#and all of their visual lighting etc. team

[deathcupcake]

Tasty.

[demelzathemer]

Rewatching Dead Boy Detectives for the 6th time and I STILL have so many thoughts, so let's do this

Episode 1

1. That's everything Crystal has on her for the rest of the season, right?

She must have had some money and her passport on that bag because she did change clothes and traveled half-way round the globe. But Jenny talks like Crystal doesn't have a credit card, so how much cash did she carry on her on a random day in the tube??

Well not enough to pay rent for the cheapest room in town when they arrived. (She wears a borrowed Tongue & Tail t-shirt from Jenny later, that's cute.)

I like how her original look is much darker and more mature, reflecting her mean girl personality. The long jacket later is still purple, but a light color with a colorful floral patterned turtleneck underneath.

(If she had her passport she has her full legal name and social security number to identify herself though-??)

2. I REALLY want to know what happened during those "two flights, one ferry ride" - where did the boys sit? Did Crystal buy a whole row of seats so they could sit together? (And was seen talking to herself alone the whole time lol)

Have the boys ever been on a plane (they haven't been on a ferry)? HOW DID EDWIN REACT... Please I want a fanfic

3. When they start investigating, Charles says to Crystal "I know you don't fancy this part, deep-diving into someone's brain. We can figure out another way if you'd like." Which is sweet, so Charles, but also, how did he know what she prefers? (They must have talked about it on the ferry ride.)

4. I thought it odd that Edwin would stumble out of the mirror, when he's always so careful and carries himself with such poise? But then I saw Kassius and Jayden, they both have the biggest grins on their faces just short of laughing. It's definitely a blooper, but George stayed in character so perfectly they left it in.

(George did confirm in an interview that due to Ghost Rules, the boys don't trip on treestumps etc, they would just phase through. So definitely not a scripted move.)

5. "Not exclusively my internet. (Charles laughs) I'll explain again later."

Crystal was the one that taught Edwin the concept of internet?? Did this happen on the ferry ride too??

6. THE VISUAL STORYTELLING. I'm obsessed how the costume department specifically adds visual cues to the boys' wardrobe depending on their emotional state.

We all know Charles' polo darkens when he goes through tough times, only returning to his original bright red after they're back from Hell. We understand that Edwin being in his Edwardian undergarments in the confession scene makes it so emotionally raw and vulnerable.

We don't see Edwin without his coat after they arrive in Port Townsend. There's the scene in the beginning when it's just him and Charles at home in their office, where we can see him without it. He can be his real self there, because he's safe and comfortable.

The heavy coat is Edwin's armor, a visual metaphora of the emotional walls he puts up against the world. He always wears it around Crystal.

Here, in the upstairs, where the topic of David upsets Edwin and he storms off.

Yet right after, we see him without it! I believe ghosts appearance may change to reflect their emotional state (or maybe Edwin just shucked it off, who knows)

It's a fantastic scene altogether but just by his clothes we can see that's he's being vulnerable with Crystal for the first time. I only noticed this detail now and I love it.

(In the next scene of making their plan together Edwin is still wearing this look. We can see they're not enemies anymore, but a team.)

7. When Crystal agrees and offers peace, Edwin actually *looks at Charles* for confirmation. He's out of his element here and needs his support. Charles is the one who knows how to hande people, so Edwin doesn't make any decisions before checking with him. Edwin only forgives Crystal when he sees Charles had approved of her.

(After he does, he glances back at Charles again, like he still needed that last bit of validation that he did the right thing.)

Their bond is so strong. There's always consideration for the other, whatever they do. The acting is also incredible.

Nonverbal communication has a huge role in this series, as much as the dialogue does. So many things are conveyed with just looks and sighs and the many close-up shots that make us emotionally connect with the characters.

8. Charles having beef with Monty right at the start will never not be funny. "Everyone likes me eventually." It's just a bird.

Even on top of the list of his day's heroic feats is "smack-talking a crow." I love him sm

+ As a bonus, look at this gorgeous shot of Charles with the neon light reflecting on his earring. Chef's kiss

[animatedjen]

Jedi Survivor Photomode Tips: Portrait Lighting!

There are four lighting features that impact Survivor’s photomode: the environmental light, Cal's lightsaber, the exposure slider, and the three spotlights. Let's use them all 🔆

Environment

The environment/lighting teams at Respawn have designed incredible locations across all these different Star Wars planets. Pay attention to how the already-placed lights impact your portrait: I have a running shortlist of favorite locations that I often go back to when creating a specific look.

Environmental lighting also includes effects like fire particles, weapons, Merrin’s magick, etc. If you get your timing right, these can add extra color and visual interest to your photo.

Lightsaber

Cal’s lightsaber! It’s made of light! While everyone has their own color preferences (ginger saber supremacy) keep your color choice in mind when using the saber as a key light.

Bonus tip: Cal’s saber can also be used to help light NPCs 👀 Photomode allows you to toggle Cal’s visibility on and off, but the ambient glow from the saber will remain. It’s pretty easy to tell when I’m using this trick: just look for a bar-shaped catchlight in the character’s eyes.

Speaking of catchlights - they’re a great way to add life to your portrait. If the environmental light doesn’t hit the character’s eyes, I’ll often use the first spotlight as a key (main) light to try and create that reflection.

Spotlights

I’m often using spotlights in two ways, either intensifying the environmental light or pushing the image with stylized lighting. The first creates more interaction between the character and their surroundings, while the second adds drama and visual interest. My favorite portraits are often a mix of both.

Here’s a breakdown from a recent photo: the unlit photo (1), a yellow spotlight as a key (2), a red rim light that connects to the neon sign in the background (3), a green rim light for stylization and repeating color (4), and the final image (5)

Other spotlight tips: play with moving them closer/further away from your subject, along with the intensity of the light itself. Some colors (white, yellow) are more powerful than others (red, blue). If I can’t get the color I want from one light, I’ll place two in the same location and drop the intensity to blend them - blue and green make turquoise!

If you want to be a nerd like me (though I'm in this industry so it's kind of my job) study lighting that’s used in real life portraiture and cinematography. Techniques like short lighting, three point lighting, butterfly lighting, etc.

