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#these are basically just re-colours
orkbt1 · 3 months
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Slowly chipping away on some other projects, but for now here's some sprites I've done for a terraria resource pack.
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ghostace · 9 months
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noodle fits
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confetti-critter · 6 months
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In AC I wanted to decorate my town more christmas-y this year cuz we can't really decorate the house.
I was thinking of turning my sprinkle path into a "sugar cookie" path (light beige instead of white, red/green/white circular sprinkles instead of jimmies), but I forgot that theres uhhhhh *checks* 29 different god damn path designs (sprinkle paths with different borders, rainbow single paths with different borders) soooooooo maybe not?
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creachercrunch · 9 months
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if i decided to fuck more with channel mixer like. a week ago it probably would've made one gifset i made so much easier but it's okay i will hold this for the future
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beababoobies · 4 months
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Hey there you said you needed a Hazbin Hotel request? I got just the thing. Is it okay you do a Alastor x witch reader? Like reader was a witch before she died and is basically pretty powerful especially in magic? I like to think she covers up her body because she’s covered in tattoos that look like magic ruins or ritual symbols. Idk i just thought it would be cute of Alastor falling in love with a classy yet a badass witch who can put him in his place.
Heya Anon! Yes, Absolutely! I love my witchy friends (shoutout to Tatianna because she follows my blog.) I wasn’t sure exactly on which type of Witch you were referring to, so I decided on a random mix of diff witch cultures! Please shoot me a request if that’s not what you had in mind and I can re-write this for you. Thanks a ton for the request!
From Experience
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Alastor x Fem!Witch!Reader
words : 1k , no warnings!
You let out a sigh as you started the spell you had been planning for weeks now. You had to go to Lust to get aphrodisiac rose powder, cannibal town to get the dried blood (and have a coffee and chat with Rosie, of course.) you even attended to Blood Moon festival very shortly to get some black tree root straight from the source from your friend Sally Mae. The candles had been lit - your spirit guides told you it was ready. You closed your eyes softly as you started to read out the incantation in your head.
You sighed softly through your nose as you felt yourself slowly start to float, the bone-marrow candles you had bought starting to glow a blood red colour as you felt the power of the spell start to wash over you, the magical ruins carved into your body lighting up, making you glow softly, and it was all coming together nicely, perfectly one might say - 
“Hello, Darling!” 
You let out a small scream and opened your eyes, falling to the floor with a small thud, groaning as you open your eyes to the familiar face smiling back at you, chuckling softly as you rub your head gently, rolling your eyes. Not an evil spirit. Okay, an evil spirit. But a very familiar one. “Alastor, what a surprise.” You said as he walked over to you, offering you his hand and you took it, hoisting yourself up and letting out a soft sigh as you saw the spilt wax across the floor. 
“How rude of me to interrupt you! Allow me.” He hums softly, and you watch as the candles are returned back to their original state, turning back to him with a smile, brushing your now messed hair back into place, tilting your head. “Back again so soon?” You said with a chuckle, walking into your kitchen to get a cup of tea, him following quickly behind.
Now that you thought about it - he was back very, very soon. You had last seen him yesterday for lunch, and just two days before that for an evening stroll. After seven years of absence, you could’ve sworn you hadn’t even seen him this much before he disappeared. This meant he either needed something, or he was playing you in a big plan.
“Oh, well you just make the best steaming cup of chamomile, my dear.” He compliments, sitting at your small window-side table. You chuckled, taking a spoonful of the mix you had taken years to perfect, crushing the leaves, adding in just a bit of cinnamon. You had even figured out the best tea bags. Possibly your best spell ever. You dismissed your worries as your own overthinking, sighing as you poured the boiling water into the mugs.
“No sugar for you again?” You say, eyes not looking back at him as you pull the cane sugar out from your cabinet, spooning a couple helpings into your mug. “You know me too well, darling.” He says and you blush softly, putting the cane sugar back, bringing both the mugs to the table, placing one in front of him, and one in front of yourself.
“So, why are you back so quickly, hmm?” You said teasingly, leaning back in your chair, mixing the tea in your mug lazily, toying with the spoon as you watching him dip the boiling liquid - always uncanny, how he could do that - before looking back up at you. 
“One could say I’ve taken a bit of a liking to you, my love.” He says with a smile, and you feel your face get hot - from more than just the steam from your tea. He chuckles softly at your reaction, taking another sip from his mug, leaning back in his chair and watching you try to find the right words. Platonically? It’s hard to decipher a man who’s walked out of a couple decades before your time. 
“One might even say you… like me?” You say, testing the waters as you discard your cup back onto the table, crossing your arms over your chest, skepticism all over your expression causing Alastor to let out another chuckle. “One could say that. But I hate that way of saying it.” He responds flatly, putting his mug down as well, tilting his head at you. Trying to read a man who’s face was always carved into that sharp-toothed grin was hard.
“While we are speaking of taking a liking to things.” He says, holding out his hand, a small jar of black sand from the burning desert - one of a kind, unbelievably expensive, and your eyes widened. You swallowed thickly as you eyes the small vial, looking up at him with a small grin. 
“I’m not giving you my soul for this. Tempting, though.” You said with a playful smile, watching him place it delicately on the table. “Oh, no, darling, it is yours for the price of this cup of tea. A friend gave it to me in exchange for a… favor.” He says with a small chuckle, watching you pick up the vial cautiously and inspect it, turning it upside down and watching the pitch black sand move around in the glass. 
Oh, the things you could do with this. 
“And why should I take your murder sand?” You say with a smile, looking back up at him as you toyed with vial carefully, raising your eyebrows, watching his eyes trail down to the vial and then back up to you. 
“Well, I’ve heard it’s good for love spells.” He hums softly, taking another nonchalant sip of his tea, watching you nearly cough on your own spit over the statement, collecting yourself before piercing your lips together, eyes going from him to the vial over and over. 
“And how would you know this, hmm? You some sort of ritual expert now?” You said with a playful smile and tone, clutching the vial in your hand and leaning forward, chin resting on your palm. 
