#ESPECIALLY A WIDESCREEN ONE

[bamgeut]

YEONJUN & BEOMGYU | DEJA VU (2024)

[tehcherrya]

For those of you who never knew as it's a detail one can easily miss (especially depending on which aspect ratio you're viewing in) but a lovely detail at that: Pippin was in the hobbit band in the background!

He's the one playing the banjolele!

These shots I have of the scenes where he is most visible are from the Fullscreen edition (A DvD I own and often watch for the different viewing experience). I believe in the Widescreen edition their heads are cut off by the aspect ratio-- so it's easy to miss!

And for those of you who haven't put it together already, yes! That is our beloved Merry standing next to him as they both watch Frodo dance.

Mind you, Merry is not in the band. A few scenes prior he was actually along the precession line of bringing in Bilbo's Birthday cake. He probably came up to the platform to talk to Pippin, give him a mug of something to drink and inevitably snatch him away for some mischief. Because after this brief scene, Pippin is then absent from the stage-- he and Merry are going to go swipe some fireworks!

[maxwellatoms]

Sorry to bother you again, Max, but have you noticed that [adult swim] has been airing some (though not all) Season 6 episodes in their original widescreen format? Just asking beause you previously noted Underfist as "the only HD thing we did" months before [as] started their Checkered Past block.

None of Billy & Mandy was widescreen. I know that because I was begging for widescreen, as were most of the other creators. Instead, CN decided to crop the top and bottom of the screen so that Boomers wouldn't think the black bars on the sides of the screen meant their TV was broken (I kid you not).

So I'd guess that's the version you're seeing?

It's a weird way to eat cornflakes, man.

That whole debacle landed us with storyboard panels that had two action safe lines, two title safe lines, and a vague shape that encompassed both places the CN "bug" might be. In the end, you were left with this tiny actionable screen space which made it really difficult to stage characters. Especially ones that some fool designed to be one and three-quarters heads tall.

[fayes-fics]

Electric

Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x fem!reader, Modern AU

Summary: Modern AU. Passionate al fresco thunderstorm sex…

Warnings: 18+ smut, minors DNI, vaginal sex, passionate sex al fresco during a thunderstorm, a touch of biting, marking. Also, beware, this has a very soppy ending. Yes, that needs a warning.

Word Count: 3.7k

Authors Note: Not what I should be working on, sorry. Sort of a request fill for a handful of my lovely discord mutuals (you know exactly who you are). Blame the thunderstorms that tore through the Northeastern US yesterday for this one. Thanks to @colettebronte for reading through for me. OK, now back to my queue that I should be writing. Enjoy <3

“We must have taken a wrong turn,” you sigh, watching the gathering shelf of dark grey, almost purple-hued clouds rolling overhead just as dusk approaches, the lightning flashes you had seen on the horizon a few minutes before a harbinger.

“Yes, I think so,” Benedict admits quietly, scanning the surrounding countryside of the narrow single-track lane you are on somewhere in the wilds of Cornwall. He took over the driving duty a couple of hours ago.

“I don’t think we’ll make it to the reception dinner on time now. We probably should have downloaded the route so we could have navigated offline,” your voice rueful about your lack of planning.

“Hindsight is always twenty-twenty,” he shrugs as he flicks on the wipers, rain pattering onto the widescreen. His laissez-faire attitude to the dilemma is somehow a calming influence over your vague anxiety about being late. And lost. In an approaching storm. He always seems so calm in the face of everything; you envy him a touch.

There are a few minutes of silence as you ponder what to do. Whether you should try to find a spot wide enough to turn around and backtrack or keep going, knowing you are headed in the approximate correct direction, in the hope the patchwork of country lanes crisscrossing the area will eventually lead you somewhere more promising—all the while, glancing up at the darkening sky.

“Pull over. I might have an old-fashioned roadmap lurking somewhere in the boot,” you offer as the car slips into a tunnel of trees, the lack of view galvanising your resolve to find a way out.

“Will it be detailed enough for us to work out where we are?” he frowns.

“Better than hoping for our phones to work out here, especially in a storm,” you point out, holding up yours that still reads No Service as if mocking you.

“Okay,” he agrees.

He drives a little further until there is a pull-in designed for passing; it’s just about the length of your car. By now, the rain is pelting down; it is almost night-time dark under the canopy of trees; the thunk of heavy drops on the car roof is more pronounced as it filters through the dense branches above.

