#the poses are a lot more static compared to the other ones but these are made to be like character refs in a sense so

[goldgargoyles]

MORE FANTASY BIRDS. Going for that eight-character rpg party feel

[yeonjuns-beanie]

Halo Pt.1

warnings: a lot of plot, 18+, eventual smut (unprotected sex, biting, marking, light blood(play), hair pulling, body worship, dub-con, light fear play, more may be added upon update)), yandere themes(stalking, manipulation, etc)

summary: in your free time you do freelance writing, doing interviews with people most would consider strange and unusual. when you recognize that one of the regulars in your coffee shop only visits in the evening, you pose the question of whether you can interview him. upon his agreement, you realize this is unlike any other interview. 

a/n: i have no idea where this came from but its been rotting my brain. hope whoever finds this enjoys it! I'll be uploading the second half in a few days, school has been taking up a lot of my time lately.

word count: 6.7k

Vampire!seonghwa x female reader

pt.2

The hustle from the afternoon-evening rush finally settled down, leaving you a moment to catch your breath and rest your nerves. You favored working night shifts because of how routinely easy it was compared to mornings, but the one thing you loathed was the mini rushes. They lasted far too long and happened in increments that were too close together. It was like everyone forgot that the coffee shop existed and they needed to get their final fix in before the building closed. 

Appreciating the minute silence of no customers coming in through your drive-thru, you focused on the somewhat comforting static of the conversations happening in your cafe. You were able to take a simple delight in the smells behind the bar. Varying roasts, some pastries that had been left out, and the all but familiar smell that was the store. 

With the dying down of customers now that it was just an hour before closing, you waited for your arcane regular to make his nightly appearance. He was painfully beautiful, clad in all black, and a man of few words. You never really got a gauge on who he was. Now that you thought about it, he was probably the only regular that you didn’t have an extensive background on. 

As you restocked cups and lids, the bell on the door jingled signaling you to look up at who walked in. Stunning per usual, the heels of his dress shoes echoed through the lobby. Taking in his outfit, his chest was adorned in a black, hollow collar long sleeve, black slacks to match, and a designer tote to pull it all together. His hair was carefully styled, a few gelled strands falling to the front of his face. 

You threw the empty plastic holding the cups in the trash and walked over to the register a wide smile pulling at your face. He was probably the only regular you enjoyed and you were thankful at how peaceful the shop had become so you could focus on your interaction. 

“Hi Seonghwa! We doing your usual today?” 

A small smile pulled at his lips as he exhaled a contented breath through his nose. 

“Yeah, just the usual, but let’s do a large today.” 

“Got some extra work tonight?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

Punching in his order, you realized you weren’t logged in on the till so you took the liberty of giving him one of your markouts. Finishing typing in your numbers, he handed over his card. You waved your hand and frowned, declining his payment, and when his brow furrowed in confusion you spoke up. 

“It’s on me today.”

You walked over to the cup caddy and began making his drink as he followed you over to the opposite side of the bar. 

“You didn’t have to do that.” 

“I know. But you’re in here basically every day. While I’m at it, you want a pastry?”

An airy laugh left him as you lidded his drink securing the cup with a sleeve. 

“I’d love to, but not tonight.” “Alright, well, you let me know if you need anything. Besides that couple in the corner, you’ve pretty much got the night crew to yourself.” 

Thanking you, he walked over to the table that might as well have his name engraved on it. It was tucked in the corner of the building right next to the front windows. You assumed he claimed the spot as his own because he had a view of who was coming in and out of the cafe at all times. Pulling out his laptop from his bag, you walked to the back to finish up with most of your closing tasks so you and your coworker wouldn’t have much to do when the clock stroked 9 p.m. 

As you finished the last of the dishes, you peek your head out to the front checking to see if any last customers had straggled in. Realizing that Seonghwa was the only one left in the cafe, you decided that this would be your best shot to ask him what you’d been thinking about for weeks. Smoothing out your apron, you walked over to him suddenly feeling your nerves fire up. Seonghwa noticed you first and immediately figured you were coming over to tell him you had closed. Closing his laptop, he apologized as you approached. 

“I’m sorry, I must’ve lost track of time. I’ll be out of your hair.”

You threw your hands out in front of you, silently trying to halt his actions. 

“Oh, no no, w-we’re not closed yet. We still have about 15 minutes. I was actually coming over to ask you something.”

“Oh?”

Seonghwa raised his eyebrows and relaxed into his chair, he motioned for you to sit in the chair across the table. Taking a deep breath, you tried your best to swallow your anxiety realizing the gravity of what you were asking him. You were no longer abiding by the standard customer-employee interaction and were hoping desperately that you wouldn’t be overstepping a boundary. 

His presence was just unexplainably intimidating. He held himself with such a poise you couldn’t even imagine what he would look or act like unhinged. There was never a thread out of place when it came to his appearance and only now were you aware of the fact that you were sitting across him in your dirtied apron, bleached stained pants, and the mural of coffee and whipped cream that painted your shoes. 

Violently shushing the voices of panic in your head, you looked him in the eye and found the confidence that struck just moments prior. 

“I hope this doesn’t come off as offensive or anything, but I run a blog about people who most might find strange and unusual and I interview them. Why they chose to subscribe to a certain type of style, what their influences are, if they have projects they’re working on, and everything in between.” 

You watched him nod following along and waiting for you to continue. He was giving you his undivided attention and it excited you, to say the least. 

“With that being said, I find you alluring in a way that I can’t seem to apply a reason to. Combined with the intimidating aura that you ooze naturally, I would love to have you featured on my blog next–if you would be comfortable with that.”

There was a faint smirk pulling at his lips and you couldn’t tell if it was coming from amusement or if he was planning on a way to humiliate you in a manner so sophisticated it would be hard to decipher if he was denying your request.

“So…you find me, intriguing?”

“Very. You’re like what I would imagine a modern vampire to be and it’s fascinating to me.” 

You watched his body freeze for a moment, an austere gloss swiping across his eyes. If you blinked at the wrong time you would’ve missed it, but you caught it and it made the gears in your head begin to turn. Seonghwa’s eyes honed in on you, searching for an answer that he wasn’t quite sure of yet. There was a particular intensity that you hadn’t felt from him before and as he leaned forward, resting his head on his folded hands, you began to feel small in front of him for the very first time. 

It was a feeling you’d never felt before. You almost felt similar to prey until his velvet voice cut through the static silence of lingering words. 

“When are you free next?” 

“I’m off tomorrow actually.”

“Does the evening work for you?”

“Perfect.” 

“Alright.”

He agreed.

It took a moment to realize he so passively agreed to your interview. You honestly did not expect him to agree or let alone give you the time of day to explain yourself. 

“I-I, uh, great! Um, can I borrow your phone so I can save my contact in there?”

Reaching into his pocket, he handed you his phone with such grace you wondered if he was human at all. Adding your contact quickly, you sent a text message to yourself so that you could save his number after the fact. His voice pulled you from your thoughts, you almost forgot he was sitting right across from you. 

“I’ll send you my address tomorrow evening. I figure you’ll have more content to interview if I let you see my place of residence and you can really gauge my character.”

Standing up from the chair, you nodded and thanked him again, still aghast that he agreed so easily. 

“I’ll be looking forward to your message.” You began to walk back towards the bar but stopped in your tracks. 

“Would you like a refill before you head out?”

“No, I still have plenty in here, thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Seonghwa stood up, pushing his chair in and grabbing his bag. As he made his way to the front door you waved to him, a full grin plastered on your face. Once he turned the corner of the building, you locked the doors, 9 pm finally flashing across the clock. 

Your coworker emerged from the back, drawers of money in her hands. 

“Stevie gue-”

“-Did you lock the door?”

“Yup!” 

Walking back over behind the counter you stood over your coworker. 

“And you’ll never guess what happened.”

She hummed, looking up at you and giving you the go ahead to continue.

“So you know Seonghwa right?”

“The vampire regular?”

“Yeah yeah. So I was thinking to myself while I was cleaning how he’d be the perfect person to interview for my blog. I don’t know where, but I found the courage and asked him if he’d be willing to and he agreed.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“I’m being so serious.”

The gravity of the situation hit you again as Stevie screamed into her hand and a slew of explicatives left her mouth. Your mind started to wander as to why he agreed so quickly. Was he lonely? Did he find you attractive? Or was he simply just not as intimidating as you pegged him to be? Stevie pulled you from your thoughts as she finally calmed down.

“So when and where are you meeting?”

“Tomorrow night at his place. Speaking of which let me text him real quick.”

“You’re going to his house?!” 

“He said that it would quote give me a better gauge of his character if I saw his place of residence.” 

Stevie paused looking up at you with a growing smirk. 

“That man is Dracula for sure. “Place of residence”, he has to be ancient.”

“Oh shut up. He could be 532 years old on top of it and I still wouldn’t think twice about it. He’s so hot it’s easy to let the quirks slide by.”

Walking over to tear down the espresso bar you were using, Stevie was in a fit of giggles. 

“An old ass man breaking your dry spell is so you coded I hate it.” 

You rolled your eyes and smiled as you dumped the espresso beans in their corresponding cubes before stacking them on the counter. 

“Who says I’m gonna have sex with him?”

“Bitch if you don’t have sex with him I will slap you personally for being so stupid.” 

Both of you erupted into a fit of laughs, and both of you reverted to your normally loud selves now that you were in the comfort of a closed store. Taking the few dishes left to the sink in the back, you peeked your head out yelling to Stevie.

“You cool if I finish the dishes and then I’ll help wipe down whatever you don’t have finished out here when I’m done?”

“Yeah, I kinda wanted to mop anyway.” 

Smiling you walked back over to the sink and pulled out your phone to save Seonghwa’s contact to your phone. As you clicked done in the upper right hand corner, a message from him popped up in a banner on the top of your screen. When you clicked on it, it was his address, and at the end of the text, it was signed ~*Seonghwa. 

As you were beginning to write back a grey bubble popped up, his text following soon after. 

Seonghwa: Wasn’t sure if you had the chance to save my number to your contact list and didn’t want to leave any doubt that it wasn’t me texting you.

Y/N: no worries! i appreciate the clarity

Y/N: i also wanted to thank you again for agreeing to do this with me. i have so many questions

Seonghwa: Well, I hope you have plenty of paper or a recorder of some sort because I have quite the story to tell. 

You felt butterflies flutter in your stomach, feeling utterly giddy that this astute man was texting back and forth with you. He seemed so untouchable and yet in this moment he seemed so much more lax than his typical personality. You hearted his last message and typed one last text before you began running the dishes. 

Y/N: so excited to hear all of it :) 

Shoving your phone back into your pocket, you threw the pieces of the espresso bar into the dishwasher and quickly hand washed all the pieces that couldn’t be tetrised into the washer. Grabbing a rag, you wiped down the dishes you hand washed and placed them in their respective places out on the bar. When the dishwasher beeped, you went back to open it so all the steam could be let out allowing the dishes to cool off while you wiped down the counter with Stevie in the front.

Satisfied with how the counter looked, you grabbed the last remaining pieces of the espresso bar and locked them in place in the bar. Putting the cleaning pills into the machine, you and Stevie did a once over of the store with your eyes. Nodding to each other, you took off your aprons and went to grab your stuff in the back of the store. Gathering all of your items, you and Stevie clocked out and walked to the front of the store. 

As Stevie set the alarm for the building, she yelled over at you while you were waiting at the front door. 

“Has he texted you yet?”

“Lol yeah, he has.” 

The alarm beeped, signaling that it was clear for you to open the door, you held it open waiting for Stevie to come around the corner. As she locked the door, she turned around and looked at you motioning you to hand over your phone. 

“It’s nothing serious, yet.”

“Oh, so you’re hopeful.”

Stevie wiggled her eyebrows at you making you giggle as she read over the quick interaction you had with him. 

“He wants you so bad y/n/n.”

“You’re delusional.”

“Oh, so being delusional is only okay when we're miles away from the hot person now?”

“No, but-”

“-No buts.” 

You smiled looking down at your feet trying to hide your excitement from your friend.

“Alright, well while you dream about Twilight for the rest of the night, I gotta get home to feed Ghost. I’m pretty sure she’s meowing her head off right now. Text me when you get home, okay?” 

Stevie held up a finger gun as she began to walk to her car and you did the same thing as you walked to yours. 

“I will.”

Getting in your car, you took a decompressing breath releasing all the burdens from the day at work. As you turned your car on, you knew your mind would be clouded with thoughts of Seonghwa and what you were gonna prepare for him. 

The drive home felt more like a teleportation home but nonetheless, you were glad to be facing your building. As you got out of your car, you felt that instant dread that you’d been feeling for weeks now. It was always a sudden feeling but you couldn’t ignore it. With the defensive instinct of hunted prey cascading your nerves, you looked around the parking lot near your apartment and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. You just couldn’t shake this feeling. 

Silently grateful that one of the closer parking spaces was open, you locked your car and briskly walked towards your building. Running up the stairs when the feeling of panic that something maniacal was behind you washed over you again. When you reached the top of your stairs, you placed your back against the wall looking out across the different buildings, and still nothing seemed wrong. 

Taking a deep breath, you shook your head and opened the door to your apartment. Walking in, you quickly shut the door behind you, finally feeling safe within the walls of your home. When you clicked your lock shut, your dog, Jasper, ran to you from your bedroom. Seeing him eased your shaken nerves, but only momentarily before he was distracted by something. 

