#i might redo the undercut

[roeverthemoon]

.

[poptartmochi]

i must.. resist.. urge to shop for ren faire....

[citrus-kiddo]

Another scenario! 🐲

(Also, you should totally check the undercut *wink wink*)

I feel like the knight and the dragon would tussle/fight often like with the dragon trying to eat the knight for fun/to mess with him. Like the knight only has a shield to put between himself and the dragon's maw. Like Knight's like: Not this again, this is the third time this week! and Dragon just ignores him and manages to chomp him just as the prince walks in. There's just a moment of silence before the dragon swallows the knight and acts like nothing happened. Ultimately, the dragon gets scolded by the prince (the dragon's gonna do it again next week).

DESIGNS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I'll mostly likely make a more formal later cuz I might redo the knight and dragon's design but here are the boys! [OG idea from @pineappleparfaitie]

[variousqueerthings]

The Girl Who Waited... or hold on to your horses we are about to have probably the highest rated episode of the seaaaaason

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 10/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored): 10/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 9/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 8/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 10/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 9/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 6/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 10/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 7/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 7/10

FULL RATING: 86/100 (if I can count….)

WELL OKAY THOSE ARE SOME RATINGS!

OBJECTIFICATION: BOOM! SOLID! NOTHING! IN FACT AMY IS IN HER... 50s? I can't count. She's been there for 36 years. and like yeah, she's maybe unrealistically slim, buuuut they gave her this neat hodge-podge armor that she made which bulks her out and the rest is like, Karen Gillen has slim arms, it's fine, and they did actually age up her face so she does look older and not like A M*ffat Fantasy older either

and younger Amy is also chill in this one, she's just vibing... well, she's not vibing, she's having a terrible time. but see beloooow on how that episode goes about writing her terrible time

PLOT-POINT: aaaand fuckn! winner *dings bell* it's all about herrrrr it's about her abandonment, it's about her relationship with Rory, it's about her ability to survive on her own and what it could do to her as a person, it's about the shit introduced on Day Flipping One (first episode)

and it does it well! scenes that in days of yore might have cut from Amy to centre on Rory and the Doctor (am reminded of her grief over Rory being erased from existence being undercut by the camera focusing on the Doctor, or about everything related to her with her pregnancy and Demon's Run)

this is the definitive Amy Exploration and while I've said I'm not the biggest Karen Gillen fan in the past, I think she was good in this! she has this kind of weariness to her, a bluntness, an awkwardness in the way she speaks and holds herself, the script and the makeup give her so much to do that doesn't mean she has to be attractive all the time, and it's so good for her ability Do Shit

COMPLEXITY: it sets up a neat Sci Fi concept in order to explore a very human relationship! the best kind of science fiction. like. no notes here, onwards

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: arghhhhhhhhhhh everything I want

Amy and Rory explore their relationship on multiple levels, finally giving me a proper episode of Amy's feelings for Rory and not just little moments? check

an episode in which Rory and Amy challenge the Doctor in how he treats people and his morality, specifically in how it also affects his relationship to them, and what that does to them (and also changes them)?

an episode in which Amy gets to say fuck you to the Doctor?

"I don’t care that you got old, I care that we didn’t grow old together"

Amy facing herself???!!!!!!!!!! oh yeah good stufffffffff

COMPANIONS MATTER: this one sidelines the Doctor for the companions! it's all about them, they make the choices, they drive the plot, the Doctor is there to do a bit of science and facilitate the story for and about them!

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: see above point! such a good choice to put him in the Tardis and not have him present when Amy makes her choices (also because she might have just killed him lol)

the one Part where he takes control is the tragedy at the end, and he gets pushback for it, it's not a brilliant solve for everything that everyone claps at him for, it's a sad simple necessity that's got a streak of pragmatic cruelty in it and echoes back on his relationship with Amy, and while young!Amy doesn't get to react too much to that, I think it's fine, because older!Amy does and says goodbye to Rory and young!Amy would never quiiite get that emotion I think, simply because she didn't live it

she was a bit antagonist with her older self, but not being too weird about her being onboard, but I imagine there's a small part of her that might be partly relieved or slightly discount older!Amy because she no longer exists

the one thing perhaps is that we won't know what they told her, and because this show has depicted Amy being kept out of the loop "for her sake" before, it's not like... 100% unreasonable to imagine the Doctor and Rory might pretty up the story again

but not knowing how that goes down is fine. it's a little mystery at the end of the episode

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: there's not much of that in here and tbh I don't think there has to be. it's about Amy, not the Doctor's past

“SEXINESS”: FUCKING! THREE FOR THREE!!! ULTIMATE EPISODE GIVE IT A PRIZE!!!!!!

INTERNAL WORLD: it's pretty cool, kept reeeelatively simple so it could be explained in the first few minutes, built upon slightly, but ultimately remaining quite tight so that the focus could be Amy's hideout on this strange little world where everyone died once

POLITICS: not much politics in this one, so we refer back to how it treats its female companion and it's the gold star winner of the whole thing

FULL RATING: 86/100 (if I can count….)

Highest! Rated! Episode!

and who knows if it'll get beat, we shall seeeee

I mean, what can I say, Amy is a fully rounded character who's running the show and her relationship with Rory is explored, and the Doctor is having some fucked up morality, and it's got neat pacing!

it hasn't got anything that's actually "low" it's mainly just that not every episode needs to refer back to classic!who or have big political messaging, it was pretty fucking Solid!

one thing I would say that wasn't covered in the Rating is that I'm not vibing with this title. I understand where it's coming from (referencing back to kid Amy), but I think while it is examining that childhood anxiety, Amy is simply... not a girl. and in the grand *waves hands* everything of M*ffat, he really likes titles with "girl" in them, which is I imagine therefore not this writer's choice

Girl in the fireplace -- okay, it's the first time, it's fine The Girl Who Waited -- ehhh not a fan, but I guess Amy was a girl who waited, it's a bit reductive for the episode The Impossible Girl -- oh, come on this is silly, it's flattening out the whole character into a plot device The Girl Who Died -- *shakes fist* M*ffaaaaat stop!

But yeah. Episode! Fuckn Happening!

[hadestownreconstruction]

4, because I genuinely can't figure out how those lines are supposed to scan.

Ohhhhh yep. They’re a nightmare. We have a reference in the highlight reel, but there’s so little time between lines that it’s freaking hard as hell to pull off. Hell, even writing out the rhythm in proper notation took me an hour. What makes it even harder is that the fates’ lines don’t always match up. On the “how’s the weather / worse than ever” lines, Hermes & Hades start on the and of the beat, whereas the Fates start half a beat earlier.

(Unrelated fun fact: the structure of Wait For Me barely changed over the years, so if I had the right tools I could modify a Broadway era karaoke track to match this version. Alas, I have neither the tools nor the skills to pull that off.)

I wrote most of that before starting. Now I can say: I low key want to fight whoever did the pacing on those lines. Good god. However I would like to thank whoever turned the trombone into a metronome with emphasis on beat 4 (probably Michael Chorney. Thanks Michael Chorney!)