Exposure Slider

The exposure slider in photomode is a helpful option when the entire scene is darker/brighter than you’d like. It’s also a good way to isolate your subject from the background: drop the exposure down, then use spotlights to add light back to your subject. Note that the spotlight brightness is impacted by the exposure as well, so you’ll need to crank the spotlights up to compensate.

Photo editing

Survivor’s visuals have a beautiful dynamic range and photomode does a great job protecting its highlights and shadows, though that often means less contrast. So if it’s a favorite portrait, I’ll add some contrast back in and often push complementary color into the shadows (yay color theory!)

--

So I've been slowly writing notes for a full-fledged video tutorial and wanted to try a thread-style post in the meantime. Lighting is such an important part of photography, both IRL and virtual, but it's not the easiest tool to use. This is more theory than a practical how-to, but hopefully some of it is helpful?

If you made it all the way down here, you get... a turbo dog or something. Two turbo dogs! 🌭

[kararisa]

marigold promises

pairing: albedo x gn!reader

genre: social media au, modern/college au, childhood friends to academic rivals to lovers, slow burn

summary: it was evident that you and albedo have changed in the five years you’ve spent apart, but you know better than to view him through the lens of nostalgia. with one goal on your mind – graduate valedictorian – who better to stand in your way than the studious, intelligent, ice-cold albedo? one thing’s for sure: he’s going down.

warnings: swearing, crack, light angst, unrealistic depictions of college, family issues, self-doubt, abandonment issues, side ships (tighnari gets paired with a moot); specific chapter warnings will be at the beginning of the chapter — will be updated as the series continues

status: ongoing

author's notes:

my first smau hehe. i've been working on this for a while so i'm really excited! updates will be sporadic but i'll do my best to update often.

the timestamps don't matter unless i say they do!

apologies in advance if i miss any grammar mistakes, english isn't my first language

pictures used are simply to add visual description and do not depict the reader's skin color, height, etc.

written chapters are marked with (☕︎)

profiles:

coffee addicts ([name]'s friends)

donut disco (albedo's friends)

year 1 — whether i like it or not || playlist

01. finally, a worthy opponent! || 02. why pay for netflix?

03. if looks could kill || 04. impromptu cramming session

05. enigma (☕︎) || bonus. i hate it here

06. temporary truce || bonus. crisis companion

07. crack theory || bonus. bread

08. twin pendants (☕︎) || 09. no harm in asking

10. the print shop by the mondmart || 11. #TCUClubFair

12. save me a slice || 13. miss you too

14. caffeinate me up || 15. u ok?

16. hell week (☕︎) || 17. dean's lister

18. please send help || 19. 6/10 difficulty (☕︎)

20. #ynsweep || 21. equilibrium (☕︎)

22. look me in the eyes (☕︎) || 23. team bonding

24. how could i, when it's you? (☕︎) || 25. kiss for good luck

year 2 — we make a good team, partner || playlist

26. lab partner thief || 27. dodoco

28. not even remotely subtle || 29. jealousy doesn't look good on you

bonus. ultra secret project proposal || 30. ice cream for three (☕︎)

31. "just" the lab report (☕︎) || 32. a letter and a promise (☕︎)

33. that damn cardigan || 34. shit happens, that's life

35. on instinct || 36. don't be a stranger

bonus. soft launch season

year 3 — promise me this || playlist

37. the college experience || 38. keep it coming

39. the day the world stopped moving (☕︎) || bonus. an unexpected call (☕︎)

40. i can sense your denial || 41. what is wrong with me

42. stubborn™ (☕︎) || 43. strawberry hair tie

44. get your shit together || 45. in spite of it all (☕︎)

46. right here

tba

year 4 — these bonds that bind us || playlist

tba

taglist: @fvkkyu @mintreen @edreee @khyllynnn @xxmirrorballxx @aiikalvr @yaefics @ch35hir3 @aequha @alch3myy @lovely-althxa @nei-rinn @cridtiins @zestrya @skylions-den @moriiartt @theother-victoria @sunsethw4 @dazaisfavgf @serossidechick @koiir @lazy-sanns

— the taglist is currently CLOSED! shoot me an ask or a reply if you've changed your url or you'd like to be removed!

[trans-luis-serra-navarro]

Ok I’ll be totally completely honest I’ve been WEIRDLY nervous about posting this and I DONT KNOW WHY

But here is FINALLY. FINALLY the long awaited somewhat joke somewhat serious analysis/theory that Bitores Méndez and Luis’ Grandfather had something going on between them

Again just take this post with a grain of salt, I’m just here to have a little bit of fun but ANYWAYS

My first point; It’s canon that Luis grew up with and almost treated Bitores Méndez as somewhat of a father figure; this was apparently true for most if not all of the children in the village, but Mendéz seemed to have had a particular fondness of Luis, even going as far as to encourage his love for science and fictional literature from a very very young age. Which by itself is definitely worth noting- Valdelobos was a very very devout Catholic village before Saddler arrived (as stated by the design team as well as through visual clues such as rosaries and bibles being scattered around, Luis signing the cross after he kills a villager, the location of the village itself etc etc) which I IMAGINE wouldn’t be very fond of their youth engaging in fantasy and science as that goes against a lot of super hardcore Catholic beliefs. But not only does Méndez encourage it; so does Luis’ Grandfather. Why else would Méndez be so willing to excuse Luis’ interests if it weren’t for a fondness of his Grandfather???

And circling back to Méndez’ relationship with Luis- we get told that Luis would be told by his grandfather to stay behind and, presumably, be taken care of by Méndez while he went away on hunting trips. Who knows if Méndez did this for ALL the children in the village, or JUST Luis, but we know from the fact that (again, presumably) the only reason Luis’ Grandfather was attacked by wolves was because he was distracted by Luis’ presence that Méndez most likely kept a pretty close eye on him on behalf of his Grandfather. Plus!! Méndez was the village chief!!!!! The fact that he took the time out of his day to specifically take care of Luis AND engage and foster his interests is very telling!! He clearly had a lot of respect and/or fondness for his Grandfather on SOME level to do that for him.

