manchild that thinks love is everything and pretends he knows shit but knows less shit than pretty much everyone around him and has his sister do all the shit for him. But yeah, Celty sees Seiji with the girl with her head and freaks out, and Shinra A DOCTOR if you remember says “Hey maybe your head just attached itself to a corpse Parasyte style” like either he’s a terrible doctor and really thinks that or this is a smokescreen to make Celty think her head has moved on and she should too which is a fucked up level of gaslighting. But yeah, Mikado takes Head Girl, Seiji keeps stabbing people with pens for some reason, luckily it’s mostly Shizuo so it doesn’t do anything, and Izaya’s just like “oh shit, chaos, I’m down”. Basically everyone is awful in this episode except for Mikado who just wants to help and doesn’t know shit, Celty who’s doing her best, and Shizuo who’s just awesome as usual.

[thesimpanions]

⭐️ N E W V I D E O ⭐️ The Sims 4 | OUR LITTLE PRINCESS 👸🏽 | CAS & Lookbook + CC Links

 ▶️https://youtu.be/_iFx3b2ZQz4

CC Links

GLEN: Eyes: https://baieyu.tumblr.com/post/179216040640/still-feel-eyes-previews-heavily-insp-by Face Overlay: https://heihu.tumblr.com/post/168522486651/a-collection-of-all-my-face-overlays-xigua Skinblend: https://kumikya.tumblr.com/post/168380449781/toffee-skinblend-ive-actually-been-wanting-to Beard: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-hair-facial/title/beard-n6/id/1410891/ Moles: https://cruisinfdr.tumblr.com/post/180623186108/holy-mole-y-hi-finally-worked-up-the-courage-to Nosemask: https://slythersim.tumblr.com/post/172389355988 Nosemask: https://obscurus-sims.tumblr.com/post/174533730818/obscurusxmelancholic-collaboration-dl-video Noseshader: https://simfileshare.net/download/977930/ Eyebags: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-makeup-female-skindetails/title/eyebags-n09/id/1335431/ Eyebrows: https://adiec.tumblr.com/post/186028112159/eyebrow-set-2-1000-followers-gift-33-thank-you Tattoos: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-accessories-female-tattoos/title/asiatattoov5--lounacutex/id/1449430/ Piercing: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-accessories-female-earrings/title/bad-dream-nose-ring-piercing-set/id/1444328/ Hair: https://okruee.tumblr.com/post/184698036176/jonas-hair-v2-just-a-closer-cropped-version-of

EVERYDAY: Shirt: https://simsontherope.tumblr.com/post/178255996966/escale-shirt-for-the-sims-4-yay-patterns-to-be Jeans: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/187194346870/axa-2019-official-release Shoes: https://sssvitlans.tumblr.com/post/176615309759/remiiry-vans-sk8-hi-retextured Bracelet: https://luumiasims.com/post/143659727344/forever-summer-an-hm-inspired-mini-collection-i

FORMAL: Suit: https://plumbobteasociety.tumblr.com/post/170874771645/rustic-romance-stuff-for-sims-4-the-love-child Shoes: https://kedluu.tumblr.com/post/131967017923/kedluu-simple-sneakers-monochrome-running-shoes

ACTIVE: Shirt: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/187194346870/axa-2019-official-release Shorts: https://www.patreon.com/posts/boxing-shorts-30180581

SLEEP: Briefs: https://pleyita.tumblr.com/day/2019/11/15/

PARTY: Shirt: https://okruee.tumblr.com/post/188658622396/followers-gift-set-i-passed-a-milestone-and

Pants: https://marvinsims.tumblr.com/post/160730374168/three-piece-suits-i-couldnt-believe-we-didnt

SWIM:

Shorts: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/187194346870/axa-2019-official-release

HOT WEATHER: Shirt: https://sixam-hearts.tumblr.com/post/186542263410/hello-ive-been-working-on-these-tanks-all-week Jeans: https://dyoreos.tumblr.com/post/183412740317/dyoreos-2k-followers-gift-i-reached-2000

COLD WEATHER: Jacket: https://darte77.blogspot.com/2019/05/leather-jacket-hoodie.html Jeans: https://okruee.tumblr.com/post/188658622396/followers-gift-set-i-passed-a-milestone-and

