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givemethepage · 2 years ago

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Layers of Fear 2023 Initial Playthrough Impressions, Part 1.

[SUPER LONG POST AHEAD, LIKELY FULL OF SPOILY BITS] (All my posts in this blog probably will be.)

Obviously I love it and my obsession with this world has been reignited, burning twice as hot as it did the first time around. So far I've played through Painter's Story 3 times, Daughter's Story twice, and I'm about to start the Musician's Story. Meanwhile in story mode, the Writer is about to sit down and begin writing the Actor's Story after a harrowing return to the lighthouse during which she's made an attempt to reject her earlier pact with the Rat Queen. I know. I tend to do things in weird sequences. I just want to see everything there is to see before I finish.

I love love love the additions and changes to the first game and its DLC, insofar far as I can remember the details of the original. The completionist in me is sad I can't find the Dust Mice sketch or whatever is meant to be behind the pipe on the secretary near the front door, and there may perhaps could possibly might be another whisper object that goes on the upstairs table.

But THAT'S not important. What's important is the story and the creation of the story! This new ending seems like it's missing a cutscene, but I really like that before you walk out the door, you're still surrounded by messages of failure. The intrusive thoughts don't disappear just because you've opened a path to healing. I'm not sure if I liked seeing what was beyond the front door, or maybe I just wasn't pleased with what they chose to put there, especially given what I did after I turned the game off.

For the first time in however many playthroughs since the original game came out, I stopped to examine the origins of the house's design. I came across Steep Park House/Potter's Manor. So many urban explorers have documented and photographed this mansion. Must remind myself to make a full post about it! This place seems to be just one of the inspirations for the couple's house, but an important one, given not just how close the architecture of the house's common areas are mirrored (literally) by the Painter's mansion, but also how many of the basic narrative details of LoF are shared with the former owners of Steep Park House, i.e. the painter who abandoned his home after the death of his wife, leaving behind many portraits of her, himself, unknown subjects, still life, etc., along with countless notebooks, letters, publications, and other possessions that provide clues to the lives they led. Seriously that's all actual circumstance from the real life house. I really want to ask the designers about it since all I can find right now is Reddit speculation about whether it's even the right house. But even green tinge of the wife's diary pages and the font on some of the mail can be found in the photographs of Steep Park. It HAS to have been instrumental in dreaming up the very concept of Layers of Fear. At least I choose to believe it is.

Gonna save the full spread for a Steep Park/Potter's Manor post.

Back to the game, though, the growth of the Rat Queen's role for the 2023 version doesn't sully the universality of the game's allegory like I was worried it might based on some Steam reviews. She remains a symbol of the despair that accompanies memories of trauma, and explicitly making a pact with her seems to me to be a commitment to using that despair as a wellspring for creativity, at the expense of any ability to see truth. The despair will only further twist your memories and warp your perspective. We see all 3 members of the family fall prey to the subjectivity of their memory, even moreso in this version with the addition of voiceovers and I think a few more notes(?). And choice still carries just as much weight in the new game, even with a supernatural force pulling strings from behind the curtain. One heartbreaking thing the Rat Queen has said this time around was that the Daughter was "mine from the moment of her birth." Wow. I went straight for the True Ending, so that statement did turn out to be true for me, but what of the Forgiveness and Resentment endings? Do those also necessarily reflect a Daughter trapped in the Rat Queen's grasp? Are these messages from the Rat Queen, (which I presume are spoken to the Writer,) set in stone? Are they reliable? Are they true? So many implications. One of which is:

What will happen to the Writer??

Will she have multiple endings like the others? Will she be able to break her pact with the Rat Queen? And will that depend upon the outcomes of the other stories along with which collectibles I found during her scenes in the lighthouse? That might be a problem because I am just scooping up everything and devouring every bit of lore my cursor passes across.

Other questions:

Have any works of art been added to/subtracted from the family's portion of the game? I want to do a symbolic analysis of all the real works within the context of the timing of each painting's appearance during gameplay. I know that's a huge task with what, 38 works? But that's a future post and it's why I made a whole separate blog for this in the first place. To be honest I'm shocked that I haven't found anything like this online in the 7 years since the original Layers of Fear when there are a million channels dedicated just to deconstructing the lore of one Zelda game, (which I also love.)

Are there any easter eggs in the family's stories? It's been fun to read real critiques of the first game planted all over the lighthouse, but I wonder if anything like the lemons or the ouija board event are going to pop up in this.

Is the Musician more culpable than I thought? I also went back and did the Dad ending in Inheritance and I don't remember Mom being quite as paranoid or short tempered. It made me see her writings in a new light, and it makes me excited to go through her new story a few times. I must see everythinnnnnnnnngggggggggg.

What does the writer mean by "bring him back" in Chapter 3? Did her son die? Did they have a falling out? Does she believe the Rat Queen or her agency has the power to fix this? Do they?

And then ultimately, is the Rat Queen an invention of the writer? Is her fascination with these stories and the mysteries behind them only leading to flawed adaptations tainted with themes of insanity because she has projected the insecurities of her own fragile mind into the events she's depicting in her books? (Nah)

I dunno I dunno I dunno I dunno I dunno

#layers of fear #reimagining #gaming #game analysis #steep park house #potter's manor #steep park

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bobapplesimblr · 1 year ago

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The Undergrowth Devlog #1

End of Day Thoughts: Jesus Fucking Christ I might be jumping into this head first, I gotta take it SO MUCH SLOWER.

So hey, I've decided to make a game. I've wanted to make a game for a long time, but I never had a proper idea I liked - until today!!

The game's current name is The Undergrowth, and it is a dungeon crawler (I might be using the term wrong here) based on exploring and collecting loot from an abandoned, ruined, and reclaimed by nature urban environment. Think broken box tvs being used as flower beds! For some reason this type of game came to me, and something about it made it endearing to me, and it was the perfect place to use two characters of mine that I created with no particular goal in mind: Brutus and Daredevil.

Mutuals that have known me for a long time might've seen a post or two with these characters in sim form, and yes, these are the same characters from those posts, but a bit reworked.

I decided to work on brainstorming this project in a way that is comfortable and usual for me: Opening a blank canvas and writing away, making little doodles and sketches on the sides to illustrate my ideas along the way. Pictures of what I wrote today will be under the cut! Please be respectful and don't steal!!!

I also gathered up many tutorials on the game making process, particularly involving the GDevelop software, which for now is what I will be using to make this game. However, I am a fairly unorganized person and my attention span for technical things is not the best (I may have adhd but I have not been diagnosed yet, so yeah), so I will have to return to those another day. I also am someone who is um, let's say, very rushed in the creation process and I try to go for the finish line before even starting the race, but I will force myself not to do it here!!! I will stay in the concepting stage for as long as needed, and I will remind myself that this project will take a very long time, but I can do it and there is no better time to start than now!!!

The information on the images bellow IS STILL SUBJECT TO CHANGE!!!! Thank you

Have a great day!!!

#the undergrowth devlog #devlog #game dev #2d game dev #digital art #concept art #game concept #non sims

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elleharperbcu · 4 years ago

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Task 1: Concept Mind Maps

In pairs we produced a mind map of each others concept, for our final project, planning and considering how we can explore the following factors:

Research

Experimentation

Sampling

Development

Production

Personal Reflection/ Evaluation

Project/ Time Management

We was asked to write down our narrative on a piece of paper and swap with our partner so we had each others narrative. We then wrote down our ideas that came to mind related to their narrative, in order to help them with new ideas they may not have thought of or knew about. I really enjoyed this task as it helped me learn new facts about the petite world and I was able to complete lots of research. I always loved hearing about my peers narratives and their stories as to why they are focusing on a certain topic.

My completed research from this task:

Petite models -

After researching about types of work available for petite models I found out that other than Moss, most petite models do commercial and catalogue work. Models who work in fashion generally work with high street brands specialising in petite clothing. It is very rare for a petite model to find high-fashion work on the catwalk or for designer labels. This is something that I find unfair as your height should not matter. However, petite models are not restricted when finding work. This is due to an increase in brands catering for men and women with smaller frames and shorter legs, petite models are now employed to keep up with this fashion industry demand.

Successful petite models -

Models who have refused to obey the stereotypical image associated with top designers, catwalks and campaigns are creating a path for petite models. These inspiring successful models have completely ignored the height restriction demonstrating that a smaller stature is required in the fashion industry. “Successful petite models are making an impact in a tall girls stomping ground, ignoring the confinements set upon them.”

Twiggy -

A british icon in the sixties and only 5″4. She revolutionised the stereotypical look of the era, starting a new breed of supermodels. Her height is rarely mentioned due to her confident persona that demands attention. She is still the shortest model with such a supermodel status.

Beautiful dreams - Twiggy records her first single

Anja Konstantinova -

Russian-Australian model, her impressive range of work includes, Vogue, Marie Claire, Urban Outfitters and French Connection. At 5″4 her height is not an issue with each shot demanding attention with her striking features, blonde hairs and natural posing instincts. The successful model discovered in a melbourne hair salon has received lots of rejection in her career, but she continues to break boundaries in a predominantly tall industry.

She explains: “People in Australia don’t accept shorter girls because they are a bit harder to work with, you have to photograph them in a certain way.”

How to make the most of your petite frame -

Don’t draw attention to your shorter height when interacting with clients and via body language. You will have to work extra hard to get noticed, which means standing tall and learning to highlight your height in photos. Never be caught slouching and be sure to work on poses that lengthen your lines. Good posture and strong stature goes a long way when presenting yourself to an agency meeting and photoshoot.

Petite models who changed the fashion industry -

Lily-Rose Depp

Lily-Rose made her runway debut with chanel in 2016. She is just 5″3, but that did not stop her from becoming the muse of fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld.

Amina Blu

This German/ Pakistani beauty is 5″1 and no stranger to New York Fashion Week. Amina has walked for Kanye West more than 5 times. With her unforgettable looks and signature looks, Amina will keep making headlines.

The ‘Size 0′ movement

Sizes range from 0-2 which is extra small to 14-16 which is larger. Smaller sizes are usually petites, and larger sizes usually found in womens or plus size departments.

The size-zero ban is proof fashion industry on finally listening to customers. The use of size zero models has been a fashion industry scandal for many years. France’s top fashion house have committed to stop underage and size zero models from featuring in catwalk shows and advertising campaigns. Owners of brands such as Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton say they want to persuade others in the industry to follow suit. The industry has long been accused of promoting unhealthy body images of women and ignoring well-documented health problems experienced by models. In 2017, the French government voted through a law requiring models must have a medical certificate confirming they were not dangerously underweight.

“No model under 16 years will be recruited to take part in fashion shows or photographic sessions representing adults.” Models between 16-18 years will no longer be allowed to work between 11pm and 6am and must be accompanied by a parent or chaperone if required to stay away from home.

“The wellbeing of our models is a fundamental subject” the statement from LVMH read.

