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birindale · 5 months

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This time: Catra goes fishing, She-Ra has most of Aquaman's powers, and the scripts get even more unbearable to type. We all learn a lesson about capitalism, but perhaps not the one intended.

Transcript/Image ID below the cut

[Image Description: 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “A Fishy Business”.

Cover: Mermista (in her mermaid form) and Starburst She-Ra swim around underwater, smiling at a school of seven bright yellow fish. The Princess of Power logo is up top as always, and at the bottom of the page in blue, outlined in a desaturated red, is the issue title, "A Fishy Business". Below that, the copyright info reads, "Illustrations: (copyright symbol) Mattel, Inc. 1986. Hawthorne, CA 90250 U.S.A. PRINTED IN TAIWAN. All Rights Reserved. (registered trademark symbol) and TM designate U.S. trademarks of Mattel, Inc."

Page 1: A desaturated pink caption box reads, "In the forest near a stream that began at Crystal Falls, Catra was busy making mischief. She stood back to admire her handiwork, a big waterwheel over the stream. Along the wheel were small fishnets, and on the bank was a giant goldfish bowl filled with water." We do in fact see Catra standing before a giant wheel, though it can't really be described as a waterwheel because there's no way for the water to turn it; its only adornments are the 'nets', which look more like baskets but you saw the caption! Who am I to disagree? A slanted, equal-angle channel runs from the wheel closer to the bank, a sort of reverse salmon cannon into the fish bowl. Catra isn't wearing her mask, her clawed gloves are only silver bracers here, and her outfit still strays closer to red than pink. She has a crosscut or rip-cut saw in her right hand (can't say for certain without a closer look at the teeth), and a claw (heh heh) hammer in her left. Her gloves are only silver bracers here, so she doesn't have any claws, and her outfit is straying closer to red than pink.

A yellow caption box at the foot of the page reads, "PRODUCED EXCLUSIVELY FOR MATTEL BY: PENCILIER—JIM MITCHELL. INKER—TODD KUROSAWA. COLORIST—CHARLES SIMPSON. EDITOR—LEE NORDLING."

"'There. As long as I don't get wet, this water-stuff is a snap to handle," says Catra, with an evil little grin.

End Page 1.

Page 2: ""Now to see if it works." She said. Catra pulled a lever that released the wheel, and the wheel turned in the water. As the wheel went around, the fishnets bought up fish from the stream. The fish were then dumped into a trough that emptied into the goldfish bowl." [sic] on that whole paragraph. It's like they took a concept script for a picture book and just turned it into a comic with absolutely zero editing or forethought.

Speaking of no forethought, Catra sure has made this contraption within sight of the Crystal Falls, notorious hangout of Mermista and Friends. She's gripping a lever with both hands (now gloved) and looking back over her shoulder instead of facing the wheel directly. Skip Simpson, bless his heart, seems to have colored her skirt black on autopilot despite Todd Kurosawa's careful delineation. In his defense, Skip was colorist for the whole first wave as well, so he's still getting used to Scratchin' Sound Catra's adjusted color palette. Four concerned-looking fish are scooped up and deposited in the goldfish bowl.

Catra seemingly lies down in the sand to prop her chin dramatically on one hand and smirk at the captive fish. ""You don't know it yet, Fish-face, but you and I are going into business together."" Seriously though, who put all of these quotation marks in the dialogue bubbles? Why didn't Lee Nordling stop them? What kind of editor are you, Lee? Whatever. Three of the fish gape at Catra in shock.

""I can see it now. I'll open the first marine world in Etheria," says Catra. This seems to be an attempt at genericizing Marine World (now called Six Flags Discovery Kingdom), which at the time of publication (1986) had just moved to Vallejo, California and was moderately big news, featuring such wild headlines 'professional basketball player called in to pull bolt out of dolphin throat', 'tiger bites the shit out of football player at pep rally' before Vallejo moved them over from Redwood City. The year after the move they dropped an orca on William Statner (who was, tragically, completely fine). Basically, I think Catra is envisioning an animal theme park with a heavy aquatic slant, rather than a flooded planet situation. But it's the kind of theme park which puts chimps on motorcycles and an elephant on water skis. So look out.

End Page 2.

Page 3: A pink caption box reads, "Catra saw herself as master of the show. The fish would do wonderful stunts! Catra herself would be the star. And how the crowd would cheer! Handsome men—maybe even Bow—would be madly in love with her." Oh so I didn't need to explain Marine World. Okay. Well I'm leaving that in anyway. This one's for you, Norcal.

Catra imagines herself in a series of fanciful situations, whipping the fish into a cheerleader-style pyramid (her gloves are bracers again, but the rest of her costume is Scratchin' Sound Catra-accurate, including ripped silver tights and a silver skirt); staring dreamily at Bow, who's offering her a bottle of milk; and waterskiing behind four moderately sized fish, which feels optimistic even for this fantasy.

""So do some aerobics while I sew up your little swimsuits," says Catra, actually looking pretty reasonable despite the fish's shock. Can a fish do aerobics? I guess it doesn't specify that you get your oxygen through air instead of water, but I feel like it's implied.

End Page 3.

Page 4: A pale pink caption box reads, "A few days later, Peekablue was riding in the Sea Harp near the beautiful Crystal Falls while Mermista swam alongside. Adora and Spirit stood on the shore. "Peekablue! Mermista!" Adora called. "Let's pick some berries for lunch." But just then a young seal swam up to Mermista with a message.

We see the Crystal Falls in the background, and Mermista with her seal friend in the foreground, but the midground is the Sea Harp sitting on dry land next to Adora and Spirit. Is it not a boat…?

""Oh no! He says his friends, the sunfish and the tuna twins, are missing. And no one has seen the bluegills since yesterday,"" says Mermista, translating for a distressed seal with emanata that seem to indicate seal-speech.

""Hmmmm, this could be trouble. I'll go look for help!" says Adora.

End Page 4.

Page 5: A pink caption box reads, "Hidden in a spot behind some trees, Adora raised high the Sword of Protection and said "For the honor of Grayskull, I am She-Ra!" And in a magical flash, she became the Princess of Power. Then, she changed Spirit into Swift Wind." Because god forbid we draw an action pose, I guess.

Starburst She-Ra raises both arms to show off her cape, and Crystal Swift Wind raises both wings. They're so sparkly that light refracts all around them, twinkling and vibrant.

End Page 5.

Page 6: A pink caption box reads, "Peekablue and Mermista were glad She-Ra had come to help. She-Ra suggested they split up. Peekablue said, "I don't want to get my lovely feathers wet, so I'll follow the stream leading into the forest. With my many eyes I'll be able to see any fish who went that way. Then I'll meet you later."" She-Ra stands beside Peekablue in front of the Crystal Falls, and Mermista watches them from the water.

A pink caption box reads, "Then She-Ra and Mermista dove into the Crystal Falls pool."

She-Ra dives, Mermista just looks like she's floating downwards. It must be hard to slow down enough for a human (super-powered or not) to keep up.

End Page 6.

Page 7: A pink caption box reads, "Deep in the blue-green world, the two friends passed great sweeping fronds of sea moss, sparkling stones, many-colored shells, and the broken columns of old ruins. But, oddly enough, no fish. And no one seemed to know where they were!" She-Ra and Mermista swim past a coral reef, some decaying, vaguely Grecian ruins in the background. There's not a fish in sight.

""Have you seen our friends, the fish?"" She-Ra asks an octopus, who shrugs and says, ""Nope."" Apparently She-Ra can breathe underwater in this one.

""Fish should stay in one place, like I do," says a bivalve, "Then they wouldn't get lost!""

End Page 7.

Page 8: ""Then I hope Peekablue has already found them,"" says She-Ra, looking concerned.

A pink caption box reads, "But Peekablue found something else. As she followed the stream through the woods, her eyes searched the water. "I can see all the way to the bottom!" She exclaimed. But then her special eyes noticed something further upstream." Oh shit. Her brand.

Peekablue is shown wandering alongside the stream, Catra's contraption bleary in the distance.

End Page 8.

Page 9: ""Why, it's a wheel! I wonder what…?"" says a pink caption box, which was probably supposed to be a thought bubble.

Another pink caption box reads, "Suddenly Catra rushed out of the forest. "What do you want, Feather-head?" "Catra! What are you doing here?" Peekablue asked. "I was taking a catnap. Now go away!" "Hummph!" Peekablue said as she walked away. But she thought, "I'm going to tell She-Ra about this.""

I really think they're doing this dialogue-within-captions schtick to torture me, specifically.

Peekablue is shown looking startled, the Crystal Falls once more in the background, as Catra leaps out of the bushes in front of her.

End Page 9.

Page 10: A pink caption box reads, "A little later the three friends met at Crystal Falls. Peekablue told what she had seen. She-Ra said, "I suspect Catra knows where the fish are. Let's find out." "Wait," Mermista said. "I want to go along." She dove, then flipped out of the water, her silvery tail dancing on its surface for a moment." We see Mermista, surrounded by a few perfect tendrils of water, suspended above the surface as Peekablue and She-Ra watch.

A pink caption box reads, "Then with a spin she landed delicately on the shore on two legs!" and we see a four-stage, Animorphs-style transition between her two forms.

""There. I'm ready!"" says Mermista, to a smiling She-Ra. Her hair is a little more purple than usual, but it plays off the yellow in the background well.

End Page 10.

Page 11: A pink caption box reads, "The friends soon found Catra's waterwheel and watched as more fish were caught in the nets. She-Ra said, "I thought so!" On the ground nearby were blueprints for Catra's plans, and She-Ra looked them over. "An amusement park! Leave it to Catra!" She-Ra stopped the wheel, but Catra, who heard their voices, came running. "

She-Ra stares at the plans in apparent wonder as Peekablue and Mermista look over her shoulder. Fifteen of the yellow fish are trapped in the fishbowl. Mermista's pants are orange. Peekablue is smiling for some reason.

""Just what do you think you're doing here?"" asks Catra, who looks mildly affronted with her hands on her hips and a single eyebrow raised. She's missing her gloves again.

End Page 11.

Page 12: ""Saving my fish friends from your clutches!"" says Mermista, with no expression whatsoever. Her necklace, which is a shell on the toy and a simple pendant in the Filmation show, is a tiny yellow fish. Presumably it spits water the same way.

""They're mine now, Miss Scaley-tail! Now go away before I…"" says Catra, with a mild frown.

A pink caption box reads, "But Catra had no chance to finish her threat because Mermista quickly drenched Catra with her water spray. "Yeee-ow!" Catra screeched, as she jumped back. "I think you're the one who should leave, Catra," said She-Ra "while we try to undo your mischief.""

Catra is soaking wet now. Would have been nice to show that action, instead of just telling us about it! Would have been a nice break from shot-reverse-shot close-ups! She-Ra, Mermista, and Peekablue all smile at her. Her gloves are still missing.

End Page 12.

Page 13: A pink caption box reads, "As Catra ran off, She-Ra lifted the giant fishbowl overhead and dumped it into the stream. "I think it's time you fellas went back home to Crystal Falls," she said. And the fish were very happy to do so." The illustration shows She-Ra doing that. You know, redundantly.

""I don't think we should leave this here either, She-Ra. Catra may use it again," says Peekablue, pointing at the wheel contraption.

""You're right, Peekablue. And I think I have a good idea," says She-Ra.

End Page 13.

Page 14: A pink caption box reads, "Later, under the water at Crystal Falls, She-Ra and Mermista turned Catra's wheel into a ferris wheel. The nets were replaced by little seats. Their friends rode happily 'round and 'round! Mermista said, "I wish Catra could see her waterwheel now!"" The fish have set up a tiny admissions booth and everything. Various sea creatures gambol about.

In an oranger-than-usual 'moral' font color, She-Ra says, ""Yes, and I wish Catra would learn that it's not right to use others to get ahead."" Girl, what? You mean the fish? You guys just assaulted her, stole her waterwheel, and undid days of work because she didn't immediately agree to your demands. Now is the time for a moral about how removing species can negatively impact a biome, or against cruelty to animals (not that 1986 was necessarily ready for that). Is this a good time to mention Mattel owned The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for a couple years?

""Now—how about a ride?"" She-Ra suggests to Mermista, beckoning her on. They won't even fit in the tiny little seats. Stop benefiting from using others, She-Ra. It's immoral.

End Page 14.

End ID.]

#minicomics #motu #a fishy business #she-ra #mermista #catra #peekablue #adora #spirit #the sea harp

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disruptivevoib · 2 months

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mx voib how on earth do you go about designing your hmsw variants, i'm so jealous

Oh I feel fancy now!

Anyhow, I don't have any distinct go-to process but generally having a good idea for the au or the concept I want to design them based on and stemming from there.

Many of my more baseline Aus are close to my canonical designs. With the re-designs of Eleutheromania having a half/half Heart to match the Mind design and make him more distinct.

Then there are the more abstract things like the "Death Thirds" Which is an au I've not really spoken on, and I don't recall if I've posted them here. Though I know I have on Twitter. (I recall CJ liking the Soul design)

Those are meant to be more ethereal, uncanny and inhuman designs. They are VERY self indulgent and more an experiment than anything. Though I knew I wanted to use the Mind design off the album cover for CCCC as baseline inspo for Mind. Soul happened kind of accidentally tbh. I was doodling and he came about.

Theres a set I'm drawing right now which have been far more in-depth. But thats because they stem from an existing media. But that's all I'll say on that one!