His happy tail lowered and tucked between his back legs as low growls echoed through him. Slowly, he stalked over to your window and looked out toward the other buildings in the complex. Your blinds open just enough so that a small amount of the streetlight could peek through. 

Not wanting to think about whatever was on your tail anymore this evening, you walked over and shut the blinds completely so that neither Jasper nor you could see out the window. Grabbing the remote to your TV, you put on something random just to have background noise so you wouldn’t have to wrestle with the silence. Putting down some food for Jasper, you made yourself a quick dinner so you could begin drafting your questions for tomorrow.  

A half an hour soon turned into a full hour, then that one hour quickly became two and when you finally looked at your phone again it was 1 am. Satisfied with what you came up with, you closed your notebook and got yourself ready for bed. Finishing your routine, you checked your front door to make sure it was locked. A pit of worried confusion settled in your stomach as you noticed your top lock was left unchained. As you tried to reason with yourself you settled confidently on the fact that you probably just forgot when you rushed inside. Besides, the main lock was still set in place. 

You called for Jasper and opened the door to your balcony so he could use the bathroom one last time. While you were outside, you didn’t feel that oppressive feeling but you still felt like you had eyes on you and Jasper confirmed your suspicions as his tail tucked again and he stared into the distance. Fear began to freeze your body again and you wanted to get back inside as soon as possible.

“C’mon bud, let’s go to bed.” 

Jasper shook his head, his collar jingling in the night air. Walking inside, you locked the balcony door and shut off all the lights in the main area of your apartment. Calling for Jasper to follow you to bed, you laid out all your blankets before patting the mattress to signal him to come up. You turned on your LED lights, needing some sort of light to quell your nerves about how you’d been feeling since you got home. The deep purple, shining a tone similar to a black light only lit up a corner of your room. It was just enough to provide you with comfort and the promise of sleep started weighing on your eyes. 

The weight of Jasper on your sheets calmed you down and slowly sleep overcame your body. Your last thought before drifting off was not about the anxiety you felt but rather the excitement for the solo time you were going to have with Seonghwa. If only you could’ve discerned that the anxiety you felt was also courtesy of the man you were bewitched by. 

~`*`~

Your body felt like it was made of stone. You’d never felt pressure like this before let alone right out of sleep. Your eyes slowly pried open and the comfort that normally showered your room was nowhere to be felt. You tried to move your limbs, but as you made the conscious effort to move them, they stayed restrained in place. Stuck, as if they were chained to the mattress. 

As you tried to roll your body over off of its back, you realized that dead weight feeling was possessing your entire body. You were paralyzed, trammeled to what was once the solace of your bed. There was a damning pressure on your chest and it was beginning to feel like you couldn't breathe. Any breath that you could’ve caught was now lost to terror as you realized you could only move your eyes. As you scanned your room, you noticed Jasper standing on the bed, low growls escaping him as he pointed to a corner in your bedroom. 

As you followed his stance your eyes met a tall, statuesque figure standing in the corner of your room, its presence was boring into you. If you could see its eyes, you’d imagine they’d be all black, a harrowing intent lying behind them. The figure's energy felt familiar but the terror of the unknown overshadowed your reason. Fear tingled your body and you wondered if anybody would be able to help you. 

Your mind raced, wondering if this was a twisted realistic dream or if you were about to meet an early demise. The figure barely seemed to move, let alone breathe, but the energy radiating from it was horrifying. You felt like you could faintly see a smile forming where its face was. You tried to scream, but it felt like your mouth was sewn shut. Not sound or even a fraction of the movement of the scream escaped your body and it left you feeling hopeless. 

Closing your eyes, you hoped that maybe you’d be able to force your body back to sleep and whatever that thing was would dissipate into thin air the same way it appeared. A tingling feeling slowly raced through your body and you felt your limbs become your own again. Opening your eyes back up, nothing was standing in the corner anymore and that hot, oppressive feeling that was clawing at the room had faded. 

Jasper curled himself back onto your bed seemingly calmed down enough to go back to sleep. You couldn’t ignore the steady racing of your heart while you kept your dark lights illuminating the room. You were subconsciously just waiting for something else to appear. Grabbing the remote to your lights, you switched the color to a soft white, needing to have some sort of brightness to allow you to feel safe in your room again. 

~`*`~

As you tossed and turned, the hours quickly ticked by and the once navy sky peeking through your window was now turning into a canvas of pale blues and greys. An unmistakable gloom casting over the early morning sky.  You couldn’t even force yourself back to sleep, the anxiety you felt being too great to even think about sleep. Every time you closed your eyes it felt like heat was bearing down in your room, an unseen presence feeling disrespected that you would dare to ignore it. 

Sighing, you sat up in your bed and reached over to your blinds to open them a little bit more, allowing more natural light to brighten your room. For some reason, you felt that if you had nature’s light spill into your room, whatever anxiety you felt would dissipate enough for you to get some type of sleep. Checking your phone, the time flashed 7:32 and you were satisfied enough with the amount of light that was coming through. With Jasper tucked into your legs, you found a comfortable enough position and felt your mind relax enough so that you could will yourself to sleep. 

When you woke up again, it was still overcast and everything was just a bright grey color. It was oddly eerie. Some wind picked up out of nowhere and coupled with the melancholic tone of the weather already, you felt like you were in your own personal thriller. You just hoped that nothing else out of the ordinary was going to happen today. When you checked your phone and it flashed 12:52, you were pleased that you at least got some sleep. Scrolling through your notifications, you saw you had a few texts from Stevie. 

steviee: share your location with me before you forget 

steviee: cuz i know you'll end up at his house and then i won't know where you are 

steviee: i know i have the address but what if you go somewhere else

steviee: r u asleep still what's goin on 

You chuckled at your phone, your friend never failing to make you laugh when you needed it. It almost made you forget about the panic you had felt all night. 

y/n: yeah i just woke up sorry 

y/n: i had fuckin sleep paralysis and couldn't go to sleep until it was light outside smh 

y/n: location should be shared now btw 

steviee: damn, did you see the hat man? 

Stevie hearted your message saying you shared your location and her text about seeing “the hat man” brought you some needed joy. Having someone to be able to joke about the whole ordeal of last night made it seem not so terrifying. 

y/n: i literally couldn’t tell you who it was all i know is that it scared tf outta me 

steviee: right..right

steviee: well, lemme know when u leave tn and good luck

y/n:tyy :3

Shutting your phone off, you decided you should probably start getting ready so you’d have enough time to get yourself together as well as grab anything extra you’d need for the interview. Getting up, you stared at your closet trying to come up with something that would be enticing but professional enough to not raise any flags. You couldn’t deny that you had a bit of a crush on Seonghwa, but it seemed like such a distant reality that you tried to not pay much attention to it. 

You wanted to impress him though. He always looked so polished and you wanted him to feel as allured by you as you did him. The thought crossed your mind that anything you wore would be better than the work clothes he always saw you in, so you settled on something middle of the road. You threw a form fitting, black longsleeve, a black skirt, and your leather jacket on your bed and then sauntered into your bathroom to run through your routine. 

Between your shower, and dancing in between songs while you did your makeup, it quickly became 4 pm. Getting dressed, you gazed over your appearance looking for any immediate imperfections you had to fix. When you found none, you sprayed your perfume, grabbed your shoes, and walked out into the main room of your apartment. Opening the door to your balcony, you let Jasper out while you set out some food for him, figuring that you’d be out fairly late with Seonghwa’s interview. Setting his bowls down, Jasper came prancing inside, rubbing up against your leg. As you locked the door, you showered him with affection and then grabbed your purse to make your way out. 

You were leaving a little earlier than you expected, but you needed to get a new notebook for Seonghwa and you wanted to grab something to eat beforehand. Every new interview you did with someone, you wanted to grant them their own notebook, making the experience feel more personal to each individual. You had a growing collection piled in your room and you were plenty excited to add another. Looking back over your apartment to make sure you didn’t forget anything, you looked at Jasper.

“Be a good boy and watch the house, baby.” 

You flicked on the light so he wouldn’t be left in the dark and you made your way out of your apartment. When you stepped out the door though, your foot landed on something else other than the concrete. When you looked down, there was a leather bound journal with gold embellishments on the spine. You picked it up, inspecting it, and to your surprise, it seemed brand new. You wondered if it was maybe a misplaced delivery, but there was no package sticker on it. 

Seeing it as a blessing in disguise, you stuffed the journal into your bag and walked down the steps to the parking lot. One less stop meant you’d be able to debrief with Stevie before you made your way to Seonghwa’s. Driving the memorized route you had for work, you got there fairly quickly with traffic having died down. When you got out of your car, the sun was slowly tucking itself behind the mountains, casting an angelic golden glow across the sky. Walking into your job, you were happy to see Stevie at the front so that you could get the free food you wanted without the hassle. 

“What are you doing here?”

“Coming to get breakfast so I don’t pass out in front of that man.”

“It’s literally five, babe.” 

“And it’s still my breakfast.” 

Grabbing a sandwich from the display case, you slid it across the counter gingerly and looked at Stevie your lips downturned and your eyebrow slightly raised. 

“You want a drink?”

“No, just a water, if I have coffee I might actually shit myself.” 

You waited on the wall closest to behind the counter and continued talking with your friend trying to calm your nerves. Every time you had a flicker of a thought about Seonghwa you felt your heart race. Stevie’s voice pulled you from your thoughts which you were thankful for because they were about to spiral again.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d think you’re going on a date.”

Panicked you looked down at your outfit and then back to Stevie.

“Why? Is this too much? Should I go change?”

Stevie laughed and it confused you, furthering the thoughts of you looking like a fool. The timer on the oven beeped and she put your sandwich in a bag and turned around to hand it to you. 

“No, it’s not too much. Just wanted to see you squirm. You look hot.” 

Your eyes lacked amusement, a deadpanned glare shot her way. 

“Not funny.” 

“You needed to loosen up, I could smell the tension on you the moment you walked in. Hopefully he fucks it out of you.” 

“Stevie!”

She looked over her shoulder smiling at you as she walked back over to the register to help a customer. As you began to eat your sandwich, your phone vibrated in your front pocket. Pulling it out, your heart rate sped up reading that the notification was from Seonghwa. 

Seonghwa: Good evening. I hope this message finds you well. I’m ready whenever you are.

Why does he talk like that? 

You didn’t realize you had zoned out until your screen started to fade to black, your dazed reflection staring back at you. In your staggered panic, you gnawed away at your sandwich not even recognizing that you finished it until you went for a coherent bite and chomped on nothing but paper. Crumbling the bag and throwing it into the trash, you grabbed the water that Stevie left on the counter and almost got away with an Irish goodbye. 

“Text me everything!” 

“I will!” 

You pushed out of the glass door and got back into your car. Digging through your bag, you searched for your lip products before you started the vehicle. Feeling that you had fretted over your appearance enough today, you threw everything back into your bag and loaded Seonghwa’s address into your phone.  

You turned up your music, needing something to drown out the endless panic you were having now that you were actively making your way to his house. Your GPS said it was only about a ten minute drive from where you were so at the very least you were thankful to be close to an area you were familiar with. The further you drove the route to his house, the more you realized it was taking you in a similar direction to where you lived. 

Passing your apartment complex, you began driving in an area that was visibly more prestigious and affluent. The few apartment complexes turned into luxury mansions and you could only imagine from the outside, the grandeur of what the homes looked like inside. Turning on one last residential street, you turned into a development that had a guarded gate. 

“Hi, Y/n L/n for Seonghwa Park on 7772 Seraph Lane.” 

“Alright. I need to scan your ID.” 

The guard waited at your window as you rummaged in your bag for your wallet. Pulling out your ID, the man scanned the barcode and walked back into the small building. As he typed your info into the computer, he quickly printed out your guest pass. 

“Seems like you were already in the system. Have a nice day.” 

Thanking the man you tossed the pass up on the dashboard of your car. As you drove through the neighborhood, you took in how beautifully everything was maintained. The road you drove down was shrouded in willow oak trees, almost hiding the darkening sky. As you made one last right, you pulled up in front of his house. Or, mansion you suppose. 

His front yard was well kept, a willow tree hanging on the lawn. The front of his home was imposing and you felt out of touch being in such an environment. His street was quiet, almost unnervingly quiet. There was no excess noise from any main road, and with nothing but a few cars adorning the driveways of the surrounding houses, you felt unusually small. Out of place. Stepping out of your car, you grabbed your bag and fixed yourself one last time in the reflection of your car door. Locking your car, you took a deep breath and walked up Seonghwa’s elaborate driveway finally clicking into a semi-professional mentality. 

Ringing his doorbell, you waited patiently to see him on the other side. When you heard the lock of the door click out of place, one of the large, red oak double doors opened to reveal Seonghwa in one of the more relaxed outfits you’d ever seen him in. He was clad in black jeans, a mesh long sleeve draped across his upper half, and a pair of leather mules on his feet. 

A wide smile spread across his face as his eyes met your own. A glint of sheer mirth expressed across his features. 

“Y/n! So glad you made it, I hope it wasn’t too much of a hassle to find. Please, come in.” 

Timidly bowing your head, a light chuckle left you as you stepped through the front door.

“Oh, it was no trouble! Me being in the system already made the guard situation a breeze.”

Closing the door behind you, you watched him as he began to speak again. 

