#she’s two grand

[blitzy-blitzwing]

Ugh, someone has a yorkie puppy and I want her so bad. 🥺🥺

[bixels]

Posting a sneak-peak of this now because I'm about to be In The Shit school workload-wise, so this'll take me a while to finish.

Doing some character design exploration/expression sheets for Celestia and Luna. Figuring out Celestia's weird ass anatomy while I'm at it.

[lykegenia]

So something has been bugging me for a while now about A and N’s backstories, and while I know not everyone will be as pedantic as me, as someone who loves history and has done a lot of writing, I feel that if you’re going to write a story about vampires and give them a specific time and date of origin, then there should be a certain level of research that goes into making that background authentic. I'm not saying that Mishka didn’t do any research. It just seems that in order to keep the vibe of a happy, mellow fantasy some of the less savoury aspects of A and N’s upbringings have been left out, and it's a shame. To be honest, it feels a bit disingenuous, and it feels like an opportunity got wasted.

Let me explain (long post got long, it's 2am)

Let's take A first, since the problem is simpler here.

A is the child of a Norman lord and an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, born in the first generation after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. A says that these were turbulent times but that their parents had a happy marriage. Which. While I’m sure a lot of unions in that time period made the best of it, I can’t help but feel this description strips away a lot of the context of what was going on at that point in history - and removes some of the complexity about A’s thoughts on love and relationships.

Basically, after he took control of the throne, William the Conqueror stripped many Anglo-Saxon lords of their lands and titles so he could give them to his Norman buddies instead - with the added bonus that it left the Anglo-Saxons without the means to raise armies against him. The sisters, daughters, and widows of the dispossessed Anglo-Saxons were then forced to marry these new Norman lords to legitimise their power, not infrequently after all of their male relatives had been slaughtered. It’s not as if Anglo-Saxon women weren’t used to being used as political chess pieces, but the years after the conquest were brutal. It’s why William had to build so many castles. The point that I’m trying to make is that even if A’s mother was content enough in her daily life, due to the power imbalance between her and her husband, it's very likely she had little choice in the matter. She may have seen a lot of her family killed for political reasons, with the knowledge that – in an age where women had very little protection outside of their paternal household – she might be next if she made too much of a fuss.

It would be fascinating to see what effect that tension has had on A 900 years later, or even to get an acknowledgement of how much times have changed, but we don’t. We don't see how their early years affected them, how they view relationships formed naturally instead of via political contracts. And I really, really wish we did. There is so much potential there.

But A is not the one keeping me up past 2 in the morning. It’s N, and the utter detachment their backstory seems to have from the period in history they lived in as a human. And it all stems from the fact that they came from the English nobility in the late 1600s.

See, the bulk of the problem is that English inheritance law at the time heavily favoured primogeniture, where a man’s wealth would go to his first-born son. Some dispensation was made for widows and other children, but the estates, assets, and most of the money had a very clear destination.

For one thing, this makes it kinda weird that N’s stepfather would have needed an heir before he could inherit, because except in extreme circumstances everything would have gone to him anyway. Don't get me wrong, this isn't the worst part of the problem, it’s just annoying when there are more plausible reasons for him marrying a woman already pregnant with another man’s child (old family friend wanting to save her from disgrace, needed the dowry to pay off gambling debts, there was a longstanding betrothal between them that would have been tricky to get out of, etc.).

No, the bigger problem with N’s backstory vs primogeniture is firstly that at the time the English aristocracy was racist af (still is tbh) and given his pretty obvious mixed-race heritage, no court would have agreed that Nate was a legitimate son (this is for a very special reason that we will be coming back to). I say Nate specifically here because primogeniture requires the eldest legitimate son. Nat wouldn’t have inherited at all, as women in that period passed from the guardianship of their father (or other male blood relative) into that of their husband after marriage, and only gained any kind of independence with widowhood. If N had been an only child, maybe they would have been treated as a special case, but unfortunately Milton exists: the eldest legitimate son who by law will inherit everything.

