#I saw someone do an animatic type thing with this and I just had to share lol

[lemonandlime22]

Ace at Riddle in book 1: Oh you may be having a panic attack, but get ready for a physical attack, Bitch!

[krashlite]

Opinions on secret Soulmates? (Saw you made the millie animatic so im curious) /light hearted

(Bass boosted sigh)

Short answer, I love this duo and they’re one of my favorite toxic yaois in this fandom however comma during DL they’re definitely unethical and I’ve already gone through all the the intricacies of how DL went badly

Long answer

I think they’re fascinating because they both tend to idolize the other while both using the other as an excuse to avoid their problems and dooming the both of them in the process. When they’re around each other they’re usually only Positive and any Negativity is very jarring (especially from Grian’s perspective, who sees B as a safe person). Introducing negativity there is like being tagged when you’re on base- it shouldn’t be allowed they don’t know what to do with it

Except it’s somewhat unbalanced

BigB keeps finding himself in situations where he’s the failsafe for Grian’s poor decisions. In 3L the Blue Sword Boys were all but planning a rescue mission for Grian midway through the war. In DL obviously Grian ran away to BigB when Scar was his soulmate, then again in LimL Grian ran to him when the other two Bad Boys died

In all three of these seasons, you can argue having this connection got BigB killed! In 3L BigB was still reaching out to Grian as Scar and Bdubs cornered him (then he turned on Grian but shhh), in DL Grian killed Ren, BigB’s soulmate, and in LimL Grian got the Nosey Neighbors into SEVERAL scenarios that cost them time

Again, they idolize each other but BigB has the understanding that Grian brings danger into his life. Yet he still ultimately views Him as a positive thing. In fact, I’d even argue that the added danger is what BigB idolizes him FOR

And that’s because BigB is scared of getting into dangerous scenarios. He usually bases alone, he develops an alter ego to run from the consequences of killing Cleo, he has to psyche himself up for Any type of physical attack on someone and when he does strike he’s screaming “AAAAAAA” the whole time!

Grian doesn’t need to do that, it comes naturally to him

Then on Grian’s side of things- he’s a coward too! Except he’s constantly masking it with his thrill seeking, trying to be the scariest thing in the room not just to feel strong but so that everyone else Leaves Him Alone. In fact, Grian ALSO tends to base alone! Or at least he tries to, until some group comes along and tosses him over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He makes secret alliances to save his own skin (yes, alliances plural, there were Several), and is usually the first to run when trouble comes his way

And all that running is Tiring.. it’s so, so tiring

So him idolizing BigB is him idolizing that “safety” he sees BigB having. Grian has never had a direct interaction with one of BigB’s risks, nor does he have any reason to see BigB as a threat in the same way other people are “threats.” He runs off to BigB over and over again because he sees BigB as someone that can save him, maybe even the Only person that can save him

Except again, what ends up happening is Grian gets BigB killed

Also couldn’t find a way to fit it in here but iirc BigB is the first person Grian actually built a grave for and I’m so normal about that

[squivulous]

My Podcast Masterlist

I have a long commute, giving me two hours a day to listen to podcasts. Here is my documentation of all the audio dramas I’ve consumed plus a little blurb. I just wanted to organize them in a list and also (selfishly) get recommendations if anyone would be so kind. Or maybe you’ll see something that’ll interest you. Enjoy!

Podcasts I’m Caught Up With

The Penumbra Podcast: I’ve made an animatic for this one. I’m down bad. This is the one that sucked me into this podcast world.

Malevolent: Arthur dating sim when??? Everyone wants him. Also it took me way too long to find out it was an actual play podcast.

Red Valley: Gordon fan all the way. Normally I do like the Sad Boy but Gordon is that type of dorky that makes me want to protect him.

Caravan: Interesting world and love a main character that makes questionable decisions. Everything is going to be fine :)

WOE.BEGONE: I’m obsessed. It happened slowly but now I think about it every day… And the music is so good! Mike Walters is cringefail, bbygurl, easy to manipulate, and saws his left arm off at the shoulder.

The Cellar Letters: Legit gets me spooked at times. Steve and Nate are good vibes. I’m sure glad nothing ever happens to them.

Harbor: Love that Sam being a malewife ruined his life.

Rifted: Aurora, another Sad Boy to add to my collection. Daniel should give him a kiss to make him feel better.

Heroics: Pls come back some day… I need more Josh. He’s in his slay era.

Second Fiddles: Max is owning being a bbygurl. Also there are a lot of poop jokes which is weird but I’ll look past it.

Hand in Glove: idk anything about baseball but these baseball players are smoochinggg.

Find Us Alive: Lancaster in booty jorts. It's canon. Don't look it up. I'm right. ALSO HE NEEDS TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM PLS.

The Kingmaker Histories: The kiss is still the subject of much historical debate. Eisen <3

The Viridian Wild: It hasn’t been updated since 2021 but I still have hope.

Dos: After You: Ghosting GONE WRONG

Brimstone Valley Mall: SEASON TWO IS COMING. 90’s mall setting is really fun and I’m here for the thing Asmoraius and Trent have going on.

Levian: It starts off with a bang! Well not quite since his sister walks in oops. Excited to see where this pirate tale takes us.

Midnight Burger: Each episode is a delight and as someone who is bad at science, I appreciate Gloria and Caspar. Caspar pls stay forever and also Brodie <3

Return Home: I’m really listening to it for Buddy and DW.

Raythe Reign: Sometimes you need a yaoi.

The White Vault: At this point, I know what I’m getting into and yet still decide to get attached to these characters

The Amelia Project: Please don’t hurt the Interviewer! He’s too goofy for all this drama. I’m scared!

Fawx & Stallion: James Stallion being canonically hot in any situation is such a win

Victoriocity: Inspector Fleet has had a long week and needs some days off

Yokai Detective Agency: I’m always a sucker for detective stories and I’m looking forward to where this one is going

Desert Skies: Charming characters and love that the plot has a nice pace, not dragging things out

The Grotto: the music is so good but also please help. The emotional turmoil is torrential.

Camlann: Yo…. Dai, for real???

Podcasts I’ve Completed

Dash: This might not be completed? This is actually the first audio drama I finished. Classic noir but supernatural and boys are smooching!

The Two Princes: This was wholesome and had good vibes. I prefer the first season but it was still a fun time.

The Magnus Archives: Arrived late to the party on this one, but I love all the fanart. Awakened my interest in pathetic men.

EOS 10: I also am not 100% sure this is done but I enjoyed the shenanigans!

Wolf 359: Eiffel, my beloved. I liked the silly and dramatic parts of this story. It hurt my soul but it was worth it :)

Time:Bombs: noahdeaart's fanart made me think this was going in a different direction... Still a fun one!

Valence: Love this one WAAAAHHH! Pls listen. I love Nico. Sad Boy but hides it under their chaos energy.

The Bright Sessions: I would 1005% listen to a spin-off just about Mark. This Sad Boy keeps collecting trauma and I need to see him and Oliver maybe go on adventures or something. ANYTHING.

Roommates: I, too, had a pandemic college experience. It's kinda bizarre that there's already a story about that and I love it!

Look Up: Wholesome. Briggon Snow kept me fed.

Moonface: Appreciate having an audio drama from an Asian American perspective. Didn’t realize how much I needed that.

Murray Mysteries: Must protect Jonathan.

Kaleidotrope: More wholesome content. I got more into it by the second half. The hosts have a fun dynamic!

Re: Dracula: Still thinking about Inside You.

Wooden Overcoats: Rudyard is my fav. Chapman deserves the hate.

The Vanishing Act: this Rudyard wasn’t my fav. I was happy to listen to him suffer but also happy when he fell in love. A win for Griffson!

Greater Boston: Michael Tate <3

Ars Paradoxica: Nikhil Sharma <3

Podcasts I’m Catching Up On

Life with Althaar: I knew that plant lady was sus

The Night Post: Ashley……

Love and Luck: I’m on ep 87 now some magical things are going down

Going Lowbrow: I wasn’t expecting a musical but I’m not complaining.

SAYER: There are no bees on Typhon :)

WTNV: I got behind during high school and now I’m too scared to get caught up… one day. It's been so long at this point I think I'd need to start over.

BRASS: I fell behind on episodes :(

Not Quite Dead: If there are vampires, I'm automatically interested. Only a few eps in.

Hi Nay: I’m listening to Murphy respectfully.

Podcasts I’ve Dropped

Moonbase Theta Out

Dreamboy

Archive 81

The Sheridan Tapes

Jar of Rebuke

I’ll keep this updated every so often. Most of these I’ve found either from scouring rec lists or seeing nice fanart.

Please let me know of any recommendations you may have! Thanks for reading if you got this far. Mad respect.

Last updated: 04/14/24

[cupcraft]

I primarily use the “For You” Tumblr page a lot to discover artists, (I am on Mobile and it’s very easy to switch between the Dashboard and For You pages here) the more posts of a specific artist I like, the more likely it is for that artist to show up on my For You page multiple times until I follow them, as well as other people who post for certain fandoms, I actually found you through the For You page (You were talking about the Liking vs Reblog situation)

The posts I tend to see on the For You page usually have more than a hundred notes, and I tend to enjoy going through the For You page more than my Dashboard.

Why?

Well, I have a bad habit of everything and everyone, this is my fourth tumblr blog, on every Tumblr I have had before this, I followed over 3,000 people, most of whom would get lost in my Dash. Most of these people are artists and writers, on YouTube I have been subscribed to so many people that I think I hit the subscription limit on an account I mainly used to follow animators and YouTube would unsubscribe me by oldest subscription.

Why am I saying all of this?

Well, put this into perspective, I am a blog with less than 10 followers, I am following a lot of artists and if I were to reblog every piece of art that came into my eyesight, I’d honestly be off Tumblr within 10 minutes due to how strict I am with tagging stuff, and for some reason tagging things drains me, I get frustrated every time a tag doesn’t show up in the auto options as I’m typing it, and it doesn’t help that I’m constantly exhausted due to various factors, including depression.

I like things so people know I’ve seen it and enjoyed it. Do I reblog art? Yes, I do, but that’s like, a very small percentage of what I see on my dash weekly. And usually when I reblog stuff in bulk, its me documenting something that is going on, a fandom or tumblr’s reaction to something, or a cool concept I may like to play around with in the future or something that I want to comment on (Or an animatic or animation, those are high on my reblog priority list), other I just reblog because I feel I’m able to in that moment.

I understand that a lot of people on tumblr say “Just reblog it! You need to add tags!!” I can’t just not add tags, I view the contents of my blog as a history thing, if I don’t tag things and I want to look back on something, I won’t be able to find it. At all. Especially not if I want to show someone something.

The worst part to me is when people threaten to block people like me because “I like too much but don’t engage enough”, bro, I physically don’t have enough spoons to reblog every single thing you do, you are punishing me for saying I like your art, there is a possibility for me to reblog your art sometimes, but don’t get mad at me for not reblogging your thing when my depression and exhaustion is telling me that reblogging and tagging everything is just, too much work. I want to relax for a bit, and liking thing is how I say “Great job!”

I do try to reblog smaller artists, but me reblogging isn’t gonna get your post anywhere buddy. If I had more than 15 followers I’d make an bigger effort to reblog art with less notes all the time because there is a higher chance that one of them will be on and see it, but as it stands I believe most of my followers are bots, I barely have the energy to write, and in my opinion getting Likes shows that your post is reaching people and you should be proud of that.

Social media has made a post reaching 5 or 50 people seem like a failure, but if you put that into perspective that’s enough people to fill a room, and how many people do you know who would willingly go to the same place to see the work of a random stranger completely willingly and tell someone they liked it?