And then of course we get to the infamous fire; Luis’ Grandfathers notes describing his slowly worsening state is just devastating and culminates in him telling Méndez; ‘You know what to do.’ He trusted and knew the man well enough to know that HE’D know what to do when worst came to worst. He didn’t even have to SAY, ‘light the house on fire’, he just knew Méndez would understand instinctually. Luis’ Grandfather even explicitly asks Méndez to take care of Luis after he’s gone!!! That’s so telling in my extremely humble opinion!!!!!! Like yes, sure, absolutely you could just assume that it’s his natural trust in the village chief, but Luis is all he had left- and I personally think it’s very poignant of him to pick Méndez specifically to take care of him.

Again, could this all be just regular old fondness of Méndez being the village chief and/or just them being good friends?? Well sure absolutely!!!! This is all just my personal interpretation!!!!! But I think it’s very interesting that Luis himself is a somewhat queer-coded character as well the fact that him being raised by healthy father figures in his childhood affects who he becomes when he’s an adult. He’s a gentleman at heart and is always always putting others first before himself- again, his childhood directly affects how he acts when he’s older and I just think it’s super fascinating to see a character having grown up with father figures that were there and active in their life their ENCOURAGED their interests carry that along with them and have that encourage the actions they make. It’s little things like that that make Luis such a beautifully crafted character to me at least.

And also I think it’d be funny if being gay ran in the family HDNWNENDJ

AGAIN. Again. Don’t take this post too seriously. You don’t have to agree with it I’m just having a bit of fun and I hope you had some fun too

[live-emotion]

Live Emotion Review from 4Gamer Part 2 - Story

Lots of new info and images.

4Gamer has released a full report detailing the gameplay experience of Live Emotion. You can see their full report in Japanese on their official website.

Part 1 - Rhythm Game Part 3 - Home Screen and MiniPri

Main Story:

The main story of Live Emotion features all 18 idols and you (as their composer) working together to create a theme song commemorating the 70th anniversary of the opening of a TV Station.

The story will depict the characters actively engaging in their daily idol work and private lives, and will see interactions not only within their own group, but also in various unique combinations between all members (as seen above in a Yamato and Cecil scene.)

The main story uses the 3D models, which allows for dynamic camera angles and visuals as if they exist in a real 3D space. This allows for nice depth in the scenes, as well as lighting, eye movement, and changes in body angle that reflect the scene taking place.

There are also exciting scenes where you and the idols can interact one-on-one, as well as dialogue choices that can be made by the player that get different reactions from the characters.

Private Story:

Private Stories can be viewed by increasing your 'Intimacy Level' with the idols. Your Intimacy Level will increase if you include the character in teams while playing the rhythm game, chat with them on the home screen, etc.

It looks like Private Stories won't have the same level of dynamic camera angles as the Main Story.

There will also be Piece Stories and Event Stories. Piece Stories will be unlocked via levelling up/upgrading Pieces, and Event Stories will likely be tied to progression on in-game events.

[darilarostarg]

HOTD Season 2 Review

Now that we have the season in its entirety, I just wanted to put my thoughts down on paper - likes and dislikes. End of season yapping basically.

Things I Liked/Enjoyed   

The acting this season was outstanding from all fronts, especially from our actors that were given some of the best material to work with - Emma and Rhys are my standouts for this season (Mentions also go to Matt, Tom and Jefferson).  

I loved all our newcomers this season - Freddy, Gayle, Simon - They all did an incredible job and their characters had some of the best characterisation this season imo.

Production/filmography/lighting/costuming etc have all been either massively improved or have exceeded season one.  

Both dragon action sequences (Rook’s Rest & The Sowing) were remarkable. They did a fabulous job in terms of visuals and the practical side - it makes me look forward to the battle and action scenes going forward. 

I am very happy that the show runners ultimately did not hide away with dream sequences and gave us a haunted Harrenhal.  

I loved Rhaenyra’s cult leader/messiah complex in episode seven and I hope they reintroduce that in season three and beyond - I think as it’s seemly confirmed that  Nettles has been removed, this will serve as a great way to push Rhaenyra’s state of mind/paranoia when they dragon seeds betray her.

Matt Smith 

Things I Disliked/Unsure Off  

This is probably partly due to budgeting, but I honestly do think the writing team is having a really tough time coming up with meaningful arcs that push the story forward, given how much time/’nothing’ happens in between events in the books. A lot of this season was in limbo, and it did feel stagnant. A lot of events had no effect on the overall story, or did briefly, and then quickly forgotten.

As much as I hate to say it, I do believe it has fallen into the ‘evil men start wars, and women just want peace and are too gentle/delicate for it’, and by default it has made Rhaenrya and Alicent seem like incompetent rulers, that do not understand that their past actions have had there part in causing this to happen, or are completely naive to the realities of their current positions.

The Greens being in conflict with each other makes sense, but the conflict within the black camp did not. Showing Rhaenyra to so secretive and hostile towards her own faction (especially Jace), and so gracious toward the greens, the people that have genuinely harmed her, was a really bizarre choice. I really do hope not receiving Aegon when she arrives to KL will be the final blow.

I did not like that Daemon’s core journey this season was him deciding that he did not want to be king. It was a rehash of part of his season one arc that should have concluded with him crowning Rhaenyra. I don’t think there was an issue with him doubting Rhaenyra as a ruler I was at points honestly, but him wanting to be king was never on his cards. The visions could have been a shorter arc and the rivermen arc could have been bulked out more i'm not too up his ass I’ll admit when its not working. I could change my mind on this in season three, depending if they do show the growth Daemon has gone through via his relationship with his girls, Rhaneyra etc

Alicent was a struggle this season. I think she could have been so much fun, so it’s disappointing that they have watered her down so intensely. Perhaps they thought ‘a woman will do anything for her children, to keep them alive, no matter the cost’ was too similar to Cersei? But I wish they had gone that direction, and gave Alicent the guilt Cersei never had, that that ultimately is what drives her ‘mad’. I just think it is such a jarring contrast on the amazing characterisation they did with her in S1 episode six through eight. Going from forcing your son onto the throne in fear for his life, to giving his head on a silver platter to the person you usurped… is certainly a choice. By going and ending Alicent's 'arc' this season they way that they have, they have made her as a character, dare I say pointless? Where does Alicent go from here, if you really think about it? The war has barely started, all her children are alive and she has already given up? You cannot retcon the damage S2 has done to her, they have given her nothing to work with going forward. Absolutely nothing. And the rest of the story has and will suffer for it.