“I pray you didn’t find that alarming in any way, just wanted to lessen the amount of effort it would take to get beyond the gates.”

“Oh, I figured that was the reason. I appreciate you looking out for me.” 

A gentle and pleased smile spread lightly across his lips, his eyes closing only for a moment before he continued being so hospitable. 

“Can I get you anything to drink before we start?” 

“Um, a water would be great.” 

“Come.”

Seonghwa motioned his hand to follow you and as you trailed behind him you gazed at everything you could inside of his home. The ceilings were intimidatingly tall and his house was spotless, somehow more well put together than the man himself. He had macabre and abstract artwork and busts decorated his walls and some end tables. The hallway to the kitchen seemed so far away from the front door, but when you entered the room you were left in even more awe. 

“You have a beautiful home, Hwa–Seonghwa! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“-It’s quite alright, y/n. You can call me Hwa if you’d like.”

Nodding silently, you swallowed your embarrassment. Sliding you a glass full of water, you thanked him and he motioned for you to follow him again. Walking through his home, you felt like when Belle trailed behind Beast when being led to her quarters for the first time. Everything your eyes landed on either looked ancient or worth a million dollars. The hallways were long and imposing and you wondered how he lived here all alone. 

Maybe that’s something I’ll add to ask.

Approaching a white door at the end of the hallway with golden fixtures, he opened it and guided you into what you assumed to be his study. He had a table set up with chairs facing each other and he pulled your chair out as you entered the room with him. Seonghwa sat across from you, smoothing out his top as if he was being filmed on camera. Setting your bag on the table, you pulled out your phone opening up the voice memos to serve as your recorder and you pulled out the journal that you found at your front door. 

Just like last night, there was a glint in Seonghwa’s eyes that you would’ve missed if you didn’t look at the right time. You barely furrowed your eyebrows, not trying to draw attention to something so small. He had a microscopic smirk pulling at the side of his mouth, almost like he was trying to hide a smile from forming. Taking a deep breath, you looked up at Seonghwa, that glint now gone and substituted with his usual stoic gaze. 

“Ready?”

“Indeed.” 

Pressing record on your phone, you opened up to the first page of the journal massaging the page so that the spine would bend to your liking. Going to fish in your bag for a pen, you realize it was the one thing that you forgot. Sighing you looked to Seonghwa. 

“You wouldn't happen to have a pen would you?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” 

Getting up, Seonghwa walked to another desk in the room that was accompanied by a computer. Walking back over to where you were, he handed you a black and gold fountain pen that had the same exact markings that were detailed on the spine of the journal you picked up. Hesitant, you took the pen from him, your brows still furrowed as you looked at him to thank him. There was a cold, obsessive tone to his gaze as he watched you inspect the markings on the pen. 

“The same markings are on this journal that I found left outside my apartment today! That’s so weird. Kinda cool, but still weird.” 

A little extra air escaped his nose as he looked at you with amusement. 

“How peculiar.”

You felt your gut stir in anxiety for a moment but swallowed the feeling as quickly as it came. Blaming it on the fact that you had finally started the interview, and you didn’t want to make a fool of yourself. Surely, he hadn’t left the journal, he didn’t even have a fraction of an idea of where you lived. A fiendish levity was cast upon his face when you looked up at him again, settling in to ask him the first question. 

His gaze was heavy. Unwavering as it seemed he was creating a mental image of this moment to save forever and needed to capture every minor detail. 

“So, what drew you to a town like this?”

~`*`~

taglist: @bellamuerte1987 @seonghwasstar

[velnna]

I remember you saying you liked drawing athletes for anatomy refs. Where you also a practitioner? And what other sports do you like/have you partaken in, and have they affected the way you draw bodies and movement somehow?

Yeah I've done sports all my life haha. My main sports were acrobatic gymnastics, athletics (medium-long distance and trail) and martial arts (krav maga and muay thai, though I did do a year of karate and have family very close linked to judo), but I've tried a shitton of others

I definitely think observing *and* practicing certain types of sports helped me a lot with my art and sense of volume/anatomy. Gymnastics in particular are all about understanding what muscles flex when, how balance and weight are distributed in your body and how joints bend and rotate relative to each other, etc. By observing you can learn a lot, but there's things you also sort of only get by trying it out

Now of course I'm not recommending do gymnastics to learn how to draw but it definitely did help me. If you're curious about this sort of approach (drawing athletes VS simple figure drawing), a thing that can help is to look at videos instead of static images! I'm very biased towards acrobatic gymnastics but will recommend it anyways because one thing that made me fixate on it was that, compared to olympic artistic gymnastics, routines have a lot more flavour and diversity to them, more complex static poses, etc. Some groups had a chemistry that kept me watching regardless of the actual technical bits heh.

Here look at how neat it is

[onejellyfishplease]

I am all about constructive criticism. I mean, how am I supposed to get better at writing/drawing if people won't be honest with me and give me tips to get better. I personally think that people who can't take constructive criticism aren't very bright. How are they supposed to get better at things if they don't listen to others who are just trying to guide them?

Also, I would love some more tips on how to make the shell better. If you are willing, of course. :)

I am horrible at drawing. I usually have to trace things to get a decent drawing. (For instance, I traced like five different things to make Mikey a pony.)

I'm so much better at coloring than I am at drawing. My writing needs work, too, but I'm getting better.

First of all, can I just say that you shouldnt worry about tracing art to improve your own (as long as u aren't posting it as soley your own but thats a whole other rabbit hole) I did too! It helps build ground work for a good understanding of anatomy and poses.

However there are a few holes in tracing. Forst of all it is quite limiting in the outcome of your work, as your art is stuck static in one pose. this can alkost hinder your ability to see things in '3D' and visualise objects for multiple angles. it can also lead to 'skin wrapping' , which i think is the hole you fell into here (and also a term i just made up now)

with the shell, you only coloured it within Mikey's trace lines - this caused the shell to loose a lot of its mass - making it look, quite frankly, not like a shell.

a way to improve on this is to look at more references of Mikey's shell in the show and its shape from different angles. this can help you get a good idea of how it should look, and it is a good idea to practice drawing it from these angles. this will improve your ability to think in a 3D space, (which is so darn hard, but seriously useful)

however, and you may have noticed this yourself, when you add new additions to the figure, the line art just doesnt line up! the line quality is different!

This is because the line you have done for the addition is Your Line. And we love your line.

so lets make the rest of the traced lineart fit into your style, instead of you fitting yours into theirs okay?

You may notice that when you trace art, the line work is just not the same, the lines are shakier than the original and it just doesn't look as good. this is not a reflection of your skill.

It is because, usually, (at least when I did it) you follow the original line so closely that it turns out shaky, probably taking your pen off the page a few times to take a break from the oen stroke. while the original artist did that line in one sweeping stroke.

a way to fix this, and make the line arr cleaner and more you, is to instead use the drawing as a very close reference. for example:

instead of tracing the exact lines of the art, merely trace the general shapes of the art. not only then do you add your own flair and gesture to the drawing, you are then more free to add more shapes to this sketch.

You can still use the reference drawing as closly as you want, but try to focus less on getting the exact lines copied, and more on the general shape. you linework wont be perfect the first time, it might be really messy compared to your usual tracing, and thats fine! you should see some of my sketches before i refine them!

But these will be your lines, theyll be smoother and more gestural, and overtime you will get better control over your penstrokes doing this.

Okay I cant really think of anymore to add here, I hope this helps! i think this was just one big word vomit lol. Keep drawing!! cause no matter what you do, as long as you are actively drawing you are always improving! dont be afraid to push yourself out of you comfort zone! who cares if it doesnt turn out the way you wanted it to? Its your art, You Created That with your Own Hands, and I think that is amazing.

<3

[skaruresonic]

Everytime I catch a glimpse of discussion within the Sonic fandom I feel like I'm going insane.

Speaking purely from my own experience, not too long ago practically every Sonic fan firmly believed that Sonic was an unfeeling hard boiled soldier/action man/dude bro who had zero concern for anything other than his personal amusement. Back then Sonic was "supposed to be" an unthinking action drone that only blows stuff up and runs around doing poses. And if you ever dared to imply that he'd do something sappy, than you would get labeled as a baby who can't handle "hardcore material" or something.

Flash forward to now and it seems like majority is convinced Sonic is a fluffy soft boy who would never hurt a fly and he sincerely prays every night that everyone gets a happy ending. including the people who've done nothing but cause pain. Also he's extremely emotional over everything and hurting on the inside or something. And if you think he should snap back at his enemies you're just an edgelord who doesn't understand anything.

What happened??? How did we go from one extreme to the other??? Why is it so hard for sonic fans to see the characters for what they are instead of making up nonsense???

And if you think he should snap back at his enemies you're just an edgelord who doesn't understand anything.

"So you want Sonic to murder his enemies in cold blood?"

"Where the hell did you get that from? I said Sonic doesn't care about Eggman's welfare and that his attitude seems to be 'if he dies, he dies.' Where did you get 'I want Punisher!Sonic' out of that lol"

Fandoms be fandoming. I personally saw a forum thread back in the day likening Modern Sonic to a soulless vehicle designed to get you from Point A to Point B, in contrast to Classic Sonic who had more "soul." There are always going to be people who think the new shift in direction is soulless, whatever that means.

The irony is, the reason the Adventure games were as comparatively dark as they were (YMMV on that, obviously) was because ST didn't like how cute and Mickey Mouse-ish Classic Sonic was becoming in the late '90s; they wanted to reintroduce, or rather retain, the rough-edged, "bad boy" side of his personality. Hence why they had Maekawa write for those games.

Cultural differences exacerbate these... well... differences in how we perceive Sonic as well. What the West sees as a "bad boy" and what Japan sees as a "bad boy" can be based on very divergent concepts. Kanemaru!Sonic's tendency to sprinkle Engrish sounds silly to Anglophones, for example, but in Japan it's a sign of his worldliness and his overall coolness.

Likewise, SoA!Sonic tends to use harsher language than SoJ!Sonic might use, such as saying strawberry shortcake "sucks" in a Twitter Takeover.

While I can't vouch for how Japanese Sonic fans view SoA!Sonic, to Anglophones, Games!Sonic seems like a squeaky-clean goodie two-shoes Gary-Stu. Which, again, ignores the cultural framework against which his character exists.

All that being said, Sonic is still quite a multifaceted character, even if he isn't the deepest or most fleshed-out in the cast. As a static character who represents an ideal and inspires positive change in others, he doesn't exactly need to be.

Lately I've been seeing a lot of overreductive takes with Shadow which attempt to boil him down to one or two traits at the expense of others, but I imagine it happens to Sonic quite a bit also. Despite being a static character, Sonic, like Shadow, has multiplicity of character. People really struggle with contending with that kind of variability. How he reacts to any given situation will change based on circumstance. Truth resists simplicity, which is antithetical to the kind of Declarations(tm) social media likes to make about the cast. Adding asterisks and footnotes risks diluting the impact of the message. So naturally, people are going to forgo context and nuance in favor of more digestible analyses, in addition to ignoring the games and just plain making shit up.

For instance: "Sonic's selfish" or "Sonic's selfless" is a false dichotomy. The answer is the Schroedinger's cat, both selfish and selfless until someone opens the box, maybe in a quantum state of both. To say one or the other is true ignores the spectrum and the circumstances in which Sonic expresses selfishness vs. selflessness. Sonic can be selfish sometimes, just as he can be selfless, but whether he is or is not depends on what he's doing at the moment and what provokes this reaction.

So on and so forth.

[idollandhero]

Something I've been thinking about; Just how much work does it take to port a song from Arcade to Idol Land (or All Idol Perfect Stage)

https://twitter.com/Kiraboshi_Shun/status/1742156382030410038

Above I have three versions of the same song linked: What's different between them?

Well comparing Arcade to All Idol Perfect Stage:

All of the chart UI elements are redone (i.e the ribbons and hearts)

Any of the UI that wasn't redone was moved

The song was reworked to handle different screen resolutions vs. arcade's static screen size

They retrofit the ticket¹ section of the chart to the one used by every song in the switch game

On the other hand, the switch and mobile games are practically identical lmao. Idol Land:

Removed the score bar

Increased the size of the actual score

Added the photo button because the switch had native screenshot support

But that's it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All of the other UI elements, the camera, and choreo, and EVERYTHING is the same.²

So I think the conclusion I've come to is that we haven't gotten any arcade songs because it takes very little work to port the switch songs? + The switch game was made by a different dev team, they might not even know how to port them, lol.

The game can't even currently handle any of the switch's 2 or 5 person songs 😭 There are only two potential JASRAC anime licensed 3 person songs left, (BELIEVE MY DREAM! and 0-Week-Old) and I really wonder for the longevity of the game if they can't either make it work with different sized promises (which is only a temporary fix until those songs too run out) or figure out porting arcade songs. But considering how much work it takes to port an arcade song (the screen resolution thing is probably a mess), I'm very surprised they didn't learn how to port arcade songs from the beginning and alternate them with much easier to port switch songs, giving them extra time to port every song (two months vs one).

And we know they're not locked out of arcade assets, because we've gotten coords that weren't in the switch game! (They even gave us a Pretty Rhythm coord & a PriChan coord recolor!!!!!!)

Of course the other option is they port zero songs and only make their own charts i.e OPEN DREAM LAND and Chaotic Hurricane, but not only does that seem like a LOT more work in a one song a month timeframe (two when they run out of switch songs!) but the ODL chart is not synced correctly! So my confidence in them making their own charts and well is low.