Stop comparing posts with hundreds or thousands of notes or views to your own numbers, the fact people saw it and cared enough to leave a sign that they like it is impressive, there have been times when I posted something, hoping it’d gain traction, only for no one to even bother looking twice, I have had so many posts and art pieces that never got a single note in the last 10 years I’ve been on tumblr, less than 50 posts broke 10 notes, I’ve only had 3 posts break 100 notes, and only 1 post go past 500 notes. This is across multiple blogs.

Yes, it can be disappointing when things aren’t reblogged, but it’s a sign people see you, and that’s a good thing, because most people don’t even get that. Engagement of any kind is a sign you’ve done something right, especially when it comes to art. Sure, only getting likes can be a frustrating thing, but don’t let it ruin your day, it’s still valuable, people are looking at you, and if they had decided to not leave those likes, you wouldn’t know they saw you in the first place, because there would no sign anyone even knows you’re there.

hey anon i just wanted to thank you for reaching out and i appreciate your perspective. There's a lot of nuance to the discussion you brought up so i just was replying to your ask to let you know that i read it and appreciate you sending this to me.

I hope youre having a good day!

[rottingfontanels]

28 june 2022

3

CONTENT WARNING: mentioned eating disorder (does not apply to myself), talking about issues with eating, talking about depression and not-so-pretty mental health stuff etc.

hi! today's been a pretty nice day. i woke up around noon again (i'm blaming summer break for my sleeping schedule) and felt way too sedentary just sitting at my computer, so i did another load of laundry (my hamper is now EMPTY!!!! i just have three small baskets of sorted loads to do individually!!!!) and then went on a walk to my favorite spot.

i think i've probably already mentioned it, but there's this marsh (used to be a manmade lake) near me. it has really nice trees, little footpaths to walk through the wooded areas, and then once you get to the park there's this lovely little place hidden away by trees. on one side there's a stone bench thing (just a big rectangular stone) and a tree with pink flowers, and on the other side in its own little area is this wonderful tree. i think it might actually be two trees! anyway it's perfect for climbing, and i love to sit in that tree and read, or just look out at the not-lake and listen to the birds.

when i'm alone out there i feel... not sad. i feel calm. the surroundings are so beautiful. today though, i was climbing around other spots on the tree and i heard someone say something from the ground. not a lot of people come by this spot. i looked down and saw some guy who looked to be in high school, who lightheartedly said he'd find a different tree to climb. i offered to leave but he said it's fine and left. it's interesting, i've never seen another person climb the tree before. granted i've only been coming to the tree for a few weeks and not visiting daily, and it would be really surprising if no one else climbed the tree so perfect for climbing. then a bunch of loud children showed up. they left, i watched the sun set over the trees, and went home.

when i got home i told my mom about this song and animation project that went with it. it's about a fandom we both used to be really into, but i think even as my interest has had it peaks and valleys, hers has dipped low and isn't coming back up. i want to show her things! i want to watch animatics or ocean explorations or nature documentaries with her. but it seems like our interests don't line up, or she's just too busy. it hurts, and i feel bad for hurting over it. it's not like i'm angry at her, it's not something she can control, but...

i can't really talk to anyone about this one fandom. i feel anxious posting openly about it because it has a bad reputation. the media itself isn't, like, sketchy or problematic or anything though. it's just something that got way overexposed and people started getting annoyed by it because younger and louder people in the fandom were being way too much... that brings up another point– i feel like there's no one else my age who likes this Thing. but i still love it so much even after two years. the last obsession that was as strong as this was my detroit: become human phase. i never even played the game, i kid you not, but i still absolutely loved it and immersed myself in the fandom for literal years. before that it was musicals.

my entries here tend to be longwinded and ramble-y because there's so much on my mind that i just don't talk about. when i talk to my close friends there aren't really opportunities to ramble. it's not like they're about to stop whatever we had been talking about and go "q, what are your latest fixations?" (i'm going to call myself q on here i guess.) i can't just interrupt a conversation or dump a bunch of information on someone about a topic that they don't care about. that's how i lose friends. that's how people start finding me annoying and selfish and conversation-ruining.

my therapist already knows what i'm about to type– or she would, if she knew i was typing this right now. she sees the pattern is what i'm saying. that pattern is double standards. i will listen to my friends ramble about their interests for as long as they want. i love hearing them talk, even when it's not something i'm interested in. admittedly sometimes i'm just not in the mood, or i'm actively disinterested or mildly annoyed or in a bad mood– those days are bad and i always feel guilty for them. because i know how it feels to be brushed off. i know how it feels to have something that makes your heart want to explode and makes your hands flap and makes your brain buzz because you're so happy and excited and all these ideas want to come bursting forth, only for the person who you wish would listen just... stops. sometimes you can just see it in their face.

i don't feel heard a lot of the time. i don't even consider myself a quiet kid– guy? i dunno it feels weird calling myself kid even though i don't feel like an adult ever– but i'm pretty sure that in my parents' eyes i'm quiet. whenever i do get to ramble (to my mother and my therapist only, because they are morally and financially obligated to listen respectively /hj) my throat will typically be hurting by the end because i never talk that much in one go. sometimes i don't even feel heard by my therapist or my mother. sometimes i feel really, really alone. sometimes i wonder what it would be like if i just stopped talking, how much would genuinely change. i know a lot would change, logically speaking, but... i dunno.

there's a strawberry banana smoothie to my right. it actually said '100% fruit' on the bottle so i checked the ingredients and it said there's strawberry puree, banana puree, apple juice, pear juice, lemon juice, and natural flavors. that's great, but it got me wondering. what are natural flavors? what exactly are they? what are the chemical compounds? where do they come from? what percentage of actual juice is that pear, apple, and lemon juice? are all of these pure?

actually, thinking about the smoothie makes me a bit happy. it's sort of melancholy though. i don't know why, but in the past year or so i've been struggling with eating. i don't think i have an eating disorder and neither does my therapist, but there are days when i sink so deep into depression that i just can't be bothered to eat. there are days when i don't think it's worth it, or that i don't deserve it (but those 'deserve' days were a long time ago and haven't happened in a while). there are days when i have to eat certain things because of rules my brain sets for no reason. there are days when i stress out about health and nutrition and forego eating altogether so i don't eat something unhealthy. ironic, i know. there are days when i try to eat, but everything tastes bad and the texture is bad and even though i can feel my stomach is empty, i swear i don't feel hungry.

these days have been a bit more few and far between lately. i still don't eat a lot– usually on an average day i'll eat one big meal, either at noon or at like midnight. my meals also aren't balanced. here i go stressing about nutrition again... anyway, on good days i'll have two meals and on really good days i'll have three. on bad days... well i don't usually go a whole day without eating. a bad day would be when i eat one meal and then feel crap about it. yeah.

anyway! the whole point of this, the smoothie making me happy– i actually opened up to my mom a few months ago about my issues with eating. i sort of did it in a kind of subtle way because my dad was going to the store and i asked him to pick up smoothie of some kind. he shrugged and left. i then clarified to my mom about my eating stuff, and that smoothies can make it a little better. offer a bit of nutrition without a) worrying about healthiness, b) worrying about texture or taste (i just chug), and c) worry about actually making or putting together something to eat. smoothies can help me when i haven't eaten all day and my hands and legs are too shaky.

so yeah, for the past couple months my mom has been picking up big bottles of smoothies when she goes grocery shopping. it makes me happy, really makes me feel seen and cared for. not like i don't feel cared for otherwise, it's just that the smoothie thing is special because it's a struggle of mine that i was scared to open up about, and she gets them without me even asking. my mom is absolutely wonderful, and i love her so much.

it's past 1:30am... i should drink my smoothie and go to bed. nothing more to it. goodnight<3

[cttrajan1206]

#arrow sys#Love them#Absolute sweethearts all of em#And suoer fun to sprint with

FIRST OF ALL SOBS /pos

second,,, i know nothing abt twst or obey me but grabby hands at a ramble; i will absolutely listen if you wanted to talk about it :starry:

JSHDJF [WAILS ALOUD] I TOOK SO LONG SO GET BACK TO YOU THAT I FINISHED ONE OF THE WIPS IN THAT TIME LMAO!!

Well!! This is good promo! :> The one that i was typing up is finished now and it's the obey me fic! You can find it here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33644662

Mammon and Movies:

Basically! Someone read another fic of mine that included my self insert flappy stimming and also getting mental breakdown so it asked if i could include a couple other stims in another work since he enjoyed my first one! I. Took that request and made an entire fic dedicated to him lmao. So! I asked it later on for what it would like me to include and which character to use and here we are!

This is a 4K fic of Mammon from Obey Me paired with a Neurodivergent!Reader. The plot is that of him showing you a magic trick and smoothly whipping out a movie ticket!! You've been wanting to ask him to see a movie with you for a while so this is perfect! So perfect in fact that you're overwhelmed with happiness and have a brief moment of being nonverbal as you're overwhelmed with euphoria. Then the next day, you meet him at the venue and the date begins! Other scenes include him allowing you to hold onto his bracelets as it's one of your stims (he wears one of every texture to accomodate to your tastes), you dissociating out of anxiety in a movie theatre and him helping to ground you, and finally! Him sleeping on your shoulder before the movie ends.

Ik i kinda just said the majority of the plot lmao but! Its just a fluffy and sweet movie date! I enjoyed writing it a lot although i got about 80% of it done a month ago and tyn didn't touch it for like 2 weeks sjdbsjd i was p sad abt that. I like finishing things quickly esp when its for other people!! But it was a comfort during a hard time to write this work at 2am under the light of a night lamp and to the tune of street life ambience.

ALSO I FOUND OUT THAT MAMMONS OFFICIAL SONG "ARE YOU READY" LEGIT HAS NO HOURLONG LOOPS AND THAT WAS A HARD HIT TO ME BC LIKE I WANTED TO LISTEN TO IT ON TV BUT IT WASNT HAPPENINGGG TWT WHY DOES EVERYONE LIKE ALL THE OTHER OTHER BROTHER'S SONGS INSTEAD LIKE PLSSS

Anyway lmao i'm quite happy with this work, it feels very round and finished to me which makes me happy because it means I didn't need to worry about editing it to feel satisfied. The requester liked it a lot too! Which made me super super happy. :>

Now!! For the twisted wonderland!! That’s a comfort plotline of mine that doesn’t really have a title yet and is still a wip that is written through my friend’s DMs BUT! I will also take the time to promo my twst writing blog! It is dead QvQ On there, you can see a bit more about the self insert in question but for now, i’ll just put the ship name as the title.

https://twst-sumi-squad.tumblr.com/

Kalim Al-Asim X Sumi Bint Khattar (Plot line):

So!! This one stemmed from me drawing something out of self indulgence and to show it to my friend, I described Sumi B in full and then I told them about my ships and around that time I had like five love songs I was obsessed with. And for each of them. I had. A separate animatic. For like at least 1 ship, the average was two but one had three. Sumi B was the centre of the most ships but not the only one. Anyway!! I told my friend about this and asked if I could dump my ideas onto them! They agreed and I started with a summarised version but then realised I needed a bit more build up so I started to write it in a bit more detail. Hah. It ended up being a Lot More Detailed but even then, I would write the scenes in a much more fluid and descriptive way if it were Real Writing so! I call it a Plotline. It is very long.