I’ve got the first verse sorted out, and now I understand the measure of each line, and how those lines interact and flow. I can use this as a reference point for figuring out verses two and three at some later date.

Slight changes I’d consider making are in the first “Hermes! / Hades!”. The change I’d consider making is to set them half a beat off, sort of like the “how’s the weather / worse than ever” lines, but it’s good as is. That change might make those two lines flow a little better into “back in town!” and would demonstrate how the Fates are undercutting their voices pretty clearly.

But I’ve already got a good recording, I’m not redoing it. The change is small enough that I’m sure you can imagine it yourself, though someday I may figure out where the words are set and re-record as needed.

This should take you to the file, it’s an m4a.

[toxarts]

Thinking about Smile for Me again and wanted to redo my flower kid insert... But instead of redesigning my original flower kid I thought it might be nice to do their redesign as a year-ish post habitat, especially to mirror my own transition/ what’s happened with me in the past few years! The patch vest is more an alternate outfit, and their mullet is undercut so when pulled back it looks like the first image. Plus a bonus Bald bc I’m prone to shaving my head when I get tired of a hairstyle...

[none-of-your-biscuits]

*transes your blorbos for my personal benefit*

Cat duo au

Nonbinary (They/them) Adrien and genderfluid (he/she) Juleka

Juleka has been pretty androgynous most her life, so once he realize he preferred to be perceived certain ways it wasn't that big of a deal at home. That being said, she had experience in in presenting himself as a genderless entity.

Adrien lowkey gets gender envy from Juleka.

When Juleka learns about Adrien's identity she's really laid back about it and Adrien is like "????" because they are having a crisis.

Juleka does his make-up differently depending on how he's feeling, but its usually never picked up by anyone other than Luka and Rose and later Adrien.

When Juleka can't tell if its a boy or girl day she'll ask Luka (or Adrien if they had a sleep over) to flip a coin and decide for him.

Juleka doesn't teach Adrien how to do their makeup, instead watches youtube tutorials with them. I feel like Adrien has some prior knowledge of makeup because of modeling but they don't fully grasp the process or how to make it look a certain way.

Adrien tells Juleka the crabby patty secret formula to altering the super hero suit so she can look more masculine if she feels like it.

Juleka gets a slight undercut that is very visible when he transforms because her hair is in a ponytail. When Adrien knows Juleka is feeling more masculine they will call him tiger instead of tigress. Some fans catch on, some don't.

Rose likes to pet Juleka's undercut.

When Juleka realized she was genderfluid he was also praising the universe that Rose was panromantic.

Anarka: "Oh, daughter o' mine-" Juleka: "son" Anarka: "Oh, son o' mine-"

Natalie, walking in on Adrien cutting Juleka's hair while in a skirt: "... you're going to clean that up..., right?"

Also, once Chloe joins their sleep overs, deep late night talks lead her to realize she might not be entirely cis. They also lead Juleka to believing he has the power to steal people's gender.

Adrien never really comes out. Once Marinette and Rose pick up on Juleka only ever using they/them for Adrien they both start doing it somewhat subconsciously. After that the class catches on.

Chat has done patrol with the nonbinary flag around their shoulders. Same with tigress, but the genderfluid flag. (I almost typed Panthera instead of tigress)

Anyways, I think I'm done with asks for the night.

G'mornin/G'night.

.

JOKES ON YOU!!! I ALSO TRANS MY BLORBOS FOR MY OWN ENTERTAINMENT

Ur so correct for this actually

Juleka gender fluid is so real and true. Also I planned nb adrien so long ago and just never said it get out of my head

(Ps. I also always say Panthera and then just redo it into tigress. Panthera has a grip on a specific group of people that will never leave)

Also. Chloe has demigirl swag I will not accept any contradictions I am correct

ALSO JULEKA UNDERCUT canon. Like I'm pretty sure I can dig up a convo with cap I had abt that when crocoduel came out Bc we are deranged

I also

physically wheezed from krabby patty secret formula to changing the suit

Pov. I accidentally ignored all my asks yesterday because I was listening to the Magnus archives season 1 for the first time and playing Minecraft

[helicarrier]

Abuse of Visual Effects Artists is Ruining the Movies

I’ve seen a lot of backlash towards Marvel Studios for their business practices lately. This is warranted, and it’s good that Marvel Studios is being taken to task for it, because public awareness and pressure can do a lot of good.

However, many news articles and stories are overlooking something important. Marvel Studios is a preeminent company in pop culture, and they release many movies and shows every year. They’re very easy to fixate on. But this is not a one-pronged problem where if Marvel Studios just straightened up and changed their businesses practices, everything would be fixed — their business practices are a symptom of a much bigger problem in the industry, and one that has existed for years. Many other production houses and visual effects studios are to blame. Marvel Studios is the most visible house right now, but we need to keep in mind that Marvel Studios is only doing what they’re doing because there is a precedent for that stuff, and it’s something that so many other houses are doing right now, too.

I want to ask everyone who is concerned about the wellbeing of us VFX artists, and everyone who is concerned about content quality, not to scapegoat Marvel to the point where every other issue in the industry (which is ultimately why Marvel Studios is conducting its business the way it is now) is dismissed.

Please remember that Marvel Studios is not the problem. It is a problem, and it is a symptom of a sickness that has been in the industry for decades.

Want to learn more? Here’s a great piece of journalism:

https://gizmodo.com/disney-marvel-movies-vfx-industry-nightmare-1849385834

This article is well worth the read. It’s very recent, and it paints a comprehensive picture of the main issues with production houses and visual effects houses, the lack of regulations in the industry as a whole, and how those issues culminate in mistreatment of the artists themselves. This is why Marvel Studios has become so notorious for abusing VFX houses and artists, and why many VFX houses abuse their artists too. The whole system is rigged against the little guys.

Some notable excerpts:

In 2013, the visual effects studio “Rhythm and Hues” won the Academy Award for Best Special Effects for work on Life of Pi. But just eleven days before winning the Oscar, the company was forced to declare bankruptcy. Partway through the movie, the director [Ang Lee] made a big change to the tiger, so Rhythm and Hues had to go back and redo almost all their work. And it cost them so much money to do so, and they were already working on such a thin profit margin, that it bankrupted them. So the studio literally went bankrupt just before they won the Oscar for Best VFX. (I’ll link a relevant documentary called Life After Pi here).

Marvel Studios, like just about every other production company, hires studios to produce VFX. And in order to work for Marvel, or any of the five or so production companies out there that are offering big-budget VFX work that keeps VFX studios afloat, studios continuously underbid each other in order to appeal to an increasingly-small client base. First, the production company sends out a dossier of shots that need VFX work. Studios might get a shot description that simply reads “an alien spaceship appears.” A bidding producer at a studio will review those shot descriptions in order to create an estimate for the bid, but this is more of an art form than a science. It’s a race to the bottom. Because when the big [production companies] say they need work done, [the VFX studios] undercut each other so much that by the time they finally get that contract, they’ve bid so low they’re lucky to break even. And so that forces these VFX studios to operate at very low margins.