As for the smaller guys... I wanted to draw an HMS which was closer to 'canon' in some ways or just different from my typical used for the Song Pieces! They actually well exemplify some thematics in terms of square mind, circle heart, triangle (with rounded edges) soul. Which is a motif I've had since even my VERRRRY very very first concept ideas for my HMS designs!! Shape language is very important to me, and its something I highly suggest learning about or messing with.

I also like to take their canonical clothing; Mind's leather jacket or black vest, Heart's hoodie, Soul's jacket and apply or manipulate it to fit a design. The stripes in my Soul jacket I believe aren't how the real jacket CJ owns is but more so ripped from Kai @/calamarispiderart ?

But yeah! Overall. Themes, motifs, things like that are key in my designs.

Pluto is also a good show of that. I wanted to make sure he looked as faded and washed out as he felt. So his hair is white and his colors, even his Heart and Mind's colors are desaturated and a little off. Lacuna Mind leans into navy and teal while Lacuna Heart is nearly pink!

The Swap designs are also a good example. Viscera is a Whole with nothing in him, and while now I see Soul as more exemplifying that- Whole needs to exist in this au more physically. So— Viscera takes that place. He's a husk and a shell. The half mask with an empty void on the otherside showcases just as much. And for as uncanny and blank as he seems, he is soft. His face is always very soft and maybe a little bit sad. Ennui, Swap!Mind maintains the half/half motif of my Mind designs if only to keep him recognizable. But, his source is a jagged and sharp edged heart and the strings run in a simplistic but sharp form of a heartbeat. Electricity forced to be another way. His features are also softer still from the typical Mind design! Even in what he wears! Judge I have fewer notes on other than his blindfold is not present and in its place is his brain source, obscuring both his eyes if he technically has them at all. Astray, Soul, is faceless. For what is Soul supposed to even be without the mask? Especially when he doesn't know much of anything at all.

Sooo yeah! Just. A big ramble that boils down to the answer of... I try most often to make sure the designs convey the personality or story of the character in some way. Themes and motifs or ideas from or for the au also play that same part.

Course I cannot tell you why the au where they are in eternal snow, Mind has white hair. That is far more a "felt like it" moment than anything else.

Sorry if this is too broad or non specific. I can probably go more into depth on particular designs but yeah! And sometimes a design is one and done. Other times they need many thumbnails or concepts to cycle through. My own designs for the canon HMS have changed a lot in little ways since I began drawing em!

#voidthoughts #hope that helps.#I'd get images and write or draw on them but my tablet did die yesterday so im in the awkward stage of #can i fix it or do i have to buy a new one #asks #thank u tho anon!!#i love character design very very much i could talk about it forever.

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neapoliting · 1 year

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little late today, but that's FOUR le-june-aires......ya boy jo mama, the most ultra boy

this is one i've reworked a bunch of times actually, and i like where he ended up for now...there is a lot to work with for mr nah but also a lot about his usual design that is sort of generic

my first mission was to make him look like an alien, so i gave him spikes and some green scaly skin. one thing i've tried to avoid is ONLY making these characters Alien by crayon-boxing their skin, so for some of them i've given them a human-ish tone but with non-human features, like here. tbh i'm not TOTALLY sold on it, but i think it works alright

putting a little more personality into jo's design is a lot of fun - i LOVE jo's power gimmick, and giving him those wonky haphazard spike does two things: make him look ready to tussle and rumble, and make him look a little off-kilter and unbalanced. the hope is that this communicates his very Roll With The Punches shtick

i had to make him beefy. i liked super beefy jo from retroboot. i also like long hair for jo, and i put it in that floofy ponytail to use some more triangles and squares basically...

as for colors, the green and red is kind of necessary to be recognizable as ultra boy, but i desaturated and darkened the red more than usual. i wanted to keep those obnoxious green pants, and i think that dimming the shirt a bit helps it look a little more cohesive. i also am a fan of staying away from generic spandex when possible, so i gave him that ripped shirt.......over his spandex............to make him look cool

#losh #dc #legion of super heroes #ultra boy #wow i had a lot more to say about this one than i thought i would

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cjmoved · 3 years

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happy pride month , besties 🍓 i hope what i did with these is obvious enough ! to everyone who tagged me ( all will be listed below ) i just want to say that i’m really honored to be mutuals with such talented amazing people such as yourselves ! you make me want to Stay on tumblr dot com fr fr

♡ DOYEON ♡ ELLY ♡ DAYOUNG ♡ NANCY ♡ JIU ♡ SUA ♡ GOEUN ♡

i was tagged by all these besties ; @inhypen bf @chawoongs @soofairys @ateezgf princess @ryudaeng @younqjo & @baekseung aaand i’m tagging @haerimida @syeontual @isachaes @wonyoung and @bravegirlss

ramble under the cut !

i did a challenge a bit similar to this on my old blog ( rip handongie ) but planning this was definitely much more fun ! i don’t keep psds , each of my colorings is specific to whatever i’m giffing that’s why this gig took so long tbh . the details are petty much the same thing i always say ! i lean towards warmer colors , i will desaturate blues and magentas ( sometimes outright suppress them ) wherever i can . i still hardly ever sharpen my gifs beyond what vs gives me ( usually i find that my settings make them sharp enough ) and i’m really obsessed with making Everything look pastel and pink . lately i’ve been experimenting with coloring a lot more , though . i kinda finally feel like i like what i make , which is a big big step forward in how i’ve been improving with this ! sometimes my sets will look bolder and brighter instead of that cj signature pastel look i’ve grown used to working with . if there’s any conclusion here is that my coloring still is ( and probably will always be ) very inconsistent but that’s by design ! moving forward i’ll keep taking more risks and transforming my creations even more ! i can’t wait to keep sharing all this with all of you beloveds

#game 🍓♡#challenge 🍓♡#tagged in 🍓♡#feel free not to participate idk who's already done it hsjdjsjd #also a normal version with my Regular coloring will be happening sometime #u can rb if u want idc

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maverick-werewolf · 4 years

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Modern Dragon Designs - Where they came from

Your regularly scheduled werewolf facts will return soon. For now, we provide this special, because you may not realize this, but I love dragons. There’s a reason one of my protagonists is basically obsessed with dragons.

Once upon a time, there was a movie - I don’t see anyone talk about it, I’m not even sure how many people are familiar with it...

It’s called Reign of Fire.

This movie shaped the modern Hollywoodian concept of dragons. Seriously, it did. Hear me out.

Released in 2002, Reign of Fire was a movie about - essentially - dragons as that age-old trope of “let’s take one monster and turn them into an overpopulated zombie plague so we can use them to tell a story about humans and make the monster just this brainless evil locust swarm backdrop.” This has happened to a lot of monsters by now.

But wait, these dragons aren’t like the dragons you might be used to: these dragons were completely redesigned from the ground up by the filmmaker(s) in order to make a more “realistic” and “animalistic” dragon that was acceptable by Hollywood, who generally views “dragon movies” (like so many other fantasy things...) as cheesy and silly. Market your movie as a film about dragons and you probably won’t get a deal. Well, turns out, coming up with your own gritty dragon designs worked!

Doesn’t this remind you of every other dragon you’ve seen in a movie for the last, you know, 18 years? Although it actually looks quite a bit cooler than those other ones that came after it

Please note that while I may sound sarcastic, jaded, and often maybe a bit scathing, I mean nothing against the creators of Reign of Fire or director Rob Bowman. I watched the movie in theaters when it released. I applaud Bowman for coming up with unique and interesting dragon designs, in order to have a different take on the creatures, so that they fit the story he wanted to tell, instead of doing what so many people do and completely co-opting concepts without trying to alter them to fit anything and... yeah... okay, I’m not going to talk about werewolf things in this post. Getting back on track:

What I don’t applaud is everyone ripping off Reign of Fire for their own dragons, doubly so because most of these people didn’t even take into account the reasons why it was designed that way. They should have left his dragons alone and come up with their own thing, but at least I guess Bowman can go down in history as the man who designed every Hollywood dragon for over a decade to come - with no signs of stopping - even down to the tail shape.

On Vice, you can find an article and interview with Rob Bowman, the director of Reign of Fire, discussing how he came up with this dragon design and how influential it has become. I highly recommend giving it a read.

Please note the Vice article is clearly written with the bias of someone who “can’t take dragons seriously,” so it’s also a good look at the Hollywood mindset about dragons and how much Hollywood treats fantasy in general like garbage (jerks).

It’s impossible to pretend this movie didn’t basically reshape modern dragons. Let’s get to the details...

Animalistic Design

Dragons in popular culture are generally - or at least they were generally - assumed to be powerful, intelligent creatures, often of a higher nature than humans and other mere mortals. They may be good or evil, but one can’t understate that traditional fantasy dragons are regal and majestic either way.

Reign of Fire wanted to usurp the majestic, intelligent dragon image, creating a smaller, hunched, knuckle-dragging sort of dragon that looks more like an animal - like a pteranodon. This is because the dragons in Reign of Fire are not exceptionally intelligent, noble beings that speak and hoard gold and have the wisdom of the ages. They are brutal hunters that set things on fire and eat everything smaller than them. So this design choice was a conscious one and a smart one.

The dragons in Reign of Fire are meant to be more scientific, more plausible, and also simpler, in a manner of speaking. They are not colorful, magical, ancient fantasy dragons...

Trouble is, everyone took cues from this design for their talking wise noble fantasy dragons, and it... doesn’t really work, at least if you ask me.

The dragon design in Reign of Fire looks like an ancestral throwback, an evolutionary ancestor to the intelligent, talking fantasy dragon, although they are smaller. They’re hunched, they haven’t evolved forelegs independent of their wings... you get the idea. Take a look at the “proto-drakes” in World of Warcraft versus the ordinary drakes, which have tiny dangly T-rex forelegs that haven’t fully developed yet, so they walk like the Reign of Fire dragons.

A proto-drake in World of Warcraft - also say hi to my worgen warrior

So many things taking this design for their intelligent, “higher being” dragons seems kind of... odd to me, to say the least. Unfortunately, Hollywood decided that’s the only way moviegoers can “take dragons seriously,” so here we are.

“Wyvern” - Two Legs vs Four

Municipal arms of Stjørdal, Norway

In medieval heraldry, there came to be a creature called a wyvern. Now, the etymology on the term “wyvern” is a little shaky. It originally didn’t specifically refer to a “two-legged dragon.” It is thought to mean/be derived from words meaning anything ranging from “asp” to “light javelin,” and essentially boils down to a flying serpent. It is noteworthy, of course, that the word “dragon” basically just means “serpent” too.

In heraldry, though, “wyvern” came to refer to a two-legged dragon - at least, if you ask the English, Scottish, and Irish; elsewhere in Europe, they may not be so picky. And now, in modern pop culture (such as Dungeons and Dragons), we often use it in the same sense.

Wyverns weren’t really a “thing” in folklore, just as dragons in folklore didn’t look like our modern idea of a dragon. It’s debatable whether the father of our modern concept of dragons, Fafnir (from whom Tolkien drew inspiration for Smaug), even had wings at all; he was essentially a serpent, perhaps with legs. Point is, wyverns come from heraldry, especially the specificity of two legs versus four.

So now you know why you might see a lot of people (myself included) referring to this design as a “wyvern design” for a dragon.

Dull Coloration - Grey and Brown over Red, Blue, Green...

There’s something else - something very important - that Hollywood took from Reign of Fire... the concept that dragons aren’t pretty colors and are, in fact, various hues of grey and brown, and any more contrasting colors are just vague indications instead of bright red scales.

Now, Reign of Fire obviously did this because - again - they were going for the more animalistic, natural look as opposed to the mysterious majestic magical being look. Okay, that’s fine. But then Hollywood decided that fantasy, too, has to be devoid of dragons with bright colors.

The green dragon in Game of Thrones

There are countless examples of this in modern media. Any dragon that was previously brightly colored has been dulled pretty much to an extreme. Sometimes you might catch a fleeting glimpse of them looking like a brighter shade, but it was probably just a trick of the light. Why? Because all dragons are desaturated to the point of being almost indistinguishable by color.

The golden dragon in The Witcher Netflix series

This is also why you see so many mods on the Skyrim Nexus called things like “true red dragon.”

There are plenty more examples of this - I’m sure you can see the difference when you look at those dragons and other modern film dragons over, say, something like this...

Red dragon in D&D

And now we move on to...

The Fire Breathing - Chemicals, not Magic

Bowman insisted on ditching traditional fire breathing (you don't want the audience wondering whether the dragon's mouth is being burnt up with every flame) and again looked to the animal kingdom for inspiration. The king cobra, once again, was a great starting point. It doesn't spray fire, but it can spit its venom. Even more useful was the bombardier beetle, which shoots two chemicals from its abdomen that, once mixed, create a hot, burning spray. Bowman used these real-world examples to inspire his own dragons. They don't breathe fire exactly, but rather spit chemicals from two different sacks in their mouths that, when combined, ignite. "That's anatomy. That's already been designed, so we're going to draw from there," he said.

(quoted from the Vice article linked to earlier in this post)

The Hungarian Horntail in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - fire is streaming from two separate organs in the mouth, but they aren’t chemicals mixing together like in Reign of Fire...

The director of Reign of Fire wanted his dragons to be more natural in that they breathe fire through organic means, based on chemical reactions, instead of the usual dragon magic. But lots of people loved this “mouth flap”/”mouth organ” design with “streams” of fire coming from the mouth instead of fire flowing directly from the dragon’s throat, so now you see it pretty dang often.

Horns? Brow Ridges!