The plot itself is. long now. it’s a slowburn lmao because most if not all of my self insert ships tend to be slowburns. But this one? This particular self insert? Sumi B? Yeah she’s the only one with trust issues so she mothers the BIGGEST slowburns known to history. It takes them a year before she even considers him a friend despite seeing him every day and also having multiple deep conversations with him. Anyway though, this one is a big comfort becuase it has something I didn’t really dare to do before. Kalim, the canon character, falls in love with my oc first. Normally I have it the other way round becuase I’m too scared to assume that I would be like, deserving or like desirable enough for someone to have a crush on me. But with Sumi B, even I have a goddamn crush on her lmao. I indulge myself a bit with this one and really play around with emotions and!! In the most recent scene! We have finally reached the part where she actually starts to love him back! :D

I started this one a loooong time ago, at least a month and maybe two? It was Intended to be finsiehd in one night and then i got carried away and my friend got invested and then I ALSO got invested and so I started to develop the plot further so make it more interesting and keep the buildup going. It’s very fun and though i try to limit myself to summarising actions and dialogue, i fail. very often. so it often has little tidbits of more beautiful sentences and tension lmao. 

This particular fic is based off of my imagined animatic for the song “Would you be so kind” by Dodie! I didn’t know about the song until i saw other people’s animatics and I ended up taking it and running away haha! I’m currently really happy with it however I am really dreading the day where I actually write it out properly. If I don’t? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll post the plotline by itself. I have another fic just like it, one with a different self insert who (in fact) is very very close with Sumi B and considers her his older sister, that i ALSO wrote in semi detailed plot lines in someone’s DMs. Both are massive comforts to me and though i love them, their plot lines are so goddamn long that i will dread the day i decide to write them all out.

So uhm!!! Yeah!! XDD Those are the two fics I was talking about! I hope you enjoyed my small ramblings about them haha. I’m starting college soon though so I fear I might have much more time for fanfic.

[azems-familiar]

hello! are there any songs you associate with any of the kotor characters? (totally not asking bc my brain is hungry for animatic ideas haha,,)

OH BOY DO I HAVE SONGS

first things first, i will direct you to my twelve hour Revan playlist that i use for writing vibes, it's a mixture of vocal and instrumental and it has both a bunch of Revan songs for different eras of Revan, plus revalek songs, plus some revastila songs, plus some songs that just vibe.... it's good and most of the songs i'm about to highlight, if not all of them, are on there already.

NOW. HERE WE GO.

first things first, i need to introduce you to the title song for my mandalorian wars fic, oblivion by the aviators! god, this song doesn't fit all Revans perfectly, but it fits mine so well it was like it'd been written for her specifically, i swear. listening to the song was what inspired me to write the fic to begin with (and now i have a whole series oops). i mean, come on, look at the chorus:

Let the broken heroes rise Let the victors take their prize No one wins when justice dies War has let this age begin It's where we've gone and where they've been What a state that we're in Here in oblivion

can't look at that and tell me that isn't Jedi Knight Revan and the war that broke them.

next up!! liar by the arcadian wild, my beloved. this song is currently my top all time on spotify, closely followed by the song i'm going to rec after it and then achilles come down - and the fact that anything unseated achilles for the top spot should tell you something. (and if you don't know what achilles come down is look it up that one's on my playlist too.) this is a really good one for Revan's slow fall down, the corruption arc - again, all of the songs i'm mentioning really fit my own versions of the characters best, but they're just good in general. some of the lyrics i enjoy from this one:

hnext up, we have it all by pim stones. this particular one feels very revalek to me, early in the Sith years when they still maybe had good intentions, maybe after the war but before becoming Darth. there's this softer, almost desperate tone to the way the singer sings it that just hits me hard - this is the song i'm using as the title for my Sith years interlude fic! a lyric snippet:

All my life I've been heading for hell But never had I thought I'd drag you down as well I just couldn't resist what he was trying to sell

There's glory ahead but our love will be forgotten If my heart was still mine I would go to the bottom And apologise to you until the day it went rotten

next up we have the balancer's eye by lord huron, which is the song i named my series after (have you noticed a trend yet?). it's a very Revan vibe in general, and while i'm not as much of a fan of the style, the lyrics are really excellent!

Nothing's waiting for us in the great sky Life is equal to dust in the balancer's eye Now I know that I can't lift an old curse Tell me, how does a man change the universe?

Will I ever be forgiven for the crime of my life? Will it haunt me 'til I die?

mmm let's see what next. OH! go to war by nothing more. this is just straight up a Sith years song for revalek, whether you ship them or not - they were important to each other either way! ..... i am not going to tangent into yelling about revalek. that is not what this is for. anyway, the song itself is a) a banger and b) talking about love corrupting and falling apart and it just. it hits, man

Do we censor? Do we flow? Are we drunk on the chemicals? Every feeling in my bones Tells me to lash out and tell you to fuck off You've got my heart and I've got your soul But are we better off alone? With every battle we lose a little more Remember everything that we'd die for You are everything that I'd die for

oooh NEXT we have the song i was going to use for my Jaw Scene before i decided to write a full sith years fic. saints by echos is the song, and again, we've got Sith years Revan and Malak here (yes yes i have a type), the vibes of losing faith and anger and it blends really well with how Revan basically played off being a legendary figure to the Republic to fuel their war against it!

You were standing there like an angry god Counting out my sins just to cross them off Saying that my tongue was too loud to trust And that my blood couldn't keep you

My dear, you're not so innocent You're fooling Heaven's gates So you won't have to change You're no saint, you're no savior

mmmm okay the discord has informed me that ten (10) songs is the maximum i should do in one post so. i will only do four more. chrysalis - the last breath by delain is yet another Sith Revan and Malak song and honestly you can read it as a response to the song above, if you think of saints from Malak's pov and chrysalis from Revan's, they mesh really well together.

Hey, are you still mad? About the time We almost went too far I know your regrets In my defense; By now, it's just a scar That distracts you from Your broken heart Like you wanted it to do How do you feel? I don't... How do you know? You won't... To let go of you I will try Until my last breath How do you feel? I don't... How do you know? You won't... To let go I promise I will fight

next! for a complete change of pace, i have a revastila song for you - warrior by beth crowley. it somehow manages to capture exactly the dynamic i think of in my head when i think about Bastila, the uncertainty, the forbiddeness of it, but the way Revan ultimately strengthens her and she strengthens Revan

You fascinated me Cloaked in shadows and secrecy The beauty of a broken angel

I ventured carefully Afraid of what you thought I'd be But pretty soon, I was entangled

You take me by the hand I question who I am

uhhhhhh i am desperately trying to think of songs that aren't just about Revan but instead here i am with another Mandalorian Wars Revan song, what did we know by rachel rose mitchell! this song was introduced to me by the same friend who sent me oblivion, and it really captures the fall of the Mandalorian wars incredibly well imo - the way it started with righteousness but ended in pain (compassion leading to destruction and that's a ramble i'm not going on here either), and there's this line in there that i'm not including in my snippet that's what scares me more than anything / if we could choose the past / we'd probably choose the same and it's like. yes! that's it! i'm going to once again go insane over the scene in the Korriban tomb in kotor 2!!! knowing the price.... would you choose to do it all again........ aaaaaaaa

It's been so long since we began. It seems so long ago That in the name of loyalty We started on our own. Answering the call of a house we once called home, We knew that we were right. What did we know?

We swore that we understood this wasn't a game, But somehow we found ourselves fanning the flames. Those who cautioned and abandoned us, they were the same. I saw them turn away.

the final song i'm doing is the song i used when i wrote the Betrayal scene from Malak's pov, the little things give you away by linkin park. this one just. it vibes, it vibes hard, goes really into the actual grief of betrayal, and also has a super epic instrumental solo so there's that. as usual, lyric snippet:

Don't want to reach for me, do you? I mean nothing to you The little things give you away But now there will be no mistaking The levees are breaking

All you've ever wanted Was someone to truly look up to you And six feet under water, I do

All you've ever wanted Was someone to truly look up to you And six feet underground now I Now I do

god okay now that you're completely overwhelmed and never want to talk to me again....... i should've probably put this under a readmore but eh. thanks for the ask!

[carcinized]

Hey hey hey I don’t have Tumblr BUT I saw your post about C!Tubbo dissociation headcanons and here I am, asking for them. And possibly more C!Tubbo headcanons. Preferably angsty. Just. Any of them. Please. Thank you.

oh, a fellow starved c!tubbo enthusiast. hello there, i do have some headcannons to spare luckily, hope you enjoy!! mostly this is the dissociation ones but i have some miscellaneous ones & songs at the end for you :]

so obviously uhhh tw for dissociation/depersonalisation/derealisation in this post!!! also going to put them under the cut bc this is long lmao

oh and disclaimer: this is very much based off my own experiences with (near constant) chronic dissociation so it might be different from other experiences!! yeah.

oh ALSO this is disorganized and probably missing stuff because i am going through a bad bout of spaciness as of right now, so apologies if anything is confusing, feel free to ask for clarification!

idk background timeline stuff so it fits into the story

at first he didn’t even realize he felt disconnected from things. it started off as a coping mechanism during combat and felt so similar to the feeling of being “in the zone” he’d known before that he didn’t question it

after a bit, it spread from only being there during battle to during conflict in general. still, he didn’t mind it—it actually made arguments more bearable because they felt almost secondhand.

eventually he came to use it as a crutch so much that it became constant.

that was when he started wanting it to go away.

and then because i can’t bear to give my precious c!tubbo constant dissociation he probably gets breaks from it sometimes idk lmao

his experiences:

gaps in memory

auditory processing issues

lots of depersonalisation and not recognizing himself in the mirror (which is even more fun/terrifying if you add in shapeshifter headcannons)

a lot of the time he feels like his actions aren’t his, which helped him to feel less bad doing morally ambiguous things (spying, exiling tommy, hunting technoblade, etc)

after it all he was left with near constant dissociation almost all the time.

it nearly always feels like the world is secondhand to him and he has no control/impact (ironic considering the power he has, and he knows that, but)

often wonders if he is dreaming and just waiting to wake up from a coma he’d gotten from one of his many battles.

when things get really bad he wishes he could just wake up from it.

often doesn’t recognize his hands looking down at them, especially with the burns he has now. they’re not his hands, right? but they are. they’re his hands. huh.

uhhh examples of where it could have been shown in plot if you squint lol

for example, that famous clip of him dancing while wilbur and tommy argue in the background would be a physical representation of him zoning out (dissociating) to get out of/away from an argument.

the whole yes man thing could have either been an auditory processing issue where he replied yes to wilbur without hearing what wilbur had asked OR a gap in memory where he didn’t remember telling tommy the opposite

he pulled away for like 5 months into snowchester and talked to hardly anyone but his husband and son. dissociation is hard to interact with people during because you feel so isolated for so many reasons—sometimes you feel you’re the only real thing there, sometimes it feels there’s a glass wall between you and everything else that IS real. and even ignoring that, most people can’t relate to feeling that way, leaving you even more alone. he could have pulled away because it was too much too keep going through that (i did that don’t recommend it tubbo JSJD)

miscellaneous headcannons that i don’t see very often:

after winning a battle, his instinct is to play a disc and look out at the sunset because that’s what he and tommy always did (see his lore yesterday (june 18th)—he did it with ranboo despite tommy not being there)

i’m rather fond of my original-l’manberg-citizens-consider-haircuts-and-fixing-up-appearances-affectionate-because-wilbur-did-it headcannon so i’ll add that here—basically wilbur gave everyone military cuts and new suits and everything. and while that was just for war, it was also because he cared about all of them. ever since, they all considered fixing up someone’s appearance an act of love.

tubbo refused to let anyone cut his hair after the red festival, not trusting anyone. he would probably let ranboo do it now, only he’s rather attached to the way it hides his burns and some of his horns and keeps him warm in the freezing snow.

he builds walls like how tommy builds cobblestone towers—a reflex, a coping mechanism, a habit. he built the l’manberg walls and ever since the defense has been second nature, whether for the best or the worst.

ive been waiting forever to share these i have way too many. i pass the hours staring out the window listening to misterwives and imagining c!tubbo animatics to it and now i have a chance to share them oh my god

so without further ado,

c!tubbo animatics i have in my head:

whywhywhy by misterwives: ok this one isn’t chalked out but it has him vibes

alone by misterwives: just him and ranboo. figuring things out. helping each other heal. i legitimately have an entire animatic in my head to this lyric by lyric and could make a fucking storyboard for it if only i could draw. if anyone wants me to write out lyric by lyric what it WOULD be though feel free to send an ask aHAHHAHAHA

over the rainbow by misterwives: a montage of c!tubbo just. finally going apeshit. that would be so cathartic alright and it’s such a badass song he deserves it

it’s my turn by misterwives: pretty much any times that tubbo finally got to do something back at someone who wronged him—the butcher army going after technoblade, him yelling at quackity about borders saying “well don’t i get to put my foot down too?” the lyrics “i know you’ve got your version of the story, i’m sick of saying sorry, i’m sick of always having to explain” during his spy arc PLEASE he had to justify everything he did and the “are you happier?” comment and schlatt breathing down his neck aAAAA give my boy a break (also the instrumental uses a lemon demon-type sound which makes me think of ranboo so i love imagining a cool bee dup building the outpost montage there snhshagahffn)

find my way home by misterwives: idk the vibes just fit man

oxygen by misterwives: hhhrnggg clingy duo angst oW

i did say i spend a lot of my time listening to misterwives and daydreaming c!tubbo animatics didn’t i?

anyways yeah. here’s some c!tubbo content to help us poor starved c!tubbo enthusiasts :’D also misterwives propaganda go listen to them female led band with a fucking badass lead singer with banger songs and incredible vocals and lyrics ANYWAY

[rattyarts]

Huge-ask post (I am VERY funny)

Because I have so many questions that can be answered with just text, and I have mentioned my dislike of filling my art blog up with Words Words Words... let’s get them all done in one go!

