#long may it shine

[gravityglitch-blog]

The Amazing Digital Circus, as seen by a Murder Drones fan

("Candy Carrier Chaos" inspired me to write this. Fair warning, it's a long one. Potential spoilers ahead)

I stumbled into the indie animation scene on YouTube by accident. It was like finding hidden treasure. I have no hate for the big-name studios, but everything I'd been seeing up until then seemed...homogenized...over-processed, somehow? It's hard to describe. Like eating fast food when you want a home cooked meal.

Now here were stories that were all wonderfully different, in subject matter and style. I started with "Lackadaisy", which was so beautiful, it left me stunned.

(The only reason you don't see more Lackadaisy fanart from me is because it's difficult drawing cats. I'm practicing, though.)

A few more clicks brought me to "Murder Drones", and it was love at first sight.

I connected to Uzi's character within her first minutes on-screen. Despite the dark tone of the story, I still hold out hope for a good ending.

Then I started seeing teasers for a new series, "The Amazing Digital Circus".

The art style and bright colors weren't my usual speed, but I decided to check it out anyway.

Personal confession, "Digital Circus" scares me more than "Murder Drones". While "Murder Drones" wears its horror inspirations on its sleeve, to me, it's more the "cool" kind of horror that I would scribble on my notebooks between classes.

Vampires, monsters, battling the forces of darkness while jamming to nightcore, you get the idea.

I have legitimately had nightmares that look like the "Digital Circus". Strange worlds of twisted colors and shapes, people I don't know, doors and staircases that lead nowhere.

All that said, I did enjoy the pilot, I found the setup and the characters interesting, and wanted to see more.

Side note, I know the studio sometimes seems to favor "Digital Circus", and it causes some resentment between the fandoms.

For myself, I see our fandoms as siblings. Let us watch our faves (hopefully) triumph over the horrors together.

This brings me to "Candy Carrier Chaos".

It happened to debut on one of my bad days, when I was feeling down, to put it mildly.

Like I didn't matter. Like no one would notice or remember me if I were gone.

And so that opening scene of Pomni's nightmare hit me like a punch in the gut.

I won't go into the episode's plot too much, as I'm sure others here have already done that and better than I ever could. The whole reason I'm writing this is because of that ending.

The members of the Circus take the time and care to remember the friend they lost in the pilot, apparently the latest of many.

They all feel the pain of loss, of being trapped in this strange world. But they still have each other. For now, at least.

The look on Pomni's face when she realizes she's not alone. When her vision replays, it has changed.

Now, there are helping hands to take hold of her. To pull her back up out of the darkness.

I honestly became a little teary-eyed at that scene. It got me thinking, "maybe the bad days are liars. Maybe I would be missed, after all."

The power of storytelling through animation. With all my heart, I hope this medium continues to grow and flourish. To any aspiring animators and artists out there, this random Tumblr person asks, please don't give up the dream. There are people out there that need to hear your stories.

In the meantime, Pomni remains where she is...and so do I. Thank you so much if you've read this whole thing. I really appreciate it.

[nightmaresyrup]

SIEGBRÄU!

[wangxianficrecs]

Shine Brightly, That I May Glow by TheLegendOfChel

Shine Brightly, That I May Glow

by TheLegendOfChel (@the-legend-of-chel)

M, WIP, 62k, Wangxian

Summary:Every thousand years, two soulmates are born; one blessed by the power of the sun and the other by the moon. The Lan Sect rejoices when their second young master bears the mark of the moon. However, his other half is nowhere to be found. With every year that passes, the cultivation world becomes more desperate to find the missing sun spirit, and the Wen Clan in particular seems increasingly intent on claiming the sun spirit as their own. ----- When Lan Wangji is fifteen he meets Wei Wuxian, a guest disciple who is loud, annoying...and bright in every possible way. Kay's comments: This story is on hiatus, but it's definitely still definitely a story you should check out! It has the sun & moon combination of Wangxian that I am very fond of, Lan Wangji blessed by the moon and Wei Wuxian blessed by the sun, soulmates who are meant to be. Only no one knows that Wei Wuxian is blessed by the sun, because the Wens are yearning to claim the sun spirit for themselves and yet, Wangxian are still drawn to each other. I love their relationship in this, being drawn together despite Wei Wuxian's hidden identity as the sun spirit. It's just *chef's kiss* Excerpt: That being said, they were few and far between. Lan Wangji usually acted like Wei Wuxian didn’t exist, sometimes going so far as to put a silencing spell on him. Rude. Wei Wuxian would then retaliate by making silly faces at Lan Wangji, but the moon spirit didn’t even seem to notice. There were a few times Wei Wuxian considered just telling Lan Wangji that he was the sun spirit. He promised the Jiangs that he wouldn’t reveal his true identity to anyone, but surely Lan Wangji didn’t count? However, in the end Wei Wuxian decided against it. Maybe he would have felt differently if Lan Wangji had been more open to his friendship from the start, but Wei Wuxian knew that if he told Lan Wangji they were soulmates now and Lan Wangji changed his tune, a part of Wei Wuxian would always wonder if it was only out of a sense of responsibility.

