#they mainly focus on just Doing Things with each color's main theme

[dravidious]

Finally got around to making some rares for my modified-themed custom MTG set!

Also reworked a common (Eelskin Veil was originally just a reprint of Shore Up) and added flavor text to Forge Spirit and Temple Spirit. If you're wondering about the names of the legendaries, I used a random name generator because I don't like making up proper nouns. That also gave me the name "Jojo" for the enchantment faction's god, so that alone makes it the objectively correct decision.

[syppys-den]

Changes I'd make to The Hellaverse PART 1: the setting

DISCLAIMER: a lot of these changes are very heavily inspired by other peoples' takes on this task (some more than others, see if you can spot 'em) but there's still plenty of my own thing to be found here, so if anything reminds you of someone else's take on the hellaverse, know that that was kind of intentional. Also I'm mostly gonna focus on the Helluva Boss side of things, but there's still some Hazbin stuff here, anyways, on with the show!

Exterminations (prolly gonna change that name) don't happen every year, but they also don't last for a day. Instead they happen every 33 years and last 3 days and have been for the last 2000 years or so (I think you can guess why)

There's also a few rules here for them, it's not just "kill any demon you see" for one, while Hellborns can be targeted, they generally aren't because they can do what the Hebrews did in Egypt, paint blood on their doors to keep the extermination out. Not only that, but if you just arrived in hell as an extermination is occurring, don't worry, you won't be killed, you have to wait for however long you were alive for that to happen, or if you died before 33, however long you would've lived if your life wasn't cut short

There are ways however that you can be exempt from exterminations, most notably by becoming an overlord or by being in the employ of one

Hell has a sort of concentric hollow earth structure, and each ring is on the opposite side of each sphere, with the center of gravity obviously being the "middle layer" of said sphere

it still has the rainbow pattern for the main colors of each circle, except it's bottom-up instead of top-down. So red is at the bottom while violet is at the top, or it would be if Gray wasn't above it

Speaking of which, Wrath is mainly red and is the bottom circle and is the typical "lake of fire" idea of Hell

Meanwhile Pride is gray (although having the most color diversity outside of that) and is the ring most similar to its canon counterpart, as well as being like Hell as seen in Johnny The Homicidal Maniac, being this filthy, polluted endless urban sprawl

I've yet to come up with the full details on the other rings, but from what I've come up with, Sloth is Violet and... that's all I've got. Lust is Blue and is a massive winter wasteland. Envy is Green and is a massive ocean with hellborns living on city sized pirate themed ships while Sinners are forced to stay in the waters below (we'll get to that). Greed is Gold/Yellow and again that's all I have. And Gluttony is Orange and is this big hybrid between a jungle and a beehive

Sinners are generally the bottom rung of hell society, being tortured day and night in all rings except for pride.

In six out of seven rings Sinners look like these sort of gray featureless versions of how they looked in life, with the only distinguishing features still intact being their faces and bodyshapes, everything else like hair, skin tone, eye color etc. is gone. Meanwhile in Pride they look like someone took that basis and added features based on their sins on earth and how they died (essentially they look like people wearing really high quality costumes and makeup to look like "aliens")

Saints (people who've gone to heaven) meanwhile, look like how they did in their prime and/or when they were happiest

Hellhounds are now the Gentry/cops instead of the bottom rung (I'm glad everyone agrees on that honestly) hopefully I'll get around to posting a part 2 to this (it'll probably be about either the characters or the lore, if the latter, it'll explain where certain things came from)

[artfoold00k]

Hey Dook, I really hope the upcoming year brings you nothing but good vibes and a perfect harmony in your awesome art! Your new pieces always make my day, seriously. You're such an inspiration, so dang talented.

Quick question for you: I often find myself stuck when I try to draw in my free time. How do you always come up with such cool ideas? Share your secrets on finding inspiration and drawing as expressively as you do, please!

(´｡• ω •｡`) Ah, you're so kind. Thank you for the good wishes. I wish you an awesome upcoming year as well.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

That's a good question! It's relevant for many fellow artists out there.

SUMMARY: Mix: your passion, your favs, a theme, portfolio and art goals. Power up with your references collection.

In details ⤵️

For me, stumbling onto those bright ideas that really click, started with digging into who I am and what I love.

It's mainly about recognizing the roadblocks and figuring out a fix that fits you. And it's like having a chill heart-to-heart with yourself:

you: I'm stuck. Can't figure out what to draw! mind: Okay. What is your main objective? Work or hobby? you: Feeling a bit rusty. Maybe I should start with something personal, you know, for practice. mind: Got it. First things first, let's jot down your favorite things. Got a list handy? you: Uh, not really. They're all up in my head. mind: No biggie. We can roll with that. It might spark some inspiration. But hey, to spice it up, let's create a visual board of you as an artist. Your focus, your style, your values — everything. Think of it like a moodboard. you: Sounds kinda complex. I just wanted to doodle in my downtime. mind: Trust me, this won't eat up much of your time. It's a breeze, and the result might just be the secret sauce for your future drawings. Start a bit now, pick it up later.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I, actually, aided it further.

All my ideas that wake me up or keep boiling in my head, I write into digital lists (in my case is TickTick app). Because when I see something inspiring (or someone) I can attach a link where needed, or add a custom note with markdown available.

Then I began to fill up my reference folders. I work on them from time to time with a timer (20-30 mins). In my case, when I focus on character design, I have a collection of styles I want to try (including art from my favorite games cuz sure I want to learn how pro artists do it), coloring and drawing tutorials, educational (anatomy and all that), poses/faces/expressions, fashion, etc. *can be on your device, online drive, or a platform like Pinterest. Each set is not enough on its own. To make it work - combine things. Example: pick a pose, add a face to it, choose something trendy and fashionable, add your favorite colors/items/theme, throw some VFX. Mix and mash, don't be afraid to combine incompatible.

By establishing my priorities, I made lists (yet again, my obsession) of what I want to practice and then added each category in a randomizator to pick for me 3 elements to match and challenge. Here is my approximate plan (WIP). Random color generator (one of many out there)

I trained myself not to take too broad themes and stick to what I want to have in my portfolio (what drives my future commissions) while staying versatile. Takes practice.

I hope it helps somehow. It's something that works for me these days but might change in the future.

Find your own way because no one knows you like you do, so the most comfortable way to resolve an issue is the one that's crafted by you. Believe, your mind can find shortcuts and tips for you if tasked to do so. Don't forget to research and store.

[guzsdaily]

[Actually] [finishing] automating my life

Day 19 - Nov 24th, 12.023

It's finally done! hopefully.

But everything I needed to be done to start working again next week is done by now, the only thing that it's incomplete is the yearly note template, which I probably will almost never open anyway. It has been a long week doing this, but hopefully it will pay off in the long term the same way that customizing my operating system paid. So why not make a complete tour of the workflow and periodic notes today anyway?

---

Periodic notes

Quarterly notes

Quarterly notes have just one purpose, they choose / select a theme for each half season. As you can see on the GIF, it also has some info about what tasks' projects and scopes were worked on the season/quarter, in a radar graphic so it's easier to see if the work was balanced on each scope and project, if I focused too much or too little in one, etc.

Each season has a color: Spring is green; Summer, red; Autumn, yellow; And winter is blue. These colors also affects each season's periodic notes, so I can easily the pass of time and what quarter of the year we are.

Monthly notes

Monthly notes are similar to quarterly, but they focus on projects. Each month can have up to four projects that I want to work with mainly, yes I probably can have some task or another from other projects some days, but this can help me focus a little more on what to do on the month. As you can see, the quarter's theme is also retrieved on each note, again helping me remember on what direction I want to go. On the monthly project I placed some graphics to help me see how many tasks I worked on each project and scope, mostly to fill space really, and also some to know how my routine is going and how many tasks I made the past days. I also list all the events on the month and daily notes.

Most of the graphs are just to help me see data easily, instead of just guessing numbers and where I am. And also, graphs are pretty!

Weekly notes

Weekly notes are where the interaction and functionality start to increase. They are [supposed] to be created at the start of each week, at creation they prompt a project from the ones selected on the monthly note, this becomes the week's project. On the weekly note is where the project's tasks are supposed to be scheduled to be worked on, so each day I don't have to question myself what to do anymore. Also noticing now, having the project's tasks and miscellaneous tasks side by side also helps notice how I balanced the work for the week, neat! The weekly note also lists events and notes like the monthly one.

Daily notes

This is the note that I will most see compared to all of them, and now it is a lot easier to work with for me. The daily note has two primary functions: routine tracking, to know that I'm staying true to my routine and because now there's the heat map of them right below, I can see my progress in the past days of the year; and tasks completion, so I know easily what needs to be worked on and finished today, and also the overdue tasks to be worked ASAP so I don't drown myself in uncompleted tasks.

Also, here events that will be shown in my calendar are placed, and the daily annotations if anything ends up happening that got in the way of doing my routine or tasks. I probably will add more thing to it to keep track of daily, such as related to health like how many water bottles I drank on the day, and also things such as mood and how much I felt productive. But relating to work itself, it is mostly completed.

---

Projects' notes

But from where are these projects got from? Well, there are projects notes, where tasks and ideas are saved on, independent if I end up working on them even, this way I don't need to remember that totally "a million dollars idea".

The project note has three main "data entry points": title, which also gives its "code-name" to be used in the tags (so something like "Test Project" becomes "#project/test-project"); summary, which gives a brief description of the idea of the project; and tasks, which is listed in the periodic notes when the project is selected in the monthly note.

Some details which I really liked about this new template is being: one, able to select up to 5 scopes right when it is created; two, the more use of QuickAdd to use more the keyboard than the mouse in general; three, the automatic banner which is fetched from Unsplash, but also if I put a link in the banner prompt, it is used instead.

Commands

If you notice on the GIFs, I used a lot of commands to create and manipulate some of these notes, this is something which I also want to improve as time passes. On my operating system and working environment in general, I pretty much just use the keyboard for everything, having keystrokes and motions to be able to navigate and work without the mouse, this is something I would like to talk more later, but it really makes my work a lot faster in general. These commands are macros and just renamed commands that I made using QuickAdd, and if you noticed, all of them start with >, "why?" because when I type > now, it gives me all the commands I actually want to use without needing to type all the command.

And I think that's it, I didn't post the code for each note because I probably will make them public in some GitHub repository in the future, if I do so, I update this post to link it. There are still things that I want to add in Obsidian in general, I have to admit that the note-taking part I almost never use directly unfortunately, and it would be good to do so, also things such as RSS feeds or some sort of "read-it-later" functionality, and the most important, be able to automate things such as this journal to post them automatically.

But all of them will be projects for another time, I still need to test this new workflow and adapt when needed. I didn't also migrate the old projects notes to the new template, which I need to make them work correctly now, and I still need to adapt my brain to make everything I want to work on a project and not some idea or random tasks scattered around my brain and app. So there are a lot of things to still work on, but hopefully I now can have a workflow and process to let me do them, but next week I want to code something because I'm tired of making templates.

---

Today's artists & creative things

Song: Minecraft / C418 - Aria Math (Metal Cover) I already recommended the Minecraft soundtrack on day here. But this cover for some reason made me cry the first time I heard it, I don't know, for me electric guitar is an instrument that passes so much emotion that I simply cried when I listened to this song. I just know that I really hope to some day learn this instrument and play this and other Minecraft songs, and just songs in general of course, but the soundtrack is really awesome in metal in my opinion.

---

Copyright (c) 2023-present Gustavo "Guz" L. de Mello <contact.guz013@gmail.com>

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License

[kyunisixx]

chiaroscuro

artist!Robert Plant AU one shot.

a/n: this really started out as a song I wanted to write. But I knew I had to turn it into a longer writing!!

themes: fluff, mild implications of nsfw and tw: childhood trauma.

summary: in which Y/N becomes a muse for Robert, a landscape artist in more ways than one. (Man, that summary is so shit but let's roll with it)

pairing: artist!Robert Plant x fem!reader

chi·a·ro·scu·ro

the treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting.

an effect of contrasted light and shadow created by light falling unevenly or from a particular direction on something.

"Lean back for me a bit more, darling. That's right, relax."

As she moves, the old sofa creaks beneath her. Chilled air gusts through a partially opened window, making her shiver and sending miniscule bumps all over her bare skin. Her eyes drift over the fixtures inside the cozy cabin, illuminated by an outmoded oil lamp situated on the man's table. Several tiny moths were floating around it as the flame wavered ever so slightly from the breeze.

Scattered were all paintbrushes and smudges of paint were messily smeared all over the table. A round board was placed so close at the edge (one she heard him call before —a palette). In the middle is a rustic cup with half-empty, now cold tea. But a paint-smudged hand grasped on its handle and swiftly brought it over to a mouth. 

Then her eyes met his.

His frizzled, curly blond locks are pulled into a disheveled bun. One he pinned up so carelessly with a thin, unused paintbrush as to prevent it from obstructing his view but a few ringlets managed to escape and are now framing his face.

Ivory-colored shirt, a few buttons undone to reveal smooth skin of his collarbones which were also marked with a few shades of paint. Some scattered across his jawline to his cheek. 

Lips are pursed and eyes are pulled into deep concentration, they are set into a particular part of her. As if to capture the exact curvature of the crease on her waist.

