#spoilers are only under the read more

[yonch]

it's been 15 years and you can see better than ever

(design notes under the cut) (there are spoilers)

ok this got really long. here you go

sif:

ditched the cloak. it was collecting dust in their closet until recently, but they realized they don't need to cling to their grief so much anymore. someone else will need it more soon.

ditched the eyepatch. the prosthetic eye is a labor of love designed by isa, as is literally everything else they're wearing.

they cut their bangs finally and started braiding their hair back so it wouldn't obscure their vision as much anymore.

they like darker/tighter clothing and prefer function over form but unfortunately their gay ass boyfriend keeps treating them like a dress up doll so they're stuck wearing waistcoats and a fancy cloak. (they don't mind. it's designed to look like loop.) they keep flowers in their many pockets to give to people.

they're a woodworker in their free time. they don't usually talk about being any sort of savior so he just becomes sif the guy who's really good at carving birthday presents for people and also tags along with isa to charity parties and fundraisers

41 year old 5'1" they/he absolutely zero intention of Changing. bonded to isabeau. they adopted a kid who leo or i might post about some other time i think. her name is estelle.

isa: i'm not taking credit for the design that's by my friend @fembard /@leoweooo. i'll include his design notes

isa dresses mostly for comfort, he doesn't like wearing stuff that might get stained or ruined when he's dyeing clothes or chasing stelle around in the mud or something, all his fashion sense goes into his handiwork

he Changed a few more times over the 15yrs, eventually settled. picked up she/her pronouns again on the side but was never really able to ditch the name isabeau and he kinda ran out of names anyways...

kept the long hair, kept a few inches in height, very happy to fulfill the role of male (space) wife

can't ditch the kimono jacket it's the piece de resistance. odile influence and Wisening Of Age means its made with a little more knowledge of ka buan technique but still very clearly an Isa Design. the fabric is imported silk sif!!!!!!

39 year old Tall with a capital T he/she "i swear i'm not a weeaboo i'm just really into ka buan fashion" vaugardian indie clothing designer in your area help support this man in his attempts to use his family members as living advertisements for his brand

mira: with design input from @jastertown thank you my friend

i took a lot of inspiration for the sparkly, sheer fabric on her dress from euphrasie. she's not head housemaiden yet because she doesn't feel like she's ready but everybody knows it'll be her

speaking of inspiration. she's been taking a lot of fashion cues from a certain lady in dormont that she thought was kind of scary, but it turns out she's very nice? they're besties now.

she got rid of the earrings for a little bit but then she realized she just liked how they look on her. so now they go ding ding! it's for her and nobody else, and that's how she likes it.

moved her ornaments to her skirt because they ding ding more often there. her necklace also jingles with merriment.

38 year old she/her advanced cisgender+ legend who's realizing that people are trying to get her to be the pope but all she really wants to do is write yaoibait fiction that looks like it came straight off of ao3

odile:

my glorious hag. she started shrinking about 3 years ago. all those years of bending over books has finally caught up to her. her hips are fuuuuuucked. but she has a sick cane that sif carved for her so everything's okay

she was already pretty comfortable and settled in her sense of style when she was nearing 50 so i don't think she would change much. darker clothing maybe. ditched the high-waisted pants for some looser slacks.

she's started writing a familytale of her own. the only person she's told about it is bonbon, who caught her up way past their bedtime, and scribbled all over one of the pages. she'll pass it on to sif when the time's right, after she's written down everything she can remember about their family.

64 year old she/her wasian researcher recovering from hernia surgery who's getting really into things like "political activism" and "body craft law reformation in ka bue" and "making sure people aren't sourcing their hrt from back alleys"

bonnie:

prefers to go by boniface these days. it's cooler. more mature. please stop calling me bonbon that's a nickname from when i was 10 guys c'mon guys ugh fine frin you can still call me bonbon but not around my girlfriends ok (nobody calls them boniface except for odile)

speaking of which they have 3 butch lesbian girlfriends. this got established as a joke but i think they have it in them. they're still young!!!!!!! they should be at the club!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

they traveled for a while with everybody but eventually settled down back in bambouche to start a little family owned restaurant with nille featuring dishes from all over the globe. people travel from all over to get a taste of boniface's good eats... bambouche is bustling. (they have a few recipes that are sourced from the country. they meet people every once in a while who find something achingly familiar about it, and they usually direct those people to jouvente to get in contact with frin.)