Shoes: https://mmsims.tumblr.com/post/183417028551/s4cc-mmsims-dr-martens-molly-enjoy-male

KARLEY:

GENERAL: Eyes: https://baieyu.tumblr.com/post/179216040640/still-feel-eyes-previews-heavily-insp-by Hair: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/189456863120/karley-hair Lashes: http://kijiko-catfood.com/3d-lashes-version2-for-skin-detail-experimental/ Lip Preset: https://stretchskeleton.tumblr.com/post/187172222703/some-mouth-presets-that-i-havent-posted-yet Nosemask: https://brntwaffles.tumblr.com/post/157021939147/found-in-the-skin-details-thumbnails-for-each-nose Eyebags: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-makeup-female-skindetails/title/eyebags-n09/id/1335431/ Skinblend: https://viiavi.tumblr.com/post/183382856408/papillon-default-nondefault-skin-blend-for-all Skindetail Highlighter: https://nesurii.tumblr.com/post/182508085171/amaryllis Eyebrows: https://adiec.tumblr.com/post/185708180915/eyebrow-set-1-some-cute-lil-eyebrows-i-made-in Freckles: https://joviean.tumblr.com/post/186573920181/maple-freckles Tattoos: https://fernpots.tumblr.com/post/171598292642/moth-boy-tats-2-semi-mm-full-body-tats-one Earrings: https://wildlyminiaturesandwich.tumblr.com/post/149258915734/a-second-version-of-these-earrings-that-i-edited Nails: https://simlaughlove.tumblr.com/post/163327412088/sll-rainbownails Lipstick: https://love4sims4.tumblr.com/post/165931634543/aprisims-kylie-lip-kits-fall-shades-sims-4 Lipgloss: https://raiichuu.tumblr.com/post/189556737324/advent-calendar-day-8-fruitcake-lipgloss-just-a Lipstick: https://alhajero.tumblr.com/post/184959100825/a-little-hi-how-have-you-been-hopefully Eyeshadow: https://dear-solar.tumblr.com/post/187076819275/the-chuuuuu-collab-this-is-a-korean-beauty-and Eyeliner: https://simandy.tumblr.com/post/171605780781/made-an-eyeliner-actually-4-but-yea

EVERYDAY: Shirt: https://kimoanasims.tumblr.com/post/183201014697/5000-followers-gift-whateva-collection-thank Jeans: https://tajsiwel.tumblr.com/post/167928709375/tajsiwel-chrissy-23-swatches-custom Shoes: https://madlensims.tumblr.com/post/182216831210/madlen-roberto-boots-high-quality-leather-boots Necklace: https://kumikya.tumblr.com/post/188336354646/moon-shard-jewellery-set-simblreen-pt-1-hi-i

FORMAL: Hair: https://www.saurussims.com/post/185953051413/prom-2019-collection-by-joliebean Dress: https://www.patreon.com/posts/30351413 Shoes: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-shoes-female-teenadultelder/title/madlen-attila-shoes/id/1325644/ Necklace: https://bethsims4love.tumblr.com/post/160823033598/so-i-have-been-messing-around-in-blender-and Bracelet: https://veranka-s4cc.tumblr.com/post/142800259050/claire-necklace-bracelets-i-did-some-simple Earrings: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-accessories-female-earrings/title/fan-earrings-revamped/id/1457307/

ACTIVE: Shirt: https://moontrait.tumblr.com/post/175148225998/moontrait-long-sleeve-layered-top-ea-mesh-bgc-21 Pants: https://pleyita.tumblr.com/day/2019/07/16/ Shoes: https://kedluu.tumblr.com/post/131967017923/kedluu-simple-sneakers-monochrome-running-shoes

SLEEP: Nightgown: https://kumikya.tumblr.com/post/185442507651/poppy-jasmine-sleepwear-i-made-these-a-little

PARTY: Outfit: https://honey-moth.tumblr.com/post/189513363916 Shoes: https://madlensims.tumblr.com/post/182216831210/madlen-roberto-boots-high-quality-leather-boots

SWIM: Swimsuit: https://gvbesims.tumblr.com/post/185126083949/inakhs-80s-swimsuit-recolors-i-absolutely

