#simpler edit this time because i have other projects going on

[kanouseis]

when your inner demon is just a little bit e-boy

(song: mr. showtime by wonderlandsxshowtime

[beaversatemygrandma]

The weirdest damn response to my online job has been so far from my grandma. I told her I was doing chat AI training. (I feel like a traitor, I Know. But it pays decently and I GOT A REMOTE JOB.) And she was just "the government is going to be taken over by AI. Be careful in that job." And I was just so damn out of it because I had just been an hour and a half into mindless shit with the AI being rude to me that I just stared at her for a solid ten seconds before even saying anything. And it was only a long, quiet "no..." Idk if she took that as a surprised "No way" or a "no, grandma why"

It was a "No, grandma. why." My older family members need to get off facebook. It's not good for them.

[navybrat817]

In His Hands

Pairing: Woodworker!Bucky Barnes x Female Reader Summary: Bucky's new project is his favorite one yet for a very special reason. Word Count: Over 2k Warnings: Fluff, implied sexual content, pregnancy, slight feels (it's me), minor flashback, canon divergent, Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?). Graphics talent and thanks: Banner by @sgt-seabass. Divider by @firefly-graphics Bucky edit by Nix. Moodboard by yours truly. A/N: My first Connect 4 (C4007 - Square 2) / Into an Alternate Juneiverse for @buckybarnesevents! Set in Into the Woods AU and time jump from Valentine's Day Tradition, but can be read as a standalone.❤️ Beta read by the lovely @whisperlullaby, but any and all mistakes are my own. Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

The buzz of the table saw echoed in the barn as Bucky carefully cut through the maple board, inspecting it to make sure it was even. He put a lot of thought and care into each project and design he created. Everything from cost to maintenance to longevity. His current project was especially close to his heart.

My favorite one yet.

After the fight, coming to grips with his trauma, everything, the city felt different. Bucky longed to have a simpler life. He unexpectedly found a bit of peace in the form of woodwork. Using his hands to build things, and not damage them, kept him busy and happy. But the thing that brought everything full circle was you.

His wife.

"Doll, I still can't believe you said yes."

"Who would say no to you, Jamie?"

He glanced at a photo of the two of you on the wall, still in disbelief that he got to wake up beside you every morning. He found it more and more difficult to get out of bed when he wanted to stay tangled up with you, but the bills wouldn't pay themselves and he had to work to get a paycheck. Lucky for him, his "office" was in the nearby barn. The yard was a decent size, too.

"Great place for a family one day, isn't it?"

"Just about perfect, doll."

Like Steve, he hadn't expected to love living a quiet life outside of the city, but he did. You made a beautiful home together and it wasn't that far of a drive if he wanted to visit. He wondered some days if he was living in a dream because things seemed too good to be true.

If so, he never wanted to wake up.

"Need you to be perfect," he said to himself as he cut another board.

He checked the design again, his eyes narrowed as he thought about how long it would take to finish. You gave him your seal of approval when he showed his idea and reminded him not to put too much pressure on himself. He had plenty of time to make it and other projects came first.

But he hadn't had a task as important as this one.

He removed his safety glasses when the sun shone through the window, giving the place a soothing glow and him a moment to pause and reflect. He made love to you that morning. There was no pain in his left shoulder. Steve planned to stop by this evening. It was just about a perfect day.

How is this my life?

"You know, I think that is going to be your best work yet."

Bucky turned his attention to where you stood in the doorway. He couldn't keep the smile off his face when he noticed you had one of his shirts on. You looked good in his clothes, always had. And seeing you enter a room still took his breath away. He didn't think he could love you more, but he did each day.

If I ever stop breathing from the sight of you, at least your face will be the last thing I see.

His gaze went to your stomach before he closed the distance between the two of you and placed his large hand on it. He hadn't built a crib, but he did his research to be sure he'd make the best and safest one possible. It would be something to hopefully pass on to future generations. Another tradition.

But first and foremost, it would belong to the baby.

Our baby.

"I'm just getting started, but I think you're right," Bucky said, sinking to his knees and kissing your belly. "Only the best for our little jellybean."

Most days he couldn't keep his hands off of you, but it got worse once he found out you were pregnant with his child. You were glowing, more than usual, and he was a moth drawn to the flame. Thankfully you didn't mind and let him indulge.

Your need matched his own.

He'd never forget the joy he felt when you told him you were pregnant. You often brought him snacks or lunch while he worked, but that day you brought him a small gift box, too. It wasn't his birthday or a special occasion, so he had no idea what it could possibly be. Inside were two positive pregnancy tests. He almost dropped them, too stunned to speak. His heart almost burst through his chest when he saw the happy tears in your eyes.

"We're having a baby, Bucky. You're going to be a dad!"

It took a minute to sink in. You were having his baby. He was going to be a dad. You were giving him a family. A life he had only dreamt of.

'I still have to see a doctor, but-"

His mouth came down on yours before you could finish what you had to say, his massive hands framing your face so he could deepen the kiss. He poured his love, passion, soul, everything into it. He took you right there on one of his empty work tables, his left hand on your stomach the entire time.

"I love you, doll. Love you both so much."

He brought you back to the house and made love to you all over again, taking his time to worship you. He didn't get any work done the rest of the day. It was worth it.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, concern filling his eyes when you yawned.

He always checked on you during his breaks to make sure you felt okay, even when you insisted that he didn't need to. Days like this when you visited the barn first, he still had to ask. Any discomfort or pains, he wanted to know and help however he could.

"Just fine," you assured him, tucking a few strands of hair that came loose from his ponytail behind his ear. Just like he couldn't stop touching you, you always found an excuse to run your fingers through his long, brown locks since he grew it back out. "A bit tired, but fine."

"You're not wearing your mama out, are you?" he asked your belly. He pressed his ear against it and felt a slight kick, as if he got an answer. "Good because she needs rest. She has enough to deal with taking care of me."

"We take care of each other," you said.

Bucky wanted to believe that. You had a good set-up in the city before the two of you decided to move and he worried you'd regret going with him. You reminded him that you were still going to work from home and it was a choice you made together.

Partners. Equals. Soulmates.

"Yes, we do," he said fondly, focusing on your stomach again. "But can you believe she had the nerve to ask if we should buy you a crib? Like she forgot I could make you one. Don't hold it against her, jellybean. Hormones and baby brain."

"Bucky!" you scolded before you laughed.

He chuckled as he kissed your stomach a second time. "I'm kidding. Kind of. I did have to drive all over town the other day to find the potato chips she wanted."

Bucky would drive to the ends of the earth to satisfy any craving you had.

"Hey. Our baby is the one asking for them and it was the only flavor that would provide any satisfaction," you defended yourself. "And I balanced it out with fruit, so everyone wins."

"Yes we do and I'm glad. I need you both nice and healthy," he said as he stood up.

"We're both fine. You know that," you smiled.

He hadn't missed a single appointment, wanting to be there every step of the way. Listening to his baby's heartbeat was like hearing his favorite song again for the first time. He actually waved at the screen when you had your sonogram. And he swore the baby waved back.

Bucky also bought a few books on babies and parenthood. While he knew some life lessons couldn't be learned from a book, he wanted to be prepared. You supported him in that and baby proofing the house in advance.

Your only request was that you didn't want to know what you were having, which he agreed to.

It would be a beautiful surprise for both of you.

"Need you both safe, too," he added.

"We are safe," you said, glancing around. "Our home is safe. You don't need to worry."

Bucky tried not to. Your home was secure and he kept a clean and safe shop in the barn, but he didn't want to take a risk by having you too close to any of the tools or get irritated by the dust. The only table he let you touch was the empty one where he made love to you. Maybe that was why it was still empty.

"I guess you're right," he said, brushing his lips against your forehead. "You know if we have a girl, I'm never letting her out of my sight."

"Oh, I know," you giggled, putting your hand on his wide chest. Feeling the wedding band through his shirt was one of his favorite things. "And if we have a boy, you'll teach him to be a gentleman. Though I imagine he'll probably be just like you."

"Hey, I am a gentleman, ma'am," he smiled.

"Mmm. You keep telling yourself that," you teased.

Bucky hoped they took after you. Kind, but fierce. Loving and fair. Whether he had a daddy's girl or a mini version of himself, he just wanted to have a special place in their heart.

"And you really don't mind that I'm making the crib, do you?"

"Of course, I don't," you said, frowning. He immediately kissed your lips to make it disappear. "Why?"

"Just making sure," he said, rubbing your belly. The source of comfort from such a small gesture amazed him. "I think I just feel better knowing our baby is truly in my hands."

