#red guardian icons

[snarfflarf]

Asking BG3 characters to pick you up pads: Round 2

[loledits]

📂: ご꯭い J!NX THELOOSEGUARDIAN♡💭  🍣 ‼️

[chastainstuff]

like

[clownsuu]

i have so many curious questions about the designs for each of your characters. like, home having big floaty cloud hair?? how do you decide/design them?

I always wanted to talk a sec about my Home's design lmAO so I guess I'll take a sec to do a lil ramble about him

Cw me ramblin my ass off HDHDHJD

Every time I make a design for a character, I always gotta look at everything about em in some way and try my best to implement each iconic aspect of them in their design- from minor to major differences

So like his head, his blue flow-y hair was inspired by his roof and what's underneath his building (that little black void with the swirl- it somehow translated to whispy curly hair in my lil noggin). His colors of his facial hair is obviously colored according to his normal version (red facial hair/brick, a yellow line for the door). I also wanted a way to implement his windows, cause it's a very iconic look for Home, so boom, g l a s s e s (I was gunna put bumps underneath the frames but it looked weird so I just gave him long ass lashes)

His stitched up body/outfit is mostly inspired by the armchair wally sits on that has a very noticeable Barnaby print in the back. Although iv never really drawn it, Home's pants have patches of every single character's skin on it (yes the spots for Barnaby and Howdy would be fluffy LMAO). And his shirt, although it doesn't look like much, the two color patches on his shoulders are color inspired by the trees behind him, and his sleeves obviously of the greenary around him. (also his race, Iv debated what athnicity he'd be since there were two (or three for both) to choose from (wally being afro-latino), and iv ultimately decided Latino, since a large part of my family is such and I know a lot more on that culture being born in it)

As for age? Home himself to me just f e e l s warm and comforting, he has big soft eyes and is literally a Home, so what kinda person makes you f e e l (likespiderman) like home while also being one? A more elderly figure, specifically that one elderly person you feel so comforted being at home with as a kid, smothered in love and happiness and never wanting to leave smhhh. I just wanted him to make you feel like at home whenever ya get a hug by him.

Also his relationship at first wasn't actually gunna be Wally's father, moreso just a guardian, but after he was done being colored and such (and I got a lotta comments sayin he looks like wally) I just went "f it" and made him wally's dadpa (nobody can really choose if it's father or grandfather- I say father since wally is a grown ass man, but other says grandpa cause home is so old looking lmAO, so he gets to be both).

I didn't want his relationship with wally to be anything NEAR negative, but rather a huge comfort and support Wally has with a guardian (yeah adults can live with their parents it ain't that weird). One of my biggest drives for it was cause Wally is heavily neurodivergent coded, and the last thing I wanted was to have a large scary figure in Wally's life terrify and heavily dictate Wally's choices to a point Wally is completely suffocated and extremely uncomfortable. Not only that but lock Wally inside refusing him to do what he wants and getting upset over the smallest things? Complete nightmare! Specially someone who's neurodivergent! Sure I like the suspense and drama in a alternative universe, but in the main one I'd rather not. At least for me anyway (as a neurodivergent whos gone through similar things).

[mamasuellen-blog]

Aziraphale and Crowley - Nightingale Analogy

After the second season, I started thinking of them both as if they were birds, specifically the Nightingale. Here's an analogy with scenes from Good Omens.

Symbolic Meaning of the Nightingale

The Nightingale is a charming bird, revered especially by artists, such as poets and writers who have been inspired by them and used them as symbols in their works throughout history and time. They are considered as a symbol of love and fidelity. This bird has inspired plays, songs, sonnets, folklore, poetry, stories, legend... It has cultural and mythological importance in various parts of the world. He is mentioned in several books that tell romantic, melancholic and tragic stories. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman chose this particular bird to be part of the iconic story of Good Omens.

Some examples of stories about our two Nightingales over time.

When they met, they sang a millimetrically perfect melody on the same frequency, a song that only they could understand. A tune full of feelings, sensations and connections between two creatures. It brought harmony and meaning for them to stay together.

Color Detail

The Nightingale's plumage predominates in discreet brown and brown tones, with slight RED shades. Your chest is more GRAY in tone, with RED or WHITE tones.

The Power of The Voice

This bird plays an important role in the ecology of the region in which it lives. The sound produced by the Nightingale can help regulate the population of insects and other animals that are part of the food chain. Crowley and Aziraphale are guardians of the land and together they played an important role in keeping it safe. Maintaining balance is essential.

They are Territorial

They are very territorial and become even more so during mating season. They respond more aggressively to others who enter their territory, as they want to protect their love nest.

The Musical Richness of Nightingale’s Song

This bird's musical repertoire includes 260 sequences. His song has a double function: Seduction and defense of the territory. The Nightingale's serenade begins at dusk, continues through the night, and lasts through the early hours of the morning until dawn. It is possible that he sings during the day, even though this behavior is not that common. The most physically vigorous birds are also those with the greatest musical repertoire. Some sequences are sung just for your reciprocated love :

​While other sequences only serve to impose yourself against other rivals :

When a Nightingale hears its partner singing, it becomes very active, attracted by the unique and special sensitivity of this melody :

Crowley moves, fascinated by Aziraphale's singing.

The most impressive thing about this bird is its musical repertoire. The Nightingale is capable of singing for hours without repeating the same sequence once.

Crowley and Aziraphale know several languages. Aziraphale *sings* Nightingale in French.

The Nightingale's song reveals a remarkable delicacy and great power. In its vocal production, cheerful and lively sounds predominate, combined with a strong whistle, a strong whistle to attract.

Crowley makes a loud whistle to attract Aziraphale's attention.

Serenade of Love

After a lot of harmonious song between a Nightingale couple, it's time for the mating ritual and one of them always has the task of building the love nest. In the case of our Nightingales, romantic gestures to develop the relationship always happen.

The construction of the love nest is done with great care and care.

This ritual takes place at night and consists of beautiful love melodies, like the music that plays at the ball. While one Nightingale makes a special vocalization for the occasion, the other feels attraction and moves a lot (dances) and vice versa. Aziraphale chose Crowley and Crowley chose Aziraphale. The two have always been each other's ideal match.

The ball dance is the ritual of these Nightingales.

Predators

Although Nightingales are discreet, their song always reveals where they live, which is dangerous, as it attracts predators who want to capture them.

When frightened, the Nightingale uses its song to communicate sensations and threats, warning other Nightingales of danger. Our two Nightingales are threatened. Nightingale Aziraphale needs to alert his companion of this ambush.