HOT WEATHER: Top & Shorts: https://kumikya.tumblr.com/post/189401305261/kumikyas-summer-basics-collection-its-suuuuper Shoes: https://gloomfish.tumblr.com/post/187789866948/birkenstocks-for-all-your-sksksksks-and-i-oop

COLD WEATHER: Sweater: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-clothing-female-teenadultelder-everyday/title/trillyke--winter-heat-sweater-dress/id/1435983/ Socks: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-clothing-female-teenadultelder-everyday/title/trillyke--run-away-socks/id/1469854/ Beret: https://casteru.tumblr.com/post/187221101262/cc-dump-tou-i-fixed-18-of-my-old-cc

NORA: GENERAL: Eyes: https://baieyu.tumblr.com/post/179216040640/still-feel-eyes-previews-heavily-insp-by Hair: https://naevys-sims.tumblr.com/post/181974167109/greenllamas-winter-hair-okruee-lizzie-hair Bangs: https://atashi77.tumblr.com/post/184987287173/nayla-accessory-bangs-a-couple-of-people-asked Lashes: http://kijiko-catfood.com/3d-lashes-version2-for-kids/ Skinblend: https://oasisgoth.tumblr.com/post/175646311686/new-dna-skin-revamped-by-oasisgoth-i-got Skinblend: https://sammmi-xox.tumblr.com/post/173100202612/hello-my-lovelys-its-been-awhile-but-i-come-with Skindetail Highlighter: https://nesurii.tumblr.com/post/182508085171/amaryllis Moles: https://cakenoodles.tumblr.com/post/169814596326/so-this-was-requested-by-an-anon-they-just-wanted

EVERYDAY: Shirt: http://onyxsims.blogspot.com/2019/02/mya-blouse.html Jeans: http://onyxsims.blogspot.com/2019/09/back-2-school-collection.html Shoes: https://simblob.tumblr.com/post/138158191799/happy-2016-deeetron-i-got-matched-up-with Patched Knee: https://ratboysims.tumblr.com/post/168471097775/download-pls-dont-reupload-or-claim-as-ur-own

FORMAL: Dress: https://plumbobteasociety.tumblr.com/post/166361358489/cottage-garden-stuff-for-sims-4-a-collaboration

ACTIVE: Hoodie: https://jinskookie.tumblr.com/post/188009516846/the-parenthoodie-for-children-version-5-i-am Pants: http://onyxsims.blogspot.com/2018/08/abena-athletic-set.html Shoes: https://pleyita.tumblr.com/post/184432141250/the-basic-sneaker-these-are-two-perfectly-good

SLEEP: couldn't find

PARTY: Shirt: https://margosims.tumblr.com/post/186092730799/kiseki-top-recolor-theweebsimmer-mesh-is-needed Jeans: https://theweebsimmer.tumblr.com/post/182026814581/mini-kids-pack-made-two-more-things-for-kids

HOT WEATHER: Shirt: https://theweebsimmer.tumblr.com/post/181929709471/4k-followers-gift-first-of-all-let-me-thank Skirt: https://clumsyalienn.tumblr.com/post/181245667075/christmas-pack-by-amelylina-and-clumsyalienn-you

COLD WEATHER: Shirt: https://sisselin.tumblr.com/post/182255980829/my-part-of-the-playtime-stuffpack-me-and Jeans: http://onyxsims.blogspot.com/2018/12/holiday-gift-2.html

[playunderground]

Introducing OVERSOUL: An Interview with Derrick Saladino

Last month, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Derrick Saladino to talk about his brand, OVERSOUL. When he pitched OVERSOUL to me in his initial email, he described it as “a lifestyle brand created from identity crisis,” and that “counterculture/subcultures like anime, gamer, emo-punk, euro-techno, and underground hiphop/b-boy culture heavily influence the brand’s creative direction.” I stared hard at the first two influences, and then stared not-as-hard at the rest of the influences, wondering how these various subcultures could overlap.

