#I'm also not looking for a debate...

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Lan Wangji Goes To Lotus Pier AU: Part 3: Enveloping Feelings.

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 4)

[swan2swan]

Introducing the "Pet the Tortoise" Litmus Test:

If your show has time to let a character just sit and pet a tortoise for a scene--no matter how brief--it's a Good Show and you're well-paced. It's just a brief moment of pleasant comfort, it doesn't have to move the plot forward or provide crucial exposition, but it shows that you have both some time to spare in the story and you're letting your characters be Happy for a minute.

[dr-lurker]

He used to get bullied in school for being too pretty </3 the kids would chase him around yelling "pretty face, pretty face"

Also WE'RE SO BACK I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS

[crystallizsch]

Hey, prof. How are your classes? My new first-year students are quite behaved this year.

post-nrc yuusha brain worms are getting to me,,,,

anyways i finally figured it out- i want her to start working as the art professor at nrc probably a short time after graduation 👀

(so not really post-nrc since she's still there 💀)

[cecoeur]

How do you sleep at night? No one to hide behind Betrayed every alibi you had You had every chance to make amends instead you got drunk on bitterness And you still claim that you're innocent, it's sad

[reksink]

[youremyonlyhope]

Me years ago: Yeah I never really understood why people are attracted to the Master. I get that Simm and Gomez are both attractive as the Master, but I've never really been attracted to the Master.

Dhawan!Master:

Me: ...... Oh ok I get it now.

[ratwithhands]

Read Right to Left (Manga Format)

I have returned to watching demon slayer after a year and it came up while I was having a serious late night talk with my big sister. I was talking about the relationship between Michikatsu/Kokushibo and Yoriichi and it turns out we both see each other in Yoriichi's shoes and ourselves in Michikatsu's place. Definitely surprising, but really relieving to know that we both worry too much and we are not so far apart in skill as we believe.

This is technically the first piece of fanart I've ever made for the characters in Demon Slayer, I have made OCs before but I never drew an actual character from the story. For context this is mostly just a fun "what if" scenario with them meeting in the afterlife. I like to think Yoriichi's love would reawaken Michikatsu's humanity.

[zecoritheweirdone]

so i saw this old-ish post about an au centering around a villain lewis and a hero arthur,,, and i. may have gotten attached to it,, dkdndkdjs. so i decided to make some edits + doodles based on it!! i also really wanna make a lil oneshot about it as well,, but uh... whether or not i actually follow through on that, we'll see,, skdjsojdks.

edit: good news, gang,, i wrote the fic!!

[ishgard]

Miss(?) Ishgard *please* give us the in-between ali I wanna see your take cause alphi looks so good

THIS WAS ALL THE PUSH I NEEDED TO DO IT THANK YOU 😂 (i was sad I couldn't find specific elezen ears for fem viera but these ones will work just fine)

biblically accurate taller alisaie 😌

[lochallthedoors]

Noel Versus the Council Skies Tracklist

Context: If you pick just one interview of Noel's to read/listen to from the Council Skies promo run, chances are that interview will feature Noel complaining that he fucked up the tracklist--that he now believes "Think of a Number" should have been first and "I'm Not Giving Up Tonight" should have gone last.

I find his obsession with the album's messaging kind of fascinating in the context of whatever led up to the Oasis reunion, so I thought I'd put together a masterlist of interview excerpts where he explains why he made the choice he did and why he wishes he could go back and get a do-over.

I have thoughts but they're very rambly so they're going in the tags. The focus should be on the transcripts here anyway.

NME Interview Posted 3 June 2023

Noel: "Think of a Number," yeah, it's got a Bowie feel to it. If I had my chance--if I had my time again, I would have had that as the opening track on the album. I've kind of--yeah, that's--that's--I mean, every album that I make, anyway, tends to be flawed in some way, and this is almost perfect, but that's the biggest flaw, is that the opening track, "I'm Not Giving Up Tonight," should be the closing track, and "Think of a Number" should be the opening track. But I didn't think "Think of a Number" was strong enough until it was too late. You know, and, uh, yeah--what a dick. But there you go--I'm allowed to be a dick when it's my own music, so. later in the interview Interviewer: I mean, you talked about how, uh, Council Skies was about you asking "how did we get here, and how did I get here?"--as in you, not me. I know how I got here. Um, did you find any answers? Noel: (pause) No, I think--I think the last line of, um, "Think of a Number," although--although it should be the first track on the album, I think the last line of it is perfect for an ending of an album, which is--is--it's like, "let's drink to the future / I hope it comes round again." Did I find any answers? No, but I will--no, I will find them, though.