Salient was the cleft on his chin and the sharp edge of his cheekbones by the incandescent light lent by the lamp, making him look like a contrast between sinister and elegance.

He dipped a brush and carefully made short strokes on the canvas, pausing every now and then to look at her.

The sun was setting and the sky was shaded a dull gray, providing so little of brightness which seemed to have darkened even more being situated in a lush forest.

Many months ago at this time of the day, she would have just been getting up from her sleep. Wake up and get ready for a long shift. It was a routine she had gotten so used to every day.

Take a bath. Eat. Pick out an outfit. Put on makeup. Be into the persona.

She would become a completely different person as soon as she stepped into the establishment she knew for as long as she moved into the town a few months ago.

From having to move into different cities and using different names to hide her identity. All of it to escape the filthy and haunted ghost of her past. 

Screaming. Glass breaking. Bruises. Slamming doors.  All of the things a child shouldn't have to go through. She took a risk and ran away from it.

And here is where she ended up thirteen years later.

Lacklustre eyes unmoving as they steadily stared back at her in a blurry mirror inside the changing room. All the girls' chattering seemed to have been muted and faded in the background as she gazed at her reflection. She picked up the small item in her hand, before taking the cap off and swiped the crimson lipstick across her chapped lips, creating a thick shade.

"Y/N, you ready to go?"

She turned her head back to Don, the club manager. She smiled and moved her head in a single nod.

“Sure, Don. Just give me a short moment”. She adjusted the strap of her black velvet dress and walked on the familiar, dimly lit hallway. Her stilettos clapped quietly on the floor as she padded and stopped in front of a red curtain covering the doorway from the side to the stage. 

"How's it going, folks? Alright, alright. I'd get right into it. This is the moment you've all been waiting for. The crowd favourite, slithers like a python, mistress of the night; Marilyn"

Then, she waited as the main lights switched off and took her cue to enter as smoke filled the platform. Coloured lights gleamed right through. She situated herself right in the middle then circled her hand on the pole as the first note of the song started to hum quietly. Like a distant patter of rain—calm before the storm. Her hips moved into the rhythm and fluidly sneaked around the pole as the cloud of smoke started to clear out. Gazing into the crowd of men, her blood-red lips quirk into a smirk.

It was the only time she knew she had complete power and control. And she relished it, savoring the potency. 

Her hands smoothed all over her now slightly perspired skin as men clamored and hooted for her. Bills were haphazardly thrown into the dancefloor. Something that she wasn't used to when she first started, it made her feel cheap. Dirty. But her routine carried on almost every night, she eventually got used to it and had even grown to like it.

Then she spotted him. 

Big ball of golden hair illuminated by stage lights. He was situated amongst the sea of predators, his eyes followed the fluidity of her movements. But what struck her the most was the way he was watching her. It wasn't shadowed by lust, but more of an intense wonder and curiosity. It was as if he was memorizing each part of her curves, but for another purpose.

Her gaze somewhat mirrored his. He definitely wasn't strange-looking. Hell, he might have been the most beautiful man she has ever seen. He didn't belong to a place where no good men wander around. Both his beguiling beauty and aura was completely out of place for such a place like this.

The song then came to a stop. Her number was over but her eyes remained locked with his. It was only then she came back to consciousness as Don's voice boomed into the large speakers, signalling the end of her performance. She collected the bills scattered on the floor and walked off the stage, throwing a last glance into the crowd as she took her exit.

He was gone.

He wouldn't show up for a couple of days. She was sure, of course. The moment she steps out, her eyes would already be skimming through the lounge, and would sigh in disappointment if she didn't spot any sign of him.

"Have you seen your mysterious man yet?"

One of the girls she was closest to, Hershey, asked as she counted the thick block of bills on her hand.

"He wasn't out there tonight"

"You could have been hallucinating. Anyway, you told me he was 'like an angel'"

Hershey laughed, mimicking the way she had said the last part with a breathy tone and added, "Or could have been disappointed in your dance number, ran away and swore to not step a foot into this place again"

She stopped momentarily, chuckled lightly and sighed, "You may not be far from the truth but we'll see."

Then he would be there the next night, positioned right at a table at the back. His curly locks gave his identity right away, with his elbows propped up and fingers poised against his chin, bearing the same gaze. 

Later that night, he'd be waiting right outside of the club.

"The show was spectacular."

She tilted her head to him, nodded and smiled.

"Thank you."

She wasn't sure how it ended up with her sitting on a stool inside a cozy 24-hour operating diner so late at night, chatting with her "mysterious man" late at night, who introduced himself as Robert. He was apparently a landscape artist and has traveled the world where he finds inspirations for his works.

"The best place I have ever been to? Hm. I'd say Machu Picchu, set in the high mountains of Andes in Peru, above a river called Urubamba. I had to hike all the way up, and you could see the breathtaking view when you reach the top."

"That does sound very lovely." She sighed wistfully.

"Have you ever traveled anywhere outside the country?"

"Oh no, I have not. I move to different places a lot but I've never gone out, never had the chance to."

"Ah, you should! It's wonderful."

She nodded, "Do you only do landscaping?"

"Well, no. I do a little bit of abstract art but I focus mainly on landscaping. I was thinking of expanding more, though. Maybe portrait, or nude art."

"That's a good idea. An artist has to come out of his comfort zone and be able to become great."

"Yeah…", he trailed off, as if lost in thought. "I hope this doesn't come off as strange or I as a creep. But may I ask you to be my muse? Don't worry! We'll only do portrait." He added the last sentence quickly.

She tilted her head to the side and looked at him, her brows furrowed deep in thought.

"You don't have to s—"

"I'll do it."

A few days later, she was again popped up on a stool inside his flat just a few blocks away from the club. His place was spacious, but had a very rustic feel to the interior design. A few souvenirs from different countries were neatly placed on a shelf and most of his paintings were hung stylistically on the walls (in which she stared at in complete awe for what she could tell an hour each painting until he had to drag her away to his studio)

Her fingers fiddled as she tried to stay still under his calculating gaze. She never had much problem with how she looked and never had insecurities. Perhaps she just didn't care enough to be insecure. But at that moment, she thought of how she must've appeared to him and if she was good-looking enough to be an inspiration for his art.

"Are you alright there?"

"Yes! Yes, I… Yeah I'm alright."

His hand stopped and placed the paintbrush on the table. "Are you sure? If you're not comfortable or if you need a break, we could stop for a bit."

She shook her head vigorously, "No, it's okay. Don't worry."

"If you say so."

She let her eyes travel from his bare foot, to his khaki trousers, to his satin shirt with top three buttons undone, to his face. Oh, his gorgeous face. It was pulled into a deep concentration as he stared at his work, giving her some time to study his majestic features.

His eyes flickered to hers as if sensing her stare and playfully frowned, a small smile curled on the side of his lips.

"What?"

"What?"

He laughed, "You were staring."

"I was. Is it a crime?"

"No, I wouldn't say it is." He said with a teasing edge to his voice. 

It was their arrangement which they stick to a few times a week. On her day off, after work if she wasn't feeling too exhausted. There was an obvious attraction lingering inside the room of his small studio but none of them acted upon it other than just casual flirtations thrown around. He was a perfect gentleman and had always been accommodating. A couple of times he would insist on paying her in which she would always refuse to accept. 

"The tea you make for me is enough for a payment." She had jokingly said. "Do not worry about it, Robert. Really, it's okay. I'm making enough from my job."

One night, after their sessions, they had too many drinks and bottles were littered over the table along with his paint brushes which had long dried of paint. 

"Tell me about you, Marilyn. Mistress of the night, who apparently, slithers like a python." He mused, mentioning her alias. His glossy eyes filled with mirth.

She snorted, took a long swig of beer and swiped the back of her hand across her mouth. 

"Marilyn is… Nobody. I'm nobody. I came from somewhere that in my mind, ceased to exist." She stared ahead. "I ran away from home. Who calls it a home anyway?" She laughed humorlessly.

"My parents fought a lot. They spent so much time fighting, they didn't even have time for me. Looking back at it now, I could have just preferred that. But then, they turned their anger towards me." She sniffed and quickly wiped the salty tears before they even slid down to her flushed cheeks.

"I went to my grandparents. They loved me so much and I loved them so dearly. But they were not my parents. Eventually, both of them passed away and I was left on my own. But I was eighteen. I didn't have to go back to my parents. So I went to different cities, finding places where I could feel like I could fit in. Looked for jobs, and then I ended up here. I made friends and I have my own place, but it still never felt like home."

He was quietly staring at her, and the silence was deafening. Then he lifted his free hand to her face and ran the back of his index finger to dry her cheeks. Her hand caught his and brought it to her lips and placed a soft kiss. 

"But with you, it feels… different. I like hanging out with you. I like being with you. You feel like home to me, Robert."

Her voice echoed softly as he took his time to reply. But he didn't, instead, he leaned down and sealed his lips against hers. 

He layed limply on top of her body as he shuddered from his release. Both tried to desperately catch for their breath as her hand smoothed down his back and the other combed through his damp locks. He slid out of her and dropped beside her, not too long before he enclosed his arms over her and pulled closer. He catches her lips on his in a lazy kiss and smiled.

"You feel like home to me too, Y/N."

Her heart soared and nuzzled her nose against his.

"I want to paint you like this. May I? You are so beautiful. In light and in shadow."

She blushed, "Yes, but right now? I'm tired."

"No, no. We'll do it tomorrow. I'll take you somewhere." His warm breath hit her skin as he whispered.

"Where?" She whispered back.

"Well, I'm not telling you that. But it was what I helped my Father build when I was younger. It's somewhat like a special place for me, and I want you to see it."

He gazed at her as he waited for her to respond.

"Okay."

Under the light of the lamp, she peers at him under her lashes.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Mm? I have no idea what you are talking about."

"You know what it is. Cut it out or I'll never get to finish this."

She huffs. "You're no fun"

"I can prove you otherwise in a few minutes."

He continued to do his finishing touches and leaned back to admire his work.

"That isn't too bad. But nothing compares to the real art."

"And what might that be?"

"You, my love." He stood up, walked over to where she was, placed his hand at the back of her neck and pulled her to him.

"I've been waiting for this for hours."

"I've been giving you hints and you insist on finishing your art."

He chuckled. "Of course I had to."

His fingers danced their way from her sides to her hips, rubbing along the marks littered across her skin.

"Are you ready to see it?" He murmured against her neck. She shudders as she nodded, giving their playful banter a break. 

He bit her earlobe softly, "Okay."

He walked over to his canvas and carefully turned it around to face her.

She gasps.

.

⭐ writings list ⭐

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taglist: @jonesyjonesyjonesy , @princesspagey , @ritacaroline , @jimmys-zeppelin , @rebel-without-a-zeppelin , @reincarnated70sbaby (if you wanted to be added in, let me know 🤘🏻🤗)

[loonatism]

WHAT IS THE LOONAVERSE? PART 2 – THE NARRATIVE DEVICES

LOONA is special among K-pop for its immersive storyline. These girls are not just k-pop idols performing a song, they also perform a story and that story is what we call the Loonaverse.

So, what is the Loonaverse? In a few words: The world and story that LOONA inhabits.

Yeah. Duh. But what is it?

Well… it’s complicated.

The Loonaverse is a fictitious story that borrows elements from real science and fantasy to build its world but also uses allegories, metaphors, allusions and other literary devices to tell its story. Our job as spectators (and specifically us theorizers) is to look beyond those devices to understand the message they are trying to send. In this post I’ll attempt to explain the numerous literary devices used to narrate the story of the Loonaverse.

So, these 2 things are LAW:

Each girl has two conflicts: an external one and an internal one.

The LOONAVERSE story is one of fantasy and mystery.

INTERNAL CONFLICT VS EXTRNAL CONFLICT

Or as I like to call it: UNIT vs SOLO

I’ve explained how the girls are trapped in a time loop and how escaping it was their overarching goal. This is the external conflict of the Loonaverse. The progression of this storyline is seen mainly in the Sub-Unit MVs and LOONA MVs but also in some teasers and other videos like Cinema Theory. The conflict is external because: 1) It comes from the outside. 2) The characters not have power against it, at least not at the beginning. 3) The conflict has effect over multiple people.

Also…

Every character has an internal conflict. A personal story. Each girl perceives the world differently and that changes the way they act and interact with each other. It is internal because: 1) It comes from within the person. 2) They themselves may be the cause for the conflict. 3) The conflict has effect on only one person: themselves. This Internal conflict is presented to us in the Solo MVs. Every solo MV is a window to the character’s mind. While the solo MVs are tangentially related to the main external conflict, they mostly focus on the internal conflict of the character.

External and Internal conflicts often mix and interlace each other to create a wider story. We will see how the external conflict fuels the internal conflicts of the girls and how their internal conflicts will shape the way they act towards solving the external conflict.

FANTASY AND MYSTERY

What is fantasy? The genre of fantasy is described as a story based in a world completely separate from our own. It usually features elements or magical/supernatural forces that do not exist on our own world. It is not tied to reality of science.