(You guys can blacklist #rattytalks if you’re just here for the draws, btw)

A shit ton of asks under the cut!

Anonymous said: So for the center of the world, what with it being forcefully PG and all Bad Thoughts TM being prevented, how does having kids happen? Do parents just black out and wake up holding a child in their arms and vague memories of the last 9 months?

Ever seen a movie where they do that “and one day... a baby was born!” thing and a kid just appears offscreen with no explanation?

(This is how it works everywhere, Edgelands included; no one does the do or gets pregnant in this setting.)

Anonymous said: Hello! Quick question, and sorry if you’ve answered this before, but can other elves see the “intangible” bits of one another? Big fan of your work btw!

Nope! And thank you!

Anonymous said: Leopold was in my dream last night but I sadly cannot remember any of it.

I am SO sorry. I will try to keep my stinky murder men out of your head in the future.

Anonymous said: are the floaty bits stuck in one spot, or could the one they are attached to learn to move them around their body as long as its still within a certain distance? like, someone with the Floaty limbs, lets call him Ray, can move his limbs all over his body, allowing him to do all sorts of neat things that others with their attached limbs probably couldn't?

Whatever you want, honestly. As a general rule of thumb I don’t like putting down TOO many hard rules that prevent people from having fun with this setting. (Please ignore and scrap anything you think is stupid, I do this all the time and enjoy keeping this setting inconsistent and contradictory)

Anonymous said: Do elf names work off of Death Note rules, or is it like, if you know one elf’s name, all elves with that name are now unable to harm you? So if all the elf brothers are named Martin, for example, does it only work with blue?

I think it’s prolly just the one! Probably? Idk, might change if I think of something funnier.

Anonymous said: Can elves do magic on themselves or does thst go against the knowing name rule

Most people tend to know their own names, lol. So in my opinion, no, but don’t let me stop you if you got a fun idea.

Anonymous said: Could an Elf stitch on parts from another elf and have them work? i.e an Elf's finds the arm of another Elf. "Hey, free arm, might as well put it to good use", so they attach the arm and now they can give three high fives at once!

Same deal as previous questions, I personally would say no, but I also encourage people to do whatever the hell they want. It’s more fun that way!

Anonymous said: I bet elves are greasy to the touch.

They’re very powdery! Like if you rolled them in flour. And by flour I mean nasty glowing elf dandruff.

Anonymous said: Can elves fly or are their wings just for show?

No flying!!! (Unless you’re a mousefly)

Anonymous said: Something tells me that the elves would LOVE Obatzda.

Had to look that up, but definitely!

no1fan15: Not sure if someone asked already- Does Edgeworld have any equivalent to demons and angels? Like the old rubberhose cartoon kind?

Demons, yes! That’s what imps are: basically any demon, devil, or generic monster, but tiny! Even a couple of pop culture critters in there, there’s probably a very small gillman or robot monster running around there somewhere.

Angels, not so far. 

Anonymous said: How come Margaret hasn't yeeted George's jar into the Edge yet

I’d say being locked in a closet is good enough! (and also I need him for plot reasons, don’t tell anyone)

Anonymous said: If elves have knees bulges in the front then do they have butt bulges in the back?

i do not want to think about elf bulges

Anonymous said: So if you find a baby Therewoof and you say "aw you're so cute", their true name is So Cute?

Yep!

Anonymous said: Since a Therewoof's true name can be something like "cutie pie" or "dingus", does their name have to be spoken with "intent" for it to doggo-fy them? Or do they just have to live with the reality that any casual conversation/flirting can make them lose up to a month to Doggy Mode? My mom has little terrier dog named "Sweetie" so that got me thinking 'bout Therewoof names. & Anonymous said: here's a good question: If someone says a therewoof's true name, but not reffering to them, does it still affect them?

Just saying it will do! It’s based on those old werewolf stories where calling out the person’s name will change them back into a human/cure them, and a lot of the time it was by accident.

(My favorite is the one where they slam the door on the wolf’s tail and then say his name, and the dude ends up with a wolf tail for the rest of his life.)

Anonymous said: Would Seeing eye Therewoofs be a thing?

I... guess? Probably? Since regular dogs can turn into woofs, yeah. You might have to start paying em once they turn into a person tho. 

Anonymous said: Was ChalkZone ever an inspiration for you? Because I just love the silly world of ChalkZone and I noticed getting that same warm feeling when thinking about Edgeworld.

Maaaan, I wish. I’ve only seen about three episodes or so, but it seems really fun!

Anonymous said: So I saw your mimic post, and even though I don't think I've seen any other of your art before I was absolutely HAMMERED with an indescribable sense of slightly unsettling strangeness and comfortable familiarity. Your art feels like something from like, an old point and click computer game I would have had formative memories of before accidentally losing or scratching the disc therefore making me unsure if it ever REALLY existed. Sorry for being weird but I love the wacky nostalgia feel here

Aaaaaah, THANK YOU! That is SUCH a cool comparison and I appreciate!!!

Anonymous said: If the Edgeworld is based on cartoons then is there a Reverse Edge-world that’s based on anime?

Lol, I mean I DID have an anime phase for a while there, so...

caydebug: Man I’d love to see this as a cartoon some day

Honestly, same. Best you’re gonna get is the occasional animatic or gif, tho.

Anonymous said: Does anyone..."go" in Edgeworld? or is it like Pleasantville where bathrooms exist but there are no toilets in them because acknowledging it is yucky?

Oh god I keep getting asked this and have been avoiding it like the damn plague. But... Uh. No. No they do not. I am begging you all not to send any followup questions.

Anonymous said: Have you considered putting computer viruses or illnesses in with the buggymen? Since those are typically called ‘bugs’

Sure!

Anonymous said: are there any limits to what an Animimic could posess? i.e if they were in a costume of a Buggieman with multiple arms, could they control all of them? what about a small Mousefly costume? can multiple fit into one costume like a clown car? and what about in pitch black darkness, where you can only see the lights of their eyes and not their bodies? could one fit inside the pocket of a jacket you are wearing and help you steal things/wield a gun like a living turret?

Since clothing fills into the body type of the intended wearer, they would indeed be able to control all arms/legs in buggieman clothes.

Size restrictions is one of these things I wanna try to be vague about: I personally have been imagining them sticking to hiding in things no smaller than, um. Maybe imp sized, but really, whatever. It’s a cartoon eyeball critter!

You can put multiple animimics in one outfit!

They can move around just fine in darkness without being off screen, yeah!

And sure why not. lol

Anonymous said: I know you have been asked this once before, and you said nah you don't, but with a few more months of worldbuilding, do you have an idea for what could be down the edge now? 🤔

Not really! It’s not super important, honestly. I’d say any fan theory is about as valid as anything else I can come up with.

ps2polpo: I doubt you’ll ever elaborate on The Edge but I like to imagine there’s just one dude there like the Nowhere Man from the Yellow Submarine movie. Mostly cause the thought of someone accidentally winding up there being like “where am I?” And there’s just a guy casually waving at him like a friendly neighbor is funny to me & Anonymous said: The implication that the Edge is the physical manifestation of edginess so there’s probably like, Trevor Henderson monsters hanging out down there.

See above question! Valid! I also accept falling forever, getting erased from existence, ending up in another universe, getting stuck in limbo with thousands of other people, whatever you want, really!

Anonymous said: " he has very few bones and weighs basically nothing, " "Fastball special" trope, but with Leo?

YEET THE NASTY MAN

Anonymous said: did you ever watch dragon tales as a kid? because george and margaret make me think of murderous zak and wheezie from that show, and i love it to bits

I did not, but I would have loved it. Definitely up my alley!

(watched Quest for Camelot a loooot, though!)

Imma go ahead and stop here! There’s more but I’ve been writing for well over an hour and I have things to do. If your question is missing I’m either saving it for later, wasn’t entirely sure how to answer, or it’s spoilery.

Will probably do another one of these at some point!

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I thought about every episode of The Owl House Season 1 (Part 1/2)

Salutations random people on the internet who probably won't read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

Hey, do you miss Gravity Falls?

...

Yeah, I know, dumb question. Which is why I have good news! Not only is there a new series that is just as good as Gravity Falls, but in some ways, it's even better. That new series would be none other than Disney Channel's latest hit: The Owl House.

The Owl House, slowly but surely, became my new obsession since Eda reacted to decapitation with an unconcerned, "I hate when that happens." I wrote fan-fiction, made fan-art, and even began to separately review new episodes. Unfortunately, I got in a little late in the reviewing game and only managed to analyze the last four episodes of season one. And like an idiot, I promised that I'll review the rest when they came out on Disney+. Seeing that all of the first season has finally come on a legal streaming service (which means WATCH IT RIGHT NOW!), it's time I finally saw through to that promise. However, I'm not going to over-analyze each episode because that would be insane. So instead, we're going to lightning round these suckers. Because it's my Tumblr, and I get to decide what I review and how the hell I review it...hooah.

Which means this is your last chance to avoid spoilers if you haven't seen The Owl House yet. Seriously, it's a great show, and you can catch up right now on Disney+. A week-long trial is more than enough time to watch the series, so DO IT! With that out of the way, let's get started with:

“A Lying Witch and a Warden”: This episode gets a lot of flack for having poor pacing and being too preachy with its message. And to that, I say...you're not wrong. Yeah, I wish I could be that person who can defend this episode against criticism like that, but these are understandable problems that just left this icky feeling in my tum-tum when watching. But that's only when looking at it as a regular old episode when in reality, people need to see it as a first episode. The first episode in any show needs to get viewers interested enough to continue watching by answering these five essential questions: What's the plot of the show? What's the tone? Who are the main characters? What's the world they live in? And what are the rules of the same world? "A Lying Witch and a Warden" does a great job of answering all of these questions. And if you stuck around until the season finale, then that means it did a great job of keeping you interested in sticking around as well. So seeing how it got its job done, albeit, with mixed results, I give this episode a B-.