The UK doesn’t have any paid overtime in any industry, and because they don’t have to legally pay anyone overtime, when they bid a show that might cost them $15 million to do the work, a UK studio might say, ‘Well, we’ll do it for ten.’ So if they rack up 200 hours of overtime a week in London, it doesn’t affect the bottom line… It’s not costing the studio any money to force you to work through this crunch delivery.

Many sources stated that Marvel deliberately shoots their films in such a way that they are able to change details, both big and small, up until the very last minute. Very little is shot practically, and even the stuff that is practical goes through touch-ups. “When you get a plate of just someone’s face against a poorly lit screen, there’s really nothing you can do to make it look realistic,” explains H. A plate is the untouched frame, exactly what was captured on camera, mocap suit and all. “That’s something that never gets commented on. Everyone just goes, ‘Oh, the visual effects look shit.’ And I’m like, No, you should have seen the plate. You should have seen what we were given, because that’s what was shit.”

Unionizing is completely stacked against us. The VFX studios go through so many artists so fast that by the time you get enough people to sign cards and hold a vote, there might not be popular support, or even the kind of internal volunteer structure needed to form the union. If a shop is unionized (meaning that artists can demand more money, better working conditions, and limit the amount of control clients have to demand changes) it means that big production companies like Marvel will be less likely to accept a bid from that VFX studio. And if an artist from a union shop tries to get work somewhere else, there’s nothing in place that would stop VFX studios from looking at their union history and deciding not to hire them, because, again, most artists are digital nomads that cycle through multiple studios a year chasing work. The threat of being blacklisted, for any reason, hangs over the entire industry.

On top of that, you have studios like MPC (Technicolor) forcing their artists to return to the office using a “RAG” system. This system has been panned across the VFX industry, because there has just been a massive shift towards work-from-home for artists, which even juniors have been able to utilize in many cases. Recently, MPC has also scrapped its 2022 raises for artists.

It is undoubtedly a race to the bottom. And every time older artists become jaded about the industry, because they burn out or become fed up with the treatment, there’s a new wave of bright-eyed artists ready to replace them, and the cycle will repeat — unless enough people are aware of just how deep-seated the problems are, and speak up about it. People are doing that now with Marvel Studios, but we need to inform ourselves more and remember this is much, much deeper than just Marvel Studios.

When it falls out of style to hate on Marvel Studios, these problems will still be there, and artists will still be suffering at the workplace.

[nyamafriend]

Dude if I don’t cut my hair soon I’m going to Lose It

[melodythebunny]

how to make transparent pics

or how i make them requested by @ninjastormhawkkat​ and @liloskull343​ undercut bc it might be long?

so first off i use kleki (i also use krita but i’ll do a mini tutorial on that later), and i found a way to draw tansparent pics like this

so basically go to https://kleki.com/ it give you a blank white canvas (im currently working on a pic hence why there is another layer)

Kleki button takes you to the info page about their online program.  the blank rectangle gives you an option to make another/new canvas.  the file/folder icon allows you to import images .png .jepg (not sure about other formats yet) and even .psd files (these files are connected to kleki program, it saves your layers, layer effects and stuff. also you can import .psd files into some other art programs like krita) the down arrow button means to download. the connected dots icon allow you to copy your drawing (NOT indivual layers) and also to share or send the drawing. the question mark button is for FAQ’s i believe. anddddd now imma just get into what you guys REALLLY wanted to know. so we’re just going to change the color of the canvas to grey :3

and add a new layer to sketch on ( i always sketch in colored ink cuz then its easier to see what i am trying to draw)

add another layer to do lineart :3 now most times i draw somethings with black ink and write mini messages with white ink but for this pic im just going to use white ink side note: this is for saving and exporting. hitting over write will save your pic to the browser so when/if you refresh the page your progess is still there! sometimes i forget to hit save and so i have to redo alot of hard work. so make sure you save as you go!

now that i did the line art time to hide the unneeded layers!

and export/ hit save! (name the file something catchy or whatever-)

tada! (might have to click and drag this into a new page or something to see)

and this verison bc y not

[onlyswan]

cloudburst | jjk

→  pairing: jungkook x oc

→  genre: fluff, angst

→  warnings: mention of depression, profanities bc i curse a lot

→  word count: 1.2k

summary: cloudburst (n.) an extreme amount of precipitation in a short period of time, sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder, which is capable of creating flood conditions;

or the only word close enough to describe the peculiar episodes of rainstorm that befall the vicinity when jungkook and ivy’s skin touch.

note: so um i came up with this idea for like more than a year now lol it’s supposedly a story but my motivation always ends up short so i gave it a try today and ended up using jk and i badly need to post it somewhere so here you go i guess lmk what you think?

___

“the weather app said it would be sunny today. why the fuck is it raining cats and dogs?” the woman who just entered the café grumbled, her hair dripping across the floor with every stride she took on the way to a table.

 her friend it seems like laughed at her appearance, “i warned you that it rains here a lot yet you still moved. invest in all things waterproof,”

 ivy looked over at jungkook with a guilty look on her face, which he deliberately ignored. he continued sipping on his coffee, one hand scrolling through his laptop and the other with no plans on letting go of hers. they’ve been here before. they’ve fought countless of times because she can’t stop worrying about how their relationship affects other people, and well, the entire planet.

 “jungkook, humans need sun. the plants and trees that give us oxygen need the fucking sun. it can’t rain every day! we will die!”

 “but i need you every day. is that not an enough reason?”

 and how could she possibly forget this one…

 “the local government is panicking about the flood. it makes no absolute sense why it would rain this hard suddenly often. i think they’re executing a project to redo the roads,”

 “good. that’s their damn job,”

 the thing is… jungkook knows what he wants and he will not let anything stand in his way of getting it. this fact has been well established ever since he was a little kid. when his parents wouldn’t let him get the toy he was eyeing the moment they stepped into the mall, he made his own means and got it for himself, selling the drawings he worked all night on to his classmates and mooching off them for food during recess instead of spending his allowance on overpriced food at the cafeteria. they don’t support his career choice? that’s fine. he moved out and tried, is still trying, his very best to survive in the world outside their roof. to say his parents are still baffled by this action is an understatement. he might be stubborn, and well, bratty, but he never begs. he never asks twice. it is that simple. wait. correction. was.

 jungkook is a hopeless romantic. he isn’t shy about it, but he isn’t very proud of it either. he likes classic romance movies and that’s how he imagines true love would be like. he loves the yearning, stolen glances, shy compliments, petty jealousy. but oh my fucking god, not like this. he is whipped. there is no denying. the fondness he has even for the most trivial things about ivy fascinates him. why do the smallest interactions put a stupid smile on my face? why does her voice gives me butterflies? why the fuck can’t i get enough of her? his friends are terrified of commitment. if they could only hear his thoughts, they would laugh at his face. one day they will understand and i will laugh at their faces then, he would always think to himself when they discuss about not wanting to get tied down and bossed around. because he would do anything and everything for ivy. that is why he pissed off all the damn time. sure, he enjoys the longing and slow burn. but not when one small touch and it rains so hard it looks like the sky is going to fucking fall upon the earth, not when ivy is sad and he can’t hold her in his arms without making her feel more down. rain makes her gloomy and depressed, that is one of the first things he learned about her. the irony makes him want to laugh and cry. she always assures him that it’s alright, that she has found comfort in it somehow, because she has him by her side. and she means it wholeheartedly. jungkook finds it hard to believe her, but he smiles and kisses her anyway, the ringing of the raindrops against the roof turning mute. her kisses make everything better.

