#Wow second post

[greffblog]

Projects: Zokeatince

Currently, one of my best developed projects is the Zokeañatī of Zokeatince. I'l post a map soon, but I think it best to give a basic overview of the world itself. Zokeatince is a planet about the size of mars, orbiting a gas giant in the Ethenor system, somewhere in the Kepler vicinity. It is one oft the gas giants twenty seven moons, and is certainly the biggest. The planet itself is orbited by two moons, a small one that was originally a small comet, ensnared in the planets gravity, while the second larger moon was created by the leftover matter that didn't manage to become a protoplanet and instead began to orbit Zokeatince. A side note: Due to the comet's trail, Zokeatince has developed a distinct ring, though nowhere near as splendid as that of Saturn, that orbits along the prime meridian. Due to it's smaller size, Zokeatince has less gravity, and would probably have low volcanic activity where it not for the Gas giant and its moons' gravitational force making its core more active. Though we will get into atmospheric specifics later, Zokeatince has a high quantity of nitrogen and oxygen, similar to earth, but has a higher concentration of Hydrogen sulfide than earth. Zokeatince is not only unique in that it have life, but doubly so, as it has intelligent life: The Zokeañatī. These creatures look slightly like earth beetles and have a brainpower similar to that of a human, the prime difference being their greater memory capacity, and larger emotional spectrum. In this blog, I will be focusing mostly upon Zokeatince, and the cultures upon it. I hope you, the reader, will find it interesting.

[sweetmapple]

Trench Spotlight

[aimasup]

Suffering from Epic the Musical gave some very odd and sudden inspiration for this. crack scenario. The only thing stopping Bill from killing him on the spot is our suspension of disbelief

better roll a 20, stan. There's lives at stake

[joyfuladorable]

Fever Dream (or: Casey has a Zuko-style moral coma Post S2)

Bonus Initial Splinter and Shredder dragon designs plus a cool scrapped sketch that would've taken Casey out of focus

++ the inspiration for all of this lol

[kinnbig]

let's run away together.

[galactic-rhea]

I was thinking back of some of the concept art for Encanto I always loved and... Long rambling ahead.

YUP! I remain obssesed wiwth it, especially the first one, the black butterflies!! In many latinoamerican countries (including mine) black butterflies in a home are a bad omen, to the point there's people absolutely scared of them (I have met a few, personaly); so the incorporation to it not only gives such a creepy image, but is an awesome call back to the culture.

The one where is raining on Mirabel's side of the house is also a perfect example of Magical Realism; the author whose work was first referred to as magical realism (in literature) had a short story called The Rain, in the story, the rain represents love, it doesn't really have much to do with the story in Encanto or the concept art on itself, just something that I remembered.

In Hundred years of Solitude, it rains for four years and the rain starts eating away the Buendías's house and destroying their fortune, and the decline of the house is what start of the town's decline as they're linked to the family.

I always said that Encanto was like a super sanitized and family friendly version of Hundred years of Solitude, and honestly I can see that a lot in the concept art, much more easily than in the movie

And to me, the biggest expression of Magical Realism in the concept art, is this one:

the mundane mixing with the nonsensical and magic, but the being accepted as part of the natural world without further questioning. And here's more of this on other of the concept art:

Magical realism as a term started being referred to art styles that depict something that objetively normal, has an uncanny element and often somewhat satirical. However, as a genre in literature, it started in Latin America, inspired by surrealism.

Is not just magic, is magic within a mundane world and being accepted as part of their lives. Latinoamerican literature tends to be fatallistic and crude; and magical realism follows similar steps, because the fantasy element isn't taken as something grandiose and something capable of solving every problem; the contrary, it just becomes something that just happens, and life goes on, and this usually means tragedy and death as well.

The magic isn't the cause, nor the solution, not even helpful because these stories kept on being harsh and sometimes cruel, in a sense Magical Realism reminds me more of Gothic Horror than Fantasy. Thousands years of solitude has these magic, fantastic elements, but it keeps on being a tale of the cyclical misery of the Buendías, that doesn't end until their entire destruction along with Macondo.

The Buendías aren't even meant to be liked (as in, good people), because they're supposed to be a selfish self-obssesed, land owners and the elite group that ruins the lives of others and keep digging their own graves.

