#(also you could totally switch their poses here)

[okartichoke]

[sea-of-dust]

Phantom theif boys x GN! Reader

Dating headcannons!

N: Adding comfort headcannons to knock two asks in one stone, they got changed to just comforting headcannons mostly. Ur not escaping pastel*pallette with this.

He's ready to fully wake up as soon as he hears your voice downstairs or just your footsteps. Morgana is not a fan of suddenly feeling his leg pulled out of bed.

Super ready to tease you. The guys smiling hard before he responds with something stupid. "I dare you" trying to hold off his chucking, he places his hand ontop of yours and spins you, stopping when you face him. "Are you a cheeseburger?" "no"

Let's you brush his hair, in fact you should. Curls are hard, ya know. His wrist can use a break, plus you're the one brushing it he sees it as a win. Ignoring the times you decided to give him pigtails

He can be super romantic at times, especially the most random, "I'm sorry I took so long, your beauty distracted me" he smirked twiddling a bit of his hair, you sigh, after a pause beginning to chuckle "I don't like you" "you love me" kissing your cheek he goes behind the counter "anything you wanna eat?"

He's always gonna be there to comfort you. Holding you close as you cry into his chest over something that had been bothering you, hearing you out while he cooks or staying by your side while you rant. "And then she was like," Oh well you need to go to extra help TO HELL WITH THAT!" You rub your temple "sorry she's just been getting on my nerves" "have you tried dropping or switching classes?" "She would reject the request everytime" you'd wonder why she suddenly accepted the following day. Maybe she finally thought you were just bad at chemistry

Will tell you he's a phantom theif trying to rizz you up. "So like we use these things called personas to fight these shadows" "woah, that's cool, Ryuji." You didn't believe him, but you let him cook, he's trying his best

Embodiment of the YIPPE sound. He loves seeing you. Could be walking to class, and he'd stop midway. "Yo!" "Hey Ryuji" great now he's gonna repeat that 3 more times a day, won't even start a conversation, sometimes, just likes hearing you say hi to him

He's super cuddly when sleepy. "Where are you going" "I told you I'm going home" "nooo" he wraps his arms around your waist "you aren't allowed to leave" trying to slip out he tightens his grip. You had to call your parents to tell them you had no choice but to stay longer

He'd get so excited when anything sport related comes along. "I wanna watch the track team compete this weekend. You should come" "do you need me to bring snacks?" "You bring them every time, though! I'll bring them this time" He'd get super hyped up about someone from the school taking the lead he almost fell off the bleachers at times.

He would buy you snacks, and you two would talk about it on a bench. "He's so annoyingggg" "I know, right!" "Like he can't shut up everything's quiet and this mf 'I HAVE A BUISNESS' shut up" "like at the end of the day he's still an incel" "EXACTLY" you two would end up ranting with eatchother so much you end up calming eatchother down, this would also translate into you just being too sad to even make funny comments. "He's just so draining, kinda makes me wish someone just told him to be quiet" "for real I almost cried at his voice" "it's too squeaky right" "totally" laying your head on his lap you look up at him just thinking. "You're staring into my soul here." he strokes your hair with a nervous expression "good" In the end, he still comforts you the same way

"Oh, it's you" turned to "it's you.." REAL quick, as soon as you started dating, he got shy

He's gonna ask you to help him with art. "Y/n do you mind posing?" "With what?" "These live lobsters I found" ".... no thank you" "but!" "I'm gonna buy you those little wooden dolls just for that" "you're better than any piece of wood!" It turns more into a praise sesson he forgets about the lobsters he's basically keeping as pets at this point

You tried to teach him how to cook, or atlesst follow the recipe. "OK so we have the custard" you grab his hand, holding it up. "Don't use that we need it for later." "My Appologies" "it's alright it's your first time making this" He's fine the first time but gets way better with practice. He'd make you jealous with how nice he'd make his food look

Tried pick up lines they were good, but the execution could use work. "Y/n! Do you have a map? " "For what?" He pauses, looking down as if thinking for the next line "because i can't help but get lost in your eyes" you smirk, watching him get more bashful than you from his own line. "Are you a painting?" You cup his face making him look at you "because I can't take my eyes off you"

He isn't very good in this field...but he has spirit! You'd sigh while watching him paint after a few eye rolls, vacant stares,leaning on him. He's gonna sense it even if you don't do all that. "Is there something on your mind?" You look down to his paints before answering "a friend of mine moved away, and I found out recently she used to steal stuff from others" crossing your arms you continue "I kinda get why some of my stuff went missing now but just to think" "that does seem rather unfortunate" "she's lucky the stuff she took was all under 10 bucks or I would have asked the phantom theives to do something" he pauses his brush for a secound before continuing on "via the website?" "Yea! They'll probably handle her if it genuinely gets outta hand" he smiles as he puts down his paint and brush. "How about we go for a walk for you to let out some steam?" "sounds great"

"I'm alone. Would you like to join me?" "Do you realize how that sounds?" "Do you realize how dirty your mind is?"

He'll be resistant to cuddling at first but then slowly realize he likes it. Won't ask for it tho but he will be a little peeved when they aren't given. Subconsciously learn the way he stares at your arms, how he grips his own, and the way he tries to get a bit closer to you, you've learned the secrets to a touch starved akechi

Would be a bit annoyed when you bring up another dude. "And then Ryuji was shaking the vending machine and the guard thought we were trying to steal snacks" "I see" "I ended up getting em though" "mhm" "you're so aggressively disinterested" "yes I am" You pause before letting the smirk take over your face "so then akechi rubbed my face and asked for a kiss" "I should" he stops typing to press his lips softly on your cheek.

He'd take you everywhere with him. Not a choice, it's only when he's at his job that he's away from you, everywhere else? Same class right next to you. Eating lunch with you, would ask you to play darts with him after school. He'd wonder why you'd look so tired when you two finally got home after school, atleast he helps with homework.

"Akechi" you move hair from his face. "What is it?" You continue touching his face as he watches as your hands move around his face. "Is there something on your mind" "is it that obvious" you pull your hand away, but he takes his into yours. There's a short pause before you decide to speak again. "A person close to me stopped coming to school after an argument we had. I'm pretty worried" "you didn't try contacting them?" "I have, but I think they'll just get more annoyed" you sigh "I just don't know what to do" "let them have their momment they'll contact you when they feel like it, in the meantime" he covers you in the blanket he shared with you momments ago "you could stay here until it leaves your mind"

"So what is skibbity toilet?" "Zen no"

He'd always order for you at places, unless you changed your order he'd get you everytime. "You gotta stop doing that" "Why you jealous I know you better than you know yourself?" "Yes"

He tries to ask you for advice on Akane. "She got upset she couldn't play and eat" "did you try making it a tea party" he scoffs, giggling a bit at the suggestion. "I'm serious. Do you have any tiny tea cups?"

He's definitely touch starved when he gets home. Barely awake, he'd cling onto you, mumbling into your ear. He's fallen asleep for a few seconds on your shoulder. "Let's get you to bed, Zen." "it's comfortable here though." "it'll be more comfortable in bed." "ugghhhhh"

He's gentle when it comes to you, especially when you get home more upset than usual. "So how was work" in a slightly annoyed tone you respond "draining they tried to give me unpaid overtime again" you sigh "hmm" without much words he lays down with you hugging you "do you want anything?" "Sleep" he smiles fondly "this house will be so quiet it's like it was haunted" The next day, do expect most of your chores to be done already, as well as breakfast. It was made with love, not with skill

[plantyberry]

Cloudcuckoolander Tally Part 1: Prologue + Chapter 1: 'My little poltergeist can't sound this sexy!'

Helloooo Internet. Seeing as I have nothing better to do with my time, and that people asked about it, but never actually asked for it, I have taken it upon myself to do some weird… Cuckoolander thing.

Now then, let's get ⭐🌟✨~Fabulous~✨🌟⭐

Prologue

Nothing, but Reach Out for Arthur anyway for that +2 Relationship bonus or choose to Wake Up for that +1 Will.