26 year old they/them "i dont know how tall i am but i'm taller than za" chef cooker whose restaurant keeps lighting on fire because this time i swear nille i can figure out how to do cooking craft i swear i wont explode the kitchen this time please i promise

loop:

ok. this is where lozy gets to just talk about what he thinks happens post game. i think they stick around for way longer than they really should and follow the crew around on their travels (mostly invisibly) because they're sooo fucking scared of change they're sooo scared and they're so scared of their wish fucking up beyond belief. they're kind of incapable of aging or dying in this body and theyre like permanently 26 which is what spurs them to finally move on.

i think they go back to their timeline eventually after making a Brand New Wish to "go back to their real family." alas the universe leads and we can only follow. and it turns out loop has actually made a real family in stardust's world also. this is my justification for why they can pop in between sasasap and isat worlds without much repercussion. i think they're always permanently loop shaped in isat but i imagine they can probably go back to their original body in their home timeline... might design that later. who knows. i'm fucked like that

i just think they deserve a chance for their own happy ending you know. isat's a game about how it's never too late to communicate and how you shouldn't punish yourself forever and ever. and i think theyve punished themself enough you know.

ok tank you for reading if you read this far. it's really big and long so i would understand if you didn't. but i hope you liked it. thoughts appreciated. here's a little something for the people who read all the way through.

[legovasavouchi]

chillin

[moodlemcdoodle]

Happy Ghost Trick day! Participated in the Ghost Swap event hosted by @fyeahghosttrick this year, here’s my gift for @ravensa!! One of their prompts was cute pet outfits, and little Sherlock and Watson cosplays for our fave cat and dog duo was the first thing that came to mind hehe

Bonus alternative version of the prompt below!

[lavenderjewels]

once again thinking about kenjaku and tengen. both having cursed techniques that depend on others’ body and removing their autonomy. kenjaku calling tengen an old friend before literally consuming her and still casually talking to tengen after even though tengen’s essentially a puppet bound through cursed spirit manipulation. so much implied, I need to know more

[levinbolts]

Spare bg3 oc lore if available? 👁👁

OOOOOOOOOOOOH OF COURSE I WILL I'M ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO RAMBLE ABOUT VALEN. okay so i've been sitting on these for a while because i wasn't sure if i liked them or not, but i think i do so !!

1) Valen lost sight in their right eye (along with receiving their facial and neck scars) at a young age during their massacre of their adoptive family. Whether it was a conscious choice they made or yet another usurp of their control by Bhaal, they don't know or remember, and quite frankly, they don't want to remember. Despite not remembering, they are now certain that sight in their now solid black eye was restored as a gift from Bhaal. It isn't perfect, as things look dull and faded with that eye (it doesn't see color), but it serves its purpose regardless, so they don't complain.

2) Valen is constantly at war with themselves and their gradual development into becoming...a better person? A less-selfish person, at least. They have actual friends now, instead of people surrounding them that are a means to an end, and it feels nice. They want to see them smile. They want to see them happy. They want them to achieve whatever goals they may have—regardless of what that means for anyone else (except themselves, though, they aren't becoming that selfless; they're still at the top of their own list of priorities, second only to Astarion). And that is...weird, unsettling to them.

They come closer and closer to death's door with every risk and leap of faith they take for their friends and though their first instinct is to be annoyed with themselves for risking their neck for someone else, once they mellow out and the adrenaline wanes, they only feel...accomplished? Relieved? Happy? It's all new to them, but they wish nothing but the best for their friends, and seek to give their partner the world, something they vaguely remember only wanting for themselves and their former god.