My brain being comprised of worms and dirt, I assumed that the anime and gamer influences meant that the designs were going to look like Bart Drinking Lean or Sasuke Wearing Supreme. (In other words, a caricature of anime-inspired Instagram ad streetwear.) This assumption changed quickly after taking a look at OVERSOUL’s site. Their first collection, ISEKAI, is comprised of three pieces. The logo tee and hoodie both look great, but the third piece was what really caught my attention: it’s a button-down tee adorned with daggers. At a glance, it looks nothing like anime- or gaming-inspired clothing. This was the point at which I snapped out of my irony-poisoned haze; the world of memeified, ironic-but-not-quite-ironic hentai tees and Goku Smoking Weed edits had calcified my expectations of what forms of inspiration a brand could and couldn’t pull.

It makes sense in the context of the rest of his influences and the ethos that he operates under – to get ahead of myself for a second, Derrick had this to say of his interest in various countercultures:

"When people express their passions or life to a certain degree, it just pulls me in. It’s like, ‘Okay, I don’t know what the fuck it is, but show me. Let me indulge.’ That’s really how I get into things."

In talking to Derrick, on and off the record, I saw a talented designer who was unapologetic about what he was interested in and passionate about. He’s also a huge geek that runs a bi-weekly Smash tournament at a local nightclub.

(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

"Okay, wait, first and foremost, my name is Derrick Saladino and I am a fucking gamer. Before being a designer or anything, I am a fucking gamer. "

Daniel: What is OVERSOUL? 

Derrick: OVERSOUL is about identity crisis. It’s my experience dealing with that personally. Growing up, I never really fit in to particular popular groups. Every time I would attempt to make new friends, I would stumble upon the randomest shit: anime culture, gamer culture, I’d end up becoming friends with a lot of emo-punk kids, techno. Nothing that I fell into was mainstream, popular culture. It was a lot to do with being lonely and trying to make friends. With OVERSOUL, thinking about all that kind of shit, dealing with identity crisis – obviously there’s a lot of people who’ve been through that – I want to create a new identity or community of people who share similar values and, you know, take pride in it? 

I mean, even the name, OVERSOUL, I ripped the word from this really old anime that I used to watch growing up, Shaman King.

Shaman King? What the hell, like 4Kids shit?

Yeah. That wasn’t the first anime that I ever watched, but it was something that I was really into. From being like 12 to even later in my high school, I just loved it. The concept was so cool – taking a soul and imbuing it in an object to make it powerful. It just looked fuckin’ sick. When people wear my clothes, I want them to feel empowered. That’s how I want people to see it. Soul being clothing, putting it on yourself, there you go.

Spirit Integration is, I don’t think the tagline to the brand, but it’s also part of it. Spirit Integration is mind, body, and spirit, and for anyone into the spiritual side of life, that’s what makes us. Our thoughts and mind and DNA – that makes us who we are.

When I read the description on your site, I noted that you referred to OVERSOUL as not just a startup streetwear thing or a brand, but a conceptual design experience. What does this encompass, and why did you pick this specific wording?

None of the stuff I make or have made in the past is very conventional. It’s been pretty avant-garde, I would say. I’ll have an idea, and regardless of whatever trend is going on right now, I just fucking do it. When I make clothes, I’m not making clothes for the public, really. My mentality is more like, “You know what would be sick in a game? If the costume looked like this.” That’s why I say it’s a conceptual design experience.

Has being involved in the industry and working behind the scenes affected how you understand your own brand after launching? What about how you understand customers and other brands, now that you know what the design process is like?

First-off, let me just back up and go over a history of what I did before OVERSOUL. In high school, I made clothing because I hated what everyone else was wearing. This was 2011-2013. During that time, that’s when I had a brand and brands like Obey, Diamond Supply, and The Hundreds – literally peak Tumblr hypebeast, Zumiez, starter pack shit – were around. I looked around at everyone else and was like, “I can’t click that, it’s not resonating with me.”  I had two other brands after that, and then came OVERSOUL. So I have this history of kind of knowing the market, even being a consumer, and evolving as a businessman and designer. I don’t think anything has changed. I think I’ve always stayed true to doing my own shit, rather than trying to compete with everybody else. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll notice what other designers are doing and some things I’ll take note of or inspo from but I hardly think about other people, to be honest. I respect everyone’s hustle, I just can’t be doing the same shit.

Give me your top 3 video game fits.

Top 3, oh my god. Snake from Metal Gear Solid V – very techwear, utility as fuck. My previous brand before this was techwear, and I had to stop it because techwear is so hard to sell. 