I don't think this team is entirely incapable though, they have been making many new coords that have all been good (the cylume's on them not so much :( ), but they either are under experienced, or understaffed, or probably both.

¹I don't know what this section is actually called, it's the section that shows after the first bit of chart where all three of the characters pose individually

²From what I can tell the cylume change animations are different based on your coord? But all the variants are in both Switch & Idol Land I think; I haven't actually done the research on it

[ohnoitstbskyen]

The beauty of Arcana Tahm Kench's splash art (art by West Studio, individual artist unknown)

The Arcana skins all have gorgeous splash arts - they all have that sumptuous gold-and-red decorativism, the opulence of fashion, the heavy use of geometry and symmetry, but… this is the best one. 

Beauty here is in part in the colors - red and gold is a classic for a reason - but much more so in the use and breaking of symmetry. The image as a whole is essentially perfectly symmetrical - Tahm Kench is centered, his features are equal between both sides, the decorations and ornamentation is mirrored side to side, even the banners and pillars in the deep background are symmetrical.

But then, the first thing you’re likely to notice breaking the symmetry is that trail snaking its way out of his mouth. Even that, though, isn’t breaking it as much as you think - look at the two major curving swirls of it on each side - symmetrical in height and similar in curve. But that trail is also striking in another way - inside it you can glimpse this entirely other world, and the trail is rendered almost completely flat, two dimensionally, like glass or the surface of a liquid, like a window to somewhere else.

Kench here is designed more like a classic demon than he ever has been, so between his rich gold adornments, that welcoming arms-out pose and world spilling out of his mouth, the trail does storytelling. You can see him telling sweet little lies, you can see him putting out that temptation, and with its curling, curving shape, it also looks like a path, that leads you directly into his open mouth.

Symmetry is broken in other places too - his hands and arms aren’t quite symmetrical in their gesture, there’s a crown in the upper right corner that isn’t on the left, the coat is torn in different places, even down to the tiny details like the metal teeth being symmetrical but the fleshy ones are not, a bump on his jowl on one side and not the other… and it’s that variation that prevents the image from feeling stale or flat.

Let me demonstrate - here’s a version of the image copied perfectly left to right.

It still works, but it also… lacks a bit of dynamism, it looks more static, less alive, and a little bit uncanny, not in a good way. It looks fake, somehow. It is, ironically, the asymmetries that makes the symmetry striking. And the imagery in this splash art is just spectacular - it’s a cool demonic detail that Kench here has a burning crown that hovers over the open pit of his skill, but look how the inside of it is rendered - there is almost a cosmos in there, and between that and the golden furnace in his mouth you get the sense that you’re looking at something which is only wearing a physical form. 

And the split between the biological and the constructed is also interesting here. Compare the treated leather surface of the headpiece to the fleshy bulbousness of the jaw and belly, compare the knobbly surface of the horns to the smooth and carefully carved metal of the golden ornamentation. This contrast is achieved with careful rendering and a real and deep understanding of how each surface reflects and interacts with light, and that understanding is on display again in the fingers, which glow in the way that flesh does when you press a powerful light against it. So if you look close you can see the thickness of the nail absorbing the light, bending it around its outside edges, you can see the ridges of a fingerprint on his thumb backlit from the inside.

There is a lot of absolutely gorgeous art in League of Legends, but I can honestly say that no piece of art in the game has made stop in my tracks, has surprised me, and rewarded me for paying attention to its smaller details, quite like Arcana Tahm Kench. The intentional manipulation of symmetry and asymmetry, the careful use of texture and reflection, the command of light and the sense of volume and construction… it’s gorgeous. I won’t argue that Tahm Kench is prettier than Coven Evelynn, but my experience with this piece of art… that’s where I see the beauty.

---

If you liked this, I have a full video essay on beauty in League of Legends splash art HERE.

[jaymber]

Blistering Love

Timeline 20151 - Protagonist : V Temarii

[ First | Previous | Next ]

V allowed Johnny to do whatever he wanted with Rogue. It was their body, after all. But, by the time he was in control again, the merc realized he was still fully clothed, and that the movie wasn't over just yet. "Shit, that was… quick?" he commented

"I am many things, V, but  a one minute man I am not. Nothing happened. Was gonna be a nice night at the drive-in. Now, she’s mad and won’t tell me what about." "What did you do this time?" "Uh, no. It’s definitely not me. ‘member Grayson? How they spoke? How weird it was?”"

"Yeah, it was odd. But, maybe there’s no connection. Maybe she’s just… still in shock. You, back, trying for once. Give her some time. She'll see you're trying to-" V tried to rest a hand on Johnny's knee for sympathy, but the engram seemingly ran from his touch. He felt Johnny closing from him again, hiding his feelings and thoughts under static. V tried not feeling hurt at feeling pushed away. "Eh, gotta mull it over. For now: take me to North Oak.”

"That where Rogue went?" "Nah: Kerry. Tell you once we’re there.”

The road to North Oak was silent. V could feel an uncomfortable tension form, emanating from the rockerboy. Johnny was in a bad mood, and couldn't keep all his turmoil for himself. Emotions filtered through their bond. "Johnny? You alright?" V dared to ask after a while. "Preem." "You sure? Cause I feel this… knot… in-" “I'm the one in your head - not the other way 'round," he sharply replied, "Now, keep your eyes on the road."

Johnny made them stop near a pool of water under the North Oak sign. If the engram still seemed troubled, he seemed to relax ever so slightly as he looked up at the luxurious residences above them." “This oughta work.” “What are we doing here? “Heard Kerry got himself a buck a mansion here. Done well.” “Kerry Eurodyne? Yeah, he’s a pretty big deal, compared to what I saw in your memories. My sister had a huge Eurodyne phase. Went from town to town klepping anything that had his face on. Albums, magazines,...” “And you? Gonna behave yourself if you meet him up close?” Johnny seemingly couldn't help but barked.

“Was her thing, so I had to hate it, y’know how it goes. Music's preem, and Eurodyne always seemed pretty wild. Half his stories were more like controversies, and I did enjoy reading those. You two seemed to fight a lot, but I get why you got along." "Nah," he retorked harshly, "It probably was just an act. Only posed as a rebel to fit in. Was actually desperate not to step on any toes, Arasaka’s especially.” "Maybe he's changed. Like… Rogue has?" V suggested, though Alt's name came first in his mind. He was glad he avoided her name, Rogue's seemed to anger the rockerboy enough as it was. That spark of calmness suddenly died. "People can change V, but they can't suddenly grow balls. No. Read the screamsheets about him recently? Know what they write about him? He’s depressed, attempted suicide.” "Shit!" V let out, though the information didn't surprise him. Many fans knew about Eurodyne's unpredictable mental state, "You really afraid he’s gonna hurt himself?” “Who knows? Either way, could give him some pointers.” Those words made V realize Johnny had closed off his heart and mind to his host once more, protecting himself through tough words and a thougher attitude. Johnny wasn't alright, and V was certain it had to do with his recent rejection. "Johnny…" he called, grabbing his arm.

"Johnny, listen. I know something's not right, can feel it. Rogue rejected you, and that fucking sucks. But, lemme-" But once again, Johnny evaded his touch. "I said it before. I’ll say it again: not about Rogue. Now, get us inside that mansion, yeah?"

As Johnny walked back to the car, V couldn't help but listen to that cruel voice in the back of his head telling him that he was being ignored, left out. He hoped letting Johnny in control again would elevate the engram's mood, and maybe he would be thankful enough to remember V's presence.

[mdhwrites]

Zenless Zone Zero's Billy: The Deadpool Worry

This isn't about comedy tastes. That might sound weird since I'm going to talk a lot about comedy but it's important to understand that even the best jokes delivered poorly can end up falling flat on their face. A stand up comedian is not just good because they have good material, it's also because they know how to deliver that material.

So what's the Deadpool problem then? Deadpool, at least when he's recognizably Deadpool, usually does this well, right? Well... Yes. But many have tried to copy him, haven't they? The one I'm most familiar with was the tv show Ultimate Spiderman, where they had Spiderman essentially just be Deadpool and the comedy there worked well enough.

But both Deadpool in the comics, with exaggerated posing, perspective, etc. like that and a cartoon show with its potential for manic energy, quick cuts, stuff like that, helps add to the fun there. The live action Deadpool even relies on good direction and an EXTREMELY good voice actor paired with great material that works for the lack of exaggeration to make the transition work. It's also paired with still a lot of big, silly movements to help sell all of that.

But I have seen a lot of pieces of media have those over the top, zany, fourth wall breaking characters and without the animation, fervor, etc. to back it up they have been VERY sour for me.

And Billy is in a Hoyo game. You know, where most conversations have a half a dozen poses at most, extremely static cameras (if any camera work or poses) and well... Watch these trailers.

Even just here, with the ability to do more, we see some of the limitations. The first trailer works better because they let him be a lot more wild while the second one is relying ENTIRELY on the voice and dialog and is suffering from that. It's not helped that the dialog and joke they're going for isn't great. Admittedly the jokes for Zenless Zero so far in the trailers have been... Safe. Not bad but safe, to a point where they cause a slight problem on their own, and I could get into it if people are curious. Voice is good though.

But the thing that kills it the most is that there isn't the energy needed for these jokes. That for as hard as the voice actor is trying to go, if the other elements aren't backing them up, it's going to feel flatter than it should. Almost all comedy will suffer from these sorts of things but this eccentric sort of comedy more than most. There's a reason you don't see it a lot in live action. The more subdued medium relies a lot more on snark and interplay because that just fits its energy better much of the time comedy-wise.

Star Rail even suffers from this. Lines that should be funnier just get a slight eye roll or smile from me because when they're flatly delivered on a text box, it has to be GOOD to really get the joke to hit hard or it needs to come out of nowhere where the blunt presentation can help sell it. "Just let me heal you so I never have to see your face again!" isn't technically a joke but it is still such a stand out moment for me of comedy in Star Rail because it comes out of nowhere, the performance is shrill, and while it might cause a chuckle, it also serves a good character purpose.

It's also interplay, not fourth wall breaking. These misgivings could end up being nothing. I'm trying to be kind to the trailers because I recognize a lot of what they're going for and their job is not easy here with these trailers, especially since there's a mandate to sell that this is the comedy Hoyo game, at least comparatively. I'm just worried that Hoyo might be biting off more than they can chew. The need to expand into different genres and styles outpacing what their engines can actually support, at least as strongly as they may need to to not make this feel like any other gacha game.

Penacony has surprised me with its cleverness in how to use its elements for storytelling though and while that's for drama, Zenless may manage the same. That's why it's a worry, not a condemnation. What are your thoughts though? And see you next tale.

======+++++======

I'm keeping an eye on Zenless (funny story: I got into Star Rail because I thought it was Zenless and I'd thought I'd signed up for news on it) because I'm curious about just Hoyo's style of things but I'd be lying to say I worry about the action gameplay. Genshin's slog of a combat system is a BIG reason why I dropped it as quickly as I did. I'm trying to keep an open mind though.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[phlve]

Psychosophy Attitudes — Physics

1F / First Physics

The physical appearance of 1F is usually very noticeable: a handsome face, an athletic body, and they stand tall. They are powerful, strong people. Some 1F can be indistinguishable from 2F, 3F or even 4F. For the most part, these are people with juicy face sculpting.

1F are especially attractive in adolescence: the girls' figure approaches the ideal: a thin waist, wide hips, large breasts, for young men an athletic build is characteristic: a narrow pelvis, broad shoulders, muscles in all necessary places. With age, the figure changes: the waist disappears, the muscles begin to swell. This is not always the case and not with everyone: many 1F remain fit and impressively beautiful until old age, but the general trend is just that.

1F often have full lips with a "bow", as if created for kisses. They make artists and sculptors want to capture their beauty in their works. Most subjects of art are 1F.

1F possess a physical energy that fills space. A man walks - and everyone admires him and he admires himself. They are usually smooth, dignified, characterised by the grace of a person confidently standing on his feet. They move picturesquely, as if flowing from one beautiful pose to another.

1F have no desire to make unnecessary movements. They can sit for a long time without changing posture. If it is possible to stand or walk, they would prefer to stand. For this reason they prefer static sports ones - bodybuilding best reflects their natural drive to showcase trained flesh.

1F by nature have a slow reaction, so dynamic sports where it is necessary to predict the partner's/opponent's actions don't come easy to them. If they engage in martial arts, then they are drawn to it because of the result, not by the process of struggle.

1F don't strive to have many children, one or two are enough for them.

In a conflict, the first instinct of 1F is to attack their opponent. In childhood, they realised this desire quite openly, with age they taught themselves to restrain this instinct, but inside they continue to live with it (expressed through the clenching of fists, hitting a wall, breaking things). Therefore, we can say that 1F have usually a higher tendency to resort to violence compared to others.

For this reason if 1F come to power then probably they make frightening leaders, as it's easiest for them to resolve a conflict by forceful methods than others.

1F dream of living somewhat better than the rest of their social group, and they put a lot of effort into this. But upon reaching the limit assigned to them, they usually calm down and don't strive for more.

The worldview of 1F is material thoroughly. Material enrichment is the main engine of their activity. Wherever they find a place for themselves - at the helm of power, or in the family - they will first of all try to satisfy material interests: first their own, and then, possibly, others'.