“What are you doing?” he asks as you unbuckle your strappy evening sandals.

“It’s pissing it down, and I’m certain this lay-by will be all muddy. I’m not ruining these fancy new shoes.”

“So you are just going to get muddy feet instead?”

“Yes, my feet are washable; these are not,” you argue, waving the shoes before tossing them into the backseat.

“Look, you stay here. I’ll get the map,” he offers chivalrously, “just tell me approximately where you think it might be?”

“I have no idea,” you admit sheepishly, “somewhere under our suitcases… and, well, everything else piled back there. Sorry…” you wince a little, apologetic.

He rolls his eyes without heat, throws open the driver’s door, slams it shut, and sprints to the back of the car just as thunder claps make you jump. You hear him rummaging around in the boot for a while then there is a muffled voice saying that he can’t find anything. You glance in the rearview mirror and see him close it, then tip his head up and let the rain sluice over him, giving up on attempting to stay dry. 

“Ben, get back in here,” you shout, cracking your window a tiny amount, droplets painting your arm even with an inch of opening.

“No point now, I'm soaked through,” he laughs loudly, and you watch as he jogs around in front of the car and throws his arms aloft in the beam of the headlights whooping in child-like delight. “Come join me!” he yells over the din of the rain. 

All you can do is stare incredulously as he stands there, his white shirt turning translucent and clinging to his torso, rivulets of rain running down his face and slicking back his hair.  He looks beautiful. Handsome. Carefree. His face cracks into a large grin as he spins slowly and tilts his head back.

“Come on!” he calls again, shouting skyward. 

With a twisted pout, you reach over and flick off the ignition, the headlights cutting out. Tentatively you open the door, and the noise hits you like a wall, the rain sheeting down, splattering noisily onto the road, that intensity which only comes with a summer storm rolling in to usher out the heat. You take one rueful look at your floral dry-clean-only knee-length dress and then step out. Your foot sinks into the squelchy, verdant grass verge as he jogs up to you, arms aloft in celebration, almost giddy with excitement.

“This storm is intense, isn't it?! Let's go into the field over there. I bet the view over the valley is amazing!” he declares, grabbing your hand and heading for an opening among the line of trees.

“Ben…” you trail, your gait reluctant, feeling a trickle of rain track down your spine from your neck all the way into your underwear.

“We are never going to make it to that wedding reception on time now,” he accurately surmises, “So… lets's just… enjoy this! Live in the moment! When do we get thunderstorms this intense?! Hardly ever. Come on!!” he grins, shaking your joined hand slightly to gee you along.

His enthusiasm is infectious, and the rain is surprisingly refreshing after the last few days of stifling heat; you find yourself capitulating and letting yourself be dragged along.

“Come here,” he laughs, picking you up bridal style when he notices the slightly rough stony ground under the tree cover.

You can’t help your laughing bubbling up as he carries you until you reach the grassy field, his body flexing against you, stirring something in you. You've been together for a few months now, long enough to be each other’s plus one for friends' weddings, such as was supposed to happen tonight, but still in that early flush of romance where given half a chance, you will not leave a bed all weekend.

He gently places you back on your feet, and once outside the tree cover, you are soaked through within seconds. Your dress rapidly becomes heavy and glued to your skin. You don’t even want to think about your hair and makeup….

“You look beautiful,” he assures, as if reading your mind, a soft smile on his handsome face, all jaw and cheekbones as water sluices over the contours. 

“So do you,” your reply is a truthful reflex, and his responding demure smile melts a hot pool in your chest, like a little oil lantern you hold behind your ribs just for him.

“Let's go see,” he urges, wrapping an arm tight around your shoulders. Yours bands around his slim waist, the water from the back of his shirt seeping over your forearm as you do so.

It’s about fifty feet of slight incline until the field falls away, and there is suddenly a beautiful rolling vista of the Cornish countryside before you. Little fields dotted with hedgerows and in the sky above the storm slicing across the valley, half still dry and half obscured by a grey fug of heavy rain. Beyond, you can just see a slice of the sea.

You both stop short and just stare at the wonder before you. “See?” he enthuses, squeezing your shoulder.

“It's beautiful,” you admit, even as you have to brush a sodden strand of hair away from your face. A sudden flash of lightning rips high across the sky, making you jump instinctively into him.  His hand curls tighter around your shoulder, and your gaze cuts to meet his; something wild there, electric, like the storm you are in.