 her love language is physical touch, so when they both came to a realization as to why it rains every time they are together, she felt cursed. why? out of all people, why her? she had boyfriends before, but the connection she has with jungkook is different. he treats her right. she is generally shy but once she talks, she would go on and on. she rambles when she is happy, excited, frustrated, or angry. they all get tired of this eventually, but not jungkook. he finds it adorable, and he listens intently whether it’s about how fucked up her childhood was or how much she wants a black cat. he makes her feel happy and loved. but it seems like the universe is against her happiness. when things don’t go her way, she shuts everyone out and drowns herself in her own misery. she knows she’s pathetic, but at least she’s not letting this patheticness bother anyone else, right?

 jungkook never begs. he does not ask twice. but for ivy, he would get on his knees. just like when he spent the entire night knocking on her door.

 “just leave, jungkook. this is fucking stupid. we are stupid,” she made sure to speak clearly, to not wobble on her words. her voice betrayed her at the end. “we’re over,” it came out as a whisper and she was almost terrified that he heard it. he did.

 “let me in, please. let’s talk properly. how are you just going to decide that we’re done? there are two of us in this relationship, ivy,” he tried to reason with her, pulling at his sleeves in an attempt to warm his freezing hands. he wants nothing but to cuddle in her soft and warm bed, he’s in pain. he hates this entire situation, but he loves her most in the world.

 “you sound ridiculous. we haven’t been together that long. you will move on, and i will, too,” the truth is she feels ridiculous. yes, they haven’t been together for that long but she has grown attached. and this hurts worse than she expected. “…right?”

 “that’s bullshit and you know it. i don’t care about the consequences. i don’t want to lose you,” it has never been this difficult to walk away, so you know what? fuck ego. fuck the goddamn planet. “we will make this work. we have to. so when you’re ready to open the door, i will be here.”

 ivy smiled at the sight of her boyfriend focused on drawing on his tablet, legs crossed and the digital pencil gripped by his tattooed hand she usually loves holding, but she’ll let him work for now. he tsked when a strand of hair fell over his eyes, which she brushed back immediately.

 “just put your hair in a bun so it wouldn’t bother you,”

 he pouted, “you do it better than me,”

 “liar, you just don’t want to move,” she rolled her eyes but stood up anyway.

 “maybeee,” he chuckled, averting his attention back to the screen as she did his hair. she loves his hair, more so with that damn undercut, but she won’t tell him that and well, she doesn’t really have to, because he already knows. with the way she constantly plays with it and tells him to put it up? she’s not exactly slick.

 “thanks, baby. i love you,” he hummed. she kissed his cheek as a return of appreciation and fought back a wince when the lady from the other table continued complaining because the drizzle outside intensified to a rain once again.

 jungkook merely shrugged and turned the screen towards her. “what do you think?”

[rurifangirl]

oc asks💃💃💃💃

ryo🌸

How do they respond to having a song stuck in their head? Does that happen to them often?

When speaking to themselves in their mind, how do they refer to themselves?

Do they have any unappealing habits (ex: picking their nose, hawking loogies)?

How do they cope with losing a lover?

ythia🌸

Would they prefer to act or react?

Who is their greatest confidant? Who confides in them?

Do they get the urge to jump from high places?

Do they enjoy receiving compliments? How do they respond to it?

In which of their own skill sets do they have the most confidence?

🌿-

How do they respond to having a song stuck in their head? Does that happen to them often?

Honestly, he's gonna probably play It back and fourth until he's done with It. Either this, or trying to find some form of connection with It, whether emotional or tied up to other topics.

If that however Is pretty strong, he'll probably try to paint It and portray It as much as he can. With colours, expressions, dips and contrats, everything so It could appeal to that song. He could even reuse some of his older stuff for It.

When speaking to themselves in their mind, how do they refer to themselves?

Since he does have a pretty strong connection to the dragon world overall, he doesn't really refer to him/him whenever talking. It's as if there was another voice, narrating his thoughts. A much rougher for sure.

He also sometimes imitates the lil voice of his puppet, as a way to make him feel as if he still had some friends within.

Do they have any unappealing habits (ex: picking their nose, hawking loogies)?

Not really, though he does end up having his clothes all over the place, and he needs Ezra's help to realise so most of the time.

How do they cope with losing a lover?

Sighs. Bestie. BESTIE HEE BEEN TRAUMATIZED ENOUGH WHY WOEUFLFL😭😭😭 FINE I'LL BE QUICK

He absolutely wouldn't know how to healthy cope with It.

Not only it's something he never got exposed over much, but even at that point,losing something of such importance would bring him to so much pain. Even too much. He wouldn't take care anymore, leaving everything behind. Throwing everything he'd love away.

He wouldn't look at anyone in the eyes for a very much long time, and would rather spend everyday in solitude.

He still has the fully grown on his childood trauma either, so Ryo could go back in his ways without a second thought. Either that, or he would soccomb to his dragon desires. Or even both, in different periods of time. It's honestly a fuck ton to discuss and I'm still not ready for this convo besties <\3

🌬️-

Would they prefer to act or react?

Prolly react. They don't like acting too much unless it's for their own purposes, and thus it's far more enteratraining seeing other's people's reactions to their own.

Who is their greatest confidant? Who confides in them?

They do have some people they can rely on here and there, but wouldn't really confide to them as much.

They prefer to do everything by themselves, so they'd always have a spotlight on the top of their head, in the good or in the bad.

Do they get the urge to jump from high places?

YESYES!! They're pretty impulsive too,

most i could use to describe them Is that Spongebob shit where he asks "can i do It again?", And then redoes It three times.

Do they enjoy receiving compliments? How do they respond to it?

They do enjoy praises and compliments, and do react pretty well, if they're comfortable around you. In that case, they might reciprocate It.

If not, they'd probably thank you, but adding they'd already known for a very long time.

If they'd despise you, they wouldn't even bother answering, completely changing subject to any other one that suits them, even if that would mean staring at you down.

In which of their own skill sets do they have the most confidence?

About a little of everything honestly. Even if they'd use that confidence as a shield, they still are partially proud and like themselves. Until a certain point sure, but still.

They aren't disgusted by their abilities, they enjoy the position they are in enough, until It gets into cons, and yet, just wants to do whatever they'd feel like.

Tags undercut:

@a-chaotic-dumbass @spoopy-fish-writes @damnfoxx @audre-falrose @dopesaladlady @infra-jaded

[belliesandburps]

Followup with MGS4 Peace Walker and 5?

History has a funny way of repeating itself. :P

This one's actually gonna be long, so I'll cap it here to spare those uninterested in non-kink posts the burden of having to scroll past this fanboy rant. 'XD

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

3. It's Okay

Soooooo...not a controversial opinion to say that I don't think MGS4 is GREAT. I adored it when it first game out, and I still enjoy replaying it from time to time. But good lord, so many of the interviews shed light on a LOT of this games problems.