1F treat their money with some level of greed, but in any case they will try to never miss their own benefit. They treat material things with respect and somewhere even with reverence: they love their home, workplace, company, family, their things. All these concepts have a special meaning for them, which is not always comprehended by others. They're attached to these concepts, values them and perceives them in a very tangible and almost animate way. They usually have a lot of beautiful and expensive things.

If 1F discuss, it's usually about money, comfort, appearance or food. Material interests prevail. They organise their world as it suits them - their own sense of comfort is of the highest value, so they're very unhappy when their comfort is disturbed. Comfort doesn't necessarily mean warmth and cosiness: for some it's a house that sparkles with cleanliness, and others it's an old couch and a robe.

Those who enter the space of 1F fall from their bounty. They don't really care about whether others like their gifts, if they give you should be kind and accept. 1F are ready to share their comfort with others, but in a way that is convenient to them. Their inner concept: "I did this thing, so it should be accepted by everyone unconditionally"

For their sake, they earn a lot and spend a lot. By their nature they tend to succumb to instincts - they don't fight them and don't see why it would be necessary. They know how to rest best of all and won't let anyone interrupt it. They love things that make life enjoyable, such as massages, beaches, beauticians, and sincerely don't understand why they should live without pleasure.

1F like to eat what is tasty, even if it's unhealthy. It's difficult for them to deny themselves pleasures, the main one being food - which they like spicy, heavy, flavourful.

1F are absolutely alien to asceticism, which is inherent in most religions, and more often than others it becomes an atheist.

If 1F go on a diet, then it will be the most comfortable one. They categorically reject strict hunger strikes, or restriction of sweets and alcohol. With great anguish they endures periods of forced rejection of their favourite products, perceiving it almost as a tragedy.

1F usually care very much about their appearance and invest a lot of money and effort into it. It is especially important for them to impress in public. They're usually dressed very well - bold clothes, sophisticated, stylish. At home they can look sloppy: they're sure that they look good enough and too lazy to run a comb through their hair an additional time. To them it's not so much about how they look, but how confident they feel about it.

1F can do a minimum of things, as long as they are sound and meet their requirements for comfort.

1F are "sensory hippos": they're often tone deaf and have a poor sense of rhythm. Even if by nature they're gifted with musical and dancing abilities, they prefer louder sounds and simple movements.

They poorly distinguish between halftones and shades. Therefore, they tend to overdo it with bright makeup, large expensive jewellery, tart perfume, open, tight-fitting outfits that would reveal and emphasise the body.

Due to their thick skin, 1F are not squeamish. They likes provoking, pornographic pictures, and they usually don't hide them, just as they don't hide their interest in a beautiful naked body, in showcasing sensuality, in the desire for sex.

The sensations 1F want to experience in sex are rather rough, the movements are monotonous. But in such sex there is a lot of naked sensuality, absolute adherence to instincts, frank enjoyment of corporeality. This pleasure is somewhat hampered by the fact that 1F have few erogenous zones, and in order to get pleasure, one has to act rather crudely and primitively on them. Many 1F women don't know what an orgasm is.

In sex, 1F strive for quick pleasure, are indifferent to foreplay, pay little attention to what the partner feels. They either enjoy and gives themselves up to completely, or give pleasure, and can do it tirelessly, but there is no exchange as such, there is no dialogue, no co-process.

1F are prone to betrayal, which in the depths of their soul they don't consider as bad. Since during sex they remain out of contact with their partner, betrayal doesn't mean hurting something that was built together, but "there was one partner, now there's another."

1F don't feel physiological jealousy. They're not so much hurt by knowing that the partner is not faithful to her, but it is important that the “lover” is less significant than them. To some 1F men it's not shameful to use the services of prostitutes.

1F are the most unfortunate victims of the fast flowing time. Time itself destroys the support on which this psychotype rest, and this leads to a change in a their worldview towards greater gloom and irritability.

In general, the world of 1F is a thoroughly material world, where money, expensive things, physical comfort, and pleasure are of greatest value. Here they are ready to share out of excess, but taking care first of all about their own benefit. Here, betrayal is not considered as such, here, in the conflict, fists immediately come into play, but here they stand firmly on their feet.

1F types: FELV, FEVL, FLEV, FLVE, FVEL, FVLE

2F / Second Physics

2F provoke liberation and discovery of their true tastes. This can manifest it both in the kitchen and in bed. 2F behaviour is one big offer of yourself as a lover, nanny, masseur and sports coach in one bottle.

2F usually have a somewhat shortened figure and a round face - it's stocky, compact, stable, like a sports car, which is adapted for fast movement. Generally short to medium height, there is no particular beauty or ugliness. It's a very balanced appearance.

Until the age of thirty, the body of 2F is distinguished by thinness and slenderness, and then the waist disappears, the silhouette diffuses - and the whole figure becomes short and round. Such people are never particularly overweight. Women with 2F usually have narrow thighs, bulky buttocks, and a full chest.

2F are very lively and agile. The movements are moderately fast, strong, precise, as well as aesthetic and graceful. Their mobility is also manifested through the fact that they are very active. Rest for them is a change of activity. They need to be limited or else they will do something all the time.

2F are true workaholics: labour for them is sacred in and of itself, regardless of field of activity. Wherever fate throws them, they'll work tirelessly and with dedication. They're those that forget to go on vacation, sit late at work, consider it a crime to take sick leave and are ready to go back to work even after physical stress. Put them in prison and they'll work hard there too. There are obvious pros and cons to this - by giving 100% of themselves to work, 2F can neglect health.

2F will be happy to do any work, both monotonous and creative. With the same pleasure they teach to beginners, show by their own example and motivate those who are tired. 2F fitness instructors like to do the exercises with a group, and their exercises are usually mobile and energetic.

2F need interaction with other people. They enjoy physical intimacy as well as the “unpleasant” physical work such as caring for the sick. During a conversation 2F like to touch the interlocutor's arm or shoulder, as if to establish a physical contact with them.

The physical world is a natural element to 2F, they play with objects, plants, animals, people. Interacting with them, it seems to create a process like a game.

2F are fearless in everything that concerns physical interaction, they trust their body and its flexibility, feel it is wide and richly gifted - and it usually doesn't let them down, acting accurately, reliably and efficiently.

2F bodies are perfectly adapted to fight. They're not afraid of being hit or wounded, they're not afraid to get involved in a battle even with those who are stronger, in the struggle for them there is a special excitement, the spirit of competition.

2F, like 1F, naturally respond with violence to the violation of their boundaries, but without cruelty, revenge. They make bad thieves and criminals, they're set up too constructively to take away from another that which they would gladly give to the opponent. If the Second Physics take a criminal path, still the feeling of inner conflict doesn't leave them.

2F are economical without stinginess, they love to make money, know how to save it but also spend it gladly to provide physical comfort for themselves and their family - in their house there is exactly as much as is required.

2F don't like to throw away old things: anything finds a worthy use with them. They are able to make something new, unusual and beautiful even from old things.

Wherever 2F are engaged, they strive to preserve the natural properties of things such as colour, smell, texture. 2F women often don't wear makeup, 2F chefs strive to subject food to minimal processing, 2F sculptors try to emphasise the natural properties of the material.

2F are very adequate to nudity, in which they value its naturalness. Everything related to physiology evokes an adequate response in them, with full acceptance of all physiological processes, without dividing into "good" or "shameful".

2F are squeamish despite the complete acceptance of physiology, there is a line beyond which disgust begins, and they try not to cross it. Therefore, they're very clean both with their space and their body.

2F tend to want multiple children, who are always well-groomed, fed, rested, study hard.

From adolescence to old age, 2F have a very adequate attitude to sex and give themselved up to it with pleasure and usually without excess. They are great lovers: attentive to the partner, tireless, resourceful and self-confident. For them, the whole love process is important, every stage, every movement. In addition, they have many erogenous zones.

For 2F the best side of their nature is physical care for others and an absolutely adequate attitude to the material world. They are beautiful in motion, very active, energetic, fearless and tireless.

2F types: EFLV, EFVL, LFEV, LFVE, VFEL, VFLE

3F / Third Physics

3F usually grow up late and remain thin, thin-boned and stooped all their life. Some 3F have an almost perfect body, very proportional and slender, but this is rather the exception. The face of 3F is usually asymmetrical, and some details stand out especially noticeably. In addition, 3F often suffers from acne, as their sensitive skin does not tolerate the aggressive effects of the external environment.

3F are very mobile, but their plastics lack confidence and accuracy. There is a lot of fuss, awkwardness and excessive caution in the movements of 3F. At the same time, they move a lot, they're characterised by restlessness and a desire to constantly change poses, as if they cannot find a place for themselves.

3F, despite their fragility, are generally in good health. They take care of their health all their life, as well as their appearance. They're characterised by moderation in food, mobility and subtle attention to what is happening inside the body. 3F are often fond of curative fasting and tempering.

3F are very sensitive to their appearance, they often believe that they're ugly, and this conviction of their unattractiveness becomes the main torture. Both 3F men and women often experiment in the field of fashion, they can wear provocative outfits, they are very careful about their face and body.

At the same time, 3F are very shy about their excessive sensitivity and physical weaknesses, which can be many. If 3F reveal their weaknesses to the world and there is no way to hide them, they try to play them in advance in such a way as to arouse sympathy.

Sensory perception of 3F is very sophisticated. They are able to pick up the shades of colours, sounds, smells. They can experience discomfort from too loud sounds, too pungent smells. Their element is subtle transitions, complex scales.

3F are characterised by extrasensory abilities, sensitivity to the energy interaction of people. If 3F experience physical pain, illness or hunger, their sensitivity heightens.

3F sense all physical interactions between people, as if they were through their own body. Whether they see a fight happening or observe a love scene, they experience it as if it were happening to them.

3F are not about imagining, but directly from within themselves feel someone else's physical sensations. They are very sympathetic to people that do physical labour, as well as to everyone who has to endure hardship or suffer from illness. Noticing other people's discomfort, they try to smooth it out.

In the kitchen, 3F prefer to cook something complex and sophisticated. At first, they may feel insecure, but if you teach them, and most importantly cheer them up, then they creatively recycle someone else's experience and bring something of their own to it.

3F are somewhat wary of complex mechanisms. If their work is connected with them, they prefer at first to play the role of a follower for a long time, turning to specialists at the slightest problems. But over time, their fear disappears, and they begin to act confidently, often bringing the simplest processes to real perfection.

3F have a particular attachment to their own things. They may be uncomfortable in someone else's house just because it is someone else's. Going on a trip, even for a couple of days, they can take a huge suitcase with them, in order to create a feeling of home for themselves in an unfamiliar place.

From the 3F comes the feeling of overprotection and infringement of the physical principle. It is very easy to inflict psychological trauma on them by making an incorrect or negative remark about their appearance or about their abilities as a man/woman, which they may then take a long time to heal. It's difficult to predict where exactly one can "stumble" while communicating with the 3F: each has its own weak point.

3F can be very prolific. Children are of absolute value to them. This reveals their desire to assert the full value of their physical principle. The more children there are, the fewer reasons to suffer from their own deprivation.

Some 3F overprotect its children. Since they are not too adapted to the hardships of the physical world, they seek to protect other, weaker creatures from them.

Shyness is inherent to 3F. They can be ashamed of nakedness (someone else's and their own), overt or excessive sexuality, even their passion for food, if it's peculiar to them.

3F tend to deny the importance of physiology and physical pleasures in general. They are insanely important to them - but they cannot admit it, cannot recognize the power that the physical world has over them and what great pleasure it gives.

Intimate life is the area where the duality of 3F is most clearly manifested. They usually start it rather late and with great care. And it contains both hypersexuality and bigotry. 3F are inclined to deny the meaning of eroticism, to resist their bodily desires. On the other hand, they passionately dream of surrendering to them, and if they do then with their whole being.

As far as eroticism is concerned, the feeling of fear is characteristic to 3F. They are somewhat cautious of creatures of the opposite sex and are looking for the most non-traumatic ways to realise their sexuality. Rejection is extremely painful for them. Often they prefer to refuse first as if in advance, protecting themselves from possible injury. 3F often resort to various sexual fantasies. All these are comfortable ways to realise oneself, without possibility of rejection.

3F have an avid interest in the psychology of people with open, casual, demonstrative sexuality, as well as prostitutes.

Due to their natural shyness, 3F tend to not be leading, but led by sexual partners. At the same time, they tend to put the partner's pleasure above their own.

In sex, 3F can endlessly touch and kiss just enjoying the process. In addition, their bodies are an erogenous zone all over.

3F are jealous of physical touch more so than others. Physical intimacy for them is kind of a sacred action, and they perceive the intrusion of strangers into this shrine as a betrayal.

If a partner is unfaithful to 3F - for them it's a confirmation of the defectiveness of their physical principle, which they already consider defective, and an ulterior confirmation is a huge pain for them and the strongest insult. If a partner cheated on them, they may experience such a strong disgust that they no longer can be attracted to them. At the same time, it is almost impossible to deceive them, since they sense the slightest changes in body language, it's like they can perceive someone else's frequency.

On the other side of fear and uncertainty is the desire of 3F to please everyone. Defiant behaviour is inherent in both women and men. 3F, like any Third function, doubt themselves. In order to test their attractiveness, they like to play the game of seduction, which has no other purpose other than self-affirmation. It's very difficult for 3F to refuse such behaviour, otherwise they won't be able to receive the confirmation they are looking for. If you ignore the bodily hints of 3F, then you can seriously hook them with such a game.