Wordlessly, he twists to kiss you, the fervency taking you by surprise, his lips hot, the water trickling down his face cool by comparison. Just as you go to deepen it and open your mouth, he pulls back with a little smirk and grabs your hand again, drawing you off to the right. He is making a beeline for a large, sprawling oak sitting majestic but incongruous in the middle of the brow of the field. Likely the remnants of a great wood that once stood here, hundreds of years before, a singular monument to the past.

“Isn't it dangerous to shelter under a tree in a storm?” you question, your words almost stolen by a stray gust of wind.

“Probably,” he buzzes and something in his tone feels daring; he stops moving and pulls you hard into his body. “It's exciting, isn't it?” his words hot over the shell of your ear, and your body feels alive. 

Only he can do this. Just one rumbled sentence and a frisson runs through your entire being. Your hands map his neck as you push up onto tiptoe to meet his lips, unable to resist your body's siren call for him. The kiss this time is more frenzied, and as your tongues touch, there is a rumble of thunder you feel reverberate in your ribcage.

“Have you ever had sex outside in a storm?” he whispers over your lips as you part.

“No,” you confess, your eyes fluttering closed as he peppers little kisses across your face.

“Me either. Would you like to?” the ask is murmured into your ear as he gently sucks the edge of your earlobe.

“Fuck yes,” you breathe, excited by the prospect, feeling an entirely different wetness between your legs. 

Out here in nature with a beautiful view and a storm raging seems adventurous and so elemental, the ozone in the air making every hair on your body stand on end, the petrichor oozing from the earth beneath your toes, the sight and feel of his toned body, soaked, warm skin under cool rain. 

You back away from him towards the tree trunk, and although he stays rooted to the spot, his stare is predatory, and his chest heaving as you bite your lip and wordlessly shimmy under your dress until you can drop your underwear.

The noise he makes is as savage as the roll of thunder it accompanies, and in three long, athletic strides, thigh muscle prominent under his clinging trousers, he is on you. Large hands grab your bottom and haul you off your feet; your legs wrap around his hips on instinct as he sucks your neck, walking you backwards until rough bark abrades your shoulder blades. Your fingers card through his drenched hair as you moan under his attention, his hands frenetically pushing your dress high up your thighs until you feel the wind around your bare bottom cheeks.

Everything between you suddenly frantic, like the storm, roiling and tempestuous, every sensation heightened. Warm skin and cold, wet cotton, soft earth and solid treetrunk, light and dark as the view is almost daylight under the intense flash before plunging into dusk again. And the noise. So much noise. The pounding rain, the howling wind whipping through the tree above and whistling low through the grasses, the rolling thunder, his breath hard in your ear, your own moans as you fumble to unzip his fly, feeling his cock insistent against you, so very desperate for him to be inside you immediately. 

Your head tilts into a knot of wood as he slides into your body in one swift motion, pulling you down onto his cock as he thrusts upwards. The feral noise you make is almost lost to the wind, and your eyes roll closed, just going limp at the overwhelming heat and stretch, toes curling around the back of his knee as his trousers slip further down his legs. It's only recently you both agreed to go condom-free, and every time his unsheathed cock plunges into you, it feels so visceral, like every contour and vein was designed to hit just the right spots deep inside.

A hand yanks aside your neckline, with what sounds like a rip in the fabric under your arm, as a wet hand cups your left breast, a fingernail dragging bluntly over your nipple as it puckers almost painfully. All his movements ferocious, so different to his usual gentle, sensual pace in the quietness of your beds. But somehow, it’s precisely what you need, crave, and want. Untamed and tumultuous.

Your base demand for him to fuck you hard is a clarion call that catalyses him to begin moving, his hard hot tip splitting you open with every thrust. Your hands want to be everywhere at once, in his hair, gripping his neck, his shoulders, his back, his bum, tearing open his shirt. They settle on a combination of all; your motions just as fevered as his. When you are able to peel his shirt down to his elbows, he takes over briefly, propping you against the tree, speared deep on his cock as he fights it off around his cuffs and tosses it aside.

“How does this dress undo?” he pants loudly in your ear, and one fumbling hand unzips down your side, giving enough slack for him to tug it over your head. 