Mallory Schlossberg - “I’m part of a huge demographic that retailers largely ignore - here’s why it’s so frustrating”

When reading this article I very much related myself to it, she mentions being reminded of her height near enough everyday, she is 4″11 like me. “There are only a few times when I'm reminded how short I am: when I'm riding the subway and someone pushes right into me because I'm not in his peripheral vision, when I can't reach my kitchen cabinets and hop onto the counter, and when I'm shopping.”

When she was in high school and college she frequently shopped in the kids section. She mentioned it being impressive to see the selection that’s available for wealthy, stylish kids these days. She is able to wear a lot of designer apparel that are much cheaper than adult prices as kids clothes takes less fabric to make. However, it comes to a point in an adult woman's life where you do not want to shop in kids section anymore, she wanted to wear apparel for women because she is a woman. Adult size small dresses zip up just fine, but they hug in all the wrong places and drag on the ground or are longer fit on her than they’re supposed to be.

“It's frustrating. How do you shop for clothes and not look like a child in children's clothing — or a child playing dress up in her mother's closet?”

There are retailers that do cater to petite women although the ranges are very limited.

“Walk into Ann Taylor, Loft (where I buy my jeans), J. Crew, Banana Republic, or a department store, and you'll see selections of petite clothing, often relegated to a small corner with an odd amalgam of apparel, as though the merchandise team is wondering, "who is this petite woman? Is she a mother? Is she frumpy? Is she a decaying 90-year-old? Is she youthful and feisty? Is she too young to show off her curves? Is she a virgin?" The answer — from a petite woman — is that she is none of the above, and she is all of the above. The petite woman is just like the regular-sized customer...only shorter.”

Retailers seem very confused with how to deal with short women. Topshop and Anthropologie are starting to recognise that short women like to look fashionable too, but the lack of options and concern for petite shoppers is noticeable. The reason as to why there are fewer petite options and not all stores offer apparel for smaller-framed women is because it requires a different design pattern.

As blogger TanyaTheAnonymousModel wrote on Jezebel:

"For a dress to look the same on a petite woman, a standard size woman and a plus woman — for the hem to hit at the same place on each woman's leg, for the waist to sit at the appropriate height, for the neckline to flatter but not overexpose, for the pockets to be useful, easily reached, and neither too small nor too big — requires, in effect, three totally different paper patterns, each with a separate, and expensive, development process."

The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City offers a continuing education course in image consulting, combining petite and plus size bodies together as "special size" customers — noting that they make up about a tremendous amount of the population. The course description reads as follows:

"Over 70 million U.S. women fall into the special size category, that 50 % of the population is actually under 5'4", and 65 million women are considered plus size. Designers, patternmakers, retailers, stylists, and image consultants, and wardrobe technicians can all benefit from this in-depth workshop that demystifies the special size business potential. Learn the facts behind the figures with practical information for fulfilling the expectations of the special size customer with proper fit, fashion, and service. Highly recommended for anyone looking to increase sales and services. Interact with our two industry experts as they each tackle the dilemmas facing both the petite and plus-size customer and give concrete directions for satisfying their shopping needs and fashion passions."

An undergraduate course "sketching for fashion designers" mentions that "Large, half-size, petite, and junior-size figures are featured to study proportions used in the industry". Showing petites aren't entirely ignored in design school, they just aren't given equal attention. They're generally not on runways; runways are about aspiration, and who aspires to be 5'2''?

“Petite women have not been celebrated loudly as equals. They have not been given body-positive model icons to speak on their behalf, although we do have Kelly Ripa, Snooki, and Kim Kardashian in our corner. There has not been a call to action. There hasn't been any real vocal repugnance, but instead, there's been a silence and a void, which is too telling. Petite women have been pushed aside, not permitted to speak — much like the children for which many try not to be mistaken.”

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kalyan-gullapalli · 5 years ago

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Post # 150

Yagna - Superstition or Science?

Three years back, I had been to Varanasi to meet a business partner. After the day's work, I was back at Varanasi airport, and stepped into its small, compact smoking zone. As I lit my cigarette, a middle aged lady walked in, took out a cigarette from her handbag, lit it and smiled at me. She was a foreigner. We struck a conversation. She told me that she was a German and had come here to invite one of the pandits in Varanasi to visit her home town in Germany, to organise a Yagna for them. I looked at her incredulously. She told me calmly that there is a big market for Yagnas in Europe. I could not believe my ears. As she ground her half-finished cigarette and turned to leave, she smiled and said politely, "Indians have forgotten the science behind Yagnas." And she left.

She was wrong. I hadn't forgotten. I just didn't know that there was a science behind Yagnas.

The above illustration is one of the thousand or so that Devdutt Pattanaik has sketched in his fifty plus publications demystifying Hinduism, its mythology and its complex imagery. Over the past three years, I have heavily banked on him to understand this multi-faceted way of life, originally called Sanatana Dharma, now conveniently but inaccurately called Hinduism. What I share with you below is based on my understanding, however incomplete it may be.

The most commonly used translation of Yagna is Sacrifice. Devdutt Pattanaik says that Yagna was infact conceptualized, not as a mere sacrifice, but as an Exchange. As such, it consisted of two parts - A Sacrifice or an Offering, made in return for an Expectation.

The initiator of the Yagna was called a Yajamana. He initiated a Yagna because he had a material desire that he wanted to fulfill - a son to continue his lineage, or wealth for his treasury, or rains for his kingdom, or victory in a war, and so on and so forth.

In order to fulfill his desire, he was willing to make an offering (donations of cows, wealth etc), represented by Svaha - This of me, I offer to you.

The fulfiller of his desires was a Devata - an energy form, representing the material apiration of the Yajamana. More on this guy later. The Devata fulfilled the desire saying Tathastu - So be it!

So, a Yagna was a mechanism of invoking a Devata to fulfill a particular desire. It was a "give and recieve" mechanism, a practical, material process, as against the misunderstood "noble" concept of simply a sacrifice.

This process of invoking the Devata was highly technical, and required an expert who knew its technolgy. This expert was called a Rishi, who was a Brahmana (one who is in communion with the Brahman).

Ancient Indian Rishis were scientists, who knew the science and technology behind invoking different energy bodies (Devatas) representing different material desires.

Okay. But did Devatas exist? Are they these so-called energy bodies, or are they just figments of mythology? How do we get a grip on this idea?

To understand this, lets see what modern science has to say. I take modern science's reference, not because it is more advanced or more accurate, but simply because it is contemporary and so, we relate to it better. Lets see what its foremost scientist, Albert Einstein, had to say.

The crux of Einstein's entire life is a small formula, probably the most well-known formula in the world, E=mc2. Through it, Einstein states that:

Matter is nothing but condensed energy.

Different types of matter resonate with different energy levels.

Now, compare this with what the Sankhya Yoga, one of the six schools of Indian philosophy, expounded by Kapila Maharshi, says.

Consciousness (Purusha or Shiva) manifests as Energy (Prakriti or Shakti).

Energy manifests as various forms of matter - from the very subtle (Shoonya), to the subtle (Sukshma), to the gross forms of matter (Sthula).

So, Energy is condensed Consciousness. Matter is condensed Energy.

Through a set of processes, it into possible to change matter into energy, or energy into matter, or tap into higher or lower energy levels, and change the forms of matter.

So, it is possible to invoke an energy form that will bring rain to a land. Required frequencies have to be tapped. It is possible to invoke a male child in a barren womb. Those particular frequencies have to be tapped. This Yagna was called Putrakameshthi Yagna. It is possible to invoke wealth. A different frequency, and hence a corresponding energy form needs to be tapped. This energy form can be given a name (for example, Kubera) and can be considered a deity (worthy of worship), but in essence, I understand a Devata as an energy form, corresponding to the frequency of a material, physical aspect.

So, there can be a water god (Varuna), or a fire god (Agni) or a wind god (Vayu), or a tree god, or an elephant god (Ganesha) or a goddess for wealth (Lakshmi), or for knowledge (Saraswati), or for any of the 33 million gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. They may just have been various energy forms corresponding to various frequencies on the material plane.

Next, how can one invoke these deities (Devatas or Devis)?

The set up of the Yagnashala itself is applied science, ie. highly advanced technology. Take for instance the Havan Kund, also called Yagna Vedi.

The Havan Kund works on a simple scientific principle that geometry (shape, direction, size, location) influences the flow of energy. This is the same principle on which Vaastu Shastra is based. So the shape of the Yagna Vedi varies with the type of energy to be invoked.

A funfact - the word pyramid means fire in the middle. It was an ancient geometrical tool to create a particular energy field within itself.

The second aspect of invoking the Devata is the use of Mantras. There is a beautiful book on this subject by Om Swami.

Basically, mantras are sounds. Sound is infact energy. If a particular sound is uttered, a vibration is created. This vibration has a particular frequency. So different syllables generate different frequencies.

A mantra is a combination of different syllables in a particular order, which when uttered aloud, repeatedly, creates a particular energy field. There are mantras for various material and spiritual aspirations - for health, for wealth, for relations, for mental peace, for spiritual growth, so on and so forth.

Another funfact - the most powerful mantra in the universe is a simple syllable - Om, also pronounced as AUM, a corruption of which is seen in every religion - Amen in Christianity, Amin in Islam etc.

Another aspect of the science of Yagna is the use of Fire - Agni.

Fire is one of the five primordial elements - Agni (fire), Vayu (air), Apah (water), Akash (space) and Prithvi (earth).

The discovery of Fire by man is a pivotal moment in his evolutionary journey, primarily because it marks man's evolution of consciousness. Reminds me of the movie - Jungle book, by Disney - where Mowgli is captured by a bunch a monkeys because the monkey king wants to know how man made fire.

More importantly, fire is energy - heat energy. It also signifies purity. It burns away impurities and leaves a pure residue.

I read somewhere that there are 1008 types of Yagnas in the Vedas.

I wonder why the only narrative of Yagna I heard as a kid growing up was that it involved animal sacrifice. I wonder why I have always considered Yagna to be a superstition. And I wonder how Germans heard another narrative and decided to import its technology from India.

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chessdaze · 4 years ago

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Since I outed myself with an ask to phoenix about an event I’ll go ahead and post something about my schedule for three wishes here. I won’t put this under read more just for visibility, so sorry ahead of time for clogging your dashes.

As a note ahead of time THESE ARE ALL SUBJECT TO CHANGE, I DO NOT GIVE ANY DATES CAUSE I’M NOT PUTTING MYSELF ON A DEADLINE. I’m doing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully, others as well but please don’t rush me. I’m sharing this just to be open about my plans and what I’m working on, and perhaps for the motivations / reminders it’ll give me - not to give anyone a reason to come at me. Okay? Okay.