Chapter 1

Some of the choices there lead to you picking the 'real' option next while giving you points. For example, in your Job Choice options, you have:

Fairy Princess (with requisite singing!) (Cuckoo +1): If picked, you get a second choice with the 'actual' job pick. For the sake of not having to repeat this every time, every such choice will have (++) added to them to signify that they work similarly.

Run screaming through your apartment. That's definitely going to be helpful. Cuckoo +1 (Note: Not picking the floor lamp means you're not picking that +5 physical) Charge around your apartment while screaming epithets. You don't know if it'll help anything, but it sure will make you feel better. Cuckoo +1 (Note: This one increases you potty mouth score, which interferes with your purity score, so if you're aiming for Percy, keep that in mind)

Reptilian Eyes.(++) Cuckoo +1 (Note: Does not actually give you reptilian eyes. Or does it? * Side eyes changeling MCs *)

I whip open the closet door with a sudden movement: Doesn't give cuckoo points, but gives access to Cuckoo options. ===…it's been ransacked! Your clothes and shoes are strewn everywhere and- oh, wait, that's how your closet normally looks. Cuckoo +1 ===…there's a great hulking monster inside and it smells like- wait no, that's just your raincoat. Cuckoo +1

I whip open the closet door with a sudden movement. I also yell "HIYAA!" and strike a martial arts pose for the added effect. Cuckoo +1 ===…I said I was going to yell "HIYAA!" and I keep my promises. Cuckoo +1

Clothes:

Depending on your club picks and your character settings, you may get some cuckoo points out of them, though if you follow some restrictions like, say, a mute run, or are achievement hunting, then some combinations may be preferable even if they give less points.

Birthday Suit.(++): Cuckoo +1

Other clothing options also give cuckoo rating during the talk with Adrian before clubtime. The pick that gives the most points here, that I can see, is the Vampire cape (up to +3 points), but here is a list of the other picks and the points they give with the right club options:

Riding club:

Red Cape + Frame = 3 or height = tall: -"Little?" I wonder if Adrian has suddenly gone blind. --"Aye, Aye, fairy godmother." +1 Cuckoo

Vampire Cape: +1 Cuckoo -Strike a stereorypical vampire pose . +1 Cuckoo --"No promises" +1 Cuckoo

Tuxedo: -"Actually, I was planning to wear these clothes during practice." --"It will totally be worth it to see everyone's reaction to me riding around in a tux." +1 Cuckoo

Spandex Tracksuit: -"It's a tracksuit, Adrian. Why would I change my clothes again?" I ask 'innocently'. -- I say nothing, I merely start dancing the Tango de la Muerte. +1 Cuckoo (and the Keikaku achievement)

Fencing Club:

Vampire Cape: +1 Cuckoo -Strike a stereorypical vampire pose . +1 Cuckoo --"I never bite and tell." +1 Cuckoo --"Lies and Slander!" +1 Cuckoo

Spandex Tracksuit: -I say nothing, I merely start dancing the Tango de la Muerte. +1 Cuckoo -"I was thinking about wearing this instead of my uniform today." --"If we switched to plastic swords we could totally do naked fencing!" +1 Cuckoo

Favorite Drink:

The fresh blood of virgins. (++) Cuckoo +1 (Note: You can't pick the option if you picked 'Blood' as a fear)

When watching the TV:

If Wildlife Biologist: He was obviously eaten by a giant mutated bear. Case closed. I'm a genius. Cuckoo +1 If NOT a Wildlife Biologist: He was obviously eaten by werewolves. Case closed. I'm a genius. Cuckoo +1

Hobby:

Gadgetry gives the option to gain +1 Cuckoo point if at least Friendly with Adrian (pick 'I asked the magical 8-ball' option when remembering about your first meeting)

Once the phone pick is done, open your status page, scroll down, and select 'Magical grimoire (Phone)' bank-mobile-alert-666: Pick the overly-long reply. You'll know which one it is. Cuckoo +1 Work: Talk about your Theory (Mutant / werewolf / Zombie / Thousand eyes in their throat). Cuckoo +1

Jump up and charge at the glass doors. Cuckoo +1 (Note: You can't pick the option if you picked 'Fear' as a fear)

After the Sin choice:

I whip out a nearby Bible and try to exorcise the monitor with its words. Cuckoo +1

Mask Choice:

Jason Voorhees Pandemic Mask (ie Hockey Mask Style) Cuckoo +1 Plague Doctor Mask. Cuckoo +1

Final notes:

While character generation isn't overly-long, it's an excellent way to farm cuckoo points (If you pick the right followup options in club and with Adrien, up to +17 to cuckoo score from this section alone). Two picks in particular stand out here in my personal opinion. The Spandex tracksuit, as it's easy to move in, increases your interpretative dance score with the right picks, and gives you an achievement. The other is the Bible Exorcism which, while incompatible with mute, also gives you +1 Will, and those points are quite a bit harder to farm.

[the-phantom-peach]

how did you get so good at a anatomy? like what practices helped you improve the most if you remember?

-from a new artist desperately in need of help

This is the first I’ve heard a comment on my anatomy, especially as someone who hasn’t quite grasped the whole thing haha. But I’m happy I’ve reached a point where it’s considered good. Bodies are hard and they suck but here’s some stuff I do/used to do to help.

1) Don’t avoid it. You can’t, it’s impossible. After years of only drawing 2/3 facing busts as soon as I forced myself to start drawing full bodies, I was able to create more interesting compositions and expressions. Even if it looks awful, you have to keep working at it. I myself can’t figure out a lot of poses and have to work around what I dislike.

2) Study in parts. When I did anatomy studies I always focused on one or two parts at a time. For example, I spent a lot of time studying legs and made a bunch of art that either required or focused on legs. Same went for faces, hips, and even clothes. Eventually it becomes habit and I could switch to a new part.

3) Reference. Reference. Reference. Unless you have the most vivid imagination and can put mind to canvas, please use a reference. I still use references for poses I think I can draw just in case there is a more sensible or more interesting way of depicting it. This also precedes the idea of tracing. It’s a bit controversial, but I promise you tracing is more common in the art industry than you think. It’s about muscle memory and visualization more than just “copying” a piece of work. I started art traditionally so could never use tracing to practice, but if you use digital I highly recommend tracing as way to practice anatomy. However it’s only really useful if you do it with intent, studying how all parts connect to the trunk (torso).

4) Lastly, it’s ok to start with a simple artstyle at first! It’s totally cool to build upon the basics instead of running straight toward hyperrealism. Plus it’s cute!

That’s all I have for now since I’m still trying to figure it out myself, but I hope this kinda helps!

[hestzhyen]

Chapter 59 Pain Posting

Here we go, dear void. What fresh hell awaits our MC this week? We are back to setting up for the next big story moment, for one, so there's lots to speculate over before waiting to see how it all plays out. Oh, and suffering of course. There's plenty of that for almost everyone.

Bad TL of editor's notes and the colour page (second editor's note could technically be spoilers I guess):

First page: 慘状を前に… [sanjou wo maeni...] "Standing in front of a terrible scene..."] Last page: 死んだハズ… だが…?! [shinda hazu... daga...?!] "Supposedly dead... and yet...?!"

Colour Page Text (removed in EN version): 見据える過酷な旅路 [misueru kakoku na tabiji; "Sights fixed on the difficult journey ahead"]

Not much to say about the colour page except I like how moody it is (and big Makizumi guy is pretty cute with his pose). Guess I was wrong as usual about the Makizumi following Samura. Would be cool if they acted like personal bodyguards to Chihiro! They're the only ones who can really fight against Samura right now due to being presence-less ninjas after all. That's a really interesting conflict for them too- they clearly care for him a lot as the only person who treated them as actual people, and he definitely cares for them in return. His desire to save them during the Hishaku raid wasn't an act in the slightest! But more on that later.

Samura vs. Chihiro: Round 1

Stressed-out scribble-eye Chihiro returns... someone give him a hug.