Nightingales are capable of emitting very complex melodies, so complex that they are still of interest to ornithologists in studies. The mixture of different songs caused communication between Nightingale Aziraphale and Nightingale Crowley to become disconnected. The warning song gives way to the melodious and sad song.

The Nightingale Aziraphale tried to warn of danger.

Nightingale Crowley also tried to warn of danger.

After singing intensely to Nightingale Aziraphale, Nightingale Crowley's voice becomes weak and the song that follows is filled with suffering. In his last hope, he gives one last trill. He tried to protect their territory, but was unsuccessful.

The Last Trill of the Nightingale Crowley.

In the end, without strength, Nightingale Aziraphale's voice tried one last song. He wished the fairest of all for Nightingale Crowley, but he didn't get it. Pain hit him in the chest, closing his throat.

In the series, the band of Nightingales was already in the process of migrating, moving forward in search of warmer areas. In the posters for the second season, you can see them leaving.

The Nightingale flock heads off to migrate. The Nightingale Aziraphale also goes to heaven, but a place that is not his home.

I'm aware of what Neil Gaiman mentioned about Rouxninol's singing on Tumblr, but I chose to ignore what he said. Seriously, that's clearly a bird's chirp. And thank you to the person who managed to hear a bird singing in the scene and informed the fandom of this information. Whatever it was, it was a bird call. Yes, I may be crazy for believing this, but I'm not the only one, other people also believe it's a bird's song.

The Nightingale, who had sung in the book and at the end of the first season, for me, who is writing this analogy, also reappears in the second season, even if in a more discreet way, with an almost imperceptible and low voice. What's really impressive is that we can hear him, when the camera focuses on Aziraphale's face, who is holding back crying with his mouth slightly open, trying to emit something, or was it the Nightingale Aziraphale who made this song?

The predator achieved its goal. He separated and silenced the birdsong.

Nightingale Aziraphale was captured and transported to heaven in a box. A sky without any freedom, a totally inhospitable place, outside of its natural habitat

Meanwhile, Nightingale Crowley, at the slightest sign of distress, quickly flew in search of shelter to protect himself from the pain.

One of the peculiarities of Nightingales is that they are loyal birds and do not adapt well when isolated from their companions.

They were the last nightingales to leave and unfortunately painfully separated, which makes part of this romantic story in Anguish. And this fits the meaning and symbolism of the Nightingale bird for writers.

In season 3:

“They’re not talking to each other.” = They are not singing.

Although they are separated, the singing is still present. A single song and many memories. “A Ninghtgale Sang in Berkeley Square” has a heart-like vibration within them. This music resonates in them, like a charged wave of energy that surrounds them and tunes them to each other, a vibration so powerful that it connects them to "us".

I am faithful to the theory that Aziraphale sent the song to Bentley for Crowley to listen to, as he also remembers and will never forget the memorable moments between them.

"A nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" is the song they can understand, the melody made sublime.

There is nothing that lasts forever, not even the pain of separation. The Nightingale bird's migration is temporary and on this journey they always return. The gang is always faithful to its place of origin.

In this way, in a flock, the nightingales Crowley and Aziraphale will meet and begin the freedom they so desire. The power of their song will be ineffable, allowing them together to destroy cages, traps and predators. Bringing harmony to their world.

In the end, Nightingale Crowley and Nightingale Aziraohale will flap their wings and fly together in synchronization, dancing in new airs, until they land on an apple tree branch, which is in a beautiful garden and there they will build a new nest. They will sing in a divine way, while exchanging vows of love, in a beautiful sunset.

Meanwhile, the Nightingale flock will be noisy for them on the South Downs.

I had a lot of fun writing this analogy and I hope you like it too. English is not my mother tongue, sorry for any spelling mistakes. Thank you if you made it this far. :)

[beardedmrbean]

Got a wild one here for ya Nunny.

Submitted anonymously.

Oh fun, we got rage against the white saviors hitting now then?

::::::Obligatory "white man's burden" reference here:::::: __________________

From coast to coast, wokeness is facing a rebellion.

Communities are fighting to reclaim their local heritage after a cancel-culture rampage in recent years eviscerated Native American images, nicknames and tributes at hundreds of schools nationwide. 

"We’re actually fighting an anti-American movement," Lisa Davis, a pro-Native American activist in Cedar City, Utah, told Fox News Digital. 

"The people trying to erase Native American culture are the same people trying to remove Thomas Jefferson and bashing American heritage." 

Davis and other Cedar City residents formed the grassroots organization VOICE (Voices of Iron County Education) after the school board voted to eliminate the high school’s traditional Redmen name and logo in 2019. 

"It was an honor to be called the Redmen," Julia Casuse, a "full-blooded Navajo" and graduate of Cedar City High School, told Fox News Digital. 

The silversmith said she tells visitors at the family’s shop, Navajo Crafting Co., "I’m a Redmen through and through."

The school's nickname is now the Reds.

Yet the irony of the new name is not lost on Cedar City residents. "We went from honoring centuries of American and Native American history to honoring communism," said Davis.

"The people trying to erase Native American culture are the same people trying to remove Thomas Jefferson and bashing American heritage." 

Eunice Davidson, a Dakota Sioux and president of the Native American Guardians Association (NAGA), told Fox News Digital, "It’s a terrible injustice to these communities," 

She and others claim the decisions to remove Native American images, nicknames and logos are made by local school boards, which are often under pressure from well-funded outside forces. 

"The decisions never have popular support," said Davidson, whose organization is based in North Dakota. 

"The taxpayer is being shunned and the school boards don’t care anymore. It’s Marxism and it’s taken over the school boards."

The grassroots group VOICE claims that 79% of local residents voted in support of the Redmen in a recent Change.org survey. 

Battles all across the country

Communities around the nation are waging similar battles. 

Activists in Killingly, Connecticut are fighting to reclaim the town's Redmen tradition after it was trampled by a statewide mandate to wipe out its own Native American legacy.

Cambridge, New York has taken its fight to save its beloved Indians tradition to the courts — after the Board of Regent announced its plan to trample Native American history across the Empire State. 

Local residents recently voted two new pro-Native American candidates onto its school board, including Iroquois Dillon Honyoust.  

"When you think about Native Americans, any icon that you see is about strength, honor, pride. Always a positive symbol to portray the strength of our heritage," Honyoust said in an interview with WAMC Northeast Public.  

The school board in Southern York County, Pennsylvania voted in January to allow Susquehannock High School to bring back its traditional Warriors name and logo. 

The decision came after five new school board members won elections in November by running on pro-Native American platforms. 