Now here’s the thing. Your average aristocrat in the 17th century is very obsessed with lineage and keeping the family line unbroken. He would not, therefore, send his legitimate heir to sea to be shot at or drowned before he can carry on the family name – that joy instead goes to any other sons who need their own profession, because again, they will get very little. Nat would have had a dowry, but would never have been expected to make her own living, so I'm going to focuson Nate for this next bit.

In Book 3, if you unlock his tragic backstory Nate tells you he joined the Royal Navy after Milton went missing so that he could go look for him. And, well. This is where his backstory as Mishka tells it completely falls apart. For two reasons:

1. Even in the modern day, you can’t ‘just’ join the Navy, and you certainly can’t just jump straight to being a lieutenant – it takes years of training and after a certain age they won’t take you because they won’t be able to mould you easily enough into a useful tool. For most of the Navy's history, the process was even more involved. It wasn’t an office job you could just rock up to and then quit if you felt like it, it was a lifetime commitment. Boys destined to be officers would be sent to sea as early as 12 to learn shipboard life, starting at the bottom and moving up the ranks. These were gained by passing exams and by purchasing a commission – which is why you generally had to come from wealth to be an officer at all. Once you get to lieutenant you're responsible for a lot of people, and might be tasked with commanding any captured ships alongside the daily running of yours - it was not an easy job.

2. Even as a lieutenant (one rank below Captain, with varying levels of seniority) it’s not like you can just go where you want. In the 1720s British colonies already existed in India, the Caribbean, and up the entire eastern seaboard of North America and into Canada, and the Navy was tasked with protecting merchant shipping along these seaways (and one trade in particular that we’ll be getting to, don’t worry). Nate could have ended up practically anywhere in the burgeoning empire. He would not have been able to choose whom he served under, and would not have been able to demand his superior officer go against orders from the admirality to chase down one lone vessel because he thinks another one of the admirals might be a bit dodgy. It could not have happened.

Besides these impracticalities, there’s a far easier way for the child of a wealthy man to get to a specific point on the far side of the globe to look for their lost sibling, which is the route I assume Nat took sine she couldn’t have joined the Navy (yes she could have snuck in but she’s specifically in a dress in the B2 mirror scene so). All they'd have to do would be to charter a ship and tell the captain where to go, which is the plot of Treasure Island. It's quicker, less fuss, with less chance of things going wrong. It's even possible in the age of mercantilism that the Sewells had some merchant vessels among their holdings that could be diverted for the task. Why go through the hassle of joining the Navy and potentially ending up on the wrong side of the world when you can just hire a ship directly?

If Nate does have to be in the Navy (and let’s face it, it’s worth it just for the uniform) then it's far more plausible is that, as the illegitimate son who would not inherit because of racism etc, he got sent to the Navy as a boy and rose through the ranks to become a lieutenant. When he got news of Milton’s disappearance not far from where he was stationed, he begged his captain to go investigate in case whatever happened turned out to be the symptom of a bigger problem. Like pirates.

I like this version better not just because it makes more sense, or because it keeps Nate’s situation re: inheritance closer to Nat’s and therefore makes their stories more equal, but also because it adds a delicious amount of guilt to Nate’s need to find his brother. We know his entire crew died looking for answers, because he was selfish – that’s roughly 100-400 lives lost because of him, and we know that sort of thing eats at him.

So that's one side of the story, but if Milton wasn’t in the Navy, what was he doing on the other side of the Atlantic in the first place? Well, this is where we come to the biggest elephant in the room regarding N’s backstory as a member of the 17th century English aristocracy and potentially as a naval officer: the Atlantic Slave Trade. If you are wealthy in 17th century Britain it's more than likely that your wealth comes either from the trade itself, or from the products made with the labour of enslaved people. If you are wealthy, you want to protect your assets from attack by pirates or foreign powers so you don't become less wealthy, and that is what the Navy is for.

Regardless of N’s own views on slavery at the time – and any subsequent changes in opinion – it’s likely their family owned or had shares in slave plantations in the Americas. As distasteful as it is, it makes far more sense that Milton was on a trip to check the family’s holdings when his ship - specifically a merchant vessel - went missing. From a pirate perspective, a merchant ship would make a much better target than a Navy vessel, being slower, more likely to have valuable cargo, and less likely to have marines or a well-trained broadside.