Another thing that is basically out now in dragon designs is the real horns of many traditional dragons, like Spyro, and like the dragons in Dungeons & Dragons used to have.

These days, it’s all about brow ridges and big spiny scales that aren’t separate horns, they’re just big pointed scales or piles of scales or bone ridges - and they aren’t a different color than the dragon’s scales, either, pretty often. And, in general, dragon’s horns have become much smaller and far more numerous, and more like spines/ridges, as opposed to the great, sweeping horns of classical dragons.

Firkraag, the red dragon, in the D&D video game Baldur’s Gate II, from 2000

Firkraag is a very traditional dragon. Now, while Dungeons & Dragons has generally kept more traditional dragons (yay!), they did fall into the brow ridge horn thing - although they, thankfully, didn’t make the horns smaller and subtler and more numerous little spikes, like so many other modern dragon designs. They also went with the brow ridge horns for tieflings (once humans with demon blood, then some weird thing in 4E, and now I think they’re humans with demon blood again), as opposed to the ordinary horns of the tieflings in previous editions of D&D.

Skyrim dragon head concept art

The Desolation of Smaug(’s design)

Here is... a big one. Here, we’ll talk some about the production of The Hobbit films over time, so we’re going behind the scenes.

Alright, so we all know Smaug, probably, by pop culture osmosis if nothing else. He is the quintessential dragon. He’s basically the founder of all Western dragon concepts: he’s big, he’s red, he hoards gold, he’s extremely intelligent and talks, etc. You get the picture. Every dragon that we have borrowed at least something from Smaug. And, in turn, he was inspired by Fafnir, the father of all our dragon concepts, from Norse mythology - but Tolkien took it all a step further and created the concept of dragons that we have today. Or, well, the not Reign of Fire ones. The fantasy ones.

A map drawn by Tolkien: notice the winged, four-legged Smaug over his mountain

During the first Hobbit movie, An Unexpected Journey, we see Smaug attack the Lonely Mountain...

In this clip, you can plainly see that Smaug has four legs. This was actually edited slightly for later editions of the movie, or so I’ve heard (I haven’t watched any later editions).

I can tell you for certain that when I saw the theatrical release, it was like this, too. It is apparent throughout the scene that Smaug has four legs and wings, separately. I know because I was paying very, very close attention, because I was going to be very upset if Hollywood turned Smaug into a wyvern.

Well, they did - later.

Smaug the wyvern looking like just another slightly different take on the bog-standard Hollywood dragon

Apparently, some studio exec decided that having a traditional fantasy dragon, even if this dragon happens to be frelling Smaug himself, would not be okay in this modern Hollywood world. So we ended up with a dull reddish spiney hunching knuckle-dragging wyvern with an angler mouth (I’m sorry; I really am sorry if you like the design, that’s totally fine, it’s a fine design, I am glad you enjoyed it, but Smaug shouldn’t have looked that way IMO and forgive me but I am still in pain over it) in place of a more traditional dragon that held more to things like, I dunno, how Tolkien himself drew Smaug. Smaug’s movie design flies right in the face of that and destroyed our chance to finally see a proper traditional dragon done justice on the big screen.

Tolkien’s art of Smaug - note the position of the forelegs, separate from the wings, like in the earlier map

This is all just one big example why we should be thankful that The Lord of the Rings films were all shot in one go, so no one could alter important things like the design of the fantasy genre’s father of all dragons, in the middle of production. Of course, the production on The Hobbit movies was a nightmare at best, as you can read about in assorted other articles, and Peter Jackson was very unhappy with what the studio had him do to the series. All of that is just another story, I suppose.

Dragons Redesigned by Reign of Fire: Example List

Now that we’ve gone over just a few of the talking points about Reign of Fire’s dragon designs (although I didn’t even get into the flat, spaded tail look in detail), here’s an undoubtedly incomplete list of several examples that have either entirely taken the design and/or were massively influenced by it...

(please note that not everything in this list held entirely to Reign of Fire’s design, obviously; some have the fire, some don’t; some have horns, some have head/brow ridges; but all of them are wyverns and most are darkly-colored)

Skyrim - Obvious influence with the general design, skin/scales and ridges design, as well as coloration; however, it is noteworthy that the Elder Scrolls has had dragons with no forelegs since at least 1998, in the game Redguard - though that dragon was also very brightly-colored (also of note: Peryite, while technically a Daedric prince and not a dragon, had four legs at least as far back as Daggerfall in 1996)

The Hobbit films, specifically The Desolation of Smaug onward - as mentioned before

Harry Potter movies - Wholesale. Two streams of fire from mouth flaps in Goblet of Fire, generally dull greyish and/or brownish colorations, no forelegs, short/simple horns that are mostly ridges...

Gods of Egypt - The giant fire-breathing cobras have the mouth flaps

Game of Thrones - This one’s pretty obvious too.

Disney’s Maleficent - In the new live action Disney movie(s), the dragon falls right into this design (though the fire doesn’t come from mouth flaps)

Netflix Witcher series - Villentretenmerth is very much a wyvern design and a dull shade, and he in fact has no horns at all, even though dragons weren’t portrayed this way in any previous Witcher adaptations

Stargate SG1 (season 10) - In the episode series “The Quest,” a dragon appears and... well, it looks just like all those other dragons, though the fire does come from its throat.

Beowulf (2008) - I try not to ever talk about or think about this film, but I have to just throw out there that the dragon is very much Reign of Fire, especially with that wyvern design.

Seventh Son - If you can call Malkin a dragon - she was called one, I think - she definitely also has the same kind of dull-colored wyvern design.

Sucker Punch (movie)

Lots and lots of B-movies and direct to DVD/streaming films - Dawn of the Dragonslayer, Dragon (2006), Dragon Crusaders...

Something to note, also, is that cartoons, anime, and other non-film media is mostly - but not entirely - free from this influence. Cartoons especially are free from it, partially because they aren’t influenced by Hollywood producers who want “serious” and “realistic” dragons. Cartoons are allowed to have magical, colorful, four-legged dragons. Unfortunately, we are deprived of those in live action film and television, by and large.

There are still other exceptions - most notably things that were created before this influence, like Dragonheart and its spinoffs and sequels, which have thankfully kept their dragon designs consistent instead of erasing their forelegs.

Of course, why dragons are depicted as four-legged and winged in the first place - and when this depiction arose - is another topic entirely. I’m not going into that right now, seeing as how this post is already preposterously long.

Long story short, I was rewatching the movie Gods of Egypt and, when I saw the giant cobra monsters breathe fire, I was possessed to write this article. Because Reign of Fire’s influence is something I have always noticed ever since its release, and something my brother and I talk about a lot (and everyone who knows me has surely heard me talk about it, too) - because, frankly, it’s always bothered me. My favorite dragons are traditional dragons: four legs, bright colors, wings, horns, breathing fire, the works.

So, although the original creator of these design ideas did something cool and different because he wanted to do his own take on dragons, Hollywood decided that these design cues should be taken to dumb down all dragons forever, the same way that Hollywood has dumbed down so many monster designs so that the only acceptable ones just a bunch of near-replicas of each other, including werewolves.

I think it’s very sad that film producers think you can’t take something like dragons or werewolves seriously unless they are dull, nontraditional, and ugly. And I say ugly in the sense of these are not pretty, majestic fantasy designs - they are, many of them, intended to be ugly. Though I personally also hold the opinion that most of them are ugly regardless of if they are intended to be ugly.

So - now you know! If you haven’t seen Reign of Fire, go check it out to meet the father of modern dragon designs, from the color of their hides to the shape of their bodies, the smaller horns, and - sometimes - even their tails.

(Special thanks to everyone on my discord who helped me compile this list, as well as of course my brother and all our ranting at/with each other on this topic over many years)

If you like this post, maybe you’ll enjoy the rest of my blog, where I post a lot about folklore and all kinds of monsters (especially werewolves)!

Werewolf Facts --- Patreon

#dragons #pop culture #dragon #reign of fire #creature design #folklore #wyvern #wyverns #game of thrones #skyrim #harry potter #the desolation of smaug #the hobbit #movies #film #hollywood #long post #EXTREMELY LONG post

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kittinoir · 4 years

Text

Echoes of You ch. 19

Read on Ao3

Marinette couldn’t get the taste of Chat Noir off her lips.

It didn’t seem to matter that it had been nearly a whole week since he’d kissed her (and she had, admittedly, kissed him back). It didn’t matter that he hadn’t stopped by since. What mattered was that it had happened and she’d been able to think about little else since.

It wasn’t that she was completely enamoured or anything. In fact, it was the opposite. The fact was, Adrien still owned her heart. She’d only just managed to start holding down conversations with him, but her palms still sweat, her pulse still raced any time he glanced her way.

No, the reason she couldn’t stop thinking about Chat Noir was because, in those moments when he’d been kissing her, she hadn’t been confused at all. It wasn’t that everything had gone quiet and she didn’t care or that the affection had helped her make a choice. No, it was that in that moment, it had felt like everything had fallen into place, as though her dilemma actually had a really simple answer she’d just forgotten to remember, as though she’d been there before and would be again.

And in all honesty, it terrified her. She’d been in love with Adrien for so long she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else - so why had those few seconds when he’d been kissing her been bliss?

“You ok, girl?” Alya asked when their teacher stepped out of the room for a moment. “You look…” Alya shrugged, frowning, the word she was looking for just out of reach.

“Just tired,” Marinette murmured back, trying to refocus on the math problem in front of her.

“Late night?”

Marinette looked up, her heart fluttering to see Adrien had twisted around in his seat to face them.

“Um, yeah,” Marinette said, trying to order her thoughts. “That super hero’s design thing. I’m almost done.”

Alya’s face lit up. “Do you have pictures?” she asked. “Mine’s done but I’m going to spend the next year of my life trying to scrub black dye off my mom’s counters. I’m actually lucky to still be alive.”

“No pictures,” Marinette said with a small grin. “Kind of forgot to take some, but I guess now it’ll be a surprise.”

“I bet it looks awesome,” Adrien said. “It’s based of Chat Noir, right?”

“Yeah,” Marinette said. Her pulse jumped at the heroes name, and she reflexively grabbed her wrist, as though someone would notice. That was new. “It’s also kind of influenced by my mom’s culture. I learned a lot of new techniques working on it.”

“He’s lucky,” Adrien said breezily, “Getting a Dupain-Cheng original based off him. I’m surprised you didn’t choose Ladybug.” He paused, as though a thought had just occurred to him. “Why did you choose Chat Noir?”

To her horror, Marinette felt a blush creeping over her cheeks. “Oh, no particular reason. I mean he’s saved me a couple of times, and he’s always been…really kind, and sweet. And charming. Besides, Ladybug’s always the focus. I thought it would be, um, cool to challenge myself a little.”

Adrien grinned, leaning in. “You think he’s charming?”

Marinette fought the urge to fan herself. “Doesn’t…everyone?”

“Ladybug doesn’t,” Alya snorted. “I mean, you can tell she can see right through him.”

“Yeah,” Adrien said softly, “She always could.”

Marinette frowned at the odd phrasing, but before she could think on it, the door burst open, knocking over the garbage bin and banging off the wall.

Hawkmoth’s villains had always been easy to spot, but Marinette remembered a time, barely, where the appearance of one made her panic so hard it was almost impossible to think. Now it felt like second nature as she grabbed Alya’s wrist and dove under the desk as the classroom erupted into panicked shrieks.

“Do you think that was the teacher?” Alya panted, ripping her phone out of her pocket.

“I didn’t exactly get a good look,” Marinette said as she reached for her backpack. “If it’s not, then the teacher was probably a victim of whatever this one can do. Either way, I don’t think we should stick around to find out.”

“You’re not wrong,” Alya said, slowly sliding her phone out from behind the desk, “But it’s still in front of the door. No way to get past it yet.”

She was probably right, but Marinette thought she could have sounded at least a little more broken up about it.

“Well, well, well, my pets,” the villain said. Marinette could see it surveying the classroom on Alya’s phone screen, a cool grin in place. This one was completely black, with a band of white across its eyes. She couldn’t see where the akuma could be hiding, but releasing it without Ladybug to purify it was a dangerous risk - assuming anyone could even get close enough to try. “So many of you in one place. What are the odds?” It took a few steps further into the room, but was still blocking the door. “Which one of you is most likely to bring Ladybug and Chat Noir running faster?”

Beside her, Alya flinched. “Not again…”

Chat Noir’s warning came back to Marinette and she couldn’t suppress a shiver. There had been a handful of akuma attacks since the last time he’d visited and none of them had targeted her. Surely nothing had changed. And did it matter? The monster was here in her classroom; she’d make just as good a hostage as anyone else.

And then Alya stood up, the strap of her book bag clutched in one hand. “Ladybug and Chat Noir aren’t the ones you need to worry about!” Alya swung her bag once, twice around her head and flung it at the villain. It sailed through the air, clipping them on the shoulder.

“We have a volunteer!” the akuma cheered, recovering with alarming speed.

“More than one!” Nino shouted, popping up from his desk as well.

“Don’t forget about me!” Kim chimed in, lurching to his feet.

There was a sudden deluge of school supplies, and the akuma was forced to come further into the room to avoid the storm. Marinette watched on Alya’s propped-up phone as pens, pencils, books, bags, and even tablets rained down at the front of the room.