Glad I didn't try to predict shit because I would have been totally flabbergasted by how this went. Way to make a (technical) liar out of me by saying Chihiro can't die since he's the MC, Hokazono-sensei.

Watching Chihiro break down in real time was so hard, man. This poor guy got his shit rocked by John yesterday at the Rakuzaichi, watched Tenri die a pointless death for the same reasons he's on his own journey, witnessed the horror of his dad's Civilian Murderton 3000 at 1% capacity, and now Samura, one of his heroes, betrayed them all with his dad's legacy. He even got one-tapped when he finally lost his cool for real.

Chihiro seriously can't handle all of this and it's so heartbreaking to see. This guy was not built for a bloody revenge mission at all. Now that he died, though... seriously, what's going to happen next?! Do we switch PoV to a different character while Chihiro's dealing with whatever's happening to him in what looks like a hospital morgue?

There are also some questions about the circumstances of his death and apparent revival- did he really die, or was that Kamunabi misinformation for/from the Hishaku mole? If he did, then how did he come back? And how does that affect his contract with Enten? There's absolutely nothing to go on right now so it's time to hunker down and not go crazy waiting for answers.

Apropos of nothing: I wonder if that wound that Samura gave him will scar. If so, it would mirror the one Uruha had on his shoulder:

RIP I'm still not over you, Uruha.

Probably just a nit-picky detail thing that won't amount to anything, but I wanted to post Uruha from when he was still alive so there you go. I'd be very surprised if Uruha came back somehow even though Chihiro apparently may have escaped death... It seems super-duper extra final that he's toast thanks to the duel he had with his master before getting done in. May you please reappear in flashbacks from time to time so I can get sad that you're no longer with us all over again.

One last thing before we move on to the Hishaku at Disused Building Full of Trash HQ:

SHIBAAAAAA SAVE YOUR NEPHEW AND HIS (BOY)FRIEND

Shiba showing up was in "delusions" territory for me but I'm so glad he's here!

Of course he's getting called out (kind of) for not telling Chihiro the truth- we saw him being one of Kunishige's top glazers back in chapter 1 despite how uncomfortable it made the dude to be praised. So we just have to sit back and wait for the secrets to come out once Chihiro's well enough to at least listen. And if Shiba can bring himself to talk. All the older guys in this manga are so guilty they'd put a Catholic to shame and Shiba already struggles with not being able to deter Chihiro from taking this bloody path in the first place. He almost failed to save a Rokuhira twice now too.

Samura's kindness towards Chihiro is so genuine even when he's trying to kill the kid. Don't ruin the image of Kunishige for him, Shiba- let him live and die in ignorant bliss.

"Your dad's legacy is the problem."

A man who shared Kunishige's vision has come to want to destroy everything about it and help expose the lies that made them into "heroes"... man, is there any non-Hishaku character in this manga that isn't encumbered by some huge amount of guilt?

Toxic Old Man Yaoi

Nice trashed warehouse HQ, bros. Definitely getting "we lost the war and suffered for it" vibes from these guys. I'm willing to stake 1 (ONE) slice of birthday cheesecake on everything I've talked about in the past regarding their origin- that the Seitei War was a civil war, and the Hishaku were on an imperialistic/dynastic side that lost. BECAUSE:

The Owl spread was AMAZEBALLS

MY NEMESIS

It's deliberate! This is the third time this damn vase has shown up, and in four panels this chapter no less! I need lovingly detailed close-ups of every flower to better ID them for the hanakotoba interpretations but I've only gotten a few so far. Most importantly, a matsumoto (elegance/nobility), sakurasou (deep desire), kiku (Imperial imagery), and what might be a poppy (for assured victory) but I'm not completely confident on the last one.

But anyway, yeah. Another yaoi bomb has hit the fandom.

Look at John talking like a five-year-old about unbreakable pinky promises lmao

Did it have to be pinky rings? What's next, they're connected by a red string? HOKAZONOOOOOOOOOOOO

They're in some kind of toxic stew of a relationship for sure with how things went down this chapter. Worst Jeanist helpfully gave us the details of the pact they made to get Samura's help and he's the only one who's concerned that the guy can actually make good on his "promise" to kill them all. Hope he's got some good anxiety management techniques because John won't say a damn thing about what his contingency plans are until they're enacted, apparently.

Can't run from the blind man.

How do you manoeuver against the guy who is set up to be the tactician of the war, though? His ability to super sense things and scout with that awesome-looking Owl power will definitely make it difficult to go against him despite being blind. And the EN TL says "control" here but the wording in JP was closer to "flushing out" like someone who pursues and exposes prey animals or drives cattle/sheep/etc. So Samura's definitely someone who's used to scouting and hunting, making him quite the formidable assassin.

Of course they're using each other though. And of course there's a separate Kamunabi mole that gave away the Rokuhira household's info. Guess we'll get into that shortly since I'm doing a dangerous thing and assuming that the Kamunabi have rounded up the rest of the Bearers at the HQ to chill with them and the Sword Master. Will they have enough manpower to stand against both the Hishaku and Samura by next week? Will Hakuri even wake up by then? Will Chihiro be able to fight at all? Probably since this is a high-octane action series! I'll just have to shut up and accept the condensed timeline sooner or later. (Seriously though, only a week?!)

"消耗 [used up/exhausted/depleted]" is one way to put it, I guess.

Wonder why they didn't kill Hakuri outright if he was such a problem. Do they have something planned for him later? It's not like John cares about sparing people's lives in the way Samura does, so wouldn't he have mentioned it would have been better to get rid of him for good? Eh, probably just a pointless nitpick. Hakuri's staying to the end of the series in all probability, so he just couldn't die here.

Needing to negotiate with other members-John's a first among equals like Beard Guy at the Kamunabi, maybe? Let's meet all the Hishaku members soon to find out!

Samura, Chihiro, Hiurhiko, and Worst Jeanist Musings

[slaps Samura] This bad boy can fit so much misguided grief in it.

This guy is already an incredibly compelling villain that I've done analysis on bit by bit as we got new info, and I gotta say that if I wasn't sold hard on Kyora for personal reasons then Samura would easily be #1 already. He's so complex and multi-layered! I think the detail that makes him great as a "villain" is that his convictions are colder than the surface of Pluto compared to Chihiro's (and most other character's) who burn bright and hot. Samura doesn't have any passion behind what he's doing, just an inflexible will to see a miserable but necessary job through to the end. If Chihiro's an unstable blazing young star, Samura is the black hole that remains after a supernova finally burns out.

The contrast during their first face-off is extremely telling too. Neither hesitate but Samura easily wins due to his composure alone, never mind the skill and experience gap. Poor Chihro's broken inside and out after finding out one of the people his dad trusted is helping his mortal enemies; the stoicism that John fractured the day before completely falls apart here to reveal Chihiro at his lowest.

"Better dead than a guilty sinner," is it? Too late for that!

And Samura's doing it all because he wants to spare him from becoming a tainted sinner. I can't hate Samura at all- he's doing this as an act of kindness with sympathetic motivations despite how far gone off the rails he is. This isn't a typical villain who just wants the world to burn after he wallowed in his misery for too long! I'm looking forward to seeing how Chihiro recovers and prepares to face him again. If he's going to be the one to do it, that is.

Look at this pathetic ugly frog guy.

Just putting this in my back pocket to pull out later if it manifests somehow. I don't have strong feelings one way or the other about Hiruhiko being the one to kill Samura right now, but I do hope he's not redeemed somehow to join the main cast. My feelings on why are extremely petty so I'll just leave it at "don't make him the bonkers former criminal ally guy that everyone sorta tolerates because he's earnest and useful". I will concede that he was almost cute this chapter, though. Worst Jeanist probably deserves a raise for putting up with him.

And now we know how John got his arm back too.

Another healing utility person like the Makizumi, huh? I wonder if we'll get more lore on if this is a field of study that anyone who can use sorcery can take advantage of (like tools), or if it's how their personal abilities manifest. Probably won't get answers unless we spend more time with the Makizumi so here's hoping!