It was silly, but Bucky thought if he made the crib that it would be like he was holding your child as he or she slept. That no matter what, they would be safe and cared for. Surrounded by familiarity and warmth.

Your baby deserved that and more.

"I think that's a beautiful thing," you assured him, placing a hand over his. "You work so hard for us and I know our baby will one day appreciate that you built them something with your heart and hands."

His hands, like the rest of him, were massive and strong. A man his size was meant to destroy, which he did in battle and worse. He also proved that he was meant to create. His size never intimidated you. In fact, you once said that one of many things that made him special was how deceptively gentle he could be.

That the only ruin he would bring you with his touch would make you whole again.

In my hands, you'll always be loved.

"I'll always work hard for my family," he promised.

He hadn't told you yet, but he planned to build a rocking chair for the nursery, too. He wanted it to be a surprise. He could already picture the two of you sitting in it with a soft blanket to keep you warm.

The image made his heart swell.

"And if I have my way, we'll have one more. Jellybean could use a companion."

"Now you sound just like Steve. Both of you wanting to keep your best girls knocked up," you smiled, sliding your hands up his muscular arms to his shoulders. "You think you'll convince me?"

"I don't think. I know," he smirked, kissing you before you could argue.

As excited as Bucky was for the next part in your journey together, he was also afraid. He knew he'd be a good father, but not a perfect one. He'd make mistakes and stumble along the way. He wouldn't always have the answer. What he did know was that he was going to give his child unconditional love and care.

Starting with the crib built with his heart and hands.

Bucky is going to be an amazing dad, right? And how about Steve? Love and thanks for reading! 💙

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[gunsatthaphan]

the asks are piling up already lol so here are some initial thoughts on the trailers from today (in order of release, BL/GLs are marked with a 🏳️‍🌈, favorites with a 🌟):

Ossan's Love Thailand 🏳️‍🌈🌟: HELP this looks so chaotic lmao. I forgot about the show for a second and thought we were in for another EarthMix office romance kjdhgd. But yeah I have a very soft spot for Earth in chaotic slapstick roles and Mix fits in there just perfect as well. I have not seen the original and was concerned as a lot of people said it's not very good but I had a very good time with this trailer and I'm excited!!! .

Leap Day 🌟: I've been curious about this project ever since that casting call for younger versions of Dew and Pond lol and the trailer did not disappoint! The story seems interesting and I know Gun will eat in this role lol. It's going on my watchlist. .

The Heart Killers 🏳️‍🌈: **edit: not gonna lie, initially I was very disappointed by this. I was excited for the Jojo show but this seemed very random to me. I couldn't follow the story and the trailer just seemed like FK and JD were given a few guns and thrown into a dark setting which just seems like a clash of NLMG and OF. If JD weren't there, I would think this is a SandRay spinoff lol. I now know about the Shakespeare adaption which does change the way I view it a little bit but I still have concerns because I still have no idea what's going on lmao. I was hoping for something simpler and calmer for FK's new project so I really hope the show will be better than the trailer. .

Friendshit Forever: Legit thought this was a GL for the first 30 seconds of the trailer lmao but turns out it's another Beauty Newbie type of toxic friendship lol. I love the vibe though!!! the cast is amazing, Pat never fails to deliver and my girl Mook is back as well!! 🥺 I'm very much into the energy and the chemistries are on point as well. Sign me up!! .

Perfect10 Liners 🏳️‍🌈: If I took my glasses off I would think this is We Are season 2 lmao like do we really need another gay ensemble. And there's SO many others as well??? There were like 30 people on that stage lmao. New really said who doesn't have a job this year? done. I don't know what else to say, it looks very generic. I didn't expect PerthChimon to be part of an ensemble for their second bl and I sure did not expect ForceBook to get their 5th gig lmao. Good for them though. I'm still gonna take a look. .

Us 🏳️‍🌈🌟: YES I LOVE THIS 😩😭 I was hoping we would get another GL and I loooove the energy of this. It's giving all the COA vibes and I'm SO glad it's not another highschool romcom. 23.5 is nice but I'm so happy this is taking it one step further. I'm here for it. Emi was born for sapphic roles you can't change my mind lmao and her chemistry with Bonnie is on point. Simple story, big emotions and a strong cast - This is right up my alley. It's going on my list for sure. .

Hide & Sis: The title still cracks me up lmao but YES this is everything lol. The PLL/PSIHY vibes are STRONG and I love it. Snap25 never fails to deliver us badass girl gangs and I'm here for it. The toxic family trope is generic for these types of shows but if it's done right it works. And I think this will. Sign me up! .

Heart That Skips a Beat 🏳️‍🌈🌟: god don't even touch me this looks so lovely 🥹 I'm always down for a good idol x mundane romance lol and EstWilliam are a good pair for sure. It was kind of obvious that they would get something together but I'm still very excited. I didn't expect the whole LYKN group to be in it but I feel like this plot fits them very well. Plus the trailer is absolutely beautiful. Thumbs up!! .

Break Up Service: This looks meh to me, I'm surprised to see Jorin lol I didn't know she was acting. The story seems fun but the trailer did not catch my attention. It's a maybe for now. .

Revamp 🏳️‍🌈: Honestly I did not expect them to give us another trailer for this lol I was set on a different project for BounPrem. But yes this looks very expensive lmao and I'm hyped we're getting another vampire show this year. I also approve of the other cast members, especially Kay since I haven't seen him in forever lol and also Santa!! I will be tuning in! .

Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist 🏳️‍🌈🌟: *starts vibrating violently* YES I FEEL NORMAL ABOUT THIS kjshdf call me crazy but this is my highlight of this lineup lmao. I got deeply attached to MarkOhm over the last few months and this is all I could ever ask for lmao. Ohm is my little squish and my boy Mark finally got his main role 😩 I'm so proud. The plot is not the most sophisticated lol but I am SEATED. GIMME. .

Dark Dice: This did not intrigue me whatsoever. Pass. .

The Ex-Morning 🏳️‍🌈: Anyone who spent any time on the internet in the last few months knew this was bound to happen lmao. I feel torn about it, K. is not off the hook but KS were my very first bl on-screen couple and I'm feeling very nostalgic about this comeback lol. I'm fond of the trend to bring back OG couples and I'm not gonna lie, yes, it looks good. The story is interesting and the fact that they play exes,,,, art imitates life lol. I think this genre suits them and hey, maybe this will become the second Cherry Magic. Let's see how it goes. .

Scarlet Heart Thailand: The trailer gave us next to no information, I'm guessing that if you saw the original you might have a better idea of what's going on but other than pretty costumes, this didn't give me much ground to make a judgement on lol. Let's see.

conclusion: All in all this lineup seems a lot more colorful than part 1 which is very exciting!! It had the typical light-to-dark structure that the first part (and all the previous ones) had as well but it's still more diverse than I was expecting. There are some disappointments and concerns but compared to part 1, this has a lot more promising projects that I will be tuning in for - Even the lakorns. I spent a lot of time on Twitter leading up to the event, so almost everything I put on my bingo card became reality lol. I noticed some changes in the production of the trailers where it seems that they are more carefully made and edited and I found myself connecting emotionally with them a lot more than in part 1. Overall I'm very happy with this lineup and I will be putting all of these shows on my watchlist with the exception of 1 or 2, which is something I couldn't say about part 1. Thumbs up!! 🧡

Let me know your thoughts!

[it-happened-one-fic]

Only Love - Alhaitham

Author Notes: This fic has been sitting in google docs for quite some time now, but what with Christmas coming up fast, I'm running into trouble finding time to write and/or edit anything so I'm going through my backlog. This fic was written while I listened to "Only Love Can Hurt Like This" by Paloma Faith. As per usual, reader is gender-neutral. I hope you enjoy.

Type: Gender-neutral/ pining/ romantic

Word Count 595

Alhaitham let out a sigh as he lay back on his bed. The door was safely shut in the hopes of dulling the racket Kaveh was currently causing as he banged away at his latest project. 

Alhaitham was alone yet again, though, in the solace of his room. Usually one of his favorite places to be.

Alone, unbothered, and actually able to concentrate on whatever he pleased without fear of being interrupted. And yet, Alhaitham could not focus.

Instead, his brain kept clinging to you. Bringing up images of your face during previous experiences and posing random, inconsequential questions about you and your goings-on. 

Such was the source of his current mood. Not depressed or solemn, but also not one of comfort or pleasure. If he had to name the feeling, he would say confusion came closest, or perhaps frustration.