I’m really into draping fashion. Cloud, Final Fantasy VII, it was the movie Advent Children – you play Smash, right? There’s two costumes in there: the black, and like this, not really skirt, but it covers up somewhat? All-black, huge sash going on, it reminded me of Yohji Yamamoto.

Something that I’m going to make in the future is inspired by Naoto from Blazblue. His outfit, I looked at it and I was like, “Yo, this could be fucking, like Chrome Hearts, like what the fuck? I’m just gonna abuse this character design, it looks amazing.” I think that fashion right now, what really gets people’s attention on social media, is just some crazy shit, I don’t mean dumb shit, but like, just has to be very bold, and I think that’s what Naoto’s character design is. His pants have this huge cross on them. I think that’s one of the most crazy things I’ve seen in awhile.

Let’s talk about Anime-den! It’s this thing that we started roughly 5 months ago. One of my best friends here, he actually works at Fortune [Sound Club, a nightclub in Chinatown], and he’s a music producer. We really bonded over clothes, anime and gaming, and we had this idea – I think we were just high as fuck one day – and I’m like, “Yo, you know what would be fucking dope? If we brought weeb shit into the club.” I think he was just joking around, but he was like, “That would be really fun to set up, we can do it.” 

[Weeb being short for weaboo, a pejorative term referring to those obsessed with Japanese culture to the point of fetishization and idolization. It’s been ‘reclaimed’ by some fans of anime, used ironically as a form of self-deprecation.]

So, the next day happens, we’re talking, and he asks me, “Do you actually wanna do it?”, taking it seriously. I’m astonished. I was fucking joking, you know? We were just some high guys. He pitches the idea to Fortune and they approve it. At this point, we’re like, “Okay, we gotta actually invest all our effort into this,” because we’re actually gonna do something that I personally haven’t seen anybody do before – bringing a game into a club, anime into the club.

It’s really cool. Just yesterday, the commentator from Vancouver Street Battle came to Anime-den. Pride? He commentated for Battle of BC 3 and Pinnacle. He has ties with Animebae, too. [Animebae is a local anime-inspired startup streetwear brand.] Who would’ve thought that this guy would come through? And he brought his friends. He was telling us that what we’re doing is sick, and hearing this from a guy of that calibre in the gaming or Smash community, it really shook us. We’re actually bringing in people who play the game seriously here. 

How has setting it in a club made it different from other tournaments that you’ve been to? How does the dynamic change?

It’s a little different because when it comes to actual competitive events, people have a different mentality when they enter. They’re there to win and they practice hard for it. As for Anime-den, it’s the total opposite. It’s very casual, we’re all just drinking, blazing, whatever. It’s just the environment where, you know, dim light in a club, there’s music going on in the back –I guess to some gamers it can seem distracting? But I think people, they don’t care. They just play. They’re just there to have fun. Totally different dynamic from an actual event. 

I think that the purpose of Anime-den is to bring people together. That’s literally what Anime-den is for.

Yeah, I just noted here that I think it’s consistent with your brand, in that you’re translating the intangibility of these digital spaces like anime and gaming that people bond over, and you’re putting it into a physical space and letting people actually further develop what these subcultures would look like in person. Like, when you think of anime or gaming in real life you think of Anime Expo or cosplaying or some shit – and that’s fine, people have fun with that [Editor’s note – I think it’s fun!] – but it’s not the only mode of expression. With events like this, I think it’s cool that you’re saying, “If you’re a gamer, there’s another avenue for you. You don’t have to dress up or anything…”

I mean, walking in today and meeting you, you wouldn’t have gotten the idea that I was super into anime or gaming. I just look like a regular dude, right? And my clothing gets inspired by it, but I don’t really look like I’m cut from the legit anime cloth. Choosing these lifestyles and putting it into this real aspect, I think it can appeal to everybody. People tend to judge a lot of things, but once you step into the Anime-den room, whatever perspective you have about anime to begin with, I’m pretty sure that changes. Man, the crowd, they look all the same as you do too. We’re all normal people, we just like cool shit.

I think we should talk about ISEKAI.