"This movement was about erasing Native American culture and I wasn’t about to stand for it," Jennifer Henkel, a mother of three children and one of the new school board members, told Fox News Digital previously.

The powerful group National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), based in Washington, D.C. has led the effort to erase Native American images in local communities around the nation. The organization is funded by benefactors such as George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, along with taxpayer dollars. 

Gonna clip it here, but it's wild (also not unexpected) to see things like this at the end of the piece

Students at Wellpinit (Washington) High School voted to keep the school's Redskins mascot in March 2023, rejecting calls to erase history and heritage by local Democrat leaders.  The student body is 87% Native American, according to the Department of Education.

So much of this stuff is the 'offended on your behalf' nonsense we've been seeing for decades.

Gotta wonder if this kind of thing continues to gain momentum if the "I" will get dropped from BIPOC.

The NCAI "has tracked the retirement of more than 200 unsanctioned Native ‘themed’ mascots since 2019, and has supported legislation banning the use of these mascots in multiple states," the group said in a statement last year to Fox News Digital. 

The group is also largely responsible for the effort to force the NFL's franchise in Washington, D.C., to drop its traditional Redskins name and the familiar Native American face that appeared on the team's helmets.

"Widely consumed images of Native American stereotypes in commercial and educational environments slander, defame and vilify Native peoples," the NCAI claimed in a 2013 report that tilted public opinion against the Redskins and other Native American images. 

The report, however, offered a dubious narrative. Among other omissions, the report's lengthy history of the Redskins failed to mention Blackfoot Chief John Two Guns White Calf — even though he served as the face of the franchise for 48 years. 

He was one of the most influential Native Americans of the 20th century. He fought for Native American causes and counted President Calvin Coolidge among his sphere of influence. 

His proud facade appeared on Redskins helmets from 1972 until he was canceled in 2020. The NCAI scrubbed his name from its history of the franchise.

Fox News Digital reached out to the NCAI for further comment. 

Communities across the nation, however, are fighting to preserve their Chief White Calf Redskins logo. 

Voters in Sandusky, Michigan recalled three school board members who voted to eliminate the Redskins. They've since elected three new school board members who ran on promises to reclaim the Redskins. 

Rick Spiegel, an activist in Sandusky who is leading the effort to reclaim the Redskins, said 2,100 registered voters in the town responded to a mail-in survey, with 90% supporting the traditional name. 

A survey at the high school revealed that 74% of students, and 53% of teachers, supported the Redskins.

Even so, the Sandusky High School teams are now known as the Wolves. 

"They're trying to erase or eradicate Native American history," said Spiegel. 

The Michigan communities of Camden, Pawpaw and Port Huron, he said, are fighting similar battles to preserve local traditions. 

The Red Mesa (Arizona) High School Redskins installed a new football field last year with a Redskins logo splashed across the 50-yard line. 

Students at Wellpinit (Washington) High School voted to keep the school's Redskins mascot in March 2023, rejecting calls to erase history and heritage by local Democrat leaders. 

The student body is 87% Native American, according to the Department of Education.

Kingston (Oklahoma) High School is also a majority Native American school that embraces the Redskins.

"The people that I’ve talked to — they have a sense of pride about our name, and about our mascot being the Redskins," Kingston athletic director Taylor Wiebener told KXII.com in 2020.

Students and residents of Donna, Texas, and McCloud, Oklahoma, have repeatedly voiced support for their Redskins identity, despite constant pressure, according to Native American activist Andre Billeaudeaux.

Casuse, the Navajo alumna of Cedar City High School in Utah, claims her allegiance to the Redmen began when she arrived at the school from a Navajo reservation in New Mexico in the 1960s.

She was feeling homesick while attending her first home football game.

"It gave me a sense of honor … It was a proud feeling for me, a sense of my heritage."

"All of a sudden I heard a very strong native beat. The school song," she said. "It stopped me in my tracks. It was wonderful hearing that sound and the beautiful Native music."

She suddenly felt at home, she said, adding that she served as a member of the pep club throughout high school. 

"It gave me a sense of honor. I was never embarrassed about it, never felt any tinge of prejudice. It was a proud feeling for me, a sense of my heritage."

[gattnk]

Arkan and Temptel embody everything a guardian should be.

Here they are, everyone's favorite teachers! Hands down the most iconic and beloved adults in both the comic and series, and with good reason: this pair is perfectly balanced in terms of design and personality, so I had to do them justice with my redesigns. I'm super proud of how they came out :D

My first step was comparing the comic designs to their show counterparts. The biggest difference for Arkan was his age: he was visibly older in the series, and I'd argue this decision was made so his character design would reflect his wisdom and authority better, and I'd focus on reflecting this notion. Meanwhile, Temptel saw little to no change, and I couldn't agree more with this decision made by the show staff: don't fix what ain't broke!

Teaching is all about theory and practice: knowing the rules and testing them out. I wanted Arkan to embody theory, and in turn Temptel would represent practice; it aligns with the role of angels and devils perfectly (who in turn represent "thinking slow" VS "thinking fast", respectively). As such, I decided Arkan would look more austere and grounded compared to Temptel's impeccably chaotic fashion.

Arkan's new outfit is based on pilot uniforms to evoke authority and discipline. The trench coat, foulard ascot and Oxford dress shoes override the military coding and turn it into classy and elegant. The reading glasses convey he's prepared to observe and learn. I wanted to convey experience, wisdom and authority without incurring on the old mentor trope. In character design, there's many ways of relying the same message!

"Spooky chic" came back with a vengeance! I love me some "spooky chic", which is definitely a staple of devil fashion at this point. I synthetized the shapes and details as much as I could for the sake of serialization: if this character had to be drawn over and over again in a comic or cartoon, a simpler but iconic design would make a big difference on the long run. I know I'd be grateful ;P

Arkan's color palette is a more desaturated version of Raf's, sans the red. I added warm brown tones and a bright orange (same color as Temptel's eyes!) to contrast all the blueish grey. I chose to make his cardigan a very muted color so it would complement the lighter tones much better.

Temptel's colors are a mix of her two palettes: her skin, hair and physical features take after the comic, while her wings, horns and dress are more purple like in the show. Her silver jewelery is a callback to Sulfus as well. Lastly, Temptel's makeup is the same blue as Arkan's eyes, with the saturation value cranked up to the max.

Random tidbits that went into the design process: despite being younger than his show version, I wanted to keep Arkan's hair color light to complement Temptel's more saturated colors. While I don't think he counts as accurate representation of real albinism/achromia, I definitely coded him that way. As for Temptel, I thought sneaking in a little treat for her was appropriate, since she's the type of teacher who mixes work with fun: it's also a nod to her sweet tooth in the comics.