Not counting small comics or misc posts of art and info or fics:

First order of business is for me to finish drawing all of Silas’ outfits and Design the Enchantress. I have Silas almost completely done sketch wise, so I’ll work on the sketches of the Enchantress next and then line/color and post those. I might also do some side character designs as I have a few that might show up here and there (but they’ll just be like the ghosts in canon, occasionally there and then you don’t see them for fucking ever). I WOULD do outfit design sheets for EVERY character BUT....that would be a lot of work. I might end up just making polls like ‘who would you like to see outfit references for’ and then work on them at my own pace. That way you guys get what you want first and I still have fun designing everyone’s outfits regardless.

Second order of business is my event I mentioned in the ask to phoenix, BATTLE OF THE BANDS! I accidentally went full game dev on the documentation (because if I’m not gonna use all that documentation homework I did for that game art degree NOW then when am I going to??), but I’m actually pretty far along planning wise since I’ve been working on it when I needed break from art things. Right now I have about half of the main story of the event outlined. My order of doing things is Summary of Story > Outline of items / mini games > Figure out what characters were going to be in the event > Main story outline > Card Story outlines > Finalized story and Card Stories > Art Assets. So it might take awhile before I post any art for it. But if people show interest in me posting some of the in progress things feel free to send me an ask every now and then and I can update you! Because of the ask and permission given, Evonie from @phoenix-manga ‘s Diamond Crown Academy will make an appearance in the event, as well as Three Wishes OCs made by @tsukikoayanosuke (Bridgette) and @missnekonyan (Donelle) as the clubs their characters are involved with the event overall. I’m really excited I got permission from all of them to be able to reference their characters! They won’t be big rolls but I’m happy to give all of these creators spotlight by adding in their characters.

Third thing, Regular Card Stories and Art for Cards! I am already making documentation to have these noted down, Will probably do them one dorm at a time but I do have a few ideas already. I will say that my R-SSR order of the cards is a bit different from canon. R’s are School Uniforms and PE outfits (will be slightly different depending on which PE course is taken by the student, since there’s three at three wishes), SRs are Dorm Outfits and Fundraising outfits - as Dorm outfits are different per person i didn’t think they were special enough for SSRs but still worth some highlight, and Fundraising / Volunteering is a mandatory class at Three Wishes so that gets another SR spot. Then lastly their SSRs are their Ceremony outfits. These are also different per character but they will all have a matching color scheme so that’s why i wanted these to be the SSRs. I also already have like four future events planned and which characters will be getting cards / what rank the cards will be for those characters! None of these events have any kind of outline yet, only general concepts and characters possibly involved, so the characters may change but I have them written down so I don’t forget and I can add to the event outlines as I find inspiration.

Maybe the fourth thing is actually designing the dang school. I SUCK at environment art, I’m not going to lie. It’s why alot of my comics up until this point has had minimal or no backgrounds at all. But one of the reasons why I’m drawing comics is to maybe get better at backgrounds cause I’m already sick of them not having one so progress I guess. But this is why this is kind of last on my list, as I definitely need the practice. If there’s a dorm or location I have listed that you would like to see art for or just described in better detail, Feel free to send me an ask!

And the thing I’m kind of working on while all of that is going on is of course, the Main Story Outline! I have all the chapter names picked and I have at least the Prologue - Second chapter bullet pointed as a first draft - I already know some places I wanna go back and change things but for now I’m just trying to get the general ideas for each chapter down. As of now there are eight chapters in total - including the prologue and the finale, so six major story chapters over all. I’m still not sure how I want to tell this story in all honestly. Part of me REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to make these full blown comics in all honesty. I’ve been wanting to draw actual comics since I was a kid and I’m closer now than I ever have been to being able to do so. But I also know how much of a time sync that is and know that I haven’t quite grasped all the shading tools in CSP to really give it the effect I want to have - which is one of the reasons I’m working on the mini comic pages here and there so I can slowly improve - but I can’t promise anything. If nothing else, I’m semi confident in my writing skills so I will maybe end up writing it out.

As a treat TM, I’ll list the chapter titles I have down below. THESE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE, but I am pretty happy with them right now - they’ll only likely change if I end up changing my entire idea for the chapter or changing the order of chapters. Anyone care to give me some theories on what you think each chapter is about? :thinking:

Prologue: the start of an actor's life Chapter one, Nightingale: by the stroke of midnight Chapter two,wondrous: a queen among thieves Chapter three, diamanttobar: the wishing well Chapter four, guardian: a dragons curse Chapter five, lapinhole: tipping the golden scale Chapter six, servireu: the guest has arrived Finale: when the last petal falls

If you read this far, thank you so much and I hope you look forward to more three wishes content! <3

Also I ask that this post isn’t reblogged, not gonna come at you if you do but it’s just a to do list really lol idk why anyone would want to reblog it.

#three wishes institute #twst fanschool #twisted wonderland fanschool #twst #twisted wonderland #schedule of project #kind of #just really a long winded to do list lmao

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mcbigbang · 5 years ago

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Welcome to the second McHanzo Reverse Bang! Sign ups start on October 5th, until then just share this post and spread the word!

Schedule:

5th October - 20th November - Sign ups

21st - 26th November - Art Submissions

27th - 30th November - Art previews, Claims and Match ups

12th - 13th December - First partner check ins( to make sure everyone is in contact)

20th - 25th January - Second partner check ins

20th - 25th February - Final check ins and Posting schedule

March - Posting (exact dates TBA)

These dates are subject to minor changes during the course of the event. All changes will be announced ahead of time.

Guidelines and important info to know before you sign up

Every participant should follow the central event blog or join the Discord, and be aware of the schedule so that everything can be done on time (reminders will be posted before each major part of the event, but please don’t make the mods have to message you personally because you forgot to send things in)

All check ins and submissions are going to be done through emails, however only the admin and one mod will have access to the event email and your email address will not be visible to anyone else

Emails are gathered in the sign up form only so that you can get a copy of your form and your confirmation email from us

The art you submit for claims should be a rough sketch, so the claims are as anonymous as possible; writers should pick the art based on the idea and not who the artist is

If you’re not comfortable posting a longer story on one day, this event may not be for you

If you’re not comfortable sharing your wip with your partner, this event may not be for you

FAQ (below the cut)

What is a Reverse Bang? A Reverse Bang is kind of the opposite of a Big Bang; an event that spans over a couple of months, where artists come up with idea concepts and draw art, and writers write stories based on that art.

How do I participate? To participate, you just have to sign up. Artists can immediately start working out their ideas and sketching stuff.

What do I have to create? Artists have to create at least 1 finished piece of art that includes Hanzo, McCree, or McHanzo, and 1 small banner for the project as a whole with the story title and both partner names.

Writers have to write a story based on the art that is at least 8 000 words long.

Can I sign up as a writer and an artist? Definitely, if you think you can manage it! Just keep in mind that this may be a lot of work for you.

Can I sign up if I already have a partner? Of course! You both need to fill out the sign up form and fill out the necessary info (there is a category for this as well). You won’t go through the claims process unless you want to do more than one project, but everything else is the same.

Where and when do I post? For this event, artists will have to post on Tumblr (and you can post on any other site as well, but the Tumblr post is mandatory). The reason for this is that you will be creating the archive posts yourself so I don’t have to repost the art on the blog. Posting will be explained in detail a bit later on.

Each writer and artist pair will get a specific day during the posting period on which you post your works in full. This means the story has to be fully posted on the assigned day.

What happens if I have to drop out? That’s okay, it happens and it’s not a problem, just make sure to email or message us to let us know as soon as possible. Please understand that dropping out after claims means you’re leaving your partner alone and we need time to find them someone else to work with, so letting the mods know as soon as possible is important. We don’t need to know why you’re leaving, just that you are!

Can I post teasers of my work? Unfortunately, you’re not allowed to post snippets or teasers because all entries have to be completely new and never posted. You should share your work with your partner and the mods for check ins if asked to do so, but other than that it should remain unposted until March. Sharing with the other participants in the Discord server is okay after claims go through.

Can other ships be included in the project? You’re more than welcome to add other ships and characters to your work, as long as the story is focused on McCree, Hanzo, or their relationship, whatever kind it may be. The type of their relationship, romantic or platonic, is completely up to you. However, please refrain from incestuous relationships or ships where one person is underage.

What do claims look like? Claims for the Reverse Bang will work the same as for the Big Bang: artists will submit sketches of their work with a short description of what the finished piece will look like. Writers will then get access to the art file and they will have a day to look through all entries, before picking their top 5 and submitting them in the claims file. The claims will be on a first come, first serve basis.

What’s different this time? Unlike the previous run of the Reverse Bang, artists will not include any prompts or ideas this time around for claims. You will be asked to submit just a sketch of the art, and all claims will be based on that. Once you’re partnered up, the way you brainstorm and figure out ideas for the story is solely between you and your writer, but it goes without saying that artists should approve of the story idea before the story is written (unless agreed upon otherwise between the artist and writer).

If there’s anything we didn’t cover here, don’t hesitate to send an ask or a DM!

#mchanzo #mchanzo reverse bang

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laetro · 4 years ago

Text

Saloni Sinha: Merging Concept, Visual Styling and Experimentation

Senior Experience Designer at Frog Design, Saloni Sinha unravels the unique step-by-step approach she applies to her designing and illustrating process. Starting out with experimentation, she progresses to conceptualising and ends with visual styling to produce what she considers the effects of her designing roots.

Known for illustration, Saloni Sinha is a designer by day; illustrator by night; bassist on weekends and a full time dreamer. Her approach to design is rooted in experimentation, conceptual thinking and visual styling. Saloni’s illustration style is often inspired by exaggerated reality, nature and outer space. As Senior Experience Designer at Frog Design, her works have included visual direction, design language systems, branding and UX flows amongst others. Meanwhile, being a music lover, she often contributes her designs to the indie music scene.

ORDER A CUSTOM ILLUSTRATION

Q. Could you please elaborate on what your role as Senior Experience Designer at Frog Design involves and related projects you’ve worked on?

Saloni Sinha: My role at Frog Design varies from project to project. I’ve been lucky to find myself involved in different domains like enterprises, B2B or B2C markets. I’ve also had the opportunity to work on visual direction, design language systems, branding, UX flows and involve myself in pursuits of organisation initiatives from time to time.

Q. Which artist’s works do you look up to and what do you adopt from them in your approach?

Saloni: I get inspired by many different artists all the time. Some of my favourites over the last few years are John Jurez, MC Escher and Maria Tuiriana. John’s subjects are always out of this world. His usage of colours and minimal look are some things I try to adopt in my style as well.

Likewise, I’m always in awe of and puzzled by Escher’s genius mind. I am not sure if I’ve adopted any of his approaches but it always mesmerises me. Maria has a dark yet adorable and humorous style, which is always a delight to see. I feel quite inspired by her use of organic and traditional mediums, which is a good reminder for me to turn to transitional media as much as possible.

Q. Having worked on various projects across branding, UI/UX, typeface, posters, etc. how do you adapt to the diversity in their nature and demands?