pov alternating, canon divergence, everyone lives/nobody dies, soulmates, soulmate-identifying marks, secret identity, identity reveal, mutual pining, secret relationship, dreamsharing, light angst, jiang cheng/nie huaisang, sangcheng, kidnapping

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[minorfamilysupremacy]

said it once, saying it again outside of tags: the person you are when you're being abused is not truly reflective of who you are. in an abusive situation, you are in constant survival mode. you are behaving in ways that you think a) are going to please the abuser and b) are going to keep you from being hit, berated, or otherwise punished. you do not get to be who you really are because that is legitimately dangerous. it creates a vulnerability you cannot afford. you need to act with your self-preservation instincts in mind first and foremost, and self-preservation often conflicts with authenticity and honesty. so when you're looking at those texts, judging build for being such a thoughtless, hateful person, try to understand what it's like mentally to have your back to the wall for months or years on end.

[yuelun]

/takes a little breath amidst a quiet dash. Starter call!

Though I have threads/asks to get to, I'm curious if one of these would catch anyone's attention. I know sending in sentence starters isn't always up everyone's alley and it's a little harder when it comes to interacting with a character who's canonically dead in present day, like mine. Although (I need to write up the details for the first iteration of it) I do have her resurrected in a present timeline (see tags). If you're interested in me either coming to you, or fishing up something with a bit of a red line, give this a like and I'll see what I can do! Trust me when I say, if we're mutuals, I'm interested in writing with you. See this as a little cheat to grab my attention if you want it!

[lyranekota]

long may i reign!

finally had the chance to wear my finished molly cosplay. i think i was never as proud of a custom as this one!

[beatx-mavie-archangelx]

I unfortunately do not have any floormaster headcanons to send you, so I’ll ask a question instead: how do you think the floormasters would act if they were participants in the game?

SORRY THIS TOOK TOO LONG BUT I'M STUPID AND I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED THE WHOLE ANSWER INSTEAD OF SAVING IT 😭

now, without much context it's hard to say... are the floor masters participants and viceversa? or are the floor masters participants together with the main cast? are the floor masters acting like their "floor masters selves" or are they acting "human"? some answers might change depending on that but. ugh. my thoughts can't turn into words.

sorry they aren't very long but I honestly never thought of this and didn't want to leave you to wait for a week </3 also. writer's block sucks :D

[actual headcanons under the cut]

Sue Miley

- bonds with Safalin almost immediately, seeing her as the most normal among the group

- she doesn't like the rest of the group too much but recognizes why they're needed to move forward in the game

- a bit cold

- not the laughing doll in this scenario but laughs at most inopportune moments (nervous laughter)

Rio Ranger

- a bit of an annoying brat

- most people dislike him but understand he's a kid

- he doesn't really leave Gashu's side and vouches for him, showing they can trust him

- he left Gashu's side once and got caught in a trap

- if Kai's there, he'd glare daggers at him the whole time

- comes up with great and brilliant ideas out of nowhere from time to time

- great at minigames (attractions)

Tia Safalin

- she tries to keep an eye on Rio, trying to be the main target of his harassment so that others won't dislike him too much (they're still annoyed by proxy)

- she's mostly patient and nice with everyone, but could easily backstab them (or try to) if the situation allows it

- she's not as much of a crybaby as she is in game since she's not the crying doll here

- but she's still very sensitive

- she cries during arguments (main game discussions)

Gashu Satou

- he has the potential to be very helpful to the group but he gives uncanny valley, so they're mostly uncomfortable around him

- his potential is mainly in the technological/mechanical field

- if Kai is in the group, depending on the Asu-Naro situation in this scenario, he'd either avoid him and be neutral to him as much as he can or try to protect him as much as possible without it being too apparent

- he'd try to protect Rio

- he'd either die first or survive until the final floor (to die anyway)

- someone tried at lest once to rip that crabstache off only to come to the terrible realizzation that it is indeed real

Midori / Sou Hiyori

- he wouldn't have to change his name in any scenario

- manipulates everyone into trusting him, making them believe that he's a good guy who only wants what's best for them, who wants to help them escape, who would sacrifice himself even for them... etc

- then he backstabs everyone, managing to be the only one standing at the end of the game.