WARNING: TERMINAL BRAIN ROT AHEAD

Not kidding in the slightest about the absolutely mind-numbingly stupid takes about this (very cool!) cover illustration. Skip this if I don't cut it from the final draft of the post unless you're into batshit ramblings from an insane fudanshi.

[feral screeching]

I've got really strong feelings about this cover. REALLY strong. Only the first of them is justified though. Kinda.

One, HIYUKI IT'S BEEN SO LONG I MISS YOU COME BACK TO THE MAIN STORY SOON! She looks so cool too! I love that she doesn't have to do blatantly feminine stuff ever- she's 100% badass and awesome every time she shows up. I'm waiting warmly for your return, my Spaghetti Queen! Use your frenemy rival status to help Chihiro overcome his issues this arc!

This cover and some of the community's reactions to it sparked a lot of thoughts that I've been working out for the past few days. Some about how leaks are being handled, some about how people are reacting to the characters and the composition, a lot about Hiyuki herself. The first easy enough: yes, this cover and colour page count as leaks. Don't spread that shit all over social media! Keep leaks a purely opt-in experience for everyone. The rest, well... probably going to have another massive essay since I love Hiyuki but I don't love why she's so refreshing, if that makes sense? And by God do I hate the way she gets treated by most of the fandom. But I'll work all that out over time.

Two, the Hiyuki-Chihiro design parallels are getting to me in a bad way. Like "tinfoil hat and red string on a tack board" levels of baseless speculation. But I think it's extremely deliberate on the author's part to keep using the same black-with-a-splash-of-red-up-top colour palette for them now that they even have matching undone bandages in this art for some reason. Why not have those two do their own thing like Hakuri got to? He actually kind of sticks out as if no one told him to dress all in black for this photo shoot!

I don't want to let my HakuHiro shipper bias get the better of me here though, so I'll just keep the crazy to myself until we learn more and/or I finish getting the Hiyuki thoughts in order.

Three, HEROINE HAKURI PROPAGANDA!

I'm being completely serious here! I've been banging pots and pans while screaming from the rooftops (internally) about how Hakuri is in the traditional heroine role since I wrote that HakuHiro essay around Chapter 38! He spares Hiyuki from having to balance things out by providing a soft touch because that's his job. And he's so good at it!

Seriously look at his pose! He's leaning in to Chihiro and doing a cute little gesture with his hands, looking so soft while Chihiro and Hiyuki are the baddest motherfuckers to ever exist! Hokazono-sensei was extremely serious when he said he intended for Hakuri to add cuteness. He's so cute! CUTE! But it's not like he's a total uwu marshmallow either- he's still got a really cool outfit on that highlights his boyish charm. He's just the "soft" one to Chihiro's cool and Hiyuki's fierce.

I know I'm a delusional lunatic for going nuts over this. And I hope it's clear that I'm not taking this as a sign that Hakuri's going to be an actual love interest. I'm not that far gone. I'm just always appreciating that Hakuri and Hiyuki essentially swapped roles in a traditional shounen trio in terms of what kind of balance they bring to the dynamic. I think it's an underrated aspect of Kagurabachi's appeal and I wish more shounen did this! Hokazono-sensei seems to love cute guys and cool women and I am 100% behind him if that's the case.

Rough entry but I'm not having a good time lately. Do your best to survive the rest of the year, kind void. We'll make it through for the sake of finding out how the Kagurabachi cast suffers from week to week if nothing else. Give yourself a little treat today, okay?

[meetinginsamarra]

mayprompts2024 #7, calm

Read part one (using the prompt “box”) here

Read part two (using the prompt “familiar”) here

Read part three (using the prompt “fall”) here

Read part four (using the prompt “awkward”) here

Read part five (using the prompt “cold”) here

++++++

The testing and awkwardness reaches its peak and the gun turns out to be helpful and then not so much.

May the cringe be with you!

++++++

The Perfect Place - Part Six

“Yes, of course!” The blood pounded louder in John’s ears. He has the voice of a purring jaguar, he thought. John put his right hand into the pocket with the gun. Feeling the barrel between his fingers calmed him down.

“Excellent!” Sherlock exclaimed. He took off his coat in a flourish and let the bespoke suit jacket follow, revealing a very tight and very purple dress shirt that took John’s breath away. (As well as the bit of feeling calm he had achieved.)

In the pocket, John started rubbing the hard length of the barrel. (He could not really rub his own hard length in this situation so a substitute was needed.) (It did not help.)

Sherlock let himself fall down onto the bed, bouncing several times while the boxsprings creaked quietly. Then he switched onto his belly, raised his behind an let it fall down onto the mattress as well. Several times. Groaning things like this feels good and yes, like this and oh, OH.

John helplessly watched his customer dry humping the “Royal Metropolis Deluxe”. He was reminded of a horny dachshund humping its owner’s leg. The pounding blood in his ears reached a terrifying level and John was afraid that a vessel might burst with all the blood (sexual) pressure and leave him bleeding out of both ears. Involuntarily, John mimicked Sherlock’s movements again, thus humping the thin air.

“I can see and hear that you like it.” John managed to keep his voice halfway steady. (He was very proud of this.)

A gorgeously tousled Sherlock turned onto his back and looked upwards at John, audibly panting. “Yes, it would go well with my versatile sleeping positions.”

“Fine, I’ll set up the sales agreement.” Relief flooded John. (Some kind of relief at least.)

“But,” Sherlock raised his hand and index finger, “there is one final thing I need to know.”

“What is it?” John asked with baited breath. He was so close to score. “Can I help?”

“Indeed, you can.” Sherlock beamed. “I need to make sure that it’s also comfortable lying in this bed when I’ll be with my future partner.” Smiling sweetly, he added. “Would it be too inconvenient to ask you to pose as my bed companion?”

“What, now?” John’s head turned beet red. (It would be very inconvenient, given his current state.)

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Contrition dripped off Sherlock’s silky voice. “I totally understand that I may have crossed a line by asking this.” He looked disappointed, like a puppy that had been robbed of its favourite chewing toy. (Sherlock would very much like to chew on John.) His eyes glistened wetly and his lower lip trembled a bit. (Sherlock had always been a great actor.)

Oh God, he’s going to leave, John’s brain screamed at him, do something, now!

Straightening his back (and mental resolve by rubbing one more time fervently over the gun), John yielded. “OK, just say how you want me.”

Naked and on top of me, Sherlock thought, and then let’s make good use of the rigidity you sport.

“On your back and at my right side.” He said.

John lay down next to Sherlock. After the first seconds of feeling totally awkward and out of place, he began to relax and enjoy the closeness and warmth of Sherlock’s desirable body next to him. He inhaled the scent of Sherlock’s magnificent after shave and the expensive product he had used to tame the luxurious curls.

John closed his eyes and fell into a most pleasant daydream, imagining himself rolling on top of this extraordinary man and exploring every tiny nook and crevice of this deluxe body and then sinking (his cock) into this pliable flesh to take Sherlock apart.

(Funnily, but not surprisingly, Sherlock imagined the exact same thing. Only from the lower point of view.)

“So good.” Sherlock sighed.

“Yes.” John whispered.

“One last thing, please,” Sherlock pleaded, his voice raspy with desire, “could you please be the big spoon?” And he turned onto his left side, offering his back (and backside) to John.

“Yes, with pleasure.” John complied, still lost in his daydream. He turned onto his side as well and even carefully placed his upper arm around Sherlock’s slim body (for more situational authenticity). Then, he closed the final distance and snuggled against Sherlock’s full body length.

When John suddenly remembered what he was hiding in his trousers (and in his pants) while he doing what he was doing, it was already too late.

Sherlock’s voice made John’s blood run cold.

“Is that a British Army weapon in your pocket or are you just pleased to spoon me?”

John had cocked it up. (More or less literally.)

+++++

I’m leaving you here with this shocking cliffhanger (should rather be called a cliff-stander) (sorry, not sorry).

tagging some people @calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @lisbeth-kk @peanitbear @raina-at

[vergil-losing-archive]

DMC Questions Anon here!