Saloni: Having gone through the foundations of design and having the opportunity to experiment with different disciplines in my design education has helped me adapt to different domains. Yet I feel that most of the time it’s the willingness and staying curious that helps you adapt.

Q. Could you kindly elaborate on why you choose visual styling, conceptual thinking and experimentation as the roots of your work?

Saloni: l usually start with experimenting, which is sort of an open field to play around and have fun. At this stage, I’m not bothered by the end result. Once you have one or two good concepts, you can start to refine and build something intuitively. Lastly, you decide which sort of visual styling would best suit the concept. Normally, I tend to play around with colours and typography to decide a mood. I don’t believe in a fixed process; I feel you can iterate and keep an open mind.

Q. Which have been the noteworthy clients and projects you’ve worked for and could you highlight some valuable experiences you’ve had in particular?

Saloni: Some of the projects/clients which are special two me are:

Saptan Stories – a 7-week long collaborative arts event hosted by Aardman Animations (UK) in collaboration with British India. I was really happy to be hand-picked among 7 artists from the UK and India. Every artist had to interpret a story written by the masses. It also felt personal in some sense as I had just gone through a break-up and each line coming in felt like what I had experienced, though with a mix of fantasy in it.

Tailor & Circus – I had the opportunity to create a set of design prints for their underwear collection and also to design a sustainable packaging hamper. They’ve been very inclusive about their audience. They are bold in their approach and sustainable, so I feel proud to be associated with their work. I thus got to see my illustration in a different medium, which is always exciting.

Album Cover for Amogh Symphony ‘IV’ – The artwork for their album turned out to have a very different take in terms of the look and feel, unlike conventional metal band covers. The art was conceptualised with the title track ‘Birds’, which emphasised feminine freedom and connection with mother Earth.

l usually start with experimenting… Once you have one or two good concepts, you can start to refine and build something intuitively. Lastly, you decide which sort of visual styling would best suit the concept.

Q. In terms of technicalities like colour scheme, lighting, proportion and the likes how do you describe your style and approach?

Saloni: I usually tend to work towards a minimal style. I spend more time sketching and inking before I start to digitise. In most of my work, I try to keep the use of colors to a minimum of two or three while colouring digitally. In my opinion, two to three colours bring good balance and harmony. I add depth by adding some tints and tones while sometimes playing around with unconventional proportions to bring surprise.

Q. If you could determine one thing about the field of art today, what would it be and why?

Saloni: Art can be more immersive with upcoming technologies. People can experiment and combine different mediums to create enriching experiences.

Q. What particular efforts or ways do you take to understand and achieve what is expected by a client?

Saloni: Understand clients thoroughly, making sure they are involved in each stage of ideation. At the same time, give yourself time to refine your ideas. Ideally, you don’t want to show them the entire process of brainstorming since it may expose them to half-cooked ideas and confuse them. Once you have a few directions for them to choose from, you can funnel your design sooner.

Sometimes it will also depend on what kind of client you get – there might be clients who are particular about something, while some give you more liberty. As an artist, though, you can take that lead in direction while still keeping the brief in mind.

Q. How do you choose subjects and the manner of conceptualising them in your illustrations?

Saloni Sinha: My subjects keep changing from time to time. Earlier, I was heavily inspired by the metal culture and dark fantasy, so I naturally made a lot of punk/spooky drawings. Nowadays, with my growing interest in space and nature, I draw a lot of inspiration from the two and amalgamate them with everyday life and fantasy.

Q. What kind of projects do you dream to do and what draws you to them?

Saloni Sinha: I’d love to work on a project related to sustainability and nature conservation that can make an actual impact on our planet. And, for fun, I’d love to make album covers for some of my favorite bands as I love music.

#Saloni Sinha #Laetro #Art #Arts #Digitalart #Artist #illustration

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ramonaprintmakingtwo · 4 years ago

Photo

Assignment 1: A landscape

I approached this assignment with a slightly different way, considering printing technique and style before working through the subject. As I have not done it before I wanted to attempt creating a jigsaw linocut print. Working with water based inks in Printmaking One meant that I had to work very quickly as the ink would begin to dry and change consistency. Having invested in some oil based ink giving me a longer working time, I wanted to utilise the medium use a technique that requires a slower inking time. Using a jigsaw method would allow me to use different colours within one layer of printing.

I have seen this technique executed beautifully in the work of Lili Arnold, a printmaker in California whom I have followed on Instagram for a few years. By sharing not only her finished work but the printing process itself, we are able to gain greater insight into her methodology.

(Arnold, 2020)

When I’m not entirely sure of the direction I want to take within my work I like to step back and look at artists and images that inspire me. I review what works well, what aspects I enjoy and consider how I can apply these concepts to my own work.

Mary Blair

One of my favourite artists is Mary Blair best known for her role as a Disney concept artist for both animated films and the ‘Small World’ in Disneyland.

(Blair, 1964) (Unknown, 2020)

Blair had an exceptional understanding of colour and form. Particularly within the ‘Small World’ concept art where different shapes and patterns are used together to create a more abstract image, reminiscent of children’s building blocks. Animation art director Fred Cline described her work as;

‘...juxtaposition of neutralised and intense colours. Lots of artists make everything really bright or really mute. She mixed both with a graphic sense without hardness. Her shapes are very organic but graphic. It's different. You know when you're looking at something only Mary Blair did.’ (Cline, 1994).

Charles and Ray Eames

Using the work of Mary Blair as a springboard I looked at the work other mid-century artists and designers. The form of Blair’s ‘Small World’ concept art reminded me of the toy designs of Charles and Ray Eames.

(Eames Office LLC, 1952)

(Eames Office, LLC, 1951) (Eames Office, LLC, 1952)

Both the house of cards style toy, ‘The Toy’ and ‘The Little Toy’ focused on creativity within play. The individual elements can be arranged in any combination by the person playing with the toy. I wondered if this could be interpreted within a jigsaw linocut.

Rather than the elements within the composition being fixed could they be arranged in different ways in a more spontaneous way within the printing process?

Frances Wood

I also looked at the work of contemporary printmaker Frances Wood. Inspired by mid-century design and Scandinavian folk art, Wood creates colourful screen prints using paper-cut shapes when developing her screens.

I enjoyed Wood’s layering of colour within her prints, having a muted background design with a bold pattern in the foreground. Much like the work of the mid-century artists that I have been looking at, despite using organic subjects of flowers and birds, they layout and composition of Wood’s prints are graphic and geometric in style.

Mid Century Hues, Mid Century Sunset, Mid Century Birds (Wood, 2020)

Subject

This last year I have spent more time at home than ever before. The local community of our street has become much closer, supporting each other and sharing food. Holding socially distanced street parties and looking after the more vulnerable residents. We even had a surprise stray kitten birth under my neighbours dining room table. It felt fitting to mark this.

My print design criteria

Execute a set of three colour prints, each using a minimum of three colours. Each print must be different but connected in some way.

Use a jigsaw technique using repeated key shapes so that the composition is easily changeable.

Explore alternative colour palettes based on the work of Mary Blair, mixing brights and neutrals.

Use symmetrical graphic designs to represent features and patterns within my neighbourhood.

Use colour to indicate the time of year.

Working process

I began by walking up and down my street (after pre warning my neighbours!) taking photos of patterns and shapes that occur within the houses.

Rather than sketching I decided to use paper-cut shapes to reduce the photographed elements into simplified forms. By using this technique I have to be more considered in my approach as I am unable to cut details as fine as I would be able to draw. This hands on approach also felt in keeping of the spirit behind the design.

I then scanned the glued paper to work on rough designs and colour combinations within photoshop. Looking to Mary Blair’s work for possible colour palettes, I identified different schemes that would be indicative of different seasons.

Alice in Wonderland animation concept painting (Disney, 1951)

It’s a Small World, finale, concept art. (Blair M, 1964)

Alice in Wonderland concept art (Blair, 1951)

So Dear to My Heart, Indian summer, concept art. (Blair M, Undated)

Identified potential colour palettes

Photoshop mock-ups

Within my designs I included a geometric background in two colours which I would intend to print in one layer with a jigsaw cut lino.

Printing

vimeo

Prints

Birkbeck Winter

Birkbeck Spring

Birkbeck Summer

Final Selection

The prints turned out as I had planned them and I am particularly pleased with the colour combinations inspired by Mary Blair. The process of rearranging the tiles was enjoyable and I like that each print is unique. I am slightly concerned that it may not be in keeping with the assignment brief as it did not say that an abstract representation of a landscape was an option but it felt right to me.

References

Arnold, L., 2020. Passiflora Edulis Aka Passion Fruit II, Process Photos.. [image] Available at: <https://www.instagram.com/liliarnoldstudios/> [Accessed 30 December 2020].

Blair, M., 1951. Alice In Wonderland Concept Art. [image] Available at: <https://pm1.narvii.com/6117/fdcbe2c5a62f88227bd6de6d1f0678a4c3acf51a_hq.jpg> [Accessed 30 December 2020].

Blair, M., 1964. It's A Small World. [Collage].

Canemaker, J., 2003. The Art And Flair Of Mary Blair. Disney Enterprises Ink, pp.vi, 19, 35, 55, 93.

Cline, F., 1994. Questionare. Mademoiselle,.

Eames Office LLC, 1952. Charles And Ray Eames, House Of Cards, Publicity Photo. [image] Available at: <http://eamesoffice.com> [Accessed 30 December 2020].

Eames Office, LLC, 1951. Ray Eames Plays With An Early Prototype Of The Toy Outside The Eames House. [image] Available at: <http://www.eamesoffice.com> [Accessed 30 December 2020].

Eames Office, LLC, 1952. The Smaller Scale Of The Little Toy.. [image] Available at: <http://www.eamesoffice.com> [Accessed 30 December 2020].

Heritage Auctions, 2020. Alice In Wonderland Animation Concept Art. [image] Available at: <https://comics.ha.com/itm/animation-art/production-drawing/mary-blair-alice-in-wonderland-animation-concept-painting-original-art-disney-1951-/a/825-43034.s> [Accessed 30 December 2020].

Unknown, 2020. Photo Of 'It's A Small World' Disneyland. [image] Available at: <http://disneyatplay.com/index.php/2020/03/23/its-a-small-world-around-the-world/> [Accessed 30 December 2020].

Wood, F., 2020. Mid Century Bird, Hand-Pulled Screen-Print. [image] Available at: <https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/769826324/mid-century-modern-print-mid-century?ref=shop_home_active_25> [Accessed 30 December 2020].

Wood, F., 2020. Mid Century Hues, Hand-Pulled Screen-Print. [image] Available at: <https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/722871610/mid-century-modern-print-art-floral?ref=shop_home_active_2> [Accessed 30 December 2020].