Just ultimately frustrated we will seemingly not get ‘bastard blood shed at war’ conversation - the impact a Rhaenyra and Alicent reunion would have had had they waited until season three, with two of Rhaenyra’s sons dead, would have been incredible and actually felt earned, and I’m sad we will not get it. 

The fact that show runners, writers, directors and even some of the cast contradict themselves from interview to interview, really makes it seem none of them have agreed on characterisation or arc, and I feel I can see that within some of the writing and decisions. I feel like I could ask one of them, ‘Is Daemon in love with Alicent?’ and they would respond with some yes/no ‘don’t rule anything out’ answer.

They need to stop cutting pivotal moments to leave up to interpretation. This audience has proven time and time again, it cannot interpret the most basic scenes logically, never mind moments that are actually up for interpretation. It didn't work in season one, it didn't work in season two. It just comes across as the writers room could not agree.

I think I speak for us all when I say cutting Black Aly, Sabitha, the Lads, Nettles etc. is heartbreaking.

At this point I’ve decided ; HOTD as an adaptation of the book is awful - it’s a bad adaptation, “unreliable narrator” or not. But as a stand alone show, it’s fine. Not outstanding, not terrible. Season one had is small issues, season two had some bigger ones, but I am hopeful that they will stick the landing. Season three will be the real test.

[hairupintheair]

Trolls Band Together Commentary Notes Part 4/4

- The scene after Branch storms out of Rhonda and Poppy goes after him was the most expensive scene for the computers to handle in the whole movie, even including Mount Rageous, because the clouds in the background are all made of individual fibers that the computers had to calculate while animating. - Commentary quote: "There's so many fibers in this movie. Don't ever commit a crime. All the fibers. They'll trace it right back to you." - They decided on a cloud backdrop because it seemed a good transition between the roads they were traveling in Rhonda and Mount Rageous, which is supposed to be a city up in the sky. The monotone colors and calm landscape of the clouds also fit the scene well, with Branch and Poppy having this serious and emotional heart-to-heart, and it allowed the audience to completely focus on Branch and Poppy without a busy background to be distracting. - Originally the finale was going to take place inside the mentioned Rage Dome. They had a plan for a huge flashy concert performance with the trolls breaking in, but it was coming off as too similar to the ending of the previous movie, so instead they came up with the idea of the vehicle chase through the streets of Mount Rageous. - There was a brief idea early on of Gristle accidentally getting sprayed with trolls' talent from one of V&V's shoulder pad things and momentarily turning into what they called "hot Gristle." Thankfully that was scrapped very quickly. - The Broppy kiss moment was big and they worked on it for a long time, knowing how important it was for the story and the fans. They were going to have effects with big flashy lights (like the pinky promise and the high five of the previous movie), but in the end they decided they wanted to keep it simple and honest. The had the crowd show such a positive reaction to let the audience know what an important moment this was. - The ending after the climax was purposely designed to be a mirror of the opening scene: behind the curtains right before a concert is about to start, but now they've all grown and are supporting each other. - The NSYNC surprise cameo had to be done completely in secret and it was very difficult to keep it under wraps, including changing the names of computer files and keeping audio and visuals separate, etc. It was stressful for the teams working on it, but it paid off spectacularly. - When they were coming up with the idea of the NSYNC reunion, everyone was so excited. Justin pitched it and got the go ahead, then they got the rest of the band members on a ZOOM call to discuss it with them. They were all chatting together and catching up and it was taking way too long, someone realized they were approaching the 45 minute mark (ZOOM calls have a 45 min limit before the program will drop the call) with ten seconds left. So they lost the call mid-sentence and then had to connect everyone again to actually finish pitching the idea to the guys.

[cyberweek]

CyberWeek 2024 starts January 21st!

A weeklong celebration of our favorite edutainment program with artistic prompts everyday! The show first premiered on the 21st of January so let’s celebrate!

What sort of Art is allowed?

Any! Traditional/Digital art, Writing, Cosplay, Video edits, anything you can make! Anything you wanna make! Sew a doll, bake a cake, whatever! Sadly, prompts aren’t made with all types of art in mind, so feel free to interpret them however you want to fit your medium!

Rules! [New!]*

*Prompts are posted early this year, and I ask that you withhold from posting your entries until the day of! You may however start and finish them whenever you want!

Tag your post with #cyberweek2024! Or @ this blog! Or both!

Follow this blog and support your fellow Cyberchase fans!

No Lewd. No P*dophilia or inc*st.

No Tracing, Use of Bases or other assets without COMPLETE transparency. Credit your sources! Pinterest, WeHeartIt, Google etc are not sources. Find the artist, please.

*Use of AI is discouraged. Whether you submit only what the AI produces or use it as reference/inspiration. This includes both visual and text AI.

Angst, light gore/blood and etc are allowed. Try to keep it PG13. Everything will be tagged accordingly so remember to use Tumblr’s tag filter feature to your advantage.

OCs should only show up on the OC prompt if available.

Prompts

Jan 21 - Redraw

This year we start off right on the Anniversary! So, we'll do a redraw, and leave that up to how you, the artist, want to go about this! You can either redraw an old Cyberchase piece of yours or redraw a scene from the show itself! [Keep rules in mind!]

Jan 22 - Science

Cyberspace is FULL of science, even if it's sometimes entirely fictional and fantastical. Do you have a favorite scientific genius? Or is there a machine you think is really cool? Some sort of technology you wish you could have for real? It's time to blind us... with science!!

Jan 23 - Magic

Cyberspace may be full to the brim with science, but there are many things that simply unexplainable except by the total opposite of the spectrum... Magic! Who Biddi-Boppidi-does it best? Got a favorite magic spell? Maybe the real magic was the friends we made along the way.

Jan 24 - Summer

Last year we had the prompt "Winter," so let's flip that and have fun with a summer theme! It's time for some fun in the sun, a trip to the beach, a cute summer fit, a picnic, a hike, and so much more!