“Witches Before Wizards”: Don't mind me. Just reveling in the fact that Luz escaped to a fantasy world to avoid Reality Check Camp, only to get a reality check anyway. Because that's what this episode is in a nutshell. Through the "quest" that Luz goes on, she learns two important lessons: One, don't trust strangers who offer you something nice and shiny (bonus points for Eda warning Luz to avoid men with sandals and then have Ategast wear sandals). And two, there is no such thing as having a predetermined destiny. I love the idea that Luz coming to the Isles was just a twist of fate, and everything that happens afterward is pure dumb luck. And that moment when Eda gave a speech about making your own path instead of waiting to become something special? That was the moment when I went from thinking this was going to be a fun show to thinking it's going to be a great show. So consider this episode a solid A in my book.

“I Was a Teenage Abomination”: How is it possible for an episode to get better and worse with time? Because here's the thing: This episode does a great job of showing how perfect Amity's development is. After one single season, it already feels jarring, seeing the way she acts in certain scenes. However, in that same respect, it's the same reason why this episode got worse. I didn't mind that Willow practically got away with cheating and vandalizing the school with her magic because she and Luz were basically trying to show up a two-dimensional bully. But knowing what we know in the future, it does seem unfair that Amity gets punished for their bad behavior and Willow got little consequences for it. Sure, Luz got banned and had to work at gaining Amity's trust, but what about Willow? Although, despite this complaint, I don't really hate this episode. It builds a believable connection between Luz and her friends, and the B-plot King and Eda show off their budding friendship. So while this episode is a C-, it's a somewhat enjoyable C-.

“The Intruder”: Is it weird for anyone else that King gets most of the blame in this episode? Yes, he took the potion, but Luz was the one who kept pushing him. This is why it never sat right with me seeing how everyone, including himself, blames King for this episode's incident. That being said, "The Intruder" is fantastic. Eda, as the Owl Beast, is legitimately threatening, and the way the episode treats Eda's curse like a chronic illness is actually kind of sweet. It teaches kids how this is something that just happens to people, and they're not any weaker because of it, as long as they take the right steps. Which is cool, and it's why this is another solid A episode for me. Sure King getting the blame bothers me, but it pales in comparison to everything else “The Intruder” does right.

“Covention”: If you want my personal opinion (obviously, seeing how you're reading this), "Covention" is the perfect episode to show a friend to get them into watching the The Owl House. Everything there is to love about the show is seen in just these twenty-two minutes. Eda being a chaotic good, Luz being a sweet and understanding character, some incredible/natural world-building, an actually decent B-plot, an epic fight scene, great comedy, and, my personal favorite, the building of Luz and Amity's relationship. In fact, this episode has the most quintessential moment between these two, that Dana Terrace herself took charge of making the animatic for it. A scene that is so perfect that you can do an analysis of these few minutes alone...which is what I did. Click here to read it! "Covention" gets an A+ in my book and might possibly be the best episode of the season. Maybe even the series!

“Hooty’s Moving Hassle”: There's not really a lot I can say about this episode. I don't hate it, but I'm not exactly in love with it. The interactions between Luz and her friends are adorable, and there are a few good jokes that kept me laughing. But the story is kind of bland, and I just find Eda's sudden obsession with Hexes Hold'em kind of odd. Especially since a card game is what nearly defeated the "undefeatable" Owl Lady. If it wasn't for the nice reveal of Willow's and Amity's friendship (which comes into play in a far better episode), I'd say that you could skip this one on future rewatches. Because this is a C grade episode that just doesn't grab me as well as others.

“Lost in Language”: Ah, yes. The episode that made dozens of fans jump aboard the Lumity ship...unless you're like me, and you've been shipping these two since the show's theme song (And I don't know why, either. It's just the second I saw Amity my first thought was, "Oh, honey. You're gonna fall in love with the main character, aren't you?" AND I WAS F**KING RIGHT!). But jokes about shipping aside, "Lost in Language" is a fantastic episode. It has a great lesson about how people are more complex than their first impressions (Or to not judge a book by its cover, if you wanna stay on theme). Edric and Emira seem like a chaotic duo who cause mischief all for good fun. But Luz, as well as the audience, learns that Ed and Em are kinda the worst (they get better in future episodes, but still). Then there's Amity, who hasn't had the best first impressions in the last few episodes. We got glimpses of a good person here and there, but for the most part, that's all they were. Glimpses. Then there's this episode, which gives us more than a small look, but some actual insight into who Amity really is. Better yet, who she wants to be. It's something that I appreciate about The Owl House in that it wastes no time in developing Amity's character. So much so that I can forgive this episode for shoehorning a "Two idiots and a baby" plotline that does nothing but add maybe two minutes of padding. So yeah, it's an A+ for sure.

“Once Upon a Swap”: "Ugh! It's the body swap episode! How cliche and-" SHUT UP! Shut your mouth, and listen: Something being cliche does not always make it bad. Only when the cliche fails to tell an entertaining story does it have the right to work as a complaint. "Once Upon a Swap" may have a cliche premise, but it's still an enjoyable story (or stories) with great laughs and even some ok lessons. I can understand if you hate the episode because its premise is something you've seen a dozen times to the point where your sick of it. My most hated story idea is the "Character A saves Character B, and Character B becomes a life slave." If you have seen this story once, you've seen it a thousand times, and it's the same case with a "body swap" episode. But guess what: The Owl House is a kids' show. Kids'. Show. You can complain all you want about predictability, but kids are the type of viewers who will be new to this experience, despite if it's one that is done to death. Which is why this is solid B of an episode if you ask me.

“Something Ventured, Someone Framed”: Can people please stop shipping Gus with Mattholomule? Because that slimy, greasy, weaselly little son of A BASTARD BITCH WEASEL DOES NOT DESERVE LOVE IN WAY POSSIBLE!

...

But enough about how Mattholomule is the worst character ever, because "Something Ventured, Someone Framed" is a B+ in my opinion. Sure it shows the worst side of Gus and lets Satan's little herpe win in the end, but there is still quality to be had. We get insight into who Gus is as a character, on top of Eda swallowing her pride and cleaning the school so Luz can get into Hexide. Also, Eda's permanent record was the first time this show brought me to tears due to laughing so hard. So while I have to take points off for the inclusion of Mattholomule (I don't make the rules. I just live by them), this is still an episode I wouldn't mind revisiting.

“Escape of the Palisman”: I subscribe to this theory that Luz will one day have Eda's staff as her own. And episodes like this that strengthen the bond between Luz and Owlbert help confirm that theory. Luz's dedication to trying to make things right could just be part of her kind nature, but I like to believe that this is Dana and the crew trying to set up this possible outcome. As for what I think about the episode itself...it's ok. Again, Luz's dedication is nice to see, and King's adventure with Owl Beast Eda is somehow insanely adorable, but there's not really much to say other than that. So it's another B episode for me.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that’s the end of part one! Part two has probably already been posted by the time you finish this, so you can go ahead and find that if you’re interested.

[flowerbutton]

for the mcyt questions: 14, 15, 20, 28, and 39?

cassidy ily thank you

for this ask meme btw folk, in case you wanna do it

14.  Have you ever watched Minecraft Championship - if yes, when was the first time you watched it?

Not live, unfortunately, but the first recorded MCC I watched, even if it was cut down a little, was Wilbur’s ‘We Win These’ video. The first full VOD I watched was Philza’s perspective of the MCC #12 VOD where he was teamed with Wilbur, George, and TapL.

15. What’s your favourite type of VOD (SMP, minigames, etc)?

Honestly, I really love any casual SMP/lore VODs or chaotic casual VODs, where someone starts off doing something and finally gets back to it after, like, an hour of running around doing something else. Foolish is really good at the second one, as is Philza, where they start off building or planning something and they end up doing something else before they get back to their original plan. In terms of the first example, I think BBH, Quackity, and Tubbo do it really well, where they make some things explicitly out to be lore-based, but they don’t throw it down too hard unless it’s necessary. Antfrost does it well too, especially that stream that started out really lore-heavy, where he and Bad were accusing Puffy of putting up Omelette-related posters, but as soon as Bad’s end started messing up, he dropped the lore and they had a really cool, chill stream.

And MCC VODs. I love MCC VODs. Would love to watch some MCC streams one day too #WhenWillMCCReturnFromTheWar

20. Whose content do you watch the most?

In terms of video content, edited and stuff, I would probably have to say between Skeppy, Tommy, and Wilbur. I’ve also been watching a lot of the Dream Team’s content recently, because it’s nice to have on while I’m doing something.

In terms of streaming content, Philza, Foolish, or Puffy are the people whose streams I always end up tuning into, and I don’t know why. I think I just like their vibes a lot? Also George’s Geoguessr streams for some reason; I don’t actively look for them, but I somehow always end up on them, whenever he does them.

28. Who are your current favourite MCYT’s?

I am devotedly watching all of Grian’s Hermitcraft Season 7 videos at the moment, so there is no way I’m not saying Grian. I have also started to watch some of False Symmetry’s Hermitcraft stuff too and I am really, really enjoying her content a lot.

Skeppy and BBH are two MCYTs whose content I always really enjoy, as is the case with a fair few people on the DSMP? I also really, really, really love Snifferish’s streams; they are so so so nice and cool.

39. Do you have a favourite MCYT animatic?

Does ours count? Aha, no, but everything SAD-ist has ever done, ever. The Channel Without A Name has some beautiful animatics as well as speed-paints (please look at the Fashion Memes I am begging you). Public Spam Account’s  How Bad Can I Be animatic is also g o r g e o u s l y done and was the first ever animatic for DSMP I saw. Need2Thneed has loads of great animatics too, and friccafracc is one reason I am considering getting TikTok, and THIS ANIMATIC by Aurodilla? Gert lush. Animatics, man

[dredreadsdrawing]

Oc-tober day 8: Sadness

I also made an animatic which is why this took a day longer to post (cuz my video didn't wanna export ewe) Here!

Recalling my past Final Girls story posts, I mentioned Lottie befriends a girl that was a defect of the outcasts. This is Spirit. A trans gal overwhelmed by anxiety and trying to fit in. It's noticeable but I'll point it out anyways, she has a lazy eye. I love her to bits oof. Her story goes as follows.

She's been Bo's, the eventual head of the outcasts, best friend since they were children. Growing up together, he knew her by her deadname and was the only one there for her when she came out during highschool. She didn't expect to have someone on hee corner, nevermind someone as protective as him. He waa always looking out for her, making sure she appeared normal... Calling out her flaws when she didn't. All with good intentions of course, so that she could blend in better.

Blending in was her priority. It became her anxiety.

They graduated and went to the same university. They became roomates, and though they went to different departments, she would always spend her extra time at his building, hanging around his fellow classmates. He soon got a group forming that wasn't... The best.

Outcasts, they called themselves. The odd ones out. The newly marginalized. The ones that society was stepping over.

She really hid it deep inside herself what group Bo was really forming. How they looked and sounded to outsiders. Especially on a campus so diverse, they stuck out like a sore thumb.

She never got along with the other outcasts, and they never paid her much mind. She blended into the background, only watching, never engaging in their heated discussions of injustices. She was only there for her friend.

A semester in, life with Bo is going well. Beinf roommates came naturally to them, and they feel a lot closer now. A bit too close. A night without reservations, they end up having a fling. They wake up surprised, but neither runs away.

They realize they could fill each other's needs in a new way.

For now. Atleast thats what he keeps cementing. He thinks friends dating is too complicated. But fucking? Sure. No strings attached is great.

And Spirit isn't complaining. She gets a bit delusional with her expectations of the future, too sure of her place eventually changing.

When in comes a girl that takes Bo over in one clean sweep. She runs the group now. They're all over her. All the points she makes, all her plans and visions for the future. She's inspiring.

Spirit's gut sinks fast.

She never spoke out because she naively hoped Bo would let go of his prejudices. He'd been so supportive of her, afterall!