“Let’s just say I can speak from experience.” 
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devotion-disorder · 7 months
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You mentioned in Noel’s bio how he has severe face blindness-, how would he go about dealing that with his darling, then? Knowing he can’t see their face? Would it frustrate him? Intrigue him? Would it make his tendencies worse or better? Just curious.
Your artwork is amazing and I hope you have a great day!
Noel is born with his face blindness so he has since learnt to deal with it. For most people, he just relies on context clues or their hair/clothes/voice etc. to recognize them.
For his s/o though, i've always had half an idea in mind that they used to be childhood friends...
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(yes his natural hair colour is white. if he ever finds you looking at this picture he will be so embarrassed.)
this became a long ass post of noel lore so
Noel might be able to handle his prosopagnosia now, but that wasn't always the case. Being a somewhat shy kid, the inability to recognize other people made it harder for him to make friends. He just feels disconnected from most people --- sometimes he looks in the mirror and can hardly register that he's staring at himself.
I'd imagine this is where his s/o comes in, and they become a very stable, comforting presence in his life until one day, they moved away without saying anything.
So to Noel, his s/o is someone that he knows on a deep and personal level, and he can basically recognize them out of instinct.
Of course, his condition still frustrates him very much --- what kind of lover is he if he can't even remember his partner's face? That's why he dedicates himself to remembering every single detail of his s/o: counting every freckle and lash; replicating in his mind the exact lilt of their voice, the quirks of their body language...
but maybe in a very cheesy way, he's thankful for his condition? because it means, every day, he can re-live how he met his s/o and the first experience of seeing their face ...
On another note, another anon sent this:
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and the idea of "just vibes" is so funny to me for some reason. like if Noel was just out one day and spidey-sensed some random person as their s/o:
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hare-beneath-pine · 1 year
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some elements of spellwork distinguishing animist or spirit-based approaches from the energetic and psychological -- a laughably basic and woefully incomplete list:
waking: most especially relevant for dried herbs or other preserved material. rouse what lies dormant with breath and touch and whisper.
speaking (or writing, etc): ask for assistance, don't demand it. give praise, throw in some epithets. make deals, discuss terms and conditions. say thank you. say what you mean.
listening: now shut up for a bit. anticipate communication. words, song snippets, images, colours, feelings, whatever. look out for a "no" and be ready to honour it--it may hit hard in the chest or the guts. we have two-way streets here.
giving: praise, prayers, food, drink, candles, incense, crafts, all the usual suspects and more... reciprocity is key, no one likes a perpetual taker. some situations call for altruism, others for hard-nosed contracts, others for a secret third thing.
feeding: giving again, but specifically to maintain or revive longer workings. remember what the dormouse said...
sourcing: the perfect is the enemy of the good, but it makes a difference. grow, make, forage (responsibly) as much as possible. listen & give when sourcing things from the earth. shop ethically, re-use, thrift.
paring down: if it seems like a lot to go through for everything you want to include in your spell, then good. depth before breadth. use fewer herbs/stones/whatever that you know well, and that really need to be there. god i hate 12-ingredient spell jar recipes with #babywitch stuck on them. yes i will probably stick #babywitch on this. sue me.
to me these follow logically from the premise that plants, stones, bones, bits & bobs have spirit, not just energy. because that implies that their power must be given, it isn't just there to be channelled (energetic model) or derived from the practitioner's mental associations (psychological model). i claim nothing of reality and little of truth, but this premise has served me well.
just in case: the writing style is a little conceit that i use in many of my personal notes, which this was originally. obviously “in my opinion/experience/practice” etc.
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insomniacirl · 5 months
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Chip was pulled from the hole in the sea, where the ocean turned black and rotten- he climbed out and stayed alive, and the only thing on his mind for the next decade of his life was based around going back into it.
NOW. CHIP JRWI. *Poking him with a ten foot pole* What has made you so special?
This man basically bases this one, sole aspiration that has plagued him his entire life around himself wanting some form of closure and to save Arlin I guess- but when you compare that desire to the voices whispering "Welcome home." to Chip, over 100 episodes in, as they finally get to the hole in the sea, as Chip re-enters that impossible, vapid whirlpool that threw his life so off kilter to begin with? THIS MAN IS AN ORPHAN. THIS MAN IS A BASTARD. BY NATURE YES- FUNNY HAHA- BUT AS A FACT, TOO: HE IS A BASTARD. HE HAS NO PARENTS. And by assumption, maybe his mother/father left him for someone to find.
I'VE CONNECTED THE DOTS. I'VE CONNECTED THEM.
Anyway though, I have no idea- some theories but it's mostly just very interesting to me to think about.
Yall know that post that talks about pirates slaying a sea beast for a treasure chest, but inside is actually the baby it's been protecting??? *Cough* Chip JRWI. *Cough* It wants him back. *Cough cough*
Hmmmmmm, but who is the voice? Not sure if it was mentioned in the episode, but I'm guessing it's multiple- which is giving other undead (like him rn ohhhh lord, I am sad tbh) but also they can breathe under there??? Which means it wouldn't have been totally impossible to survive down there for a while- but I think the main question is how he got there.
Moving on because I have many thoughts not enough attention span to write them all down- my original point was actually gonna be more about the fact that he left this black hole, escaped death alive, the cold grabbed for him and he ran away to be so warm and so alive, lighting matches and leading riots.
And he swept away a soldier from the overseas, threw her life for a loop- earnt himself a sister, a best-friend, a co-captain, descendant of the sun, godliness flowing through her veins, golden light spilling from her eye, wings of a bird, a show of her freedom, of her vow to fight for what's right- not that he knew any of that when he first met her, he took her in because he knew together they could become something more.
And he held his hand out to an exiled hero from the undersea, another ex-soldier, lost on the path his destiny always promised was straight- Chip earnt himself the best kiss of his life, a best-friend, a co-captain, child of the moon goddess, wielding destiny's blade, trained to be the saviour of his people, cast out for doing what he knew was right, the chosen one, learning to live, holding a new vow, to protect, save those in need- and now Gillion's favourite colour is brown and Chip can speak to the sword only linked to the triton.