Some backstory is required. Hideo Kojima was done with MGS by this point. He planned to move on and leave the series to the younger generation. But then, there was a lot of internal conflict and struggle to determine what MGS4 should be after Fukushima quit (AND was rumored to have been murdered by the Yakuza...how that rumor started...and became a SERIOUS rumor that millions believe, I do not know...). So Kojima came back, course corrected, and the end result was kind of a giant mess.

I'm not talking story because, there's just way too much to unpack. But as a game, MGS4 can't decide what sort of video game it wants to be. It had a brilliant idea that had never been done before with its Battlefield Stealth, which were the best parts of the game. And then they get dropped two acts in, and what gets replaced in their stead is not nearly as fun.

The game had substantially less boss fights than its predecessor, and a lot of them were mechanically simplistic or just didn't let you get creative with how you fought them. And we later learned there were a lot more bosses planned, more gameplay sequences planned, and an entire other PMC group that got canned in favor of the Scarabs so Shadow Moses could be guarded by machines instead.

There's a lot about MGS4 that I love. I think the first two acts are amazing, ESPECIALLY Act 2. I think the mechanics are great. REX vs RAY is criminally fun. The sheer buffet of insane weapons gives the game a good amount of replay value. And the graphics still hold up to this day!

But what I finally realized is that the game juggles way too many ideas and doesn't give any idea the time they deserve to flourish. Battlefield Stealth could've CARRIED MGS4. But it gets dumped before we can get our moneys worth. A disguise sequence could've been really creative, having to juggle different identities with OctoMask every time one identity is burned. But it's only used once and wasted because it's only used for a terrible tailing mission that doesn't let you actually explore the European City. And too many of the action set pieces are kind of bland except the bosses and piloting Metal Gear.

MGS4 should've been MGS4. Not MGS's "Best Hits."

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

1. LOVED it!

I know this is unpopular to say, but I'll say it. Peace Walker is one of the best Metal Gear games ever made. I adored almost everything about it. The gameplay improves on MGS4 in most ways because it doesn't juggle a billion ideas all at once. It's MGS4 stripped down to stealth action from start to finish, and that's all I wanted. The level design is great. The insane volume of guns changes the entire feel of combat in later post-campaign gameplay. The mission select options mean you can jump into all the parts of the game you enjoy the most. There's TONS of bonus missions that are really inventive and fun to replay. And the story is one of the best in the series. It's straight forward, very tight, characterized well, and is the best iteration of Big Boss to date.

Peace Walker's also the FUNNIEST MGS game by Kojima as well. There's so much more personality and levity to everything, to the point where Big Boss often feels like an MCU character. That might sound bad, but it's really not. That corniness fits MGS PERFECTLY, and I'd argue is tonally spot on for this series. MGS doesn't need to be dark, gory or explicit. It's a silly series that's about giant robots, corny bad ass super agents with an anti-nuke message.

The only downsides to Peace Walker are the QTE's and the boss fights. This was a feature that only ever appeared in this game and for good reason...it was fucking terrible. So basically, you had cutscenes that forced you to do various QTE's or else get dinged on your ratings at the end, even if you played perfectly. Fairly minimal, but then, you get to Strangelove's torture. And this is the single most rage-inducing part of any MGS game ever made. It's an insanely physically painful button mashing sequence that will leave your fingers raw and your PS3 triangle buttons jamming. And the ONLY way you can replay one of the best missions in the game (the prison escape where you have no items) is by redoing that sequence over and over. And the boss fights? While inventive, they're all just grindy bullet sponges with no personality, no stealth tactics, and no room for creativity the way you can get creative with every other MGS game's bosses. This was the biggest disappointment for me because the stealth and combat mechanics of PW are great and would've been SO good against human enemies like what Portable Ops had. Instead, every boss is a mini-Metal Gear all voiced by the VOCALOID AI from the mid 2000's, and each one takes forever to destroy. It sucks because PW had a TON of bosses, but only a few of them are any fun, and that's only if you have weapons that are strong enough that they don't take ages to destroy.

But asides from the bosses, the REST of the game is so damn good that I don't even care because that's just one element to a much larger, grander game. Which is even more impressive when you consider PW was originally on the PSP before the PS3 port. And this game has more content and replay value to it than most games I've played since.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

1. LOVED it!

Hooooooookay...so, I've rambled about my storybook romance with MGSV for YEARS now. (Just ask @twistedtummies2, he's been subjected to my fanboying of this game more than anyone in existence XD) But there's a reason I regard this game as one of my all time favorites and the best MGS game to date.

It's REALLY freakin' fun.

Kojima had been re-energized by the time he got to MGSV. He'd been working on the game around the time he finished Peace Walker in 2010. He KNEW it was his final MGS game and wanted to do something completely different...

...He wanted to make a game where the central focus was on...waaaaait for it...the gameplay...

MGSV was designed to be, what he described, as a toybox. You have these missions that all take place in structurally unique outposts like any level in MGS. And the missions are designed with the structure needed so that they all feel different, but all remain so open ended that you can play them countless different ways.

MGSV's game model is everything GTA SHOULD'VE been. It fully embraces the open world freedom and incorporates that into the missions flawlessly. And it plays in such a way that stealth and combat both feel like they were the primary point. In MGS, combat is usually a last resort. But with MGSV, you can fly into an outpost blasting away on your helicopters mini-gun, shoot up the bad guys, rescue your target, throw them back into the chopper and fly away while "The Final Countdown" blares on your choppers loud speakers.

Every method of gameplay is valid and the controls, the enemy AI responsiveness, it's all, bar none, the best I've experienced in ANY video game. Sneaking around feels tight and tense and combat makes you feel like Jack Bauer on adrenaline. (I mean, he IS the voice of Venom Snake)

And I really like the story for the most part too. Its weaknesses are really glaring. Namely, the "Fun" of MGS is completely devoid in the story (which is really odd since it's FRONT AND CENTER in-game). Venom Snake only has maybe six minutes of dialogue in the entirety of this 30+ hour long game. And the way Skull Face gets completely undercut right at the home stretch is something I have NOT stopped bitching about for almost six years, and my friends can personally attest to that.

That and the ending feels too abrupt.

We know that Kojima got fired by Konami's VP and said VP scorched the entire production company after that and made a series of dickheaded decisions that pissed off a LOT of fans, burning much of the good will Konami IP fans had towards the company. But that had nothing to do with MGSV's abruptness. That was the plan from the start because only Kojima would think to end the entire series on a plot twist like that.

And I think the issue isn't the twist at all. In fact, I LOVE the twist. The issue is that the game should've continued beyond it so Venom Snake could cope with the truth and realize how badly he'd been screwed. I think even people who hated the twist could've been won over if there was a little more to the games epilogue than Episode 46.

Also, the games boss fights were a tad underwhelming. Not the fights themselves, I LOVED all five of the games bosses.

Oh? There were twelve?