Marinette clutched her bag in her hand, prepared to join the fray when she remembered Chat Noir’s request. Stay safe. Fighting the akuma head one would definitely not be safe, but in her heart she knew it was right. And, she thought guiltily, what he’d actually asked her was not to wear a Miraculous again. Besides, trouble had come to her door. She wasn’t going to not do something about it. Not when her friends were in danger. Not ever.

“Ha!” Marinette sprung up, whipping her bag in the direction of the akuma. It missed by a mile without Miraculous enhanced skills, but the akuma still flinched. She counted that as a victory.

“Run!” Alya shouted at everyone else. “We’ll keep it busy! Go! Sound the alert, evacuate the school!”

Marinette saw a few of their classmates shoot guilty looks at them before running for the door, and for the first time, she thought she might understand Chat Noir’s request a little more. She didn’t feel abandoned or left behind; she felt relieved they were no longer in the line of fire, that she could focus without worrying about casualties. It was different when it was someone you knew.

“You'll keep me busy?” the akuma shrieked, suddenly darting towards them. “I don’t think so!”

The akuma reached into a pouch at their side that Marinette hadn’t seen before. They opened their first to reveal a small pile of sparkling white sand that they blew directly in their faces. Before Marinette could blink, Alya shoved her. Marinette’s heel caught on the leg of the desk and she fell back onto the steps in the middle of the classroom.

Marinette looked up in horror as Alya fell back against the desk behind them. Her friend was scowling as she scrubbed at her face, but her expression quickly turned to panic. “I can’t - I can’t see. I can’t see!” Marinette stifled a horrified gas as her friend’s face turned towards her: her eyes had gone completely white. She couldn’t even distinguish where the iris and pupil were supposed to have been. “Don’t let them get the sand in your face!” Alya cried, twisting to face the rest of the classroom. “It blinds you!”

As she watched, Marinette noticed some of the colour fading from her vision. Alya had pushed her, but not fast enough. Not slow enough either. After a few second, the desaturation stopped. Shadows and highlights were stronger, but she could still see.

“Come on,” Marinette whispered. She grabbed Alya around the wrist and carefully lead her friend towards the door as the akuma leapt to the other side of the classroom to wreak havoc. She tried not to think of her friends’ completely white eyes. Chat Noir and Ladybug would save them. They’d fix it.

Marinette’s heart pounded as they made it into the hall. They had to get away. Could they make it home? Was it safe? Was it more risky to take Alya out of the school?

“Leave me,” Alya said as though reading her mind. “It can’t hurt me anymore, Marinette, it’s fine.”

“Not a chance,” Marinette said. “I’m not leaving you like this.”

“And you don’t have to.” Ladybug dropped in from the open atrium roof, her expression like a thundercloud. “Get out of here. We’ll fix this.”

“Ladybug’s here now,” Marinette said to Alya. “And Chat Noir.”

Marinette tried to ignore the way her pulse raced as Ladybug’s partner dropped in beside her. Her skin tingled where he’d touched her last, and she didn’t miss the way his eyes flicked over her from top to bottom, assessing any damage. His gaze lingered on her eyes, and she realized that even though they might not be completely white, they probably weren’t their usual shade of blue.

“You ladies ok?” he asked.

“Alya was struck,” Marinette said. “It has sand in a pouch on its belt. It blinds you if you’re hit with it.”

“It said it was looking for hostages but not much else beyond that,” Alya said.

“We’ll fix this.” Ladybug laid a hand on Alya’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Go hide,” Chat Noir instructed them. “We’ll fix this.” And then, silently, so quick she almost missed it with her damaged vision: I miss you.

And then he was gone, following Ladybug into the classroom.

“Come on.” Marinette began leading Alya down the hall. “In here.”

They ducked into a bathroom. Marinette lead Alya over to the sinks and turned on the tap, guiding her friends’ hands under the running water. As Alya scrubbed at her face, Marinette leaned into her reflection, squinting as she tried to make out the colours. It wasn’t as bad as the damage done to her friend, but a white film had definitely settled over her eyes.

“We’re in the bathroom on the second floor by the art room,” Marinette explained. “Do you think we’re ok here?”

Alya shrugged. “Like I said, the worst has already been done. You should go though, Marinette.”

“I’m not leaving you behind,” Marinette stubbornly reiterated. She guided her friend over to the far wall, where they both sank down on the floor. She tried to think of a way to pass the time, but anxiety wouldn’t let her focus on anything but Chat Noir.

She knew what he’d asked her, and really, it only made sense. She understood, but…something in her wouldn’t settle. She had only herself, but she found herself struggling not to tear back down the hall and fight with him. Something in her kept telling her she couldn’t let him do it alone.

But he wasn’t alone, she kept reminding herself. Ladybug was with him. They were a team. She was just… she didn’t even know what she was any more.

“I’ll be back,” Marinette said when she couldn’t stand it any longer, almost against her will.

“Where are you going?” Alya said, pressing her palms flat against the floor as though to remind herself it was still there.

“It’s been too long,” Marinette said, her hands curling into fists. “They need help.”

She almost expected Alya to stop her, or tell her she was being ridiculous.

“Give it hell for me,” she said instead. “And if you happen to find my phone…” Alya grinned.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Marinette said with a smile of her own. She opened the door and flinched as the sounds of battle leaked into the bathroom. She peeked out through the crack she’d made in the door.

The akuma was pressing Chat Noir down the hall as it flung fistfuls of sand down the hall. He was managing to dodge them, but Marinette could tell he was in a similar situation to herself. Ladybug was no where in sight.

Marinette held her breath as they actually passed the bathroom, squeezing her eyes shut as the akuma released another cloud of sand. She silently counted to fifteen. When she opened her eyes again, the fight had just moved past the door and she slipped out into the hall behind the akuma.

Short of an actual plan, Marinette didn’t think, she just leapt - directly onto the akuma’s back, wrapping her arms around its throat. It shrieked as she yanked back on it, and as it moved, she realized Chat Noir was much worse off than she thought, his iris only just barely visible.

“Chat Noir, the pouch!” she yelled.

His ears flicked forward. “Marinette?”

“Hurry!” she urged as her hands started to slip.

“You call this staying safe?” he demanded, lunging forward.

“You seem like you could…use the help,” she panted, adjusting her grip.

“You don’t belong here, Marinette,” he snapped. “You’re going to get yourself hurt, or worse.”

Wait, was he actually mad at her?

“Well, excuse me for saving you,” Marinette retorted. “Again.”

Chat Noir winced, and she felt bad for even bringing it up, but he wasn’t being fair. He didn’t bother with a retort as he redoubled his efforts, but she suddenly realized he was attacking more wildly than before.

He’s afraid he’s going to hit me by mistake, she realized. Alright, time for a new plan.

Marinette released her grip. She slid down the akuma’s back and made no move to stop herself as she hit the ground. She she did, she reached out, snatching the pouch as she went by and tearing it off the akuma. It shrieked as she did so, but Marinette didn’t give it a chance to turn on her.

“Chat Noir!” she yelled, “Cataclysm!”

Marinette dove through the akuma’s feet as Chat Noir activated his power. She seized his wrist as she came to her feet and slapped the pouch down in his hand. She bit back a whimper of pain as the contact sent cataclysm shockwaves rocketing through her hand. She snatched her hand back, but not before angry purple bruises bloomed on her skin.

“Ladybug, now!” Chat Noir yelled as the akuma drifted free. Moments later, the magical swarm of ladybugs surged out of the classroom. A small detachment of them spiralled around Marinette’s hand, easing the pain of what she guessed were several fractures.

Ladybug darted out of the classroom and leapt onto the balcony down the hall, her gaze fixed on the escaping butterfly. “I’ll take care of this.” They watched her disappear through the open atrium roof.

The beeping of Chat Noir’s ring broke the silence. He turned without another word and walked away down the hall.

“Hey!” Marinette called, running after him. “That’s it? You’re just going to leave?”

“What do you want me to say, Marinette?” Chat Noir demanded, whirling on her. “‘Thanks for needlessly risking your life after I specifically asked you not to’?”

“Needlessly?” Marinette repeated. “You were seconds away from losing your Miraculous!”

“This is my fault,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “I blurred the lines. I never should have let you get this close.”

Marinette tried not to show how much the admission hurt her. “You have been one of the best things in my life for a while,” she said softly. “I’m sorry.”

He met her gaze, but none of the warmth she’d grown used to it was in his eyes. “This was a mistake,” he said evenly. “Kissing you was a mistake. Getting distracted was a mistake.”

“Is that…is that really what all this was…? A distraction?”

Chat Noir turned, and without looking at her, said, “Yes.”

He left before she could stop him. Her heart ached as she watched him disappear. She took a few steps after him, as though to follow, but she never could. She didn’t have a Miraculous. They had never been on equal footing.

That night, Marinette didn’t bother leaving the window open.

#echoes #echoes of you #miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir

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neven-ebrez · 5 years

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15x01, a look at the future through the past

Back home! I watched the episode last night and rewatched it just now. I’m sorry to say that I was baseline bored on most levels but the second time through things felt better (yay!) even if the bland factor was still there for me personally (I’m bored with most ghost stuff from SPN these days). Imo the characters basically served the plot of 15x01 instead of the other way around which is very Game of Thrones-y and 1000% not what I’m here for but I won’t talk about the details of that because I’m sure no one wants to hear that and I’m also sure things won’t stay that way long so I’ll talk about some other things instead. There are some things I can tell are a thing but I don’t know exactly what the shows means in depicting them, and others where I’m more confident in my interpretation so here we go.

I’m like 99% sure the demon in Jack is actually Chuck and that he’s basically trying to maintain his torture (I mean... the guy admitted to being a torturer ffs) of the Winchesters with the best viewing seat possible as it were (he even tells Dean point blank he’s a “fan”). For some reason only Dean and Cas got the focus for this (torture) tho and not Sam. With Dean it was the demon reminding him of how dark and brutal Dean can be himself (via his time with Alastair). Dean blows that off pretty quick and isn’t too visibly effected, commenting that it was a long time ago. With Cas the torture came in the demon’s possession of Jack himself, Cas saying bluntly that he can’t even look at Jack and that demonic possession is basically defilement. Cas is clearly more effected and Dean’s harsh “Jack is DEAD!” tonally recalled S13 in many ways. Also oddly the demon admits Dean is gorgeous but not the same is said of Cas, with the demon insulting him instead. Two interactions. Two wildly different responses. It’s the demon putting Dean and Cas at odds without any interaction needed from them themselves, though the latter comes in spades and is the only focused on “true” conflict of the episode, set against soft Sam/Dean exchanges.

The blend of Cas’ angelic nature along with his human nature was also heavily, heavily highlighted in the episode. It was probably the most highlighted thing in fact. Cas smiting and healing. Cas shooting a gun and throwing rocks. Cas tells Dean he wouldn’t starve to death in the crypt (which, on a side note, has huge Buffy vibes for me, along with Belphogor (sp?) calling the Hell rip or whatever the “Hellmouth”). Cas can see the demon’s demonic face easily despite episodes like 14x01 (also written by Dabb) where he can’t see a room full of them (I think I argued back then that Cas was willingfully trying to ignore and was annoyed with his angelic nature). Cas’ angelic side gets another highlight when Sam accidentally shoots Cas and he doesn’t get truly injured. This particular scene seemingly serves no other purpose other than to highlight Cas’ difference (as non-human) in general. Emotionally tho, Cas’ human side is on full display. He’s worried about the town’s people. He’s annoyed with both Sam and Dean for different reasons at different points. Cas bodily removes the demon from sharing the same space as him because the demon upsets him. Cas can not even LOOK at “Jack” but Dean (and Sam) can. As I said, it’s similar structurally to how S13 handled Dean dealing with Cas’ death in comparison to Sam moving on from it. It functions to show that for Cas his relationship with Jack is different from Sam and Dean’s, however otherwise similar in the fact that TFW all see Jack as their child, their family. It’s exactly like how Cas is different to Dean as compared to Sam.

Back onto demon “B” whatever tho. Interestingly, we never see the demon smoke into Jack. Then he just “”happens”” to know every spell needed to help the Winchesters but for Dean and Cas two things are required for sacrifice/gathering. In each, one component is dead-like and protecting (salt, goofer dust) and the other channels life/creation (a heart and angel blood). Each time there’s a duality in play. Curiously Sam is not involved in any of this with the demon for whatever reason, making the demon (within the season’s structure as presented so far) a primary component of Dean and Cas’ differences. They are tests of free will for them specifically in a way. What will each person “freely” give/obtain for the demon? To me, it just all screams this thing/demon is really just God fucking with them in every way he can but while maintaining some ally aligned position physically. It’s Chuck’s literal MO.

Also. The show is back to Dean blanketly treating Cas like shit. Which we know happens in waves constantly but as a Cas fan it’s still annoying to watch for the umpteenth fucking time. And they haven’t even pinpointed the *exact* reason here for all the snapping (yeah, pacing, I know). The audience has to do some connecting the dots here I feel. They have to have a certain understanding of how Dean needs Cas. I *think* the takeaway is that Dean uses Cas as an emotional punching bag when he’s actually mad at himself and that instead of getting so angry with himself these days that Dean’s decided yelling at Cas is a better/healthier way for him to deal with himself. Which is absolutely unfair and devastating to Cas, but it’s what Cas (unfortunately) has become to Dean. It’s like when he told Cas he was dead to him at the end of S14 because of Jack killing Mary. Dean’s really mad at he, himself, for ignoring the warning that was always there. Not really Cas. But Dean has yet to apologize and/or rectify this. This is the (ongoing) problem for Dean and Cas. Point blank.