It's not surprising that Mishka left out the subject of the slave trade given her tendency to skirt around darker subjects and general blindspot for racial politics, but it is nuance that, if it was there, would create a more grounded and coherent backstory for N that doesn’t have quite so many holes. Like with A being the child of an invader and his war bride, we could get some deeper thoughts from N about their place in the world - How do they feel to have grown up so privileged when others who looked like them were regarded as literal property? How did they feel being part of the system that made it happen? Did it inform their compassionate nature? Is it still a source of guilt or someithng they've tried to make up for?

I'm not sure where I was going with all of this. It's late, my sleep pattern is fucked. The tl;dr is that giving the vampires' backstories historical context would make them feel more multifaceted and would give opportunities for character growth that are instead missed because of a desire for a more sanitized version of the past.

[andisupreme]

One funny thing about my little lady, Tidbit, is that she looks so sweet in photos. So angelic.

And yet the two facts you need to know about her are

The moment a piece of trash appears, she's stealing it. The moment I'm done with something and it becomes "trash", she has teleported onto the desk or my lap and it belongs to her now. She's stolen flosser picks out of my goddamn mouth. I can't have open garbage cans because that's just a new spawn point for Tidbit Treasures. I keep finding hoards of wrappers and pens and trinkets she's stolen. She stole a mini pride flag. I woke up to a scuffing noise once and turned on my phone light to see her dragging my sneaker away like the NYC subway pizza rat. Goblin behavior. Prize-motivated. Is just intelligent enough to have a sense of right and wrong and deliberately make the choice to do crime when the option presents itself.

It's difficult to know when she's actually seriously mad because she only has one urgency level when it comes to complaining. Which is an 11 on a 10 point scale. Any wrong against Tidbit receives the exact same level of screaming. She'll reach the same decibel level when I drag her into the shower for a flea bath as when I gently nudge her closer to pet for a few seconds. (And it's only the initial relocation she loathes, of course. After a moment when the relocation is over she's purring over getting pet but how DARE I move her somewhere without her say so.) From the gravest injustice to a minor momentary inconvenience, all is met with a righteous AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

And yet because of my living circumstances, I haven't had anyone around to socialize her with so the moment a stranger walks in the door, this noisy, annoying (<3) opinionated little Creechur completely disappears. Goes ghost. My dad swears he wouldn't know I have a second cat if he didn't see her in my window from time to time. It feels like she's purposefully acting like a shy little baby around others just to undermine me and my stories about her. She's doing this on PURPOSE. IT'S ALL YET MORE CRIMES.

[blondie-drawings]

My headcanon is that Ianthe dresses like an annoying ass tiktok influencer who's trying to sell you something. Also I didn't draw her skeleton arm because I am. Um. Lazy.

[greypetrel]

Or is it hard work dear, holding the atmosphere? (🎶)

Random doodle that randomly got coloured and there you go, why would they need two sleeping cots?

(this is to convince myself to finalise Monster Fic next chapter by illustrating it, hoping I'll come to a conclusion and either cut it short or just... Make it three chapter in the Arbor Wilds because who even care right.)

[kaltacore]

there's something really really bittersweet about how shadowheart is so obviously surprised and touched by tav remembering that she likes night orchids. it's one of the rare little things she could keep away from shar, something she wasn't robbed of, the last remembrances of a person she was, she used to be, maybe she still is — and by act 1 when she doesn't question her loyalties at all, deep down she knows shar can take that away too and she will obey as a good sharran she is. and now there's a person that will carry these last echoes of her memories for her so she can remember too, so she can be sure it was — it is real; and maybe there was someone who was doing the same once, who was preserving shadowheart they knew, shadowheart who was brought to the mirror again and again so she can be broken and rebuilt anew, but still loved night orchids and animals and stood up for the ones she cared about and couldn't help but act a little dramatic — but she can't recall who they were, their face nor name. and maybe one day shar will take tav away too, make them just another blank space in her mind — and it's sad and it's scary, because now once again there's a thought, an idea, a realisation in her half-emptied mind, that the thing is, it's not true that shar is the only one who cares for her, maybe it's never been; the thing is, every time she's brought to that mirror so there can be no one left but lady of loss