Alhaitham had a feeling that he knew why you lingered in his mind for such a length of time after any meeting the two of you shared. And it never failed.

You would interact with him for only a short time, smiling all the while like he was a dear companion as the two of you chatted before you both, inevitably, parted ways. 

You strolling away to continue your day while he…. He was trapped with thoughts of you that almost seemed to be a source of his current frustrations.

Alhaitham did not dislike you. In fact, it was far from it. He’d found that he quite enjoyed your presence.

 When you left, he longed for your return. And when he saw you, there was a certain pleasure that seemed to be unmatched by other sensations.

Logically, you shouldn’t have such an effect on him, and, logically, he knew he did not require your presence to exist in a perfectly healthy state. But Alhaitham also recognized that this was a perfectly human reaction to have, just like he knew exactly what feeling it was that consumed him when it came to you.

If Kaveh could peer into Alhaitham’s head at this moment, the architect would be squealing with delight. Either at the suffering the Akademiya’s Scribe was currently going through or at the fact that it all seemed like something out of a cheesy romance movie.

Alhaitham huffed out a bitter laugh. To think that he’d decided early on he would never become consumed by such folly that turned rational men into fools. And yet here he was, stretched across his bed and staring up at the ceiling with only one thing on his hopelessly addicted mind. You.

You and your bright smiles. You and your clever wit. You and your consistently charming ways. You and the way you seemed like something built specifically to drag the Akademiya’s great and much disliked scribe, who till now had seemed unshakeable, to his knees.

Yes, Alhaitham knew exactly what this feeling was that you inspired within him. Because only love could hurt, consume, and distract like this.

But Alhaitham had also learned his lesson well already. He was, after all, a fast learner.

Bittersweet. That was the flavor that this love had taught him, and he was ready to move on to simpler days. And for that, there was only one solution.

So Alhaitham sat up, having made up his mind about what he knew must be done. 

If you were going to plague him with thoughts of you, then he would do the same to you. After all, there was only one cure for the fascinating affliction that was you. So he would achieve that cure.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 14/03/2024

My Dr. Eggman Can't Be This Evil!

Season 1 Featured on: 7 Somari Dad Also on: Your Onii​-​Chan's Favorite Rips!

Ripped by Smoky

Look: It's a point I've made before and a point I won't needlessly harp on about, so let's get it out of the way: Season 1 of SiIvaGunner was, as most firsts tend to be, far simpler than what we'd get just a year or two later and beyond. But it was before SiIvaGunner came to be known for its lovingly crafted and detailed mashups like Hella Pummel, before the ludicrously in-depth projects like my rip :), before we'd start getting delicately authentic melodyswaps like Outertale of much of any original covers or compositions like Trial of the Heart. Back when the very idea of disguising video game music edits as normal, unedited music rips, was still something really novel. The novelty of the channel paired, with a lack of basically any set-in-stone recurring jokes other than Grand Dad, resulted in some true classics like Pikmin Park, Live and Ooooooooooooooh, Dr. Soulja - and, of course, My Dr. Eggman Can't Be This Evil!.

Now, let's start with a bit of a disclaimer - there's obviously a whole bunch of baggage to unpack with the humor surrounding the Your Onii​-​Chan's Favorite Rips! album in general. 2016 was the absolute plateau of edgy YouTube humor being in the mainstream, right before LeafyIsHere, iDubbbz, Keemstar, Filthy Frank and all the others sort of petered out from YouTube's stricter moderation. It was, in no uncertain terms, the time where making fun of how weird anime could be was at its most trendy. The joke in My Dr. Eggman Can't Be This Evil!, and the joke of almost all the rips featured in Your Onii​-​Chan's Favorite Rips!, is to reference the anime franchise Oreimo, one that's effectively built entirely around the theme of being attracted to your younger sister. Despite its incestuous contents, the series sports a poppy, happy-go-lucky, bubbly aesthetic - hence, prime material to make jokes about how bizarre it is for Japan to effectively glorify such taboo relationships. Now, this is far from the only risque topic that early SiIvaGunner chose to tackle, and even back then there were topics such as described in Stickerbrush State of Mind that were still seen as going "too far" - but many of those have faded away as distant memories overtime, rips which failed to gain much of any traction, only really remembered as an edgier footnote in the channel's legacy.

So then...what makes My Dr. Eggman Can't Be This Evil! any different, worth highlighting here today?

Put simply, I don't believe its million-plus views come purely from Oreimo fans, or from people deep in the trenches who find references to weird anime to be inherently funny. I believe the views are there because of a far simpler, far more effective joke in play: the contrast between a song as bubbly as Oreimo's opening theme irony, and the vocals of E.G.G.M.A.N. and the character its attached to, is simply very funny. The original E.G.G.M.A.N. is sort of an industrial rock "anthem", where the titular doctor celebrates and glorifies his own destructive goals in a theatrical, self-aggrandizing, yet still aggressive way - an aggression that feels as if it disappears entirely without the track's original instrumentation. An aggression that, with the instrumentation replaced with the sugary sweetness of irony, turns into something purely theatrical, like a performance from a School Idol, a performance from the heart - which, given who Dr. Eggman is as a character, is obviously a very funny mental image. Pikmin Park was listed as one of the classic Season 1 rips above for good reason - it, too, plays on this same sort of contrast in songs used for a mental image that's simply too good not to get a chuckle out of.

Thing is, while Stickerbrush State of Mind was fondly remembered for just how much of a genuine banger it was, while Pikmin Park is considered a classic due purely to how well its joke works, I believe My Dr. Eggman Can't Be This Evil! succeeds above both of them due to mastering both sides of the coin. It's already very funny as a concept due to the contrast in songs used, yet a similar BPM and excellent mashup work by Smoky makes the rip an incredibly fun rip to just listen to as a good piece of music, vocals and instrumentation working in harmony far better than they probably should. It is, in that sense, a shining example of SiIvaGunner's biggest strength, the ability to make its viewers smile both from its jokes and from the surprise of hearing good music. It's the perfect harmonization of two jokes, preserving the strengths of E.G.G.M.A.N's vocals whilst using every piece of irony possible to highlight this new cutesy feel - a deceptively simple joke executed perfectly, transcending the dicey origins of its conception and becoming far funnier in a completely different way.

[jewwyfeesh]

The Detective's Banquet 2

Writer: Mitsuki

Character(s): Shino Hajime, Mashiro Tomoya, Hidaka Hokuto, Sakuma Ritsu, Isara Mao, Sakuma Rei, Ayase Mayoi, Kazehaya Tatsumi, HiMERU, Shiina Niki

Translated by: jewwyfeesh

HiMERU: Please be more serious about this. We are now at the scene of a murder — this is no laughing matter.

Season: Autumn Location: Seishou Hall Common Room

Hajime: Everyone’s acting is so good~ You can’t even tell that it was all improvisation!

Tomoya: Mhm. When I received the material before the performance, I was really shocked to find that there was only a brief character description written on it.

Hajime: Ehehe. To be honest, I’m not really suited for this kind of acting. When Ritsu Onii-chan found out that ‘Sakuma-san’ was poisoned, I nearly forgot that it was all an act, and even called him by his real name. Fortunately, I corrected myself in time.

Mao: Yeah. Because I’ve known Ritsu for such a long time, I immediately knew it was all an act when I saw him put on such an anguished expression. In fact, I actually felt like laughing…

Hokuto: Back then, I was in a flurry trying to control all of the different functions of the ‘Bionic Detective’s’ character panel… but it’s fortunate we’re in SSVRS, for it’s way simpler there than in reality.

HiMERU: To act in the SSVRS… It’s a rather novel experience for HiMERU.

Tatsumi: Be it acting or logical reasoning – HiMERU-san excelled in both, and put forth the image of a daring and resolute detective.

Tomoya: Though… while we were in the SSVRS… thinking about how I was constantly watched by the staff stressed me out a lot.

Rei: Haha, that’s why I chose that particular character. This is one of the benefits of playing a minor character – when you’re done with your part of the scene, you can go rest ♪

Tomoya: Mm, after all RhyLink is one of the main organisers of this project. It’s no wonder that the important minor characters of the owner of the island, as well as the butler, are represented by idols from our agency.

Even though Nii~chan and Mitsuru are busy with other work, and were subsequently unable to participate in this project… I do feel relieved to be able to perform alongside Hajime.

Rei: That’s good; in order to prepare for this project, I was so busy that I didn’t manage to sleep for a couple of days~

Then again, Tomoya-kun, you need not excessively worry. It’s impossible for people to be without flaw; even if you make mistakes, it’s completely okay. The final product will definitely be edited.