Jan 25 - Crossover

What is this, a crossover episode?? Yes! And you're in charge!! What characters do you want to see interact? Who do you want to see come to Cyberspace? Or who from Cyberspace do you want to see go where? When? Why?? Go nuts!! AAA

Jan 26 - Enemy

All right, we've had OTP, Friendship, and Family as a prompt! Once again it's time to completely flip the script with Enemy! Will you draw Team Hacker? Another baddie? The main goodies vs the main baddies? Or maybe two characters who just do not get along!! Remember to keep it civil and keep it fun, please!

Jan 27 - OCs

To close out our celebration of Cyberweek, let's have some fun with the little characters we've made up for fun! 😊

Questions/Comments -

Please send all questions about this event to the inbox. Anon will be off and questions will be posted in case others have similar inquiry. Please do not reply to posts or try to chat your inquirers.

[zeerohpunk]

milo and sweetheart stans, come out pls. i got yalls bread crumbs ✨️

this fic takes place shortly after the inversion, around the time milo got his ability to shift back. at a security team meetup, sweetheart overhears christian gossiping about milos actions during the inversion and decides to take measures into their own hands. it features swearing, a mild threat, and fade to black content where nothing 18+ is seen, but is implied.

word count is 1.3k!

tags: @no-see-um-incorrect @mrsmiagreer

David kept his conversations about Milo's actions during the inversions quiet around prying ears, he knew he couldn't let that information fall into the wrong lap.

However, he didn't shy away from taking a... closer, friendly interest in Milo's (and his mates') wellbeing since that night.

Most people understood, the inversion took a huge mental, and physical, toll on everyone at the games that night. The scars speak for themselves, but that only counted for the visual, bodily damage.

"We all faced death that night, and some of us didn't think we'd see the light of day again," David spoke, glancing towards Asher, "and some of us watched others make choices that nearly sealed that fate." He spoke and looked between Sweetheart and Milo, the look lasting just a second too long.

Christian didn't understand what was happening. Something was being hidden from the rest of the security team, he just didn't know why. Milo and his mate weren't inside the ward, they were safe.

David wasn't one for close affection, especially amongst his pack mates. He couldn't show that type of care with them, instead he concluded his speech with a cheers, a celebration of everyone who put up the tough fight that night.

The pack mates spent the rest of the night mingling amongst each other. Most spent time with their mates like David and his, Asher with his, etc. Christian and Amanda were huddled in a corner, as usual. No one really batted an eye at it, this was normal by this point.

Milo and Sweetheart had spent the night chitchatting with Asher and his mate, talking about anything and everything, real life shit and banter included.

"I'll be right back, Miles." Sweetheart tapped his shoulder, pecking his cheek as they got up to leave for the bathroom.

They wandered the large place, walking down one hallway when they overheard a familiar voice.

"I just don't understand what David's playing at. Milo wasn't even inside the ward, what did he of all people do that was so dangerous that he risked his life for it?" Christian spoke. He kept his voice low, he wasn't trying to get reamed by David or Asher for talking shit about Milo. Again. What he didn't expect was Milo's mate overhearing the two shifters gossip.

Sweetheart took a moment to think about how they could handle Christian's comments. They didn't want to act on a whim. They could get angry and make a scene in front of everyone, but that would just make things worse. With a quick wave of their hand, they were cloaked and walking towards the Australian shifter.

"I mean, Asher nearly died in David's arms, I just-" His words cut off. His mouth was moving, but nothing could come out, no matter how hard he strained for sound.

Sweetheart had taken his ability to speak, momentarily, as they decloaked in front of the totally-not-couple with a devious smile. The sudden appearance made both him and Amanda jump.

"If you speak about my mate again tonight, I will break your fragile ego down to dust, Chrissy. With a lovely, sizeable audience to watch. Am I understood?" They asked, his ability to talk had been returned to him.

"Y-yes." He answered, relieved that his voice was back. Trying to speak while being unable to was a straining, painful feeling. His face was drained of color, as if he had seen the devil before him.

Sweetheart nodded with a death glare, stepping away to return to what they were doing previously. "You two really do smell like each other, by the way." They rubbed it in as they pranced away, a shit eating grin across their face as they walked.

The night grew old as the pack mingled about, and pack members slowly dwindled, heading home for the night.

Christian and Amanda tried to not make it look obvious that they were leaving together, but their efforts continued to fail. They said their goodbyes, and Chris even attempted to make a nice gesture towards Milo as they left the building.

"Hey, uh... 'm glad you're alright, y'know. After the... that night." He stammered out, reaching his fist out to Milo. What can he say? He's trying to be nice (even if it's more of an attempt to stay on the stealth's good side).

Miles couldn't help but also be caught off guard by this behavior, but he returned the fist bump with a half smile.

"You too, man. I mean- I'm glad you're okay too." The interaction was concluded with a couple of nods between them and the stealth, who made no effort to hide the shit eating grin on their face from either shifter.

Milo and Sweetheart were next to head out, both mates had work in the morning. Once they reached the car, Milo looked over at his mate curiously.

"Now what the hell was that? Christian doesn't... do all that. I mean, he's a cool guy, but that's just... so outta character for him." He stated, tilting his head as he began trying to put the puzzle pieces together. "And you... You had somethin' to do with it."

Sweetheart smiled wide and shrugged, playing innocent.

"Dunno what you mean." They said simply, climbing into the passenger seat with a soft laugh. They knew Milo could see through their bullshit, but they enjoyed the banter.

"Oh, is that so?" He returned, fully playing into the joke now as well.

Sweetheart shrugged again, the smile never leaving their face.

"You know, when I'm working cases with the department, the people I'm after like to play up a big game. And sometimes, you have to remind them that you're playing chess, not checkers, and that you're not the pawn in the game. You hold the power, like the queen does." They sat up, checking their reflection in the visor mirror.

"And maybe you have to rub it in when one dog smells like another." They added with a chuckle, which earned them a laugh from their mate.

Milo didn't even know what to do with all this information. He was entertained by the idea of their mate teasing the Aussie shifter and his totally-not-girlfriend, but was also very attracted to this protective side displayed by his mate. He didn't know what went down that earned Christian that unfortunate wake up call, but he almost wished he could have witnessed it.

"So uh... you gonna tell me what he did to earn an assumedly earned rude awakening?" He asked as he put the car in drive, his free hand still tangled up with his mates.