I believe this will be my last redesign duo this year since I want to focus on commissions and the holidays, but I'll definitely continue working on the rest of the Golden School staff.

As always, here's my shameless self-promotion of my AF fic I'll Fly With You, aaand there we go! Wish me luck and let's see what the future brings :D

[futbol16]

MASTERLIST

WOSO

Alexia Putellas

La Reina’s Reina

Red Sweat

Like Ale

Stay Put     Humming Helps    Mi Corazón

La Reina’s Guardian

Back From Lyon

Those Three Letters    You Can

Soccer Moms

Irresistible Lips

I Can’t Reach!

I’m Okay Amor     Stay Down

Icepack

What Happened?

Where does it not hurt

Happy New Year

Not In Front Of Me!

I’m Proud Of You

Cálmate

I’m Not Shy    So Shy

Only One

Alexia Jr    Mi Hermana

Stop That

Me and the Devil

I Protect

Last Door

Lost Chance   Why Her?

It’s Silly   Tell Them Your Truth

Mapi León

(Stay Put    Humming Helps    Mi Corazón )

( What Happened? )

( Not In Front Of Me!)

Please

Cláudia Pina

Just tell her!

(Soccer Moms)

It’s Silly   Tell Them Your Truth

Irene Paredes

Mi Vida

 Fridolina Rolfö

She’s Not Done!

Princess Charming    Make The First Move

Lucy Bronze

( I Promised    My baby sister     Wildest Dreams   )

Lovebirds

Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic

You’ve Got It

Just an FYI

Bruna Vilamala

Did or Do?

Jana Fernández

We Don’t Need Music

Nuria Rabano

Only Five Hours

Aitana Bonmatí

A Damn Beast     My Tana

Keira Walsh

Protector

Geyse da Silva Ferreira

You and Her    Only You

Barcelona Femení

(Rio Manuela   Little Bird )    Where’s Rio?

As your Captain

Your Four Tigers     La Princesa

Looking For Comfort

We Go Get Her

Always

Hot Chocolate    Our sister  /   No Marshmallows

Bebita

Lost her?

Ona Batlle

Mark My Words

You Can Smile?

Closer

Leah Williamson

I Promised     My baby sister    Wildest Dreams

Euros Icons

The other Williamson

No Reason

Ella Toone

Like a Red Flag to a Bull

Alessia Russo

Isn’t Enough

ENGWNT/ England Lionesses

Rio Manuela    Little Bird

Don’t Listen To Them

Who’s Loss    All For You

 Jill Roord

Not today Roord

Laura Wienroither

And-

Sophia Smith

Favorite American

Giovana Queiroz

Make a Move

Misa Rodríguez

Why Her?

Steph Catley

I Miss You

[heartschoicegames]

New game! Vampire's Kiss, by Dash Casey

New game! "Vampire's Kiss" by Dash Casey is now available on Steam, iOS and Android. It's 33% off until Oct 26 Please reshare this with friends!

Unleash your lust and your thirst in a battle for the soul of London! Will passion lead you back to humanity, or will you embrace the night as a vampire?

Vampire’s Kiss is a 170,000-word interactive erotic vampire novel by Dash Casey. It’s entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fuelled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

In life, you were the guardian of a priceless artifact, the Cross of Aguirre. Now you have been murdered and made a vampire; the artifact has been stolen, and you are at the center of a web of bloody conspiracies. 

Navigate a perilous web of secrets as you discover the hidden world of London after dark, staging daring heists and bloody battles across the city’s iconic landscape. As a plot centuries in the making unfolds, choose sides in the battle for control of London’s vampires, and embrace the night that has been thrust upon you…or, chase rumors of a way to restore true life to the undead, and hold out hope that you might see the sun once more. 

Your heart no longer beats, but your passion still burns. Will you share a slow dance with Marky, the rogueish vampire with dozens of piercings and a poorly hidden heart of gold? Hold each other tenderly, or fall into bed and discover all of the tricks that Marky has learned in more than a century of unlife.

Will you stalk the night alongside Kurt, a stoic vampire hunter, all muscles and chiseled face, who holds the secrets to ancient lore? He's as dominant in the bedroom as he is on the battlefield: choose your own safeword and submit to his powerful strength; or explore his gentler side.

Does the lure of London's mortal aristocracy draw you towards Alex? This fabulously-dressed and surprisingly courageous socialite is thirsty to learn what sex with a vampire is like - bring all of your powers of telepathy and shapeshifting to heighten your pleasure.

Or will you be dominated by the vampire queen Saffron, with her glorious red hair and brilliantly devious schemes? She's ready for anything, from the kinkiest night of whips and fangs to the vulnerability of using no vampiric powers at all in bed.

• Play as male, female, or nonbinary; gay, straight, or bi; or asexual.

• Seduce a passionate socialite; the scheming vampire queen; a cheeky vampire rogue; or a stoic hunter.

• Opt in or out of scenes involving graphic violence and blood.

• Embrace your vampiric destiny, or dream of the sunrise in a quest to transform yourself back to humanity - and bring your lover along with you.

• Solve your own murder, and take vengeance on your killer.

• Delve into your vampiric powers: transform yourself into a vicious monster, cast shapeshifting illusions as a creature of shadow, or unlock the hypnotic mysteries of the mind.

• Keep your secrets and preserve the illusion that you have died, or shock the world by revealing the existence of vampires.

In this endless night, how will you quench your thirst?

[girlcrushart]

My last Maja Strojek poster used what I believe is her most iconic photo—in that tight red onsie-dress. However, there are plenty of other gorgeous photos of Maja, including this one. I mean, she's gorgeous, so that's the general starting point, but also, wow, this dress. She's very good at memorable dresses! The way the lace just envelops her body is so beautiful I just had to fully lean into the lace motif and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Like she's some kind of lace goddess being born out of a sea of lace. Today's girlcrushart guardian is Maja Strojek.

[camlannpod]

Hello! Sorry if it's been asked before, but how do you choose which legend/story to feature in the episode? Is it just something you really enjoy, it fits thematically or are there other reasons? Thank you!

Hello! It's definitely a mix of reasons - one part is certainly stories I enjoy, but they're also very much thematic!

Also this got so long, so I apologise. I hope you enjoy it!