But his biases are being set in stone more and more each day. He's grown entitled and angry. And Spirit is afraid.

She can't get through anymore. Hes furious whenever she tries to make a point contradicting his world view. The night before the big plan, she gives him an ultimatum.

He calls it off or she's calling the cops.

He calms down. He tries his coaxing voice. He tells her they can talk it through and she melts like butter into his embrace.

Then he beats her. He locks her in his room. He takes her cell phone, tells her he'll let her out when they're done, and he's gone.

She's left sobbing on the floor, shame welling up for all her inaction and letting him get to this point. She was so stupid. So careless.

.... People were going to get killed.

She stops her pity party and she calculates. She breaks the doorknob. She hotwires his beat up truck. His backup pistol is still inside.

She feels this is her responsibility. She's going to make ir right.

At the scene, the bloodbath has only just begun. Victims scatter and the outcasts hunt with ammo to boot. But one of them stays behind when he notices Bo's truck.

Bo had told them Spirit wasn't up for this.

He smiled at 'her' seeming change of heart. More than the privileged minorities, he hated people like 'her.'

It starts off with the facade of friendliness. He's happy she made it. She aims the gun at him. He's surprised, but he points his shotgun back.

She wouldn't do it. She was always soft-

A shot to the shoulder. She apologizes for missing. Another to the neck. That's better. He drops down, gurgling, clutching his wounds. He's dying, and he's so fucking pissed off about it.

She doesn't have time for his show. She stomps forward, her real target in her mind.

She won't cover for his ass anymore. She's going to kill Bo.

Passing through, she knows where to find him, but it takes a while. She doesn't want to waste more bullets on the others, she only has four more, so she has to hide.

Once she finally reaches the main house, she quietly comes up the stairs and prepares. She's shaking but she's willing. This is her redemption.

A shot rings out and deafens her ears. She bursts through the door.

The girl that took over has killed Bo.

She smiles at Spirit's entrance.

"Here to pick up my sloppy seconds?"

She laughs and waves as she sits on the windowsill.

"He wasn't my type anyways."

She slips outside.

Spirit let her go.

She wasn't her target. It was Bo. And now he was done.

She feels so hollow, looking down at him. So unfinished. The four bullets in their chamber feel heavy.

She looks beside him and notices a book. One the girl had kept close to her person ever since she met her.

She picks it up. She opens it.

A scream rings.

She can still help someone.

She tucks it under her arm and walks to the source of the sound, but finds Lottie already there. Already done.

A single girl from the victims is still alive. She may be the only one. They crowd together, explaining snippets of who they are. They're on the same side. But Lottie has to go.

She leaves the survivor to Spirit's protection to take care of her own business. They find a cellphone and call the cops.

As they wait in the night, jumping at any sound, the content of the book is in the back of her mind. She saw a diagran of sorts. Looking like the symbols Christians would fear.

Before the authorities arrive, she decides to hide the book. She won't let them take it. She'll come back for it later.

Once everything is said and done and they are saved, it's thanks to Lottie and the other girl's alibis that Spirit gets to walk free. They only know of her helping, not of her one murder of the night.

Days after the investigation concludes with the death of all culprits, she returns to the scene of the crime. She gets the book. And she opens a door.

There's a way to summon back a soul, it promises. Spirit is a believer of many things. She's willing to give this a try.

The end for this part lol.

[cookiehusky799]

Things I noticed about Varian and a short story of how I got into the series

He may be socially awkward but he’s still being sassy. Which is a way to cover up his awkwardness sometimes.

He does that quick eyebrow rise thing when emphasizing a word. Ex: “Flynn Rider, I believe I promised you...a secret.” He did it at the word “promised”. He did it again in Secret of the Sundrop, where he’s talking to Arianna. “What a happy family reunion this will be. For both of us.” Go back and watch it and you’ll see what I mean. I know he did it in Great Expotations when him and Cassandra are cleaning in the hallway. But it was an eye brow waggle because he was showing of to Cass. It’s more with the eyes than the eyebrows. And of course being sinister during the first slip up in The Alchemist Returns.

He is a bad/good liar.

He crosses his arms when relaxed or confident. Same as putting his hands on his hips.

His hair does get in his face when he’s not turning his head.

Avert gaze when upset.

Fiercely determined.

You can he’s tense sometimes by his shoulders.

Goes crossed eyed on the verge/ passing out... or getting hit. Raps accidentlly hit him with Herz Der Sonne’s journal in The Alchemist Returns. (I know she didn’t mean to.)

He’s a kid at heart.

His cowlicks sometimes are not there in few scenes. I noticed that in Queen for a Day. I’m hoping he still has them because it gives him that child appearance.

He sometimes forgets to put on his googles when experimenting. (Varian, you need to protect your eyes!)

I’m starting to think he’s left handed. That’s my guess, we didn’t see him writing.

His pupils shrink from sheer panic.

“I am sure...” noticed in What the Hair?! and Great Expotations.

When Rapunzel makes him a promise again in The Alchemist Returns, Varian automatically thinks she’ll turn it down. He does this to avoid getting hurt....and not to trust her promises.

He is no quitter.

Fascinating is his word.

In The Alchemist Returns, after saying he’s not concerned about Corona and Rapunzel got suspicious. You can see Varian tense up as she says, “You don’t care about Corona?” Varian tried to cover his mouth during the second slip up. (To be honest, I didn’t know what he was doing with his hand.)

He can be slick all he wants but he remains clumsy.

Being an alchemist, he is almost always engulfed in light.

He is really creative when making/ revealing things dramatically and entrances.

His googles changed a little since What the Hair?! The googles had another piece near the leans but throughout season one it was gone. I know they were still trying out his design, but I like to think he was thirteen going on fourteen.

He doesn’t approve his father’s decision but he’s running away from the biggest mistake in his entire life.

I love in What the Hair?! he had his foot slightly up, another indication he’s still a kid.

He seems to like his name because he’s saying it a lot. ( I know he told Eugene his name again but he just look so happy when he said it.)

 He had a sudden burst of confidence when he was the bad guy.

Clenched fists when upset/ angry.

I bet he’s glad to have bangs so he has something to hide like Fluttershy.

I swear, whenever Varian bares his teeth I hear a wolf snarling.

Whenever danger comes flying at him, someone has to get him out of harm’s way. Even when Varian doesn’t know it. The boy freezes up like Bambi did in Bambi 2.

It’s clear that Varian doesn’t have any friends in Old Corona.

Varian doesn’t want to see himself a failure.

I think the real reason why most people started falling in love with him because he’s cute. When I first saw him, was in somebody’s amv video like I mention in my first post. I didn’t think too much of him. I mean, I knew about the series from my movie’s fan site (Balto) I came across the song, Ready as I’ll ever be in a few fan made videos of movies like Balto, Lion King etc. There was an map of the song in Warrior cats. (Warrior cats is a book series. I used to read them but I stopped.) I want to think it was song that got me into the series, but I think it was Varian. I remember before watching the series I looked at clips of Varian not all of the them. No, first I watched two animatics of the series. I’m so glad I got into this show. Of all the tv series I watched in the past, this is the most fantastic show hands down. I joined the fandom during the season 2 hiatus. I got the movie but not Happily Ever After. I’m planning to get it once the series ended. 

Ok, that’s all the stuff I noticed in the alchemist. I had fun typing this out.

[letterboxd]

Life in Film: Michael Tyburski.

The Sound of Silence director Michael Tyburski shares some insights into the making of his debut feature, and answers our new “life in film” questionnaire.

In The Sound of Silence, Peter Sarsgaard is Peter Lucian, a house tuner in New York City who believes that the notes emitted from a household’s appliances must harmonize in order to bring peace to its residents. However, his state of mind collapses when he struggles to apply his methods for a new client, Ellen (Rashida Jones).

Directed by Michael Tyburski and based on a short film he made with co-writer Ben Nabors in 2013, The Sound of Silence debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and stood out for its “remarkably silly” unique premise and strong performance from Sarsgaard. Fans of ASMR, get your headphones out; the film’s sound design will trigger those sensations.

The Sound of Silence started life as your short film Palimpsest. Is the ‘house tuner’ occupation at all based in reality? Michael Tyburski: The short answer is no, it’s a fictional profession. The character idea is something that my co-writer Ben Nabors brought to me. Right away, I loved the idea of a practise where someone shows up at your door and offers you a solution to the emotional problems that you’re having.

A lot of alternative therapies exist in New York City so it didn’t seem so far from reality that people would take someone intellectual, dressed well in a tweed blazer, with professional-looking tools, seriously. I really liked that as a conceit. We tried to base it in real science and looked at sound engineers and acousticians for what tools they would use. We tried to make it exist in a very real New York City; that’s why we have touchstones like the character being profiled in The New Yorker.

How has your research into music theory affected your own domestic space? Actually, I moved, for the first time in ten years—after living on a pretty noisy commercial street—during the course of developing and making this movie. Somehow, during the edit, I made my first apartment move within New York City, to a much quieter street. I also took a cue from the main character, Peter Lucian, because I moved my office below my apartment, in a subterranean space. At least I can control the sound a little bit more now that I’m cut off from the surface level, similar to the way Peter does it in his “fallout shelter”.

Michael Tyburski and Peter Sarsgaard on the set of The Sound of Silence. / Photo: James Chororos

The character Peter Lucian feels like a perfect fit for Peter Sarsgaard. When did you have him in mind? He was my first pick. I knew I wanted him from the beginning when I first started thinking about who would be the perfect house tuner. I feel so lucky to have him and fortunately the script resonated with him right away. He’s someone who’s very musically inclined and he plays a number of musical instruments. I was so gratified that he connected to the part so closely.

He’s such a chameleon of an actor. He can play a lot of dark roles, but also he has a very scientist-like intellect. I also think he has one of the best voices, it’s very unique and I enjoy hearing him. So for a movie about sound, it kind of seemed fitting that someone with those types of qualities would work for the role.

What was important to you about keeping Peter’s house-tuning technology analog instead of digital? I think he’s just someone who has the philosophy of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”. Even though his tools are a little more dated, they’re still as effective. They might not be as efficient as digital technology so he’s a little slower, but they still work. There is at least one sound engineer in New York City who we found in our research who measures the sound in rooms, and there’s one thing called a spectrum analyzer that we use in the film that we completely got from this guy’s tool bag.

Director Michael Tyburski.

The film is carefully crafted and you have Peter obsessing over every inch of New York City. What degree of obsession did you have in the making of the film? I’m pretty obsessive as an individual in general. I like to be very organized and have everything mapped out. We had been developing the screenplay for so many years that I got tired of reading it, so before we made the movie, the first thing I did after Peter came on board was sit down and record the entire script in audio format. I kind of had this radio edit of the movie. That transitioned into a rough animatic of the film that I put into the timeline and I was able to add in location references, tonal reference photos, dialogue in different room tones, and then music.

Logistics-wise, we only had 21 days to shoot the movie which is very conservative especially because we had a lot of ground to cover, but I just needed to be as efficient as possible, so it was helpful to have that thorough, animatic tool.

With all the technical departments it was a very close collaboration and I like to be very involved in all details. For the sound design, I wanted to re-record all of the tuning forks, which were kind of an aural motif through the film. When you’re shooting in the elements, you don’t always have the control over the environment, so I hand-recorded each one of the tuning forks myself. We were aiming for that level of precision.

We’d like to ask a few questions about your life in film. What was the film that made you want to become a filmmaker? My choice is probably not that unique but when I was 13, maybe a little too young, I got a VHS copy of Pulp Fiction. That stunned me and took me from A to B. It shook up how I thought contemporary American stories could be told.

Which film do you think is the best love letter to New York? Annie Hall, closely tied with Midnight Cowboy. I suppose I love that era of New York.