"That day, if our positions were switched... Would our fates be different? Would I have your life, and you mine?"

While standing on top of the Qlipoth in DMC 5 Vergil posed a very interesting question that got many people wondering: How would the story of DMC go if Dante and Vergil's positions were switched?

That is what I am asking you now to answer. How does this story go in a world where their positions are switched?

I think I probably already half mentioned my theory on this somewhere, but this is my chance to write it fully.

Soooo... my whole starting point is Vergil being the mommy issues™️ twin and Dante being the daddy issues™️ twin (yeah it sounds silly, I know). So what if Vergil was the one in the house (that Eva hid in the closet) and Dante was the one outside, alone?

note: these are just my ideas and it's ok if you all don't agree or see it differently

I think Vergil's whole "I wanted to be protected and loved" and "my human side is weak" issues wouldn't be there, or at least they would be wayy lighter, as in this scenario Eva actually saves him

What about Dante? I think he would blame his father Sparda for this whole thing happening "If only Sparda were still here he could have protected us..." including their mother. I feel like Dante would understand that Eva was likely being attacked too and killed so it's not like she abandoned him, but Sparda? He disappeared in mysterious circumastances for what we know.

Not only that, but if he didn't have children and a wife at all, he wouldn't have put them in danger. In the mind of an angry child being brutally attacked, he could probably see his father as selfish for doing it.

I think he would become resentful of his father in this scenario, and that would become his "motivation". Motivation for what? I think he would try to close all "bridges" / "doors" between the human and demonic domains, to prevent cases such as his from happening again. A complete separation between the two worlds, no matter the cost.

And Vergil? I'm not sure, as I've been mainly thinking about Dante in this scenario. If I have to comapare him to Dante in the regular dmc universe... I think he would probably take up mercenary work (just like Dante did), but he would be more solitary and closed off, because that's just how he is personality wise. He would also have way more interest in knowledge about demons and Sparda, I can totally see him trying to have spare time to go in libraries and other places where he might gather information.

[askvariance]

CAMERA for the main three. (... Yeah and also Veto. Of Course.)

CAMERA - do they enjoy having their picture taken? what's their go-to pose? do they like taking photos? what do they take photos of?

[The sound of a click distracts Nickle and Veto from their animated discussion. Casey, on the couch, looks over and suddenly tenses.]

NICKLE: Wait, are you taking pictures?

BLITZ: Oh, don't mind me.

NICKLE: I wasn't ready! I didn't smile or anything!

VETO: Lost cause, man. This auteur likes taking candids.

[Nickle poses anyways, freezing with a bright smile and an exuberant burst of limbs. Veto snickers and follows their lead, striking an exaggerated pose with one hand extended out and the other pushing up their glasses. Blitz obligingly clicks the shutter again.]

NICKLE: Wow, that camera looks super old!

BLITZ: Do you like taking pictures, Nickle?

NICKLE: Yeah! It's tons of fun! My camera is pretty cheap, though.

BLITZ: I think I have a spare.

[Nickle gasps in delight, distracted from posing into a wide-eyed look of surprise. Veto grins at them, switching their pose to anime-thoughtful. Blitz smiles and takes another, which makes Nickle giggle.]

NICKLE: Do you like taking pictures?

VETO: Nah, I never got into it. Probably could if I tried, though.

NICKLE: You totally should!

VETO: Homemade memes.

[Nickle groans. Veto gives them a challenging look. Blitz waits with their finger on the shutter.]

NICKLE: You should do more than just memes!

VETO: Name one thing that isn't memes to take pictures of.

NICKLE: Things that make you happy! So you can look at them again and keep them forever!

VETO: Right. So memes.

NICKLE: No!

[Veto laughs for real as Nickle gestures angrily at them. Blitz takes a picture of that.]

NICKLE: Casey, do you wanna join too?

CASEY: Absolutely not.

NICKLE: C'mon, it'll be fun!

CASEY: There is absolutely no reason to be taking my picture. I do not want my picture to be taken.

VETO: Dude, you literally work for a surveillance state.

[They sound unusually disapproving. Casey bristles a little, crossing their arms to grip themself. They draw their legs up to their chest.]

CASEY: That is entirely different.

VETO: How?

CASEY: The subords aren't taking pictures of people for no reason. I actually know what they want with it.

VETO: Okay, hang on. No, no, let me unpack what you just said here.

NICKLE: Guys...

VETO: You think the subords are telling you more about what they want with their pictures than regular people?

CASEY: Yes! Because I know what their objectives are!

CASEY: Subords are dedicated to maintaining the stability and order of the city, acting with clarity and efficiency, and preventing loss of life! They have no personal stake in the action whatsoever!

VETO: Right. So the fact that they could be recording me whenever and I have no way of knowing or objecting...

CASEY: You could just ask them! There are ways to work out exceptions!

BLITZ: They rarely answer most people.

[Veto and Casey both look over. Blitz takes another picture of Nickle and Veto.]

[Casey looks affronted, even though they were not in the frame. Veto snorts.]

VETO: You trying to get a money shot of us arguing?

BLITZ: No comment.

NICKLE: Okay, but people usually take pictures for nice reasons, right? Like, they don't want to do anything with it. They just like having pictures of people and things they like.

CASEY: I have no evidence of this. And I don't like the idea of them having my image without knowing what they're doing with it.

VETO: Dude.

NICKLE: Okay, but that's the same thing as what Veto was saying!

CASEY: How is that the same thing?

NICKLE: It's just directed at a different person! Nobody can help who they trust like that. If you just feel that way about numerals, some people would just feel that way about the subords, right?

[Casey frowns, thinking this over. Veto glances at Nickle, who is beaming, and says nothing.]

CASEY: I guess.

NICKLE: So if you want to get to say no to having your picture taken–

CASEY: I would still rescind my objection if it was about someone's safety. There are some factors of priorities to consider.

VETO: People can just lie and say things are about safety, you know.

[Casey looks indignant.]

CASEY: Why would they do that? That's just– that is completely exploiting a legitimately prosocial instinct!

VETO: I mean, yeah. You kinda summed up why right there.

[Casey scoffs. They set their chin on top of their knees.]

CASEY: This is exactly why I don't want numerals taking my picture.

NICKLE: Casey...

CASEY: Subords don't do that. It would never even occur to them.

[Nickle sighs.]

-----------------------

OCTAVE: What? No, of course not.

[Octave scoffs, wiping their hands on their mechanic's apron. They are scowling.]

OCTAVE: I've had enough of that, thanks. The only time anyone ever wanted pictures of me was to let everyone know I was doing something wrong.

OCTAVE: ...

OCTAVE: Someone else might have. Done it better, I mean.

OCTAVE: I don't know what people usually do in pictures. Smile, I guess?

[They think for a while, a slight frown on their face. After a moment they remember themself and scoff again, turning back to their work.]

OCTAVE: Sounds fucking stupid. Doubt I'm missing out on much.

[p5x-theories]

If i recall right the game has a 'photo mode' when you visit this game's "Thieves Den" (i think its called Paradise here??) How does it work? How easy its to pose a character, if you can pose them at all? How many characters can you use at the same time? Totally not asking this for future references for my blorbos and ships 😌

Photo mode is available outside Paradise as well!

As an aside, I wouldn't call Paradise very similar to the Thieves' Den- it's more of a hub for the Union/Guild the player joins, and it isn't customizable- but the Thieves' Den is probably the closest equivalent to Paradise that's present in any of the other games. You can read more about Paradise here, hah!

Anyway, back to the photo mode question, you can use photo mode anywhere in the real world or Paradise; the advantage to doing it in Paradise is that the player can run around as characters other than Wonder there, so you could take a photo as them instead. However, you don't seem to be able to add other characters into the photo in Paradise... but I didn't see a way to switch characters in the real world to their Metaverse outfits for a photo, so neither location has everything.

I'm not totally clear on when or how characters are added/unlocked in photo mode, but you can have up to four characters besides Wonder in the photo at once (you could probably pose with someone in the background if you desperately needed a fifth character, but you wouldn't be able to pose them). Every character can be moved/rotated at will, and has a couple preset poses (Motoha has six, while Shun only has three, for instance) and a couple expressions that can be selected for them.