At this point if I was Cas I’d just leave and not come back. He doesn’t deserve the way Dean constantly treats him. Dean doesn’t “need” Cas like this but he’s become comfortable using him like this. This is so jarring from the understanding Dean shows Cas in late S12. And from the grief arc he has in S13, followed by the relief he shows when Cas returns. Dean never learns how to properly “claim” Cas, however. Looks like this time instead of killing Cas the show (like in S8) is gonna have Cas choose to stay away (after 15x03?) I guess, prompting Dean to do some reflecting or whatever following this (What is Cas to me? Why do I actually need him? How should I treat him?). But honestly I’m not thinking of the reflecting right now. Or the “after” or whatever. I’m just thinking about how shitty Cas is being treated RIGHT NOW and it 1000% makes me wanna just drop the show and not watch anymore until it’s over. I’m just not interested in torturing myself for months watching this slowly drag out but apparently I’m so masochistic and love Cas so fucking much that I will. GODDAMMIT

Onto “pipes” I guess. This is where I point out that I don’t know what the show is going for here but I’ll throw around some ideas. Pipes had a lot to do with the episode. Sam thinks he hears water flowing in a pipe in the crypt and they think they can escape through the sewers. Wrong. Later, Sam tells the sheriff that a pipeline burst near the town. Lies. And lastly there’s a plumbing truck outside the home where the clown ghost slaughtered the birthday party (uh... where’s the bodies btw?). So everywhere we have the imagery of pipes bursting and needing to be fixed. Which, water has nothing to do with Hell, not really. I guess the Hell “rip” is kinda acting like a burst pipe?? Water is usually associated with angels/Cas/change tho. My best guess is that it’s repurposed Michael imagery since good ol’ Bel-whatever let us know Michael’s cage door is busted open and he’s just sitting there for now apparently. I’m not confident in my interpretation here at all though. All I can tell is that busted pipes as imagery (something likely associated with lying/wrong) for something is a thing.

In general I’m going to say 15x01 didn’t even feel like a Dabb episode to me. I honestly wouldn’t have guessed he wrote it. Since I didn’t care about the random people under attack (women running and scared and not tougher is always a hard sell for me personally) I found myself frequently saying “why aren’t they doing _______?” a lot during the episode. Ghosts needing to run? Why? I mean, I get the show wanted to show how the magical border worked but this could have been done in many other more effective ways utilizing tension more. It almost felt like the show didn’t know what to do with its S1 self and so visually everything ended up looking so very incredibly cheesy and not just in the way the colors are no longer desaturated. It literally looks like the show can’t go back into what it was. We saw this visually with a sign that cropped up in several shots as Sam and Cas tried to get the girl and her mom to safety. It was a cul de sac sign.

Here’s a video on why cul de sacs as a design became popular. In short, following the rise in popularity of the automobile neighborhoods are designed for safe car use, above all else. They don’t want outsiders passing through and they want things to be slower. When cars got popular streets were redesigned away from the traditional city “grid” (where accidents happened at intersections most commonly) with features that instead had safety in mind. I choose to interpret this as a visual comment on the show’s design. The Sam n Dean show is like a city grid, dangerous, while the Sam, Dean, Cas, Rowena, and Jack show offers more “safety”. That’s why we get it framed like this imo, between Sam and Cas. Things looked one way before Cas, and another after. Things have changed from the grid and they aren’t going back, for a variety of reasons.

Since the episode title recalls the movie Back to the Future I thought we’d have more of a visual/dialogue tie in tbh. I’ll try to talk about what we thematically did tho. BTTF is a movie about a boy overcoming his impulsiveness to be an alpha male who isn’t scared. This wasn’t a goal of the boy himself necessarily but it was an effect had upon him just the same by the story and his experiences. The movie bookends on this character development. In between the movie is about the disconnect of generations, how kids don’t see their parents in the way they see themselves and vice versa. It’s also about trying to set right familial relationships into proper categories. Marty’s mom, Lorene, accidentally falls in love with her own son instead of Marty’s father, George. Marty’s existence is then threatened and he must spend the movie trying to understand his parents and help them fall properly in love, thus saving and changing himself and them. We only get shades of these themes in the episode, like when the demon (in Jack’s body) calls Dean gorgeous and it makes him uncomfortable. Divorce (unhappy marriage) is also touched upon with the sleepover/makeover girls. In BTTF Lorene and George do not have a great marriage as George lacks confidence but Marty’s interactions with George in the past help change this in the future and their family is much better for it.

We are told in PR that Dean’s “conditioning” and him changing from that is a big part of what SPN is and has always been about. This is similar to how Marty must learn to properly deal with bullies (as he sees his father as weak and overcompensates to distinguish himself from him) and not letting them have power over you. Chuck is like Biff in this structural comparison. Biff is someone we watch become depowered over the course of the movie and I feel this is similar to what the show will likely do regarding Chuck. I could go further in depth here but these are the general thematic points this episode alone addresses. Only with Marty’s character development does he stand to have a happy life with his girlfriend, Jennifer. Back to the Future ends with another call to adventure and its script is widely regarded as “perfect” by many. Quite the structural comparison for SPN to be making. We’ll see. We’re currently stuck in the past for now. Onward, to the future...

#spn speculation #15x01 #zerbe discusses things #final themes #duality #alchemy #narrative structure #back to the future #pop culture references #destiel for ts #if you squint #cul de sac storytelling #the spiraling narrative of supernatural #spn criticism

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paindealt · 5 years

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I’ve probably already talked about my love for Kuai’s revenant design, but I’ll go on just in case I haven’t, or I didn’t get into detail. But I REALLY love Revenant Kuai’s design. I just love the colors of it for example. Like the colors of his costume in general are desaturated, not very vibrant. Which helps with both making Kuai feel lifeless, and the fact that he’s evil. Yet at the same time, it’s also still a hint of blue -- as Sub-Zero is known for wearing. I also prefer the orange eyes he has here over the red eyes the revenants don in 11. NOW I AIN’T HATING ON THE RED. The red’s cool too!! But I feel like the orange makes it less blatant that he’s evil. (Because y’know, red is the most evil color you can use.) while the orange still gives off that eerie feeling -- maybe an eeriness like Halloween. And gotta say, the glowing veins, and just how much veins he has in general on him looks wicked cool. The veins, along with the DEEP PURPLE of his eyes (I mean, look how purple they are!) makes Kuai look really sick and just kinda gross. It definitely gives off that corpse vibe. In fact, I think his eyes might be my favorite part. The purple really emphasizes how sick he is, it makes me sad that 11′s revenants didn’t have any eye coloring or eyebags/dark circles. Because I just think it’s a very neat detail.

One more detail I adore is the SPINE they added on his back. Like, it’s such great symbolism (if it was intended to be so). Because 1) Kuai’s brother, Bi-Han was killed by having his spine ripped out. And 2) Kuai is known for ripping people’s spines out, that’s his fatalities. So to have a dead Kuai with a spine on his back like that? Just amazing.

The only detail I don’t care for are his pants(?)/bottoms. Just because I prefer the uh... cloth looser/baggier pants he wears in most of his designs. (see mk9, MKX story Kuai, and MK11 designs) But it’s a minor one, and I still like his bottoms -- they have a cool look/design to ‘em! Just prefer the usual he wears.

#{ ✨ ; * ooc ! }#{ ❄️; * kuai about ! }#{ ❄️; * kuai visage ! }#// And I always prefer Kuai in fingerless gloves :')#// I can't believe I went on about a gosh darn design #// but i'm just really passionate about rev kuai

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real-life-pine-tree · 6 years

Text

Leo Will Never Know: Stranded and Separated (9/?)

In an alternate timeline, Yugi indirectly prevented the events of Arc-V from ever happening. But how could this small change have an impact on a few selected people? A spin-off of the Arc-V Aftermath series. Based on the hilarious comic by @justanotherotakuandartist. Co-written with @violetganache42.

Suddenly, a familiar face ran in. "Adrien?" Jesse asked. "What are you doin' here?"

"I'll explain later," Adrien replied. "Someone's coming in this direction!"

“What?” Jesse responded out of surprise.

Outside the Academy, Jesse and Adrian, along with Jaden, Alexis, Chazz, Syrus, Hassleberry, Jim, Crowler, and Bonaparte were all standing near the tan upper edge of the entrance to get a better view. They all reacted on who the person could be, but the students knew they have to help them whoever they are.

“Who is that?” Bonaparte asked as Jim, Adrian, Jesse, and Jaden all ran towards to the person’s location.

“Maybe it’s maintenance,” Crowler answered.

Off in the distance, their appearance became a bit more noticeable as they paced closer to Duel Academy. Sure enough, they were actually a “he” because of his teenage and masculine figure, but he looked like he had seen better days. His gray hair has gotten longer and reached past his shoulders and even sported spiky bangs messily sectioned off enough for his eyes to see. His face developed a five o’clock shadow and was scratched up on his cheeks, nose, and chin. He had a long, tattered, sandy-colored cloak over his shoulders, which was as long as his attire, consisting of a long-sleeved, green turtleneck shirt with torn cuffs of his sleeves, grayish-brown pants with rips and tears on each leg, desaturated yellow shoes, and goggles with orange lenses around his neck. With a twisted wooden cane in his hand for support, he stopped walking and gasped to see a sight he never thought he would see again.

“Duel Academy,” he muttered before waving his hands in the air to signal attention. “Anyone? Can you see me? I’m over here! I made it back!” Before he could continue, his eyes caught something flying against the direction he was heading. “Uh, oh. No! What are you? Where did you come from?”

Immediately after finishing his question, a Harpie Lady charged down and soared back up, knocking the teen off his feet as he yelled. She then turned around and aimed right back at her pray, who was worried that he was going to meet his unfortunate fate until…

“Get down!” Adrian yelled out as he pushed the teen to the ground to avoid getting hit. However, Harpie Lady’s claws on her feet penetrated Adrian’s clothes and dug into a few layers of his skin, leaving behind six scratches that could start bleeding at any second. He let out a pained shout as both teenage boys rolled on the sandy dunes before coming to a stop.

“That was quite the acrobatic maneuver,” Jim stated after he and Jesse met up with the two. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Adrian responded. “Just a minor flesh wound.”

Not satisfied with what she just did, Harpie Lady chuckled as she swerved back around to where the four were all grouped, believing that four preys would be better than just one.

“She’s comin’ back for seconds!” Jesse exclaimed. Once the remaining student caught up, he ran up in front of them, activated his Duel Disk, placed his deck into a compartment, and drew the top card. “I summon Sapphire Pegasus!” Rays of light shimmered from the image as a sapphire gem materialized into the dimension from a sparkling blue glow, which then bursted into tiny shards to reveal Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus. With his Main Phase complete, Jesse declared, “Take her down.”

“Okey doke,” Sapphire Pegasus acknowledged with a nod. He flew up to where Harpie Lady was and began his attack. “Try sticking your claws into this, you bird brain!” he shouted as he moved his head to use his sapphire blue horn as a sword to get her away. She flew farther away from him and was now higher above the ground, but her stone-cold gaze from her green irises was still locked onto the sand and a chuckle was heard from her devious smirk. She raised her left arm and moving kaleidoscopic images of her head faded in from behind her.

At that moment, Ray had rushed over as well. "Jesse, I told you I'll handle the minor threats!" she repeated as she activated her Duel Disk. "I'll handle the Harpie Lady my-"

Suddenly, a flash of golden light appeared on Harpie Lady, causing two more Harpie Ladies to materialize next to her. Ray gulped as she started looking through her deck.

"Still think you can take them down?" Jesse asked.

"O-Of course I can!" Ray stubbornly insisted. "You need to rest for bigger threats!"

"I hate to interrupt, but what's all this about?" Bastion questioned.

At that moment, Ray had an idea. "Bastion, do you still have your decks?" she asked.

"Of course," Bastion answered. "How else could I have survived being in this realm for so long?"

"Then get one of them out and give me some backup," Ray replied. "I hope you have a deck that can counter these Harpies."

"Very well," Bastion agreed. "I suppose now might be a good time to test out my new prototype Flamvell cards."

Prototype? Was that what he has been perfecting on ever since he started working with Dr. Eisenstein? Ray wondered what this Flamvell archetype is and Bastion explained it is going to mark the next chapter of Duel Monsters history; because it is not finalized, he added that there will be great changes to it in the near future after demonstrating it and tackling this major predicament they are all currently in.

Jaden noted on how Bastion needs to put the Flamvells into use because Harpie Lady is not done with her assault. Jesse agreed and for a good reason; although he has been listening to what the prototype is, he has also been getting a better understanding of what this dimension is. After watching Harpie Lady bring out two more of her, he realized not only can Duel Monsters and Spirits can come to life, but Spells and maybe even Traps can be utilized as well. It would explain why they’re now facing off against the Harpie Lady Sisters because she had just used Elegant Egotist to special summon them. What’s worse is the appearance of a golden yellow beam of light that rained down on them and equipping them with yellow plates of armor on their bodies. Once the light beam vanished, Harpie Lady and her two sisters all hovered above the group of Duelists as their ATK raised from 1950 to 2450. Jesse instantly recognized it as Cyber Shield and concluded that all the rules of the Duel Monsters card game applies to this dimension, and with their opponents using it to their advantage, they’re now stronger than Sapphire Pegasus.