[cestacruz]

Anyway since i dont think i actually posted these, have this

Bitches from a Monster AU theyre all gay

Uhh more in the tags cuz i dont wanna type here

[mako-neexu]

its so funny dfssjhdlk dantes and oberon doing the most weirdest or most fucked up things ever because they love guda and are literally their PRIMARY protectors in guda's dreamscape/psyche meanwhile i didnt think that THE REST of the dream servants are more BEHAVED considering their track record/how they are lol

[oatbugs]

my research partner and i are huddled in a blanket in paddington waiting for a too-late train i already miss you and you and you

[kokokulto]

New member of the Squidbeak Splatoon! 

[TEXT] DJ Octavio: Marie, this is Callie. She’s your new cousin and friend. Isn’t it exciting? Marie: ... Marie: NO!!! Pwut hew bwack! (Put her back!) Captain Cuttlefish: Sorry squiddo, we can’t do that. DJ Octavio: Where did you get this attitude...

[lesbianspeedy]

mia being the arrowkid with the most live action adaptations is something that is so so funny. shes a comic flop but tv LOVES a teenage girlie so shes IN

[afklancelot]

Are you able to explain without heavy spoilers why Melusine is the best?

hooo boy that’s gonna be hard and pretty long. ill try to be as coherent as possible in explainin why i like her so much

well for starters, melusine is really fucking cool. i assume you are at least aware of her battle animations, but theyre good. her first and second animation has her alternating between punching, slashing, and both to beat up her foes, and the sound effects and graphics really shows how strong she is. special mention goes to one of her extra attack lines going “Haaaaaaaaa, BUNKAHHHH!” her VA put her soul into that line.

this dont even cover her third ascension’s animations. that’s where her dragon part comes out, and i fuckin love dragons. she slashes, she chomps, her extra attack animation is as good as Arjuna Alter’s, if not more. and her NP having her flying through Fae Britain’s twilight sky and fully transforming into her dragon form… good shit.

and her being able to change from first/second asc to third asc w her skill is insane, and the fact her np changed from Arts ST to Buster AoE was a huge game changer. the only other servant who does something like that is Jekyll and Hyde (who sucks gameplay wise. sorry man).

not to mention i love her ascension art. the first asc having her in full armor, and her second having a pretty dress befitting of a lady knight (or maybe even a princess?), and both of them having those big ass sword sheathes on her wrists and mask costumes for them. i love characters with masks covering at least part of their face, and im real glad theyre costumes for her. her third ascension is also cool too, with the big swords and the black wings on her. for me it’s second asc > first asc > third asc

another thing bout her is that melusine… is a huge dork. like i said, her VA did good work at portraying a refined knight who is actually pretty expressive underneath. you see it even more in her summer form but even her tam lin/fairy knight version she was always Like That. her first asc’s line for your birthday is her being despondent over guda being busy and then deciding to destroy Chaldea. melusine said fuck work

and to say nothin bout her… expressions

one of the only minor complaints i hav w her summer form is the lack of scribbles in her expression, but ah well. we have this

as for her story in the lostbelt… i dont really know how to explain how much i love it bc a lot of it is only really shown in parts 2 and 3, but her relationship with Aurora and Percival were handled really well. you have to get to reading the lostbelts to really understand her character and shit like that. her very last scene of her (and aurora i guess) makes me real emotional

so yeah

[dmitriyuriev]

The roots of obsession (Limbo/Danzou)

Inspired by some of Kashin Koji's lines about Seimei and his involvement with the creation of a mech that was constructed in a similar manner to their karakuri.

[dailyfatefigures]

Evil God by ????

[rosalesbeausderholle]

At the end of the day, it just really sucks when you can't even enjoy a new release by your favorite artist because the greater internet has decided she's their acceptable outlet of misogyny and they have to comment or hate on her every move every single time.