They're the sun and the moon, and the sky and the sea. And chip is the eclipse as they're brought together. Chip is the earth warmed by the rising sun and coloured by the water as he soaks them both in.
Yet Chip is welcomed home where the sun cannot reach. Chip is welcomed home where the sea is punctured and left dry.
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your-averagewriter · 10 months
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"She's my wife."
Summary: Miguel thought you and his daughter died and you thought the same about him but when the truth comes out it makes for an emotional reunion of a small family (I changed Gabriella's age so the story would flow better)
Word count: 1.2K
Warnings: grief, kissing
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Miguel’s eyes focus on the familiar group in front of him on his screen, a video he’s watched only too many times, so many that he can recite the words you say. He counts down the seconds until you walk onto screen watching your reaction to him and Gabriella wearing the matching outfits you bought for them, Gabriella only being about one at the time.
You walk in the room, your hands over your eyes before dropping them and cooing at the adorable scene ahead of you: Gabriella hugging Miguel as he’s wearing a begrudging smile.
When you and Gabriella first died he would re-watch the videos with tears in his eyes, angry tears but now he just watches them with longing in his eyes.
You, however, did not die nor Gabriella but you were accidentally sent to a different reality, leaving Miguel behind, except you thought he died just like he thought you died. In the other reality you had obtained “Spiderman” powers (through the usual way) and made sure that you protected Gabriella with your life for a few years before you’re recruited by some other Spider people who say they’re from another reality.
The concept of different realities is not a foreign one to you but you didn’t realise that there was a whole organisation called the Spider Society set up. 
“Can you go over it again?” You ask, resting your head in your palm, all the science talking making your head hurt.
The Spiderwoman in front of you who you now know as Jessica explains the whole thing to you again, but leaves out the science making it easier to understand and conceptualise.
“And you want me to join?” You ask.
“Yeah, I’ve been monitoring you for a while now and I checked with a couple of colleagues and we decided to invite you. We’ll still have to introduce you to the boss though because we didn’t check with him before talking to you.” She says.
“Okay, I’ll check it out if you can take me wherever it is but I’m not making any promises. And I need to take my daughter with me.” You say, bargaining with the small group.
“That’s totally fine.” She says with a smile, handing me a couple of watches.
“Now?” You ask, surprised about the efficiency.
“Are you busy?” She asks.
“No but I’ll have to get my daughter…” You trail off, moving through the apartment to Gabriella’s room. “Hola, ‘Riella.” You say, using the nickname that Miguel gave her. You give her a brief explanation basically that you had to go somewhere for work and that she had to come as well. 
A few minutes later, you emerge from the room holding a young sleepy girl ready to go. It takes another few minutes to fully explain the portal system and eventually you’re flying through the multiverse staring at all the bright colours, careful to hold on to Gabriella.
Later, you step out of the portal next to Jess, opening your eyes to reveal countless Spidermen and Spiderwomen including animals like a Spider Cat? You question, unsure you’re seeing everything correctly.
You’re quickly led through the building by Jess, clearing used to the craziness of this place as she navigates easily. The people here are friendly enough though as the amount of smiles and “hello”s  you receive is incredible. 
“So, I’m gonna introduce you to my boss, he runs pretty much everything here and he can be a little scary sometimes but don’t worry about it, okay?” You nod, more scared than you were before her reassurance.
She pushes open the door to reveal a slowly lowering platform, a man sat in a chair on the platform. Jess stands in front of mm and it almost seems as though she’s trying to protect you from him which only worries me more.
The platform reaches the floor and the man stands up from the chair not having yet turned around and you can feel my nerves peaking, until he turns around.
Instantly, my eyes widen and I don’t believe I can be seeing things correctly and my reaction is mirrored on his face. I stand frozen to the ground, shocked to my core as I stare at him scanning over his features making sure I’m correct. That’s my husband. My husband who is supposed to be dead.
“So, (y/n), this is-” You interrupt her staring at the man in front of you who’s staring back at you.
“Miguel?” You question quietly causing confusion to arise on Jess’ face.
“Oh, you guys know each other?” Jess asks as you begin to move towards Miguel. 
Holding on to Gabriella gently, you walk towards the man who stands frozen. After he registers your movement he mimics it, walking towards you until you meet in the middle him immediately wrapping his arms around you. You never realised how much you missed the feeling of his arms around you until you feel the warmth and safety he provides you with.
“(y/n)?” He says, questioning you with an unstable voice.
“Yeah.” You say, tears gathering and leaving your eyes as you cling onto his large body.
It stays silent for moments although to you it feels like years, thankfully. After these moments you slowly pull myself away from him,
“I don’t understand how you’re alive but I don’t care right now.” You say raising your hand to his face, stroking over the rough “stubble”, but it’s more like he just forgot to shave for a few days.
You smile through teary eyes, looking up at your husband who towers over you. You get on your tip toes but you’re still not tall enough to reach his lips so you wrap your free hand around the collar of his Spiderman suit, tugging him down to your level and smashing your lips against his. He used to chuckle when you had to pull him down to your level but now he’s just happy to be with you in the moment. The videos combined could never live up to the reality of him having you here with him.
His lips are rough and chapped, not how you remembered and his hands are coarse, the time spent without you had clearly not been a good time. It wasn’t for you, desperately trying to protect and provide for Gabriella without Miguel by your side - it certainly wasn’t easy but it doesn’t matter now because you’re together and now no one will be able to change that ever again.
“So, you do know each other?” Jess says and honestly you forgot she was there but you turn to look at her with a small smile.
“She’s my wife.” Miguel says looking up at her and Jess just looks very confused, previously thinking his wife was dead.
You quickly interrupt, moving Gabriella into his arms watching as she slowly wakes up.
“I’m sure she’s missed you.” You say, quietly watching as his eyes seem to shimmer looking at his daughter for the first time in years.
“I missed you two so much, you have no idea.” He says and you can hear the tears in his wavering voice. “I’m never letting you two go ever again.” He says wrapping his arms around the both of you.