Wait a minute. You just spent an entire post explaining the science of the Loonaverse. You can’t call it fantasy now. Well yes, yes I can. Since most of the scientific elements I explained are theoretical, unproved in our world but in the world of LOONA they are a reality, a scientific reality. A reality that differs from our own, and thus a fantasy to us. But regardless of that the reason I call the Loonaverse a fantasy is because of the themes it explores.

Fantasy is a broad genre, it is one of the oldest literary genres, being found in old myths. Some of the themes often found in fantasy stories include: tradition vs. change, the individual vs. society, man vs. nature, coming of age, betrayal, epic journeys, etc. All of these themes are very present in the Loonaverse. But I’ll delve into each one as we encounter them.

What is Mystery? The mystery genre is a type of fiction in which a person (usually a detective) solves a crime. The purpose is to solve a puzzle and to create a feeling of resolution with the audience. Some elements of a mystery include: the Crime that needs solving, the use of suspense, use of figures of speech, the detective having inference gaps, the suspects motives are examined in the story, the characters usually get in danger while investigating, plus these:

Red herring. something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question and leads the audience to a false answer.

Suspense. Intense feeling that an audience goes through while waiting for the outcome of certain events.

Foreshadowing. A literary device that hints at information that will become relevant later on.

I just though you should know these definitions.

In the Loonaverse, the “crime” is the time loop itself, and the mystery is finding a way to break it. Or so we think. In reality, the “How do we break the loop?” question is solved rather easily. But can we really call this a mystery if the main question is already answered? Yes! It may no be a mystery story for the characters themselves but because BlockBerry uses various mystery genre tropes while telling the story, it is a mystery TO THE AUDIENCE.

That’s right! WE are the detectives!

In a classical mystery, the detective examines all clues, motives, and possible alibis, for each suspect, or in our case, each character. The same way we analyze every MV, every interaction, every possible clue to where and when everything is happening.

The Loonaverse differs from a classic ‘Who done it?’ by establishing that no suspect is actually guilty. The crime IS the loop, but no girl is responsible for it (or so we think). Our job as detectives is not to figure out who is doing this but to explain how and establish an timeline of events that shed a light to what really happened. In that sense, our job resembles more closely a real crime investigation than a mystery novel.

LITERARY DEVICES

There are many literary devices an author can use to tell its story. Too many to cover them all in here, so I’ll focus on the most recurrent ones in the Loonaverse:

Allusion. Referring to a subject matter such as a place, event, or literary work by way of a passing reference.

Archetype. Reference to a concept, a person or an object that has served as a prototype of its kind and is the original idea that has come to be used over and over again.

Faulty Parallelism. the practice placing together similarly structure related phrases, words or clauses but where one fails to follow this parallel structure.

Juxtaposition. The author places a person, concept, place, idea or theme parallel to another

Metaphor. A meaning or identity ascribed to one subject by way of another. One subject is implied to be another so as to draw a comparison between their similarities and shared traits.

Motif. Any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature.

Symbol. Using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning, they contain several layers of meaning, often concealed at first sight.

Genre. Classification of a literary work by its form, content, and style.

Some other literary devices worthy of your private investigation are: Negative Capability, Point of View, Doppelgänger, Flashback, Caesura, Stream of Consciousness, Periodic Structure, THEME, Analogy.

About Genre:

Genres are important because they give a story structure. They help an author tell the story in a way that makes it simple for the audience to understand what kind of story is being told. The classic genres of literature are Poetry, Drama and Prose. Some scholars include Fiction and Non-fiction. 

In film there are a variety of accepted genres: Comedy, Tragedy, Horror, Action, Fantasy, Drama, Historical, etc. Plus a bunch of subgenres like Contemporary Fantasy, Spy Film, Slapstick Comedy, Psychological Thriller, etc. What defines a genre is the use of similar techniques and tropes like color, editing, themes, character archetypes, etc. 

I point this out because the Loonaverse uses many genres to tell its story. Sure, the main story is a fantasy/mystery but every MV or Teaser has its own genre (especially the solo MVs). So, when I point out later that Kiss Later is a romantic comedy or that One & Only is a gothic melodrama, this is what I mean.

TLDR:

The Loonaverse is the world and story that LOONA inhabits. It borrows form real life science and fantasy elements to better tell its story. Each girl has an external conflict (escaping the loop) and an internal conflict (portrayed in the solo MVs). Both conflicts interlace to tell the story. The Loonaverse is a story of Fantasy because it takes place in a different world from ours and it is a Mystery because it is told using various mystery tropes. The story uses multiple literary and visual devices to tell it’s story and fuel the mystery.

REMEMBER: This is all my interpretation. My way of comprehending and analyzing the story. You don’t have to agree with everything. I encourage you to form your own theories. Remember: every theory is correct.

After all that you may be wondering what the story even is. And we’ll finally be getting to that. While I have my own interpretation of the timeline, themes and who did what. I think it’s more fun to slowly explore every brick instead of just summarizing it in one (incredibly long) post. I’ll do that much, much, much later. The journey will be just as interesting as the destination. I hope you’re in for the ride.

Let’s get to the real deal: The MVs. I’m going in chronological order so let’s start with girl No. 1!

Next: The bright pink bunny of LOONA: HeeJin’s ViViD.

[blueseakelp]

2, 3, and 4!

BOOM!! hello :)) 💙💙💙 (apologies in advance, this may get very long haha)

(for this writing ask game post)

2: Why do you write fanfiction?

i wanted to work on writing more but was having a lot of trouble with it so i turned to something a bit easier. my first fic (and one other one now) was actually based off a post, so some of the key concepts were laid out for me (i do struggle a lot with plot). for burn steady my child, i kind of hyperfixtated on it at the start and got updates out quickly, and then people liked it and i was like :0.

(i feel bad saying this because i feel like i shouldn’t care as much and i haven’t really seen many people who don’t fully write for themselves, but i do partly write for the validation i get from others. i have a hard time not constantly comparing myself to others and getting envious and in my head i know that there’s not going to be a magical number that satisfies me, but i struggle to let go of it. anyways, i’m still working on myself too)

3: What so you think makes your fics stand out from other works?

okay so i went back to just kind of go through comments because i’m not entirely sure for myself what makes my fics stand out? (*cries in “i hope you update soon!” 38 days ago*) BUT i think the general consensus has been:

for my in the atla world fics (mainly bsmc), people have liked my characterisation (especially of azula), as well as the relationships i’ve developed (mainly between zuko and azula)

for my in the modern world fics, people seem to like the overall vibe of it and the relatability of the characters

i guess to sum up, people tend to find my takes on the characters interesting i think. i think part of this is because i usually focus on characters that i project on and feel like i know well, so it’s easier to get in their heads.

4: Are there any writers that inspire you?

ahhh okay i think someone asked me for a separate ask game once what some of my favorite fics were, to which i had 4 (taob, petition, wwda, flwogb) and ik it’s been a while but those are still basically the main ones i follow on a regular basis scnnbjkk and all of the writers of those have a lot of things that inspire me but i’m going to try to boil it down to one thing for each [ahhh also sorry boom ik this is your ask but for the sake of consistency i am going to talk about you like you aren’t the one who sent it]

@hella1975 in her writing she really does an excellent job of making every single piece of the story fit together, but does it in a very delicate and intricate way. she’s done this in both of her fics so far, but especially in taob she’s put so much meaning and relevance into even the first few chapters that have come back as ongoing themes throughout the story. metaphors and motifs don’t feel out of place, but instead like they were meant to be. the way she writes is very thought out and literary in nature, which i really admire.

@f-ro-g @stupidbihours i haven’t read much of their work outside of petition, but i really love the life they bring to each of the characters they write. they do a great job of making interactions between all the characters feel genuine. the banter manages to feel both relevant to the modern world while staying true to the essence of the characters. they’ve done amazingly in finding new and creative plot points, as well as unique methods of storytelling, and their writing is quite immersive. even while getting into more serious plot points, they are able to balance it out with an overarching sense of lightness to their writing.

@boomerangsandadora they always have a very good understanding of the underlying dynamics in a story. whether it’s the reason why certain characters interact with each other the way they do, or the way different events in a characters’ life may still affect them, they’re really good at delving into those pieces and exploring them. with the grasp of these dynamics also comes a lot of realistic pacing in how the plot points are influenced and in turn begin to unfold. i sense a lot of fundamental understanding of the story they’re creating when i read their writing, which is something i aspire to in my own fics.

@oldpotatoe she has a really nice way of writing things going wrong, where it doesn’t feel overly dramatic but it’s also handled with poetic grace. she uses a lot of descriptive language, and it makes her stories come alive and feel almost like paintings. She has a way with imagery, and it not only flows throughout her writing, but it also comes across in certain important symbols from her stories that are left in the audience’s mind. as someone who favors descriptive writing, her healthy balance between colorful descriptions and movement of the story is something i look up to her in.

[alwaysmarilynmonroe]

It’s hard to believe 58 years to the day, on the night of August 4th, the world’s most famous Star would leave us all. Yes, I know a lot of you will be thinking, “wait, didn’t she die on the 5th?” – she was found in the early hours of that morning, and her death was announced then – so that is the “technical” date. However, as with many Marilyn “facts” that too is incorrect and so like every year, I will be posting this on the 4th.

I’m not going to write about all the ridiculous dramas and he said she said statements that have grown rapidly over the years, as they don’t deserve any more coverage. Whenever a major celebrity dies, the more shocking the statement, the more attention it gains, so much so that it’s almost became ingrained into society as being accepted as fact. But, I am going to have a big name and shame moment for the two main culprits – Robert Slatzer and Norman Mailer I’m looking at you both. Also Anthony Summers – you’re a piece of crap and I will never forgive you for publishing Marilyn’s autopsy photo in your toilet paper worthy biography.

Long story short as they don’t deserve any mention with Marilyn’s name – Slatzer created the whole Kennedy, Mafia and basically everything shit and defamatory written about Marilyn in the early 1970s. If you want to find out the actual truth with documented facts click HERE.

Sorry to disappoint any conspiracy lovers – Marilyn didn’t love JFK, nor did any of the Kennedy’s kill her, she died of an either accidental or intentional prescription drug overdose. Was I there? No, I wasn’t even alive, but it’s really not hard to disregard the nonsense and absurd claims, when you actually take the time to do a little (a lot in my case) of research.

Baby Norma Jeane in 1929.

Norma Jeane (left) and a friend at the Los Angeles Orphanage in 1936.

Norma Jeane at the Los Angeles Clifton Restaurant, which she attended with her then Husband Jim Doughtery in 1944.

Marilyn by Richard Miller in April 1946.

Marilyn by J.R. Eyerman in 1950.

Marilyn on her Doheny Drive Patio by Alfred Eisenstaedt in May 1953.

Marilyn in Korea visiting the Troops in February 1954.

Marilyn by Milton Greene on January 28th 1955.

Marilyn by Cecil Beaton on February 22nd 1956.

Marilyn during the filming of Some Like It Hot by Richard Miller in October 1958.

Marilyn during the filming of The Misfits by Erich Hartmann in the Autumn of 1960.

Marilyn during the filming of Something’s Got To Give by Lawrence Schiller in May 1962.

Thankfully, I was lucky and never fell down that ridiculous rabbit hole in the first place. I discovered Marilyn whilst reading an article in Vanity Fair magazine almost ten years ago, discussing the then upcoming release of, Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters by Marilyn Monroe.

This book is truly one of a kind and is basically a published archive of many of Marilyn’s personal letters, excerpts and anecdotes she had written from 1943 until 1962. Before anyone says it’s disrespectful to publish/share these and it is an invasion of privacy, to an extent I agree. However, as stated a few moment ago, with the amount of disrespectful, outrageous nonsense that has been slurred out over the half a century since Marilyn left us – I think it’s a necessity to see her own words in print. Ironically enough, it’s almost as if Marilyn herself foreshadowed the future of the media, when she said this in an Interview to Georges Belmont for Marie Claire Magazine in April 1960.

“The true things rarely get into circulation, it’s usually the false things.”

Therefore, today I have decided to focus on Marilyn herself, not as a Star, Tragic Icon or a pretty face, but as a human who had a beautiful, sensitive soul. Some of you may already know, but for those who don’t, Marilyn actually wrote numerous poems throughout her years, mostly just for herself. In her rare moments of confidence, she would occasionally show a few to her close friend, Writer Norman Rosten, who said the following in his (must have) book, Marilyn Among Friends.

“She had the instinct and reflexes of the poet, but she lacked the control.”

“Although she gave the appearance of being so confident and self assured, she was in reality incredibly self conscious and her own biggest critic, which is heartbreaking really as she was truly gifted. She was such a perfectionist that she would spend hours preparing herself mentally and physically for her beloved fans, regularly looking in the mirror at her perceived flaws. Marilyn was infamous for her lateness, which is often viewed as diva like behaviour. However, the reality is, it’s rarely noted that her anxiety was so severe, she would break out in rashes and even vomit, before going on set.

In her final interview with LIFE Magazine, published one day before her death, she even said to Journalist Richard Meryman,

“I’m one of the world’s most self conscious people. I really have to struggle.”

I remember the first time I looked through Fragments, of course it was very upsetting to see her pain written down and think about her suffering, However, I strongly noticed this recurring theme of hope, despite some incredibly sad notes, there was always some sparkle of inner strength and I just thought that should be said. Often we ourselves don’t see are bravery and bouts of determination in our inner self, but others do and I for one am glad I can see in Marilyn what she could not.