3) Valen is an utterly devoted partner to a fault. They don't fall easily or quickly by any means, and in order for them to truly fall for a person, they have to align with them almost completely. Valen sees so much of themselves in Astarion—the selfishness, the wariness, aversion to doing what will hold no benefit to them—and it draws them to him like a moth to flame; it makes them feel comfortable around him, seen by him, understood by him, and it compels them to lower their guard sooner they would have for anyone else.

And once Valen truly falls, they want nothing short of the entire world for their partner, no matter what it takes to give it to them. If it will make him smile, laugh, make his eyes light up in that perfect way that they do, Valen will do it. Valen will give him everything. Even before Astarion was in the picture, before Orin's betrayal and their fall from grace and favor, Valen held the exact same devotion to Gortash. They were willing to throw everything away, if it meant keeping him safe and happy and free from the brutalization that Bhaal always forces them to inflict on those they love. They were willing to beg and plead and bargain with their notoriously unbending and unforgiving god to not be angry that their heart shared love and devotion with someone that was not him, pride be damned—and pride is something that Valen has in shameful abundance. In that moment, Valen did not matter, only their love.

Love will always, always, always be Valen's downfall.

[sassenach082]

So I just wanted to let you know that I am still thinking about Tom and his dad's relationship. I have just now finished another reread of I'll ride and just. You wrote their relationship with so many facets I am in awe. Tom thinking his dad does not love him, thinking he is not enough, basically raising his sibling and trying his best to defend them. Meanwhile Bill constantly criticizing but still loving his children so much? I loved reading the scene where Bill carefully cradles Tom's face and softly brushes away his hair after the bird strike, first from Tom's perspective and later on Mav's? Beautiful. Just in general, Mav observing this whole clusterfuck and still knowing that Bill loves Tom, that he cares for him?! I also truly think Bill might not have known how well Tom did in a) the Academy and b) in the Navy/his career so far. I love seeing Mav standing up for Tom and just hammering it home how good Tom is, how excellent he is. I think Bill just decided against actually finding out about Tom's talents and capabilities the second Tom decided to go Navy instead of Marines, you know? That five year period of them not talking? Or maybe he just needed an outsider's perspective and judgement on Tom. And what I really really love? I know you said it in multiple other answers already, but Bill being kind of nice, warm, patient (grandfatherly?) with Bradley is so jarring to see and makes the whole strained relationship he has with his children so bittersweet. We know he struggled with the end of his career and differentiating between career and family, but ultimately he is capable of being a family person and he is really good with Bradley. About Bradley's clay medal, about all his tank questions, when he attends Bradley's T-Ball game. It's so sweet and just gives all of this heaps of complexity because he is not just this strange bad dad who did not want to be a dad. Like yes we see him more lenient/slightly more supportive with Tim and Rachel and Sarah but it is not the same. Oh and I am 100% sure that the moment that cemented to Eleanor that Pete was family and only has Tom's best interests at heart was when Pete argued with Bill during Thanksgiving. That scene makes my day, how he casually speaks up, does not back down, Pete ends the discussion not Bill and how Pete immediately compliments Eleanor's cooking afterwards. Just Pete showing his Mav-side: being polite and charming after standing up for Tom and showing his slightly feral side. Just. I am genuinely in awe how you depict all kinds of relationships with so many layers. So realistic and wholesome!

Nonnie this lives in my head rent free, just so you know. Please allow me to talk a bit more about who Bill Kazansky is as a person, and why I actually love him a whole whole lot despite how complicated the man is, because you really only see him from Pete & Tom's perspective, but the fact that Bradley loves him in about .5 seconds is kind of a clue to who he really is deep, deep down.

Spoilers under the cut!

One of the themes of this story is, "What does it mean to be a father?" There are so many different ways to do it and it often has nothing to do with blood relations. But Tom is definitely learning what exactly it means to be a father through his relationship with Bradley, and it's kind of going to be a key going forward because he has a different perspective he didn't have before Bradley became such an integral part of his life. Ditto for Pete, just in a different way, and his relationship with Viper is equally complicated just in different ways.