"I'll put it like this. No one, and I really mean no one, gets to talk down about the people I love. 'Specially my mate." They affirmed with certainty, feeling the tingle of magic surging through their core, smiling when they felt Milo's core answer theirs.

Milo nearly growled at how they described their protective behavior to him. He couldn't help it, he found it SO attractive. He loved when they were like this. His mate had a confidence about them when they'd done something they felt strongly about, and he found it both hot and well deserved.

"My god, sweetheart... you are somethin' else, you know that?" He smiled with a shake of his head and a gentle but firm squeeze of their hand. He mumbled something against the back of their hand like 'My fuckin' mate,' and 'all mine,' between kisses, taking in how the magic swirled around in each of their cores.

"I love you, Sweetheart." He turned to them as he put the car in park, holding back from nearly tackling them right there in the passenger seat. He did pepper kisses all over their face, though.

"I love you too, Milo." They giggled, leaning into each kiss. "Let's get inside?" They asked, pulling away just a touch, earning them a small head tilt from Milo. They smiled, reaching their hands around his neck as they leaned in to whisper just amongst them.

"Wanna show you how much I love you."

[thewebcomicsreview]

So, I have this advice in my head about comic writing for beginners, it being that first time writers of the medium need to understand that comics are a visual media first and a textual media second and that the artist is usually the one pulling the heavyweights. (no offence)

So, is it good advice or does it need more work?

It's bad advice. I'm not going to deny that even a hardworking writer who does research and test reads and multiple drafts usually spends significantly less time per page than the artist, but that's not really "advice" so much as "a statement", and you didn't actually advise anything in your advice. Are you saying the artist should stay humble? Feel bad? Are you explaining why the writer is usually the one who does the web site stuff as well to try to even the workload slightly? Is this entire ask just attempting to subtly neg me about being a comics writer? What's your point?

But more importantly you're equating "the writing" with "textual media" as in "the text in the narration and dialogue balloons" which is super bad advice if you're a writer working for an artist, because most of the text in a good comics script isn't text that appears on the page, it's the text that tells the artist what to draw. The less good you are at writing this part of a script, the more the final page is going to deviate from what you wrote, so you want to be clear and detailed both in what's happening and why it's happening. When you're writing for prose, you want to try and cut as many useless words as possible, but when you're writing a comic script you're giving directions and you want to make it as clear as you can. This includes things like

Literally what is going on in the story. Alice and Bob are walking down the street carrying shopping bags.

Details. It's late afternoon, and there's no one else on the sidewalk that we can see. Alice is wearing a light yellow sundress. Bob is wearing a thick orange parka pulled close. One of these characters are not dressed appropriately for the season. The sky is cloudy and there's a little snow on the ground, implying it's Alice. They're walking past a store called Carl's Car Calls whose logo is a car on an old-timey telephone.

Emotions/Explainers of what's going on in the story to help the artist make decisions you forgot to think about. Alice is dressed like this because she's been trying to ask Bob out for a while, but every time she does she gets cold feet at the last minute. A writer might not think to make Alice's skin red from the cold, making it clear that she's uncomfortable and drawing attention to her choice of outfit, but an artist knowing the context might think to do that, and help make the writer look smart.

Directorial details. Alice is going to beat Bob to death with the baguette in twenty pages, so make sure it's the most prominent thing in either bag.

Dialogue. BOB: "Carl's girlfriend apparently makes enough that they can afford a new house. I wish I had a girlfriend who got me my bread."

I'm not saying we all have to be Alan Moore writing 1600 words of description for a page of Batman opening a door, and some artists want less guidance than others, but precisely because comics are a visual medium that it's important for the writer to dedicate the overwhelming amount of their time to describing what things, y'know, look like. If you skimp on that stuff you'll describe a character as wearing "an ankle-length skirt" and you'll get the page back and it's like

If you've written for artists long enough, especially as an amateur, you know the pain of getting a page back that's different from what you wrote in such a way that it's create a plot hole or the Chekov's gun you meant to establish is barely even visible or whatever. No skill as a comic's writer is worthwhile until you've developed the skill of telling the artist what they're supposed to draw (and yes the artist is also part of the creative team and different artists have different workflows etc., but that's for lesson 102). If you can't do that, what's even the point of anything else?

[shitpostingkats]

*SHAKES YOU AGGRESSIVELY*

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR “Zarc is an incarnation of The Supreme King” THEORY I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS YOU HAVE GOT ME HOOKED I AM OBSESSED WITH THESE FIRE TAKES YOU ARE SPITTING OP

Jaden and Yuya are now my favorite dynamic of all time, and now that I’m being shown the similarities I’m wondering if it’s really just a coincidence GX and Arc-V are my absolute favorites out of all the Yugioh series this is insane 👀

Hehe. Gladly <3

(Uh. This got long so it's going beneath the cut for the sake of people's dashboards)

Well, first off, there's just a lot of similarities between Zarc (the original Zarc, before he split into the Yu-bois) and Jaden. Both can talk to duel spirits, both start out chipper and are driven to the edge by grief, both split into various personas/people (Jaden with himself and the supreme king, Zarc obviously into the Yu-bois), both fuse with their ace monster(s), and both carry the title of "Supreme King". Most interesting, to me at least, is how both shape a lot of their identities around what they think people want from them.

Zarc was content to be an amazing duelist, but felt pressured to put on a good show, to be more brutal. Jaden, more subtly, constructs most of his personality off being easygoing, chill, and carefree, because he internalized that his emotions are dangerous, and people would rather deal with happy Jaden than the emotional disregulation mess that he actually is.

And both of them, when they get overwhelmed, adopt a mentality of "Well, the world might as well burn with me."

Jaden, rather than feel his grief, locks off his own trauma behind a brick wall and goes on smiling. Yuya, rather than deal with his dads disappearance, does the same.

I'd also like it noted that supreme king Jaden and supreme king Yuya have yellow eyes.

And some teal/orange eye asymmetry

Honestly, even dragon form Yuya and the Supreme Kings armor have similar silhouettes.

Mostly its in the spikes on the shoulders and elbows, and the fact that Zarc Yuya forms a weird chestplate (and that this is the same art team and visual style)

Another thing I get hung up on is that both Jaden and Yuri have super poly. In GX, Jaden had to go through an entire arc of misery to get that card, and Yuri just? Has it?