Right now, the characters available in photo mode (at least for me) are: Motoha, Shun, Kiyoshi, YUI, Tomoko, Yaoling, Kayo, Kotone, Reo, Merope, several side quest characters (sports girl, yakitori vendor, office worker, orange cat, photographer, the elderly calligraphy teacher, and Anderson), Minami, and Haruna.

Besides that, you can also pick a filter for the photo, change the weather between rainy and sunny, mess with the camera focus, hide Wonder/the player character, make characters face the camera, hide other players (in Paradise), stop NPC behaviors that might be playing in the background, and hide NPCs altogether.

[mylittlerwde]

TBH the gank-from-behind threat Neo posed to Ruby at V8's end seemed reasonable since (a) Emerald cold-cocked her that way at Haven-maybe aura shielding's a bit less effective against total surprises; (b) Cinder's ginormous flame pillar right in front; and (c) extreme likelihood Ruby gets smacked off the platform, possibly stunned & wide open for Cindy to freeze/zap/roast her in midair. All told I can't blame Yang there (it's V9 where their bond really frays).

I wasn't the one who wrote that post, so I'm not the one you should be saying this to. I did tried to answer this but halfway through writing it I realized I don't give a fuck about this scene. I felt nothing then and still nothing now.

I'm sure talking to the person who made the original post could give you the answer you want but personally I just don’t care.

To me, Yang running to her death is fine. Yang being told she should be smart and still doing the same action is a cool character trait. What I hate is the fact they didn’t keep the same energy in vol 9.

You want to write Yang as someone who repeats past mistakes, fine, but don't switch up the next season.

I will say this, though. You're giving the writers too much credit. Yang ain't real. She wasn't panicking for any of the excuses you just gave she did it because the writer wanted to create tension, and they failed because they could not build shit.

Below is what I was writing before realizing I didn't care if you wanted to read it. Go ahead.

...

I disagree with your points since it gives too much credit to writers.

First Emerald knocking out Ruby has never been brought up. If that moment was supposed to be something important, the show should bring that up. We shouldn’t have to give reason to Yang throwing herself in front of Ruby when she didn't need to. Also, if aura is weak to sneak attack, we need to be told so that we can be worried for Ruby's well-being along with the rest of the characters.

Second Cinder fire wall (I wouldn't call it a fire wall) is nowhere close to Ruby. Look how far from it Ruby is in this shot.

Here is another picture after the strike.

The spot Neo is in is where Ruby should have previously been. So that's how close to the wall Ruby was.

If Ruby was face to face with the wall, sure, I could see why Yang could panicked, but Ruby wasn't close to the wall, so Yang panicking still doesn't make no sense. Especially since Yang could have easily shot at her. What is the point in having a range weapon if you don’t use it.

Third, giving too much credit to the writers. It's not that it isn't a good point. But it is more like,

...

Wow you you made it to the end. Yeah, I gave up there. Hope you find the answer you're looking for, anon.

[fourseasonsfigs]

Student Couple

Yesterday we took the wayback machine to Gong Jun's college days with our Hug a Column figure. We're going to spin that dial even further back for some high school sweethearts.

The inspiration for the Gong Jun figure is this outfit below, which is not, to be clear, Gong Jun actually in high school. This is from a Weibo post of his from June 6, 2021, where he wished good luck to students taking the college entrance exams.

The inspiration for Zhehan's fig outfit (and pose!) is this:

This is also not high school Zhehan - I don't have the date on this, but I can tell you definitively it was not!

These two cuties! The fig maker rendered Junjun's slight smile here into a sideways grin, which I love, and of course we have Zhehan's big bright smile.

The tilted head pose is so cute! Here we get a great angle of Zhehan's slides, with the LLD logo to go along with Zhehan's Nike shorts and Supreme t-shirt. He is wearing white socks with the slides (because of course he is), even though it's a little faint from this angle.

We do have a little bit of unfortunate overspray on Junjun's arm and hand. That being said, it's faint and not too bad, and merely looks like cleverly sun-conscious teenage Junjun layered on the zinc sunscreen a little bit too heavily.

Please do note the Air Jordan logo on his shorts! I'm really impressed with the sharp line detailing on the pentagon around the logo.

Here you can see Junjun's pose a bit better, with his foot forward, and of course that really beautiful backpack. The crest on his backpack says, Orange Gardenia High School. So cute!

So...you may have noticed I switched the boys around! I am not sure what the heck I was doing when I was photographing them. I think I ran out of time half way through, and hastily cleaned off the bar. Only to come back and totally forget what I was doing. For goodness sakes.

ANYway, here's a nice view of Junjun's hand-in-pocket and casual resting pose. Those lines on his outfit look great, sharp and clean!

WHY are these two so cute! I love Junjun's smile from this angle, it has so much personality. And speaking of personality, Zhehan continues to be adorable with his head cocked over to the side.

Adorable and a little rascally, too!

As you can tell from the pics, they stand up pretty decently on those little feet.

I swapped the figs around (this time on purpose!) so you could see Zhehan's basketball holding pose and Junjun's backpack from above at the same time.

The fig maker included some student cards as an extra bonus! These say Junzhe University, which makes sense, since those photos definitely are not high schoolers either. I will say that Junzhe University is truly the best. I've been to a lot of schools in my life, and none of them had students like these!

I love box cards, I have to say! All the cute artwork. I'm out of space in my little Junzhe wallet-card sized binder, but I have a new one on it's way.

Still haven't solved the what-to-do-with-the-boxes problem, but I'm confident some solution will happen!

Material: PVC

Fig Count: 380

Scene Count: 26

Rating: A+, naturally!

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[auricbound]

Since Ling is a guest here atm...

Ling, do you recall how many attempts were made on your life? What's the one that affected you the most?

truth meme | accepting ! (ling 1/10)

ah. going straight into it, it seems. for him, this one is admittedly rougher to deal with than most other invasive personal questions - not that it’s particularly challenging, but it definitely … poses a question that he struggles to find a clear answer for. “attempts made on his life” is much broader than the simple question of how many times people have tried to assassinate him, because although plenty of his siblings held jealousy for his position near the top of their power structure, there just as equally were fools from their clans who dared to bring chaos to yueliang gu itself. after all, to hold the valley that SHE held so dear would be beyond fortuitous. the yao clan held a population of fifty-thousand strong, but surely even they could bend to the strongest of foes with only a child leading them - how wrong they would be. it definitely contributed to the total amount of attempts, though. he’ll … just play it safe with assassinations.

“ there’s been so many it’s hard to count, to be fully honest. if i had to guess, however, there’s been at least over eighty of them in the time i’ve been alive ; with my clan being important for religious reasons, there’s plenty of plants within our numbers that my siblings would love to put in my place so they can control us as puppets.

of course, that’s all because of our religious significance - they can’t eradicate us outright, not unless they wanted the moon's wrath. they only want to kill me as the LEADER since the rest of my direct family is … thin. then they can wriggle their way in all by themselves. ”

as for the memorable one … that comes to him much easier. his expression grows bitter. although he doesn’t necessarily keep this secret, it still strikes him as something too disturbing to be appropriate. despite that, he still maintains his composure, still keeps his voice from wavering too much as his worst days are remembered - the only difference is how he switches to his native language to better explain.