OVERSOUL’s first small collection was ISEKAI. Translated to English, it would be ‘a better world,’ and I named it that based off of the anime genre, isekai. When you watch these sort of things, it’s usually someone going to another world. For my first collection, I wanted to welcome people to my world. That’s why I chose ISEKAI. One of the big graphics for the brand was the blade shirt. [On the site, it’s name is the Beginners Dagger Shirt.] My reference for that was playing MMORPGs. Typically, the first weapon you get [in MMORPGs] is a short sword or dagger. I wanted to be like, “This is the start of my brand.” This is your starter item. It’s funny, when I tell people this – they’re always like, “I never thought…”

[laughs] It’s really cool!

That’s why I went with ISEKAI. This is what my world is. One of OVERSOUL’s long-term goals is actually establishing ‘my world,’ if that makes sense? There’s only a handful of designers who have, like, captured a signature silhouette. For example, Rick Owens. When you see [a Rick Owens piece], you know it’s Rick Owens. If Zara did the same shit as Rick Owens, you would look at it and be like, “That’s Rick Owens.” You wouldn't call it Zara. That’s what I’m trying to establish for myself, to create that silhouette for myself eventually in the future.

What’s up next for OVERSOUL? 

Hmm, how should I put this... should I leak something? I’m going to drop an accessories part sometime soon. That’s in the design process right now, but I’m looking forward to doing my next big collection.

There’s this one song that I found in the past during my peak weeb days: Plastic Love by Mariya Takeuchi. A couple of months ago, they released the first official music video for it, after like 35 years, which is fucking insane – they should have done that a long time ago. I totally forgot about the song until I saw the music video. It’s something that I could relate to before and can relate to now, and I definitely want to build my next collection based on Plastic Love.

I think Plastic Love works really well because I’m surrounded by that scene in Vancouver – I work in Yaletown, and that’s the Yaletown lifestyle. It’s very lustful, but you don’t care. It’s all fake shit, really. That’s what Yaletown culture sorta is. I wouldn’t say that I’m like that, but I think that I could definitely expand on the topic through my brand. It’s not necessarily identity crisis, but the genre and artist kind of make it a subculture.

There’s also a few collabs on the way. One with a music group, another with a tattoo artist. What I really wanna do with the tattoo artist – he does anime tattoos – is ero art. Like, erotica. I think it’s a slept-on art style. It’s not generally for the public, per se, so I think that it would be something worth making. Super ecchi, maybe line art. I want it very exaggerated, even bondage-type shit. 

There’s a lot of things where people are like, “Oh, that’s too much!” But you know what, it could be sick! This is why I do things solely for myself. As long as I get a reaction from somebody, I’m happy with that. Wanting a response, not even approval, just being acknowledged, that this shit exists, it motivates me to keep doing what I do. 

I thought about doing graphic design shit; anime erotica art goes really well with techno. That kind of scene, the way that European style posters are, if you take the art and fuse them together, it works really well. I’m like, “How come no one has done this yet?” 

So you’re treating it more like art and not just a part of anime culture?

I view anime as its own respective art, and with art, there’s no rules, so I can just take this and this, and bang. At the end of the day, everybody wants to see new and cool things. People are always going to have their own subjective opinions, but as long as you have their attention, you’ve already won the battle. That’s the mentality that I carry, that everyone has their own opinions. 

Last question: what are your top 5 video games?

You know, I was trying to prepare for this interview – I didn’t even think this would come up.

[laughs] Come on, man.

I’m gonna put Super Smash Bros. Melee on there – I’ve been playing it for so long, it’s literally been bonded with my DNA. 

I don’t wanna say Ocarina of Time, because I think that it’s everyone’s favourite, but I mean, it’s still up there. It’s an all-time masterpiece, but I enjoyed Majora’s Mask a lot more. The concept of the world being blown up by the moon, in-game time, the moon crashes in like 3 days, and you keep going back in time, skipping whatever, I think it was so much fun, so yeah. 

I really like Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It’s very recent, but I have so many hours on it already, and I can’t stop. I haven’t felt this way about a game in a long time. It’s so replayable. Once you finish Ocarina of Time, you probably don’t touch it for a while. When you play FE, you’re like, okay, let’s do the next one. There’s three houses! Even after doing all three, it’s like, “Oh, I’m gonna try again, but I’m gonna make this character like this.”

I grew up playing a lot of Roller Coaster Tycoon, unfortunately, but it’s fun. It’s not a typical gamer thing, but I love it. 