Men, in addition, try to assert themselves in their physical abilities. A physically perfect man has an excellent body, he is hardy and fearless. Very often 3F men go in for mountaineering, yoga, extreme sports, demonstrating their potential to themselves and others.

3F are characterised by a constant test of their strength. They like to overcome inconveniences, they can do something in uncomfortable positions and strain a lot. They're very proud of their victories in physical tests and want to be admired. It is important for them to impress in Physics. Through this behaviour, they seem to say: "I am strong after all, I can cope with physical discomfort, illness, and ordeal."

3F carry heavy things, move objects, deliberately demonstrating to everyone how hard it is for them - and at the same time refusing help. They evoke sympathy for themselves in those around them. 3F can pay for someone - but do it in such a way that the person would feel like paying them back. At the same time, they refuse it.

The attitude 3F have towards money is ambivalent. On one hand, they can be pretty frugal and stingy, then again they believe that having a lot of money is bad, in fact they love making expensive gifts, buying luxe things, and participating in charity. They may verbally deny the importance of money, but if they're honest they'll admit to the virtual importance of it.

3F are able to live at someone else's expense, but at the same time it will cause the torment of shame and a feeling of their own unfulfillment.

3F are often close in spirit to an equalising, distribution system, where everyone gets a small, but guaranteed piece of bread. They are ready to come to terms with the minimum, as long as it is guaranteed.

3F are born opponents of violence. They're pushed to this not only by sensitivity to other people's pain, but also by fear or cowardice. 3F are not great fighters because they're afraid of exposing their body to attack. They are afraid of fights in the same way as 3E are afraid of hysterics, and the 3L are afraid of sharp disputes.

If 3F are used to physical violence, they can be unnecessarily brutal and overstep the boundaries. So cowardice and cruelty coexist in them.

3F can be law-abiding. Fear of violence turns them away from the criminal path. The only crime 3F could be capable of is a out of jealousy: in such a state they are ready to commit even murder. It rarely comes to this, since until the very last moment, cruelty fights with pity and cowardice.

3F rarely commit suicide. They often think of it as a way to turn off the most restless part of themselves, but it is enough for them to imagine how tissues die off, how the heart stops beating and how the body that from healthy becomes covered with cadaveric spots, and the suicidal "appeal" disappears.

The world of 3F is a complex and contradictory one, in which the fear of bodily pain, seeming ugly or to be rejected in intimacy makes them at times hide their true desires behind hypocrisy, self-affirmation, and games of seduction. Here they boast of their appearance and physical strength, here they are ashamed of their weaknesses and are afraid of eroticism. Here, the worst crime is treason, and the greatest joy is the endless process of subtle pleasure from physical contact.

Like 2F, 3F don't sit still because of their process, but unlike in the former, it causes a feeling of "unhealthiness". 3F are painfully concentrated on their body and material condition. They can discuss with you for hours the details of diet, as well as about exercise, cosmetic procedures, massages.

3F are characterised by a desire to buy and accumulate finances. They tend to discuss in detail the pro's and con's of purchasing clothes, shoes, furniture and other things for a long time and in detail. They are split between greed and generosity. They also like to talk about ways to make money. The financial status of 3F is pretty important to them.

They can overload themselves with homework and try to attract their households to it. There is a feeling that 3F comes up with chores where there aren't - they move things, clean surfaces, explore objects. They often complain about lack of sleep, but do not want to reduce their activity. "If you want to help, don't advise me to do less, it would be more helpful if you did it for me."

They can watch a person eat something with interest; when they're offered a treat, they take a tiny piece, they invariably refuse to take a normal portion. This is due to 3F's uncertainty about their right to take something from the material world.

In addition, 3F react strangely to touches: their hugs and caresses will be cautious, as if seeking permission. They like to be liberated and pushed to physical interaction.

3F always hide an obvious complex about their appearance. They feel uncomfortable discussing their appearance, as they immediately lose their confidence. Often 3F comes up with non-existent problems with their looks.

3F types: ELFV, EVFL, LEFV, LVFE, VEFL, VLFE

4F / Fourth Physics

The appearance of 4F is distinguished by refinement. Usually these are people with sharp, small features (thin nose, thin eyebrows, small lips), although there are exceptions. If 4F are beautiful, then it's discreet. Over time, the appearance of 4F practically doesn't change.

Their movements are characterised by being static like 1F, but unlike them they lack the same confidence and picture flow from pose to pose. 4F simply make the minimum of movements required by the situation.

4F are born ascetics. Physical discomfort is not a reason for them to worry and they'll easily endure hardships and diseases. They don't attach importance to someone else's physical discomfort like their own, you can't expect much physical care from them.

4F sometimes seem parallel to the physical world. They can work without noticing fatigue, be assiduous and diligent - but at the same time indifferent to the results of their physical labour. Any dirty and even meaningless work can be assigned to them - they'll do it like any other.

4F can do with a minimum of things and conveniences, but they don't dislike luxury either. They're sincerely indifferent to the physical layer of life and usually provide themselves with the material conditions they consider necessary, often relying on the higher functions of the psychotype, which can be limited.

Money for them is an opportunity to realise higher functions, and not an end in itself. It is not money as such that matters, but the opportunities it opens up.

The sensations that 4F people are capable of experiencing are distinguished by sufficient refinement. Their body is quite receptive. Psychic abilities are available to him. Esoteric practises are easy for him: the body does not hold, while it is an excellent conductor of subtle sensations. But all this has no independent value for him. And if the higher functions of the psychotype are not interested in such sensitivity, the person will not develop and use it.

4F easily trust others in regards to the physical aspect of life - they can play sports for the company, try new physical sensations, if others say that this is good. Sometimes it seems to them that they want to do or eat something simply because another person is doing or eating next to them. They really like it when they are recommended some dish or clothes. If there is someone who will take on the issues related to her wardrobe and food, she will gladly trust someone else's decision.

4F will be what other people or themselves "make" of it. Since they don't have their own system of physical preferences, they easily accept someone else's - the one that will fit into their world and will be in agreement with the higher functions of the psychotype.

In a stressful situation, 4F are turned off first. They may become ill or lie motionless. Such people usually get physically exhausted rather quickly, especially when the Third Function is overloaded.

4F can be characterised by gloomy and even suicidal moods. The thought of suicide comes to them easily and without any disgust. This also demonstrates the ability of the Fourth function to switch off in crisis situations.

4F are characterised by a feeling of a weakened physical principle - hence the feeling of early old age even in young years, which may conflict with their healthy, full-blooded appearance. With age, this contradiction is usually smoothed out. Constant sadness, a state of melancholy, a feeling of the tragedy of being, the proximity of some kind of misfortune - is the normal state of 4F. No matter how well life develops, they'll always find a reason to feel melancholic.

4F feel some sort of indifference to the suffering and death of people: it's very close to them in spirit, so when it happens in the world they take it for granted.

4F are absolutely fearless. The fourth function is generally easily substituted by a person under attack, in this case they easily substitute a body for a blow. In the struggle, they are not inclined to spare either themselves or others.

4F can easily remove who gets in their way ("remove" without much cruelty, rather with indifference, as dust is swept away) - however, having first tried the methods of influence on the First, Second and Third functions.

4F are characterised by a weakened libido. Sex takes the last place in her hierarchy of values, sometimes, they don't understand at all why it's needed. 4F are not prone to betrayal. They can talk about sexual topics easily and fluently, without an unhealthy interest.

If they desire to do so, 4F can make for a successful political career. They're not tempted by money and women, and people really like courage and incorruptibility and that plays into their favour.

4F types: ELVF, EVLF, LEVF, LVEF, VELF, VLEF

[theogoff]

priv link to the output result of the ML code and a draft of some sort of more finalised video project.

For this project I was interested in using the PoseNet model to create a dynamic process of analysing and merging videos with images that would serve as a creative tool for dancers and performers. Similarly, this idea would lend itself to engaging video works where the process could be used alongside any videos where ml5.js is able to pick up body positions.

THE PROCESS

part one - analyseStills

The process took on several computational and non-computational steps that all end up working together in the final process. I first had to develop a piece of code that could take a jpeg and load ml5’s PoseNet to detect positions on still images:

function modelReady(){

  // when the model is ready, run the singlePose() function

  // if/when  pose is detected, poseNet.on('pose', ...) will be listening for the detection results

  // in the draw() loop, if there is any poses, then carry out the draw commands

  poseNet.singlePose(loadedImage, gotPoses);

}

Once the program could detect and store the coordinates of a single pose into the inputs array I was able to iterate through several stills at once for their coordinate data to be pushed into the array that would eventually be referenced in the second piece of code and compared against.

As I wanted my input data to be many different stills from a very similar video to the one I would be comparing them against, I needed to pull lots of jpegs from an mp4 file – at this point I was still using some found footage online of a man dancing with a static camera setup and his full body in shot. To do this I used the command line software ffmpeg to pull a folder of stills from the test video I had been using. This was the command written into the terminal[ii]:

specifying the:

time in/time out

 the video file I wanted to use

The quality (2 being the highest)

The number of frames to pull each second (this is an area of experimentation as there are advantages and disadvantages to pulling a large number of stills)

The file path and filenames of the outputted stills (%4d specifying the 4 leading zeros to organise the jpegs – 0000)

I then created a set of functions that alternated between taking the keypoints from an image, pushing them into an array, and loading in and preparing then next still, linking it up with PoseNet. It was difficult working out how to reference and name the stills correctly but by using a technique by Seaux[iii] I was able to take the correct still at the right time and give it a name that in the second program would be used to compare its keypoint coordinates.

function getImage(currentImage) {

  currentImageString = `scene1outfit1_${('0000'+currentImage).slice(-4)}`;

  // (adjusted to pad number with leading zeros)

  return createImg(`assets/scene1outfit1_output3/scene1outfit1_${('0000'+currentImage).slice(-4)}.jpg`);

}

part two: concept and filming

Now I had the framework for the first half of the program in place, I needed to then capture the footage that would be used for the final piece. This involved working with movement artist and dancer Isabella Pinto, filming some static shots that drew influence from the DIY style dance videos[v] that are common on YouTube and TikTok.

The footage was then processed in the first program, and I had a JSON file for each video that could be used in the second program to the data comparison. There were some adjustments needed for naming the arrays in the objects and the resolutions of the images to be optimal for the second stage.

part three: compareToVideo

The second program needed to play one of the videos and run the PoseNet model on it for each frame so that every frame, this data could be compared to a JSON file of the stills from one of the other videos (which are all preloaded in in setup()). Four functions, findPositions(), getCurrentFrameposition(), getFrameJSONDistance() and findLowestDistance(), as you can see in the code, deal with the comparisons. Initially I used the dist() function that is within the p5.js library but calculating each position using the powers of each keyframe coordinate served to be a more accurate and quicker operation.

In the console, you can see that every frame, each frame distance is pushed into an object and the minimum still is printed with the corresponding value. These are then used to print the correct still into the screen. The value was found using some code from Šime Vidas[vi]

OUTCOME

The final video outcome is a choppy sequence which is a mix of the input video and the file of still images. To capture the video I screen recorded the canvas, this is limited in the sense that the computer struggles to deal with running the code and capturing the screen at the same time, so the final video has quite a lot of lag. For the final film I used the scene1outfit1 stills overlayed over the scene1outfit2 video, and for the second part I used the scene2outfit1 stills over scene2outfit2. I then added some distorted background music to represent the music that the dancer is listening to in the headphones and put the original audio with it.