The three Harpies all dashed to Sapphire Pegasus’ location and used their claws to slash and scratch him in all directions. Jesse yelled out his monster’s name out of concerned as he was forced to watch him easily getting overwhelmed. Rising back up in the air, the Harpie Lady Sisters all chuckled and finished their attack on their prey, using a total of three slashes to send him ricocheting to the ground. Bastion witnessed everything unfolding before his eyes and complied with Jaden about how he has to act fast if he was going to use his new cards to save his friends. He and Adrian both got up from the ground, and while the latter was receiving assistance from Jim, he asked Jesse if he could borrow his Duel Disk. Naturally, he obliged, taking it off his arm and handing it over while keeping it activated; there was no way they were going to end this battle right now because they need to turn it around.

"Ray, I need you to summon Hope Dragon Bird," Bastion said.

"Why her?" Ray asked.

"Because in order for my strategy to work, I need to borrow her," Bastion explained.

"Um... Okay," Ray agreed, not sure what Bastion was planning. "I summon Hope Dragon Bird!"

Hope Dragon Bird appeared on the field in a whirlwind of feathers. But when she saw what her opponents were, she looked surprised. "My goodness..." she said. "You expect me to take care of these monsters by myself?!"

"Calm down, Hope Dragon Bird," Ray said. "Bastion said he has a plan."

"Indeed, I do," Bastion confirmed. "I summon Neo Flamvell Hedgehog!"

A swirl of fire jetted out of a gleam of light and its flaming streaks spun around into a spiral until it condensed itself into a fiery ball, which then popped open to reveal Neo Flamvell Hedgehog, a Level 3 FIRE Pyro-Type monster with 800 ATK and 200 DEF. If it gets destroyed by battle, a card in the opponent’s Graveyard is removed from play, but if it’s destroyed by a card effect, a FIRE monster with 200 or less DEF in its owner’s Graveyard, except this card, is added to their hand. However, Bastion has no intentions of using it in battle as he was about to show them what he has been designing on right now.

"Okay Neo Flamvell Hedgehog, tune with Hope Dragon Bird!" Bastion commanded.

"Wait, tune...?" Ray asked. "Don't you mean fuse?"

"Not quite," Bastion explained. "I thought of a different type of special summoning, one that doesn't require Polymerization. Don't believe me? See for yourself."

Ray looked back at the two monsters, who were both in the sky and undergoing something new. Neo Flamvell Hedgehog changed into three light blue illuminating stars, which all shrank and regrew as three green rings that all aligned themselves and descended to Hope Dragon Bird. The rings proceeded to scan her, converting her into a glowing orange-yellow outline of herself and transforming into four more light blue stars. In almost an instant, a narrow green line of light passed through the rings and struck all four stars before rapidly expanding in size.

"This is the future of dueling!" Bastion announced. "Introducing a new type of card: Synchro monsters! Come on out and show everyone your power, Ancient Flamvell Deity!"

A silhouette of a monster emerged from the bright green light and jumped towards the ground, planting its left fist into the dunes and knelling on his right knee. It got up from the ground and crossed its arms; it appeared all shadowed, but that was due to the glare from the three suns this dimension has. The glare shifted angle to unveil a gargantuan being with brownish-bronze armor and golden linings all over its body and flames on top of its head and on its shoulders, elbows, fists, lower torso, knees, and feet. That monster was Ancient Flamvell Deity, a Level 7 FIRE Pyro-Type Synchro monster with 2500 ATK and 200 DEF. It requires a FIRE Tuner and one or more non-Tuner Pyro-Type monsters, but this summoning condition will not apply to any more Synchro monsters in the future. When successfully Synchro Summoned, it can remove from play cards that are in the opponent’s Graveyard equal to the number of cards in the player’s hand and gain 200 ATK for each card that has been removed from play.

Everyone was absolutely flabbergasted. "Wh-Wh-Wh-" Jaden stammered, his jaw dropped in surprise.

"What the heck is that thing?!" Jesse asked.

"A Synchro monster," Bastion repeated. "I created these cards as a side project. So far I was able to complete a few Flamvell Synchros, but the rest are currently in their beta phases. The developing process should be completed within a few weeks."

"You actually developed a new type of card?" Adrian asked. "That's incredible!"

Jaden, however, was still at a loss for words. "N-N-New...cards..."

"So why that monster?" Ray asked.

"Because Ancient Flamvell Deity has higher attack than the Harpie Lady Sisters," Bastion answered. "Now to demonstrate the power of Synchros! Attack with Volcanic Fire Eruption!"

The gold linings on Ancient Flamvell Deity's body signaled the commence of its attack as they luminated in a bright golden marigold hue and the flames increased in intensity. It rotated its body and stared directly at the Harpie Lady Sisters; the combination of the heightened glow and patches of fire led to the bronze armor to give off the impression that it was heating up. With a swift movement of its arms, it lept off the sand and aimed its fists at its opponents, where molten lava erupted from its body, rained down on each Harpie Lady, and and severely burning them to the point where they all exploded as a result of them being weaker than Ancient Flamvell Deity by only 50 ATK.

"So Ray, care to explain why you're out here when you should be in the nurse's office?" Jim asked.

"I guess I recover faster than I thought," Ray admitted with a shrug.

"That doesn't sound too good," Alexis said, voicing concern. "We need to take you back."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ray insisted. "I'll be fi-"

Before she could finish her sentence, a sudden jolt of fatigue struck her head. She was having trouble keeping her eyes open, and as fast as it occurred, it began spreading to her entire body, making her limbs—especially her legs—feel weak and decreasing her balance stability. She tried to walk a little in order to head to a spot to rest until the fatigue subsides, but any movement as small as only a few steps only made her lowered balance worse. Right as she was falling into the sand, Chazz and Alexis caught her body and held onto her for support. It was obvious she woke up not because she rested up at a faster rate, but maybe because of something else that had recently took place back inside.

"Ray, you can't keep going like this," Alexis advised. "You're going to end up exhausted from overwork."

"But...I have to keep going..." Ray insisted, still being stubborn. "Bastion and I are the only ones without Bio Bands..."

"Bio Bands?" Bastion repeated. "What on earth is going on?"

"We'll explain everything back in the school," Adrian answered. Several minutes later, the students returned to Fonda’s office to report another injury, the identity of the person who was approaching Duel Academy, and a sleep-deprived Ray. Once everyone got situated, Bastion was given the information from his friends on how the school year has been going for them in regards to the Bio Bands and the dimension they are stuck in as of now. Although he was glad to see they are alright, he now has a better understanding of why he and Ray should handle the minor threats for the time being.

"I see..." Bastion remarked. "Very well. I'll help Ray out. I still have my six decks, so I can switch between them depending on the threat."

"So what brings you out here, Bastion?" Jaden asked.

"It's because I started working alongside Professor Eisenstein," Bastion explained. "While I was able to use his technology to create Synchro monsters, it was only a side project to the bigger picture: the idea that's based on the presumption that there exists 12 different dimensions. And one of them has a world where Duel Spirits live. That's where we are now."

"That explains a lot..." Chazz muttered as he glanced at his Ojamas.

"As we explored ways to this dimension, something went terribly wrong," Bastion continued. "It appeared that we had pierced an interdimensional vortex, thus triggering an incredible force of cosmic energy. The entire lab was consumed by a powerful light. When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a sandy no-man's land. And you, Jaden? How did you and the others arrive in this desolate world?"

Ray looked embarrassed. "Ray?" Bastion asked. "Why do you look so flushed all of a sudden?"

"It's kind of...my fault..." Ray admitted. "I defeated this crazy snake person in a duel and there was this huge flash of light afterwards."

"Come on, Ray," Jaden reassured. "It's not your fault. None of us knew he had a Bio Band."

"So there was a flash of light there as well?" Bastion questioned. "Interesting... So it seems we're all stranded here in this dimension."

"For the time being," Jaden added.

"Luckily my new Synchro Flamvells have provided protection against enemy Duel Spirits," Bastion continued, taking out his deck. "But I fear there is a greater threat coming."

"My Hope Dragons sense it too," Ray spoke up. "That's why I wanted to deal with minor threats. If those Bio Bands are still draining energy, it's best to duel wisely."

"So Ray, where's Michael?" Bastion asked. "I haven't seen him at all."

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Michael has been roaming around the island for quite a while, specifically in the vicinity of where the Academy used to be. He tried calling Ray—at least maybe a few times—see if she was okay and all of them had a common reply: there wasn’t any reply. Fearing the worst, he had been making desperate attempts to contact any of the students he has known the past few years to see if they could respond to him, but so far, he hasn’t gotten a single response because there was a high chance something was preventing the calls from being received on the other end. Every attempt he has made have been feeble until his eyes shifted away from the ground and up into the sky when he spotted something far away in the distance. It was getting nearer to the island, the sound of the propellers was growing louder, and if his guesses were correct, it was planning on landing on the helicopter bay where the dock is. Whoever is in the helicopter, he needed to inform them on what just took place while they were gone, so he proceed to run through the dense trees, taking a path that is closest to the Slifer Red dorm because it is adjacent to the bridge that leads to the dock.

As the helicopter approached the island, the massive crater came into the pilot’s viewpoint, who was left dumbfounded by the sight. “Chancellor Sheppard, you might want to see this,” he said while preparing to land the helicopter.

Less than a couple minutes later, Sheppard had gotten out of the helicopter, analyzing the crater in front of him. “I know the school was there when I left,” he recalled. “Oh, boy. Parents won’t like this.”

At that moment, Michael rushed over to Sheppard. "Chancellor, what's going on?!" the Magician user asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Sheppard admitted. "What happened to Duel Academy?"

"How should I know?!" Michael asked in response. "I ended up oversleeping for nearly the whole day and when I woke up, everyone was gone!"

"What?" Sheppard asked. "Where were you?"

"I was-" Michael started to say. But then he remembered what happened to him last night and his eyes widened. "In my dorm room."

"So you were oversleeping in your dorm room?" Sheppard asked. "That means everyone else was still at the school."

"Including Ray," Michael added. "And I tried contacting the others, but they couldn't respond."

"That's good to know," Sheppard remarked. "Hopefully we can try to figure out what happened."

“Don’t move.”

An unfamiliar female voice cut their conversation short before they could deduce the cause and experiment with some kind of resolution. Sheppard and Michael faced at the landed helicopter, and without any time to react, a pale-skinned, gray-eyed woman dressed in a dark green marine attire charged out from below the vehicle. She initiated her attack by grabbing Sheppard’s yellow shirt collar and effortlessly flipping him onto the ground despite his size.

“Dear me!” he yelled as he was risen off the bay and landed back first. “I just had this pressed.”

"Quiet!" the woman threatened. "You're gonna help me find a student that was at this school!" She noticed Michael. "Who are you?"

"I'm Michael Lindonson," the Magician user answered, introducing himself. "Obelisk Blue, Senior Year."

The woman released her grip on Sheppard. "Lindonson, huh?" she repeated. "You must be one of the two famed Obelisk students everyone talks about. Where's the other one?"

"I'm not sure," Michael replied. "But-"

A strong gust of wind blasted the trio out of nowhere and it was quickly followed by the sounds of propellers. “What in the—?!” the woman called out.

Up in the sky, another helicopter had appeared during their dispute, hovering over the bay. Two ropes were thrown out of the doors and two men dressed in black suits and shades—one with a black buzzcut and one with spiky brunette hair—held onto them as they descended near Sheppard, Michael, and the woman were. They were ready to engage in counterattacks because of how she was willing to take Sheppard as hostage just to find who this student is; seeing them as a threat, she ran towards them and threw a couple punches, which proved ineffective since they easily dodged them and relocated her arms behind her back.

With her now restrained, Sheppard got up to see where they came from. “Who are you?” he asked.

Michael pointed up to the airborne helicopter and told him to look at who was in it. There stood a fair-skinned man with straight, silver hair that covered his left eye while leaving his right brown eye exposed. He also wore a red suit underneath a long-sleeved, white, frilled shirt with a thin, black bowtie around the collar, and white shoes. They both instantaneously recognized him the moment they laid eyes on him.

“Pegasus?” Sheppard surprisingly questioned before smiling as he continued. “To what do I owe the pleasure? I’m so honored.”

Michael’s jaw was left ajar, not believing what he was seeing. He recalled him and Ray seeing glimpses of Jaden helping him and Chumley retrieving the prototype copy of the Winged Dragon of Ra from a renegade Industrial Illusions card designer and heard rumors last year of how he dueled Crowler and Bonaparte later on. One year later and he is now meeting the man who created it all at a time of need. The president of Industrial Illusions and the creator of Duel Monsters, Maximillion Pegasus himself.

"I received a rather urgent message from KaibaCorp," Pegasus explained. "They said something about the academy, or lack there of."

"Do they know the whereabouts of the school?" Sheppard asked.

"Currently there isn't much information to share," Pegasus reported. "But we do know that many of the students are missing, including Jaden Yuki and his gangle of friends. Now then, we need to get to the bottom of this, and I think I know where to start digging."

But before he could have the pilot land the helicopter in order to commence investigation, he turned his head away from the crater and to where Michael was standing, who was still rendered speechless at being in the presence of one of the biggest icons in Duel Monster history. Pegasus wasn’t entirely sure if he has seen this particular student before yet there was something about him that reminded him of something he heard about last year.

"Have we met?" Pegasus asked.

Michael took a deep breath. "Sort of," he answered. "I'm Michael Lindonson. Obelisk Blue, Senior Year."

"Michael Lindonson..." Pegasus repeated. "So you're the one Seto Kaiba met. Didn't he give you a new Fusion dragon?"

"He did," Michael confirmed. He took out Starving Venom from his deck. "He gave me this card to help me defeat the Society of Light."