So my little headcanon, is that in the original timeline, before the dimensions were split, Zarc had the spirit of The Supreme King, able to command duel monsters and wield The Gentle Dark. Unfortunately for everyone, he got a teensy bit traumatized before he could enact his destiny of defeating The Light Of Destruction. Using his powers, he fused with his dragons, nearly destroyed the world, etc, etc. When he split, the Supreme King couldn't just split into four the same way the rest of his soul could, and so while the dimensions split, the past was rewritten to attach the power to a different soul, with a different guardian to boot. Similar to how the timeline got all borked to set everything back to a late nineties world of duel monsters.

Which would make Yuya 1/4 of an alternate universe version of Jaden. And I think there's a lot of fun to be had with that idea :)

[theresistanceneverquits]

Guide to TMNT media

{A mostly-comprehensive list by a lifelong fan who’s seen/read basically everything tmnt}

Mirage Comics

Original source, black and white

Nice stories, fun visually

Iconic moments

62 issues were published before the og creators passed true series to a different team

TLDR truly entertaining classics for comic fans

1987 cartoon

10 seasons

Created more iconic characters like Bebop and Rocksteady

Gave the turtles their colored bandanas

So fun, so so ridiculously funny this one is a guaranteed laugh every time

Fun voice acting

TLDR such an amusing cartoon if you want something that’ll have you cackling

1990 movies

Darker than the cartoon, but still family-friendly

Fun action, funny comedy

The films slowly go down in quality but they’re all pretty fun

Three films

TLDR iconic part of the franchise that balances a dark and light tone

Urban Legends comics

The grittiest tmnt comic series

Characters lose limbs and turn into cyborgs, etc.

Series was discontinued, but IDW recently brought it back and the story was complete

TLDR good for comic fans who love gritty comics

Next Mutation show

One season, live action

Introduced Venus de Milo, the female turtle

Retconned it so the brothers aren’t blood related so they can have a love triangle with Venus

Has elements of mystic powers

(I’m sorry I only watched the first episode so I can’t give a TLDR)

2003 cartoon

7 seasons + straight-to-dvd film

Follows the Mirage storyline

Darkest tmnt series in tone

Many fans don’t care for the last two seasons after the art style changed and the tone got lighter

Donnie has many excellent episodes, and Leo has an arc centered on ptsd in s4

TLDR has a darker tone and has a good consistent story

2007 film

CGI animation

The writing is meh but overall keeps you entertained

Has the famous Raph vs Leo scene

15-year old animation still holds up

TLDR very fun, has an iconic scene, good for Raph fans

IDW comics

Is currently on issue 136 at the time of this post, longest-running tmnt comic series

The tmnt were reincarnated

Covers a vast variety of characters, villains, and genres

Each turtle gets the spotlight

Standout arc has to be City Fall, with Dark Leo

Added Jennika to the roster a few years ago (she’s the female turtle with the yellow bandana)

TLDR excellent storyline, a lot of reading but honestly you can pick and choose where you want to jump in

2012 cartoon

5 seasons

CGI animated

A good compiling of all the tmnt media that came before

Has moments that are dark and serious, but also has a nice humor side

Has problematic ships

TLDR well-rounded action, drama, comedy and summation of tmnt lore with its own twists

Bayverse films

2 live action films (with cg turtles)

Produced by Michael Bay, very Transformers-esque

Entertaining if you like action movies

Leo kinda sucks tho lol

TLDR fun action movies

Rise of the TMNT

Animated series

2 seasons and a film on Netflix

Reinvented much of the tmnt lore

Raph is the oldest and leader, instead of Leo

Leo goes through a character arc tho

Comedy

The lightest of the tmnt series up until the season finales and the movie (The movie is very dark)

Very fun and dramatic animation

Deals with magic

TLDR beautiful animation, comedic with its own dark moments

Batman vs TMNT film

Animated

Based on the comic

Follows the comic very closely, actually

Fun for both fandoms

TLDR fun takes on the characters, and total fan service (in the most positive sense)

The Last Ronin

Graphic novel

For mature readers

Basically all the tmnt die except for one of them

Good, emotional story, with pretty art

A prequel/sequel is coming out soon

TLDR an emotional darker comic that you can get through pretty quickly

[gojuo]

Finally decided to drop the show lol I just can't with what the show runners are doing.

honestly if I get to choose how hotd was adapted I would have preferred it taken to an animation studio that knows to respect the source material, like the teams that worked with 86 and The Apothecary Diaries which are both light novels? You would feel the love, care, and respect the teams for those shows. esp 86, there were scenes and anime OG scenes that made the story even better than the LN, ofc they are not perfect adaptations, but if the same love and care was given to hotd and not this bs bias and etc, I won't even consider dropping it.

(also not me thinking that Yuichi Nakamura/Gojo's VA would be the perfect Aegon? 😂)

the latest leaks are sssooooooooo baddd omg i can't believe how bad it is 😭😭 why do producers/writers of adaptations think i want to see their made up shit storylines like i read this thing for GRRM not for YOU. why tf do they feel the need to change the canon? changing the source material is the fastest way for me to lose interest and ngl i feel the same on dropping the show bc i already don't watch tb scenes and i've pretty much stopped caring about show team green as well except aegon so what's the point? imma just be watching the 3 minutes of tgc screentime and that's about it.

ugh yes, animated asoiaf has always been my dream :( it's the best visual adaptation medium for these books in my opinion. very sad to think GRRM probably believes tv is the ultimate tool for it :( the colors, the geography, the castles, the outfits, the dragons, the fantastical elements like white hair and purple eyes etc. would all be better adapted in animation than live action. aggghhhhhhhh what a missed opportunity man 😞

[herohimbowhore]

An Analysis Through Color of the 2023 Driver Helmets

During a Grand Prix weekend, drivers are often fitted in team kits when not in the car and when they are in the car they wear the race suits. The one big method of showing creativity and expressing one's personal beliefs is the helmets that they wear.

Typically designed by the driver based on things that are important to them or they like, the helmets allow us to visualize driver personalities and differentiate them from their teammate. Every driver has one "normal" helmet that is run for almost every Grand Prix, but they can also decide to have "special" helmets for some races.

While the design of the helmets tells us many things about a driver, the colors that are used also hold significance.