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AN: I hope you enjoyed reading!
I thought I'd try writing in 2nd person, which do you prefer, 1st person or 2nd person?
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h-worksrambles · 4 months
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Sonic X Shadow Generations fascinates me. Because it feels like something I shouldn’t be excited for. And yet I absolutely am.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Sonic Generations. It’s my third favourite game in the series and my favourite 3D Sonic game (with Sonic Adventure 2 in a close second). I’m very happy to see it getting a re release to expose it to new audiences, and playing it in 4K60fps on my PS5 is a very enticing. Likewise, I really like Shadow as a character and I’m excited to play as him again.
And yet, his new bonus campaign promises to basically be a bunch of nostalgic pandering for Shadow the Hedgehog, a game which I consider to be, simply put, crap. It was boring, dull, colourless and embarrassing trend chasing. And pretty much everything I hated about it is on display in this trailer.
We’ve got gritty, grey cityscapes, we’ve got the rather blah alien villain, Black Doom returning, we’ve got the looming return of the series’…bafflingly executed lore. In a word, Shadow was a pretty much everything I didn’t want Sonic to be shoved into a blender. I’ve given my thoughts on revisiting past excesses and failures for the sake of nostalgia. I wrote a whole thing about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and my fears that it would go overboard pandering to the 2000s spin offs (which I dislike a for lot of the same reasons as a lot of Sonic stuff from the mid 2000s). A faux attempt at maturity that sacrifices Sonic’s camp and colour, and lacks the writing competency to make its tone shift work is pretty much my worst case scenario for the series. And now we’re invoking that for nostalgia? Again, I should hate this.
So if I dislike Shadow the Hedgehog so much. If it really is so emblematic of Sonic’s worst excesses that I want it to leave behind in the 2000s…then why am I so damn hyped for this? Why am I not feeling the same dread as whenever VII Remake implicitly threatens to bring back Genesis?
I think it’s because of the specific relationship Sonic has had with its past for the last decade. So much of the stuff from that time period is material that Sega has seemed actively scared to touch again. Sometimes with good reason. But I think that’s why some material from that time has gained such a strong nostalgic cult following, and why they’re held up as such bastions of missed potential. There’s never been anything quite like Shadow or 06 since they came out with how safe Sega has subsequently played things. And in many respects, that’s a good thing. But I can see how it build a sense of mystique around them. It was kind of sad to see 2010s Sonic so…scared of itself. Terrified to invoke its own history but not really committed to a new direction either. And this is pretty much the exact opposite of that hesitancy.
Basically, the reason I react to seeing Westopolis or Black Doom with ‘holy shit let’s go!!!’ rather than ‘why, god, why?’ is because I genuinely never thought I would see them again after this long. It’s just exciting to see Sonic Team throw caution to the wind and embrace all the parts of their franchise. Even the parts I personally dislike. Plus, Sonic Generations is kind of the perfect game in which to reimagine that stuff and make it..actually good this time. This was the game that made Crisis City of all things into a banger level. The game that took Silver, one of the most notorious boss fights in the series, and gave him a kickass encounter.
If they can fix that, they can do anything.
Plus, the fact that the trailers already show all these trippy stage effects and anime af boss fights and set pieces tells me we’re not just gonna be running through the same drab washed out burning cities that made Shadow 2005 so boring. Again, there’s evidently an effort being made to rehabilitate and reimagine this stuff, not just repeat all the same mistakes. And that’s exciting.
So yeah, Sonic X Shadow Generations has somehow managed to get me genuinely excited for all the parts of the series I typically balk at. And that’s pretty impressive.
That said, if I see Mephiles again, I’m leaving.
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roobiedo · 5 months
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Happy Solarpunk Aesthetic Week and Winter Solstice! ❄️
While we do celebrate here, we don't actually experience winter in my region, or any of the classic four seasons! The weather here is basically a coin toss between searing heat and torrential rain lol. So while I was musing over how to adapt a solarpunk aesthetic to a tropical lifestyle, I came up with this!
Lengthy explanations and chaotic ideas below:
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Disclaimer: I am not a science-y person, so I'm not sure how any of these would technically work or what materials would go into making them. Hopefully one day someone could figure it out, but I'm just having fun sharing these ideas for now :)
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What works well both in harsh sunlight and heavy downpours, plus is already something that people here use everyday? Umbrellas! How cool would it be to have an umbrella that absorbs sunlight during the day, and turns it into a personal spotlight at night? Or perhaps it could absorb and store large amounts of rainwater, to be re-used later or released somewhere more useful?
My main inspiration for this is the bamboo. This plant already plays a huge role in our lives here -- culturally, economically, and from what I recently learned, ecologically too! Our region suffers from floods often, and bamboo can help to control the flow of water, for example through their roots providing a barrier against soil erosion, or their ability to store large amounts of water and release it gradually during drier seasons. (And that's just one of the many reasons why bamboos are awesome and solarpunky!) I thought it would be cool to have water stored in the 'bamboo nodes' of the umbrella shaft, which could then be detached and used individually, or as components in other tech!
I chose the Amazonian lily pad as the canopy design because 1) it looks big enough to cover a person, 2) it has a wide surface for solar panels to 'photosynthesize' energy, 3) its container-like shape looks as though it could hold rainwater like a funnel while it trickles into the shaft, and 4) it just looks really pretty! Realistically, this canopy might not be able to do everything at once, so I'm hoping for this tech to be modular and highly customizable -- as in, you could replace this 'lily pad' with something else that serves a different function! I did play around with some other designs, here they are hehe
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Hibiscus: Our national flower! Have these bad boys growing in my yard so I thought why not. Not sure what functions it would have yet... perhaps the pistil could be a sensor for gathering weather data? Or maybe the anthers are little lights? Maybe it attracts BEES???