#Ass1 #part1

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poptod · 5 years ago

Text

The Story of Golden Fish and Red Duck (Ahkmenrah x Reader, Ch. 4)

Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3

Word Count: 5.7k AO3 Link: The Story of Golden Fish and Red Duck

Day and night seemed to mesh together as confusion plagued your thoughts, twisting what you thought you knew and changing your memory. Maybe he wasn't all that bad, you convinced yourself one day, but the next you were assured of your hatred and happy he was gone. Despite how your rollercoaster of emotions might've changed hour by hour you didn't take the necklace off - even when you were confident in your resentment of the man, you couldn't deny it was well crafted, and fit your complexion rather well.

When you weren't tossing and turning over your emotions towards Ahkmen, you were wondering what the necklace said. As gorgeous as the inscriptions were they held no meaning, not to you at least - it meant nothing except a physical reminder of what you could've done different. You'd only interacted with the boy two times outside of the times you were required to, but apparently it was enough to warp your world view, something you both despised and adored him for.

Unas dealt with thoughts of his own, issues different from yours but similar in subject. From the many hours you continued to spend with him you garnered that he felt guilty, taking the blame that the whole situation had progressed the way it did, even though you both knew it truly, really was Ahkmen's fault. He was the one who'd decided to do something bad. He was the one who took the blame. He did all that to himself in order to spend time with the both of you, not that either of you could see that - you were both far too caught up in the idea of never seeing him again that the thought of him planning that purely to see you never crossed your minds.

"We're going to see him again, right?" Unas asked you, both of you enjoying your usual market trip all the while feeling very lonely, despite the fact that it had always been just the two of you. "Like, the Pharaoh can't keep him away forever."

"It's up to several things," you said, feeling like you'd rather be talking about something else as you took a bite of your honey cake. "First off, it's possible his father will forgive him and let him go outside, and all that. Besides that option, there's always when the Pharaoh dies, his eldest son will take the throne."

"Kahmuh, right?" Unas asked, receiving a nod from you.

"There's a possibility Kahmuh will forget about the whole ordeal and the ban will be lifted, but Kahmuh isn't the type to forgive and forget. He holds grudges. He still hates my sister just because she doesn't show an interest in him, which is -"

"Disgusting," Unas interrupted you, to which you easily agreed.

"Hopefully this whole thing will be solved in the next several years," you said with a sigh, picking away at your treat without any real desire to eat it.

"Years? That's going to be forever," Unas said, shaking his head at the thought.

"Well the Pharaoh isn't that old. It'll be a while till he passes away, and besides," you eyed him, lowering your voice, "saying aloud that you want the Pharaoh to die or be gone, it isn't exactly a great idea."

"I'm simply not willing to wait that long," Unas declared, sticking the rest of his sweets back in his bag, and crossing his arms. "We'll have to do something about it."

"... I'm not killing the Pharaoh," you said slowly.

"What? No, that's - that's sick," he shook his head, "I meant we're going to have to either sneak into the palace or sneak Ahkmen out."

"Which one's easier do you think?" You said, taken aback by your own readiness to commit another crime. Unas even noticed, turning to you with a furrowed brow, before looking back at the general crowd.

"I'm surprised you even want to help. Don't you hate the man?" Unas said with a laugh, the grin reaching his eyes and crinkling the edges there.

"I do! I just -" there had to be a way to say you wanted to see him again without actually saying you wanted to see him again -"I hate seeing you so upset."

Unas stared at you for a moment as you tried not to make eye contact.

"Right," he said. "I'd say getting him out would be easier. He's got a balcony, right?"

You nodded.

"Should make it easy. We could do a catapult, a thrust of some sort, something... something that would propel us into the air and to his balcony. Since it's so high up, you know."

"Right, yes it's high, but I feel that that's a bit overkill? Wouldn't a rope and a hook work just as well?"

"So you're telling me you have the strength to throw a roped hook fifty feet in the air?"

He did have a point, not that you wanted to admit it - your idea was purely based off the fact that you hated the idea of just throwing yourself into the air and hoping by lucky chance that you'd land on the tiny balcony Ahkmen had. Unas claimed to be smart, and you knew very well that he was good at mathematics, but you can't just predict a curve. Even if he did manage to do that, it sounded a foolish concept by itself.

"Maybe we could catapult the rope?" You suggested, more unsure of yourself with every word.

"Hang on, you might be onto something," he said, a vacant stare taking over his eyes as some sort of machine began to materialize in his mind. With a gasp he stood, leaving you with a pat on your shoulder in the center of the market, heading in the direction of his home.

As usual Unas was a very fast runner, and by the time you found him back at his house, sketch upon sketch, every attempt scribbled with countless notes, lay scattered at his desk and pinned to the wall. You tried to speak, the noise just barely coming out of your mouth before he was shushing you.

To your credit, you did try to stay for a good long while, sitting silently in the backdrop of his bedroom. His father was hardly ever home and his mother knew you well, so the length of your stay wasn't of any great importance. Your parents would know where to look for you, but by the time sunset came around, you were a little tired of being ignored and fully ready to head home. You told him this in a quiet voice, gently tapping his shoulder as you did.

"Alright," he said, still engrossed in his latest version, before realizing what you'd just said. He jumped from his seat as you shut the door behind you, chasing after you and finding you in the hallway. "Meet me tomorrow. It should be done then."

"Where and when?"

"Let's say midrise? And, um... just meet me here. I might need help moving this contraption," he decided, nodding as though to affirm himself.

"Are you going to name it?" You asked with a chuckle.

"Now's not the time for that. I need to - I need to get back to it," he said, not even leaving you with a good-bye as he rushed back into his room. Sighing and shaking your head, a smile crossed your face; as annoying as those phases of his life were, it was nice to see him so entertained with something.

By the next morn you were well rested (though you doubted you could say the same for Unas), and your mother had prepared a rather large breakfast for no specific occasion. Bowls of honey and dates sat on the table, surrounded by several different loaves, each one a different preparation for a different taste. Where your mother got the resolve to do things like this you hadn't a clue, but you enjoyed it anyway, and as the sun sat in the center of the sky, you thanked her and ran off towards Unas' house.

Twisting through empty and crowded streets you made your way to the front door, knocking once before his father was already opening the door. Surprised you almost jumped back, but managed to stay on your feet - the last time you saw his father must've been at least five months ago. Abasi was a very strange man from what you'd seen of him, which wasn't much at all and you shouldn't've drawn conclusions from the very few times you'd spoken with him, but he certainly was the only person you knew who could read hieroglyphs.

"Abasi, sir? Sorry for um, interrupting whatever it was you were doing, but could you read this for me quickly?" You asked, keeping your voice fast-paced; anything less would bore him. With shaking fingers you undid the knot at the back of the necklace, the cold pendant sliding down your collarbone till it came to your hands, and you handed it to him.

He looked at you strangely for a moment before taking it, doing a quick once-over. Taking very little care with it, he handed it back to you, his face still stone.

"This side says run away with me," he said, pointing to the face-up side on your palm, "and the other side says please... and your name."

"Oh..." you murmured, wondering how he could've gotten a pendant with your name on it so quickly. Before you could even hypothesize on whatever the pendant really meant, Abasi pushed you aside and left, leaving you alone with your confused thoughts.

There are better times to think about this, you told yourself, but even as you climbed the steps and crossed the hallway to Unas' room, you couldn't stop going over it. It was personalized, with such an obvious intimate message, and as you opened Unas' door, you tied the pendant back around your neck - out of sight, out of mind. Still it seemed to weigh down on you, heavy against your chest.

"Good morning!" Unas exclaimed, yanking the door open just as you set your hand on the handle. You jumped back, caught surprised by his outburst - you had expected him to still be at his desk.

"Morning, Unas," you said, breathing slow and shaking your head to calm your suddenly raised heart rate. Taking your hand he lead you to his desk, sitting you down in his seat and pushing you towards the many sketches lain about his desk, scattered and disorganized.

"That one," he pointed to one pinned to the wall with a knife, "that's what we're going to be making. I know what parts we need, I made two sheets." He then proceeded to dig through the pile of papyrus, somehow managing to pull two identical sheets out of there as if he knew where it was all along. Handing one to you he took the other, and you looked over your own.

"Unas, I don't think we're going to be able to find all this stuff," you said slowly, going over the list. Several very specific bolts, strips of tough wood, metal hook that wouldn't break, a fifty foot rope - you'd be lucky to find even one of these in the trash heaps in an entire month. At that rate, it'd be easier to just wait for the day Ahkmen would be released of his family's own volition. At the bottom of the list lay the hardest material, your eyes bulging as you read it; 5.5 feet of linen.

"I think we'll be okay," Unas said, halting when he saw your expression.

"Linen? Are you joking? It's so hard to get it’s used as fucking currency, and you want five feet of it?!" You slapped the paper back on his desk, your hand making a hard slap with the wood.

"Hear me out, okay?" He said quickly as you stood, approaching him with your hands clenched into fists. "It's so simple to make, trust me, okay? You can trust me, you've done it before, now isn't any different except.. except we're saving the love of your life from imprisonment!"

You nabbed his list from his hands, looking over it again before tossing it to the side, still holding a death glare with him.

"Let's get some things straight," you hissed, backing him up into a wall. "Number one, he's not the love of my life, I don't even like the man. Number two these are ridiculous materials, and third -"

"You're on board, aren't you?"

"Of course I am, but I'm not going to be happy about it."

Shopping list in hand and a hefty amount of gold rings with you, the two of you set off in your usual direction; the dump house. It hadn't been long since the two of you had last seen it, actually it was just yesterday you'd been there, but somehow the heaps were never familiar. The sight of them you were accustomed to, yes, but exactly what the heaps were composed of was always a mystery. Each time you came (including this time as well) it felt as though the entirety of it had been cleaned and an entirely different type of trash had been dumped there.

Immediately you set off to work, Unas taking the lower floor and you taking the upper, lists in hand as eyes scraped meticulously over the piles. Several things caught your eye, and on any other day you would've run downstairs excitedly to show Unas, but there was a mission today - a real mission, that could actually help someone, namely Ahkmen. Not you. This mission was not for you.

"Holy FUCK!" Unas shouted, surprising you out of your close inspection. You ran downstairs, your mostly empty bag clanging against your thigh as you came to stand beside Unas, wondering what in the hell could've gotten him so worked up.

"Everything alright?" You asked.

"Everything's perfect! Forget the bolts and the sticks, well - everything but two bolts, we still need those," he said, marvelling at a large, thick piece of wood in a Y shape.

"... right," you mumbled, heading back upstairs after that shock. As distant as he usually was, there were moments where he would get far too excitable, scaring you in the process.

Fortunately he didn't have another outburst of energy the rest of the morning, and by noon you'd found the bolts and nails you needed - all that remained was the linen, the hook, and rope, which the both of you knew you needed to buy. Anything else would've been too cheaply made to support what you needed, thus the two of you left in high spirits, heading in the direction of the market.