So it was true. He had a feeling this teen was the same Michael who obtained Starving Venom, but for the purpose of defeating the Society of Light? He must be a really powerful Duelist, especially since he and Ray are the two best students in Obelisk Blue and two of the best in the entire Academy. Now that he thought about it, he was uncertain if Ray was still around; Michael explained she hasn’t been around ever since he got up, and if what Pegasus said earlier was true, then she is most likely with Jaden, his friends, and the many other students who have vanished. Much to his embarrassment, a part of him felt like he was not going to live this down for a while.

"Don't worry, Michael," Pegasus said. "I'll help you get your friends back."

"Thanks...sir," Michael replied as he bowed slightly.

#Arc V Aftermath #Leo Will Never Know #yugioh arc v #Zarc (arc v)#Ray Akaba #GenesisShipping #ZarcRay

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datawesomenessdoe-blog · 6 years

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TFtCS: Scientific Standstill

Melissa darted across the street towards where she last saw the strange man, a stern gaze of determination plastered on her face as she charges through the bullet-hell monsoon. Her teeth grin as the powerful wind grabbed at the loose ends of her plastic cloak; at this point the poncho was only a restraint, so the aggravated wizard ripped it off like a layer of plastic skin, it being released and tossed around through the air until the black void of night consumed the vibrant yellow. A group of enforcer-craft soon hovered a few blocks back, most likely where they’d meet up with Lynn. “Dammit!” Melissa shouted, determination and anger inflating her vocal chords. “VAAUBAN. SHOW YOURSELF.” She took a firm stand in the one-lane alley, foot stomping in a puddle, its wet contents splashing against her boot. Melissa balled her fists as a thin aura of purple engulfed her outline, yet despite its lack of thickness, the color was extremely opaque and potent, almost radiant. Her steps slowed; the sound of an opposing sprint coming to a halt. Her irises hadn’t change color, but rather, they had multiplied. Between the magician’s naturally-colored green eyes and her blackened pupils sat a thin ring. It was exactly the same as her aura: thin and opaque. As she slowly strolled north, a metal door to her left gave the tiniest creek, but this was still a conformation for the young woman. She aimed a hand at the door, opened it, and squeezed it once more. The staple-shaped emergency handle was crushed under the weight of Melissa’s magical power, the door being pried off from its upper hinge with extreme ease. The sounds of wet, hard-sole boots clack against the concrete surface beneath and the door is aggressively slammed shut, a crack in the gate’s top barely revealing the outside world. It was pitch black, well, aside from the small amount of light Melissa’s body had been shining with. While her aura was a bold shade of light purple and could easily be seen from a distance, it still failed at acting as a colored flashlight. The man lunges up from behind one of the many metallic containers, a makeshift Harbinger pistol in hand. He fires, the charge of electrified plasmic matter brightening up the room with its blue-white energy. Under normal circumstances, a high voltage handgun would’ve been enough to instantly kill an average armorless human, along with sending their body several feet away. However, Melissa merely backhands the dense ball of electrons, sending it into the iron wall to her left, the surface being slightly dented due to the amount of force. She grunts and approaches the man, grabbing him by the shirt collar, the patchy armor over his body in a similar design to the gun; old Harbinger metals, silver and sleet, chipped away at the ends, rusty bolts holding its form together. “M-Melissa…! W-what brings ya’ around here?” Vaauban forces out a fearful laugh, his artificial eye darting around the room with his biological one. Melissa grunts and tightens her grip, lifting the scrawny man up from the ground, her aura of neon color seemingly thicker as it flutters a white hue. “Gah! Alright-alright-alright! What-do-you-want!?” His voice echoes through the closed shop, they both being concealed in the back room. “Just what in THE FORERUNNER’S GOD DAMN NAME are you doing here!?” The fist squeezes, leaving Vaauban with barely little air as he’s indirectly choked. “Let me guess, you want to do just what you did to New Harmony? I should just kill you here and now.” The glow outlining Melissa’s unused right arm flames to a point, sharpening to a single, arched end, almost like some kind of elongated sickle of desaturated purple. “WAIT-WAIT-WAIT!” The old enemy aggressively wiggles and shakes in the wizard’s grasp, afraid for his life. “C’mon, it’s me! Good ol’ Doctor Gallagher!” She cocks back her arm, teeth grinding with hate-filled anticipation. “M-Melissa! We’re both wise Harbinger doctors, surely we can be civil!” The magician looks down, her eyes shaded from what little brightness was in play. “No… The Vaauban Gallagher I know died a long time ago… You’re no New World Harbinger, you’re a TRAITOR!” The woman swings, but finds her surely-swift movement to be rudely interrupted. The city, no, the whole planet rumbles beneath her feet. She drops the man, then covers her ears as a ping of sound echoes across the world’s atmosphere, masking the sound of enforcer sirens that approached from the distance. “SHIT! I’ve been using it for too long!” Vaauban goes into a sprint for the only remaining door, dashing to get into another portion of the store. Melissa lifts one arm from her head, trembling under pain as she struggles to form a circular barrier around the surviving exit. Her aura of power begins to dissipate, becoming translucent as she becomes ever-more weaker. A sudden burst of plasma stuck the woman along her face, registering her nearly blind. “Listen Mel, I like you and all, but I’ve got a feeling that if who I think just entered the orbit really is that person, well, they might like you more than me.~” The purple circle fuzzes away, letting Vaauban easily walk right through its once-protective body like mere fog. “I know your weaknesses; no vision, no grasp over your power. Now if you’ll just hand over the Shard, well, I’ll be on my merry way.~” He extends his free hand, HV-Handgun still being tightly kept in the counter. Despite the clear threat against her very own life, Melissa takes the situation quite oddly. Chuckles leave the downed woman’s maw as she looks up with a pair of beady, useless eyes. “V, you’re pretty dumb for a doctor; you know that?” The metal door that had been previously broken was met with powerful kicks from the reverse side, leading to a sudden jump from the man. “I have two friends with me. One’s a self-trained comissionist, and the other a retired Nullifier unit, so I’d get a move-on.~” Vaauban growls from the extensive pool of fury that found its way inside of him. “This won’t be the last time you’ll see me Melissa!” The scientist makes a break for the only free door, his broken, Harbinger armor clattering as the metal opening slams shut. Just as the criminal makes his escape, Davy’s robotic fist impacts on the opposing side of the sealed gate, sending the sheet of metal flying across the room. As the door is punched-in, the captain lunges forward, most likely from the abrupt amount of abnormal thrust that her extremedy generated. Behind her are Lynn and several Enforcers, some human, some not. Their armor is decorated with colors of deep blues, along with multiple tints of yellow and gold. In their arms are multiple same-modeled Impact Blast Cannons, assault rifle-esque machine guns that work more with strength and raw force, rather than the electronic pulse that Vaauban’s HV-Handgun had to offer. “Haha! I did it!” Davy poses atop the collapsed wall piece, her legs both split, one taking a knee and the other extended while her metal arm held down against it’s abused surface. The shaking becomes evermore violent, causing the redhead pirate to collapse down onto her knees. “Okay, look. We gotta’ getta’ move-on, now!” “Davy’s right! Listen, I have NO IDEA what in the world’s goin’ on here, but we need to go, NOW.” Lynn leans over and tightly grabs Melissa’s wrist, lifting her from the ground like a fallen soldier, her synthetic palm reassuring to the blinded female. “Wait…” Suddenly, the rampant shaking ceases. All is quiet in the city as thousands of flying cars all rest on the ground, the portion of the city that the protagonists have found themselves in not as empty as it once was. Davy, Lynn, and Melissa, along with the group of Enforcers all exit the structure with haste, the police heading in the direction in which Vaauban evaded. The three remaining trying to see just where the boom of sound originated from through the metal hedges that made the urban setting. Nothing. All was quiet. Another forceful shockwave suddenly juts out from Hammerspace, followed by one of the largest spacecrafts that any of them has ever seen, something that they have only seen few times before. The ship was ridiculous in size, taking up nearly the entire sky as a fleet surrounds it. Hundreds, possibly thousands of Vanguard frigates blip into existence around the colossal beast. “Is that…” Melissa begins to speak, still being able to see the gigantic foreign object due to its shear magnitude, even with terrible vision. “The Hammerhead Conclave…” Lynn finishes, staring up with an open, white-pupiled eye. She stares in a masked awe; the Hammerhead was a Vanguard ultimate-class ship- one of only three in existence. “Does this mean-” “HELL YEAH!” Davy shouts down the corridor-like streets, her excited voice echoing for an undistinguishable distance. “Brother’s here!” Triumphant, childish laughs escape the bold woman as her hands straighten and raise into the air, almost as if her new idol’s mere entrance is something to party about. Suddenly, the air heated up and everything slowed down, coming to a complete halt after ten seconds or so. Melissa looked to her left and right, jumping at how time had come to a seamless stop before her. An orange orb flew over from the invisible half of the hammerhead, it heading right towards the young wizard. Directly in front of her the figure landed, its torso twisting and rotating before falling to a knee, the other leg propped up with a hand held against its upper portion. The glow faded, leaving Brother in its place. He looked up towards the mobile Melissa, his singular eye scanning her body as his thick, orange aura pulsated. The many grooves in his metallic wires also pumped with the fluid-esque substance. “So.” His voice boomed through the soundless city as he honed in on the singular human. “Looks like I was right.” He stares and speaks in a flattened tone, clearly disappointed, whether in the woman or himself seemingly unknown. “W-what’s going on here!? Why has everything just stopped all of a sudden!?” The tiny, frightened organic began to panic, darting over from object to object for a quick, yet deep inspection on any kind of mobility. “Ahh… So you’re unaware of the Armaments’ properties… Allow me to explain. My crew had managed to detect a small, sudden eruption of Lunar Polarity coming from this exact location. We had a hunch that it couldn’t have been Sister, well, that was until the source of energy grew to unholy proportions…” Melissa stops running, looking up to the crouched Sapient as his soft, British tone explained with melancholy. “Dammit Vaauban!” Her hands became fists along the purple robe that she bad been baring, only to be stammered in her tracks. “Wait, so why exactly is everything frozen?” “... The Armaments have time-based powers, as you would probably know. This allows those powerful enough to have some control over time, the more of the Armament, the slower they can change progression. Despite this, all who have a Shard are in relative time with the slowdown.” His upper eyelid lowers, its left and right corners lifted higher than the center as his right arm lifts and extends, palm up. “Give me the Shard that you bare, and we’ll pretend that you didn’t steal and use a military superweapon. Fair?” He sits with little movement, leaving Melissa time to observer her own, much smaller appendage. A small piece of some strange, otherworldly symbol fizzles into her hand from Hammerspace, it being the blue shrapnel that the High General desired. “I don’t care that I’m Vanguard and you’re Harbinger; we both hate our enemy just as much, so help me keep her from gaining this power.” Brother’s eye turned back into its uninterrupted shape, a luminescent, red circle of compassion and sympathy. “...” Melissa stared at the floating object as it dropped into her fleshy palm, looking like nothing more than an old piece of metal that had been ripped from vehicular disposal. It was tiny, but the amount of power that could be siphoned from its depths was unimaginable. “No.” She boldly claimed, the end of her limb now clenching back whole with the piece of hardened material protected in the confines of her fingers. “Listen, I can understand why you’d want this, but I’ve kept this Shard of Luna protected for three years. Even though Sister wants my friends and I, Nemesis will surely be back for Davy’s blood, and without any Shards, we won't be able to stop her.” Eyes lift up from the unphased road, Melissa now looking dead into the godly robot’s visionary orb with her own. “If handing this over means risking my friends’ lives… Well I refuse to just hand this over. Kill me if you need to, but keeping my friends, my family, my Davy… It means keeping them safe.” Her chest swells with a huge breath, the sound of air leaving through her nose being the only audio left to leave the human. She was scared, possibly even horrified! Brother could easily kill her if he wanted to, and could definitely get away with it. However, he merely closes his eye and lowers his hand, a sigh of both disappointment and fatherliness escaping from his metallic, energy-making lungs. “McGregor. During the war, I wished nothing but your very demise; all Vanguard did. I’m well aware of who you really are, even if your friends aren’t. But I believe that your intentions are true, and while saying this breaks literally every single line that I’ve been told to follow…” The eye opens, well-relaxed accompanied by a gentle sound of relief. “I’m actually going to trust you. But if you lose your Shard of Luna, or anything happens to your accomplices… the punishment will be most severe. Am I understood?” She simply stares down at the item, taking half a minute just to look back up at the superior force of nature. A smirk dawns upon her face, closed lips and a thankful look meeting the High General, followed by a reassuring nod of the head. “Yes Sir, but let’s agree to keep this a secret, alright?” “Agreed.”

#TftCS #Tales From the Cosmic Sea #My Writing

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acetechne · 7 years

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How do you adapt colour palettes to specific characters? Like drawing a character in a colour pallet other thain their own? Idk how and it makes me angry.

are you talking about colour palette challenges i’ve done? where it’s a random palette? the trick is you gotta stop thinking in terms of ‘his hair is red’ and ‘his eyes are green’, start thinking in terms of ‘his hair is medium’ and ‘his eyes are light’. Colours are a lot more versatile than they seem at first, and that whole debacle about the friggin ‘blue/white or black/gold dress is a great example of that. Things change colours in different lights and when they’re next to other colours, and can even look different from person to person!