For example, in episode 1, Twrch Trwyth and its story Culhwch ac Olwen is one of my favourite stories, but I also think of it as an iconic Welsh story and I wanted to situate Camlann within that tradition immediately. Plus Episode 1 is Dai's episode, and Dai is both very proud of his Welsh identity and very funny. Culhwch ac Olwen is maybe the oldest comedic Welsh story so it was a good fit.

With the Kelpie - there are a lot of different variations of kelpie / water-horse stories across the British Isles. Obviously the Kelpie itself is a Scottish story, that then travels to England. Welsh 'kelpies', the Ceffyl Dŵr, are universally benevolent. Part of the reason I used this story was that it was, to me, a really interesting 19th century English version of a Kelpie story (as recorded by Katharine M Briggs - a horse comes to a church at midday and says 'the hour has come but not the man'. Later a passing lord comes by at night and the priest tries to save him by keeping him away from the river and locking him in a room in the church. When they open the door just after midnight, they find the man has drowned on dry land.)

So partly I just wanted to use that because it's such a great rescension of the kelpie story. But it's also because Morgan, whose episode ep 2 is, is so tangled in conflicting traditions about Morgan Le Fay and her own understanding of both the character and her own identity. Morgan is Welsh, and a Ceffyl Dŵr wouldn't have hurt her, but she's terrified of the English corruptions of these stories, in many ways literally haunted by them. Was Morgan le Fay a victim or a villain? How do we interepret monstrous women in medieval stories? I wanted to play with that a bit.

The Lantern Man is another situation of a great story that really inspired me - an 1800s English midlands story I found in a book called The Lore of the Land. But also that's Perry's episode, and I needed to show you why Perry's paranoia is justified, and the flip side to Dai's urgent desire to find other people is Perry's terror of the monster lurking in shadows that they're trying to protect them from. Having someone knocking at your door - that idea of a human figure with a light - was perfect for that.

The dogs were a big one for thematic reasons. This is Gwen's episode, episode 4 - normally Shucky Dogs / Black Dogs / Grimms / Church Grimms / Black Shucks are benevolent and protective. They evolved as a story from an English practice of burying a dog in a graveyard first, as there was a superstition that the first person buried in a graveyard would be stuck in purgatory between earth and heaven. The idea was to bury a dog and let its ghost shepherd souls. This evolved into stories of huge ghostly dogs as protective, territorial spirits. However over time there's a little offshoot of that story - huge black hounds with hell-red eyes haunting stretches of road and abandoned buildings, the ghosts of murdered people whose killers were never found, seeking vengeance.

So on the one hand, from a literalist perspective, over thousands of years a lot of people get murdered, especially women and trans people, and I wanted to make a point in this drama inspired by medieval literature about violence against women and queer people. But I also liked the idea of the dogs being both - both restless spirits full of fury seeking vengeance and protective, territorial guardians who were wronged. That really resonated with me as a queer woman, and I really liked the idea of both Gwen and Morgan seeing a lot of themselves in these restless ghosts.

Then finally, most recently with Gwaine and the Green Knight. First, I wanted to blur the Green Man and the Green Knight because I think of the Green Man as one of England's most iconic folkloric creatures, and the closest we have to a clearly identifiable non-Christian folk deity, essentially. There are faces of the Green Man in York cathedral! From the 1200s! And the theme of the Green Man as the living embodiment of Spring - a giant who brings green mist to everything he touches - resonates for me with the Green Knights themes of renewal and change and life. Both are some of my favourite stories.

ALSO! This is a story about queerness. It's a story about finding ways for your queerness and culutral identity to co-exist. And it's about living in the shadow of history and tradition and everyone who's come before you and not feeling good enough. Gawain and the Green Knight is so much a story about courage, and integrity, and it was exactly the journey our Gwaine needed to go on. But with the monstrous twist that this is the end of the world, and our Gwaine shouldn't need to risk his life to prove he's a good man. That queer people shouldn't need to put ourselves in real social, political, even legal danger in order to love who we love and be who we are. That that's not a fair ask of anyone.

I hope you enjoyed these ramblings! I needed to walk a little around some spoilers but yeah!

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Rewrites the season 5 Finale

Now personally I really didn’t like the way this finale went. It did have some great ideas and concepts. But then the problems come in.

(As requested by the poll)

So the question is Where do I start?

I guess let’s start with Conformation.

____________________________________________

To be completely honest the plan that Gabriel and Tomoe came up with was smart. Making a magical illness that the alliance could help counter making tech addicts.

But I think what I would have made some tweaks.

1. The whole having Ladybug and chat noir supposedly kidnap Adrien and Kagami. It is unnecessary. Just have the rings Lock onto their fingers once a certain percentage of users hit and the simply have the rings transform them having them be locked on bots while the user is stuck in bliss of the peace. It’s a lot less convoluted and still accomplishes the goal without needing an additional few minutes to explain what’s happening. And then bam. Less opposition, and less need for explaination.

2. Felix gets involved. He decides that he can’t simply rely on Ladybug to confront his Uncle and kagami's mother. also these Alliance rings have gone too far. He breaks out Kagami and Adrien. Getting the rings off of them and getting them out before the alliance activates phase 2. This also helps Adrien get out of his slump. Because an argument would ensue and Felix let’s it slip that Marinette is going to confront his father. Which has Adrien decide he needs to go to. Even without Plagg. So they head to Paris.

Also the sentimonster he created was named Rescue, and it has a design similar to Feast (before akumatization), but instead of being Blue, he is green and the symbol on him is not the guardian symbol but the Japanese character for Freedom. Felix plans on Rescue being his last sentimonster and letting him live freely after.

(Also Felix’s and Kagami’s nightmares get revealed. Felix is seeing his father return and take his freedom. Kagami’s is being alone with no friends again)

3. Nathalie doesn’t just stop moving when telling Ladybug. She urges Ladybug to go and hurry. So Nathalie doesn’t just drop, not yet. Though she is on deaths door. (This is important for later.)

4. Alya and the resistance agree with Mylene and take the rings off before that little announcement, especially after Mylene points out how weird the rings are for being a perfect counter to the night torment. Thus saving everyone but Ivan who is too scared to take off the ring and it results in the similar scene.

5. Tomoe tries to warn that the kids escaped but Gabriel but is busy

With all these changes it still results in Bug Noire vs Monarch. But Adrien is outside and goes in

____________________________________________

Now for Recreation.

Monarch and bug noire start their fight and it gets intense like in canon.

Thanks to the security measures, Adrien can’t get in normally. So Argos suggests the window.

The iconic windows Monarch looks through, and he goes through it with them.

There Adrien sees all of the enslaved Kwami. He is horrified. And Felix seeing what his deal has brought is equally horrified. This means that Monarch was Gabriel.