I love you with all of my heart Marilyn, from the moment you came into my life, a decade ago in October 2010. Wherever you may be, I hope you know how much love, joy and happiness you have brought and continue to bring to many people’s lives each day. ______________________________________________________________________________

• Undated Poem. 

Life –  I am of both of your directions Somehow remaining hanging downward the most but strong as a cobweb in the  wind – I exist more with the cold glistening frost. But my beaded rays have the colors I’ve seen in a painting – ah life they have cheated you ______________________________________________________________________________

• Undated Poem shared with Norman Rosten and published in his book, Marilyn: An Untold Story.

To the Weeping Willow

I stood beneath your limbs and you flowered and finally clung to me and when the wind struck with.. the earth and sand – you clung to me. ______________________________________________________________________________

• Undated Poem

Stones on the walk every color there is I stare down at you like a horizon – the space / the air is between us beckoning and I am many stories up my feet frightened as I grasp towards you ______________________________________________________________________________

• Undated Poem

Only parts of us will ever touch parts of others – one’s own truth is just that really – one’s own truth. We can only share the part that is within another’s knowing acceptable so one is for most part alone. As it is meant to be in evidently in nature – at best perhaps it could make our understanding seek another’s loneliness out. ______________________________________________________________________________

• Undated Poem

for life It is rather a determination not to be overwhelmed.

for work The truth can only be recalled, never invented ______________________________________________________________________________

• “Record” Black Notebook – Written in throughout 1951.

What I do believe in What is truth I believe in myself even my most delicate intangible feelings in the end everything is intangible my most precious liquid must never spill don’t spill your precious liquid life force they are all my feelings no matter what ______________________________________________________________________________

• “Record” Black Notebook – Written in throughout 1951. Fear of giving me the lines new maybe won’t be able to learn them maybe I’ll make mistakes people will either think I’m no good or laugh or belittle me or think I can’t act. Women looked stern and critical – unfriendly and cold in general afraid director won’t think I’m any good. remembering when I couldn’t do a god damn thing. then trying to build myself up with the fact that I have done things right that were even good and have had moments that were excellent but the bad is heavier to carry around and feel have no confidence depressed mad ______________________________________________________________________________

• Other “Record” Notebook – Written in throughout 1955.

I do know ways people act unconventionally – mainly myself – do not be afraid of my sensitivity or to use it – for I  can & will channel it + crazy thoughts too I want to do my scene or exercises (idiotic as they may seem) as sincerely as I can knowing and showing how I know it is also – no matter – what they might think – or judge from it ______________________________________________________________________________

• Other “Record” Notebook – Written in throughout 1955.

I can and will help myself and work on things analytically no matter how painful – if I forget things (the unconscious wants to forget – I will only try to remember) Discipline – Concentration

my body is my body every part of it. ______________________________________________________________________________

• Other “Record” Notebook – Written in throughout 1955.

feel what I feel within myself – that is trying to become aware of it also what I feel in others not being ashamed of my feeling, thoughts – or ideas

realize the thing that they are – ______________________________________________________________________________

• Waldorf Astoria Stationery – Written in throughout 1955.

Sad, sweet trees –  I wish for you – rest but you must be wakeful ______________________________________________________________________________

• Waldorf Astoria Stationery – Written in throughout 1955.

Not a scared lonely little girl anymore

Remember you can sit on top of the world (it doesn’t feel like it.) You can have any help you want personally – or in your work – or anything else you want – There are technical ways to go about it or problems –  figure out if anything tec. can be done about it because there are people to help you – gladly – you more than most they want to help Remember there is nothing you lack – nothing to be self conscious about yourself – you have everything but the discipline and technique which you are learning & seeking on your own – after all nothing was or is being given to you – you have had none of this work thrown your way you sought it – it didn’t seek you

Too much talent Too much ability and  and much too much sensitivity to invert yourself out of fear – not come to class – or to do things like being afraid to come to class or to get up. ______________________________________________________________________________

• “Italian Agenda” Notebook  – Written throughout 1955 or 1956.

and the more I think of it the more I realize there are no answers life is to be lived

and since it is comparatively so short – (maybe too short – maybe too long – the only thing I know for sure, it isn’t easy

now that I want to live and I feel suddenly not old not concerned about previous thing except to protect myself – my life – and to desperately (pray) tell the universe I trust it ______________________________________________________________________________

• Parkside House Stationery – Written during her stay in England between July 14th – November 20th 1956.

I guess I have always been deeply terrified to really be someone’s wife since I know from life one cannot love another, ever, really. ______________________________________________________________________________

• Roxbury Notes – Written throughout 1957 or 1958.

In every spring the green is too sharp – though the delicacy in their form is sweet and uncertain – it puts up a good struggle in the wind  trembling all the while. Those leaves will relax, expand in the sun and each raindrop they will resist even when they’re battered and ripped. I think I am very lonely – my mind jumps. I see myself in the mirror now, brow furrowed – if I lean close I’ll see – what I don’t want to know – tension, sadness,  disappointment, my eyes dulled, cheeks flushed with capillaries that look like rivers on maps – hair lying like snakes. The mouth makes me the saddest  next to my dead eyes. There is a dark line between the lips in the outline of  several waves in a turbulent storm – it says don’t kiss me, don’t fool  me I’m a dancer who cannot dance. ______________________________________________________________________________

• Roxbury Notes – Written throughout 1957 or 1958.

re – relationships

Everyone’s childhood plays itself out No wonder no one knows the other or can completely understand. By this I don’t know if I’, just giving up with this conclusion or resigning myself –  or maybe for the first time connecting with reality –

how do we know the pain of another’s earlier years let alone all that he drags with him since along the way at best a lot of lee-way is needed for the other – yet how much is unhealthy for one to bear.

I think to love bravely is the best and accept – as much as one can bear. ______________________________________________________________________________

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meganmonroes@icloud.com

58 Years Without Marilyn. It's hard to believe 58 years to the day, on the night of August 4th, the world's most famous Star would leave us all.

[nightmarenoise]

Just comparing two cartoons I love

I understand that nobody asked in any capacity, but here I go anyway:

It feels fair to compare Ducktales 2017 to Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2018), not only because they're only about a year apart and truly, what is a year, but also because they

1. Both use this style that looks like it jumped straight out of a comic book. Okay, it's mostly the solidly inked shadows, but it gives me, personally, comic-y vibes.

2. They have taken what's arguably the main characters (the triplets for DT, the Turtles for TMNT) and shaken the formula up a good bit. Were the triplets formerly indistinguishable and all had the exact same personality, interests and voice actor, they are now three entirely separate entities with different traits and appearances. And while the turtles had about one defining personality trait and looked basically the same, save for the color of their masks, Rise made them different species of turtle to justify giving them radically different designs and three-dimensional personalities. Both shows faced criticism for this decision from people who cannot deal with change. Despite this, in both cases, it just works and does so incredibly well.

3. The oldest bros wear red.

4. We have two middle bros associated with the color blue who are both voiced by Ben Schwartz.

5. Both shows have a focus on family, with Ducktales especially focusing on found family and Rise on brotherhood.

6. Anime references!

Ducktales has a larger cast overall, with a lot of different characters all interacting with each other and they all have the most pleasant voices I've ever heard in my entire life. It's all solidly animated, the style is consistent and the animation is fluid, the characters are diverse and they're all lovely in their own right, except for those who aren't. The writing is top notch. Everyone feels consistent despite the large cast and it's delightful to watch all those interesting people interact with each other in their own way. The show also handles its mystery elements and occasional action scenes incredibly well, building suspense and delivering laughs and gut punches without hesitation. They juggle different tones like a professional clown, except the true clown was us, the audience, all along, for ever having doubted them.

The overarching plot of Ducktales, for its first two seasons, was mostly to uncover the mystery of what had happened to the mother of the triplets and all that would entail. Mystery and mythical elements will likely continue to be afoot for season 3.

Rise works with less focal characters, we have the Turtles, Splinter and April as well as various bad guys, but more than makes up for it with a lot of animation. A lot a lot of animation and it's all high quality. There's usually so much going on on-screen that a watching it once isn't enough to catch it all. Despite that, it doesn't feel crowded or rushed. Lots of dynamic shots and incredibly-choreographed action scenes, but nothing the thoroughly solid writing has to hide behind. Even when the baddies aren't the main concern, they're still well-rounded, interesting characters with unique abilities and motivations. Although, most of the mutants are just really feral. Still a delightfully diverse cast.

The turtles on the other hand spent their first season trying to foil their various foes, from a yokai trying to mutate all of humanity, to his mutants, to dealing with random mythical stuff, to the nefarious Foot Clan trying to reassemble the Dark Armor in the shadows. It's generally a more action-driven show, but they still find the time for some heartfelt moments.

The triplets 2.0

Despite their conventiently color-coded caps, they were really mostly the same character possessing three different bodies at a time. Well, the times of eerie The Shining like-twins, except extended to triplets, are over!

We have Huey, the oldest brother, voiced by Danny Pudi. He's a gentle, intellectual soul who values red hats, science, scout badges and checklists. Huey is arguably the closest in characterization to the original triplets, with some additional neat freak sprinkled in for flavor. He tries to be the responsible older sibling and keep his brothers under control and out of trouble. He also seems to have the most fiery temper of the bunch and should clearly not be pressed to the breaking point. He's my personal favorite and I heard season 3 will bring more focus to him, which makes me elated to hear. 888/10.

Middle child Dewey, the blue one, voiced by Ben Schwartz, who will inevitably come for all the iconic blue characters. He's very clearly the middle one, because he craves attention and validation and occasionally dreams of being an only child. Dewey is the one who started the investigation into their mom's disappearance and kept it from his brothers, partially to save them from hurt, but also because he wanted to feel special. He's the most interested in going on adventures with their uncle, but can get reckless when doing so. He's a bit of a spotlight hog, who has his own talk show that nobody watches and sings his own theme song when he needs to get hyped up, or just to fill this silence. This may sound kind of negative, but rest assured, he's a good, sweet boy. The focal triplet for the first season. 500/10.

Louie, the evil triplet, a schemer and a conman. Voiced by Bobby Moynihan.  The youngest of the bunch. While they call him evil, he's really far too lazy to cause serious harm, except for when it's his laziness that's causing him to take dangerous shortcuts, oops. He dreams of making a fortune, but without having to work for it and preferably without any responsibility either, thank you. He also occasionally dreams of being a spoiled fat cat. Despite his chill demeanor, he can be a bit of a crybaby and those tears are only fake 50% of the time. I feel like he likes getting babied, but mainly because that means there's less work for him to do. Season 2, which focuses more on him, reveals that he's actually quite brilliant, capable of seeing all the angles and giving him some chessmaster-like qualities. He needs to learn to use those abilities for good. 665/10.

Hi, she's Webbie! The honorary triplet, who also got a massive makeover, from annoying token girl tagalong to socially awkward, adorkable action girl. Be careful who you call ugly in middle school, indeed. Like a more ferocious  Mabel Pines, she has a grappling hook and years of martial arts training under her belt. Webbie can absolutely decimate you, but won't, because she's a sweet girl. Voiced by Kate Micucci. She continues to like unicorns and the color pink, but assuredly in the most badass of ways. She helped Dewey with his quest to uncover the mystery of his missing mom, but works well with all of the triplets, with Huey taking her under his wing a bit and Louie trying to get her to chill out more. Webbie is a sweetheart and I would die for her, were it not completely unnecessary, since she's more than capable of taking care of herself. ∞/10.

A lot of the supporting cast also saw updates and changes, for instance Gyro being a genius without social skills and Fenton being an adorkable scientist, but again, they work really well. They're interesting new takes on beloved characters. Even the new additions to the cast are great. In short, I love me some birds and am excited for season 3, Disney, get your scheduling together.

The Turtles 2.14.2 - I upgraded my upgrade in the middle of the upgrade

Also, these guys have seen so many different iterations in their, what, 30+ years of existence. As someone with no prior attachment to the turtle brand, I don't have a lot to say here. Leo's not the leader in this one and Raph has more personality than being angry at Leo for being the leader. Donnie is not just a random nerd spouting technobabble and Mikey has more depth than yelling the catchphrase every now and again. Apparently, this made people upset. I don't know how to help you with that.  The middle brothers exude some high chaotic energy and should not be left unsupervised, but the oldest and youngest seem fairly stable.

Raphael, the red-bandana'd alligator snapping turtle is an imposing figure. He's the oldest and therefore team leader by default. Raph has no reason to be upset at Leo, so he isn't. Despite his ferocious appearance, he's a soft guy, who likes teddies and doting on his brothers, but fears puppets. He's a bit of a knucklehead, most of his plans involve smashing things with his tonfa and he may refer to himself in the third person in the heat of the moment, but he possesses emotional intelligence, is open about his feelings and looks after his brothers. He is big and and strong, but his heart is bigger and stronger. He especially loves small animals animals, who don't usually return his feelings. RIP in F. This responsible guy is voiced by Omar Benson Miller. 300/10, very soft. Somehow both the heart and the big guy of the group.