Busy, as usual - weeding your way through the crowd you came to the best blacksmith, which you could only afford due to your status. Entering the small building, the first thing you noticed was the heat; unbearable, surrounding every inch of your skin and clogging up your nose with an awful burning smell. Somehow, even with the midday sun blazing overhead, it was hotter inside. Unas even cringed a little, though wasn't deterred in the slightest. He went straight to the counter, waiting for the man to notice him, and as he did you scoped the shop out. A hook wouldn't be all too hard to find, there were many uses for them. Your only issue was you needed a specific hook.

"Hi, I'm Unas," he introduced himself to the worker, who looked him up and down, took his glove off, and shook his hand.

"Idogbe. What do you need?" He asked, his voice surprisingly soft, especially for his build, which must've been taller and stronger than anyone you'd met.

"We need a sort of hook, one that can sort of.. attach, you know?" Unas explained poorly, gesturing vaguely with his hands as Idogbe watched unamused.

"You mean a grappling hook?" He asked after letting Unas suffer under his gaze for a good two minutes.

"Yes! That'd be perfect," Unas said with a smile, turning back to you in a self-satisfied manner. You exchanged odd facial expressions with him, getting slowly weirder and harder to do, till Idogbe returned to the desk from the back room.

"This'd be a good one, withholds quite a bit of weight. Rope attach here, weapon attach here," he said, pointing to the various holes and inserts at the bottom of the hook.

"Wonderful. How much for it?"

"Let's say 90?"

You could physically see Unas' eyes bulge out of his head at the price, and for the first time you laughed at his misfortune. Drawing nearer, you kept your mouth next to his ear as you whispered.

"You handle this, wrangle the price - I'll head in the linen direction," you muttered, to which he agreed.

It wasn't hard to find a fabric store, and even less difficult to find a good price - the woman manning the store, named Kakra, was clearly new. You hated to take advantage of that, considering she was practically stuttering on every word, but there were more important things for you to do. Kakra would have to deal with a price she shouldn't have let you buy at.

Around an hour or two after noon, you reconvened at the market's center, sitting on the edge of the massive crystal water fountain. After a quick show of wares, you made a quick stop at Nizism's for food, and headed back to Unas' home. There he constructed the contraption as you sat on his bed, daydreaming about how different your life could've been. Not towards anything in particular, you were fine with how you were - just different scenarios, something to pass the time as afternoon turned to evening.

"Is it done yet?" You asked, still staring up at the ceiling, tossing a wooden ball between your hands.

"Yes, actually, which is surprising considering how many times you've asked me that," he said, a clear annoyance in his words.

"Well how else am I supposed to know when I can look over?" You asked, frowning.

"It's not a surprise, you could've looked over whenever you wanted to!"

"Really? Oh," you said, sitting up and watching him finish up. "It's usually a surprise."

He backed away from it, the large Y structure now having the two ends of the linen wrapped around each protrusion except the bottom one. It didn't look particularly special, or new, but you knew better than to say anything. In all actuality it was a very plain thing, without decoration or pizazz, but you supposed it wasn't really the time to deal with that.

"Then, we have the hook," he said, raising the hook in the air, the rope tied to it, "and there's a special weight in the hook, gives it more momentum, so we place it like this..." he set the hook in the linen, pulling the material back as it stretched, "and when you let go -" he let go, and the hook crashed into the wall with a loud clang. "There you go!'

"So the hook is supposed to go up to his balcony?"

"Yes indeed, we just need a place in which we can launch it from," Unas said with a smile, clearly happy with his little invention.

"Somewhere we won't be seen, obviously," you said, scratching your chin as you thought of the layout of the palace, the surrounding brush and hills, trying to think of somewhere you'd be hidden that would also allow you to actually be able to aim correctly.

"That's the difficult part," he said, snapping his fingers.

"That's the difficult part? Didn't you play 90 rings for the hook?"

"Yes, but it wasn't really my money, so it doesn't bother me," he said with a shrug. You hummed in acknowledgement, still thinking of where you could launch from. Then it hit you - something you'd somehow forgotten from many years ago.

When you were around three years old, that was when you were introduced to Ahkmen - at the time you were actually rather friendly with each other, for some reason. He was cute, at the time, that is. Before you really knew what status was, before you knew that stalking was a thing that you really shouldn't do, you snuck out of your house late at night, hiding in the well kempt bushes surrounding the palace. From your vantage point you could easily see Ahkmen's balcony, though you hadn't known it was his balcony at the time - you'd thought it was just a balcony he frequented. Just then your mind connected it; you realized that balcony from all those years ago was his.

"Unas," you said slowly, your eyes glazed over as genius struck you, "I know exactly where we'll set up shop."

After a quick run to your parents house to notify them you'd be staying at Unas' for the night, you began packing for the trip. Fortunately you wore mainly red and black clothes, which would be perfect for disguising yourself in the shaodws. Unas, on the other hand, wore white and brown clothes, and after noticing this, you leant him your own clothes which were a little small on him.

Half prepared to go, Unas hoisted the invention on his back, securing it with the linen. You kept the rope and hook in your bag, and the two of you snuck out his window, keeping low on the rooftops in an attempt to stay hidden. Somehow it worked, even though you were almost caught about five times. Those five times started up your heartbeat, racing in your chest as you got closer and closer to the palace, the guards becoming more numerous as you did.

Hiding away in the bushes, you watched as torchlight cast shadows on the walls, and soon guards made their round, disappearing down the side of the palace. Motioning silently to Unas, he moved forward, setting up his contraption by digging one end into the soft ground to stabilize it. Using your utmost concentration to not rustle the bush around you, you helped him set the hook in the linen, pulling it back as far as you could.

"Are you sure this is going to work? 'Cause if it doesn't, we're going to have to run like hell," you whispered to him, the linen stretched in your hands.

"We're about to see if it'll work," he answered, an answer that was not in the least comforting, but had a valid point. Taking a deep, shaky breath you pulled it back just a little more, pointing it upwards by angling down. Now on target, you closed your eyes, took another breath, and released.

"This has to be one of the most stupidest things I've done," you whispered, your eyes still clamped shut. A quiet clinking sound came from far above you, and Unas hit your shoulder, a soft gasp leaving him. Slowly you opened your eyes, following his gaze to the balcony, where a silver hook gleamed in the moonlight, safely attached to the railing and a rope dangling down from it.

"I can't believe it worked," he breathed out, still in utter shock.

"You didn't think it would work?" You hissed. "This was your idea!"

"No time for that, we need to climb now before the guards get back," he said, hiding the contraption in the bushes and rushing forward. You followed, gripping the rope tight as you climbed after him, the knots you'd previously made in the rope making the journey much easier.

"This is dumb," you muttered to yourself as anticipation plagued your anxious nerves, reminding you how badly Ahkmen would make fun of you for trying so hard to see him again.

Gripping the rope tighter you hauled yourself up, letting Unas situate himself before climbing over the railing yourself, brushing your clothes off as if they were dirty. Which, to be fair, after kneeling in the dirt for so long, they weren't exactly clean.

Inside Ahkmen's room, a single rushlight was lit at his bedside, giving the room a faint, yellow glow. Somehow undisturbed by the racket you and Unas made, Ahkmen lay sleeping in his bed, the covers strewn carelessly about his mostly-naked body, which you pointedly ignored. Unas stared without thought, only brought out of his little trance when you elbowed him.

"Don't stare," you told him. "That's weird."

"Not even half as weird as your horrible flirting tactics," he said, not bothering to look at you as he approached the bed.

"There's - okay, first off, no, and second off, this is a lot more stalker-ish than I originally anticipated," you said, careful to keep your voice down, inching forward as Unas slowly came to stand directly beside Ahkmen's bed.

Looking at you he picked up a large book which had been sitting at his bedside table, a furtive grin overtaking him as he lifted it above his head. Color draining from your face you rushed forward, knowing he was going to wake up the whole palace in the worst way possible, but before you could grab the book from him he slammed it down on the floor. A loud clang bounced around the room, startling Ahkmen awake, the silk sheets dripping down his skin like water as he sat up.

Eyes wide and panting, Ahkmen looked between the two of you, attempting to say something but nothing coming out.

"Unas!" He finally got out, his eyes still bulging in shock.

"Ahkmen!" Unas said, opening his arms with a wide smile. Laughing, Ahkmen stood from his bed, wrapping Unas up in a tight hug. Unas returned the sentiment with just as much enthusiasm, patting him on the back as they parted.

"What are you doing here?" Ahkmen said, still smiling brightly at the two of you.

"Unas missed you," you answered dully, your arms crossed as you watched the scene before you, a mild amusement clear on your face.

"Really? And you didn't?" He said, his voice low and teasing.

"No," you said.

"I don't have much time to be honest, I've got lessons in the morning and I haven't been studying," Unas said, something you didn't even know until then.

"You're taking lessons? What for?" You asked, feeling only a little betrayed that he hadn't told you, but patient for his answer.

"I'm going to be a scribe like my father," he answered, nodding his head with his hands on his hips.

"I feel you'd do better as an architect," Ahkmen said with a pat to Unas' shoulder. You hadn't thought of it before, but Unas would make a good architect - he had an eye for both design and technicality.

"Perhaps so, but a son always takes up his father's mantle."

"When I become Pharaoh, which I will," Ahkmen said, glancing to you as he wrapped an arm over Unas' shoulders, "I'll make you chief architect. How does that sound?"

"I - excellent, actually, if you were really going to become Pharaoh," Unas sputtered out, clearly flustered by both the contact and the idea of such a position belonging to him.

"Aren't you third in line for the throne?" You said with a chuckle, drawing nearer to the pair of them.

"Yes, but I am the favorite son, so I have that going for me."

"... right."

You tried to make the best of your short time with him, playing several games of Senet (Unas won each time) before you'd exhausted that, moving onto word games and other such things. Desperately you tried not to think about Unas leaving for the night, which would leave you alone with Ahkmen - the thought had crossed you that you could just leave with Unas, but Ahkmen had already brought that up and was adamant that you stayed. The idea of it alone wasn't horribly terrifying, but the remembrance that this would be the first occurrence of you spending time alone with him absolutely was. Ahkmen, sitting across from you, didn't look in the least bit anxious.

The three of you spent a good deal of time breaking into fits of laughter, and as you leaned back the cool of the pendant landed right below your neck, tensing you up and reminding you of the message he'd written. He had to have written it, you'd decided that a while ago, considering your name was on it. Fiddling with it, you engrossed yourself back into the conversation, putting the thought of that in the deepest corners of your head. You'd deal with it later.

"I think I'd best be going, now. At least now one of you can win at Senet," Unas said cheekily, winking at the two of you seated on the floor as he stood.

"Be safe, alright?" Ahkmen said quietly, smiling when Unas nodded.

"Of course. Also, I'll be picking up the launcher, you take the rope with you, got it?" He asked you, and you nodded your agreement. With that you bid your good byes, and he set off climbing down the rope, leaving you alone in the hazy light of Ahkmen's room.