And Adrien gets furious at Felix for knowing and making the deal. Which Felix ADMITS was wrong. Kagami keeps the peace.

Meanwhile, Tomoe reveals her back up plan. A Super miraculizer armor. Basically a Red version of it and puts it on, she is going to track down her daughter.

Cut to Lila still doing Lila things.

Kagami and Felix managed to shut down the miraculizer. So they all go inert. Meaning everyone is frozen. Except then Tomoe shows up. And her has a unique set up with her powers. Not linked to the other Miraculized. Argos and Rescue fight against Tomoe/ Kiseki Gozen.

And cut back to Gabriel fighting for his life, And everything is near checkmate.

Which causes Monarch to freeze, cause the hand has Adrien’s amok on it.

And there she detransforms just like in canon. Trying to talk him out of it.

Adrien rushes down to confront his father, and arrives just as Gabriel goes to use venom.

But Adrien calling out to him caused a stall, just enough for Marinette to avoid the attack but the movement caused her to drop the cat miraculous.

Adrien drops down and confronts his father. Then sees Marinette there and asks what she is doing down here?

But Gabriel smiles, his feint may have failed but now he has a back up.

“Adrien, I order you to get her miraculous.”

Adrien looks at his father angry but suddenly felt his body move on its own. What’s going on? Why is he not disobeying his father. He’s the bad guy!

Marinette pleads with Adrien, telling him not to.

Adrien picked up the ring.

“I… can’t stop myself… I’m sorry Marinette.”

He transforms revealing he’s chat noir. Ladybug was absolutely stunned

Shocking monarch too, but he laughs saying of course fate would have the ring under his nose the whole time.

Marinette transforms with tears in her eyes. Ladybug vs chat noir.

Argos and Rescue losing to the different powers of Tomoe, and is about to end Argos. But Rescue takes the hit and is killed in his place. Argos cries for Rescue, which Tomoe dismisses saying it was just a monster. Kagami snaps back and breaks all the kwamis out of their containers. They attack Tomoe and her powers gone. Tomoe orders Kagami to help her. To which Kagami tells her.

“You can’t control me anymore.”

Ladybug pleading with Chat noir/ Adrien to stop. Adrien saying he wanted to tell her he was chat noir but not like this.

Marinette telling him that she wanted to save him, that she wanted him to be free. That she loved him.

Adrien tears in his eyes activates cataclysm, but in some act of defiance hits himself with it. Causing him to scream and stun Gabriel.

Chat noir falls to the ground.

Gabriel screams asking why he did that.

“I’d rather die than hurt Marinette. I’ve done that more than enough times.”

Gabriel starts backing up. He got all his rings back and tried using them, but it’s no good. So he falls to his knees in defeat. It’s over he’s going to die. Nathalie is going to die, and his son will be alone.

Argos and Kagami drop down to see the aftermath. Marinette and Adrien are detransformed. Felix and Kagami are glad they are okay. The Kwami behind them.

Marinette and Adrien look at him. Wondering what to do.

(Now here I have 4 options)

1. Marinette uses new ladybug power because power of creation is limitless and cures Gabriel. Then Nathalie. Saving them both.

2. It’s too late for Gabriel and he turns to ash. But Marinette remembers Nathalie, and using the Rooster miraculous have create a power of healing which fixes Nathalie.

3. There is no powers that could fix it, so it ends with both Nathalie and Gabriel passing on.

4. Ladybug’s power can save Nathalie but Gabriel it’s too late because Ladybug awakens the power only when seeing Nathalie again.

For the sake of trying to keep things as consistent with the season 5 finale. I will say 2 or 4 happened

Nathalie gets cured, Adrien gets his amok rings. And Ladybug casts miraculous cure. Fixing all the damage done by the miraculized.

Cut to the time skip weeks later.

Tomoe was arrested for conspiring with Monarch. Gabriel Agreste was revealed to be monarch. The Graham de vanily family seized all the assets regarding Gabriel Brand.

The alliances were scrapped and recycled. Bustier is mayor.

Nathalie was healed and took over as Legal guardian interestingly for both Adrien AND Kagami. Turns out those contracts Tomoe and Gabriel had signed was that should anything happen to the other, the legal Guardian would fall between her or Gabriel. And Nathalie was named in that agreement as the 3rd party in the case of both being lost.

Marinette fixed up the miraculous and explained what happened to Suhan and Alya. Alas She, chat noir couldn’t find the butterfly for some reason.

Emilie was given a proper grave. The garden area was turned into a pool area. And things are in a way like they were from the aftermath.

(Also show some clips from the fights around the world and that can be the miraculous world cameos)

Argos earned his role as a hero. Amelie moved to Paris as she is in charge of rebranding Gabriel. Also we get to meet the Graham de vanily Family.

Adrien and Marinette get their cute fountain scene with twists. Adrien being afraid of ending up like his father, but Marinette telling him she will be with him always. Even if it’s just the two of them against the world.

Then they kiss (also their miraculous reacts so it has all the lovesquare flash. So Marichat kiss, Ladrien kiss, and Ladynoir kiss. Because All sides of the square resolve)

(I know I skipped the wish, and yes I know we miss Gimmi and the true forms of kwami. But tbh it’s not that important and could be shown later)

Lila also gets her miraculous and gets to be the villain of season 6.

[wanderingmausoleum]

My latest Shadow of the Erdtree theory:

Could Messmer the Impaler have been partially inspired by Cú Chulainn and his spear, the Gáe Bulg, from Irish mythology?

This will be a long post with a lot of heavy speculation so buckle up!

According to the Táin Bó Cúailnge via Wikipedia (which I apologize for using as a source; I don't know much about this topic and other results seemed untrustworthy or were behind paywalls), the spear Gáe Bulg was made from a sea monster's bone, and it "entered a man's body with a single wound, like a javelin, then opened into thirty barbs. Only by cutting away the flesh could it be taken from that man's body."

Which brings me to this iconic moment in the trailer:

Although the thing impaling this person doesn't look like Messmer's spear, it looks like it may have impaled them similarly to how the Gáe Bulg is described: spear-style, with extra barbs erupting out of it afterwards. I'm not sure how the living corpse in the trailer would have kept their head and body somewhat intact unless the barbs extended from the central spike after the impaling happened. Although it doesn't look like this was done with Messmer's spear, this gruesome injury's similarity to what the Gáe Bulg was said to do makes me think it's worth mentioning.