Which film has the greatest sound design work of all time? There’s a lot, but one of my favorites is Play Time.

Nice choice. Greatest production design of all-time too. Yeah, not bad. I used a few frames for my look book.

Jacques Tati’s ‘PlayTime’ (1967).

Which is the most overlooked performance from Peter Sarsgaard? I loved him in Experimenter, which I think is an underrated film. More recently too, Errol Morris’s Wormwood. I don’t know how many people went down that rabbit hole because it was long, but I think he was so good in it.

What films did you watch to prepare you for The Sound of Silence? There were three that we were looking at, for a lot of different reasons. We watched Jonathan Glazer’s Birth for the mood and that fairytale vibe it has in a mysterious, alternate New York City.

Being John Malkovich for its bizarro version of science, and I love the naturalistic quality to that film. And obviously The Conversation for its production design and how it follows a man obsessed with sound.

This is a nicely-timed, autumnal, gentle film. What films give you those peaceful autumn vibes? My favorite is Hannah and Her Sisters.

What mindfuck movie changed you for life? I’ll have a couple Kubrick on this list, but for this probably A Clockwork Orange.

It’s Halloween next month. What movie do you watch every Halloween? The Shining! There’s my next Kubrick.

As a teenager, what film character felt like a total mirror to what you were feeling at the time? One of my favorite coming-of-age films is Harold and Maude. I definitely identified with Harold.

What’s your go-to comfort movie? And how many times do you think you’ve seen it? My favorite film of all time, which I promise will be my last Kubrick, is Barry Lyndon. I think it’s just a perfect movie and I’ve certainly seen it dozens of times. I think it does everything I want in a movie. I don’t even know what genre to call it because it’s funny, it’s dramatic, it’s an epic. I love the idea of doing a perfect epic movie that covers a lot of ground.

Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon’ (1975).

What film do you have fond memories of watching with your parents? We were a big Chevy Chase household and National Lampoon’s Vacation holds up as a fine movie.

What’s a classic you could just not get into? Maybe Brazil. Admittedly I think I need to rewatch it because I first saw it when I was 14 or 15 and I just didn’t quite get it at the time.

What classic are you embarrassed to say you haven’t seen? Two Kurosawa films; Rashomon and Seven Samurai. They’re always on my list to brush up and they seem to come up in conversation more and more.

Which movie scene makes you cry the most? Definitely the holiday classic It’s A Wonderful Life.

What film was your entry point into non-English language cinema? That was a good one, I like that question. I remember when I was in my freshman year of high school I was given two VHS copies from someone who knew I was getting into film. One of those films was Persona, but then the other one, which I knew I watched first, was a film called Woman in the Dunes.

What filmmaker—living or dead—do you envy the most? If Kubrick, go for living… If it’s Kubrick go for living? Oh my gosh.

I feel like you’re going to say Kubrick. Yeah. Envy is a funny word. Kubrick has an admirable career for the depth of his filmography. You know, like a lot of film nerds I’m a huge Paul Thomas Anderson fan.

Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Prestige’ (2006).

What’s a film that you wish you made? I would love to make a movie about magic but ever since I saw The Prestige I think it would be hard to compete with that. That period, that Victorian era of illusion, I don’t know if you can top that.

It’s time for best-of-decade lists. What’s the greatest film of the 2010s? If we went back even further it would be easier. For the last 10 years, I think Phantom Thread is pretty great.

‘The Sound of Silence’ was released on September 13 by IFC Films and is in select cinemas now.

[alexanderessex190973ba2bcollab]

Collab Project - Second and Third Animatic and the copious amount of modelling and colouring for the Final Piece

For the last week on the collaboration piece, I really went all out on trying to make this piece something fantastic to watch as I spent so much time trying to make everything as detailed as possible. That’s not to say that I didn’t do a lot of animation though as I felt I really refined the Spirit’s animation as well as Anng’s movement respectfully.

Starting with the modelling of the environment, I followed a few tutorials learning how to make tree's specifically low poly ones so I could stay on theme with the islands I’ve made around the world I’ve made. There were two types of trees I ended up making, I very low poly (which is the video tutorial here) and one a  more complicated low poly that involved multiple types of faces. Between the two, the tutorial trees were so much easier to do and probaley easier to make as well. However, the more detailed low polygon trees were tricky but they were really worth it as I made some really interesting janky trees that help varied up the really easy to do trees in my scenery. 

How To Create A Low Poly Tree In Maya | Ep. 4 A Simple Tree

In addition to making trees in Maya, I also made some leaves to go around the Monk character as well as debris across the islands. Weirdly enough, this was the hardest thing to model due to how many creases you needed to make in the leaf as well as angling it just right so that it realistically looked like a leaf. The first time I made the leaf I made it way too thick to be counted as a leaf which is what led to me sticking to the tutorial so closely so I wouldn't stray off too much. Whilst the leaf was really tricky to model just right, the whole repetition process was still really fun to do which I can say the same for when I was modelling the trees too.

Alongside the leaves that I made as foliage across muy scene, i also made a couple of smooth rocks to differentiate the rocks that are keeping Anng in to help resent these rocks are very special. In addition to this, I also made patches of grass with sounds really easy to mold and make which you would be right. However, its’s the placement of these grass patches that are so important as this is an overlooked detail that’s just forgotten bout when looking at the environment. I felt like I was specifically putting patches of grass like I was individually placing the min a Plasticine collage with the amount of attention of detail I took. Sure people might overlook the grass patches when they watch my sequence. But i’m just happy that if someone was to look at one of my islands individually, they would see how much craft I’d put into the scenery which that in itself could be showing of ‘Passion’. 

How to model a leaf in MAYA2017

Old Leaf vs New Leaf

I think this next part was just in general the trickiest thing I had to this week due to how many steps was included to even try and make it let alone have the chance to animate. I am of course talking about the flower ornament that symbolises passion within the Monk as he emerges from the rock formation. 

Before I get into the process on how I managed to make the flower animation, I realised at the time that I wasn’t using the right flower as a passion flower doesn't always technically symbolise passion. The flower that more symbolises passion is the yellow Iris flower. A three petal flora with 3 small little tendral petals inside of the flower. Once I realized this was the right flower that I needed to symbolise passion  for my Principle Piece, I followed the tutorial online detailing how to create this flower petal design animation into Maya. Al;though on top of that, Jon was kind enough to make a special tutorial just for me to make the tutorial that I’ve been referencing since the start I saw that video.

The way I made the flower petal animation was through making the petal size and selection in Photohsop and then I painted over the selection in another layer creating my fresh layered petal almost ready for Maya. Before I could export them to Maya, I had to export both a colored version and a black and white version so that Maya could register how bright the image will be as well as evaluating the transparency of the image too.

Once they’re in Maya, you need to got to the Hypershade tool and create two texture files and connect it the same way its shown it to an a empty aistandardsurface plane. After all of these steps, you should be able to see the petal in Maya. Whats really cool now is that if you adjust the d point towards the center of the petal and move to the right most angle, you’ll be able to spin the petals around in a 360 degrees fashion.

Iris Flower Petal Colour and Black and White Design

Tendrals Petal Colour and Black and White Design

Getting the petals into Maya wasn’t actually too bad in retrospec, I think for the animation side of things I seemed to really struggle due to the object plane really not wanting to behave itself as it just likes to either move its own way or just do it’s own thing when I’m not even touching the flower as some playbacks of the flower sprouting, it would glitch and gitter across the playback. Although despite theses problems, I think the sequence was really worth it as it allowed you to create some really pretty flower blooms which I wish could of explored more in the project. 

Combining the Petals together to create the Flower

I think overall the flora I created for the scenery will most likely be overlooked from the everyday viewer when they watch my sequence but like I said before, even if there’s one person that takes interest into the work I’ve created, that would mean the world to me.

The Landscape of the Scene

With the sky lighting for the animation, I always imagined it to be a very autumn setting with a pink and yellow sky as it emits very warm feelings to me as well onto the character too. Plus I think there’s a range of coulours on offer atm that ‘s happening in the render scene and going through the colour palettes we already have, these choice of colours just seemed so perfect to me especially the kind of mood it gives off too. 

One render I did want to talk about here was the 3rd render I produced as instead of ornage/yellow lighting inside of the cave, I’ve gone for a more purpley interior from the firefilies. This colour change was because of how too similar the colour inside would be to the outside and really wanted to go for something in contrast instead to make it feel you’ve been taken to a new world. Personally looking at the render, I feel it really achieves at that perspective a lot especially when Spirit peeps inside the rock and you see the dark purples everywhere with some of the fireflies illuminating you.

Rendered Image 1

Rendered Image 2

Rendered Image 3

First Animation Sequence

Watching back on the first animation sequence I did with this detailed scenery is an immediate step-up from the previous animation that I did in the last blog post as this is an immediate upgrade. I guess the things I feel critical about if that the flower bloom isn’t very natural and acts way too soft (but don’t get me wrong looked really cool), I’m not too sure of the fast spinning of the Spirit as I may cut that out to make it more suttle and less fast to watch. In addition to that, i plan to add in additional animation into the Spirit's face as it’s very static looking with its face always staring like a blank slate. But other than these changes and maybe a couple of small ones I say here, the sequence is looking really good so far which I can only improve from here personally.

Second Animation Sequence for Submission

This is a much updated and refined piece of animation I did also in the last week till hand-in. Here I involved a lot more character and emotion into the Spirit as he moves from scene to scene making him more alive and joyful to look at which I was really happy with in addition to improving the animation to Anng’s shoulders as he breathes in and out. Honestly there’s really not too many gripes I have with this animation compared to the previous one as this feels so good to watch in comparison. 

[resbang-bookclub]

AMA Transcript: Close Your Eyes

Next up, @redphlox​ & @mrsashketchum​ stopped by to chat about their Resbang, Close Your Eyes. Here’s some of what went down:

Q: What inspired the concept behind the fic?

redphlox: WELL, I've had the idea to write a left-at-the-altar fic for a while, but I never quite had it envisioned in my mind scene/plot wise. I only had the premise. Then this year I decided to research wedding planning and ask my married friends [about] their wedding planning experience, and after brainstorming/talking it out with @professor-maka​ I had a solid idea finally. I love writing about emotions, especially coming-of-age/working through difficult situations, but writing this was difficult because I've never been in that situation (being left at the altar) so it was a journey.

Q: Mak, what went into how you chose which scenes to art/gif?

Mak (mrsashketchum): I actually had to work closely with Julie on what scenes to art and for the animatic :D But for the first piece, I really loved the bathtub scene and I thought it was such a unique challenge for me to draw the backgrounds and to bring the scene to life visually :0 If it makes sense?

redphlox: Mak drew the bathtub scene first right after she read the first chapter, like she mentioned, and we worked on picking out the scene for the icon collage together! I had the characters closing their eyes during specific moments and wanted to highlight those, and Mak brought them to life!

Q: Jackie/Soul brotp is a thing that you've created in not only this fic but some of your past ones as well! What inspired that? :D

redphlox: I LOVE Jackie so much, I think it's because I see her as a snarky, quietly sarcastic type that I relate to, so writing her with grumpy ass Soul just makes sense to me. They both are so reticent in canon, it just fits to me to put them together and have them be BFFs :D

Q: Mak, what made you decide to do an animatic?? It was so cool I looooved it.

Mak (mrsashketchum): I enjoy making animatics so much and I've always wanted to be a storyboard artist. I've also been planning to make an animatic anyway for Resbang, but when I saw Julie's fic summary I knew that the animatic was absolutely something I wanted. And I thought a trailer-like thing would go very well with the story? (This is definitely not because of watching so many wedding themed movies before, nope, lol).