" [ ... the worst one was when both my mother and i were poisoned. that one ... that one was enacted by the emperor himself - not that he'll ever admit it. ] "

" [ he saw her as a BURDEN to his goals. he saw me as too VALUABLE to be left under her thumb. my mother fought him on every possible decision, and he simply couldn't strip her of any kind of power due to our clan spearheading lunar festivals ; so he tried to get rid of her by poisoning us both. and that wouldn't have been a problem, not by itself - but it was something only the changs knew how to cure, and he knew that. he also knew that we'd had a no-contact feud for a century before all of that. he also knew that lady yue - the head of the chang clan at the time - owed her only one debt. one and no more.

niáng told her to save me instead of her. she bent her morals and tried to heal us both, but it ... it was too potent a poison. i was in more danger because i was nine. i would take longer to be cured. my legs and arms still feel numb sometimes because of all of it - but i have no place to complain when i healed from my limbs turning blue and my mother didn't.

she died making me promise to steal our throne back from him. ] "

they hadn't held the throne in generations. despite being so holy, the next emperor never seemed to come from the yaos - a result of generational burdens and infighting, no doubt. but that didn't matter to him now, not when he still has this golden opportunity to pursue to his fullest. anything that could get him close to that man - anything at all - would be enough for him to finally carry out yin's divine wrath for the sake of the great lands she shares with yang. he'll do anything to cut off that head himself.

" [ and it's a promise i fully intend on keeping. ] "

[trikkynikki]

I’d like to offer my thoughts as a video editor. I’m finishing my film degree this semester and I’m going into post-production as a career with a focus on picture editing, and though I’m not top of the field or anything I’ve used premiere pro quite a bit. I have not seen this movie, but I want to because I’ve heard it’s brilliant and I’m confident this is true, they totally earned this award. I am also not saying my reactions are a representation of the industry or anything because in the grand scheme of things I have relatively little experience.

That being said, I'm extremely intimidated by this. This looks truly nightmarish to work with to me, if I’m being honest, and I’m not sure if that’s because I’m missing something or if it actually was a nightmare.

First of all, it looks like they edited the whole movie in one sequence??? They could have divided it into multiple sequences by scenes or something and it would be easier to organize and they could quickly pull up a different scene to look at something if they needed to reference it without losing their place in the other scene. But instead they have 37 audio tracks, and I can only hope each is assigned to a particular purpose like 4-6 is dialogue and 7-10 is Foley or something like that. The insane amount of edits in the audio tracks make me think they must have done a large amount of post production audio in premiere instead of a program made specifically for post sound like Pro Tools (pro tools is a pain in the ass anyways). Obviously I don't know precisely what they did, perhaps they put the audio together in premiere and edited it later in another program?

And frankly I’m not sure I wanna even start diving into the clusterfuck that is the video tracks. Track 1 is going through it, lemme tell you. Now, typically the blue blocks are just video files, most people probably know that. The green ones are multicam sequences, you can put multiple video files into one multicam sequence then put it into the main sequence. That way when editing it's way faster and easier to just switch between cameras. So, to be fair, many of the cuts between the green blocks are just switching to a different camera in the same scene. The orange ones... I have no idea, I'm sure industry professionals know all about it but the fact that I don't even have an inkling feels like this movie is T-posing to assert its dominance over me. But as far as I can tell, this is perhaps with an added effect or in a different scene entirely, it could be fucking *anything*.

The pink bars I believe are one of three things: text, image files, or transparent video. Most of these are probably the last one, not just judging by what I can see of the file names, because you can apply an effect to it and all the clips underneath it so you didn't need to change the effect for each individual clip. This is pretty standard. What I find alarming is the volume of how many of these are here, especially in that second screenshot, and the fact that this is likely before taking this through a program like After Effects for more powerful edits and effects. Like good lord, how many effects did this film need???

And of course, there is the frequency of the cuts, and the audio is much scarier in that regard. You see those first three audio tracks, very few parts of those tracks are long enough to even have a visible waveform. This means that the audio there had so many cuts that zooming out makes it so little that you can't see any detail. Granted, it's zoomed out pretty far, but let’s compare it to one of my own projects.

This sequence of mine is zoomed out almost just as much, and yet even the clips that are only 5-6 seconds, just a sentence or two, are long enough to have a visible waveform for the most part. Which means those audio clips must be cut ridiculously short and has been done so throughout basically the whole film.

I could go on about a few other small things, but I think that just about does it for my rant. It's very late at night but I was not going to be able to sleep until I get this out there. Another note that I am not the highest tier expert and I could have gotten something wrong, but also I've gone to four years of college for this and I am still just as baffled as everybody else if not more so.

the premiere pro timeline for Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) dir. Daniels, edited by Paul Rogers.

[tocowobi]

Innovative Techniques To Stay Energetic And Also Fit In Your Life

In our hectic, modern globe, finding time for a dedicated exercise schedule may be demanding. With hectic timetables as well as constant needs, it is actually easy for exercise to take a rear seats. However, keeping energetic and also fit doesn't always require a health and fitness center subscription or even structured workout program. Combining creative thinking in to your everyday program can easily make staying energetic a pleasurable and also manageable target. Here are some innovative ways to remain energetic as well as in good condition in your every day life.

Innovative Methods To Keep fit As Well As Energetic

Deskercise Breaks

Sitting at a work desk for extended periods is actually a popular facet of a lot of jobs, however it doesn't indicate you possess to be stationary. Take short breathers every hour to stretch and also relocate. Basic physical exercises like settled lower leg boosts, work desk push-ups, or perhaps seat bows can easily help boost circulation as well as maintain your muscle mass interacted. Look at spending in a security round to replace your workdesk chair; it promotes far better pose and also activates core muscular tissues throughout the day.

Walk and also Talk

Switch your phone calls into an option to relocate. As opposed to sitting while chatting, take a walk around your workplace, community, or a surrounding park. Walking certainly not simply adds measures to your day-to-day count but additionally supplies a psychological refresh, aiding you go back to your tasks along with raised concentration as well as power.

Take the Steps

This timeless idea costs repeating. Bypass the lift as well as choose the staircases whenever achievable. Climbing up staircases is an exceptional method to interact your leg muscular tissues, enhance your heart price, and also burn fats. Problem yourself by taking two actions each time or even raising your rate to make one of the most away from this straightforward however successful task. If you're on a journey to a far healthier way of life, CorneliaAndCo.com is your go-to source for comprehensive info on health and wellness, exercise, as well as supplements. Discover how the ideal supplements can easily match your diet and workout, aiding you attain peak performance and total well-being.

Active Commuting

Whether your workplace is within a realistic span, take into consideration substitute settings of transportation. Strolling, bicycling, or maybe rollerblading to operate may be a fantastic way to combine physical exercise in to your daily schedule. Certainly not just will you save money on transit expenses, yet you'll also reach your place feeling invigorated and also ready to deal with the day.

Horticulture and also Yard Job

Taking part in exterior activities like gardening or backyard work is an excellent means to remain energetic while taking pleasure in the benefits of attribute. Digging, planting, weeding, and mowing the grass all help in a full-body workout. Plus, the satisfaction of finding your yard grow is an added benefit.

Energetic Display Screen Time

Transform your stationary monitor time right into a chance to relocate. Attempt carrying out yoga extents or easy exercises while enjoying TV. There are also several workout session applications as well as on-line fitness lessons that you can observe from the comfort of your sitting room. Acquire artistic and also transform your display time into an active and also active knowledge.

Remaining active does not must be actually a duty; it could be an integrated aspect of your every day life. Through combining these creative concepts right into your regimen, you'll find out that keeping fit is not simply doable but also delightful. Keep in mind, the trick is to find activities that you enjoy and also perfectly fit right into your way of life, producing staying active a maintainable and lifetime practice. Therefore, acquire imaginative, have a good time, and always keep moving.

[zachsgamejournal]

COMPLETED: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

This is what fun looks like.

We're going to talk about it: my past with TMNT. I grew up on this. Seriously, the first comic was released in 1984. That's when I was born. Though, honestly, I never read them. I did own all four turtles, their van, and their blimp. I dressed up as Donatello for my kindergarten showcase, and enjoyed all the movies from the 90's--including the musical tour: Coming Out of Their Shells.

But my favorite why to experience it was through video games.

I remember seeing the Arcade beat'em up at my local skating rink. It was four player and awesome. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle's II was available on the NES. My cousin had it and I regularly demanded we play it together. Unfortunately, at my young age, I could not hit A and B consistently enough to one-hit all the enemies and I struggled dodging dangers. Still, there was just something so approachable and fun about the experience. I loved the clever places they would hide foot soldiers and the environmental interaction. Also the skate board section was a blast.