It’s not easy to wrap your head around and I still have trouble with it, but that’s why colour palette challenges are a great exercise in combining colours and also training in hue/saturation and why I like doing them so much.

so let’s do an example with ed because i draw him a lot:

This is what I’m gonna call “Accurate Colours”. I tried to keep it simple but this is the sort of colour scheme I use for ed in simple comics where there’s not a ton of dramatic lighting or anything and even then i still kind of use it as a base. His hair is brown, his eyes are hazel, and city hall behind him is painted with roughly “correct” colours- at least for a late morning/early afternoon as it looked when I was there today. So let’s say we want a random colour palette that kind of has a summery mood (i gave him an ice cream because we’re having a heatwave right now rip)

Here’s a random palette off colourlovers that has the sort of mood I might like to convey, you might notice it has a lot of contrasting colours and that’s part of the reason I chose it.

The trick is to stop thinking in terms of “that brown on the left has to be his hair and eyes because it is brown” or “that dark blue has to be the water because water is blue”. Instead of “has to”, think “can”. The trick I use with colour palettes if I’m having a lot of trouble is to desaturate them and order them from light to dark- I can show you this visually although I’m more or less at the point that my brain can do this automatically for me from practice.

Take a look at the greyscale version:

This is a bit tricky because the palette doesn’t have the same range of tones as my drawing- it’s going to change the mood and the contrast but it’s not impossible!

Here’s a version where I basically went from light to dark and tried to replace the lightest colour with the lightest colour on the palette and so on:

these might not have been decisions I would have made if i was colouring it from scratch, but it’s not too terrible. It’s also (coincidentally) got a couple colours (like the blue of the pyramid and of the sky and water) that match the original quite well. However, there are some problems I have: the trees have almost no contrast with the sky and parts of the building, and what was supposed to be fountain spray kind of look like creepy misshapen hands emerging from the void. Sometimes you have to use your own judgement in addition to this simple method- try different colour combos and see what looks good next to each other!

Here’s a new version where I took what I liked from the version above and tried some other things to make it more visually interesting

I usually pick one colour at a time and try to place that colour all over the image to make it visually interesting- I did the hot pink last because it was the most ‘popping’ colour to me so in this atmosphere I didn’t want to overuse it- you can do the same thing with any of the colours you like depending on what mood you are going for! but look closely- isn’t it interesting how this pale red kind of looks brown in this combination and the blue sort of “echoes” the green in the original? No idea why that is- opposites on the colour wheel maybe- but cool.

There’s still something I’m bothered about with colours that are too close together- so in that case in a simple drawing like this, some patterns won’t go amiss! Here’s my final version:

As you can see I ended up changing some things, and colour combinations i was originally unsure of (like the orange in the fountain) look a bit more interesting and textured with different amounts and drawings. You can see I added a couple things and changed some colours around as I was working, and that’s totally ok too. I feel like if I wanted to make this a nightime scene, I could have used either dark blue or pink for the sky and orange for the water, for example, and the mood would have been very different even with the same colours- a bit more romantic or quiet. But you never think “oh man that guy’s hair is blue is he an alien’ because it’s obviously a limited palette and he matches the environment.

(oops i left white on this image i didn’t mean to do that but since the lines are black nothing’s stopping me from adding white either)

You can also try having warm and cool colours split up between different sections, like foreground and background as I did here:

The principle is the same if you’re just doing a colour palette of a character without an environment, but if you pay attention to textures and shading or how flat colours behave next to each other, you can get a lot of different moods and effects without it ever looking like an “accurate” palette. If you mess up the hues too much…

Notice something? this is a fine colour combo- the skin is a great midtone even though no human usually has blue skin- but because his hair is light it’s giving the impression that this is a guy who is either an alien or at least is a different character who has tanned skin and bleached hair- the super sonic recolour of ed but not ed xD (it doesn’t help that I haven’t coloured the background to match him to his environment out of laziness) but we can fix that a little:

You can still use orange in his hair without making him look blonde and a simple colour swap of the eyes to make them darker than his skin makes it work better. As you can see, there are nearly infinite combinations and if something is not working it probably is one or two colours just “out of sync” with the others. This is also why having a simple design with only a few colours is effective- it’s easier to remember how to draw and it’s easier to ‘translate’ into a different palette! (and if you’re working traditionally you can easily blend colours too… just sayin).

If you need a good starting point before diving into crazy colours, try a monochrome palette as a first challenge and only paint in different shades of one colour, or even different saturations could be interesting if they’re not too close together.

So yeah, I hope that answers your question a little and you can sort of start training your brain to think in different ways. Experiment! Make mistakes! Do weird or bad combos on purpose! Have fun!! Paint with the moods and emotions, not with the “correct” colours. :)

#Anonymous #art advice #colour palette #colour palette challenge #hapo art #digital art #photoshop #pc: edmonton #hapo replies #i spent lots of time on this whoop #reblogging here now just in case someone might find this useful idk #hapo tutorial

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codyfernaesthetic · 7 years

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Chocolate part 2

(Part two finally up! Enjoy!)

Feeling the panic rise in your throat, you whirl back to face the stage, still empty, but beginning to move as if going backward. A man appears...disappears...appears...disappears...He looks like Mark, you think for a moment. A horrifying ringing shoots through the air, surrounding you. You cover your ears, but to no avail; it screams louder. You hear creaking, as if reality itself was being forced to bend and contort far beyond its capabilities; warped and molded to fit some twisted design. The world is drained of color, desaturated into a dull gray; flashes of red and blue streaks pulse and blur your vision. The room splits into different parts, shrinking and multiplying; you see them all at the same time, as if staring into a million glitching TV screens with the same image. They begin to converge; making your line of vision smaller and smaller until they become a tiny ball of light which is immediately gone; blown out like a candle. Crushing darkness wraps around you like a python, squeezing every breath from your lungs. That horrible ringing pierces through your ears, stabbing its way into your mind.

In the middle of the darkness, Mark appears inches away from you...no, it can’t be Mark. His skin is gray, surrounded by those flashes of blue and red. His maliciously excited grin seems almost distorted. His black irises borough into you.

“Did you miss me?”

His voice slides over your skin like oil, seeping into your bones, violating every sensibility you have. You try to move, but he holds you captive with a paralyzing gaze; his words become invisible chains weighing you to the black void.

“I missed you...very much,” he continued, savoring every word with predatory pleasure. He clasps his hands behind his back and craned his neck, “I’ve been waiting a long time to see you again.”

A calm realization was able to slip through your panicked thoughts and remind you...you knew him. You’d noticed his influence from the beginning. All those times Mark wasn’t acting quite like himself...all those strange shadow figures and faces appearing in older videos...whenever Mark seemed to slip off the precipice of sanity and become possessed by something...dark, it was him.

And now he was making a personal appearance.

The dark figure’s tone became biting, frustrated, “I’ve been pushed aside...replaced...mocked. And then he had the gall to not invite me to his little adventure with you. No more. Never again.”

For a moment your vision blurred, blue and red painting across your eyes as the creature smiled, “It’s my turn now.”

Suddenly you were jerked into clarity, his growling voice rising. He became slightly less composed, gesturing angrily as he complained, “I’ve been waiting patiently! He promised he would let me in again!” He furiously readjusted his tie, in fact you began to notice his infrequent fidgeting, as if breaking in a new piece of clothing that didn’t fit exactly right, “I’m tired of giving people a choice. But,” he sighed, calming himself, “I suppose I could give you one last option. Take your pick!” he gestured with both hands to either side of him, “Anything of...four different choices--more than he’d ever given you--” he added with a flippant snarl, “and let’s see how far down this rabbit hole really goes. So, take your pick. Show me what you’ve got.”

He took your shaking hand, his touch cold and electric, sending sharp chills into every nerve, “And maybe,” he added, his features softening, “we’ll have a good date, after all.”

As he placed a gentle kiss on your knuckles, four sleek, black boxes on marble pedestals appeared on both sides of him. You’re terrified to choose, you’re terrified to refuse. You were immersed in the world of the devil you didn’t know, and playing his game meant survival. Heart pounding, you step forward to inspect your options. Each one is engraved with thin silver letters all reading the same word: FREEDOM.

You scrunched your face in confusion. What kind of joke was this? You wanted to confront him, tell him your options were a sham; how were you supposed to know which one to choose? But perhaps that was the point...you never had a choice, only the illusion of it. You find yourself drawn to the last box on the right, gazing at the mockery sprawled out in the word FREEDOM. Betraying your fear with trembling fingers, you lift the box’s lid, daring to glance inside. You stare at a piece of silk, its color a stark, ungodly white. You reach inside and pick up the long cloth, the warm softness contrasting the frozen harshness of the world around you.

“Good choice,” he commented softly, “But why do we need to choose in life?”

Before you can blink, you’re sitting at the restaurant table once again across from him. For a moment, you think you see a glimmer of sincerity emerge from his eyes like a flame in a dark chasm, “If dinner is what you want, then I can provide. And I can take you anywhere you’d like to go,” but then he leans in, voice menacingly seductive, “I can especially take you to the places where you don’t want to go. It’s exciting,” he purrs, barely reigning in a sadistic glee, “knowing that there are endless possibilities waiting for you.”

There’s a sudden glitch, a tear in the illusion’s fabric. He erupts, demonically screaming, “I CAN GIVE YOU ANYTHING!”

It temporarily mends, but he’s disoriented, taking deeper breaths, “I’ve been waiting a long time to get some personal time between us.”

His rage slashes into view again, animalistic, “THERE’S NOTHING YOU OR HE CAN DO TO STOP ME!”

“So,” he snaps back into composure, fixing his tie once more, smiling, “now that we’re here together...we can really get to know each other,” he glitched one last time, a raw scream ripping from his throat.

He offers a caring look, just a friend offering what’s best, “You just need to let me in. It’s as simple as that.”

The silken cloth which you had forgotten you were still holding, began to move; taking on its own life. It crept around your arm, almost like an animal nuzzling close to you, showing a sign of friendship, of affection. Its grip was warm, comforting, like a place of safety. You felt every fear melt away, suddenly wanting desperately to feel the silken embrace on your whole body, on your very soul. The table had disappeared, you were enwrapped in a euphoric mist, floating in the dark, now deeply soothing. He was behind you, inching closer with every released ounce of terror until you felt him at your back. You breathe in a contented sigh and lean your head against his chest, all apprehension disintegrated. His hand traced itself down the cloaked arm, and then found its way up to your shoulder; his touch just as cold, yet more like a soothing balm on an open wound than frostbite. Your peace is shattered with a sharp sting in your veins. You gasp wide-eyed at the blistering white viper crushing your arm, sinking its fangs deeper into your skin. You struggle in vain to throw it off, but he holds you still, his bruising grip tightening like the viper’s. You scream into the void, pain overtaking you.

A violent power rips you out of the blackness and searing pain. You stand blinking in the sun, dazed and reeling. He stands before you, the harsh daylight blurring his glitching form.

“You’re never ever going to escape. Not now--”

Suddenly he begins to shake, gritting his teeth and clutching his side. He emits an animalistic roar, a spear of white light slicing open his chest, that penetrating ringing cutting through your mind. You’re then enwrapped in blackness, groping at nothingness, your scream your only defense. The daylight slashes through and wrenches you back to reality. Your heart feels as if it will punch its way out of your chest, adrenalin shoots through your veins, exacerbated by the impossible sight in front of you.

Two Marks, standing on either side. Both of them begging with terrified eyes and rushed voices, “Shoot him! Shoot him now, please!”

A gun, deadly cold and unbearably heavy is in your shaking grip. You frantically look back and forth between them, unable to hold back tears pouring down your face, trying to make the right decision. You close your eyes. You aim.

Time slows to a crawl. The crack of the gunshot...the pained wheezing of one of the Marks...your eyes slowly opening...

Mark runs up to you, hugging you close, assuring you gently, “You made the right call. Come here, it’s ok. It’s ok.”

You barely let him go for a long time, refusing to even release his hand as the two of you slowly made your way towards a little ice cream parlor on the corner. You had apologized over and over again, but he wouldn’t hear it. He let you cry into his chest, slowly stroking your hair to calm you, “It’s ok. We’re here now.”

He was so kind, so gentle and warm. He was Mark, thank God.

You sat down at the outside table and buried your face in your hands while he ordered your ice cream. You took deep breaths, holding back the urge to cry again. When he returns and accidentally bumps into the table, you jump, just holding back a scream. He takes your hands, assuring you once more, “It’s going to be all right. Just relax.”

He smiles and sits down, “We’ll just enjoy some nice, dairy-based treats. And get to know each other; really, personally,” he indicates to the bowl in front of you, “Go ahead.”

You take a long look at him, his smiling eyes and kind demeanor. You return the smile, looking down at your bowl and feeling a kind of childish excitement spring up. You did always love chocolate.

The world goes silent. Your vision turns to hazy gray, tinted red and blue. Your heart drops into the pit of your stomach. You trace your gaze upwards to look into the evil grin of Darkiplier, “Oops...” he offers sardonically, “looks like you made the wrong choice,” his grin stretches into a crazed toothy smile, “But now we’re going to be together...forever.”

Another box, much like the ones he had presented before appeared on the table, this time with the phrase: Try Again? written across the top. Relief washes over you. It doesn’t have to end like this! You can fix everything! You hastily reach for the box to tear off the lid only to have it faze through your hand, your desperate touch never finding it to be real. in your hands. Dark’s cold hand finally grabs yours, squeezing it possessively.

He whispers, and you hear it echo in your mind.

”No more choices.”

#markiplier #a date with markiplier #darkiplier #my writing

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