Data Collection

The analysis is based on the most common colors used on the "normal" helmets. "Normal" is characterized as the regular helmet that a driver is using and has no track-specific features. Some key points to take into consideration were:

The helmets analyzed included Nyck De Vries, Daniel Ricciardo, and Liam Lawson since all three have raced in the AlphaTauri for more multiple races -> therefore had a "normal" helmet they ran

George Russell's green helmet from testing and the Bahrain Grand Prix was not used as he has primarily used the blue version of it for most of the season

With Daniel Ricciardo's helmets, he has variations of the honey badger on the back that are track specific, however, the rest of the helmet is typically the normal white/beige/dark blue scheme so colors for the honey badger were not included

Valtteri Bottas has had many, many helmet designs this season, almost one for every race, but there is a helmet that he's used without any track-specific imagery that was used for this

After looking at the 22 "normal" helmets run by the drivers, I compiled a list of every color that was used. The colors compiled in the list had to either:

Appear in a decently sized section on the helmet - so it couldn't be a color that just appeared in a sponsor logo

Stand out in the helmet design - so a light gray on a white background wouldn't count, but the colors of the Ferrari logo against a red background would count

In the case of lights or darks, it needed to significantly different from a normal shade of the color - so blue and dark blue (which was significantly darker) would count as separate colors or yellow and neon yellow would be two different colors

Results

Based on these two requirements, there were 16 distinct colors found on the 22 helmets.

White

Red

Black

Yellow

Blue

Orange

Light Blue

Dark Blue

Neon Yellow

Purple

Pink

Green

Rainbow

Gold

Dark Green

Beige

Of the 78 values collected for this, the most common colors to appear on the helmets are white (15 or 19.2%), red (12 or 15.4%), and black (9 or 11.5%).

Furthermore, after this, the colors were divided into one of four categories:

Warm

Cool

Neutral

Mixed

31 of the values were warm colors (red, orange, yellow, etc). 25 of the values were neutral (black, white, and beige). 21 of the values were cool colors (blue, green, purple, etc.) The rainbow was defined as a mixed color.

So what does this all mean?

It could mean nothing and I'm just overanalyzing, but that explanation isn't as fun.

Drivers generally implemented their team colors in their helmets - for 8 out of 10 teams, at least one driver had colors (non-neutrals such as black or white) in their helmet design.

All four AlphaTauri drivers used the same dark blue on the sides of the helmet and had the team logo. With the exception of Nyck De Vries, the dark blue for the AlphaTauri was not used in the other design elements of the helmets.

Both Red Bull drivers had the Red Bull logo in the team colors on the sides of their helmets and the team colors could be seen in other parts of the helmet designs as well

Mercedes is one of two teams to not have at least one driver with the team colors implemented (with the exception of the silver Mercedes logo). Neither driver had the Petronas green implemented in their helmet design. However, it is noteworthy that the colors of the driver helmets are implemented into the cars through the colors for driver numbers and the halo stripe.

The other team with neither driver implementing the main team colors in their helmets is Alpine. Neither driver has blue or pink in their helmet design, but they do both have red, which is featured in the French flag.

Lance Stroll's helmet is just the Aston Martin colors. As the team owner's son, it makes sense.

White and black on the helmets tended to be used as lines to make different designs or as negative space. Across the board, white and black are not the main for driver helmets. They're just the only two colors that will easily go along with every other color used.

Unsurprisingly, both Ferrari drivers wear helmets that heavily feature the color red. They drive the red car and the flags they drive under feature red. So where red is meant to draw attention, the red in their helmets doesn't. Instead, their red helmets blend them into the cars they drive, taking away the thing that is supposed to separate them from the car. Furthering the idea that with Ferrari it is the team above the individual. When you drive for Ferrari, that is your whole brand, you don't distract or take away from that.

Additionally, drivers mainly used primary colors for their helmets this year. There's very little foraying into secondary or tertiary colors. Which continues to be one of my aesthetic qualms with Formula 1 in general. We see so many of the same colors (especially red, blue, and black) so things kind of just blend together instead of standing out.

[batbigbang]

Bat Big Bang: What Would You Trade The Pain For? (I’m Not Sure)

Author: @disniq Artist(s): @chipmunkery

Rating: Explicit Ao3 Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationship(s): Jason Todd/Bruce Wayne Key Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Batfamily Members, Background Canon Characters Summary: Jason has been doing an outstanding job of not thinking about Bruce in the four months since Roy pulled his ass out of Gotham. When Jason gets hit by an unidentified beam and starts reliving his worst Bruce-related memories in his dreams, though, there’s not a whole lot he can do about it except maybe vent some frustrations. Or; the universe conspires to put Jason and Bruce in a get-along shirt. It only deteriorates from there. Word Count: 65,560

Author’s Notes: I’m so excited to finally share this beast after 10 months for work! It was, at the time of writing, my first time writing BruJay, my first attempt at writing Bruce’s POV, and my first alternating POV fic! It’s also my longest finished fic ever, and my first time writing a complete multichapter story before posting, and I absolutely couldn’t have done it without incredible support and enthusiastic encouragement from BenBamboozled and MarsupialMenace! Love you guys!! Thanks for listening to me lose my mind to this fic for the past few months xD A huge thank you, too, to my wonderful artist Chipmunkery! They did such a fantastic job of pulling these scenes from my head, and I am still a little in awe of their work. And thank you to the mods for running this inclusive event, and pushing me wayyyy out of my comfort zone! It’s been a ride, I hope you guys enjoy it!

Artist’s Notes: Disniq's imagery is so vivid and beautiful! I was so excited to take all of the details they weaved into their writing and translate them visually. I decided to focus on two emotionally charged scenes that were at very different points in Bruce and Jason’s relationship and emphasize the changes by pushing the juxtaposition in any way I could (lighting, mood, orientation, etc.) It was a fun challenge to create two pieces that are so different thematically, but still work together cohesively. This is my first big bang and I had so much fun that I definitely plan on doing more in the future. There are so many incredibly skilled writers and artists who worked on this project and everyone involved has been so nice and really supportive of each other. Big and special thanks to Disniq for being such a great partner to work with, and to the mod team for all of the hard work that went into making this happen. You’re all amazing! <3

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