Ritsu: Anija’s the only person without the right to say that. I seriously can’t think of a reason why someone would start sleep-talking while we’re shooting… If it isn’t cut out entirely, it’ll probably make its way to the bloopers.

Location: Dead End Cafe

Niki: I already told you, I wouldn’t do something like poisoning food! Food able to sustain people’s lives is sacred, and cannot be messed with!

HiMERU: Strictly speaking, we’ve only eliminated the possibility that these items have been poisoned — you’re still a suspect.

Niki: Excuse me?! In times like these, shouldn’t you be on my side, HiMERU-kun~?!

HiMERU: Please be more serious about this. We are now at the scene of a murder — this is no laughing matter.

Rei: Huu… Ritsu…

HiMERU: ……

Ritsu: ……

Hajime: Erm… Even though we’re in the SSVRS right now, should we… move the sleeping person to a bed…?

Tomoya: I don’t even know where to start complaining anymore…!

Tatsumi: Haha, seems like he tired himself out from all that work. Then again, this isn’t the real world, so it’s probably better if we send him back to rest.

Mao: I think there’s a coffin lying around somewhere… If I remember correctly, it was prepared for Sakuma-senpai’s use during breaktime. We could put him in there and get the staff to arrange for him to exit the game. That way, furture performances won’t be affected.

Hajime: Ah, let me help too! It actually takes a lot of strength to move an unconscious person~

Ritsu: I’m really sorry… My stupid Anija caused trouble for everyone again…

Rei: (Why does it feel like I’m feeling an indescribable pressure whilst in my dreamscape… It’s probably an illusion…)

Location: Luxury Hotel Room

[When everyone separated to look for clues, Tomoya is in the Resort’s Hotel Room]

Tomoya: Hokuto-senpai, are you alright? It takes a lot of effort to get used to the various functions of the ‘Bionic Detective’, and yet Hibiki-senpai placed even more tasks on the plate…

Hokuto: That person really posed some difficult questions for us all. You too, are you adapting well to performing within the SSVRS?

Tomoya: I’m doing okay… If you worry about me while working so hard, I’ll definitely feel inferior to you.

As members of ‘Dramatica’, we’ve already gone through training. As such, we’re much more accustomed to ad lib performances.

Hibiki-senpai must’ve also thought about this. That’s why he gave us this particular task — when the other inexperienced people are unable to immerse themselves in the scene, we need to use our acting skills to bring everyone in.

Hokuto: That’s right. It’s just that as an emotionless android, it’s simply too difficult to get everyone to inhabit their character. I still need to think about how I will accomplish this task.

Regardless, I will put in more effort on the reasoning side of things. If I can rationally lead everyone to analyze the case and uncover the truth, I think you can definitely say that I’ve demonstrated my acting prowess as the ‘Bionic Detective’.

Tomoya: Mhm, I’ll be sure to put in even more effort~ Hokuto-senpai, allow me to fill in the gaps of your short-falls!

Location: Dead End Cafe

[A while later, when evidence collection has concluded]

Tomoya: (Eh?! HiMERU-senpai is really embodying his title of ‘Armchair Detective’, sitting over there drinking coffee…)

(Everyone’s a lot more focussed than I had expected… I wonder what kind of clues have they found in this period of time?)

Mao: In short, I found nothing. Everyone’s actions seemed normal. I think the difficulty of this logical reasoning thing is really high…

Hokuto: No. The clues have been in front of us this whole time — that’s to say, “the number of invitations do not match the number of people present”.

Sakuma-san mentioned before that “seven detectives” were invited to attend this banquet, right?

Hajime: ‘Vampire Detective’, ‘Armchair Detective’, ‘Clergyman Detective’, ‘Idol Detective’, ‘Part-Time Detective’, ‘High School Student Detective’ and ‘Bionic Detective’… when you add all of them together, does that not make seven?

HiMERU: No. The ‘Vampire Detective’ is Sakuma-san’s younger brother. He shouldn’t need an invitation.

Ritsu: You are correct~ I don’t have an invitation~

Tomoya: If they didn’t appear when the island owner was harmed… perhaps something unfortunate happened to them—

That might be true… Maybe that’s the culprit we’re looking for.

Mayoi: UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I’m sorry I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hide away on purpOSE……!!!

To be honest, I’ve always been in the ceiling observing everyone, but I’ve been unable to find a good time to come out… Uuuu you all probably hate the feeling of being secretly watched by a person like me, right? Aaa I’m really sorry…

Tomoya: (A-Ayase-senpai?!)

(Although it’s not my first time seeing this, I still do get jumpscared when people suddenly appear from near the ceiling… I nearly called him by my usual form of address, just like Hajime.)

Mayoi: I am the ‘Phantom Detective’, Ayase Mayoi. When everyone was socializing earlier on, I, too, introduced myself softly from the ceiling… Though I doubt anyone heard it…

Sakuma-san is a very considerate gentleman; he even specifically told me it won’t be a problem if I’d like to hide away… I’d never thought something like this could befall him.

I wish to find Sakuma-san’s real murderer for him, so please allow me to join…!

← Chapter 1 | Chapter 3 →

[jeannereames]

where would i be able to read your monograph? especially about the ‘you are nothing without me’ incident

The Protracted Reality of Writing Academic Shit 😂

First, and assuming the asker means my Hephaistion-Krateros book, the quick answer is: It’s still in process, not even close to being in print. In the meantime, a number of my articles are available on academia-edu.

Now, to explain why the book is “still in process,” let me explain the monograph writing progression. IME, the average person uninvolved in academia is often surprised by the sheer complexity and time involved. (After all, why would you know if you don't need to?)

Below, I talk only about academic monographs, although I’ve also edited academic collections, and of course, have published a number of articles. I started to tackle fiction publishing too, but that quickly devolved into a long-ass post (even for me), so I’m sticking only to the topic the asker requested. It's long enough! Maybe I’ll do fiction later, assuming anybody wants to read that. (If so, put it in an ask.)

To write an academic book in the humanities typically takes years. There are several stages just to produce the initial manuscript, never mind getting it into print. I’ll outline the general process below, using my current project to illustrate the steps. One thing I’ve found consistently among both students and non-academics is utter surprise at just how extensive research/writing is. New grad students often think writing a thesis/dissertation is akin to writing a really long term paper. Oh, no. You will write it, submit it, get critique and feedback, go research some more and revise it, get critique and feedback, go and research yet more and revise it again … rinse and repeat. How long? Until it’s cooked. There’s not a set timeframe. It will always take longer than you expect. Always. I’ve been teaching grad students almost 25 years. I have yet to have any require less time than they first assumed.

Writing a monograph (including the thesis/dissertation, which is a type of monograph) is one of the toughest forms of academic writing. Papers/articles are much easier, and not just because they’re shorter, although that’s some of it. They also generally have a simpler point. They’re proving ONE thing, like a string.

A monograph presents a coherent, complex argument like a rope woven from several strings (the chapters). It’s not an edited collection by multiple authors in a single volume (or two), or even a collection of various essays by a single author. Collections may have a general topic, like, say, Macedonian Legacies (the collection we did for Gene Borza), or the one I’m editing now, Macedon and It’s Influences. Just trying to figure out a decent order for the varied papers can prove a challenge in these. If some of the papers actually do bear on each other … bonus! But the papers aren’t necessarily expected to come together at the end in any cogent way. A monograph’s concluding chapter should, however, bring together the chapters into a solid conclusion, like the arch’s capstone, holding it all together.

Yet the researcher may not know the answer to that until done with much of the research. After reading everything, and considering it, she may wind up in a different place from where she started. Like any good, responsible research, the researcher must be prepared to follow the data and facts, not cram them into a preconceived notion. I’ve changed some of my ideas and goals for my current monograph, as I no longer think I can do the project I originally intended because the nature of the sources get in the way too much. But I have a more interesting project as a result.

The first phase is research: pretty much for any academic field, period. How this progresses, and how quickly, varies with the individual, field, and topic. Furthermore, some of us are planners (that’s me), others are pantsers (e.g., they dive in and figure it out as they go: by the seat of the pants). But we all start with a question or observation, then go out to track down information about it. In history, sometimes we just read the primary sources/archival material and see what we find. Something strikes us, so we go on to read more, which produces either refined questions or entirely new ones.

Right now, I’m finishing up the initial stages of the research. Then I’ll start work on the chapters, which, yes, I’ve outlined as a result of my initial research. But those chapters may (and probably will) morph as I write them. It’s during the writing phase that the other, “attendant” research comes into play: chasing down all the references in other secondary sources for smaller points. Rabbit-hole time.