Bill is a very multifaceted guy. I think it's important to think of him in the context of his life experiences. He fought in the Vietnam war and that really changed who he was, fundamentally, as a person. PTSD is definitely on the table, even though our understanding of PTSD has changed so much in recent years and back then they only sort of knew that it was even something that happened (shell shock, battle fatigue, etc, we all know what they actually mean is PTSD, something they understood much better by studying veterans of the Vietnam War).

Coming home for Bill was hard. Loud noises were hard. Sudden movements were hard. The dark was hard. Cars backfiring were hard. Screaming was hard. And he lived in a house with little kids at the time all of them clamoring for his attention because Daddy was home, and I think that probably just about killed him, and there is definitely a lot of guilt there. Deep down he knows he wasn't the kind of father they needed back then; couldn't be, was incapable of being, because he was so traumatized by what he saw/experienced/had to do in the name of his country.

To me, Bill probably took as many opportunities to not be home as he could. He would have had nightmares, flashbacks, the whole nine yards. He would have been irritable and short tempered and easily triggered, and I think he probably yelled, and he probably felt so guilty afterwards that he wanted to die. I feel like he probably clung to his wife a lot and sobbed into her shoulder at night when nobody could see him, and I think Eleanor probably struggled so much to take care of her kids and now suddenly have her sweet, caring, wonderful husband reduced to this broken man who was a shadow of his former self. His nightmares probably woke the whole house until he started to avoid sleeping, and that probably just turned things even worse.

(Now I want to write this from Bill or Eleanor's POV but it will honestly break my heart so maybe not but I digress as I often tend to do).

It makes me a little sad that some have asked if he hit his kids... I think Bill is the kind of guy who is terrified of hurting them, and so he distanced himself while he tried to get his head back on straight. Keep in mind this was the 60's-70's so talking about it was out of the question (they just didn't DO THAT back then, you know? Not regularly or in any way accepted by society). He was trying to work through it all on his own not wanting to be a burden.

What Bill needed was help, therapy, a healthy outlet. What he got instead was more training, volunteering to be out in the field as much as possible because that was normal to him. He knew how to function there; he did not know how to function in a warm house in a soft bed with a loving wife and little kids who just wanted to be with him.

And Tom? Well, he remembers. He was born in 1961, so baby Tom remembered Daddy before Vietnam. Maybe not anything sharp or exact, but to a young Tom (because believe me, little kids remember deep down even if they don't have a specific memory), it would have been so jarring having this stranger with his dad's face in his house, because where was the guy who cuddled him? Read to him? Why is daddy mad all the time? Why is he yelling? Why doesn't he love me?

Meanwhile, Bill eventually got better or as better as he could get in the context of the time period. Functioning, you could even say. Everyone telling him to just forget Vietnam ever happened while people spit on him etc (I do not envy Vietnam veterans, many of whom were drafted, having to go through what they went through, but I'm trying to stay on topic here). So, being a logical military man, he probably compartmentalized like hell and just locked it all away (Sound familiar? Looking at you, Thomas).

Then his girls were there, and they weren't wary of him like the boys had learned to be because they'd been far too little, and it was probably so relieving to him that they could just know him as he was now and not how he was before. And that definitely plays into the dynamics between the whole family, and why Tim gets away with what he does because it's hard for Bill to reprimand him as much as he does the older boys, because that's his baby, but it also frustrates him because Timmy often goes to Tom when he needs things and not him by virtue of Tom being there all the time and Bill only being there sometimes.

Anyway, the point is, William "Bill" Kazansky is a deeply traumatized person who puts up a good front of being America's Golden Boy, Decorated Colonel, Celebrated Military Officer, Beloved By His Men For Sticking With Them In The Trenches. But deep down he's just as broken as everyone else.

And then Ellie comes along and it's a balm to his heart because she just loves him to bits and pieces and doesn't give a flying fuck about family history because she's three and convinced she's the center of the universe (as all three year olds are wont to do). Bradley then enters his life, and he's young and desperate for attention and reminds him so much of Tom that it breaks his heart a little bit, because once upon a time Tom asked him a million questions an hour just like Bradley does, and he wants to talk about tanks and the Marines and what it was like to ride in helicopters (a topic most in the Kazansky family avoid, because they are perfectly aware that the Vietnam War was not a cakewalk).