[i] Tyler Henry, “kinemetagraph - process footage”

[ii] Florida Water Daily “Extracting Still Images from Video with FFMPEG”

[iii] https://stackoverflow.com/a/20460414

[iv] https://stackoverflow.com/a/30800715

[v] Maresque Scott, “PUMPED UP KICKS/DUBSTEP”

[vi] https://stackoverflow.com/a/11143045

[canmom]

talksprite art for VNs and VN-influenced games seems like quite an art. a lot of games seem to have perfectly competent rendering but very stiff, identical poses that strip away a lot of appeal.

the best ones I’ve seen recently are probably Jen Z’s portraits in Hades and Gigalithic’s portraits in Paradise Killer (possibly other artists? surprisingly hard to find out who drew these), which make full use of pose and stylised rendering to create something really beautiful and expressive in each case.

the PS3 sprites in Umineko are like... solid, in that they do a decent job of expressing each character’s vibe (the sneering and arrogant Ushiromiya adults certainly look the part); they’re in this very clean style of cel shading with some softened edges that honestly feels kind of sterile.

back when I wrote on Umineko years ago, I complained of sameface in the limited artistic vocabulary I had then - I don’t think that’s entirely true. certainly characters like Rudolf, Krauss, Kinzo, Hideyoshi, Gohda... take on a much more realism oriented design style, with the facial structure much clearer in the contour and shading...

back then I thought of this as a gender thing, but it’s partly more of a youth thing: the younger you are the more stylised. compare for example Kumasawa (right) and Kanon (middle) in this picture:

Kanon has that hyper-stylised pointed chin, and also heavily stylised zigzag hair highlights, whereas Kumasawa has a pretty realistic face profile following the shape of the jaw, and her cheekbones and the edges of her eyelids are drawn in to emphasise her age. (there is an illustration maxim that additional lines on a face tend to age a character, which I don’t think is universally true, but it is being used to that end here.)

anyway, regardless, you could certainly argue this doesn’t have the charm of the original super-deformed cel-shaded drawings of writer Ryukishi07...

it’s wild thinking how my impression of the character would change compared to the PS3 sprites. here’s the same scene:

interestingly, this does not seem to be the only attempt to clean up the Umineko talksprites. the Steam version features a different set, with this example offered of Kanon and Jessica on the product page:

their version of Battler is distinctly shōjo love interest:

Honestly not sure what I think of this version. I kind of like this take on Battler, but that Jessica is just a mess lol - the ziploc boobs thing on a blazer? just looks weird lol. and the ‘balance’ of the face seems all off. I’d be interested seeing their takes on some of the older characters like Krauss, Rudolf and Hideyoshi, because this is where the PS3 version seems strongest. (also very curious how Ryukishi07 drew those characters. probably there’s a wiki somewhere.)

anyway, from a technical using-this-in-a-game perspective, in the PS3/Umineko-Project version at least, each character generally has a small handful of poses - usually variants of the same structure, just redrawing a part, which no doubt saved work but weakens the impact of the individual portraits. on top of this they have animated lip flaps - each character has a set of mouths which can be scaled and placed over the relevant part of the face.

this is generally how simple ‘lip flap’ dialogue scenes are performed in anime: the key animator will draw the pose and often just one or two variant mouths, which will then be timed to dialogue once it’s recorded. generally you’ll try and keyframe in a few gestures or a cut to a different shot to break things up and avoid a static pose getting stale, but of course TV anime is the realm of low drawing count so sometimes this isn’t possible. because of this limited character animation, a great deal of weight is placed instead on the voice actor to convey the emotion of the scene. this is even more true in a visual novel.

this technique works best on characters with relatively flat faces. on a character like Hideyoshi, with pronounced nasolabial folds, it becomes much more noticeable that the rest of the face isn’t moving naturally, especially when the corners of the mouth move and the nasolabial fold doesn’t. still on the whole I think the effect works to anchor the voice acting in the scene without going to the impossible lengths of full character animation. however, it doesn’t have the immediate impact of the highly iconic symbolism-drenched poses of something like Hades - perhaps appropriate because these are just a bunch of rich assholes and not the Greek gods lol

one possibility i’d be curious about would be talksprites with short animated loops, akin to the character animation in projects like ENA. this is I guess a step towards the layered canned animations of game cutscenes with procedural animation systems, typical of Bioware games, but with a bit of 2D flair. anyway, back to reading, I still have so many thousands of screens to get through before I can consider resuming the liveblog...

[framecaught]

Cataloguing Homestuck’s Art Styles

Hussie deploys a number of distinct art styles throughout Homestuck, each serving different purposes in the narrative. A number of these, especially those mentioned in the published book series’ author commentary, have been catalogued in the Homestuck wiki [1]. These officially named styles are well-known enough to appear in quora answers. However, Homestuck employs a much larger variety of stylistic manipulations than explicitly mentioned in the book commentary or wiki. While scanning through the comic again for this project, I wanted to catalogue the rest of them! 

This post constitutes a working list of all distinct art styles present in Homestuck. I’ve chosen not to include the distinct styles of the fanartists/outside artists who contributed to the comic; that will be a project for another day. As far as I know, this list only comprises the different styles Hussie develops throughout the comic. I have tried to bring a degree of specific formal analysis (also known as art-historical language) into my description of each style.

1. “Classic” Style

Page 1 of Homestuck

Page 1349 of Homestuck

Page 4227 of Homestuck

The “Classic” Homestuck style appears on the first page of the comic. Although not officially described by the wiki, it is widely understood as the comic’s typical graphic norm. Characters have simplified faces and clothes, and they frequently lack arms. Elements are often outlined in a black stroke, especially to differentiate them from other adjacent, similarly-colored elements. In more colorful panels, scenery may be made up of solid blocks with bright colors. Sprites (base character illustrations) and elements are repurposed from panel to panel in new combinations. Homestuck even takes up the repurposing of sprites as a gag, as in page 1349 above where the ability to flip one’s sprite allows Noir to regain his lost wrist barcode.

This style obviously shares characteristics with Hussie’s style in Problem Sleuth. General characteristics that frequently appear in Hussie’s art are present, such as circular faces and rounded edges on quadrilaterals. The Classic Style umbrella actually covers the broadest range of visuals out of any style catalogued here. The uber-simplistic sprites, such as John on page 1, have typically been lumped in with, for example, the illustration on the cover of Homestuck Book 1, or the two other examples I pulled for this post. So, in the Classic Style, characters can sometimes appear with arms, sometimes without, and in outfits of varying detail, but they retain the same facial features and simplistic quality. The circular facial shape is especially characteristic of this style, along with the lack of a neck. The neck-less quality, static poses, and simplistic detail chiefly differentiate some instances of Classic Style from Hero Mode, though there are still some grey areas.

2. Scribble Mode

Page 1931 of Homestuck

Page 1937 of Homestuck

Page 1798 of Homestuck

Page 3140 of Homestuck

This style is recognized by the Homestuck wiki, which describes it as emphasizing “a particularly silly/stupid moment in the story, particularly those to be imagined by a character.” That is to say, this style often denotes imagined scenarios which do not actually occur in the comic but instead in a character’s imagination, and especially those which form the butt of jokes. It is also employed simply to highlight silliness. This style is constructed to appear as if the author has “scribbled” rapidly between the outlines of forms to fill in color, creating gaps in those forms. Generally, strokes are made to seem more careless, and less detail is used. While the style is meant to mimic a scribbling motion, it does not always end up crude or parodic. For example, in this “charming vignette” (in Hussie’s words) depicting the Mayor’s dream, the scribble style actually illustrates a remarkably beautiful and almost impressionistic series of panels. Although the dream vignette has certain obvious scribbley elements and certainly depicts an imagined scenario, I would argue that it combines aspects of both Scribble Mode and Hussnasty Mode (#4 in this post) throughout.

I have also identified two distinct styles within the Scribble Mode umbrella. One always uses a thin, apparently single-pixel-wide black line to outline forms, while the other uses a thicker stroke for both its filling and outline. You can see the difference between these in the four examples I’ve pulled; they are sometimes even combined within one single Scribble Mode panel.

3. Hero Mode

Page 1815 of Homestuck

Page 2063 of Homestuck

Hero Mode was officially named as such by Hussie. The Homestuck wiki page describes it as cropping up to “emphasize a particularly epic moment in the story.” Hussie originally called the style “action panels” before hitting upon the current name, emphasizing the link to action scenes and dynamic poses. Along with dynamic posing, characters are drawn in greater detail and tend to have elongated limbs. Some crossover can be seen between Hero Mode and Hussnasty Mode. I would argue that characters in Hero Mode usually retain the original style’s characteristic lack of a neck, while Hussnasty Mode often adds one. Compared with the Classic style, Hero Mode always adds arms. The degree to which Hero Mode drawings include the “hatching-type effect” characteristic of Hussnasty Mode varies from panel to panel. The difference between Hero Mode and Classic Mode can be observed clearly on these two pages, where Damara shifts between the two styles at the behest of Scratch, who asks her to “render [herself] in a more symbolic manner.”

The wiki asserts that “Hero Mode dispenses with the black outline that typifies sprite-style animation and scribble mode,” but I don’t think it can actually be characterized as the only lineless style. Scribble Mode and Hussnasty Mode also sometimes feature a lineless graphic style depending on which part of a character is being depicted, or the need for a line to differentiate two features of a similar color. A willingness to move between lined and lineless blocks of color characterizes Hussie’s art as a whole.

4. Hussnasty Mode

Page 2805 of Homestuck

Page 2976 of Homestuck

This art style is also named by the author. In his commentary on page 2805, he writes: “Someone asked me what I called the style, and I replied by naming it "Hussnasty Mode" myself, because well… it's a bit nasty, isn't it? Kind of raw, a little over-illustrated, and making use of a lot of jagged aliased pixel edges for a hatching-type effect. It was sort of the point to make it a little nasty, kind of aggressively incongruous with the other styles previously established.” This quote sums up the style’s characteristics pretty well. Hussie also describes how this style is more naturalistic, or less symbolic, and was meant to work in direct contrast to the extremely symbolic RPG Sprite Mode. He writes that “drawings like this are introduced in contrast with this simple RPG sprite mode, which was also established very recently as something that Homestuck was "allowed" to use as a stylistic presentation of characters and settings… Every time HS does something like this, it's widening its own umbrella in terms of what it's allowed to do stylistically, which includes dramatically simplifying and abstracting its forms. Which implicitly asks another question: Can HS "allow" itself to go in the other direction? To render characters with higher degrees of definition, regardless of congruity, and freely navigate this full artistic palette at any time, resulting in sharp stylistic contrast and a certain amount of visual thrashing? The answer to that question, almost immediately after it's asked in the form of dropping RPG-sprite Rose into a standard panel shot, is yes, HS can do that, and clearly it WILL do that.”

5. RPG Sprite Mode

Page 2804 of Homestuck

Page 2824 of Homestuck

Despite being officially described by the author, RPG Sprite Mode hasn’t gained much representation as a distinct style (it does not have a wiki page, for example). This style appears after Homestuck’s first walk-around game, now incorporated as a style for static or gif panels. After their joint introduction, this style is juxtaposed against the Hussnasty style. The quotes pulled above in the section on Hussnasty Mode nicely describe the contrast between these two styles and their greater impact on Homestuck’s graphic norms. RPG Sprite Mode always shows characters from an aerial view, mimicking the style of the first walk-around game, which in turn mimics a wealth of RPG sprite games (such as the original Pokemon games). Sprites from these sorts of early games can be characterized by their almost pointillistic use of individual pixels to carefully construct forms.

6. Terezi’s Perspective

Page 2756 of Homestuck

Page 2128 of Homestuck

This style hasn’t been officially described yet. It only crops up as a representation of Terezi’s perspective, conveying some of her experience tasting and smelling colors. While it only appears a few times in the comic, I think it is uniquely visually interesting, and it includes “blurring” techniques which are only rarely employed in the rest of the comic. I’d guess that the effect is created by layering low-opacity strokes over one another and then sliding the different layers’ opacity up and down.

7. SBAHJ Style

Page 8 of Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff

Page 3451 of Homestuck

The SBAHJ comic, featured both within Homestuck and as a spin-off, has its own recognizable style. In the first few pages it has a lot of commonalities with Homestuck’s two versions of Scribble Mode, but later takes on distinct characteristics. It can be characterized in part by its image clipping, an effect where an element is made to look like it has been selected within a square box (in MS Paint or Photoshop) and dragged around the page with little care for the size and accuracy of the selection box. Commenting on page 3451, Hussie describes this effect as follows: “In the SBaHJ comics, one of my cool tactics—which I'm almost positive I invented as a sequential artist—was to elaborately render someone ‘turning around’ by taking one shot of them and gradually altering the pose by crudely rectangle-selecting pieces of their face and nudging them around until they're facing the other way in a totally unconvincing and utterly hideous manner.” Different from Scribble Mode, the SBAHJ style also frequently features blocks of color that appear to be filled with the “paint bucket” tool. When the paint bucket tool is used to fill anti-aliased stokes, it creates a small transparent space between the filling and the original outline, visible in the SBAHJ graphics. Finally, SBAHJ comes to include image compression and glitching, created through “deep frying” compression techniques. Overall, the breadth of manipulative techniques made apparent to the viewer in SBAHJ is much greater than any other style. SBAHJ panels are reproduced wholesale or hyperlinked in Homestuck, but on these two pages Gamzee is also drawn in the SBAHJ style.

8. Caliborn’s Styles

Page 5075 of Homestuck (hyperlinked in pesterlog)

Page 6259 of Homestuck

Page 6929 of Homestuck

Page 6864 of Homestuck

While Calliope’s in-world art was contributed by Shelby Cragg, Hussie gives Caliborn has three styles of his own. The first is his “angular” style, which Calliope aptly characterizes on page 5109 as containing “inscrutable squiggles” and demonstrating a “penchant for arbitrary, completely baffling straight lines and right angles, almost as if trying unsuccessfully to begin constructing a grid.” The second is the style he uses in Homosuck, which retains elements of his original “baffling right angles” but generally takes on the black outlines characteristic of Homestuck’s Classic style, while employing even cruder detail. Finally, after reading a “How to Draw Manga” book, he develops his “manga” style which uses black strokes, somewhat messy coloring (usually with the paint-bucket tool), and shows an attempt at naturalistic representation despite a complete lack of understanding of human anatomy. This style is specifically meant to emulate manga styles, so it features the characteristic white dots as highlights in the eyes, among other features.

————————————————————————

As becomes apparent through Hussie’s commentary, the different art styles employed in Homestuck do more than just emphasize certain moments; they form part of the comic’s visual language and ask us to question our understanding of graphic representation. The scope of this post also illustrates the attention paid to Homestuck’s visual elements throughout the story’s production and within its readership, even if these visual distinctions have received less attention in scholarship. Despite the variety of styles, we can see Hussie’s characteristic artistic tools, techniques, and sensibilities reflected across the comic. 

If you find any styles recurring in the comic that I haven’t mentioned here, feel free to shoot me a message! Again, I haven’t included styles from other contributors; only those developed and drawn by Hussie.