Then you are both naked, fucking hard against the tree, your sodden clothes discarded around you as you take from each other primally, sucking and biting shoulders hard enough to leave marks, the rough bark rubbing abrasions into your spine and his kneecaps. And yet you do not stop. Like the storm, the intensity is almost like whiplash. He has never fucked you this hard before, and you have never been so rough, fingernails digging into flesh until he grunts, teeth biting his neck, his ear, teeth even grazing his cheek on the way to biting kisses. 

Staring over his shoulder at the wondrous view as he surges into you over and over, as you moan encouragements, always so greedy, begging for more, and now, and to never stop. He obliges, kneading the flesh of your bottom, fingers snagging and tugging your nipples, pulling back to stare into your eyes and lean your heads together, slack mouths breathing each other’s air as you ratchet higher. 

This is the least you have ever communicated during sex, but somehow it feels superfluous. Like your bodies are in tune, moving in tandem, push and pull, together and apart, over and over and over, your sweat sluiced away by the rain tumbling from the heavy boughs above. The only words spoken are your names, and as he pulls one of your legs up over his forearm, your thigh muscle burning slightly with the stretch, you know it's burning intensity now. Open and vulnerable to him, he brushes your clit with every thrust. You start to scream, the liberating feeling of solitude, miles from anyone and anything, making your inhibitions tumble away. And he loves it, growls at you to be loud, scream his name, his chest swelling with heaving breaths and pride about how he can wring such sounds from you. 

This is the sort of sex you have only read about before now - passionate, near animalistic, rabid, frantic, and so addictive you want to move to the countryside and fuck in the woods for the rest of your days. Rain or shine.

“Look at me,” he murmurs, and your movements slow a touch as you tilt your eyes up to meet his, seeing the lightning flash behind you reflected in his inky pupils, mouth open and face unable to mask any of your teetering shudders. You are so close to a precipice, almost reluctant to tumble over it, wanting this intoxicating experience never to end. It feels like he wants to say something else, something profound, but the words appear stuck in his throat, almost afraid to be declared. 

“Me too,” you whisper urgently, a cryptic enough response to any number of statements he could be struggling to articulate. 

He nods ferociously and kisses you like a starved man as he grabs one of your hands and guides it between your bodies, pressed into each other. 

“Touch yourself for me, please,” he begs, and you do as he starts that punishing pace again. It's only a few strokes, and you are convulsing, lightning piercing the sky and painting the inside of your eyelids as you screw them shut and allow yourself to tumble over the edge into oblivion, your body convulsing hard, rain trickling hard down your limbs, your skin both hot and cold and too tight at once as you fracture in his arms and slump into him babbling incoherently, Distantly you hear him biting off curses, and with a few thrusts, that push you up off your feet, he stills and shouts a biting version of your name into your shoulder as he comes hard, the warmth coating inside you as yet another clap of thunder causes you both to jolt.

The sound of both of your ragged breathing is louder than the rain as you slowly return to the scene, your thigh slipping from his forearm as he leans into you, into the tree, almost a crushing weight.

“Wow…” he sounds awestruck.

“Ditto,” you struggle out, sharing a lighthearted chuckle. 

You wrap around each other in a wordless tangle of limbs, leaning on the solid trunk and mesmerised by the beautiful view, watching as the worst storm clouds move away towards the sea. 

Deciding there is barely any point in attempting to re-dress, once the rain abates slightly, you agree to brave the dash back to your car nude, hand in hand and laughing carefree. Once there, you yank open your gym bag and giggle as you both attempt to dry off using the one towel in the backseat, discarding your sodden garments into a plastic bag and laughing uproariously as you pull on your casual clothes for the journey home in the tiny cramped space.

“I’ll never forget tonight,” he says softly, sincerely, after you clamber back into the front seats.

“Me either,” you smile gently back.

You never did find the wedding venue, but somehow, neither of you particularly care.

____

Twelve months later, you are back in Cornwall, and he pulls up in that familiar layby.

“Is this…?” you twist to look at him; it appears so different on a bright sunny July day you almost double-take.

“Yes,” he answers, a nervous energy vibrating off him that seems odd.

“How on earth did you find it again?”.

“A lot of time spent pinching in and out on Google Maps for many weeks,” he confesses meekly.

You laugh and allow him to drag you out of the car, enjoying the sun's warmth as you emerge from the treeline and walk up that slight slope.