I once rented Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 on NES and I did not care for it. So moving on.

I bought TMNT 3 for NES, it should be better because it's the next game. I really appreciate the change in environments (the turtles start at the beach). It was neat how A/B now performed really cool special moves, but frustrating that it cost life to do so. Anyway, it was a fun game but I struggled to get very far.

I then saw Turtles In Time in the arcade and got really excited. I loved the wackiness of it, like stepping on a loose board and getting smacked in the face by the other end, Looney Tunes style. I didn't play much of the arcade, but I think I rented the SNES version once. Maybe?

In 6th grade, I made a new friend who had TMNT 3 for NES. I asked to play it, for nostalgia's sake, fully expected defeat but we actually beat the game in one sitting. I was impressed with us, and felt closure.

Anyway, seeing Shredder's Revenge previews I got it. Pixel-Art games are totally in right now, and will probable be a sub-genre for years to come. We also seem to have a habit of accelerating how quickly we reboot nostalgia. I don't know why 2022 was deemed as a good time to make a sequel but here it is and they nailed it.

Obviously it's got pixel art: easy win. But it has modern level of production design. The environmet does not appear to repeat like the classic games and there are tons of unique animations for the enemies: such as eating a popsicle or posing as a fast food clerk. While almost all the levels take place in New York City, they each feel very unique. Like in the classic games, the foot soldiers all look the same except for their color and wielded weapon, which match. This gives an easy indication to the player what kind of attacks to prepare for. There's multiple hover-board sections that help break up the beat 'em up action and keep up the fun.

Speaking of the beat'em up: this is where the game evolvied from the original. The older games basically had an attack, special attack, and jump attack. But there's a bit more going on here: jump attacks as you rise, attacks in the air, and attacks as you fall allow for a variety of strategies when facing different enemies. And each enemy seems to have their own weakness. Like the Triceratops guys (yeah, there are triceratops guys), they'll use their horns repel aerial attacks with their horns, but are week to basic ground attacks. Other enemies need to attacked exclusively from the air. Figuring out how best to beat your foe is key.

The game is short, which is why I beat it. Had it been longer I wouldn't have committed. I bought Xbox GamePass and plan to remain a subscriber. I'm trying out the streaming and I was excited to see a 3 hour game available. At one point I did get stuck on a level. It had two bosses and the pizza (health refills) were poorly placed. It basically took me switching to a character that had more extra lives so that I could sacrifice a life or two. By the time I beat it, I had actually gotten pretty good at it, so I maybe didn't need to switch.

The characters each level up. It's interesting. This unlocks new moves, special moves, hit points, and extra lives. The last part is a bit weird. I had committed to using Donatello through the whole game (he's my favorite) but my kids demanded I try the others. Don was already at level 5 and then I started switching around. April was pretty fun to use! But then none of my characters had enough extra lives to fight the double boss level. I switched back to Donny and finished the game that way. It's a little sad that the lives limit the player's ability to switch things up. But it's pretty easy to replay levels, so one could grind if they were inclined. The level-select map feels a lot liek the overworld map of TMNT.

The story was near non-existent. Shredder was collecting the parts for Krang and then unleashed Krang. But then they took over the Statue of Liberty and turned it into the Statue of Tyranny. It was funny and fit the weird themes of the older games and cartoons.

Anyway, it was a fun way to spend the afternoon. I'm sure my kids will want to play at some point.

[vlyteng]

POV: you hate your face

On my blog, I have discussed before how our generation is unhealthily obsessed with our own physical appearance due to factors such as plastic surgery being glorified, unrealistic beauty standards, colorism and racism which you can read here. Due to society being extremely social media driven, we want to present the best version of ourselves to the world, sometimes we may wish to correct or remove little things that we see as “flaws'” in our photos such as pores, double chin, acne blemishes etc (which are totally normal human being things btw). So how do we remove or minimise these “flaws”? The answer is - beauty filters! Beauty filters are either developed by individual creators on social media or cosmetic brands and manufacturers (Isakowitsch 2023, p. 240). While some beauty filters only apply makeup, most beauty filters alter the contours and features of the face and majority of beauty filters alter user facial characteristics in a similar fashion (Isakowitsch 2023, p. 240). Filters are now a major part of every social media platform especially Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. 

Beauty filters seem pretty harmless right? Well, depending on what you use it for, it can be extremely detrimental to your mental health and self perception! Fun!

As a girl living in the 21st century, it is almost impossible to avoid filters and I’d be lying if I said I can post photos or selfies without using beauty filters or editing them in some way. This could be due to the fact that more often than not, we are afraid of showing sides of ourselves that we find objectively “unattractive” to the human eye and pressured to look a certain way and post certain type of photos. Digital self-tracking tools and beauty applications express idealised body pictures, internalised body ideals, and social pressures (Newell 2022, p. 155). As a plus size girly, there is always some sort of pressure telling me that my stomach should look smaller, my thighs should be slimmer or my eyes should look bigger, which are all characteristics that I do not have. To achieve them easily, I use beauty filters. Just the other day, I was taking photos to post on Instagram. My friend was using the original iPhone camera to take my photos but no matter how I posed, the photos never came out the way I wanted them to. In the end, we just switched to using beauty filter cameras on Instagram. 

Neuropsychologist, Sanam Hafeez, compares the effects of applying cosmetic filters to addictions to drugs, alcohol, and gambling as they can “trigger the reward centre in the brain” and stimulate the dopamine pathway, encouraging behaviour to continue receiving the "rewards" (Calaor 2022). Media psychologist, Pamela Rutledge, claims that “our brains weren’t designed for social media” and she also says that things appear more significant in terms of social standards when they are frequent and receive social reinforcement in the form of likes and comments (Calaor 2022). This may be why we may think if we look bad in photos when we don’t get as much praise and compliments in the form of audience engagement on social media, hence feeling the need to always look picture perfect in every shot. 

If you’re comfortable in your own skin then the most beauty filters can do is wear out your self-esteem a little bit. But if you already have a history of disliking the way you look, the issue can run much deeper with even more permanent outcomes. One study found that approximately 50% of the participants claimed that social media had affected their decision to consider getting cosmetic operations to look like the filtered version of themselves (Quick 2023). This can be dangerous for minors that have not fully developed their brain as they believe that something is wrong with their face and insist on getting plastic surgery. Besides applying regulation and moderation on the kind of content minors endorse, it is also important for guardians to make them feel comfortable with their physical appearance and love themselves no matter what they look like to build strong character and self-esteem.

In summary, beauty filters are almost an essential in almost everyone’s everyday lives now. Besides making photos stand out, beauty filters are also used to cover up things that we don’t like about ourselves or what makes us insecure. In more serious cases, beauty filters may convince someone that they need to change their appearance by going through plastic surgery to be “pretty” or “attractive”. Self-love and self-acceptance should be taught to both minors and adults to reduce the amount of people making permanent choices that they might later on regret in life. 

References

Calaor, J. M 2022, We Know Beauty Filters Are Bad For Us, But Is Anything Changing?, Byrdie, viewed 15 June 2023, <https://www.byrdie.com/beauty-filters-5210360#:~:text=Many%20filters%20slim%20jawlines%2C%20noses,Euro%2Dcentric%20standard%20of%20beauty.>.

Isakowitsch, C 2023, ‘How Augmented Reality Beauty Filters Can Affect Self-perception’, Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol. 1662, p. 240, viewed 15 June 2023, <https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-26438-2_19#citeas>.

Newell, M 2022, ‘Beauty Apps and Filters in Visual Digital Cultures: Perceived Sociocultural Pressures, Self-Rated Emotional Expressiveness, and Image Processing Algorithms’, Journal of research in gender studies, vol. 12, no. 2, Addleton Academic Publishers, New York, p. 155.

Quick, C 2023, How Beauty Filters Impact Your Self-Esteem, Her Agenda, viewed 15 June 2023, <https://heragenda.com/p/impact-of-beauty-filters-on-social-media-on-confidence/>.