No. I meant what I said. Because so many of the games bosses are rematches against the same bosses. All MGSV has is the Skulls, Quiet, Eli, The Man on Fire, and Metal Gear. They're great bosses that do everything the best MGS bosses always did; give you tons of options, incorporate combat AND stealth, have varied attacks AND even have multiple methods to sneak around the boss and avoid the fight completely. But for a game as long as MGS, you need more variety. And frankly, the bosses NEED more personality. Skull Face should've had more XOF assassins acting as the bosses in the game along with the ones we have. Elite assassins like Quiet, with their own powers and specialized weaponry so the fights feel completely different from the ones we have. And oh yeah, SKULL FACE HIMSELF SHOULD'VE HAD A GOD-FUCKING-DAMN BOSS FIGHT!!!!

Buuuuuuut those issues don't even matter if for all the games issues, I still replay it frequently when it's almost six years old.

So yeah! There's the massive rant you totally didn't ask for! :D

[seeminglyseph]

I’ll be honest I forgot I shouldn’t draw his ear because he has racoon ears but he has like an undercut so you’d be able to see the bare side of his head. This wasn’t a commission, when my friend commissioned some characters from the RP I was a part of but no longer am but I still love a lot of the characters.... well I wanted to draw my own characters.

And I’m not giving up Kyle ever. I made him on a whim but he’s a little trash boy garbage racoon. just barely not homeless but like.... really close. He attracts abusive people by accident by being a weird combo of too nice and also a complete shithead. I really liked writing him, so I will continue to do stuff with him.  I might.... redo his legs. at least the jeans.

honestly I should draw like some fanart or something like this and try to sell stickers on redbubble...

[rotten-games]

would you mind posting the visual descriptions of the ROs ? i'd like it for future reference!! also i love the demo ALSO i love childhood friend arke thank you for my life sweet author

I don’t mind at all, I’ve been meaning to redo the ROs descriptions for a while now so this just got my ass into gear. I’m glad you like it!

Ardwen: Ardwen isa lithe high elf, with long platinum blond hair that almost appears to glow inlow light. He could be described as pretty, with a slender frame and manicurednails, but it’s often better not to trust the man at face value. He has buckteeth and some freckling across his nose, his ears almost looking too big for histhin face.

Arke: Arke is awell-muscled young human man with burn scars that cover almost half of hisbody. His eyes are an unnatural gold, something that has unnerved countlessover the years, that give him an almost feral look. His brown hair is messy andlong, his face covered with some stubble. He has countless other scars thatcover his chest, though there almost always seem to be scabs on his arms.

Bex: Bex is a largehalf-orc, as most half-orcs tend to be, but he is probably a bit smaller thanaverage. The tusks that jut out from his mouth are quite thick and large, hisbody comprised of muscle and fat that is common amongst his people. His earsare quite pointed, perhaps alluding to an elven parentage and his eyes are awild yellow. His face is covered with a bushy beard, his hair long but kept outof his face. His nose appears to have been broken one too many times, and he hasbeen branded with the mark of a criminal on his neck, something he tries tohide.

Calyssa: With themuscles of someone who has spent her life training and riding, Calyssa is knownas a monster on the battlefield for a reason. Her curly brown hair was shavedshort but is now growing in, her eyes narrow and dark. What scars she has seemto be paid no mind. She wears an ornamental dagger on her hip, a memento fromher late wife.

Druvel: Druvel istall, and strong, though more graceful than a typical soldier. His black hairis tied into a long braid he wraps around his shoulders and his eyes are a verydeep purple that almost appear black. Like all infernals, his mouth is full of razor-sharpteeth, retractable claws coloured black and a pair of horns that curl atop hishead, though his resemble that of a ram. His tail drags behind him as he walks.He has many tattoos down his back and chest, often marked by scarring. Perhapsthe most prominent is a jagged scar that is cut across his jugular.

Emil: Emil is asmall human man with a face covered in freckles and neat ginger hair. His eyesare green and though once he may have had little to no muscle, he has put onsome weight over the years spent as a mercenary. There is a large scar runningdown the side of his face that looks to be from some kind of wild animalattack.

Ettia: Ettia is tallwith little musculature, her body more suited to the pursuits of magic thananything else. Her blonde hair is thick, usually tied into a braid thatcascades down her back, and her eyes are a pale blue that never quite appear tobe looking straight at you. Her back is covered in whip lashes, raised scarringfrom a past she seems detached from when asked about.

Gwyn: Like his sister,Gwyn is tall and blond, with the typical appearance of a wood elf, though hishair is cut short and his blue eyes are perhaps a bit deeper than hers. He hasan average amount of musculature, probably lither than built like a brick houseand more suited to stealth and strategy than frontal assaults. There’s somethingfaraway about his gaze at all times, like he isn’t quite there.

Herron: Herron isof average height for a human, with messy ruddy brown hair pulled back into anequally as messy low ponytail. He wears a pair of broken spectacles, which do nothingto hide the dark bags under his eyes. His robes never seem to quite, his face always covered in stubble that he gave upshaving long ago.

Keller: Tall andmuscled, Keller is the very model of an Atmari leader with mastery over her weaponof choice and her people’s healing magics. Her hair is almost always tied back behindher head so it doesn’t get in the way, revealing her brown eyes and the tattoosthat cover one side of her face. The tattoos extend down over her back, as ifher skin is a canvas.

Korrin: Korrin isthin, almost to the point of looking unhealthy, their body all skin and boneseven standing taller than most half-elves. Their black hair hangs over theirshoulders and their milky eyes are unseeing. Golden piercings cover their face,fangs quite obvious in their mouth. They are a half elf, just what their non-elfhalf is, is unknown.

Lokeira: Lithe andsmall, Lokeira prides himself on his ability to blend into the background, ofgoing unnoticed in a crowd, which is quite hard for an infernal to do in aplace like Hadaria. His skin is mottled with scales, a long, thin, tailextending and dragging on the ground. He has a pair of fangs jutting up out ofhis mouth much like orcs do, his eyes bright red that appear to glow in thedark. His hair is silver and long, always either tucked up into a loose tail orleft hanging over his shoulders, his horns curling over the back of his headare a deep red colour.

Necrolym: Ofaverage height, Necrolym is well-muscled and proud human man. His body is litteredwith small scars, his hands calloused from years of use, though most notably hehas a nick in his right brow from an old wound. His eyes are a grey-blue, hishair a shaggy and messy dirty-blond. He has a mole underneath his left eye.

Nox: A tiny womanstanding at 4’0”, Nox is made of mostly of the muscle and fat of a gladiator.Her body is covered in scars that she doesn’t bother to hide, her body markedwith the usual dwarven patterns of bioluminescent skin that might have lit herway in the dark tunnels her ancestors built. Her hair is black, thick, andwild, but tamed into a short style with an undercut, her chin lightly stubbled.Her eyes are bright yellow.

Qora: Qora issmall and compact, with strong arms and an impassive face. She could never passfor human—her ears are too long and her hair is too short—but she’s neverparticularly wanted to. Her eyes are a dark green, her hair a dull brown, andall her clothing seems absolutely suited to blending in with her surroundings.Due to recent events, she wears an eyepatch over her left eye, which is mutilatedbeyond repair.