I might put Final Fantasy VII on there, too – when Aerith died, I real-life teared up, like, “Dude, no way, you’re really gonna kill her off like that? You gotta save her!”… and then she dies. I’m pretty sure after that happened, I didn’t touch the game for a week. I was actually emotionally harmed. I’m really into RPGs – being able to emotionally attach yourself to characters, I think it’s a beautiful thing. 

Any last things you wanna say?

I want my brand comparable to Chrome Hearts, MISBHV or Rude [Vogue]; when they have their own aesthetic and that’s what they do, that’s what I want to build as well. The idea that I take a lot of inspiration from gaming, it really shows.

Maybe I’m hungover, so I can’t really find the words right now, but for anyone trying to do fashion, music, whatever, as saturated as the community seems at the moment, you just have to get your foot in the door and start. Yeah, there’s competition, but to be honest, with all the people here who have brands, I’m friends with all of the people who make them, and I have no judgement about if their clothes are wack or not. Some things I don’t agree with, but everyone’s on the same hustle.

OVERSOUL’s ISEKAI collection is available now online at oversoul.online. 

[thegreyfacedbutler]

A piece my wife did for Mother’s Day, inspired by a pic that @lady-nova did. I think these are the “canon outfits” for these two in this verse; a slight alteration to Tifa’s Advent Children setup, and Vance with a long-tailed vest. 

I love Noah’s armband for Aerith. I bet he grew up hearing so many stories about her.

[chemos-factories]

🌹🌌✏️🎵🎀 for Pakhom!

🌹 ROSE - do they like valentines day? have they been confessed to before? have they confessed to anyone before?

while i dont think valentines day really exists in 40k, if it did, he wouldnt like it very much, but more in the “buying your partner a present/taking them on a date shouldnt be an obligation” way. as for being confessed to, does giocoso being blackout drunk and throwing up on his boots and then offering to lick them clean count?

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

the inspiration behind him was i was tired of people acting like weird fucking hipsters about ‘oooo thousand sons are actually PRETTIER than emperors children’ and i wanted to draw some Equally Pretty Boys from both legions and then whoops! OC Time! the first thing i decided about him was i wanted him to have a more elegant, almost evening gown look to his outfits, to contrast giocoso’s slutty clubwear vibes

✏️ PENCIL - is there a particular quote / lyric that you associate with them?

i do NOT but if i DID it would probably be something from a steampianist song

🎵 MUSIC NOTE - what is their playlist like? their favourite artists? do you associate a particular song with them?

uhhhhh im gonna skip this one and maybe come back to it later, sorry!

🎀 RIBBON - how would they fit into other worlds / aus? what aus would you like to try out? what fictional world would they fit / not fit into?

OH MAN i could detail what he’s like in different aus for hours, but for now i’ll stick with; with the advent of hunter the parenting, arty and i were chatting about a vtm au for our ocs, and i while i think im going to pick a different clan for him (originally i went with tremere but im not so sure anymore), i did decide that before he was embraced, he was a university student in cairo at about the time the whole carter expedition kerfuffle happened

[mypencildotcom]

National Award- Dr.Ambedkar Fellowship Award,2017: Kasturi Das

National Award- Dr.Ambedkar Fellowship Award,2017: Kasturi DasNational Award- Dr.Ambedkar Fellowship Award,2017: Kasturi Das

Kasturi Das is a well known young face from Assam who gained a lot of popularity after being honored by the prestigious National Award- Dr.Ambedkar Fellowship Award,2017 ,for her independent achievements in the cultural world. Ms. Das was born on January 4th 1997 in Tezpur, Assam.She started dancing at the young age of 4years. She has also worked as a child artist in different VCD’s.Ms. Das did her schooling from St.Joseph’s Convent HS school, Tezpur, and later attended her pre-university educational from Darrang College, Tezpur. She then completed her 5years BA LLB degree from Tezpur Law College.