Donatello has been upgraded from second-to-youngest to second-to-oldest, not that it makes much of a difference. His color of choice is purple and he continues in the character's tradition of being a nerd, although this time, with self-confidence. Donnie is very sure of himself and his abilities. As a spiny soft-shell turtle, he's less sure of his shell, but that's okay, he's made robotic battle shells to make up for it and his bō is the mother of all multitools. This guy can build you a tank out of a buggie and upgrade your animatronic into something to give the FNAF franchise a run for its money. He's the smartest of the four and when not focused on his phone, very focused on the mission. Due to having to deal with his bros, he can be exasperated a lot. Thinks of himself as an emotionally unavailable bad boy, even though he's just really sensitive and wants his dad or someone parent-aged to tell him they're proud of him. Theater kid. 999/10, give the middle child a hug and some coffee, you can't tell me he has a healthy sleep cycle. This sarcastic nerd is brought to you by Josh Brener.

Leonardo, Ben Schwartz's second blue character (Sonic (2020) being the third under his belt) and also his second ninja after Randy Cunningham. He's not the leader. He's still a good character. Leo has approximately 800 charisma and unwavering faith in both, his family and himself. Mostly himself though. Like Louie, season 2 revealed that he is a master of prediction and playing people like the cheap kazoo you can't tell me he doesn't have to play Darude's Sandstorm on. He dabs, he boards, he will pun you to death and back and he has an Odachi that can cut through space. Leo likes hogging the spotlight when given the chance and wants to be showered with attention and praise. Having four kids really only means twice the middle child nonsense. Leo is a red-eared slider, the original species of the TMNT, as I've been told. He's also the best at being a ninja, but usually too lazy to really apply himself. He's younger than Donnie, but tumblr suggested to read the two as twins, since they're approximately the same age, which sheds a whole new light on their dynamic and frankly, makes way too much sense. 420/10, for our memelord Leonardo.

Michelangelo, the eternally youngest of the bunch. An artiste, who puts stickers on himself, tags the lair, has a spiritual connection to his skateboard and the color orange. Mikey loves all things arts and craft, but he also tries his hands at cooking. He idolizes famous TV chefs and can do pretty much anything out of and into pizza. He's funny, without being annoying, like I feel a lot of other iterations of this character are. It's an easy pitfall for comic relief guys, but this one is more than that. If that's an issue, feel free to leave my house. Mikey is genuinely sweet and happy, optimistic and soft, but also the one brother who knows when it's time to take off the gloves and just get straight to the point. He's open about and in touch with his feelings. He's just baby. Don't treat him as one though. A lot of promo stuff says Leo has taken him under his wing, but he's had more episodes together with Donnie. Not that I'm complaining, they work very well together. Mikey and Raph are both the emotional centers of the group. Does not mind being yeeted after retracting into his shell, as box turtles may do. (Disclaimer, do not yeet actual box turtles!) His weapon of choice is a Kusari-Fundo that can turn into a fire-demon and is about as unpredictable as he is. Likes to jump and bounce around. Probably does parkour. Voiced by Brandon Mychal Smith who is audibly having a blast. 500/10, just an all around Kusari-fun guy.

For last, but certainly not least, April O'Neil, my girl, who saw an upgrade from flip-flopping love interest who was vaguely ninja-ing, but mostly damsel in distress-ing, to all-around spunky powerhouse and by God, she is glowing. Rise has her more as a big sister figure to the turtles, and I will not be told otherwise. She is independent and don't need no man, mutant or no. She has her teleporting pet, her faith in herself, her pinpoint baseball hitting skills and the a complete and utter lack of fear. Despite being a weirdness magnet, April is perfectly comfortable. She would like to be able to keep a job, maybe, but she has loving friends who respect and love her. Surprisingly good a ninja, fearless and fun. Occasionally thinks about being popular at school, but it's really not a big concern, she's not gonna throw a tantrum over it or anything. April is very chill. Not likely to be damseled. More likely to run after the turtles and clean up their messes or save them and everyone involved is fine with that.

The late 10's are really coming in to show us how dynamic and well-written female characters that aren't just "strong", but three-dimensional and relatable are done, huh?

An iconic performance by Kat Graham and ∞/10 for being the honorary better ninja non-mutant non-turtle and best big sister.

Here we have it, two older properties, having new life breathed into them to make them fresh and enjoyable. Have a new spin put on them, to better fit in with our current world. You can feel the love oozing out of every frame. At the end of the day, of course, it all boils down to taste and whether or not you like something. I gave Ducktales 2017 a go because a lot of the staff from Gravity Falls went to work on it and if you don't know me, I love me some Gravity Falls. It's a good show and I enjoy it. I recently got into Rise and while I don't know much about the people working on it, it is also a greatly enjoyable show, easily on the same level as Ducktales, if not above, yet with far less people speaking about it. Which is frankly saddening. I can only recommend the two of them wholeheartedly. If you love animation, yourself and occasionally feeling things, these are for you!

[sacchafiction]

As it floweth!

- Read it after watching the video -

The Idea -

Transition - As simple as this word seems, it’s as much vast and difficult to capture it with few elements. Transition, if we start to define it, is the flow from one state to another. And that’s one reason to justify why we went ahead to represent flow through our video.

It’s started with not so silly idea of ‘water cycle’ from one of our members which turned into a big discussion on river, culture and topics like gender fluidity which many of us were completely unaware of. But we need to stay focus and limit our ideas, thanks to the short time and the sense of abstraction that we needed to achieve n it. After a while, we decided to share what we collected with our group mentors.

Because of this discussion, we realized that we had to break out from our preconceived notions and to do that we had to think about a broader term like flow or fluidity. The discussion was really groundbreaking for us, since now we could think of various types of flow and not just how a river behaves. Although we decided to go with the river story (integrating with gender fluidity) which are not so abstract, we could now think in terms of abstract ideas.

Now we had a basic plan which we could detail out. After few more zoom meetings, we divided our roles. I was mainly responsible for video editing/compiling (Adobe Premiere Pro), researching about river and few sequences but I have to mention, we all helped each other in some way or other.

The Process -

I had to shoot a sequence where I was required to throw things at the camera. The initial setup which I did was simple (below)

But I soon realized that when I throw thermocol balls, they just covers the whole lens after a point. So, I decided to go with some kind of glass before the lens. (Final setup below)

In the first few tries, my hand movements were gentle which were not fitting well with our narration. Since our main element in the narration was much more aggressive, I had to reshoot a few more time with more energetic and swift movements.

The Learning - 

This was group assignment where we all were required to work together and pitch in our unique ideas from different places. The most difficult part of this project was not the lack of ideas but the integration of those ideas together. The way we composed so many varied ideas and sequences together, so that they all look harmonious together and tell a single story - is probably my greatest learning from this project.

I also learned to break out from my existing thoughts and boring ideas by taking a step back and broadening our theme. This is really a good method to come up with unique ideas.

This assignment was an excellent opportunity to apply what I learned about color and composition and evidently so, helped me understand their real application.

Cheers!

[neurodivergentcosmos]

Opera Streams I’ve Seen So Far Ranking March 20-May 20

I’ve been spending the lockdown watching operas! I haven’t talked about my love for opera on Tumblr before and I’d really like to start doing that more! I’ve loved opera since I was 9 and I’ve been taking professional voice lessons to sing classical art song (since 14) & then also opera (since 17) (not pursuing music as a career though, more for personal joy). I’m a soprano but I also sing some mezzo material. So here’s a list of the 8.5 opera streams I’ve seen up to May 21! 1 (tie) Met La fille du regiment w/ Natalie Dessay & Juan Diego Florez: AH. AH. AH. My absolute favorite romance. The love between Marie (the canteen girl/mascot of a French regiment) & Tonio (young man from the other side) is so wholesome and good, and Natalie & Juan just have wonderful chemistry together. I was invested in their story from beginning to end. Definitely one of two of the most hilarious operas I’ve ever seen. I was practically dying of laughter from the interactions between Marie & her main father figure Sulpice to the music lesson scene. My heart broke when Marie was forced to leave the regiment BUT HAPPY ENDING DID HAPPEN YES YES YES. I loved how Natalie portrayed Marie as a “tomboy.” Natalie as Marie gives me a lot of gender euphoria feelings for my non-binary soul; her freedom in her army outfit & her discomfort in her dress really got me. Most importantly, this is the opera where I heard Juan for the first time. I’m in love w/ his voice. It was how he sang Tonio’s “Pour me rapprocher de Marie” aria where he pours out all his love for Marie  that did it for me. I was totally transported by his voice. When he hit the high C sharp at the end, I felt my breath leave my body for a moment and I was suspended in time for a brief moment & all there was in the world was the bliss of that note. & when the note ended, I came back to my body w/ a lasting sense of awe. It’s so hard to discover such a moment & I did.

1 (tie) Met Le Comte Ory w/ Florez, Diana Damrau, & Joyce DiDonato: The other most hilarious opera I’ve ever seen. OH MY FUCKING GOD I WAS ABSOLUTELY LOSING IT. By far the most wild experience watching opera I’ve had. I actually really liked that there wasn’t much plot b/c I could focus on the hilarity & music. Diana looked like a queen in all of her dresses & I may have loudly sighed “DIANA!” for the whole house to hear when she hit her first high E flat. My friends & I also screamed Joyce’s name a few times whenever she did an amazing run. God they’re the best trio. Juan playing Ory in disguise as a nun killed me. THE THREESOME SCENE MY GOD. My jaw was on the floor. I bet I could watch a million times & the joy of watching it would never get old. 2 Met La Cenerentola w/ DiDonato, Florez, Luca Pisaroni, Alessandro Corbelli, & Pietro Spagnoli: Officially my favorite version of the Cinderella story. I enjoyed the plot of Don Ramiro (the prince) & Dandini (the valet) switching identities & getting to be in on it. I wish there were way more women though. I could listen to Joyce do the coloratura runs in Angelina/Cenerentola’s final aria for days. Angelina just deserves the world & the portrayal of her as an abuse survivor felt very real to me. While scenes exploring that were at times difficult to watch, I appreciated seeing a production that to me actually addressed that part of the Cinderella story that I haven’t seen in other depictions of Cinderella so far. I’m intrigued by Angelina’s decision to forgive her abusive family b/c I’d struggle w/ that if I was in her position & I love that she makes her own choice. My fave aspect of La Cenerentola was that Ramiro was a fully fledged passionate character. I could write a whole post about him about the way he eschews social norms in some ways & how this makes him & Angelina’s love a more equal relationship. Ramiro throwing a chair at Angelina’s abusive family in rage over how they treated her made me feel a lot. Love this opera so much. 3 Met Un Ballo in Maschera w/ Marcelo Alvarez, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Sondra Radvanovsky, & Kathleen Kim: ALL THE MUSIC IN THIS JUST WOW. Dmitri & Sondra both took my breath away w/ their voices in their duet. I was in awe of Sondra’s sound during her big aria. W/ Dmitri especially I just adored his vocal color & the way he completely embodied Renato in such a heart shattering way that I felt so much for Renato even when I was angry at him. Kim as Oscar is officially my 2nd fave trouser role (next to Le Comte Ory’s Isolier); Oscar was so adorable. I enjoyed watching Alvarez’s infectious overconfident energy as Riccardo & then his character development in the final act. 4 Met Werther w/ Jonas Kaufmann, Sophie Koch, & Lisette Oropesa: Most visually stunning opera production I’ve seen so far. A review I read described this production as more Charlotte’s story than Werther’s story, & I really loved how that centered Charlotte’s perspective. I really like that the opera allows characters’ actions & intentions to be ambiguous & open to interpretation. However, I do feel that the production didn’t explore enough certain aspects of Werther’s character such as his yearning for family. Jonas & Sophie have incredible chemistry & I could feel the tension every moment of their scenes. I must give a special mention to Jonas being incredible at singing soft. YES. & he’s a wonderful actor.  5 Zurich Werther w/ Florez & Anna Stephany: Very different production & I’d say it emphasizes Werther’s story. My absolute favorite thing about this production was that it centered how Werther’s search for love w/ Charlotte is also very much a search for the family he may not had experienced before. In that way, Werther singing “O Nature” looking at Charlotte’s family instead of literal nature made so much sense to me. While I think that some of the production’s concepts could’ve been executed better, the production’s attention to family as a theme & Juan’s portrayal of Werther were wonderful. I won’t compare Juan & Jonas’ vocals to each other b/c their voices are completely different from each other in terms of tenor voice type & thus what they each bring to Werther vocally is so different. I love both of them as Werther very much. Juan brings a lot of fiery passion to Werther that is intense & amazing to experience. 6 Met L’Elisir D’Amore w/ Matthew Polenzani, Pretty Yende, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, & Davide Luciano: While not my favorite opera comedy, there were many funny scenes. Ildebrando as Dulcamara & Pretty as Adina were my favorites vocally & dramatically. I was very gay for Adina in her dress & top hat combo. I especially love that she still wore the top hat while in her wedding dress! Matthew was a great fit for Nemorino & the way he sung on “Una furtiva lagrima” was beautiful. 7 Met Macbeth w/ Anna Netrebko, Zeljko Lucic, Rene Pape, & Joseph Calleja: This was very good, but I personally didn’t feel emotionally connected to the action & characters. I love how Lady Macbeth is centered & Anna is a good actor. Rene as Banquo was my absolute favorite in this. OH GOD I LOVE HIM. MY FAVORITE BASS. I am in love w/ his vocal color & that he can sing w/ great power but also heartbreakingly soft. AH RENE.   8 1st hour & a half Met Idomeneo w/ Polenzani, Alice Coote, Nadine Sierra, & Elza van den Heever: I really wanted to like this one, especially as I’ve sung Mozart before plus I’d heard that Matthew is great in Mozart. Matthew & Elza were my favorites and I could not take my eyes off of them when they were on stage. Matthew as Idomeneo is absolutely up there among the best acting I’ve seen in opera. Elza as Elettra was incredible vocally & dramatically & I loved her chaos. Personally, I could only get the 1st hour & a half b/c the plot for me needed more forward momentum & this is mainly a production staging & libretto issue. So that’s the operas I’ve watched so far! Thank you for reading & I look forward to watching more!