Mushroom: Not familiar with the fungi in my area yet so I went with the classic Amanita. Though now I'm kinda regretting because! Wouldn't it be so cool and lunarpunky to design it based on a bio-luminescent mushroom, so it would make sense for the umbrella to glow in the dark? AGH missed opportunities ;;
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Anyway while I was designing the umbrella I thought about giving the model a cool fit too, so tadaaa! A customizable pair of pants that can be worn as a shorts + half-skirt/sarong combo during hot weather, or extended to become a full pair of jeans during colder/rainy times! I used zippers as the connectors because they seem easy to sew on and I like the punky vibe it adds to the outfit. HOWEVER, I'm realising that might be inconvenient or way too time consuming for some people. Maybe buttons, magnets or hook-and-loop fasteners would be easier?
As for the shirt, idk that was just for fun. Maybe it changes colour/design based on the surrounding temperature?
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So YEAH that was my longer-than-expected idea dump for this week! Thank you for reading <3 If you have any thoughts or ways of expanding on these ideas please please please share them with me I'm just really excited to see what people think waaaaa!!! ok bye stay hydrated
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canmom · 22 days
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so hades 2 huh
it's fun! i am more convinced after actually playing it than i was in the runup to it. the green colour palette looked a little drab in the videos but it works better for me fullscreen in game, and I really like the second zone's design. the major aesthetic change does go a little way towards making this feel like 'new Supergiant game' instead of just a rehash of the first game.
the difficulty floor is higher than the first game. i think it's well-tuned to go into if you've beaten that one. so far i've played 6 runs, seen the first boss in 5, and and beaten her in 2 of them; yet to get more than about halfway through the second zone after that tho!
the new mana mechanic is kinda interesting, lots of tradeoffs to make. it's a bit more granular than the cast in the first game; you use it to do powered up versions of your attacks, and spending it also charges up the Call-equivalent.
i'm increasingly intrigued by the setting, and i really like some of the side characters like arachne. i think the time skip was a good decision - the story of Zagreus et al. was definitely done. the epilogue ending of the first game was way too neat.
still, starting a revenge plot in media res is curious. especially when Nemesis lampshades the lack of personal motivation. compared to Zagreus's very pressing and relatable motivation (run away from my abusive dad), Melinoë's motivation is a little more abstract - this seems to be deliberate. but it does a fair bit to sell the sort of 'desperate resistance base' setting. it definitely seems rather like they're setting up a twist down the line. but it lacks the immediate emotional hook of the overbearing patriarch in the first game. curious to see how it will work once I've seen more of the story.
as far as the new gods, I'm fascinated by the decision to make Hephaestus and Hestia both be Northern - probably Yorkshire. it's always fun hearing regional UK accents in games. they do also both feel like responses to the criticism that Jen Z never designs fat characters lmao. still, they are good designs. both have satisfying mechanics. Selene also has a really good design I think.
the other gods' mechanics have naturally been redesigned to fit the new game. still broadly the same themes, e.g. Zeus will still be lightning based, but different interpretations of what that means, so for example you have 'hitting an enemy produces a lightning blast behind them' as the primary Zeus mechanic instead of chain lightning. which definitely keeps things fresh. Melinoë's kit has a lot of directional attacks and, with the Cast now being an AOE which slows/freezes enemies, there's a lot more emphasis now on positioning enemies to set up AOE attacks which is interesting.
the witch stuff is quite fun in an admittedly slightly cheesy way. it's definitely pull on aesthetic currents which aren't at all Ancient Greek, like the pointed hats. but hey! I can get into it, it's not like the game's aesthetic has ever been all that strictly historical. even if I am still scratching my head at 'so mote it be'. apparently it's an archaic word meaning 'may', i.e. 'may it be so'.
of course the main thing is, the actual moment to moment gameplay is fun. it flows just as the first game did, and it's just as addictive with the way it spreads out story breadcrumbs. the vfx and such look great, the movement is already super tightly tuned (tbf it's basically the same as the first game with the addition of a new 'hold dash to sprint'), and there's a already good variety of enemy mechanics.
there's some obvious placeholders for some of the UI art and character portraits (notably none of the keepsakes have been drawn yet), but overall it's surprisingly polished for an early-access build. all the voice acting is already there - it's fun seeing the Supergiant voice cast return in new roles.
the meta progression element... there's some neat ideas, like an upgrade system with a limited set of slots that very much calls to mind NieR Automata's chip system. so there are some stronger tradeoffs to make; it's not as simple as 'spend resource, get better' as it was in the first game. and it's clearly possible to advance quite far even without a lot of meta resource investment. so far it definitely feels like my main limit is skill, and I'll progress further once I learn more of the enemy patterns and figure out what builds I like to play.
(though I guess the idea with this kind of game is that the power ups quietly boost you and make it feel like you're getting better a lot faster than you are just learning the game lmao)
overall, it's just really fun to have another Supergiant game to sink my teeth into haha. I still wish they'd continued their streak of coming up with new IPs each time, because they'd come up with fantastic settings, but there's plenty of interest here still.
also the more I work in game dev the more I can appreciate just what a ludicrous amount of polish there is in Supergiant's games. I can only imagine the amount of work it must have taken to tune the feel of everything this tight.
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mi-i-zori · 2 months
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Blooming Love - Golden Hearts
CoD - Gaz x GN!Florist!Reader
SYNOPSIS : When Gaz stumbles upon a beautiful flower with the sweetest of secrets.
WARNINGS : Tons of fluff. Mention of Gaz being deployed, but nothing more.
I do not give permission to re-publish, re-use and/or translate my works, be it here or on any other platform.
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Thinking about a Florist!Reader who secretly uses the language of flowers in their creations.
When an ex-lover asks for « a bouquet for their partner », probably trying to make them jealous, they simply offer a very professional smile before putting together a beautiful ensemble of bright flowers that basically tells the couple to go fuck themselves.
On the other hand, when a sweet old man tells them the order is for his daughter, who just gave birth to a beautiful baby, they whip up a bouquet full of warm and colourful love.
(Should we ever add a little magic in it, they could probably spread spells though their work. Silently wishing for a woman’s child to get better after a rough trip to the hospital ; maybe accidentally pouring negative emotions into a new batch of plants, hindering their growth or even straight up killing them because of the pressure. This is why they have to be extremely careful about their feelings when entering their little plant heaven, in case they end up bringing harm to their flowery friends.)