In some versions of the legend, the Gáe Bulg had seven heads with seven barbs each. Thus it may be worth noting that Messmer's spear has 6-7 metal barbs (depending on the angle and whether you count the spear point as one) formed by its fire design:

And, right after the trailer's scene of the impaled corpse, Messmer is shown to have an attack where he stabs the floor with his spear and a bunch of identical spears erupt from the ground around it, which is another slight similarity to the Gáe Bulg's multiplicity.

Now onto the even more speculative part of this theory...

Messmer and Shadows

We know Empyreans in Elden Ring are given guard dog-like Shadows to be their guardians: Ranni has Blaidd, and Marika has Maliketh. However, Malenia and Miquella are both Empyreans, and we are given no information about their Shadow(s), a significant absence in the lore and a topic which has been given much discussion in Elden Ring spaces I've participated in.

There has also been extensive theorizing about Messmer's place in the lore, with his red hair and M initial leading many to believe he may be another of Marika and Radagon's children, alongside Malenia and Miquella.

While learning about the Gáe Bulg spear, I learned its owner, the mythical warrior hero Cú Chulainn, "gained his better-known name as a child, after killing Culann's fierce guard dog in self defence and offering to take its place until a replacement could be reared," after which he obtained his well-known spear (Wikipedia).

With this and my prior speculation about Messmer's spear and lineage in mind, this makes me wonder: did Messmer kill Malenia and Miquella's Shadow(s), and possibly become their replacement himself (whether he later defected from that position or not)?

It may be notable to mention again here that the DLC's title is "Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree" and Messmer features prominently on its cover. Considering Shadow characters are an important part of Elden Ring's lore, with Blaidd being crucial to the game's most popular ending and Maliketh being necessary to defeat to complete the game, I wouldn't put it past the Elden Ring team to give the word a double meaning here: shadows meaning literal darkness as shown in the trailer, and Shadow meaning an Empyrean's guardian.

On the other hand, of course, Messmer with all his various heretical symbolism (fire, snakes, etc.) seems to exist in opposition to the Erdtree, so if the DLC title is referring to him, him being called the Shadow of the Erdtree doesn't make much sense lore-wise.

In conclusion:

There are no conclusions yet, really! Everything I'm theorizing here is based on a lot of speculation and vague connections. There are contradictions in the Gáe Bulg's lore itself, too (such as how it "had to be made ready for use on a stream and cast from the fork of the toes" [Wikipedia], something Messmer is definitely not doing in the trailer—although, since Fromsoft decided to give so many of their character models toe articulation and Messmer's toes are out, this could be a very funny way to make use of that). On the other hand, since Fromsoft very rarely takes inspiration 1:1 from existing mythology, I still think it's possible Messmer was influenced by it even if it doesn't fit his known lore with 100% accuracy.

I welcome thoughts/theories expanding on or contradicting this, especially from anyone who knows more about Irish mythology than me! I do not know too much about Cú Chulainn's story or this mythos in general, so I'm sure there's a lot of notable information I missed.

[figgybeans]

FHJY trailer frame-by-frame

because i love these freaks. ok lets get into it (this is gonna be long)

love the dome this season !! the backgrounds are beautiful. the steps up in production across FH is amazing

ADAINE !! JAWBONE !! BOGGY !! i think her splash art is my have from the six. i have no clue what ESF stands for so anyone lmk

her mini is also i think my favorite, the pins on her leather jacket really sell it. minus points for boggy's HUMAN ARMS though, theres a clearer shot later on

fabian time ! love the blanket. bill seacaster art as well ! god hes terrifying. the doodles on the owlbear stickers are cute too

apples bee ! plus some art of cassandra. kristen is in her strong arc, which the world is all the better for. i think its also important to remember that from the start of the series kristen has always had a higher strength score than fabian (ignoring her 4 dex)

ignore the phantom riz mini, the trailer hardly stayed on his intro art for long. which is a shame cause LOOK AT IT !! the kalina picture, fuckin baron, the corn cuties, so much night yorb, bizz in the corner, captain whitclaw, coach daybreak - the man riz shot through the head in cold blood, the bardy boys !! its perfect.

fig !! sad theres no ayda art in here but theres gotta be in the series. "-and a wizards paramore, YES its part of my identity, thank you" iconic. glad her mini has a custom bass. also gilear <3<3

gorgug my boy. with his giant fuckoff axe. so happy his mini is including his artificer level, PLUS that probably means he takes another level in it, and unlocks infusions >:)

this two headed dragon guy. red dragon can always mean some Kalvaxis callback, but we never know. i DO know that there's a statblock for two headed dragons in Monster Manual Expanded III, so maybe brennan uses that ? or just gives a regular dragon two breath weapons. we will see

this was one of the clearest frames i could get for this art, but what we can see is still cool. love kristen in her kill bill jumpsuit. as an aside im still a riz-has-a-tail believer

now THIS is a battlemap. im like 99% sure that that's the Thistlespring Tree in the background, and the Sig Figs are having some kind of concert here. HOWEVER, if we zoom in, it doesn't look like any of their minis are on the stage. intrigue.

the internet mall ! or something. i have no idea who the minis could be, BUT the IDK-wearing purple one in the middle could be some Guardian of Faith representing cassandra. also adaine and boggy have matching berets in the wide shot

this set i think is a gladiatorial arena of some kind? because we see a bunch of monstrosities and aberrations with this in the background later. also the big gates and monster-keeping pens are a clue.

BOGGY ARMS. BOGGY ARMS. adaine is covered in blood. but fig looks to have some kind of ghost opossum familiar. BUT, my friend pointed out that it could be edgar, zayn's ghost rat ! so maybe we have him return for an episode. this house looks spooky enough. maybe mordred manor gets infested by demons or something

otyugh spotted !! my favorite monster of all time

this roper-looking thing. it overlays when brennan says "an eldritch beast that threatens all of the denizens of this world," so im really thinking there's gonna be an overarching Aberration theme in these combats

also this guy. i have no clue what he is honestly. the rectangle in the background could maybe be a mirror or painting, so this might take place in the mordred manor-looking set from before

purple worm, in the gladiator arena !

some sort of ghost ship? doubtful that its bill seacaster's ship again, and the mist could mean the ethereal plane

the bad kids !! just noticing that fabian's eye patch is either missing or on the wrong side

im pretty sure this is an umber hulk, also in the gladiator set

skateboard fig mini. also, this could be the hang van (?) but it also could be too long and be some kind of ghost limo. idk

graveyard ! maybe they team up with zayn here

a blue dragon, which makes me think the red dragon from earlier isnt kalvaxis related and is just a dragon

more POV arrow shots, but this one's going into a fucking hydra. which looks like it grows three heads instead of two ? if that's what the attachment on the right side means.

this could be the red wastes ? back on the kalvaxis theory.

a wider shot of the internet mall. note the "YARRRRbucks" behind lou

THE RETURN OF THE CRAB KING !!

aaaand the final art frame !! fig finally gets her license (or not)

all in all 10/10 frothing at the mouth till jan 10

[thelunarfairy]

Hey! I just saw on tiktok that a lot of people are dissatisfied with JSHK's current arc, which for me is a surprise since around here people seem to be really enjoying this arc, myself included.