[exolgravity]

My (late) thoughts on SuperM:

The super group SuperM is having a comeback these days and I'm gonna use this chance to talk about it a little bit. And as much as I like each of the members and believe the idea of a super group is amazing, putting all these incredible artists together, I also have some questions about the point and goals that are intended to achieve with it...

First: I don't understand exactly what the music style the group is trying to deliver... I mean, I don't feel them as commercial style songs. I like Jopping, 100 is a good bop too, but for me at least, they're not something that will be in my replay button. The b-side tracks are also under a kind of curtain that we don't know exactly the purpose. As a group that is all managed by others, where they don't decide basically nothing about music, dance or concept, I was expecting more focus in what audience they are trying to achieve. For me, the idea of being more active in western is interesting, but I don't know how this can work once all kpop groups survive mainly because the Korean audience. That's the essence of kpop, in my opinion. I know a group can be huge enough to be worldwide famous, but their roots are and always will be in Korean management and style of creating concepts. And I still don't believe western producers are able to deal with this kind of thing.

Second: I'm still waiting to create a bond with the whole group. I love each member in their respective original group and I know their personalities there, but when they get together as SuperM is still strange, somehow cringy... They are trying to develop this connection too, I know, but it will never be the same thing they have with the members of their original groups, and this is one of the main things that make us start stanning a group, beyond their music, of course. That's why I don't feel having a SuperM fandom name anytime soon... A fandom name is very meaningful for the members and the fans, and for example, I don't see Baekhyun calling his fans nothing else as Exo-L. In a interview lately, the boys were talking about how nice is watching the pink SuperM lighstick because it's a very unique color, and Baekhyun himself said how he get more impressed with the variety of lightsticks together, what means he still needs to see his loved exols there cheering for them. The interactions between the boys are good and I love they are building a friendship - who doesn't love the idea of Kai and Taemin being in a same group together? And Taeyong loving his Baekhyun Hyung more and more each day??? 😊 But there's something lost in everything...

Third: I know SM is a very smart company and they are always beyond their time, always discovering something new, trending things... But I really don't get yet how they are managing all this whole SuperM concept and where they are intending to go with it... Maybe I'm still lacking info about their plans? Yeah, maybe. But I still can't see clearly how this SuperM concept is gonna be developed. I confess I was waiting for a whole Avengers thing, but it didn't come exactly that way, so I believe they are choosing another path. An Avenger concept would be totally cinematographic and visual, with the music style made to fit in this super hero theme... But I still don't see that this is what is going on with SuperM. Remember those individual teasers before the group's debut? What was the meaning of them? How do they connect the boys in this super hero universe and what's the role each one has to play? In this case, I think EXO's universe is even more completed and detailed than the whole idea of SuperM (and if you know just a bit of EXO's storyline you are gonna understand it). And no, I'm not saying this because I still dream with an EXO debut in west or something... I'm just trying to understand.

To conclude... My thoughts are not to send hate to the group or because I believe that they shouldn't have been created or maybe they should disband. No, not at all. I just don't feel yet they are delivering exactly what they purposed to do since the beginning and the amazing artists that are part of the group seem to be still lost and confused. I believe they are giving their best and trying to get along well, they also are having a chance to show another side of them, creating new opportunities to show their talents. But what then? 🤷‍♀️ The music that should be the main point here is still under uncertainty. I'm hoping the new album brings new details, the whole thing gets more well-explained and the boys can show how amazing they are for a even large audience.

(Feel free to share your thoughts about it, show another point of view and agree or disagree with me).

[trilies]

Someone tried to come up with a “sfwrarepair week” for a fandom i’m in because they had problems with the mods of the actual rarepair week shutting down wank and being open to all rarepairs

but their interest post was, like. terrible.

and i had to write a super long response to it because it frustrated me so much, with the op clearly not caring about actual csa survivors despite ~wanting to help them~

but then the post disappeared from the main tag and i couldn’t reblog the post even from the op’s original site and so this has just been hanging around in a plurk paste i’ve had open for weeks now, so i figured i should just fling it out there because i’m not wasting that work lmao

This post (and if I’m honest, the base idea) is actually harmful to actual CSA survivors and I’d like to call attention to this, especially since the OP isn’t giving the impression that they’re interested in the words of an actual CSA survivor.

I’m going to go in order of the post to give my criticism.

1. “being a safespace for minors, csa victims, incest survivors, people of color, LGBT individuals, etc.”

If this were just about making people feel safe, then there would be zero need to judge or insult people outside the group as occurs repeatedly throughout this post - the focus would be on the people IN the group.

For that matter, you wouldn't make an open call for a group like this anyway because the people in it would all have different comfort levels, so you can't just go "oh all this content will be safe for you" - you don't even know what their needs are yet. How can you guarantee that?

“Safe” ships, even those defined by the OP, can still be written in a way that is triggering or problematic.

Triggers aren't just in what the relationship is, they can be in the subject matter or the theme or what happens in the fic and it's like...okay, how much are you screening for? How are you protecting your members beyond just screening what ships are allowed?

A group actually meant to help abuse survivors, people with triggers, etc would not just have a flat set of rules set out before it's even got members, it would be organically constructed with consideration to the people in it and what their specific needs are.

That is only speaking of CSA and incest survivors as well... because that’s all this post suggests. It offers nothing in terms of how it would explicitly help queer fans, or fans of color. What it does offer for CSA survivors? (The only one I would say I am qualified to speak of in terms of experience.) Only vague platitudes that, from my perspective, only apply to the ideal of CSA survivors. Not actual CSA survivors, like those who do ship things you don’t approve of because it helps them recover.

Which actually leads us to

2. “this means there would not be ANY pedophilic [...] ships”

First of all, as a CSA survivor: stop using “pedophilia” as a description for fictional ships. This dilutes both the actual meaning and the seriousness of the word, which in turn harms actual victims as that word is robbed from them. Use an actual definition.

Because that’s the second issue with this statement, in that there is no actual definition given. That is a problem in the current fandom climate because, along with diluting the seriousness of the word, the meaning now varies wildly from person to person.

By “pedophilic”, do you mean a ship featuring someone 18 or up with someone beneath that age? What about characters where it’s unclear, such as Xanxus, who was frozen at age 16 and one could argue that he’s still that age? Or that he’s not because anime? What about with a gimmick that features time travel, such as the canon instance of Hana liking TYL Lambo and not recognizing or liking him as 5 year old Lambo? Where do the Arcobaleno fit in any of this?

By “pedophilic”, do you mean any ships featuring characters that are under the age of 18? Is it only pedophilic if it’s an 18+ adult shipping them? How are you going to check for that? What about the canon time travel used as both a gimmick and an arc?

Other types who allege they’re against “pedophilic ships” have said that it’s any ship with a height difference, any age difference at all even if the characters are still both adults, if a character’s boobs are too small, if a character isn’t smart. And, yes, those are all things I’ve actually seen!

Or will you oblige anyone who claims a particular ship is pedophilic?

This vagueness is a problem. Admittedly, the vagueness was not started by you, but it was started by people who claimed the same intentions as you, OP, and if you’re going to make a claim that you want to help CSA survivors, then you need to be far more clear than this.

3. [the same thing but re: incest]

Admittedly, I’ve seen this as less of a problem with misusing incest, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t seen it at all. You may want to clarify that you mean explicit blood relations (for example, Bianchi and Gokudera) or... Well, I can’t recall anyone explicitly adopted, but the idea is the same there. None of the “they referred to each other as brothers, ignoring how that’s often used in a way that has nothing to do with incest, but so that makes it totally incest”.

4. “ otherwise harmful ships”

This is the largest red flag out of everything, and we’re not even past the first rule in the original post. This has a similar problem to everything else about this list of not-allowed ship, only it’s much worse because it’s target is arguably everything.

What do you mean by “harmful”, OP?

Do we judge “harmful” because of the characters, or because of the ship?

How will you regulate this incredibly harmful descriptor so that it isn’t misappropriated by bullies and harassers to silence fans, whether as them as a person or what they ship? Because I can guarantee you that I could come up with any completely bullshitted reason to hate on every single character or ship combination from KHR, and others easily could as well for malicious reasons.

This is a frankly terrible rule and, considering the kind of rampant bullying that comes from people who like to claim they’re against ““pedophilic”“ ships against CSA victims, I do not trust it. I do not trust it at all.

5. “this blog would NOT be in “competition” or in any kind of rivalry with the original khr rarepair week blog”

Now this is either an outright lie, or someone who has not considered their own words, and I could not tell you which is worse when it comes to a declaration of a “safe space” for minorities or people with trauma like CSA and incest survivors.

The entire original post ABSOLUTELY positions itself as competition to the actual khr rarepair week, not an alternative. Not only does it position itself as “competition”, but it tries to sell itself to people as the “better choice”.

It’s an attempt at a bit of sleight of hand. The post tries to show itself as friendly, just here to help people... But, as I stated before, if it really had an interest in helping people, it would focus on those people.

Instead, numerous times, you see the OP making judgment calls and negative comments to others - mainly implications of people participating in the actual khr rarepair week. There’s a series of connections throughout the entire post:

We start with “pedophilic ships” being banned to “help” CSA survivors in the first rule, and then leap from that to, in the second rule, “people who don’t feel comfortable in an event run by people who support pedo ships”.

(Reminder: still no idea on what ““pedo”“ ships even are by OP’s definition.)

So we’ve already started by associating the people participating in the regular khr rarepair week as the problem, instead of people simply not being comfortable with just the ships themselves - fictional things that are easily avoided.

Then, at the very end, the OP makes the explicit connection between ““pedo”“ ships and “freaks”.

So is the connection clear yet? The way they steadily escalate things until the implication at the very end? How that all does its best to frame KHR Rarepair Week as a negative? As something that Good People (tm) would never do unless they “must”? The implication that their “SFW” rarepair week is better?

So for the OP to claim they’re not trying to start anything, while their entire post ramps up the connection between khr rarepair week and Terrible Things (tm), is a... dubious claim at best.

The rest of the post isn’t that big a deal. It serves perfectly fine as a base interest check for half of it. However, the other half? That other half set off warning flags so intensely for me as a CSA survivor that I couldn’t stay quiet. I’m not saying this to be a “troll”, or to start trouble for no reason.

Additionally, that good half is tarnished by the problems of the bad half. If these are the red flags I feel they are, then that means if there are people in the group who harass others - I can already spot what-the-fuck-khr in there, a notable harasser who has called a CSA survivor a slur - then it weakens the promise to make this a truly safe space.

It’s simply that I’ve seen a lot of people claim they care about CSA survivors, a lot of fans who try to prop people like me up to signal their own virtue, only for them to turn around and lash out at CSA survivors like myself when we do not exist as only a prop, when we step a toe out of line.

If that happens again, then I don’t want anyone to be caught in that, especially some of the wonderful people I’m familiar with in the tags, such as [blank] or [blank]. I see a lot of red flags in there that I’ve seen harm other people when left unchecked.

If people want to give this a shot as run by the OP, that’s their right, and I wouldn’t take that away from them. I believe it is important to help and look after CSA survivors, especially us for one another. However, I feel like these criticisms are something anyone going for this should keep in mind, especially if they’re not CSA survivors.

Maybe I’m wrong about all of this. I will freely admit that the original post set me off something awful. Maybe some of my concerns are merely because this is an interest check post, and there wasn’t time for the OP to go indepth on just what they think “pedophilic” ships actually are, etc.

If that’s the case, then I’ll gladly have a discussion with the OP, if they truly care about CSA survivors and what is harmful to them. I’ll recant if I can be reassured this is all in good faith, and even support this endeavor.

However, as a CSA survivor, this post as it is worries and frustrates me.

[latin-dr-robotnik]

What went wrong with Classic Sonic’s music in Sonic Forces? (ft. beevean)

The following is a project I’ve been cooking for some weeks, trying to find out some reasons behind the general lackluster feeling that surrounds Classic Sonic’s music in Sonic Forces. As you may have spotted already, this is not a solo project, since I’ve had the opportunity to talk about this very same topic with @beevean and she raised quite a couple of interesting points that I’m going to bring up as we go through. 

Also, Spanish speakers: you can catch the Spanish version of this post here, it’s probably a more polished experience with additional text.