I can see Gaz stumbling inside their little shop for an occasion he didn’t really think about. He immediately takes a liking to the pretty bee buzzing around the place, honeyed timbre humming a song he remembers hearing once in a nearby café. When they ask what kind of flowers he would like for his bouquet, he simply tells them to follow their instincts. He leans against the counter, mesmerised as they carefully pick up a series of beautiful blooms with a serene look on their face.
He ends up coming back, again and again. His apartment is quickly filled with a sweet, flowery scent as he keeps ordering bouquets, using thousands of stupid excuses to justify his never-ending orders - even though they probably know he is going to take them home. In the end, he sneaks a flirty edge to his voice when he confesses, his tone underlining how they are the one who sparked his newfound love for plants.
His occupation doesn’t really allow him to keep anything more than a few ephemeral beauties, but it doesn’t stop him from waltzing in the shop with an enthusiastic greeting, his smile widening when they answer in their own sing-song voice.
« You remind me of a Moonflower, » they once tell him during one of his visits after a long deployment. They softly trace the dark circles lining his eyes, and he can’t help the way he quietly leans in their touch.
« Why ? » He asks, and he barely realises their voices are now barely a whisper.
« Because they’re seen as a symbol of blossoming in dark times. You keep facing the darkness of this world, yet here you are : standing proud and tall, with a dazzling smile painted on your face. »
One day, he watches them curiously as they carry a bucket full of red tulips to their workspace and mumble about how, despite not being people’s first choice when it comes to conveying their feelings, they are strongly associated with true love. They beam while telling him they are about to make a piece full of love for a marriage, and he realises their work might be more than just handling flowers and plants. The next day, he runs to the bookstore with a blooming interest for this new, exciting side of his love’s personality, immediately purchasing a few books about the language of flowers.
He carefully plans his next steps while being deployed. Soap’s teasing antics can’t seem to make his focus falter, even though his thoughts are constantly plagued by the hypnotising smile of the Flower waiting for him back home.
The first thing he does after finally coming back is follow the path to the flower shop. He easily catches them when they greet him with an excited hug, his stomach churning pleasantly when the familiar sweetness of their scent invades his senses. Though his mind seems blurred, his voice doesn’t waver when he asks them for a gorgeous bouquet of red tulips and roses.
« I found love, » he says.
Something flickers in their gaze, though it disappears quickly behind a smile.
He soon resumes his usual observations as they fly around their shop with practiced ease, his eyes picking up a few quirks in their normally perfect dance. Their hands tremble slightly as they finally wrap the ensemble of stems with clear paper. They barely manage to hide their hesitation when they wonder out loud who the lucky person might be, a false playfulness floating in their tone.
He doesn’t hesitate to place the bouquet in their hands, his lips meeting with their cheek. They immediately hide against his chest, and he can’t help but laugh at their little squeals, savouring the way their body fits so wells against his.
They hold the flowers close to their heart as they finally grace him with a kiss, the both of them finally allowing their feelings to bloom under the sunshine of their love.
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grendelsmom · 6 months
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Knitting Update or as I like to call it: the ice bear sock (mis-)adventure
So, I've been getting more comfortable with patterns lately and I thought "Hey! I wanna try my hand at this with something easy!". Seeing as christmas is around the corner I decided I would knit a pair of socks for a friend. And as a little challenge I wanted to design my own pattern for it. Which I mainly did by taking inspiration from an old pair of socks and changing the design around until it fit the amount of stitches required for the size of socks I wanted to knit. And look at that! They look nice - don't they? And they're almost finished!
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Lovely ice bears walking through the snow! Only, I made a mistake with the first sock, which I only noticed once I reached the Zwickel of the second sock (my dictionary is telling me it's called gusset or gore? basically the part of the sock where the heel turns into the foot). In the first sock I had forgotten to leave two normal rows inbetween the decreasing rows - meaning that that part of the sock is now much steeper. It does still fit me, but it could potential be a problem for someone with bigger feet. So, I asked my other friend with the same shoe size to try them on for me. It wasn't a problem. What was however a problem was the ice bear pattern part at the top of the sock. You see, I did try my hardest to knit it as loosely as possible, but I still only knitted the stitches recommend in the guidline for a normal pair of socks without a two colour pattern. Meaning the part, because of the two colours, is less elastic and therefore too tight.
At this point I concluded that I had two options. The work I already done wouldn't fit my friend, so I decided to make them shorter later on and use them myself or gift them to a friend with smaller feet so they wouldn't be wasted. Continuing with the project I could either re-work the pattern so that it would work on a higher stich count or knit two plain socks and then stitch the pattern on afterwards. Because the second sounded like less work, I decided to go with that. And tada!
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Looks fine, right? A perfectly normal sock, just waiting for the pattern to be stitched on. Yeah... well... as you can see I used a different yarn for this one. (I was getting kind of bored of the first one and the local store didn't have it in stock anymore anyway so I decided to change it up.) The first 1 1/2 socks were knitted in a 4 ply yarn. The second one in 6 ply. Or so I thought. Until I put them next to each other and realised that the second version looked way tighter.
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So, I looked back on the yarn label (something I apparently hadn't done since buying the yarn) and - yes, you guessed it - turns out it was actually a 4 ply yarn and I had somehow confinced myself that it was 6 ply to the point that I never double checked it again. (Actually, I know how I did it. I was choosing between two different yarns and the other was a 6 ply. I thought "Oh, I definitely must remember that, because I'll need a different amount of stitches then". Which, yes, I remembered that. I just didn't remember that that wasn't the yarn I went with.) This is a sock the length of a EU 44/45 (US 11.5) with the amount of stitches, so width, of a EU 34/35 (US 4.5) - yes, it's that ridiculous.
So, instead of fixing the original problem of the socks being too tight, I actually just made it worse. And now three weeks after I started a project, that was supposed to take me a week max, I have 2 1/2 socks I cannot use for their intended purpose and just started the first sock I will hopefully, actually be able to gift my friend.