Anyways. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you for noticing that Bill is a human being and a complicated one at that. I tried to make him as human as I could and I've read so many articles about the Vietnam War I feel a little crosseyed sometimes, but he's not a bad guy, not at all. Just an idiot sometimes, but then again, aren't we all?

Also, while we're on the topic, Bill Kazansky likes Pete Mitchell a whole hell of a lot even if it's grudging. Pete was the first person in literal years to call him on his shit to his face (who isn't his wife, anyway), and while he didn't enjoy it at the time, it definitely made him sit up and pay the fuck attention, not just to Pete, but to Tom, too.

Do with that information what you will.

[akagamiko]

shanks (maternal) lore drop be upon ye

Ancestors came from Hardrada, island of a violent group of sailors in the New World. Hardrada and Elbaf were very close allies and shared similar cultures in the days before the Void Century (The God Elbaf and the God Har are viewed as the same, simply under different names). Given how far they traveled, there are remnants of Hardrada along the Grand Line and in many of the Blues as many chose to settle elsewhere.

Shanks' comes from a long line of Priests & Priestesses who advised Hardrada's royalty: each had 10 followers beneath them

Prior to the start of the Void Century, Hardrada made contact with the Great Kingdom and the Priest at the time swore the serve those with the initial D. and, supposedly, in return, she was taught Conqueror's Haki by them

Fast forward to the Void Century; Hardrada's royalty refused to take part in the war and wished to side with that would become the World Government

The Priestess at the time, Velleda, was not happy with this and when she spoke out, was banished from the island,

Velleda never left the island and instead journeyed into the mountains and had the sword Gryphon forged (supposedly with a dragon's flame) and then slayed the dragon. Legend has it that Velleda's hair was not originally red, but that it turned that color after this, and many began calling her Akagami afterwards.

She returned and overthrew the royalty of Hardrada and named herself the new Chief. Given the island's heavy warrior culture, Hardrada eagerly joined in the war.

Following their defeat, the newly formed World Government took over Hardrada, and the Gorosei focused on flushing out those with Velleda's blood. Many fled to other islands in hopes of escaping the WG's wrath. Bounties were put out on those with Red Hair and they were hunted down and often scalped for their hair.

Elbaf sheltered many Hardradans during the hunt, including Shanks' ancestor, Folke, one of Velleda's descendant's and the current bearer of Gryphon. After ransacking Hardrada, the World Government began snooping around Elbaf, and the Giants offered to hide him, but Folke turned himself in so long as the WG agreed to his terms. He requested that they remove the bounties on those who remained and to let Hardradans and their descendants live in peace, promising himself and his descendants in return.

Seeing Velleda as the root problem of Hardrada, the WG agreed and escorted Folke and his family to the Holy Land where they were to be kept as a slave. Hardrada was left alone.

Impressed by Folke's power and abilities, the Five Elders began to feed lies and manipulate them. They were kept isolated from their people and culture and were bred with a person of choosing to keep their bloodline going. Gyphon was passed down the family line and, eventually, Folke's descendants were used as protectors of the Celestial Dragons and the Holy Land.

The Five Elders began to dispatch the Akagami on missions to hunt down the Devil Fruits to gift to Celestial Dragons and were often sent in search of notable fruits such as the Gomu Gomu no Mi, which continually slipped away. Gryphon became bloodthirsty for Devil Fruit users as the centuries passed and those with red hair were seen as vicious killers throughout the seas. Shanks' family moved from slaves to being a well-loved pet of the Celestial Dragons.

Shanks' mother, Astra, was well loved. The Celestial Dragons would take her places and dress her up to their liking. Portraits of her remain, hidden away from the Five Elders and Holy Knights. Though powerful, Astra's social skills were lacking, typically coming off as emotionless. During most of her young adult life, she fulfilled the roles expected of her.