- at least that's the plan

- he'd be among the ones with the highest survival percentage, although, as we know, his plans don't always go his way...

Meister

- bro's chilling :D

- he's rather friendly with everyone but something seems off

- he actually takes the situation very seriously but his calm and nonchalant behavior might show otherwise

- no, no one is questioning why he's covered in bandages

- quietly makes it quite far

- although a bit suspicious

[idol-trickster]

Unprompted HC rambling covering:

- How popular Trickster / No Spin really was.

- What Inspiration/Generation they're based on.

To give context, this was prompted when I looked over Adam's outfit description:

Now, I always HC'd NoSpin to be a 2.5-3rd generation (It was the golden age of Kpop). This solidifies that for sure, because of the venue itself. {But also if you look at the light sticks for both YunJin, and NoSpin, they're very 'dated'. NoSpin's notoriously reminds me of NCT, EXO, or 2PM which had the name on the stick and likely doesn't change color. YunJin's reminds me of BigBang's [and a few others]}

This is a large stadium...so large that not many k-pop groups perform at this venue, simply because it's not ideal. Unless a large k-pop event with multiple acts is hosted, there are not too many groups that have performed here (Despite having tons of cool features to a LOT screens, lighting, and the like). I found an interesting website I'll source here while researching, but I'll copy and paste share the snippets. {Remember this was written in 2016 so it may have changed, but for the time period i think it lines up}.

The two (three counting BigBang, which I think Inspired "NoSpin") major groups that performed here are BTS (which makes sense since they used a producer from BTS to inspire All-Kill), and EXO. (I personally think Oh Sehun is the closest Face-claim for Trickster I could find, and one I was quiet on outside of streams. {I know people say San from Ateez, but comparatively... Sehun matches a lot more with the interestingly unique and sharp visual features that Trickster has. Exo ALSO has some of the best vocals in all of K-pop. They're filled with legendary singers that have an amazing range.}

Now both these groups are huge! Albeit, BTS of course the much larger, but I refuse to believe NoSpin was that big. (BTS just had a lot of things going for it that I don't think NoSpin would have, especially given that Ji-Woon was so dissatisfied. {the gimmicky era of 'figuring out sound' though does tie in.} They did have to be quite perfect though as role models and most def felt the pressure which I think was inspo.)

With all that being said, I definitely do think NoSpin was quite the popular group! If they could pull in so many fans, especially after their death, I'm sure plenty of people wanted to support Ji-Woon. A macabre headline like that would definitely bring in morbid curiosity and make a memorable impression. From the concerts in NoSpin's memory to Trickster's (re)birth, I'm sure South Korean media was following this man's career closely, which could have caused a bit of pressure and disdain for still living in NoSpin's shadow. (And push him to make a unique sound to make him stand out.)

Now I don't think any group is a 1-to-1 inspiration. I definitely use a lot of Block B influence because it hits a lot of the "outlier sound" group dynamic, which was so different from other K-pop at the time; held up against BTS when they shared a stage/"battled" for an award show; and had some minor controversies (Thailand incident that the press held some fault for, along with bad management/company, and backlash at some songs being too insensitive {Song: LOL *one of my favorites. I mean come on they were inspired by Eminem, is it a surprise they were a dark horse?} ); and produced one of the more successful solo artists, Zico, who went through his own 'demons'; either public upset with 'controversies', inside criticisms and 'pressured' times. (There's a reason he formed his own agency.) -- I just think from a social/psych study, they make great information as an inside look at a k-pop music industry environment, and how it can have upsets.

I don't really have a way to wrap this up, other than man's got issues and I could go on forever. But anyway Found this out and wanted to comment on it somewhere. It might be repeated in some asks if I get around to them, so act surprised if you see it. But I wanted to drop it here before I forget.

ALSO ADAM. He may not have stanned Trickster before, but I can say, after going to specifically a k-pop concert; you absolutely leave there being a fan. If anyone's gone to one (which I had the pleasure of), you probably know what I'm talking about. You really do feel the artist's energy, along with the crowd. It's certainly very memorable. I'm just saying maybe Adam had a Trickster Bias for a little bit.