For another example, the story that i mentioned, The Rain not only has a social commentary, but it ends in a very bitter sweet note, with a couple finally seeing the rain after a drought, but losing the kid that magically rekindled their love for each other. A lot of latinoamerican literature ends with painfully bittersweet, if not outright hopeless endings (Chronicle of a Death Foretold literally tells you, just with the title, what you will get into. Is a very cruel story and it has zero closure, the original "Dead dove do not eat/I don't know what i was expecting". Another example, Dead Houses is...well, is a bit more hopeful, but the cruelty is there and right on the face.)

Neither of these things fit very well for a disney family friendly movie, but just the fact they dared to show us Pedro's death and it being the origin of Encanto is a good enough attempt.

And a lot of these concept art does give a very dark tone, visually. I can see the attempt at trying to mix the whimsical of usual disney movies and the crudeness of the genre it takes its inspiration.

Another little bits that make me think of Encanto and Hundred Years of Solicitude, is that something important in the novel's narrative, is that Macondo is kinda trapped in time, both because of how remote the town is, but also because of the magic element; the huge impact of the town when outsiders and new technology arrives sometimes is taken as another magic element (they see ice, and believe it must be magic). Encanto has a similar setting, the exact time is taking place is hard to determine and there's some anacronisms. And also, the soap opera that Bruno's rats are "playing" is literally a nod to two characters in TYS; Amaranta Úrsula and Aureliano.

In the final version of the movie, some of these vibes the concept art shows was lost, but at its core it retains the key elements of magical realism! However, sometimes I wonder what would have someone like Guillermo del Toro done with the basic plot of Encanto, I have the strong suspicion that we would have ended with something much, much closer to actual magical realism

Ending this with, idk, watch Encanto. Or even better, read some latinoamerican literature (besides Gabriel García Márquez, whom I have a beef with. Can I suggest Julio Córtazar, Pilar Romero, Isabel Allende, Liliana Bodoc, Angelica Gorodischer, Juan Rulfo, Miguel Otero Silva, and Horacio Quiroga?)

[anarchyspider]

VERY huge fan of the extremely specific Spideypool trope in which Wade is very much NOT that involved with many people in the regular civilian crowd but then sees Peter Parker in the midst of many other people and immediately starts changing his tune

[oplishin]

May 19 2013: Extreme Rules: where Dean won the US Championship and Seth and Roman won the tag titles.

[queeniehostapasta]

Ah yes, small husband and scary (but elegant) wife, my favorite combo

An alt and man I forgot the huge size difference between the two sometimes 😳 but hey I’m not against it!!!

[sssaturnsnake]

doctors orders ☆⌒ヽ(*'､^*)

[backmarkerr]

feeling very blessed by 2024 simi rn 😌

[kindahoping4forever]

looseunit123: I remember being 8 years old. It was 8pm, or 10, or 12. Laying dormant in the bottom compartment of my metal framed bunk bed. My dad used to waltz home from the pub and sit outside in a camp chair under the tin roofed awning we had.

He'd put The Proclaimers 'Sunshine on Leith' CD into our player and let it run all the way through. Sometimes twice. Harping and humming along like no tomorrow. The sound would crash through my window and set up camp in my small shipping container of a room. Guess I'm not sleeping for a couple more hours.

If you asked me back then I'd probably say he did it because he was a little buzzed and wanted to let off steam from working long labored hours. But if you asked me now I'd say that it reminded him of home. I don't blame him, I do the same for both reasons and loose change.

I think Sunshine On Leith was track 4 or 5. From then on it became his own. I won't ever associate this song with anyone but him. Flooding my CPU with pictures of his slight crooked smile on one side. Or the sound bite of his laugh where at the end the inflection of his pitch goes up just a touch. Or how he used to talk through his teeth whenever he was seething. All pretty much a carbon copy of what I do now.

It makes me think of him as a child. Blue eyes and blonde hair weaving through the Scottish wind. It makes me wonder of what he was like when he was my age.

What does he love?

Who does he love?

What's he afraid of?

There's so many things I won't ever get to ask that version of him.

It's hard now to sing the song without tearing up. In fact I'm tearing up now as I write this. Maybe it makes me feel closer to him. Maybe it humanizes him. Maybe I'm just emotional.

A parent is likened to some sort of guardian angel. And although that maybe an unrealistic expectation as a 29 year old man I'm going to call him now and tell him he did a good job.

I hope you have a song that reminds you fondly of someone.

[wolveragrace]

[cyrusicehz]

Duck/Deer Season Part 2 of 4

Part 1 / Part 3 / Part 4

Duck season went pretty well, but how will deer season go?

[martyryo]

It's not abt situations anymore I put them on literal things.

[burrythebusy]

Rarepair Series P3: Kagishiro

(The post in question)