 Astra learned of her familial connection to Hardrada for the first time after meeting Rocks D. Xebec. This news stunned her as she and her ancestors had been kept in the dark regarding their history for centuries. She feared questioning her role to the Gorosei and the Holy Knights and bit her tongue, but continued to learn more of her past by seeking out Xebec over the years.

Xebec told her how the Celestial Dragons had never cared for her. That she was being used for her abilities and they were punishing her for what her ancestors did. He applauded her ancestors for their actions against the WG and that Hardrada was once a great and powerful nation that had become weak. That she should be ruling Hardrada and that he would treat her well if he were in charge.

As Astra grew older, Figarland Garling requested her as his wife due to her strength and hoped to produce two children. An heir for her duties and an heir for his. The Five Elders agreed and the two were wed.

When she became pregnant, Astra fled, Xebec's words in her mind. She went to Hardrada, hoping her people would take her back and provide a safe haven to keep her from the Five Elders and Garling, but most shuttered their windows and closed their doors. Their current Chieftain refused her entry and demanded she return to the Holy Land. Distraught, Astra destroyed the capital city, killed their Chieftan, and fled elsewhere.

Though she managed to keep herself hidden, Garling eventually tracked her and Shanks down and brought him to the Holy Land.

(1095 spoilers ahead)

Garling brings Shanks with him during the Native Cleaning Festival at God Valley, where he plans to kill Astra. Though he does end up succeeding, Astra manages to sneak Shanks into a treasure chest during the chaos of Xebec's battle with Roger and Garp, in hopes of Xebec and his crew picking him up.

[miniiieevee]

Since there's just a couple of days left, I'm gonna say that I'm most likely gonna post/draw stuff related to rtdldx once I finish the game so remember to block the #kirby spoilers tag if you don't want to see any on this blog!!

[oc-character-development]

I’ve just finished Good Omens 2

The Radio Times: ‘How much of an undercurrent (of Romance between Aziraphale and Crowley) is there on the series’

Tennant: ‘nothing’s explicit’

That fucking liar David Tennant!

[forgettin-my-legos]

Many bad imaginable endings- however i think the worst would be WBS possessing sun dasheng's body to make NFTs more marketable to kids.

horrifying.

Bonus pixelated qxt:

[frogeyedape]

I highly recommend A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland if you like:

Queer lit

Explicit mlm romance

Fantasy

Economics, intrigue, or justifiable paranoia

Beautifully, stupidly flawed characters that you kind of want to shake until they can see what's right in from of them, the fools

[tovaicas]

recent dev comments got me malding I'm sorry

[dirt-mccracken]

"Cocaine? We don't even like cocaine." Currently driving me insaaaaane bc that is. Basically how I've felt every time I've done coke and man does Geoff write using during a depeesonalization episode so well

[orcelito]

after this

the chapter then ending on this

has me big time feeling like. this.

[waspgrave]

everyone get to act 3 already so i can be loudly horny about character stuff ok

[luyo-mi]

Different strokes for different folks!

See, you’re already into Azul’s story, while I started OCDing my way through leveling up and guest room improving and exams and spell levels collecting cards and vignettes and things.

Now I haven’t even started Azul’s story yet but I’m level 42 (!!!) and I have 7 SSR cards, 33 SR cards, all the R cards, and multiple cards of mine are completely uncapped. 😅

And yet, while I started the game before you, you have progressed in the story further than me! 😂

Either way, as long as you’re having fun, who cares how you’re playing the game? We’re both playing Twisted Wonderland and we both love the Savanaclaw dorm characters 🦁🐕🐺(pretend the doggo is a hyena they don’t have an emoji for Ruggie 😭) so we’re obviously dorm buddies! 😁

AWGH WE’RE DORM BUDDIES YEEE😭❤️

But ye I’ve been thinking about doing it that way but I also have a fear of being spoiled when it comes to story related stuff so I gotta get through all the chapters eeeee

But the suffering as I lose every battle is gut wrenching ahh I’m probs not gonna continue the story till I’m rank 30 and with more leveled up cards 💪💪

Ur so right we gotta play the way we wanna play💪🤜