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genderliquid-witch · 3 months
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Do flowers bloom from walkers? (Radical optimism in The Walking Dead: The Final Season)
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I remember playing The Final Season for the first time way back in October of 2022 and immediately being blown away by how polished the game was in comparison to its predecessor. I mean I had always loathed the visual style of A New Frontier, so this comic-book inspired look was a nice change of pace, especially once combined with the expert use of lighting that is present throughout the game. But what really took me off guard, more so than anything else, was the opening credits.
I mean, obviously; these games had never done anything like this before. And while I'm fond of the whole FADE IN TITLE ACCOMPANIED BY OMINOUS MUSICAL CUE, this was a welcome change. But there was one specific image that stuck with me throughout my playthrough: the decomposing walker (pictured above), painted in greyscale, with the only colour being the stark red background and the yellow flowers blooming from its corpse. I like to think that it was an intentional decision that ties into the game's themes and not just "Oh this looks cool, let's do it", but it weirdly never came up again. So I was kind of just left to play the game while it loomed in the back of my head, waiting for its moment to shine.
It wasn't until almost a year later where I'd figure out what the image represented, or at least my interpretation of it, and I settled on this conclusion: this decomposing walker is supposed to represent this apocalyptic world, and the flowers symbolise the people that attempt to build from it, in this case the Ericson's kids.
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I've had this opinion for a while that if the first three games show the attempts and failures to re-establish the old world ideals of order and civil society, then The Final Season serves as a rejection of that idea. From the walker-ridden fortress of Crawford in Season One to the bureaucratic nightmare that was the New Frontier, it's an accepted fact that these attempts at returning to the methods of days gone is ultimately futile and will result in total collapse, largely due to the decisions of its rulers. While we could argue about which of these groups is truly the worst, they all originate from the same basic principle: a desire to return to normality. Crawford, Howe's, the New Frontier; these groups were formed by people who, while cruel and monstrous in their own ways, all had the admittedly noble goal of attempting to return order to this ravaged world, but failed due to their leaders' cruel and selfish actions.
Or did they? (Vsauce sfx)
There's this interaction Lee has with Katjaa in the very first episode of Season One that has stuck with me for a while. It's an optional dialogue so it's very easy to miss (I did on my first playthrough), but when Katjaa hopes that things can go "back to normal", Lee has the option of expressing resentment for this old world:
"But they weren't before? The banks, the politics, the--the crap--those things are gone. Hell comes in a lot of different colors."
Usually this "fuck the old world" sentiment is expressed by sociopaths who are excited to enact their sadistic desires onto other survivors, but Lee's resentment for society feels a lot more justified. The fact that Lee is a black man who's specialty is American history makes his criticism of wanting to go back to how things were feel more warranted; he's someone who understands how corrupt and unjust the societal structure of the past was, so of course he'd feel conflicted about longing for its return.
And while this is just a small interaction, I feel it plays into what I've been talking about. Crawford, Howe's, the New Frontier; did these factions collapse because of their evil leaders, or because they were emulating an inherently unjust and corrupt power structure? Their desire for order and stability allows them to see past the cruelties that came with building these hierarchical societies, to the point where they begin to mimic governments of the old world (Crawford, discrimination and the outlining of "undesirables"; Howe's, prison labour and terror; the New Frontier, imperialism and state corruption). So these failed factions force us to ask the question: is a return to order possible in this world?
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It isn't until the The Final Season that the games give us an answer to that question: no, it isn't, but that doesn't mean you can't start something new.
When introduced to Ericson's it's made immediately apparent how different they are to any other group we've met before. While there's the obvious homage to Lord of the Flies with a group being made up of entirely children, I think this is more than just a "well it's the final game, best do something interesting". Children are a symbol of hope and optimism, but also of potential and, in a more abstract sense, the future. They are clay that has yet to be moulded, with infinite potential, a luxury most adults don't have. So I don't think it's a coincidence that the main group in this game, and the one that Clementine eventually settles with, is comprised entirely of children: it feels like an intentional choice to highlight how this group will be the one to survive on account of how they have the potential to create something new.
And it's not just their age demographic that makes Ericson's so distinct from the other groups in the series, but also their power structure. Following Marlon's death, their is no one person in control of the group. Sure, there are leaders (Violet takes the chair once Marlon's out of the picture, and upon her return Clementine becomes the one who's advising the group), but they feel like role models and advisors more than anything. When Violet takes the reigns it doesn't seem like anyone truly acknowledges her authority, and she doesn't even seem to enforce it either. Same goes for Clem; she doesn't really express any desire to control the rest of the group, instead preferring to make decisions in a more democratic manner as to include everyone's individual skills and expertise.
Ericson's vision of society more closely resembles that of an anarchist commune than any government that previously existed, and it manages to be the only group left standing by the end. It's through cooperation and an altruistic attitude that keeps them alive in the end; their concerns for the survival of the group far outweigh any desire to create "order". And I don't think it's a coincidence that a majority of the game's antagonists (Lilly, Minerva, and even James) are people who represent the past. Lilly is obsessed with the cruel lessons her father taught her and prides herself in her attachment to the militaristic level of discipline that she inflicts upon her subordinates. Minerva is essentially a ghost of the past, with her whole arc with Violet and Tenn serving as a lesson on the dangers of holding onto the past. James, while good natured and mostly kind, can't bring himself to accept the fact that the world has changed, and its these beliefs that either kill him or sever the only connection he had made in years.
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To conclude, while Telltale's The Walking Dead is a series that is rife with conflict and tragedy, I also find it to be a story that is ultimately about hope. I always considered that Lee's greatest lesson to Clementine wasn't how to shoot a gun or to cut her hair, but instilling within her a radical sense of hope, the idea that things can be better, and you should always try your damnedest to make it happen. That even in the most desolate of circumstances, something profoundly beautiful can bloom.
Or maybe I've been wrong this whole time and flowers growing out of a walker just looks really cool.