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As we approach the close of the semester, I’ll probably be putting out one more post sometime soon! If you liked this post, you can follow the blog on tumblr for updates or, if you don’t frequent tumblr, sign up for the mailing list to receive an email whenever I publish a new mini-essay!

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[1] These include Hussnasty Mode, Scribble Mode, and Hero Mode.

[willidleaway]

OK, let’s talk about Deltarune Chapter 2. Right off the bat two things:

Toby Fox could have been charging 20 USD for this or asked people to pre-purchase the remaining chapters to play Chapter 2, and I’m frankly very surprised (if delighted) that he didn’t.

Soundtrack’s bopping. If you don’t feel like playing two free chapters of a game, which by themselves will give you nine hours of a brilliant time in an absolutely insane world filled with mad characters that all still manages to hold together somehow, I can still recommend giving the OST a listen and then a buy if you are so inclined.

And with that and the spoiler-free lead image out of the way, let’s actually (largely incoherently) talk about Deltarune Chapter 2 below the Read More line. Spoilers galore, including for a bonus enemy ...

OK, so this guy is still a card:

But some non-positive observations to begin with: the Castle Town is nice to look at but maybe a bit uninteresting for the moment, since it’s a completely separate Dark World from the main underworld of Chapter 2. It seems perhaps like a decent hub world for people who haven’t replayed the previous chapter and need some refreshers, especially with the dojo challenges. But some of the other mechanics associated with the Castle Town like recruiting, fusing items, and so forth are as yet unclear. But perhaps it hints at more interaction between chapters through the Castle Town.

And that’s all the non-positive observations I have about Deltarune Chapter 2. It’s not even a negative observation, just taking note of potential seeds being planted for the remainder of the game.

Now. Now now now now now.

I don’t know how Toby Fox manages to continue coming up with such a diverse array of antagonists all so ridiculous and insane in their own special way, but he continues to outdo himself. And not only is Queen insane but so is literally everything that happens in Cyber City and then in Queen’s Mansion, like the layers of truces across Queen and her quasi-willing peons:

and indeed, ye Triumphant Returne of Rouxls Kaard, absolute card:

But the madcap side of things doesn’t mean there isn’t real attention to fleshing out everything introduced in Chapter 1, in tandem on both the narrative side and the gameplay side. As far as the latter, we can (finally) get party members other than Kris to undertake at least basic standard non-magical actions on their own that don’t cost Tension Points, which is very much welcome. But at the same time managing TP well is even more important than before. A lot of careful grazing makes certain fights a great deal easier, in a way that I didn’t really notice for most of Chapter 1 (with the possible exception of Jevil, who I still haven’t successfully pacified). The attacks are correspondingly far denser and often don’t leave too much margin for error, but as someone with minimal hand-eye coordination I still had a reasonable time completing Chapter 2.

Well, except for one particular enemy.

oh god this fight used up every single recovery item I had

Spamton NEO is an interesting enemy, arguably more so than Jevil, and I’m not just saying that because I managed to spare Spamton but still haven’t had any success with Jevil. For one, finding the pieces of the key for Jevil’s cell is straightforward, whereas finding the Empty Disk for Spamton is itself a nightmarish dodge-fest. But more importantly, you actively have to seek Jevil out in Chapter 1, whereas your first encounter with Spamton is actually mandatory as part of the main story and then you optionally follow up on Spamton’s lead later to be able to face off against his NEO form.

Perhaps relevant to the forced nature of Spamton’s introduction is his relevance to Deltarune as a whole despite his bonus boss status. Compared to Jevil’s dialogue, Spamton’s babblings seem far more directly tied to the central themes of Deltarune around choice or agency, or rather a lack thereof (in stark contrast to Undertale’s general ethos). Jevil mostly just wants to wreak mischief and chaos; Spamton is fuelled by a need for freedom, to no longer be a puppet of ... something. And facing him in this way obviously clearly affects Kris, whose own free will is in real question ...

Oh yes, it seems now we’re really getting into the real core of Deltarune’s story, with all of the lore about the Roaring and more talk of the Knight leading up to this ending. But are Kris and the Knight one and the same? Or is Kris a puppet of the Knight? Or ... is it even the other way around? (No idea if that makes any sense but it sounds like a cool thing to throw out there.)

And another thing: this staticky smile ...

I would guess that’s Chapter 3′s boss once we actually go through this new Dark World, but why does this static remind me of the static you see behind Spamton’s glasses in some of his creepier shop dialogue? Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but there’s certainly an embarrassment of riches to over-analyse, even around Chapter 2′s bonus boss.

And I haven’t even talked about every other character being amazing. Susie of course continues to undergo really positive development, but Noelle seems to get the bulk of the attention honestly—we not only get her to finally interact with Susie, but we also learn more about her past as well her family, both about her lost sister (strongly implied to be named December) and her mother. The latter we get not only through more dialogue with her father Rudy but also in an implicit sense through her interactions with Queen, which may well mirror her fractious relationship with an overbearing mother.

Ralsei’s characterisation doesn’t try to expand as much, instead continuing to detail what’s already been planted throughout Chapter 1—his rule of the Castle Town, his awareness of the danger posed by the potential dark/light imbalance, and so forth—but nothing quite as revelatory as with Noelle. It doesn’t mean I can’t try my best to ship Kris with Ralsei though ...

Anyway, fluffy boys and mean girls aside, it’s also nice to see characters like Berdly—who seemed like a completely incidental one-note gag character in Chapter 1—get fleshed out with reasonably compelling (although obviously insane) motivation and backstory, and one wonders which other characters may get this sort of treatment in future.

Speaking of other characters as well, how cute and/or cool are all of the new enemies and enemy-adjacent characters???

Part of me suspects Tasque Manager in particular is actually carefully engineered to break the Internet. But my favourite is Swatch, who gives off weirdly Tuxedo Mask-esque vibes to me:

And an additional bit of speculation: I strongly suspect we’ll see some persistent things across the chapters that aren’t necessarily linear in progression. When I brought Spamton’s shadow crystal to Seam, they basically chided me for not having Jevil’s crystal (for god’s sake Seam it’s not for lack of trying), but then said this:

Is it possible that the game’s keeping track of certain global things outside of any of your individual saves, and some of these certain global things might not just have to do with optional bonuses ... ? Is it possible that some of these certain global things may enable cross-chapter nonlinear gameplay to accompany all of the other Castle Town mechanics introduced in Chapter 2?

Or do I just not want to replay all of Chapter 2 if I manage to pacify Jevil?

Time will tell. How much time?

Only time will tell on that front too, I guess.

Overall: Chapter 2 of Deltarune is another spectacular episode in Toby Fox fleshing out this unbelievable yet somehow credible world in his madcap way, and you can bet I will be watching for future chapters with great interest.

PS: I finished Chapter 2 of Deltarune to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now—

look expiration dates are important okay

[desthesleepdeprivedwriter]

Book #4

18 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days.

That was the time Fundy spent away from what used to be his home.

He did his best to not look, to just come back and focus on his past relationships, trying to reconnect with his last family member and former friends. Fundy just wanted to be good, feel welcomed, and part of something again.

It took him 3 hits, the fox once again staring at his destroyed dirt building, to understand the message. He wasn’t wanted there.

Fundy packed what was left, holding his enderchest close, and walked away from the cabin that stood in the middle of the snow. He wished he wasn’t crying, his tears slowly freezing just brought a sharp pain on his cheeks. The Nether, for the first time, felt like a blessing as the hellish heat warmed his shivering body.

There was this weird thing about Fundy, whenever he was lost in thoughts, his body just made the decisions for him. His feet wandered to wherever they wanted as if they were the ones on command when the brain was too busy focusing on problems and pain. The hands were still keeping the enderchest safe during the journey across the red plains and ghast explosions.

Walk, walk, walk. Netherrack, stone brick, obsidian, wood, grass.

Nothing.

Fundy was pulled back from his gloomy thoughts as he fell in the crater, the sudden lack of floor leaving him dazed. He managed to fall in one of the waterfalls, still hitting the bedrock with a painful thump.

He cried to himself, getting on his knees and looking around so he could at least know where the fuck he had fallen into. Fundy felt all his body going numb as he saw the big flag. He was back home. The red vines took over, and the fox did the best to avoid it when he turned his back to it and climbed all the way back. When at the top, his feet didn’t obey him.

He just wanted to leave, but he walked around the crater and climbed what used to be a hill, and crossed the arc that used to have a door. Fundy stood there, in the middle of his destroyed house. First, the bombing sounds. They were loud and made Fundy cover his ears trying to escape it, escape his own memories. Then…. He heard water.

Fundy looked around and almost could remember how his house used to be. The crane right next to it, the wishing well… and the sewers.

He stared at the destroyed hill and the big hole that took the place of his dead father’s house, sitting at its edge. Nothing was saved. The declaration, the diary, the ballot… Gone. All their history just completely…

There was a chest.

Right there, partially burned and destroyed, but still firmly stuck between 3 rocks, almost impossible to see unless for this specific angle. Fundy slowly built his way to reach it, mining the rock that kept the chest closed and cracking it open. Just 4 books were hidden there, and Fundy knew 2 of them really well. Both the diary and Ghostbur’s memories felt heavy in his hands, he knew all the words there almost entirely. The other was a strange one, filled with a tale he never heard about, telling stories of an empire that Fundy quickly dismissed.

The last one was deep in the chest, making Fundy almost enter it so he could get it. I was dusty, and clearly with a lot of use. The fox didn’t remember about this one, maybe it was the last one Ghostbur managed to get before the explosion. Fundy opened it, out of curiosity, and felt a shiver go down his spine.

The writer was clearly desperate when they put their thoughts on the paper. The scribbles were messy, some even escaping lines and being written diagonally. Some were drafting over other phrases and some parts were just unreadable, covered by a big ink stain. Fundy wasn't even sure if it was English, the 'letters' looking more like hieroglyphs than the normal alphabet. How did Ghostbur find this? Fundy flipped more pages, finally getting to a page there was something he could read.

“DO NOT FORGET”

Fundy’s heartbeat gets faster as he reads the last word. He put his enderchest right next to the one chest he was looking in, searching for his photo album. He quickly passed through an old family photo, he and Niki as kids, everyone posing under the L’manberg flag… He and Ranboo in front of the ice cream stall they’d built for the festival. Fundy flipped the photo, seeing the two phrases written behind it.

“Can’t live without you, Ranboo”

“I can’t forget Fundy :)”

The man aligned both ‘forget’s, comparing them.

Same calligraphy.

Ranboo wrote this book.

Fundy just read everything he could, having a hard time trying to understand what was possible to be understood. There was stuff about memory, enderwalkers, and he was almost sure he saw something about Doomsday. Fundy was quick in leaving the crater, holding the book while running his way back to the snow biome. He needed to ask about this, and he wanted answers.

In the end, he didn’t need to cross the entire nether. Ranboo was right next to Tommy’s house, staring at a couple of flowers.

“Ranboo!” Fundy called, rushing towards his (former?) friend. “Ranboo, I have this… Damn, I need you to-”

Ranboo turned, and Fundy was frozen.

He could still breathe, his chest moving as his breath started to become erratic. His ears were pressed on top of his head, his tail all puffy as his animal instincts took over and kept telling him to run, but his legs were stuck, and he could only watch as the tall figure walked in his direction.

That was not his Ranboo.

The static noises got louder as it approached Fundy, still staring in the eyes of the terrified fox. It inclines and sets a shadow over him, one hand moving and picking up the book Fundy was still holding by his side.

“⏁⊑⏃⋏☍ ⊬⍜⎍ ⎎⍜⍀ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏚⍜⍜☍, ⟟ ⍙⏃⌇ ⌰⍜⍜☍⟟⋏☌ ⎎⍜⍀ ⟟⏁.”

It opened a smile, teleporting away right after and leaving a terrified fox behind, shivering and paralyzed as he stood in between the various alliums surrounding him.

Support/commission me here!

[sakuranplays]

Hello Sakuran! I'm sorry if it's a dumb question, but how do you shoot Johnny with different poses? Is it something like "spawn Johnny with AMM" with some additional magic, or I'm completely wrong? Your shots look so good!

Thank you!

Most of it was AMM magic! I am so grateful for the mod. There was nothing comparable to the way it extend the life of this game with a lot of roleplaying fun and endless content.

For AMM Johnny spawn, I use a MaleCivilian locomotion mod in AMM discord server. Then use PinkyDude's MaleNPC animations and Heladios' anims to give him unique animations. There's Ferret's Johnny animations too and hers works without the locomotion mod (Johnny companion uses Corpo locomotion by default). Load one animation mod for each game start.

Additionally, if you have Johnny to Jefferson Peralez mod (it's here in Tumblr), you can still use AMM swap ability on various NPCs. (This was less controversial now.. I hope. But don't swap Johnny with joytoys.... ehem, don't even need to anyway, lol.)

If I wanted to be more precise with eye movement, body angling and positioning; I use Johnny's Photo Mode ability from Love Like Fire and Never Fade Away (Use AMM to travel out of the quest area). Photo Mode Unlocker mod opens up a lot of poses for Johnny. There's several static MaleV poses in Nexus mods that are compatible for him.

You can also use IGCS for the freecam ability during a cutscene but I never use it myself.

I am still discovering the many possibilities of having Johnny Silverhand available for whatever I want in this game. I do have many roleplaying plans for him (I haven't posted most of them here yet). If you have more questions and need guidance about posing Johnny or others, I am active in AMM discord as well. :)