"Is he always like that?" Ahkmen asked when he was assured Unas was gone.

"Like what?"

"You know, that good at playing games," he clarified.

"Ah," you said with a smile, leaning back. "Yes. Unas has always been one for puzzles and strategy games. Drives me insane, but you get used to it after a while."

"He's a little odd, but nice," he remarked, fiddling with his clothes as he avoided your eye.

An uncomfortable silence (at least for you) spanned over the next few minutes as the various games and messes you'd made were cleaned up. By the time you set the last pencil on his desk, he was sitting on his bed, legs dangling off the side as he watched you.

"You're still wearing the pendant," he noted quietly, gesturing to the necklace heavy on your skin. You looked down, fiddling with it again.

"Of course I am," you mumbled, instantly regretting the words when he perked up.

"I just - I thought you might throw it away," he said with a shrug.

"No... why would you think that?" You sat on the floor in front of you, looking up at him.

Anytime now and it'll be the perfect time to ask him about what it says, you thought, almost tensing up imagining it. Just like the one you were having, that conversation would be horribly intimate and would probably screw up your image of who he was in your mind. Again. How many times had he changed in your head?

"I don't know, probably the fifteen hundred times you've told me you hate me? Might've been that," he said, laughing bitterly, fingers digging into his mattress till the knuckles whitened.

"I don't really hate you, I just -" exasperated you looked to him, trying to find a way to say what you meant without insinuating something. He met your gaze, looking almost hopeful for your next few words, only for you to disappoint him. "I dislike you."

"Yeah, I know," he mumbled, turning so he wouldn't have to look at you anymore. "Sorry for keeping you from leaving. You can go."

"Gold fish, I -"

"No, it's fine," he said, huffing as he hid under his covers.

"You always find a way to change who I think you are," you finally said, an admittance that he'd been on your mind - you'd thought of him. "Every time I think I've wrangled down who you are, figured out what makes you tick, you change it completely. I don't know if that's a talent or a flaw. Either way... good night."

You reached up behind your neck, untying the necklace and setting at his bedside table, within his clear eyeshot. As you made for the balcony, his sheets rustled behind you. He turned you around, necklace in hand and so close to you your face was almost touching his chest. Confused, you tried to ask him what he wanted, but he just put the pendant back around your neck, tying it and smoothing it out once he'd finished.

"It's yours. You can throw it away if you want," he said, almost venomous in a way you'd only seen in his father. Sometimes you forgot he was still a prince. He was still powerful, and he could still make you do whatever he wanted to. But he didn't - he went back to bed, turned his back to you, and let you leave.

You made down the rope, unhooked it (with a little trouble), and snuck back to Unas' house, where he sat at his desk studying. At his side were three rushlights, illuminating sharp shadows across his face, the ink of his pen scratching into the papyrus.

"How'd it go?" He asked without looking up.

"Oddly. We got in a fight but this time it wasn't just a stupid fight... I think I hurt his feelings."

"What did you say this time?"

"I said I dislike him."

"Oo, wrong choice of words," he exhaled sharply, wincing when he turned to look at you, flopped hopelessly over his bed.

"This must be the first time I've actually felt bad about hurting him. A year ago I would've been rejoicing," you grumbled, slapping your hand over your eyes as though to shield you from your horrible choices.

"That's probably because you actually like him now. I mean, you aren't admitting it, but you do. I'd go so far as to say, in complete and utter honesty, that you have a little crush on him."

You sat up, almost gagging at the thought.

"You can't be serious," you laughed, almost loud enough to wake his mother, but you knew to keep quiet.

"I am. I think you're actually making a big mistake, and you need to recognize that you genuinely like him," he said, and you knew he was telling the truth - not a hint of a smile. Sighing, you fell back down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm so fucked."

"Your words, not mine, but precisely."

#ahkmenrah x reader #Ahkmenrah #rami malek x reader #rami malek #ahkmenrah x male reader #ahkmenrah x female reader #Night at the Museum

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gamebunny-advance · 5 years ago

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Kind of A Downer

I think I’ve come to accept that the stuff I make gets attention mostly based on subject rather than the content.

And that’s fine since I cover relatively niche subjects (or niche subjects within popular fandoms), so the folks that like that stuff must be really into it like I am which is cool, but still... I can’t help to be a little... I dunno, disappointed about that I guess? Everything about this situation is my own fault, I’m not blaming anyone for it. It’s just how I’m feeling.

Anyway, sorry to bring y’all down, it’s just something I had on my mind. They’re not finished, but I’m gonna go ahead and post what I’ve done for what I’m calling the “Mahou Smash Project” so far. Right now it feels less like, “What if all the Brawl fighters were magical girls?” and more like “What if all the Brawl fighters wore skirts?”, but I’m working on it.

This is roughly the first sketch I did to flesh out the concept. It’s a little more difficult to think of stuff for the non-human characters without just giving them bows, but I’ll try to think of more ideas. Kirby is actually based on an outfit he had from “Super Kirby Clash” that’s called “Magical Girl”. I like it as a shoutout, but I’d also like to do something more original.

No matter how many times I tried to let Mario keep his cap, I felt like it never really went with the rest of the outfit, so I chucked it. I really liked the idea of giving him head wings to call back to his “wing cap” from 64, but it conflicted with Pit being in his group that already has a wing motif, so in later sketches I scrapped it. (His stars also conflict with Kirby, but there are so many star/space themed fighters on the roster, so I don’t think that part is as noticeable). Otherwise I really fell in love with the initial design and it doesn’t really change that much over my several iterations of him.

Originally Link’s inspo was from “Ojamajo Doremi” since the hats were kinda similar. I tried to incorporate a lot of triangles in the design to represent the triforce, but I’m not sure how I feel about the inner dress yet. I like the shape, but I’m not sure if it suits him. I might wind up giving him shorts later.

I had a really hard time with Pit since his outfit is already kinda magical. The most I could really come up with was to add a few more embellishments and make some accessories less “bulky”.

I think Tabuu is actually the second sketch I did when I thought of the idea. At first I was planning on combining this AU with the human!AU to make designing the non-humans easier, but I decided to challenge myself and just keep everyone as they were. It’s a shame because I think this hair suits his design a bit better than the original, but if there ever is a final version of this project, he’s gonna stay bald. His ability is: Morpho Anguish

Of course I had to try these two at some point. R.O.B. has a royal motif to represent how he ruled over the lesser ROBs, but it’s a little difficult to think of accessories he can realistically wear while keeping most of his original silhouette and get across that he’s a magical girl too.

Unlike other designs where the idea for the costume preceeded the ability, I thought of GW’s ability first and then the costume. His ability allows him to “cook” anything into existence from food to people, but he can only do the “complicated stuff” with his cookbook, which is in Tabuu’s possession.

Another sketch of these two. This is when I realized that Mario’s wings would overlap with Pit’s. Speaking off, it’s not super obvious, but I eventually settled on “ballerina” as a theme for Pit so I could distance him a bit more from his original outfit. Specifically he’s inspired by “Swan Lake”, thus the first iteration of the feather skirt appears.

TBH, Wario isn’t super inspired yet. At first it was just a take on Mario’s outfit, but I think I’d like it come a little closer to his WarioWare design since that’s his default in Smash. The crown and cravat is supposed to represent a “W” though, so that’s something.

The most recent iteration of Pit. I let him keep his bodysuit so he could retain some modesty since I draw the skirts on so short, but I honestly think it clashes with the rest of the design. I’ll have to find a way to incorporate more blue into the design if he’s gonna keep it.

Mario is mostly the same from previous iterations, so Luigi takes a lot from him, just a “little” different. I like the striped socks as a shout-out to the Mario & Luigi games, but I don’t like how he takes some of Mario’s red when Mario doesn’t take Luigi’s green (I tried giving him the green striped-socks, but they didn’t look good). I might take them out if I iterate on him again. Luigi’s ability is: Electric Moons.

Another tough one since her design was already kind of magical. I feel like all I did was shorten her dress and add some bows, but sometimes that’s all you really need to do. Her ability is: Blooming Rosales

Originally she was going to be more “knight” themed and keep her helmet since her power suit reminds me of those medieval suits of armor, but I can’t really draw armor, so I chickened out of it. It’s not super apparent, but her skirt is supposed to be transparent. If I come back for her, I think I’m going to work on making her an actual suit of armor so that there’s more difference between this and her zero suit form. Her ability in this form is: Stellar Cannon.

I feel like this is less “magical girl” and more ”Judy Jetson”. I like it, but I think it should be frilled up a bit more. I wanted to add some more flower detailing to represent the pikmin, but I think it really clashed with the “old-timey astronaut” thing he’s got going on. It’s still on his helmet, but it really sticks out, doesn’t it? His ability is: Plucking Gardens

Last two. I might find a way to reintroduce their hoods, but I love the idea of a hat that’s comically small. The pompoms on their hats and shoes are supposed to invoke cherries since they’re often drawn as a pair, but I don’t think it really comes across that way. Popo’s ablity is: Icy Flurry. Nana’s ability is: Freezing Snowfall. Together their ability is: Twin Blizzard

#text #i like making it #i wouldn't make it if i didn't like drawing it #but knowing that it's what i'm known for #or rather what's expected of me #is a little disheartening #part of it is that my skill level just *isn't* quite where it could be #i don't think my style is really that distinct (partially because I mostly post sketches)#so even if I were to switch things up #I don't think y'all actually like my style enough to stay if my subject matter were to drastically change #i don't blame you guys #i'm just working through some stuff #since starting my meds #i've been able to draw a lot more #even on days when i have work #but i still haven't really finished anything #i think i need to go back to my studies #i'm not improving #because i keep going back to what's comfortable #i think if i could improve my ability to depict values #and light and shadow #i'd be a lot closer to where i want to be #there's a lot i need to work on #but i think those should be my priority at the moment

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aion-rsa · 5 years ago

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Why the Studio Kept Santa Claus Being in Miracle on 34th Street a Secret

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If you ever sit down to watch 20th Century Fox’s original trailer for Miracle on 34th Street, a few things might appear strange. Right off the bat it’s unique—unprecedented even—to market a new release without any real footage from the film. Other than a few seconds of the movie’s opening titles and an actual shot from the picture’s final seconds, audiences were told nothing about Miracle on 34th Street other than it was “hilarious!” “exciting!” and, dare they say it, “groovy!”

There was of course a reason for this: 20th Century Fox, and more specifically studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, had absolutely no faith in the feel-good holiday movie and didn’t even want the audience to know it was a holiday movie. Zanuck’s insistence that the film open in New York City on June 4 probably added to their skittishness toward the subject matter.