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bangtanhoneys · 4 months
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just gimme them babies - grace chu
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Big Hit had been teasing something for the past few weeks. Cute images were posted across their social media and everyone started to expect that there was another Grace album coming, even though BTS were amid a comeback. Twitter was aflame with all the ideas and ARMY were trying to see if anything could be hidden in the images by zooming in. 
Then on a Friday night, a link was uploaded. 
It was a YouTube video which was going to premiere on Sunday afternoon in South Korea. The title of the video: ‘Grace Chu - Here In My Arms Mini-Album (Official Live Performance).’ This puzzled ARMY and the rest of the world even more as it had been a while since the mini album had been released, on the seven-year anniversary of Seokjin and Grace’s relationship. 
For Grace, the whole performance was giving her a mixed bag of emotions. 
Unbeknownst to everyone, it was the first of many ‘last’ performances from Grace until she went on maternity leave. Eighteen weeks pregnant and the bump was now full on display, though cleverly hidden by style choices in the early days, but it was getting harder to conceal. It was getting harder to sing and dance, unable to pull off the choreography like she used to. 
A meeting had been called to put a plan in motion for BTS to continue their comeback, with Grace still present, but not doing the performances. Her voice would be there, she would still do the interviews and the press conferences and a doctor would be on hand at all times. When 25 weeks came around, she would be put on rest. But for now, while she could still perform, she was going to give ARMY a treat.
A ‘see you later’ treat and a way to announce her pregnancy. 
HYBE’s top floor had been cleared and re-done, back to the very basics but hints of pastel colours - ivory, pink, purple, green, yellow, blues, etc. The band that had played with Yoongi during his D-Day tour was drafted in and they, along with Grace, had come up with a small set-list that would do what it needed to do - say goodbye but oh, pregnant!
She was nervous as the hours to the premiere ticked down. The K-Pop world could be unpredictable when it came to idols and their private relationships. Their reaction to her and Seokjin had been more than favourable, but this was something different altogether. They weren’t married and the pregnancy had been kind of wanted but also a major surprise. 
It had been a major surprise to all the boys when they were given their uncle hoodies. 
Grace had banned them from being at HYBE on the day of the performance. It wasn’t that she didn’t want them there but they were a distraction, having already seen the set the day before and were causing chaos with the flowers that had been brought in. Well, Jimin, Taehyung, Jungkook and Hobi had been causing chaos. Namjoon, Yoongi and Seokjin had been causing chaos by going over the lyrics. 
There were a few swear words and obviously, the lyrics were sexually suggestive but that’s why this would be a one-off and never done again. 
The minutes were ticking by and Grace let out a deep breath, putting a hand on her stomach where there was a slight fluttering. She was standing in the middle of the set, the band behind her with a small orchestra, all dressed in various colours while she was dressed in a pink sparkly dress. 
It had been designed to be loose, to hide the bump until she was ready to reveal it. Any camera on her wouldn’t be able to tell that she was 18 weeks pregnant, ready to tell the world what she was expecting. 
As the premiere ended and the official performance began, ARMY was shocked to see Bang-PD pop up in a recording that had been filmed the day before. 
“I’m pleased to introduce to you all, Grace Chu, our female member of Bangtan Sonyeondan. We hope you all enjoy the performance of this amazing album even if we’re a bit behind and I hope to see you all in the comments.”
It was puzzling and anyone translating had commented that it was such an odd thing to say. Some were beginning to worry that it was going to spell the end of BTS as they knew it.
Finally, the cameras switched for ARMY to see Grace standing here, microphone in hand as the band and orchestra started the intro notes to Positions. The comments started going crazy with everyone watching, each trying to get Grace’s attention, not realising she couldn’t exactly see them. 
The boys, however, in Namjoon’s apartment had the performance on his wide-screen TV and could see the comments coming in real-time. Jimin was running a commentary as he held his phone in his hand, his screen showing the comments only as the rest watched along. 
They were just as nervous, Seokjin more so. This was going to be a big day with the world knowing their most private news and it was either going to be bad or it was going to be very good. In this idol/K-Pop world, it was hard to know. 
So far the comments had been exploding over her voice, how she was glowing and there had been one or two comments who had already suspected what was happening.
“Ah ARMY aren’t stupid,” Jimin laughed as he pointed out the comment he had quickly screenshotted before it disappeared. “They said this is giving baby vibes and then the other comment said she’s going to announce she’s pregnant, putting money on it.”
“Is there a reason she picked a pink dress?” Yoongi asked, already making note of the particular colour.
Seokjin shrugged, accepting the bowl of food from Hobi who had been sorting out their takeaway food. “I have no idea, we haven’t had a gender scan yet. I think the stylists said it was the only material they had which would hide her bump.”
Yoongi didn’t quite believe it, nor did Seokjin who knew the exact reasoning behind it all.
It was then the most important song came, the boys and everyone holding their breath because it was going to happen within seconds. Staff were ready to start banning, and even lawyers were on standby to start suing. 
34+35 started playing, all eyes on the screen as Grace took a breath and stood from the chair she had been sitting in from the previous performance of Safety Net. 
“You might think I'm crazy, the way I've been cravin.' If I put it quite plainly,” she turned sideways to the camera and smoothed the dress to the now obvious eighteen week bump, “just gimme them babies.”
The internet went into utter melt down. Grace carried on with the song, completely unaware of what was happening across various social media pages. All she saw was a thumbs up from Sejin. 
Pink confetti started raining down as she got towards the end of the song, finally revealing to the world and to the boys what gender it was. 
“You liar!” Yoongi yelled, pointing a finger at a grinning Seokjin.
“Ah I technically wasn’t lying, the stylist did pick that material for a reason,” the father of a soon-to-be baby girl pointed out, ignoring the rest as they clamoured around him for hugs. Jungkook was crying into Namjoon’s chest, blubbering how he was going to be the best big brother ever. 
At the end of the performance, at the end of the video, Grace gave the camera finger hearts and patted her stomach with a smile on her face. The screen faded to black with pink wording: Bangtan Baby. Coming April. See you soon.
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