My initial research tends to be more measured. I read a while, stop to think—sometimes do stuff like write replies to asks on Tumblr while my brain churns. 😉 Then I go back and read some more. But the writing phase is where I can lose all track of time while running down just-one-more-citation-then-I’ll-stop. The last time I looked at a clock it was 3pm and now it’s 9pm, I’m weak with hunger, I really have to pee because I’m drinking too much tea, and the cats are mad because I’ve not fed them in hours. 😆 It’s two really different types of research for me.

Anyway, for the initial (pre-writing) stage, there are really two substages. The first is what I think of as archival work: e.g., getting down and dirty with the original (primary) sources, including digging into the Greek and Latin to see what it actually says, and if there’s something noteworthy in the phrasing. At this point, I may not really know what I’m looking for, except in the broadest sense. For my current project, I collected every single mention of Hephaistion and Krateros in the original sources. For all five ATG bios, I read them front to back, tagging all sorts of things, plus large chunks of important other books (e.g., the first part of book 18 of Diodoros, the extant fragments of Arrian’s After Alexander, plus a couple bios, esp. Plutarch’s Eumenes, etc.) in order to get a FLOW, not just collect things piecemeal. There are some passages that may not name Hephaistion or Krateros specifically, but they would include them. Piecemeal will always be incomplete, like trying to see a clear image in a broken mirror (a mistake I made with my dissertation, in fact, but I was young).

Then I assembled all that collected data on huge sheets, arranged by author for each man, so I can cross-reference and compare. I also did a deep-dive across 4 days, grabbing everything in Brill’s New Jacoby (BNJ), so I can also tag the original (lost) author cited in our surviving sources, where we know who it is. Not actually that many, but it’s useful and can prove significant. I want to see where the same information, or anecdote, crosses sources, and how it changes.

All of that (except adding the BNJ entry #s to my big sheets) is now done. The next step is figuring out what it all means. For that—and where I am right now—involves historiographic reading/rereading of secondary sources on the ancient authors. What is Curtius’s methodology? Arrian’s? Plutarch’s? What are the themes of each? What is the story they’re telling? They’re not just cut-and-pasters from the original (now lost) histories; they have agendas. What are they? How do Hephaistion and Krateros fit into those agendas? How do the sources use them? This is, to me, the really interesting piece.

It's also why this book will not be just a cleaned-up version of my dissertation, but a completely new look at Hephaistion, and now Krateros too. I haven’t even consulted my old dissertation chapters. I started over from scratch. Sure, I remember my main conclusions, and as I write, I’m sure I’ll go back to check things, but the same as I’d check anybody else’s.

I’d hoped to start writing by May, but I’m not quite there yet, in part because, between the Netflix series plus helping to write/edit a grant that I didn’t expect to have to do, I lost virtually all of February. Now, about half of April has been eaten by home repair/yard stuff plus small family crises. That’s just the nature of a sabbatical, especially if you don’t have a spousal unit or SO to take care of everything for you while you just write. 😒

Now I hope to start writing by mid/late May. But as this 9th International ATG Symposium is looming in early September, plus I go back to teaching in the fall, I’ll have to knock off by the end of July, if not sooner. Ergo, not a long writing time. I can do some more during winter break, but I probably won’t have a draft done until next summer. If I’m lucky. It is just not possible, at least for me, to write while teaching! As I do plan to present at least one (startling!) piece of my research as the ATG conference, I have a concrete deadline for a subchapter bit. Ha.

So, what happens after a draft is done? Well, if one is smart, one finds a reader or three. One just to read it for sense, but (if possible) another specialist to start poking holes in the arguments, noting secondary sources one forgot, and to offer general pushback in order to refine it all. This assumes your friends/colleagues actually have time to look at it, as they, also, are teaching and writing their own stuff. (I’ll go after my retired colleagues.) At the same time, one may also begin seeking an academic publisher.

It’s important to match the project to what the publisher is already publishing. It can also help, but isn’t necessary, to have an in: somebody known to/trusted by the editor of one’s broad field (ancient history, in my case) who can vouch for the scholarship. Submitting means writing up a summary of the work, perhaps including letters from colleagues/readers, etc., etc. I’m not even close to this stage yet, so I’m primarily going by the experiences of friends. At this point, it starts to dovetail a bit with fiction publishing. You’re on the hunt and do some of the same homework.

Once a publishing house requests the manuscript, they’ll farm it out to 2-3 readers to evaluate. This is the “refereed” part, as the readers will be specialists in the field. The publisher, who can’t be a specialist in everything, may ask for a list of names for these potential readers.

As with academic papers/book chapters, the book will come back from these readers with a vote on publishability, plus suggestions for improvement. The basic choices range from, “Go back to the drawing board; this has major issues and here they are” (e.g., not ready yet for publication). To, “It’s got good bones but here are improvements on chpts X and X, oh, and go read ___ works you forgot,” (e.g., revise and resubmit). To, “this is pretty solid as-is but could use a few more things” (e.g., revise but ready for a contract). You will NEVER get a “Publish it right now.” 🤣 It’s hard to say how much time this revising phase will take, as it depends entirely on the level of revisions requested. This is why it’s often wise to find a reader or three in advance, to make this phase less lengthy. Yes, books do sometimes get turned down entirely, with no “revise-and-resubmit,” but more often it’s one of the three above. And yes, sometimes an author may be unwilling to make the requested changes, so finds a different publisher, with different readers, hoping for a more positive outcome. Sometimes, with the revising stage, there’s a non-binding contract involved, but this seems to be usefully mostly for younger scholars who need some sort of proof for their RPT (Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure) committees.

Once a publisher gets a manuscript they believe is worthy, the author receives a (real) contract and is provided with in-house editors to fix grammar, sense, etc.: copy- and line-editing. What would (in fiction) be called “developmental editing” is what the refereed part entailed. This is the simple part. Getting TO the contract stage is the tough part.

The publishing house will then schedule the book with a publication date and discuss things like page-proofs, cover art, permissions, formatting, etc., including indexing, which most publishers either don’t do, or charge a high fee for. It’s almost always cheaper to hire an indexer separately. I’ve already got mine lined up for the Hephaistion-Krateros book. But that can’t be done until it’s typeset and through page-proofs as one needs, yeah, the page numbers. Ha. From contract to the book hitting shelves can take a full year, or more.

So, with the exception of those folks who are just writing machines, the average monograph is c. 5+ years, at least in the humanities. This assumes the luck to get a sabbatical, not trying to do it all crammed into summers or breaks.

So yes, I’m still a couple years from this book seeing print. And that assumes there’s not a lengthy revise-and-resubmit process because my readers don’t like my conclusions.

[dawns-beauty]

Re: current mod plans:

I still don't feel too excited to return to modding. There are plenty of things I could fix, but I just don't feel like it any more.

If it ever changes, I plan on:

Releasing the full version of Lunar Lattice Tweaks. I still have a bit of work to do on it, but @/littlemissf has been kind enough to go through and fix a bunch of stuff!

Adding CBBE/Himbo support for the Dark Lunar Armor in Khajiit Has Wears

Potentially rebooting Project ja-Kha'jay with a new system that allows for better compatibility with mods that edit the Khajiit race. It would also allow for simpler editing. Also, nicer assets. See after cut for details

I don't know about my ideas for humanoid overhauls (like Elderly Elves.) I just don't want to deal with the crap I dealt with for my orc overhaul.

TL;DR: Redoing PJKJ will give mod users who want to put in a little work an easier time editing things.

-

Will call the reboot Children of the Moons, because to heck with it. Let it match my other NPCs mods.

It will not be a direct update to PJKJ, I don't want to break a gazillion patches/LOs etc.

Will require (at least) two additional mods:

Mu's Skeleton Editor and Dynamic Armor Variants

Why Mu's Skeleton Editor (MSE):

It will allow me to use separate skeletons for a single race. This way, I can keep all Khajiit types the same, default Khajiit race. This will be done by assigning keywords to each NPC that determine a few things, including what skeleton they use.

The real beauty of MSE is that users can create their own edited skeletons in RaceMenu and export them and then replace the undesired skeleton file with their own (OR another modded skeleton, like Bestial Beast Races, etc.)

Optionally, they can edit the .ini file and remove the undesired skeleton from distribution completely.

Why Dynamic Armor Variants (DAV):

DAV will let me distribute digitigrade feet to toe-walking Khajiit and simply replace their shoes with their bare feet (since boots look pretty bad with digitigrade skeletons). This is also easy enough to edit/remove via DAV's .ini.