Long post below, so, bring up a ladder and a boombox, I’ll explain along the way. (there’s also a tl;dr at the bottom if you are that type of person)

Sonic Forces stands as a divisive point in the Sonic fandom, that much we all know, and we are not going to discuss the game’s general quality at all on this post. But we are going to take a solid look at Classic Sonic and, most importantly, its music, since I consider that’s the most clear symptom of a bigger problem with Classic Sonic in general, in this post-Generations Modern Sonic world.

A quick look at Classic Sonic

When Classic Sonic debuted in Sonic Generations (2011) as this new-but-also-old Sonic, gaming as a whole was still being bombarded with this “retro-revival movement” that brought back many classic franchises (like classic Mega Man with MM9 and 10 after a decade since MM8), and SEGA itself was in the middle of that train with the recently released Sonic 4: Episode 1 (2010). While Sonic 4 tried to marry Sonic’s current style with classic level tropes and even Genesis-inspired music in a seamless way (showing Sonic’s physical transition from his Sonic 3 days to Sonic Adventure as a smooth one), this new “Classic Sonic” guy in Generations suffered from a mixed message about his origins: is he Sonic from the past, from an alternate universe, or both? Is his music supposed to sound like arrangements of his classic 16-bits tunes or just modern-sounding remixes like the rest of the soundtrack? The fandom still debates about it to this day.

This all led to the introduction of a character that, although considered a “Sonic” like the other “Modern” one, could not establish his own identity beyond Generations’ anniversary-title plot threads. No unique music style, no unique traits, he was just a simpler Sonic.

Major manifestation of the Classic problem.

Fast-forward some years to November 2017, Sonic Forces’ release date. Besides gameplay, story and character criticisms, the music of Forces turned out to be quite controversial for a part of the fandom. Although I personally consider the Avatar songs as top-tier Sonic music, I share similar concerns as the rest about the rest of the game’s music, specially the Classic Sonic level themes. 

With Forces, it seems the composers managed to solve some of Gens’ Classic Sonic music problems, as this time there was a better and more consistent attempt at making Classic’s music sound more at home with the “Genesis days” tunes, but even then the composers fell into other traps that ended up being more damaging to the final product.

Years later after the game’s release, I finally brought up this very same topic during a conversation with beevean (I encourage you that, if you find the following snippets interesting, read the entire conversation), and she had the following thoughts to share as to why Classic Sonic’s music was so... underwhelming:

the classic music in forces is the weakest part of the ost, some tracks are okay while others suck, and the main reason for this is that they hired the wrong people for the job

Okay, that wasn’t a fair cut on my part. She talks a lot more about each and every aspect behind the music, and about the people that composed it, she had the following to say:

Okay, about Forces’ music. First of all, the Classic tracks were handled by two people: Tomoya Ohtani, who also composed pretty much 90% of the OST and has been working solo since 2013 (relevant later), and Naofumi Hataya, one of the two geniuses behind Sonic 2 8-bit’s and Sonic CD’s OSTs (plus some miscellaneous work in Heroes, Colors, Generations, etc.). If you loved tracks like Sky High, Palmtree Panic or Stardust Speedway, you have to thank him.

This is already a reason as to why the Classic music in Forces doesn’t resemble the music in the Genesis games. While I can understand that it would have been impossible to hire Masato Nakamura again, Jun Senoue would have been good for the job, having composed music for Sonic 3 and most importantly Sonic 3D Blast. But apparently Senoue was MIA until 2019, so who knows.

I’d like to point out that Naofumi Hataya’s involvement will play a bigger role later in this post, as we keep searching for what went wrong and we look for a potential solution when adressing Classic Sonic.

Beevean continued with:

There are mainly two problems here:

1) some of the tracks just don’t fit their stage. I already mentioned that Ghost Town sounds way too happy for a city under attack by giant robots. Death Prison sounds vaguely Egyptian and the difference with the original, bass-heavy composition is staggering. Chemical Flow is the most generic thing and would fit everything and nothing, and again comparing it with the original iconic track is just sad. I think the reason Casino Forest and Iron Fortress are my favorite Classic tracks is that they go very well with their respective stages. This is a problem Adventure 2 had as well, associating a particular style to a particular character, and while I think Forces did it better, for me the priority should be fitting a level.

2) Ohtani was once a very versatile composer (the guy could go in one game from Wave Ocean to Crisis City, for example), but since Lost World, the first game in which he had the responsibility of an entire soundtrack, his style quickly became “anime”. Runners’ tracks? “This sounds like an anime opening!”. How do you recognize his only track in TSR? It’s the one that sounds like an anime opening and uses a synth.

And look, I love Ohtani, he has nothing but my respect, and he made some of my absolute favorite tracks in the series. But I do think they’re making him work too much - he’s the best when he can work with at least another person, and has the chance to span a little. I also think his style is incompatible with the Classic music, which was never anime: even at its mellowest in Sonic 1 it always had a little jazzy/new jack swing touch. Basically the only thing they got right in this game is having a wicked bassline :P

It ain’t *only* the composers’ fault

Following beevean’s words, I’d like to add my own take on the problem. You see, I do agree that the composers maybe weren’t up to the task of nailing the classic Genesis tunes’ vibe (Hataya got real close, though), but at the same time I do think they weren’t properly oriented or didn’t have enough time to keep reiterating on the frameworks they were working with. Like beevean said, some of the tracks improve quite a bit after leaving behind that mixed as hell “almost Genesis but not quite” soundfont.

The composers will work on what they were told to make and I have a strong, albeith unconfirmed, feeling that the Classic Sonic composers where asked to “make it sound retro” by someone higher up on the project management chain, and after checking on their progress, simply said “meh, it’s retro enough, no one will notice”.

The “make it sound retro” argument, in my opinion, opens up a big discussion about Sonic music, because there is no easy way to make it “retro” with Sonic. You just can’t pump out a few nostalgic chiptunes and call it a day. Sonic music may have originated back in the 16-bit days of the Sega Genesis, but his identity is so much more than just that Genesis FM sound. I personally believe, similar to another thing beevean point out, that Forces focused too much on sounding “retro enough” instead of fitting each track better to each level theme or even tap into what really made Sonic appealing on the classic days. 

This last point is something that SEGA struggled a lot during the past decade, they introduced Classic Sonic as an entity separated from the current Sonic, yet they simply don’t give Classic Sonic enough development as it’s own character. He’s there because he’s there and we don’t know what to expect from him beyond “he represents the good old days”. But not even SEGA itself knows what that means.

So, what really makes up Classic Sonic’s identity?

For me this is the true heart of the post. Knowing full well what makes Classic Sonic should be the key to every project that features him. 

There are lots of points to make about Classic Sonic’s identity and how to establish him should he return once again on a 3D Sonic title (not even using the “modern” anymore, and I personally wouldn’t like to see him again on a 3D title for another decade, if ever), but seeing as the main topic of this post has been music, I’m going to focus on what music style makes Classic Sonic shine.

I already said that throwing some generic chiptunes won’t work, but I DO think that Genesis-inspired tunes can still work, should they stick to what made the classics so great.

And what is that? Well, you have several options here: you can choose from more J-Pop and jazzy tunes to some sick R&B and New Jack Swing beats, all the way through to late 80′s Acid House and wacky 90′s Dance music, even cinematic-like scores and ambient sounds.

Personally, I think the heavy R&B (with its fair share of New Jack Swing) influences are a constant throughout Sonic’s first years, and that kind of sound is one that goes well with his cool attitude™. Spring Yard Zone has always been referred to as “16-bit Every Little Step”, while Sonic CD... well, and Sonic 3... well... JAM. Even Masa’s demos of Sonic 2 feature some sick basses that aren’t all that different from what I was thinking (Chemical Plant and Metropolis come to mind). Sonic CD (JP, also the work of Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata) in particular springs up to my mind as the purest representation on everything that Sonic was about on his old days, but “pure” doesn’t necessarily mean “refined”, so I think the Sonic CD style coupled with some more smooth Pop for emotional moments (straight from Nakamura’s school of smoothness) and harder 90′s raves for boss fights (think how iconic Stardust Speedway Bad Future has become) could make up the perfect blend for Classic Sonic to follow in terms of style points, but also considering the general themes of each zone (Wacky Workbench being this Dance-heavy zone was a stroke of genius if you ask me, the same with Spring Yard being a jazzy urbanscape.)

Sonic is a product of the late 80′s and 90′s pop culture, he has the moves of MC Hammer, Bobby Brown, and of course, Michael Jackson (also his shoes). As such, no generic “retro nostalgic” tune will fit with him, unlike many other gaming franchises. By embracing Classic Sonic’s wacky nature gems like Sonic Mania happened, and just like I pointed it out to beevean, if you were there the week that game was first announced, you probably saw how much people were gushing about Studiopolis Act 1 sounding so much like Sonic CD with that funky beat. People instantly knew that was the Classic Sonic music they wanted to hear.

And just to make this section even better, I recently asked beevean about her thoughts on what makes Classic Sonic’s music identity. I now urge you to go and read her full analysis because it’s so deep yet very accessible, as I’ll be collecting just a few parts of her response for this post. Trust me, that post is so useful, go and reblog it now, I’ll wait here.

About Classic Sonic’s music styles, beevean says:

So… which is the style that fits Classic Sonic better?

The big love letter to the Classic series that is Mania used CD as an inspiration, and while Mania’s OST is excellent and one of my favorites… I don’t automatically associate New Jazz Swing with Classic Sonic. Before Mania, it was only in one game, the odd one in the bunch too.

3D Blast is my favorite Genesis soundtrack, and as I said it combines the best of two worlds (plus it’s just full of bangers), but it influenced the next era more than the Classic one. The same could be said for the American OST of CD - and besides, tracks like this are nothing like Sonic anyway.

Sonic 1 is the first one and all, but that mellow style fits that particular game more than Classic as a whole, I think the closest OST to this style was Advance 1, actually - another slow-paced, simple game.

So the choice is narrowed down to the ultra-popular Sonic 2 and the refined Sonic 3 & Knuckles. And I’ll be honest, while I think S3&K has higher “highs” compared to S2… my brain immediately jumps to the latter. When I think of Classic Sonic, I think of Genesis brass (the real deal, not that fake synth they used in Forces), twang basses, a swingy rhythm (too many to choose lol), and tons of energy.

Only one Classic track in Forces came close to this description. The others sound more like either a pale imitation of Sonic 1 or modern tracks with a bad soundfont, and that’s when they’re not a complete insult (no i won’t link to it you know what i’m talking about :V).

Author’s note: it’s been, like, two months and she still refuses to talk about Faded Hills, lol

Author’s note: sorry, beev.

(TL;DR) Closing thoughts.

So, what did go wrong with Classic Sonic’s music in Sonic Forces?

A lack of definition on what Classic Sonic even is about, carried from Generations, made the task of defining his style more difficult.

The composers weren’t up to the task, or they were simply asked to make Classic Sonic “sound retro”, generic sound be damned. 

This also means management of the project wasn’t that interested in the Classic portion, or they ran out of time to make it better. This is something that the entire game seemed to have a problem with as well.

The music didn’t fit the stages, and even if it did, Classic’s identity was all over the place. He was there just to be there, and his music suffered from that (compare it to Mania).

Tomoya Ohtani (often credited as the maker of the arguably worst tracks of Classic Sonic in the game) has experienced a shift on his musical style over the last few years that led to his tracks start sounding very similar to each other, this, coupled with the fact he was working on the other 2/3rds of the game’s OST, caused his Classic tracks in particular to suffer.

Classic Sonic’s tracks didn’t take from the 90′s Pop and R&B influences that plagued the old games, and as such, the current Classic Sonic doesn’t have an identity as strong as the original 90′s Sonic. Beevean’s take on this point involves Classic Sonic tracks that feature strong, legit Genesis brass, with twang basses, swingy rhythm and tons of energy.

Once again, I’d like to thank beevean for providing such insightful information and opinions (you can clearly see we both tend to have different takes on what made Sonic back in the 90′s, but in the end agreed to a similar set of requirements to make good Classic music, like basslines and lots of energy), which helped this post a lot more than you can imagine. I wanted to post this back in late January, but the extra time allowed me to keep thinking, searching and listening, while also opened the door to ask beev again about her opinions. This is probably the first “big” article I’ve written this year, and I hope to return soon enough with more. 