Radio X Interview Posted 8 June 2023

On "I'm Not Giving Up Tonight" Noel: The biggest or the most interesting thing, or what I find interesting is I--this should be the closing track on the album because it ends with a lot of hope, you know I mean? "I'm not giving up tonight" and all that. And I, for some reason--the track that closes the album, we'll get to that obviously at the end, but, um, I didn't feel the track that closes the album was strong enough to open a record with. It's a big, epic kind of affair, and I thought that would be a bit obvious. And, uh, I thought "I'm Not Giving Up Tonight" would be a great way to ease into a new record. If I could go back now, I'd--I'd have it closing--closing the record, but it was too late to change my mind. But, um, I do like that song. It's, uh--it's, uh--yeah, it's got a great vibe that's slightly reminiscent of Buffalo Springfield, and, uh, Gem plays a great guitar part on it. And, uh, yeah, I mean, it's--I don't know. Kennedy: Yeah, yeah, no, it's interesting. I mean, it's got the strings on it, it's got the horns on it, and there's a little bit of the gospel choir, and-- Noel: Yeah-- Kennedy: Those are all elements that are through the record. Noel: But I guess the sentiment of it is a song of defiance, you know? "I'm not giving up tonight," and that, you know, obviously writing these things in--in lockdown there was a bit--there was a bit of that in--in a lot of the songs. But, yeah, it's a grand--it kind of sets it up perfectly because it's a--it's a grand kind of opening, but it's a bit laidback as well. On "Think of a Number" Noel: I love the song. Now--and it's me playing the guitar, so it's really epic, and, so, as mad as this sounds, I didn't think that song was strong enough to open a record with. I liked it, right? And I did, and--and something inside of me hung in there with it, and--I don't like closing records on a negative kind of, uh, almost, um, what's the word I'm looking for--uh, pessimistic kind of, um, feel to it. The last line is, you know, "let's drink to the future, I hope it comes around again"--that really should have been the opening track on the album and finished with "I'm Not Giving Up Tonight," you know? That would have been the journey through the lockdown and isolation and all that. But as that song went on, I was like, you know, just didn't feel it was strong enough. I thought it was just a bit standard High Flying Birds rock kind of tune. Obviously, when we finished--when I finished it and mastered it, the penny dropped one night at home, and I was like "Oh, God," you know. And then you do the frantic "Can we change it?" and it was like, "No, we pressed up now. What are you doing?" Um, so it really should have been the opening track, but I love the lyrics on it, and they paint a really pessimistic picture of the future, which is what I was feeling at the time. And, yeah, there's some great--the lyrics are really visual, and, um, yeah, it's--I mean, it's an epic rock tune, and it's--it's got the full production and, yeah, really great.

XS Manchester Drive Posted 9 June 2023

Note: For the clip of Clint calling out Noel's pause, see definitely-rubbish's post here

Noel: Let's do a track called "Think of a Number." Clint: "Think of a Number"--now, this is the--it's the actual last track on the album, innit? Not including the bonus track? Noel: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Clint: When I heard this--and I made some notes--some of the--"Let's drink to the future / I hope it all comes 'round again." It sounds like you reaching out to somebody. Noel: Well, uh-- [Long pause] Clint: That was a brilliant pause! Noel: I could never-- Clint: That pause was amazing. It's gonna sound great on the radio, that! Noel: I could never decide if that track should have been the opening track or the closing track. And if I had my time again, I'd have it as the opening track, because the track that is the opening track, "I'm Not Giving Up Tonight," would end the album on a real--"I'm not giving up tonight"--a kind of sense of hope. But with this song, right up until the death--I never thought it was strong enough to open a record. I thought people would go, "You know, okay, well, I was expecting that from him." And--yeah, I kind of bottled it a little bit and put it as the closing track, which ends on a really bleak note, you know? Uh, but there you go. You know, you live and learn.