An all-time Christmas movie classic today, Miracle on 34th Street pivots on the marvelous idea that Macy’s shopping mall Santa Claus (Edmund Gwenn) believes he genuinely is Santa—even going by the name Kris Kringle on his identification. And to prove this, he’ll even take the matter to court with the help of a couple of doubting Thomases like his boss, career woman Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara), and her precocious daughter Susan (Natalie Wood).

An ingenious concept by Valentine Davies, who’d go on to write a book out of his high-concept, and penned for the screen by the film’s director George Seaton, the story enchanted everyone who came across it. Except Zanuck. He didn’t like the concept on the page and was reluctant to greenlight it; and then he liked it even less when he saw Seaton’s cut of the movie.

“[Darryl] Zanuck wasn’t sure it would be a success, so he had it released in June when movie attendance is highest, rather than wait for Christmas,” O’Hara wrote in her memoir ‘Tis Herself. “In fact, the publicity campaign barely talked about Christmas at all.”

Director Seaton’s original pitch was for the film to open in New York City on Thanksgiving, likely in no small part because the movie itself opens during the then quite regionally specific Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. However, Zanuck balked at the idea, believing the film would vanish from theaters quickly.

Some accounts suggest the studio head was knowingly gaming the tiered rollout of theatrical releases in the 1940s—wide releases would not become common until the 1970s—and that Zanuck foresaw the advantage of Miracle on 34th Street playing in major cities during the summer and then trickling down to the smaller and rural parts of the country in the fall. Yet given that Zanuck was reportedly astonished his Christmas movie was doing big business all the way through Christmas, it’s likely he didn’t believe the actual hype his studio plastered in the marketing for the film.

Which brings us back to that trailer. How do you market a Christmas movie where the main character believes he’s Santa without, you know, mentioning Christmas or Santa? The answer was to market a five-minute sketch in which a parody of a studio executive (who seems both as oblivious and ultimately wiser than Zanuck) wanders around the Fox lot hearing studio stars not in Miracle on 34th Street gush about how wonderful it is.

In the trailer, which you can view below, a nondescript boss named Bob rejects Fox’s marketing department for claiming a movie can be both exciting and tender (he insists he doesn’t need to watch it to sell it). However, as he prowls his own studio, he runs into Rex Harrison, the future Professor Higgins himself trying to cut an unconvincing figure as a man’s man. Harrison proclaims, “I never heard laughs like that in the theater before. Don’t miss it… I don’t know if the women will like it, but it’s a great man’s picture!”

Elsewhere, poor Bob bumps into Anne Baxter, who he helpfully reminds audiences just won an Oscar for The Razor’s Edge. After the congratulation though, he’s flummoxed to learn Anne also adored 34th Street but “I don’t know how the men are going to like it [because] it’s a great woman’s picture.”

Finally, the now totally befuddled exec runs into teen star Peggy Ann Garner—just adorably learning to drive—and singer-actor Dick Haymes. Now just what exactly the married with children 30-year-old Haymes is doing in a car with the studio’s teen sensation is never explained. But what is, is that Dick was kept “on the edge of his seat every second” of the film’s last 20 minutes, and that Peggy Ann thought the movie was “really groovy” too.

So Bob finally resigns himself to the fact he needs to watch this sucker, and after he does, he tells us it’s all of those things, and you’ll also love it! Just don’t ask what it’s about!

The secretive marketing campaign carried over to the film’s poster, which put hand drawn portraits of O’Hara and co-star John Payne across 50 percent of the one-sheet, as well as their names above the title. Gwenn’s Kris Kringle, however, is relegated to the background in a brown suit as he hugs young Wood like a dear old grandfather.

Nowhere in any of the marketing are the words “Christmas” or “Santa Claus” even teased. It’s a bizarre gambit for what was so clearly a holiday movie. And yet, it didn’t matter.

Movies

Why Chronicles of Narnia’s Santa Claus Celebrates Christmas with Weapons of War

By Juliette Harrisson

Movies

Christmas Movies on Disney+ Streaming Guide

By David Crow

When audiences and critics finally saw Miracle on 34th Street for themselves, they were as charmed then as we are more than 70 years later. Gwenn, who’d go on to win an Academy Award for playing Kris, much to Zanuck’s delight (the film also won a screenplay Oscar), instantly became iconic with the kind twinkle in his eye and entirely earnest depiction of a Santa Claus who walks among us. Genuinely, there may be little as endearingly cheerful as watching Gwenn’s St. Nick sing Christmas carols in Dutch with an orphaned immigrant.

Wood’s still convincingly natural performance as the skeptical child who’s made a true believer also made her the child actor of her age and launched her on to a movie star career..

Miracle on 34th Street remains one of the shinier highlights of the Christmas movie canon, and the rare example of a film changing the holiday season itself. Indeed, it was the movie’s actual footage of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, breathlessly filmed over a few hours during the real 1946 event, that turned the local tradition into a national celebration that would soon be televised from coast-to-coast in the next decade on a newfangled technology called television.

Not bad for a film the studio was afraid to show even one red cap or white whisker of in its ad campaign.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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verotms · 5 years ago

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。· . ˙ ☀ ⌈ taylor hill + cis female + she / her + the wayfarer ⌋ yo , have you meet that POGUE , 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 , yet ? — no ? well , to give you a little heads up before you do , they’re a TWENTY-TWO year old, CON ARTIST & WAITSTAFF AT THE COSTON CLUBHOUSE and have been living in coston for TWO MONTHS . since i’ve known them , they’ve reminded me of 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 , 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 , 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 , 𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 , 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡�� 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 . usually they’re quite 𝑣𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 & 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 but just make sure you keep an eye out for them around town because i heard can be quite 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 & 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 as well so here’s hoping they aren’t the ones to undo this whole peace pact they have going on this summer . but just between you & me , i kinda hope it all falls apart . the rivalry keeps this whole boring town interesting .

gonna make these some short bullets to speed up the process bc i just want these DONE AND OUT

vero was born to a teen mom in some buttfuck florida town that had nothing going for her , they were pretty much just them two doing what they could with what they had . they lived in a little greek neighborhood and young veronica spent most of her childhood being handed off from babysitting neighbor to neighbor pretty free range while her mom worked full time to try and finish school and provide for her kid . literally the definition of “ it takes a village . “

when she was about 4 , her mom decided she wanted a change of pace and spent all of vero’s college fund set up by her grandparents to buy an rv . it was a move that got her cut off from their support and left vero with a childhood that , while the instability would show its later effects , led to her having the time of her life .

her mom took her through the entire US , homeschooling her and making money off of conning whatever poor sap gave her the time of day . it was an example that she always told vero to ignore , “ we only do this because we need to , “ but built a foundation that the impressionable child would never be able to let go of .

they stay put long enough for vero to get high school knocked out , though it’s at five different schools over the course of four years as her mom can never hold an honest job down long enough to keep them stable . at the pushes and prods of getting to know her heritage , her mom begrudgingly hauls them back to florida the summer after vero finishes high school and reintroduces her to a family she hasn’t seen in nearly 15 years . at the question of wanting to know her dad , as it turns out , he was the child of a formidable oil family in southern florida that had come into quite a sum of money . vero , against her family’s wishes , reaches out to him in an attempt to figure something out about herself and her background , and to her surprise , he’s actually excited to meet her .

he has a whole other family but he asks just for a little patience while he figures out how to tell them everything . he’s kind and generous and pretty great of a dude for having never known he had fathered a child with a simple hookup he had had in his youth considering they went to different schools and she ghosted him afterwards . vero’s truly ready to settle down for once and start a life with the family she had finally gotten , until her mom reaches out in dire need of money after crashing the RV following a night of recklessness . vero , getting a cold slap to reality of the life she had grown up knowing , realizes she’ll probably never be suited for the lifestyle her dad wants her to join him in , and relapses into what she knows . she steals a sizable amount of money and other things from him , disappearing in the middle of the night from the home he had opened up to her and drops off enough money to her mom to help her get by — making this the last she ever sees of her .

she buys a beat up vintage hatchback and hightails it out of florida , spending no longer than 6 months in any given place . she works small odd jobs and spends her days lounging in the sun and spending nights performing raggedy 90’s karaoke covers and pouring shots into the mouths of random bar - goers , charming the pants off just about anyone who gives her the time of day , usually making off with their wallet or earning herself a sugar parent for a week or so who lavishes her in gifts . it’s not a lifestyle she particularly enjoys , to be honest ; her dream would be to be an artist and own her own trinket store to occupy her time , keeping her for once in one place . but swindling people is all she knows , and part of her identity is the freedom of having nothing to tie her down — admittedly , a lifestyle she doesn’t see herself letting go of any time soon .

so here she is in coston , taking up a job in the swanky coston clubhouse where she gets hit on by more older men with money than she knows what to do with . she spends her afternoons on the beach chatting up whoever glances her way and spending her nights in a shoddy beat up apartment she pays on a month by month lease . two months isn’t much by normal standards , but she’s feeling herself grow comfortable in coston in a way she hasn’t felt in many places beyond that — something the kook / pogue divide threatens to ruin for her and send her packing promptly the moment something goes wrong .

personality wise , vero has a rather laid back , enthusiastic personality and is the type of talker who could sell ice to a snowman . astute and observant despite a hippie - dippie disposition , she gives the illusion of no attention payed while she’s secretly analyzing where in your pockets you keep your wallet , how often you look at your phone , what your insecurities are , etc , and figuring out exactly how to capitalize off of that . though she’s opportunistic , she’s got a heart enough to not take advantage of most people in precarious situations — though her judgement has definitely been skewed before :(

serial liar and never gets called out for it bc she never stays in one place long enough kkwjherjwr but lies about simple things like what her plans are or if she’s already had lunch literally just lies for no good reason ? just has this unhealthy concept that if she tells people everything about herself she’s gonna get screwed over somehow so she wants 2 be the one screwing others over first ? trust issues ig

not a bad person if she would stop just being unreliable lmao ! she’s truly very easygoing and has a natural disposition that wants to make those around her feel good , very nurturing in a sense ? if y’all saw hustlers — ramona , looks out for others and makes them feel important but at the end of the day she’s looking out for herself almost exclusively . it’s not that she wants to be selfish , if anything , she wishes she could feel secure enough to let herself stay close to people and put down roots . she’s just had a pretty shitty experience letting people in and doesn’t want to subject herself to the unknowns of investing in other people . despite being pretty detached and emotionally uninvested , she has a warm , calming demeanor that balances out even the most combative of personalities .

idol is 90’s gwen stefani ( she has a early no doubt cover band that performs at a local bar on friday nights just for her to have something to do KWJEHRJWER ) and twiggy , her apartment is full of those little beaded door things that hang in the doorway , will braid her bangs out of the way when working on a project and looks a whole ass mess , is a pretty talented artist and bases her work , whether paintings , sculptures , or sketches , off of her experiences traveling , has a minidoodle she picked up off the road somewhere in georgia named tate who goes everywhere he can with her .

#coston.intro #* ╰ . 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑎 𝑲 . : intro .

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