It will also allow me to force Ohmes/Ohmes-Raht to use humanoid armors without changing their race (theoretically. I need to test this.)

Caveat: modded armors may need to be added. I believe the use-case for this is pretty rare: most variations from humanoid to beast race are in helmet shapes, not the torso part. Most Ohmes/-raht Khajiit NPCs I've edited don't use helmets.

I do plan on adding compatibility for Lunar Guard Armor and Moon Monk (both have tail edits.)

Better Assets

I will replace the Ohmes/-raht with High Poly Heads, and play around with sliders again, as well new eyes, that are able to have proper glowing irises while having proper reflections.

Nearly all of the bestial heads (outside of the serval-like Tojay and 'regular' Khajiit, like Kharjo) will be replaced with versions based on the high poly Khajiit Overhaul heads. I just think the older assets look awkward and don't emote super great (anger looks particularly silly on most of them.)

Additionally, I want to play around with KCCE, and I've also come up with a few complete redesigns. ideas. Heights will be assigned directly in the NPC records (easily tweaked via SSE Edit)

[moccabunie]

things I've learned after a year writing fanfiction

This is a post from a non-writer who, apparently, now writes (❓) And this is a little crazy to me, considering that a year ago writing less than 1k decent words took a lot of effort. But this year I have completed a +100k project. (It's still difficult, though.)

I found out that the more I wrote, the easier it was to get into the story. So I think that being captivated by my own story has made a lot. I am an eager fanfiction reader, but I had yet to really try to write something on my own.

That was until I got hyper-fixated on three characters and wrote a small story about them sharing a room, and it was one of the funniest and most rewarding things I've done. So I was like "oh, maybe I can try to imagine stories I would like to read?"

(1) story one - a bird told me to wait

The first thing I considered was to make it completely self-indulging. The second was to make it as evocative as possible, not only telling what was happening. I like sensations and emotions, so I really wanted to write things I would like to feel as a reader. I wrote this story, and after that, I added a second longer part because I was enjoying it a lot. I used to doodle about the characters and make small annotations about their dynamics, but there wasn't really a lot of planning here.

(2) story two - beneath the moonlight

My second attempt was a three-chapter story (not so distant from the previous one that can be read as three parts too). But for this one, I wanted to challenge myself because I wanted to explore new themes and tropes, so I made a brief list of the things that should appear here. (but honestly, I just wanted to write a soft mating bite scene lmao, because I was super into a/b/o at that time.) I used keep notes app this time.

I barely showed explicit themes here but I got to enjoy the story anyway. This one wasn't difficult to write because I felt familiar with the characters. It's a light story but these 20k words gave me the courage to take a step further. I said to myself

"stop being a coward. you have enjoyed this. keep writing."

(3) story three - lucid dreams

This one was planned for four or five chapters, quite in the same line as beneath the moonlight. But, and the keyword is planned, it became a full 13 chapters as I developed the story and the characters. If I wanted it to be coherent then I needed to explain the things, build the context, and introduce the world. But it was also an experimental work. I took my notebook and listed the new things I wanted to try, such as - write in past tense - write first and edit later

my process was something like this • imagine random scenarios with pretty imagery as I listened to music • doodling the characters doing things so I didn't forget • open the notes app to write random sentences and dialogues in the middle of the night, I'll find a place for them later • dream about the story and daydream about the story

as for the physical notebook, I have scribbled A LOT there during the writing process.

(a little bit chaotic but functional enough)

One thing I wanted to keep in mind was the evolution of the characters, or in other words, how they were gonna be at the start and the end of the story. And this made things a lot simpler because it gave me an insight that was helpful whenever I had to decide what kind of decisions the characters would make along the story.

Parallelly, I was aware of my narrative flaws, as well as there was a lot of vocabulary and grammar that would escape me in a different language. So I used the notebook to do writing research. Some of my pages were like "how to write action scenes," or "tips for flat scenes." Whenever I felt blocked I read again these pages.

I'm going to copy down here some tips that were useful during the writing block days.

• read another book or fic you like, since sometimes, getting yourself caught by another writer's style can help you to flow through your own. • scroll on pinterest and try to find pictures that capture the vibe of your story, maybe try to describe them or setting a scene in a similar environment that you can see? • changing the setting (for example, day to night, or sun to rain) can add more variants and ambiental tools to play with. • or, changing the character's pov. maybe a scene feels flat because it's narrated by the wrong character. • use objects, not just the characters.

(4) finishing a story

To have an insight into the plot, I wrote the main scenes in really short sentences. That was useful for the first chapters, but suddenly I had 70K words of the story and a lot of details to track. Frequently I had to split chapters into two parts because the "short sentence" became a very long scene. See this comparison: the scenes' guide in the last chapters usually are fragmented into shorter scenes. That's how I avoided losing my mind as I wrote (?)

These are a few tips that were useful to me during this last part.

• write the important plot points as they are mentioned so you can come back to them later and don't forget about them. • keep a scrip to annotate significant things about the characters to make the story consistent. • notion pages is a great place to make inspo boards (usually I added 4 pictures for each scene). During the last chapter, I used the to-do list tool to keep track of the closed story points and the things that were yet to happen • list some of your favourite past scenes, those that have been nice to write, so you can pursue the same vibe again.

The last two months writing the fic I joined the nanowrimo to keep myself motivated but also to have an impulse. My only goal was getting the habit of writing everyday, not minding how many words (usually it was around 400-600 daily). I ended that month with 16k added on my wordcount (to me, that was a lot!). Since I enjoyed that little challenge, I did the same on the next month, resulting in finishing the fic :)

The most important thing during this time was remembering myself from time to time why I am doing this. Let me say I am an utter perfectionist, so I would easily get trapped in making-the-story-perfect, which would end in a writing block. So each time this happened I repeated to myself that I didn't want to write a good story. I just wanted to enjoy and have fun while writing a story, so I should write only things I enjoy. And this simple thing was incredibly helpful whenever I wasn't able to continue a scene.

I think that this is what most writers say, but now I have come to understand that it's true: just have fun. Write what you wanna read.

(5) the next story - requiem of the sleepless

This would be the third part of my first fic. I miss these unhinged boys and I have a little draft of (unholy) things I want to happen to them! Now I want to unlearn everything I know. I want this story to be zero planned, I just want to ~feel~ the characters and make a lot of random things happen. This is about not forgetting why I started, so here I am again.

Being a non-writer writing.

thank you for reading ♡ 

[neitherabaron]

You mentioned that you've finished writing Gobelins, and I'm wondering if you're gonna raise money to produce it, or do it out of your own pocket? Either way, I'm very excited to hear it, hope your op goes well!

Thanks for a great question! There's definitely gonna be an Indiegogo fundraiser at some point before I start production, but the scale of that is going to need to depend on what my life is looking like at that time. In other words, when I’m physically able to devote time to the album again, I’m going to have to assess my capacity before deciding the scope of the project.

Basically, there's an "ideal" way I'd like to make Carnaval des Gobelins, with a physical edition, cool merch for backers, guest musicians and liner art commissions. I think it's gonna be the most satisfying experience for listeners and the best move from a "growing my business" point of view - producing that kind of stuff gives me a chance to order excess merch and another little revenue stream, which would take me a little step closer to making this my main job. But, it's also a big project to manage and as much as I want to do it that way, I'm not gonna bet on being physically well enough to do that until things are clearer. I'm pretty dang ill.

Then there are other options - like limiting that stuff to a digital version for Bandcamp and streaming, plus physical CDs that are a bit more pared-down in terms of liner content. And on the other side of the spectrum, there's just producing a digital album, like I did for The Wassailant, which while still a big project would be logistically simpler and would require the least amount of funding.

I'm going to run a fundraiser no matter what the scope ends up being and the reason for that is that I'm handling the production for C des Gs alone, in my studio. I have a great set-up and good technical knowledge nowadays and can make stuff with much higher production values without the spiralling costs of studio and engineer hire. However, to get the album done, I'm going to need to treat it as a part-time job for about a year and so I'm going to have to find a way to help me through that time financially. The reason I was able to finish The Wassailant within a year was because of all the time spent at home during the pandemic! I'm not going to start production until I find a new part-time day job anyway, so I certainly won't be trying to raise the sort of money to depend on! But I probably will be earning less from a day job while I work on the album and I will need a small amount to supplement that/keep for emergencies if something goes wrong for me in that time - so that I don't have to halt production part way through.