[tempestforged]

[heroofpenamstan]

—DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: PHOEBUS ARTURIUS: SUNE’S FORSAKEN; THE ORIGINS.

the phoebus of the past had cherished the philosophy he had been born into. love is the greatest gift, beauty the highest quality. both of which the goddess sune could grant to those who would fall at her feet. he had loved the ponds filled with lotuses, the trees alive with blooms and birds. the applause of the other followers when his fingers would work his strings, voice dying with a song most sweet. he truly loved the temple, and its people, and the goddess who ruled over them.

that was true, and remained to be the case up until he was old enough to comprehend just why only he appeared to receive all of the gifts and blessings from the goddess; the most attention, affection. he had always been the most looked after, the one taught best. the temple’s pride and joy—groomed to perfection, educated in the arts, trained and shaped into a protector of sune’s worship. the first kiss had shocked him, fuelled him with a fire only a goddess could light within him, or any other being. it was not unpleasant—far from it—but unexpected. unwelcome.

TW: mentions of minor s.a. ! at the tender age of five and ten, he finds out his true intended purpose, and phoebus starts to question everything he’s ever known.

his role switches. he becomes no more than her pretty, mortal concubine, and is hailed among her followers. sune’s beloved, he’s called, and he feels more than sickened by it. the goddess’ pleasure turns to be his top ( unwanted ) priority, and the rest of the temple is overjoyed by the blessings the sated sune would bestow upon them; they had succeeded in providing her with the most beautiful sacrifice she had demanded of them. there’s no one fairer than lady firehair, he’s often been told, but that does not change the fact he still has to swallow down the repulsion when the goddess climbs into his lap, day after day, night after night. she grips at his golden curls, at his arms and at his face, all a product of careful breeding, and tells him he’s her perfect present.

months turn into years with little to no sign of sune’s interest flickering out. Quite the opposite—her hands claw into his mortal flesh with a possessive ferocity, her lips and tongue eating away at him, until he’s barely a shell of his former self. he doesn’t believe in her anymore, in love, nor beauty. sune’s awful vision of it has ruined everything he’s ever known, had faith in. her power rushes through his veins, golden and scalding, and he is deemed a demigod amongst men.

he hates it, and himself, and his life.

until fearoine joins the temple. she is the kindest, the most exquisite thing he’s ever laid eyes on, breathing life back into him bit by bit, glance by glance. the followers of sune aren’t a monogamous bunch, ironically, preferring to express their love and lust openly, shallowly switching partners once they bore of one another. thus phoebus allows himself to feel for another, to hope for a future with someone who does not scorch his skin with each and every touch.

and then fearoine is murdered, unsurprisingly, their affair discovered, and phoebus shuns all worship of any and all gods. he flees the temple without a second thought, and loses everything because of it—his family, his power, his abilities—but gains something he’s always wanted in turn. freedom. or so he thought.

[starry-teacup]

Look, I’ve never listened to critical role. But tonight I have seen much much mollymauk fan art and I am now a crying ball on the floor

[porto-rosso]

Anyone else find it weird when people get super up in arms about saying one of the bats is the best at (insert something here like martial arts/detective work/acrobatics)?

[alazywendigo]

amazing Onion Bro 🧅🧅🧅

[a-dash-in-the-middle]

hey bitches bros and nonbinary hoes i am baaaaack

[aceparagoned]

TAG DUMP THE VERSE STRIKES BACK

☆ VERSE: MAIN ☆ a world ravaged by war; yet still stands strong due to the efforts of protector vita and the pipe. ☆ VERSE: THE CHILD WHO WOULD PROTECT THE WORLD ONE DAY ☆ this is her beginning; the cosmos shall guide her. ☆ VERSE: PERSONA 5 ☆ BREAK THE CHAINS THAT BIND YOU TO SOCIETY'S EXPECTATIONS — foster your rebellion. ☆ VERSE: FF7 (AU) ☆ a former turk — i chose my morals above anything else; you won’t make me bend to your will. ☆ VERSE: FFXIV ☆ from an adventurer ascending to the warrior of light; a beacon of hope and bastion of strength for the realm. ☆ VERSE: DEVIL MAY CRY ☆ oh how the sun’s radiance shines within you child of Amaterasu; for you wield Her blessing to protect humankind. ☆ VERSE: IDOL ☆ may my voice raise you higher & higher with hope; inspire you to achieve your dreams; watch me as I shine with this melody. ☆ VERSE: HONKAI IMPACT 3RD ☆ inside resides the undying flame known as humanity’s hope; for as long as I am able I vow to never give up. ☆ VERSE: YU YU HAKUSHO ☆ a mortal I may be; but you’d do well to remember there is an indomitable spirit within me that will never go out. ☆ VERSE: SAILOR MOON ☆ another time; another reality; yet we share the same purpose—to protect the galaxy from cosmic threats. ☆ VERSE: BNHA ☆ magic flows through your veins; will you use it to create or to destroy? how silly to ask since you have a hero’s heart. ☆ VERSE: BAD END ☆ what are you willing to sacrifice so as to save the galaxy? Everything; even one's own humanity to end this war.