[mysticsparklewings]

Light in the Darkness

For Qinni. May she Rest In Peace. ____

I'm sure many of you have heard the news by now, but in case you haven't: Qinni passed away on February 8th, after years of struggle with a heart condition and a relatively new cancer diagnosis. The first tweet I saw saying she'd passed...I thought it was a mistake or some kind of sick joke. She'd said in recent updates she was estimated to have a year, year and a half. That was one of my first thoughts, She was supposed to have another year. But, sadly, it wasn't a mistake. And soon, everywhere online was alight with those of us that had been touched in some way by Qinni's work. She is gone, but she is not forgotten. I never knew Qinni personally, but she was one of the first really popular artists I found myself drawn to here on dA. And a lot of my artistic style circa 2016 was influenced by her work, though I don't think I realized it at the time. This includes the artwork I would go on to make into the wallpaper I use for my banners all over social media. And thus, it only made sense to use that piece as a reference for this tribute piece. A piece that I had to drop everything to make, despite whatever else I had planned. I also decided to draw on an idea I'd been thinking about for a while; the original idea being a mermaid wearing a space helmet, but the helmet is also a fishbowl. I didn't include the mermaid part here, as I mainly wanted to focus on space and star themes since those are elements that Qinni's art is really known for. (Although, after having spent some time going through her gallery and social media posts, it seems the Little Mermaid was a subject she frequented too, so it still would've worked, I think.) I started with a sketch, using My Fantasy, My Insanity for a reference for the face as I mentioned, and some graphics from pixabay.com for the helmet. I did modify the hair to be more like Qinni's, made the eyes match, and turned the previously neutral mouth into more of a smile, but other than that the basic lines are largely the same. At some point, though I'm not really sure where the idea came from, I had the idea to do the whole sketch of the face out like a constellation. (My original plan had been to just have a galaxy in the blank space between the face and the helmet or just do the hair that way.) This is something I'd never tried doing before, so I stopped and did a couple of test pieces to see if what I wanted to do would be possible traditionally. I knew it would be digitally, but I wanted to stick largely to a traditional piece since Qinni became known for her watercolor work. Fortunately, those test pieces turned out really nicely, aside from me discovering watercolor paper was my better bet over mixed media for the gradient effects I wanted (which in hindsight I really should've seen coming, but this is why I did separate tests in the first place). And I will be posting these test pieces at a later time since they did work out well, talking more about how I figured out the process I'm about to go over as relates to each of those. With those tests done, I was finally able to start on the actual artwork. (Although I did stop a few more times as I went to do other tests.) I started by scanning the sketch in and booting it into Paint Tool Sai to break it down into the more simple lines and spaces I'd need, like making a connect-the-dots puzzle in reverse. First I just went over the sketch with connected (but straight) lines, making corners at curves, and then I made a new layer and broke those lines down a bit farther, leaving dedicated spaces at certain corners and where lines intersected for stars later. Then I printed off the lines and, after inking the helmet onto watercolor paper (including the ink-technique shading), used my lightbox and a ruler to carefully trace the face lines into the helmet. I taped down the edges of the paper, covered the shine spots on the helmet near the face space just to be on the safe side, and then got to work with painting. It may not look like much, but I spent a long time going back and forth with the paint to get the blending and colors right. I wanted just the right amount of pink, just the right amount of blue. A little dark over here, but lighter over there. Lots of blending and lifting involved. As is typical of me, I'd put paint on, blend it out, then put more on and start the cycle again. But eventually, I found the right balance and got something I was happy with. (And fortunately, I was smart enough to use some of my 100% cotton watercolor paper to make this process easier; it would not have blended this nicely over this large of an area if I'd used anything else.) That had to dry overnight since by the time I finished with it, it was approaching 4 in the a.m. and I was exhausted. The next day, I used a ruler and a white gel pen to go back over the constellation lines and make the notable stars (dots) attached to/connecting them. As well as I used a yellow Gelly Roll moonlight pen to place yellow stars in certain places, a specific nod to the stars in many of Qinni's artworks. After I'd given the gel pen a few minutes to dry, I pulled out the white gouache and got busy splattering to really bring home the galaxy look. And then after that, I went in with some PanPastel to give the lines a glow so they'd pop a little more. It was good, but even after I filled in the two top elements on the helmet to be black to balance a little better (they'd just been cross-hatched before), it still wasn't quite what I wanted. I'd known for a while I was going to be taking out the extra white of the paper background in Photoshop, so I decided if I had time (it was a busy few days surrounding this artwork's creation) I would try fixing the yellow stars in Photoshop and maybe a few other experiments to finalize it. This turned out to be a good thing, as just as I was finishing up the now-digital stars, I realized I'd completely forgotten one of the main elements I'd wanted to include: The fish!   And to be honest, I'm still not sure how that happened. They just totally slipped my mind during the initial planning and testing phases.   But since I was already there, it wasn't too hard to pull up some of Qinni's artwork as a reference and draw a few fish in digitally, then turn down the opacity a little so the orange wouldn't be too overbearing. And that worked out, as originally the piece had still felt kind of empty somehow. The fishies fill in some of the more bare spots pretty nicely. There are a million other little ideas or tweaks I could do if I went back in and gave myself more time, but it's already more than what I had imagined. And I can fiddle with it all I want, but all the art in the whole world that I could ever make will never fully express my gratitude towards Qinni and my sorrow that she's gone. That one of the brightest lights in the art community has moved from earth to the stars. Qinni's work reminds me of one of my favorite poems by FridgePoetProject (another wonderful artist that passed away all too soon), The Daily Magnet #106, which reads, "You write love into my eyes with starry ink." Although, perhaps it would be more appropriate to say she painted it into our hearts with starry watercolor. Rest In Peace, Qinni. <3 ____ Artwork (c) me, MysticSparkleWings

[wordsnstuff]

How to Outline Effectively

-- Outlining is a fairly important part of writing a longer story, especially full novels or even series, so I figured I’d create a guide to making an outline that is actually useful during the writing process so writers like me, who are more likely to write if they have a solid plan, will feel less lost. 

Outlining is surprisingly hard, and nobody does it exactly the same way. There’s no one right way to do it, but this is what is the most helpful to me and hopefully this article will help you understand what the true purpose of an outline is, how to create one that’s actually useful, and how to get everything you possibly can out of it.

Purpose Of Outlining

First, I must specify that, in this context, an outline is not simply a summary of the course of events within your story. It is also a detailed plan that will guide you in your writing process. An outline allows you to enter the task of completing a first draft with a good to fair chance of eloquently intertwining all of the essential elements of your story. Many authors do commit to creating an outline, but not an effective one. 

Not only should an outline provide a timeline for events of the story, but lay out a base plan for the execution of symbolism, orchestration of character and conflict development, introduction of world-building elements, and premeditate the domino effects that plot points will cause, whether to the main plot or subplots. These details make an outline useful, or at least more useful than the alternative, which only explains what happens without giving the Why or the How.

What To Outline

When it comes to creating an effective outline, it is important to remember that it is for you. You are free to create an outline that includes all or some or none of the things listed below. However, your story will include every single one of these things, and whichever ones are not planned beforehand will be more likely to challenge you when it comes to writing the actual draft.

Events

This one is fairly obvious, but I have some additional suggestions when it comes to creating a timeline of the events occurring in your story.

Outline the plot progression and the subplot progression. It’s helpful to outline these on the same timeline so you can see where subplots begin and end parallel to the main plot. I recommend color-coding to create a visual of your storylines.

When you plan an event in your story, make sure to specify why that scene is included and what purpose it will serve, to its corresponding subplot and the main plot overall.

Limit the amount of large events and small events that can occur. You should be able to determine which is which. I try to limit myself to 30 events total, or 10 main events and 20 smaller ones that build up to the larger. This isn’t a rigid limit, but it keeps you from biting off more than you can chew. This may seem like a lot of events, but smaller events can be things like a discussion between two characters or a scene in which a character is, say, driving to work and inwardly reflecting on something that recently happened.

It’s important to remember that more than one event can take place in a single scene. An event does not equal its own scene. Do not organize your timeline by scene. You will end up writing your story scene by scene rather than event by event, and you will regret it, because when you start telling a story based on the place it happened and when, you’ll leave out details and will be more likely to neglect opportunities to utilize subtext and symbolism.

Symbolism

Symbolism is not paid much attention when it comes to writing things outside of an educational environment, but it shows up in writing, whether intentionally by the writer or not. However, intentional symbolism adds depth and context to your story that cannot be obtained in any other way. Meaning and emotion are conveyed through symbolism, and your story will suffer if you don’t give it at least some of your time. Here’s some things you can do and some things you should remember when you’re outlining symbolism:

Find opportunities for symbolism in your story and utilize them to the best of your ability. If you want your character to have an object that they can’t live without, connect that object to something important that has happened in their life or make it symbolize a value they hold above all else or a belief that they will never abandon. 

Symbolism is best used to develop three things: plot, character, or background. 

Symbolism is best conveyed through objects, smaller events, rules, or relationships.

Specify the reason the symbol is being included in your outline. If you’re adding a symbol just so you can say that there is symbolism, you’re doing it wrong. Symbols should teach the reader something or convey a message to them, and if it does neither, don’t include it.

Development

Planning out the development of your conflict, characters, and theme of your story is one of the hardest parts of outlining because it’s not always possible to predict how your characters will turn out. Writing is a weird, personal, unpredictable process and sometimes our conflicts, characters, and themes end up developing on their own. However, it’s good to have some sort of idea what points A and B are, and which points are between them.

Conflicts develop mostly through a mixture of smaller, less significant events, and slow burning feelings that eventually bubble up in the climax. Those smaller events need to build up nicely to that climax. If you neglect this, it will result in lack of suspense due to no emotional building. The climax should feel like an explosion in the reader’s chest, not a leisurely stroll through a boring park.

Your character will be developed in the reader’s minds through the three main things we remember about a person: their actions, their words, and the way they present themselves outwardly. Any or all of these things may change over the course of the story, and that’s where the development will reveal itself. Your readers may empathize with your characters’ thoughts and feelings, but they won’t remember that as much as the three things listed above. Focus on planning the development through those three areas.

It’s very nice to have an outline that has detailed the plan for conveying the theme of your story. This is very easy to forget about while actually writing, and one or two footnotes about “This character’s action connects to the theme of subtle racism in America, because this gesture they’re described as using relates to a historical reference of blank blank blank” etc. can help a lot. Find several clever little ways to sprinkle in your theme throughout the book, but be intentional and very careful, because your theme is the easiest thing for critics and nitpickers to get snippy about.

Allow room for your story elements to develop on their own during the process. However, be aware of when these details stray from the original plan and think critically about them, because little changes can completely screw large plans.

World Elements

World building is one of the most fun parts of writing stories, mainly in the science fiction and fantasy genres, but it’s oddly strange to fit in pre-planned details while writing the draft. This is simply because you’re more focused on the plot and development of conflict and characters. There are little ways you can plan time for world development in your outline, though.

Plan short scenes that revolve around or at least rely on the reader learning details about the world, whether that be politics, magic systems, leadership in fictional worlds, or simple details that provide a sense of familiarity. 

A good example of this is Harry Potter. JK Rowling is a queen when it comes to world building, and that universe is so fully developed with locations and lore and languages and political systems. Yes, there were seven books, but that’s an astounding amount of information that was never developed in a clunky, information-overload sort of manner. She wrote several smaller scenes where the trio were simply discussing the events within the story and used those opportunities to introduce new locations, items, lore, etc. that created a world that millions still feel is a second home to them.

Remember to continue building the world as you go. There will come scenes where you find little cracks to fit in facts about the world. Use them. Just keep track of those little details in a separate place or something so you don’t contradict yourself later. You could keep a “___ textbook” or something where you organize information about your world so you can either track new details or refer back to things you’ve already specified.

Have rules for your world. Every great magic system or alternate universe in fiction has its limitations, and if you simply say “nope, no rules in this system” your readers won’t connect to the system and world as a whole as wholly and your world-building will be seen as lazy. That’s just the way it is. It’s also a lot harder to create conflict when there are no defined limits or rules in a fictional world or system.

Domino Effects

Every action, expression, or event has its own consequences. Everything in your story will have a ripple effect, and maybe your readers won’t see every wave, but they should feel most of them, and that’s a hugely neglected part of outlining. Anticipate how each scene will affect the plot progression, character relationships, emotions, etc. because readers sense when events don’t connect.

For each scene, specify what led up to it and what it leads to. An example would be, “Steve heard his mother talking to his best friend on the phone, then he drove to his friend’s house to ask him what it was about, then it leads to a fight when Steve finds out his friend and his mom are seeing each other.” This specifies the initiation of the event, the event, and how the event leads to further conflict. You can sense how Steve and his friend and his mother’s relationships will be changed, and how the characters will likely be acting for the foreseeable future.

I prefer to write down the events of my story on a single piece of paper, organized in three sections. The first being cause, the second being event, and the third being effect. This is a simple way to keep track of the domino effects in your story.

Again, you don’t need to plan every single wave that every single event causes, but you should plan how you’re going to include the relevant ones in your draft.

These domino effects are not linear all the time. Effects of some events may not show up until several scenes, or even chapters later. A lot of waves take time to build and then come crashing down at the very end, so keep those in mind too. Plan the long term effects of larger events as well.

How to Utilize Outlines

Outlines are a waste of time if you aren’t going to actually use them to their full potential. It’s also crucial to note that your outline isn’t set in stone when you begin writing your draft. You can and should be adding to and amending your outline as you go along. That being said, here are some ways you can use an outline to aid you while you write you draft.

Keep track of world-building and what limitations may be imposed on your world or characters by details you add as you write.

Use the outline to keep track of how far you are into the story so you can be intentional with foreshadowing and revealing information at the opportune moments.

Have your timeline parallel to your development trackers and sprinkle in moments that show that development.

As you continue writing your story, acknowledge the domino effects in mind so you can set up future events that might need that context.

Create little “symbolism milestones”, so you know when the height of a symbol’s importance shows up in your plot and you can emphasize on that symbol in the actual writing.

etc..

Bottom line is, you can outline however you want and use that outline however you see fit, as long as you’re using your time wisely and creating something that will be helpful to you. My main advice is to just keep the aforementioned elements in mind when considering what to plan for your story beforehand. Happy outlining!

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