So the low-scope, digital-only version would still be a crowd-funded affair, just a fairly low scale one. For the big one with all the cool rewards and awesome CDs and everything, I guess my other mini-worry is I don't actually know whether the funding goals I’d have to set to produce all the awesome extras are actually realistic to what people can afford. I don’t know if I could fund a project at the same level as a Mechanisms album for example, because I don’t have the same reach the band did. But we’re probably looking at something comparable, cost-wise, to The Bifrost Incident (but closer to its goal, not the final amount it was pledged) to produce the “full scope” version. Plus, the last time I ran projected costs for the project was before the cost of living crisis, so I don't know right now whether the CD/merch suppliers' costs will have increased.

I genuinely feel a ton of support and goodwill from people like you who really want to listen and I know there are plenty of you! But also I truly don't want to assume anything from you, so we'll have to see how realistic it is to make the full bells-and-whistles version, financially or in terms of my capacity, nearer the time. The way I'm feeling as I type this is that I may run the Indiegogo with a lower inital goal and just a couple of reward tiers (aiming to fund production and release the digital album and a simpler physical edition) and try to do some of the other stuff like an expanded liner or producing merch (and making merch available at discounted rates to backers who want it) as stretch goals.

Anyway, that is almost definitely a much longer answer than you were looking for, so I'll stop now. I really do appreciate the great ask; having the chance to thing about a proper answer has helped me straighten a few conflicts in my head that were causing me a little worry. Hope you have a great day!

If you've read this far, thanks! Please reblog this if this sort of thing is something you'd be interested in supporting and would like to spread the word. I don't know when I'll be ready to start a campaign, but I want more than anything to get dates for my ops, recover to the extent I can, and do it soon.

[meloromantics]

the knitting v crochet thing is so funny to me bc i started with crochet, which i still occasionally do, and moved to knitting where i've pretty much stayed. and i think the fundamentals of crochet are easier to pick up bc you're only working with one hand as opposed to knitting where you're learning to balance materials in both hands and have to develop muscle memory and all that. but tbh as much as everyone says knitting is harder to learn, i think once you've mastered the basics it's actually more straightforward than crochet in terms of how you actually form the stitches! esp wrt "reading" the fabric and understanding the "anatomy" of the stitches, like the structure of knitting is much simpler to me. one single crochet stitch has a lot more going on than one knit stitch! it's way harder for me to count stitches and rows in crochet than it is in basic stockinette or garter or ribbing, for example. and stuff like tunisian crochet? again i can do basics but some of that stuff is WILD complex (beautiful! but like 🤯) so it's always fun to see these two fiber arts camps looking at the other one in awe like "what fucking witchcraft are you working to make that??" we're all such winners 😊

tbh this is why i LOVE fiber crafts !!! i have a couple friends who have had similar craft trajectories to you and most are predominantly knitters, but one is fully ambicraftrous. crochet and knit garments and stuffed animals; the craziest thing i’ve seen her make is a crochet stuffed sea lion that she freehanded based off a single picture she made some markup edits too. every time she showed me i was like 🤯

also, since i’m here, check out my current project! i am test knitting this pattern, which is releasing soon: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuXcbesPsoz/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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A post shared by Holly | Knit Witch ⚡️ (@discostitch)

and mine is pink with dark purple contrast accents!! 🌸💟

so i decided to be extremely extra and do my first ever intarsia on the lace ties for the front! i’ve been working on them since yesterday and it is GORGEOUS but tedious, and i had to have sean 3d print me more bobbins at the library because it’s 7 colors over 32 stitches for a 4-row lace repeat 🫠

tonight when i was stoned at dnd i messed up three rows of lace repeat and had to frog this shit and i wanted to End It. but i persevered and only have 7 more repeats before i have to …. figure out how to factor the colors into the tapered decreases!!! 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

[artvinyl]

Uncovered: Doseone - Enter the Gungeon

In its 18th year, Best Art Vinyl 2022 sees the first shortlisted album artwork for a video game with this Anniversary Deluxe Edition, pop-up gatefold sleeve art by Joseph Harmon. We couldn’t miss the opportunity to find out more and were lucky enough to have a quick chat with Joseph.

How did you come to work on this project? I worked on a few projects with the sound designer and composer for the game Enter the Gungeon, Adam Drucker (music artist alias Doseone), and he asked me if I would be interested in taking it on.

What was the initial brief and how did you start to approach the artwork? Everyone really trusted me and gave me the freedom and time to approach it the way I thought would be best. I would send early sketches focusing on the design and placement of things, knowing that the drawing was really bad and that it made more sense in my head. They trusted that it was going to shape up, and that means a lot.

The pop up element was intimidating and exciting because I had no idea how that worked. Once I got more familiar with the game I realized how deep it was. There were so many side quests, bosses, and characters. I felt the best way to approach the artwork was to try and make it really full and deep like the game.

Were there early versions that did not make the final cut? Actually, the initial version was more complex with the pop up. A lot more pieces that would have been a nightmare to produce, and never having taken on a pop up before I didn't know exactly what I was doing. In the end a simpler approach was the way to go.

How did you create the pop-up effect and what medium and tools do you use? I would draw things by hand on posterboard and cut them out and piece them together with scotch tape for the mock up. I had to measure everything and make sure they wouldn't be larger than the vinyl record when folded. I also had to make sure there weren't too many pieces stacked on top of each other so it would stay closed properly. Once that was figured out, I would scan the pieces and work on the finished art digitally. Everything usually starts in my sketchbook with a pencil. Then it gets scanned and cleaned up digitally. Even if it's going to be a painting, I usually have a sketch that I work out the size and colours digitally. Pencil, Photoshop, and acrylic paint are probably the materials I use the most.

What were your creative influences? Growing up I loved the box art for a lot of regular Nintendo games. I would rent them based on how weird the box art was. When you play the game, it would be nothing like that, but the box art would stick with me. It was the same with records. There was a Wings record my parents had, Red Rose Speedway, that would scare me based on the cover. It had a close up of Paul McCartney with a rose in his mouth and he looked freaked out, I think there was a motorcycle behind him. It still makes me uncomfortable to this day. I guess Wings and Nintendo inspired me for this.

Paul McCartney and Wings - Red Rose Speedway. Cover photography by Linda McCartney.

Enter the Gungeon by Doseone on Laced Records is shortlisted for the Best Art Vinyl 2022 Award. Artwork by Joseph Harmon. VOTING OPEN UNTIL 12 DEC 2022

[lovejustforaday]

2023 Year End List - Introduction and Honourable Mentions

Here we go again! 🤘😤🤘

Continuing the tradition of making this harder and more drawn out for myself every consecutive year, I've decided to do a top 20 records + some honourable mentions for my 2023 year end list.

But in all seriousness, this has been the most exciting year in the new decade so far by quite a wide margin, and I have so many projects that I've been really wanting to gush about on this blog. Suffice to say, this year's round up is gonna be a little bit lengthier.

And I hope you really enjoy going all in as much as I do, because the reviews are also probably gonna be longer as well. I have at least one definite 10/10 record at the #1 spot which I am incredibly hyped to write about, and I will try my best to limit myself to twenty paragraphs max, but I'm not gonna make any hard promises.

But first off, I wanted to honour 3 LPs that almost made the list + an EP that doesn't qualify for the list proper (LPs only). Just gonna be dishing out a few quick thoughts on each of these projects.

So let's get down to it!!

Knower Forever - Knower

Main Genres: Jazz-Funk, Synth Funk

A decent sampling of: Jazz Fusion, Jazzstep, Art Pop, Nu-Jazz

My dad actually introduced me to Louis Cole's work properly last year, but my first exposure to him was that "Bank Account" meme song he did back in 2017 (simpler times...). My old man sang the praises of his "Weird Part of The Night" and I definitely have to agree - some very solid funky stuff.

So this year, I familiarized myself with his band, Knower, and their latest LP.

Knower Forever is a very clever, silly, sometimes vulgar jazz-funk record with some kickass virtuoso musicianship, and I totally love its vibe. It doesn't take itself to seriously; the technical skills of the performers really speaks for itself.

Lots of snarkiness on "I'm The President" with iconic lyrics such as "Mount Rushymore has some tits" and a frigging brilliant piano solo breakdown. "Nightmare" sounds like funky Mario Kart DS music for some reason. "It's All Nothing Until It's Everything" is screeching nu-jazz insanity which turns into an ethereal cacophony of intense pleasure.

Definitely front-loaded and could've been slightly edited down. Some of the second half feels redundant. I almost considered putting this at #20, but the other record was just slightly better for me + the other half of this duo, Genevieve Artadi, was very busy this year with making her own jazzy solo record which will actually be making an appearance later on this list. Still, don't skip this one if you like music with a hell of a lot of personality.