SoCal Sound Interview Recorded June 9, 2023

Harcourt: The opening track is "I'm Not Giving Up Tonight," and, I mean, that's full-on. Noel: Mm-hmm. Harcourt: There's bells, there's whistles-- Noel: Oh, yeah. Harcourt: It's--it's the whole thing. Noel: Yeah. Harcourt: Uh, is that at the beginning of the album for a reason? I mean, it sort of seems to set an intention. Noel: Yeah, I should have actually had it as the closing track. I think--I think there would have been a--well, so, the--the closing track is a track called "Think of a Number," and, actually, the entire track listing was set in stone very, very early, apart from these two tracks, and I kept flipping them, just to listen to at home, and I kept flipping them, and I--ludicrously, I actually thought "Think of a Number" wasn't strong enough to open a record, and I thought people would be expecting a big, kind of--and, actually, in hindsight, I should have had that as the opening track, because it would have meant the album would end on a more positive note, whereas it ends on a bit of a bleak note. Harcourt: Mm. Noel: But that's the one change I would make. Um, but, no, it's ["I'm Not Giving Up Tonight"] not there for any specific reason other than I felt like, for this--you know, my albums always open up with something huge, and I thought for this one, maybe something a bit more understated, um. But it's a fucking great song. Harcourt: It is a great song. Noel: Yeah, it's a great song. Harcourt: Yeah. Noel: The way that it--the way that it came out sounding is amazing. Yeah.

[zarla-s]

So there's this meme on Twitter where you ask your followers what the traits of your art style are, then try to draw something without using any of those. So what I got was...

Thick, round, colored lines with line-weight

Soft blurry shading

Detailed eyes

Natural colors (not too bright/too dull)

Hands with rounded fingers

Detailed, wrinkled clothes

Limp thin hair

Round chin, round head

Detailed nose, lips

It was an interesting challenge! This looks super weird to me but I guess that's the point, haha. I dunno if I hit some points as much as others but I gave it a shot. Oh, here's the meme if you want to do it yourselves!

[patreon]

[asmodeusamaryllis]

It crazy it took him a moment given they're look identical nearly

[dragonsspire]

I think what makes me so uncomfortable with some loudly ex-mormon folks is that I already know all of this because I was there. It feels like, rather than what I do sometimes, coming to grips with my experiences and how it impacts/ed me in my life and what I want to do about it now; they are just...sharing about any random thing without allowing for neutrality. Every. Single. Thing. Has to be some spooky cult shit even when it's just normal community or church stuff.

Like, I just saw some girl's videos on why there are so many mormon musicians. She was like music is tied to status in the mormon church in the most judgemental way possible lol and yes it is. It totally is, but you know what else? Weekly communal singing is an expected part of many worship services around the world and across multiple religions. Mormons are good at music because we sing together for around 2 hours a week for the first 12 years of our lives and then about 1.5 hours a week for the rest of our lives. You will get good at anything if you do it for an hour once a week for 25+ years. That doesn't even include choir, which is always volunteer and is always somewhat terrible because music culture, like just about everything else in mormonism (hello volunteer organization), is not based on skill, it is based in commitment.

It's just "music is tied to status in the mormon church" is such a judgemental way to put "as a community mormons value music and every member devotes time to the practice of it every week as part of worship services. When someone is either particularly skilled or particularly brave and performs in front of the congregation everyone then comes up to them after words and says oh you did a wonderful job! I hope you sing again sometime :) and humans are wired to thrive on positive feedback so that person will likely perform music again which becomes a positive feedback loop."

That's how communities work mate. I said yes to praying at an interfaith event once and then I did and everyone liked my (totally normal for me) prayer so much they keep asking me to do it again. Now I'm the Prayer Guy who is always ready to drop a Good Prayer because that's my community niche all of a sudden.

Not everything is so sinister. There are things that Suck So Bad about mormonism, but people don't talk about those things as often because they're not really uniquely bad or uniquely mormon and they don't make good content.

[fictionadventurer]

Potential February Reads

East by Edith Pattou

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

The Beggar Prince by Kate Stradling

The Thrifty Guide to Ancient Rome: A Handbook for Time Travelers by Jonathan Stokes

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

The Frindle Files by Andrew Clement

A fantasy romance

[thelassoway]

Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso Season 3 » Casual Sweaters/Jumpers