Q: For Julie: There were a lot of feelings spread out through the fic, some that nearly brought me to tears. Did you have the same reactions to writing it? What emotions exactly were you trying to bring out in the reader? (because you brought out a lot).

redphlox: Hmmm, well... I wanted to bring out a sense of loss in reference to relationships, and rebuilding, and growing together after the trust is lost or the other person seems to be changing in a way you aren't. I also wanted to touch on Soul and Maka's separate and individual relationships with other people outside of their relationship, if that makes sense? I also aimed to highlight all sorts of love, so it was important to me to talk about everyone's relationships with each other. Friendship, lala, haha. My reaction to writing it was... ahh, frustration, because certain scenes were beyond reasonably difficult to write.

Q: What brought about the Soul and Wes conflict? Because like I was telling you in DMs, that wounded me ahahaha it was way too real.

redphlox: The Soul and Wes conflict was something that came up as I writing. Originally Wes was supposed to be the all-knowing, all supportive and understanding brother, but the more I wrote the more Soul started to resent Wes's blind optimism, and it makes sense - Soul can be a negative person, and it seems like he needs to sulk to process, and Wes just wasn't having it. Their personalities are too different, and showing that was important because it's okay to love someone and not know how to comfort them.

Q: That felt so real julie I loved it. As the owner of many siblings it read as absolutely true. Did your life influence that?

redphlox: Wes and Soul's relationship issues are inspired by some self-reflecting I've been doing, and taking the Love Languages test and comparing it to my loved one's results.

Q: For Mak: What inspired your color palette for the bathroom scene? It was very warm and it brought out as much emotion through visuals as the words themselves did. Was that intentional?

Mak (mrsashketchum): Yes it was definitely intentional! Like I said in my previous answer, I worked so closely with Julie (we fangirled so much over everything honestly), she helped me with colors and their poses and if there were tiny details I missed. She sent me a lot of references too which is very helpful for me since I tend to make use visual references more. It's always helpful to work closely with the author so that the feeling of the artwork doesn't wholly overwhelm the feeling of the writing style? Like I wanted it to match as well :") I'm glad it turned out amazingly.

Q: I was wondering Julie how you came up with the concept of the radio confession. I loved that Jackie's show was commandeered.

redphlox: Well, I was thinking, what's the opposite of having Soul be constipated with his feelings?? Blurting them out in public of course, haha, so that's how I came up with that scene. It's the first scene I had actually, and I plotted the fic for that ending. I also have Jackie as a public figure in many of AU's, she was a blogger in my model au, so the role seems a running gag in my writing.

Mak (mrsashketchum): Constipated was the best way to describe him with his feelings.

Q: So weird question for Julie: There's a movie I remember watching years and years ago, that I was reminded of when reading the radio confession scene, unfortunately for the life of me I can't remember the name of it. Did you draw that scene up from what would have fit into the story, or were you influenced by an outside source, like perhaps that mystery movie?

redphlox: I like to listen to the morning radio and always wonder how people are brave enough to go live on air and talk about their relationships or embarrassing moments etc, so that kind of inspired the radio scene too!

Q: I really enjoyed TsuWes btw, and it's not a ship I've really seen. What made you decide on it?

redphlox: AHHH well, they're both Tall, and I love both of them so.... I made them love each other. Also the ship name WesTsu Bestu got me.

Mak (mrsashketchum): I always thought that Tsu and Wes love to tease Soul and Maka together, so the ship happened like that haha.

Q: Btw Tsubaki owning a flower shop is greaaat was that always the plan?

redphlox: Tsu owning a flower shop was also one of those things that just came about because I needed someone to deliver those "I still love you" flowers, but it fit so perfectly because of how Soul fit into learning flower arranging from her and thus getting him to stay in Death City. It was one of those things that fell into place.

Mak (mrsashketchum): Those stuff in AUs that fall into place are the best accidents, if u can call it that.

Q: Question for Mak; the animatic, that collage, the illustration; how did you manage to capture the fic in its entirety, while still giving each piece made its own personality so to speak? For example; the bathroom scene with your color choices made it warm, melancholy, touching, the watercolor for the collage was deep and soothing at the same time, intense, and the animatic, the monotones give it a blank canvas for each viewer to create their own emotional interpretation. How are you absolutely amazing I guess is my overall question??

redphlox: This is the most important question of this AMA tbh. I love the lighting in that piece akfdsgnfkdfdss. I felt it in my heart.

Mak (mrsashketchum): Oh my god. Thank u for the question!!!! I... actually honestly have no idea haha. I guess it's just that when you love a concept so much and completely have a wonderful connection with your partner that it just flows? I wanted to really make the artworks fit into the theme and the feel of the writing. I made sure that while Julie checked if my artwork had the feel she was going for, I also wanted to make sure that what I was feeling was gonna reflect on it as well. This is for the bathtub scene btw haha. The collage was actually supposed to be monochrome as well but I wanted to give it some color too? Like the fic in its entirety is just blasting with emotions? And yet it's generally so soft to me. The animatic was really supposed to have that gray background because I've seen a lot of animatics drawn that way haha. But I did make it work to my advantage that it wasn't too overwhelmingly dark but it's so that you could see the tears as well? It would be hard if the background was white and the tears were white too, right? :0

Q: By the way I loved the weddings in the fic. Like I wanted to attend them they sounded gorgeous. How did you decide on those elements?

redphlox: I have an aesthetic/personal blog where I reblog a lot of pictures of flowers and I came across one that was a ball room covered in flowers and I thought - yep, Wes and Tsu would be married here. As for Soul and Maka's wedding, I LOVE being out at night, and I love soft lighting and would like a night wedding if I ever get married, so yeah. Aesthetic, haha.

Q: How did you manage to capture a canon-like Soul in an AU?

redphlox: Ahhh I just... plot out the fic centered with feelings first and go from there.

Q: I wanna know more about this fantastic partnership. it sounds like you guys were a great team and worked so well together - any tips on communication for anyone out there who may have felt shy? Also, give us the beta comments >:)

redphlox: Okay I LOVED working with Mak! Even though we're like, what, twelve hrs time difference??? we still managed to be online at the same time and work on our projects together. She'd draw line art and show me and I'd write a scene and show her and we'd keysmash at each other. It was soooo rewarding and fun!

Mak (mrsashketchum): I would like to say that Julie and I are the Angst Twins actually. I love working with Julie too???? Like everything just really worked out.

redphlox: It wasn't even planned tbh, I would see her online and go like :eyes: and she'd be like "im working on the collage!" or vice versa. It really felt like it was OUR resbang and not just MINE y’know? Tip wise, I'd say find a platform you really enjoy being on/are available on the most and communicate through there, that really worked for Mak and I.

redphlox: Since this was a srs fic most beta comments were of surprise and like, offended bc I did something Bad.

Jaded [@jaded-envy​] made a lot of silly comments! She is amazing. Like when Maka is at the bookstore and looking up self help books for looooove, jaded titled them after some fics i've written.

Q: Question for both Mak and Julie; your partnership sounded like it flowed like a dream. Did you guys ever feel like you were overpowering one another? I know alot of partnerships struggle with the "am I bugging them too much" or "what if i'm doing it wrong" mindsets, so how did you guys get past that, for anyone who suffered from those feelings.

Mak (mrsashketchum): Oh that's actually an interesting question!  I never thought of me overpowering Julie or her overpowering over me? It's more like I want to be able to do as much work as she does? Since we're partners we must work hand-in-hand and not with one of us being the overpowering one? So to speak.

redphlox: SAME what Mak said, I always offered her to give suggestions for the fic and she always asked me for advice on colors and we listened to each other. Basically we were considerate of each other, it was/is amazing :' D

Mak (mrsashketchum): aaaaaaa true ;w; Since it is technically a partnership, we treated it as if it were like something we needed to work on together, and doing stuff at the same time really helped put it into perspective in a way?

Q: Where did the inspo from the bathtub scene came from? Did you draw from a specific experience/influence for that?

redphlox: Hmm... well, no specific experience influenced that, it just like, happened? I thought like, "ok where would Maka be if she were crying?" and it made sense to put her in the bathtub after she spilled the ink on herself, and she prob had no energy to leave, so there she stayed until Soul found her.

Q: Also Julie, I know you suffered from writers block I kicked your butt into gear once, lol. How did you overcome it? When I get to a sentence or idea that I can't exactly word or find a way to explain, I usually drop it for weeks and then come back to it. Can't do that with Resbang to an extent so how'd you get past it within a limited amount of time without rushing the pace, or glossing over an idea that was meant to be incorporated into the fic?

redphlox: ahhhh WELL, I wrote 40kish between Jan 1st and Jan 16th, so a deadline kicks me into high gear. A lot of the block was not knowing what happens in weddings and doing research tbh x) I died a little but it made me stronger.

Q: Okay you broke my heart a number of times, can you explain the thought process of why Maka never texted Soul?

redphlox: Maka was just too shook to think rationally :0 Have you ever been so anxious it feels like you're going to die? That's basically how it was for her, the emotion was too strong. She realizes later she could have done better and coming to terms that she makes mistakes is also a lesson she had to learn.

Q: How long did recording voices for the animatic take? And did you have any silly moments while doing so? haha

Mak (mrsashketchum): I actually had the weirdest time doing every voice, it's crazy. It took half an hour to be honest? It didn't need to be perfect, it just needed to have the right emotion. I had to channel every angsty fiber of my being for crying!Maka.

Q: For Mak: Do you feel like you grew in your art skills through this bang? If so, how?

Mak (mrsashketchum): I actually did grow a lot in my art skills with this bang! I felt that giving myself more challenges in backgrounds helped a lot in dealing with drawing perspective. And also with hair. I learned so much with color as well and how each shade and palette is definitely super important.

Q: What are you most proud of for the piece/pieces you did?

Mak (mrsashketchum): I’m really proud of all my pieces! But if i could only pick one then it would be the bathtub scene for sure! I spent most of my waking hours for it and I even made a 3d model for the perspective just for a reference.

Q: What are you working on next?

Mak (mrsashketchum): I’m definitely working on some more animatics and animations and my Vday art will be super late haha. Also SoMa Week is near and I'm planning really big things!

Q: Favorite/least favorite moment/scene to write?

redphlox: Mmm my fave scene to write was all of them, I felt like I looked forward to all of them now that I look back to it, if that makes sense?

Q: Hardest scene/part to write?

Redphlox: A difficult scene to write was the very end where Soul and Maka finally talk it out bc I felt that I had gotten them in SO MUCH TROUBLE that I was like "how the fffff do I fix this?" But luckily I had the best betas, jaded and proma, there as I wrote it and we were all on the doc at the same time and we were all just, live writing/betaing. I’m v happy to have explored Soul and Maka's friendships and family life. One of my favorite scenes was the scene where Liz talked Maka through some Hard Truths. I love Liz. I think there was a scene I had to delete bc it just wasn’t fitting, it was with Kim and Soul, but I ended up using bits of it later.

Q: Tell us about your writing process.

redphlox: My writing process was basically writing like a turtle at the beginning/struggling to find inspiring music to write to/plotting, and then the last bit was writing 7k daily and going !!!! internally. Lots of keysmashes to my betas.

Q: What are you most proud of this Resbang?

redphlox: Im really proud of writing and finishing this resbang tbh, I had an amazing partner and had fun with my betas, and I pushed my writing speed/abilities because I explored some feelings I hadn't ever experienced before (being left at the altar) I'm happy with the outcome!

Q: Was music important to your process at all, and if so, are there any songs/playlists that were relevant?

redphlox: Yesssss so jaded made a playlist! Lemme get it. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7rssdV2CkoNRl4-cPWuqm7ocC-QxP0Vn

Q: What are you working on next?

redphlox: Next, I'm working on plotting this year's Resbang, finishing Siren AU, writing and posting my longfic Sailor Moon AU, and aside from writing I'm working on being a better reviewer/commenter and beta :D