She has always had keen interest in dancing and never gave up hopes. In 2001, she first performed her on-stage live show. After she received so much appreciation, Ms. Das wanted to learn classical dance which she did in 2003.In the meantime she also started pursuing her Fine Arts, from 2002 onwards. Ms. Das started teaching free of costs, art and dance right from class-9 onwards, to most of the children from Dalit families. Her selfless, supporting nature always made her stand out from the crowd. She gained National recognition at the age of 10years, from NIPA, at New Delhi. Ms. Kasturi Das made her first advent on the ramp when she was 17 years old. From 2014,she started teaching dance & art professionally. She gained much admiration after winning various state level dance contests &  getting featured on calenders and newspapers and television channels.She was also offered tons of roles in assamese films but due to her studies she refused many of them.Currently, she is continuing her Phd in Fine Arts & also carrying her Masters degree on Classical dance forms. She is also doing some other internship projects along with Law Learners,IMUN,etc

Ms. Kasturi Das has received various prestigious awards:

Dr. Ambedkar Fellowship Award, 2017

United Artist, at International Theatres,New Delhi,2007

Miss North East Photogenic,2018

Silpi Samannay Awardee,2017

Best of the Best Dancer,2019 And many more state and district level awards in various fields.

Silpi Samannay Award,2017

Udioman Persona Bota,2017

     8.Silpi Sammanay Award,2017( best       dancers of Assam)

9.District and State Declamation Contest Winner,2019

And many other such state and district level awards in various fields.

Ms Kasturi Das is also a professional choreographer and dancer.She is running her own school of dance and art at Hridaya Hobby Centre Institute. She is the Ambassador of Uttar Purbanchal Miss Photogenic NGO, the Joint Secretary of Rotary Club of Greater Tezpur and also the Cultural Secretary of AALSU. Not just this Ms. Kasturi Das is the Cultural coordinator of Tezpur Journalists Union of Raksha Bandhan Festival and  also the Cultural organiser of many other associations.She has keen interest in social work and teaches Bhajans to the students without charging a penny. The students of her school are provided with all round development programs where different events and competitions are organised where the winners are felicitated with medals, certificates and trophies. At such a young age her institute grooms students for fashion events and beauty pageants and organises fashion shows every year before the annual function of her institute.  Being a person with writing as her passion ,Ms Kasturi Das is also the co- author of the anthropologies “Acceptance is the key to success and Robaru”. She was offered a magazine shoot with Ada khan but she had to refuse due to time clashes at work.

She worked with different organizations. She also teaches free of cost to those students who are from a poor family background. Every year’ her school celebrates Teachers day, Children’s day, and every other program. All the newcomers are provided a platform by her institute, so that they can participate in events and showcase their talent. Proper care is taken of her students and flexibility is also provided in terms of fee payment. For now, online classes are being conducted as a result of the ongoing pandemic situations. Recently, she has completed her book which is yet to be published. She is usually engaged with different projects of ad shoots. Ms. Kasturi Das is also nominated for *Indian Inspiration Women Award,2021*

She maintains a daily routine of her work to carry out her work smoothly and on time.Ms.Kasturi Das is a choreographer for marriage ceremonies and other events,dance for her is worship . She does on spot choreography and treats her students as her sisters and brothers.

Everyone’s mother plays a crucial role in shaping the child’s future. Whatever Ms. Kasturi is today, she gives its credit to her mother. Felicitations or social status in the society for her, is only overwhelming when someone doesn’t boast about it. Rather,people should be thankful to God, their parents,family and friends for their achievements. Her mother is her backbone. She has always supported her in each possible way without any doubt. She always believed in her daughter and always went with her to uplift her and support her. She sacrificed her health for making her future bright.Ms.Kasturi Das believes if you share your space entirely with your mother then no one can stop you, even if you face any difficulty, your mom will always find a way out to push you forward.

Ms. Kasturi Das likes simplicity and never lets negativity surround her. She believes, when you’re determined to achieve, you can achieve anything. She doesn’t give excuses and finds more perfection over continuous engagements. She also doesn’t prefer being burdened up with work or skipping tasks.Her favorite actors are – Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone,  Richard Gere,Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit. She is mostly spotted wearing black casual outfits. She  loves cooking too. She has got her house painted in texture designs which she did on her own.

Today, whatever she’s sowing, is the result of the struggle from a very young age, along with the support of her beloved mother. Both of them believe to still shower the same love, care, support and help to everyone even though someone themselves is still struggling.

National Award- Dr.Ambedkar Fellowship Award,2017: Kasturi Das