This arc rekindled my passion for the manga and it is so interesting. In addition to showing a little about the twins' past, it revealed that Hanako doesn't remember what happened before, had practically all the most relevant characters appearing, had many cute and happy moments, revealed Natsuhiko's secret, showed No.1's border, revelations about Tsukasa, Hananene moments, Tsukasa's iconic chapter with Baby Nene, the function of the clock keepers, the trial that was hilarious to read, confirmation that Tsukasa (and Yashiro) really travel through the flux of time, we're close to discovering No.1's yorishiro and the twins getting a little closer. This arc is one of my favorites, maybe because it shows Tsukasa a lot- but it's also good to see so many characters interacting. I also saw people saying that the story is lazy, but I don't think so! I'm not an expert on this but in my opinion it is of the same quality as the previous arcs. I also saw people commenting that Aidairo need a rest, and I don't disagree with that part, but that's up to them to decide I think-

It seems like people didn't like that there was a lot of information in the chapters, but honestly, we're getting some answers (a lot of questions too-) but at least it's something

What's your opinion on the recent arc? Because for me this arc is becoming iconic

What I noticed is that the problem is in the way the narrative is going, you know?

When we tell a story we have the plot, which is the main idea, the story itself, and the narrative, which is how the story is told.

For example, JSHK's narrative is slower, it is detailed and important events take more time to be told, but this doesn't always happen.

If you compare the narrative of Yako's arc and number six, you will notice that Yako's arc was very fast, while number six dragged on for many chapters, that is, from the chapter in which Aoi is taken by number six until after the story of the red house, yes, it is still in the arc of number six, which only ends when Sumire is destroyed.

Did you see the difference? That's the narrative. The story may or may not have cuts or inclusions, it will depend on how it will be told.

It turns out that the arc of number one has a lot of important things happening, as you mentioned, but the narrative is very fast. Many things that usually don't happen are happening to make the narrative move quickly.

I mean, when would Teru from the other chapters just let Hanako escape? Or, why didn't Akane give Teru an alibi if he was with him the whole time? Why was Tsukasa suddenly so vulnerable?

You understand?

The narrative is fast, and if it's fast it cuts things, it cuts parts of the characters' basic behavior, the famous script conveniences. This arc should be developed much more in a slower narrative because there are so many important points in the story.

That trial? it was extremely fast, it was a relaxed chapter for an extremely urgent situation. I mean, several students being attacked by supernaturals, school time stopped, the story had a serious tone, so we have that whole scene of Tsukasa facing Mirai, becoming fragile and being captured, we imagine that the guardians of the clock are ruthless. Even Teru was caught.

But when the trial begins, it's simply a set of jokes, it doesn't have the seriousness it should have as the situation called for. That's why people are dissatisfied, because development is lacking.

Did you stop to think that all the people and supernaturals in the school are conscious while time is stopped and those responsible who can solve this are simply saying that Hanako is to blame because he said he wanted to do perverted things?????

Aida is working on JSHK and the spinoff ASHK, so this could be putting a strain on her, BUT, Iro is the one writing, so she's the one developing the story. We also have to remember that sometimes the company asks authors to do this so they can have time to create extra content.

So in short, the arc of number one is going very quickly, it has to go slower to explain these new events, to respect the usual characteristics of the characters and also to give the due seriousness at the right moments.

All the themes that are being covered in the number one arc, baby Nene, Tsukasa's past, Natsuhiko's blood, etc., are important, but they are not being told with the attention and time that they should be.

Did you understand?

I'm loving this arc, it's one that talks the most about the most important themes in the story, but it's going very fast.

[joepringle]

Superman's been juicing

In the bustling city of Metropolis, where towering skyscrapers touched the heavens, a hero named Superman soared through the skies. Known for his incredible strength, unwavering morality, and iconic blue and red costume, Superman protected the innocent with unparalleled dedication.

One day, as the sun bathed Metropolis in its golden rays, Superman felt an unusual surge of energy coursing through his veins. At first, he dismissed it as the sun's empowering rays, the source of his superhuman abilities. However, as the days passed, the sensation intensified, and Superman began noticing changes in his physique.

His muscles, already impressive, seemed to swell with newfound power. Superman's strength grew exponentially, and every heroic feat became more effortless. The citizens of Metropolis cheered as their champion became an even mightier guardian.

Curiosity gnawed at Superman's thoughts. He sought the counsel of his trusted friend, the brilliant scientist Lex Luthor. Together, they delved into the mystery of Superman's escalating strength. Lex, initially skeptical, couldn't deny the unprecedented changes occurring in the Man of Steel.

As the two delved deeper into their investigation, they uncovered ancient Kryptonian texts that spoke of a celestial alignment occurring once in a millennium. This alignment had the potential to amplify Kryptonian abilities to unimaginable levels. Superman realized that the cosmic event was affecting him, turning him into an even more formidable force for justice.

With his newfound strength, Superman faced challenges that pushed the limits of his abilities. He thwarted powerful villains with ease and rescued people from disasters in record time. The citizens of Metropolis marveled at their hero's transformation, grateful for the extra layer of protection.

However, Superman soon faced a moral dilemma. The immense power he possessed could easily be misused, and the responsibility weighed heavily on his shoulders. He withdrew from the public eye to reflect on the essence of heroism and the true purpose of his powers.

In seclusion, Superman meditated and sought guidance from his Kryptonian heritage. He realized that true strength lay not just in physical might but in the compassionate and selfless use of power. With this revelation, Superman emerged from his period of introspection with a renewed sense of purpose.

He continued to protect Metropolis with his enhanced abilities, but now, he focused not only on defeating villains but also on inspiring others to be their best selves. The citizens of Metropolis looked up to their hero not just for his strength but for the noble spirit that guided him.

And so, as the cosmic alignment faded, leaving Superman's physical form back to its original state, the people of Metropolis understood that true heroism transcended even the mightiest of muscles. Superman's journey had not just been a physical transformation; it was a reminder that real strength came from within.