8/10

Highlights: "I'm The President", "Nightmare", "It's Al Nothing Until It's Everything", "Real Nice Moment"

Norm - Andy Shauf

Main Genres: Chamber Pop

A decent sampling of: Lounge, Twee Pop, Soft Rock, Folk Pop

Norm is one fucked up little record. If you know anything about cuddlecore band Heavenly's 1993 EP Atta Girl (an all-time fav of mine and possibly the best concept EP ever), then you'll recognize this LP as having a very similar concept. Additionally, this is similarly also probably best enjoyed as a going-in-blindfolded experience, so I'll put a spoiler warning riiiiiiiiiiiiight.........HERE.

SPOILER WARNING

DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE FULL SHOCK FACTOR OF THIS RECORD.

Yeah, so this record is about a seriously disturbed stalker with a crush (from the stalker's perspective), but you wouldn't know that if you were just vibing to the breezy, laidback folksy chamber pop tunes that Andy Shauf writes.

Incidentally, this is perfect for a lazy autumn afternoon on a warm, partly-cloudy day. Andy's voice is such saccharine softboi material, that it makes the darker underbelly of this record all the more sickening. "Wasted On You" feels like a crooked smile once you understand the context, with that little uncanny plucked riff.

Admittedly, it's a bit too one-note at times for its concept and (again) could've been edited down. Definitely will lose some less patient listeners with its lackadaisical flow, and I would totally understand why. But the narrative is really well-written. Andy does a great job somehow both humanizing his character while incredibly disturbing us, the listener, with his unreliable narrator. Very Nabokov.

8/10

Highlights: "Wasted On You", "Halloween Store", "Paradise Cinema", "Catch Your Eye"

Pollen - Tennis

Main Genres: Soft Rock, Psychedelic Pop, Indie Pop

A decent sampling of: Sophisto-Pop, Twee Pop, Pop Soul

I had to include this somewhere, even if it didn't make the full cut.

The adorkable, young 'old married couple' turned retro-loving soft rock duo Tennis were responsible for my #1 favourite 2020 record with the glorious shimmer of their anniversary album Swimmer, a record that channeled and ultimately rivaled the greatness of 70s feel-good pop mega-acts like ABBA, The Carpenters, and Fleetwood Mac.

A difficult act to follow, for sure. So what did the band do? Took the gauzy, psychedelic tones of a few of the tracks from the previous record and turned it into a full-length album sound. Pollen is Tennis on some very nice, light edibles.

"Let's Make A Mistake Tonight" sees Tennis embracing a very detuned, sequin disco soul sound, like the music your parents/grandparents (idk how old you are) probably listened to while cruising down the country side streets with their old camper on the way to their honeymoon destination. "Pollen Song" is like laying in a field of flowers and feeling the soil underneath you giving you a nice warm back massage.

This was a very solid effort to follow up a very stellar record in their discography. It doesn't come all too close; The best tracks here feel like Swimmer B-sides. Nevertheless, Tennis very much retains the talent to write a golden melody that feels like it was a smash radio hit from 50 years ago. Still plenty to love here.

8/10

Highlights: "Let's Make A Mistake Tonight", "One Night with The Valet", "Pollen Song", "Never Been Wrong"

going…going…GONE! - Hemlocke Springs

Main Genres: Synth Pop, Indie Pop

A decent sampling of: Indietronica, New Wave, Zolo, Art Pop, Dance Punk

This is the EP that I wanted to shout out. I'm sure many of you TikTok savvy zoomer indie kids have already heard of Hemlocke Springs after "Girlfriend" exploded last year on the platform.

Tiktok as a music sharing platform seems to do be doing one of three things every time a song gets popular: a) it's boosting some talentless influencer hack making music designed to be memeable and forgotten a month later b) it's boosting already fairly popular indie songs from a few years ago to mega-popular status (look what it did to "Space Song"), or c) every now and then a fresh face with a lot of genuine talent is blessed by the algorithm and skyrockets them to early critical success.

Hemlocke Springs falls into the latter category. She deserves every bit of hype and the catapult to indie fame that she has received in the last year. Her music sounds like it's carrying the torch of Talking Heads, Jun Togawa, Marina And The Diamonds, Helen Love, and Javiera Mena all at once. She is one of the quirkiest, most colourful fun-loving pop artists to have emerged in a long time and I am HERE FOR IT.

After releasing a string of singles across the last two years, she finally dropped her debut EP going…going…GONE! in September earlier this year. It includes several of those singles plus some new cuts.

The aforementioned "Gilrfriend" is a stroke of genius, with zolo vocal weirdness over sugary girlish synthesizers, a killer fucking chorus, an energy that builds and builds across the entire track, and a ridiculously manic bridge that even trumps the chorus. I get giddy even just thinking about this track. It's no wonder it blew up; a pop song this good being part of an artist's debut rollout is almost unheard of.

"Heavun" is like a new wave glitter dream of flying through Akihabara with butterfly wings. "Enknee1" is an anthemic, longing plea for love set to baby-pink-tinged indietronica synths. "pos" is a goofy cut with bubbly mutant disco influences that makes me feel very light-headed.

I WISH she included "Sever The Blight" on this EP since it's arguably every bit as good as "Girlfriend". But for now, I'll just say that THIS is how you make your debut as an artist.

Hemlocke Springs is the hyper-imaginative, nerdy underdog hero that we all need right now. She really feels like she could be the next big thing that everyone in the music world could agree on. Keep this one on your radar - she's still only just cooking. Even greater things to come I'd bet.

9/10

Highlights: "Girlfriend", "Heavun", "pos", "Eknee1"

[mfrederickarts245-01]

week 5

I kind of love how when talking about the tracking and kerning they refer to the letters’ relationships as if they were people by saying some letters sit more intimately with others etc.—well in simpler terms, I love how they personified the letters lol.

Anyway though, tracking has always been a tool I liked to play with even when I used to video edit because it can really affect the overall perception of a text you know? Reading this book has helped me get a better understanding of certain terms that I would see all the time in different software (and continue to see), but wouldn’t know what they exactly meant, I just knew what they would change.

As far as my projects are concerned, project 3 didn’t go exactly as planned, but it was good Illustrator practice because I hardly use it. I actually realized that once I printed my letterform, I could’ve removed so many other things and still would’ve been able to have one giant path/shape but oh well.

I do have a better feeling about this new project though because I feel like I’m not so constrained and can kind of go anywhere with how my letter comes out, but we shall see!

[tyler-unit-06]

Evaluation

During this project I have had ups and downs I was off for most of the time during the project due to being sick. The things that went well during my project was my idea generation I could think of a good amount of ideas for the project in a short amount of time and I was able to sort them into the best 5 refined ideas I was able to choose the idea that I believed the most interesting but also probably one of the hardest to do. The idea I chose to do was to make a video animation of alternate realities where I would edit a video I took in real life like down and street or pathway and Change how it looks using after effects and premiere pro.

I think I could have done better in thinking about the ideas more and spending more time developing them I also think I could have done better in experimenting with other ideas that I generated. Also during the project I was able to plan for how my videos were going to look, I drew out 4 sketches of the different places for my animation however I think I could have done better if I had put more time into thinking about if I was able to do the animation and how much time I would have to edit it and make the video. Next was my presentation I believe did make a decent presentation however I think I could have put more images in on what I was going to do. I also think it could have been better if I had rehearsed my presentation with one of my classmates and see how it would turn out and know what to say and what not to say I also think it can have been better if I put more thought into what I was going to say and It could have been better if I had put more thought into how my project was going to go and what I was doing, on the other hand, I believe I was given good advice to where I have to make it simpler instead of my the realities because completely different from our universe. So I had to change how my realities would look and make more much more subtle changes to it but keep the same idea.

Next, I think I did well in artist research I believe each one explained in detail what they would help me with and how and how the others I believe will not help me during the project, however, I think it could have gone better if I had researched a bit more into the different artist and other things that influenced me into how I made the video I think my video turned out pretty well I was able to make slight changes in each one of them they were clear and easy to see I also think that the overlay of the video where I show the detail of the universe like the temperature and coordinate and reality gives the aspect of it being a different reality however I think I can have put more time into the audio for the video and put more effort into the design for the information for the video.

Overall I made a lot of mistakes during this project some that I need to improve upon however I think that my project turned out pretty if I had more time for it I would have gone out and gotten better audio for the video and spent more time developing the video while also doing more experiments I would also like to research into more artist and get more advice and feedback from more students and teachers which I should have asked more of.