Severa: Severa is madeof hard angles and muscle, standing at around 5’4” but not allowing it to makeher seem small. Her shoulders are broad and, being a half-elf, her ears areslightly pointed, but she could pass easily as human if she so wished. Her hairis dark and long, typically pulled into a loose bun atop her head, but she cannever be bothered to brush it as she probably should. Dark brown, almost black,eyes are framed by an equally as angular face marred by scarring.

Spotter: Short andthin, Spotter is comprised of skin and bone and not much else. Their entirebody is covered in freckles, eyes green and curious, while on their head sits amessy bed of curly red hair that never agrees to be tamed. Their clothes areshabby, always having holes or burn marks in them, and they never seem to bewithout their fair share of bumps and scars.

[plays-the-thing]

The Mandalorian S2: Style Over Substance – A Companion Piece

This is a companion piece to this video where I examine the strengths and weaknesses of the first two seasons of The Mandalorian. It’s a collection of ideas and evidence that were cut for time or focus reasons from the main video. I’ve included both timestamps and quotes of what section of the video each idea refers to. Under a cut for length.

[1:48] Akira Kurosawa, whose movies would be very important in the western genre was very big on complete and realistic sets and effects because it helps the quality of an actors’ performance.

“The quality of the set influences the quality of the actors' performances. If the plan of a house and the design of the rooms are done properly, the actors can move about in them naturally. If I have to tell an actor, 'Don't think about where this room is in relation to the rest of the house,' that natural ease cannot be achieved. For this reason, I have the sets made exactly like the real thing. It restricts the shooting but encourages that feeling of authenticity." – Akira Kurosawa, Something Like an Autobiography

 [2:27] Like the original trilogy, The Mandalorian has its fair share of humor. The sequel trilogy also had a lot of humor, and was criticized for it, but it wasn’t the humor itself that I think people had a problem with, it was how the humor was done. See, in the original trilogy humor never changed or undercut the overall tone of a scene. If a scene is tense humor might lighten or even break the tension but never undercut it. The original trilogy would never, ever, make fun of the plot, character, or scenes in its own movie. The Mandalorian follows this mold of lightening or breaking tension without undercutting the scene itself which also helps it feel like the OT.

Just Writes video on Bathos is a good expansion on this idea. Personally, I find that particular brand of humor, popularized by the Marvel movies, extremely off-putting because it just screams at me to not take the story seriously and that makes it pretty hard for me to stay immersed in it. My three favorite marvel movies are Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther, and Thor Ragnarok because Black Panther doesn’t really do that kind of humor and Guardians and Ragnarok manage to make it seem natural by genuinely being comedies.

 [7:18] This brings us to Episode 4. Last time I criticized this episode, but I wasn’t very specific, I just mentioned that we were starting to get away from showing and towards telling. Let’s take a closer look.

The first part of this scene, where the kid was being a nuisance, was actually really good. It kind of seemed like it was going to lead into some genuine frustration with him being a nuisance and therefore maybe some drama in their relationship. 

[9:51] Cowboy Bebop is another space western with a strong style and a mix of vignettes and episodes which advance a characters story. But every single episode builds up the themes of the overall story even if the plot has nothing to do with it.

To be fair, not every episode builds up *Spike’s* story and themes, but Cowboy Bebop has four main characters and every episode works towards at least one of the characters’ stories, characterization, or relationships.

[12:20] Mando’s mistrust of IG, when they really have quite a lot in common, speaks to something about his character.

What does it speak to exactly? Well, everyone might have their own opinion about that but here’s mine:

 IG-11 used to be a hunter, but now Queel has reprogrammed him. Mando still sees the droid as the hunter and is adamant that it can’t be trusted no matter how much Queel insists that Mando must trust his work reprogramming the droid as an extension of trusting Queel himself.

Now, why does Mando hate droids so much, and particularly this droid? Well, that’s an open question, but I have my theories. Part of it is the trauma he experienced when he was young, but I think it runs deeper than that. You know how sometimes the traits that really bother you the most in other people are the things that you don’t like about yourself? The IG-11 that Mando met is a lot like the part of Mando that I’ve been calling “The Professional.” IG is efficient and ruthless, just like Mando on a job. They are deaf to moral and personal appeals in the face of a contract. This is also the part of Mando that took the kid to the Imperials in the first place, the part that he conquered and redeemed by the end of the third episode.

But IG has been reprogrammed. Just like Mando, he has changed and now cares for the child over himself. IG even develops a personality, and at one point attempts to tell a joke. But because IG reminds Mando so much of that part of him he had to defeat, he can’t bring himself to trust him. The tension between them persists pretty much up until IG fully demonstrates to Mando that he is there both to care for the child, and for Mando. In this moment Mando begins to really see how similar they are.

This connection makes it hard for him to let IG make his sacrifice, and he even appeals to this by telling IG that he thought his old core functionality was gone. But by reactivating his old functionality as a part of his new core function, IG is also giving Mando a template to incorporate his Professional self into his new self. He shows Mando that those two halves of his self that came into conflict back in the beginning can be synthesized into one new whole. He doesn’t need to reject any part of his identity.

Then the newly synthesized Mando dons his jetpack, fulfilling his only stated desire in the entire season, and defeats a scenery chewing villain to win the day.

But that’s just my interpretation, and I’m willing to haggle over what exact interpretation the evidence best supports.

[15:29] Speaking of Luke, let’s talk about fanservice. Now to be clear, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with fanservice, what matters is what always matters: how you use it.

This also applies to the other two “Trademarked Star Wars Problems” I mentioned in the last video: repetitiveness and hamfisted merchandizing. These things are not necessarily bad. For example:

I would bet Baby Yoda is the most successfully merchandized product since the OT, but there’s nothing wrong with that because they’re part of the story being told. Baby Yoda doesn’t distract from the story, they are part of the story. On the other hand you have Ewoks, which were originally going to be Wookies. I would bet they went with Ewoks at least in part to sell more cute toys…but at least they still sort of work with the story. In TLJ the penguin things are there for no other reason than to be cute and sell toys. Same with the crystal dog. They have literally no purpose in the story, and their obvious and prominent inclusion only to sell toys distracts from my immersion.

Obviously repetition is part of stories. That’s why we have tropes, and the Hero’s journey, as tools for a writer to communicate information quickly. Just from his outfit we know a lot about Han before he ever opens his mouth, same with Obi-Wan. In RotJ, the heroes need to blow up the Death Star again. It’s kind of annoying that we’re literally doing the same thing we did two movies ago, but at least it’s a little different. In TFA Han Solo reassures us that the Starkiller Base isn’t that big of a deal by saying “don’t worry, there’s always a way to blow it up.” This is an example of a character reaching out from the script and telling the writer to change their story because the repetition is getting ridiculous.

[18:32] So…why is it here? Yeah, I know who Thrawn is. I don’t know why Ahsoka does, or why she cares, or why I should care. If the writer had cared about that they would have made her talk to Mando about it so she could give some sort of story or character-based explanation for why she cares, instead of just dramatically saying his name.

I mean I know the most likely reason it was here: to build hype for her solo show, but they could have done that without punching my immersion in the kidney.

[20:20] So it was no surprise that in the end the Expanded Universe’s greatest hit of all piloted his X-Wing into the show. But, I didn’t mind this. They had been seeding that a Jedi would be coming to collect Groghu for a while now, and if you had been running through the timeline in your head you were probably at least half expecting this. It’s foreshadowed well, it’s part of the story, and it triggers our emotional climax.

The reveal is quite well done too. First it’s an X-Wing, then we see a Jedi dressed in Luke’s RoTJ gear but it’s over the security cameras so there’s no color, then we see it’s a green lightsaber, then they clearly show that it’s Luke’s lightsaber hilt, then they finally have him peel his hood back. Each small reveal builds up the suspicion in your mind that it’s Luke until it’s confirmed.

That being said I would totally understand if someone thought it was obnoxious and hamfisted to shove Luke into another story, even though it did work for me.

[29:12] Parts of it even connect back to Mando’s story and character, though not in a new way because it’s mostly a redo of Mando’s relationship with IG last season.

I understand that Mando breaks his rules a little bit more here, but it’s still a riff on the same theme of: Mando has a conflict with a character, the he sees the similarities between between them, and then circumstances force Mando to take his helmet off in front of the character.

However if his arc with the other Mandalorians was functioning properly than this could work as a synthesis of a change in ideology and a reassertion of his willingness to bend the rules, but instead it just comes across as another redo of stuff in the last season. It’s still halfway functional because by this point it’s easy to forget that Mando had a character arc last season and it reminds us of that right before they pull the trigger on his and Groghu’s separation…but redoing the development from last season doesn’t count as a real character arc.

[31:08] There is so much more I could say about all of the bad writing, plotting, and characterization in this season. There are so many things that just don’t make sense, waste our time, or just plain don’t work.

I’m still confused over what the writer was trying to do with the snow planet. Like they crash land there and Mando decides to go to sleep inside his hull-breached freezing ship and the fish chick is like “Mando this is dumb you should fix your ship” and then he just fixes it. What was even the point of handing Mando the Idiot Ball there? Why not just have him fix the ship without trying to commit suicide by hypothermia first? Like…what?

[31:27] Why are you just listing off a bunch of names that mean nothing to us like she’s a video game character telling us where we need to go next?

I want to point out that even though I’m using this footage of Delphine as a reference she’s actually managing to tell you something about Malborn and why he is trustworthy, so it’s actually better than what Bo is doing. Though to be fair the tidbit about “the forest planet” is cute since it will be a deforested planet when we show up, that line needed some character connection to not sound so weird.

[33:13] That’s what the point of Show Don’t Tell *really* is, it’s not about how much dialogue you use or whether a character is explaining something. It’s about using exposition to tell us something about a character at the same time. It’s about putting the camera in a place that shows us something about the character or the action, not just what’s happening. It’s about packing as much of the story as possible into every choice you make.

In Avatar, the way that Zhao tells us about Zuko’s banishment tells us a lot about both Zhao and Zuko. The camera angle here emphasizes Katara standing encouragingly over Aang’s back as he stares dejectedly at the ground (contrasted with Toph’s angry stare) and tells us about the nature of Katara’s relationship to Aang as his teacher and friend as opposed to Toph’s. In the opening shot of A New Hope, the low angle of the camera implies dominance and the length of the Star Destroyer shows us the long reach of the Empire. Every single time Zuko is on screen it is worth paying attention to which side of his face is dominating the shot: scarred or unscarred. Exactly what each side represents is up for debate: I tend to think of it not as good Zuko vs. bad Zuko but more as Zuko’s feelings of obligation to his family and people and Zuko’s obligations to his own sense of what he believes is right and what he needs to self-actualize.

Show Don’t Tell is just a saying. It’s a saying to encourage writers, particularly new or inexperienced ones, to focus on the *art* of telling the story instead of focusing solely on the plot and facts. I am using it somewhat liberally here to say it’s about “using exposition to tell us something about a character at the same time” but since that is about the art of telling stories, and not just a recitation of facts, it does technically count.

[34:32] With television shows and the way they can go on forever, and with how much money there is in going on forever, it seems like they always become a sagging mess at some point. Some of them manage to bring the quality back, but some of them don’t. So to a certain extent, these problems with the Mandalorian are kind of normal for television shows.

I can’t remember exactly where I stopped watching How I Met Your Mother, the last thing I remember is Ted dating some crazy girl and swearing off relationships. I abandoned The Expanse midway through season 2 earlier this year…maybe I’ll go back but boy was I bored. I made it all the way through the Wire. Season 2 had its problems but eventually got back on the right foot midway through or so, but the problems came roaring back in season 5 which it took me almost a year to finish because it was so agonizing.

Avatar is probably the most controversial choice here of a show in which the quality slipped but I firmly believe that if they cut out the second half of season 2 and the first half of season 3 the show would have been much, much better. Most everything in Ba Sing Se is tonally weird and the whole idea of a city with too many rules and bureaucracy is way too complex an idea for this show to tackle. Avatar does tackle incredibly complicated and adult themes for a kids show but in my view this was one step too far. They get Zuko to a place where he’s ready to join the Aang Gang but then have him backslide temporarily. There’s this whole idea of an invasion on the Day of the Black Sun but it would be such a story cheat to allow Aang to beat the Firelord without actually mastering the four elements and so obviously isn’t going to work. All of these things together just make it feel like wheel spinning where the story and characters aren’t actually growing or developing but just being padded out.

Except for “The Tales of Ba Sing Se” and “Appa’s Lost Days” obviously, those are great.

It’s actually pretty funny because the episode before Aang is supposed to fight the Firelord the first time (the Black Sun time) he’s a nervous wreck and everyone is trying out different psychological techniques to try and make him feel better which is…I guess sort of valuable for kids to see that nervousness is normal. But when you compare it to the second time he’s going to fight the Firelord, for real, it’s *so obviously* for real this time because Aang is having a *character* based crisis about the conflict between his pacifism and his duty to stop the Firelord. The comparison of the two is telling in terms of what was going on in the story of each.

[35:03] Now they are spinning it out into not one, not two, not three, but FOUR different shows all based on the Mandalorian. It’s almost gross how hard they are milking this.

Okay apparently they fired Gina Carano so I guess it’s not four anymore. Or maybe it is who knows. Listen, the point is they *intended* to make four shows okay.

[35:06] Thanks for watching all the way through to the end. These videos take a ton of time and effort so that means a lot. Even though I’ve reset my subscriber count to zero now that I’ve criticized the Mandalorian, I will continue to work on the channel as much as I can, so subscribe if you want to see more videos like this.

I promise to always give you my honest opinion.

Also I know I was shooting for one video a month and, well, I still am but these videos are really time-consuming. I want to make sure I maintain a really high level of quality and so sometimes I get halfway through a video, realize it’s no good and have to start over with something else. Sometimes it takes months of rewrites to get it to a place where I’m happy with it. This one came out pretty quickly, it was about 6 weeks from when I started the script to when I uploaded. Hopefully I’ll only get better and more efficient at it as I get more practice.