The view is just as breathtaking as you remember on a warm sunny afternoon; the memories of that night, always so clear and vivid, come tumbling back as he leads you under the shade of the mighty oak.

You laugh as he whips a penknife from his jeans pocket and carves your initials into the wood, like some cheesy teenage couple. He doesn't release your hand as he does so, so you push up your sunglasses, enjoying drinking in the vista, idly thinking this is such a beautiful spot that you would happily live right here.

“Whoever owns this land will be mad if they ever find this,” you state drolly.

“I think they are just fine with it, actually,” he answers somewhat cryptically, but you let it slide. Perhaps he looked up the owner when researching how to locate the field again. 

It's only when he steps away that you notice he has not carved a last initial for you. 

“Do I not have a last name?” you raise an arch eyebrow, body checking him lightly in jest, but your brow knits as his nervous energy returns. “Are you okay?” you check.

“What I carve depends on your answer to my next question…,” he rushes over an exhale. 

Before you know it, he is down on one knee before you.

And you entirely forget how to breathe.

“I… I couldn't think of anywhere else to ask this…,” he begins tremulant, but you don't even let him finish.

“YES!!” you squeal behind a shaking hand cupped over your mouth.

He laughs and hangs his head briefly. “Can I please ask anyway?” his eyes sparkling as he looks up again.

“Sorry!” you squeak and squeeze his shoulder, fingers trembling. “Please, continue….”

“Y/n, will you marry me?” his face radiates devotion as he holds out a ring box with your ideal ring nestled inside.

“YES!!” you squeal again, impatient and vibrating with emotion as he shakily pushes the ring onto your finger, and you haul him to his feet and launch yourself into his arms, almost knocking him over.

“Ooof!” he exclaims as you partially knock the wind out of him, but he rallies, and you share sweet kisses.

“How much do you love this view?” he queries when you finally part and slip back to your feet.

“I love it as much today as I did that day,” you sigh dreamily.

“Something you would perhaps like to look at frequently?” his voice uncertain, seemingly hedging.

“Of course… why?”

“I may have done something… a little rash,” he admits.

“What?” you frown.

“So the owner of this land doesn't mind the oak being carved because… well… that owner is me.” 

And your jaw drops for a second time.

“Benedict…” all other words fail.

“And you too now, of course; what's mine is yours.” He points to a far-off spot at the end of the slope. “That hedge down there? As far as that is ours. I brought this whole field from the farmer, and umm, I’m in the process of applying for planning permission to build a home right here. For us. This view will be our back garden. Right next to this very special tree,” he concludes, tapping the sturdy trunk with his knuckles.

“You utter romantic idiot,” you whisper through blinking tears. 

Back in his arms this time, you tumble to the ground, rolling in the cool grass under its sheltering might.

“One electric night changes it all, doesn’t it?” he whispers.

You couldn't agree more.

Benedict taglist: @makaylan @foreverlonginguniverse @iboopedyournose @colettebronte @aintnuthinbutahounddog @severewobblerlightdragon @margofiore @writergirl-2001 @heeyyyou @enichole445 @enchantedbytomandhenry @ambitionspassionscoffee @chaoticcalzoneranchsports @nikaprincessofkattegat @baebee35 @crowleysqueenofhell @bridgertontess @fiction-is-life @lilacbeesworld @angels17324 @broooookiecrisp @queen-of-the-misfit-toys @eleanor-bradstreet @divaanya @musicismyoxygen84 @benedictspaintbrush @miindfucked @sorryallonsy @lilithseve @cayt0123 @hottytoddyhistory @truly-dionysus @fictionalmenloversblog @zinzysstuff @malpalgalz

[yogurt200]

do you have any advice for those just starting out using renpy/ making games?

im still learning my way around renpy and making visual novels and what works best ..here are some personal findings:

..try to replace renpys default ui and mess with the options.rpy and screens.rpy right away , the more time put into it the easier it will become to make something unique to your senses. you can change basically everything. you dont have to make a widescreen vn either..4:3, square or portrait mode are possible as well

..look into layered images, the feature is really awesome if you want sprites that change outfits or want to be able to do unique expression combinations without having to save a png of every one

..its good to define characters, atl(animations), images, transitions etc each in their own .rpy file. you can make as many .rpy files as you need and you dont have to only use "script.rpy" to write your story. i divide my script into act files to make it easier..

n some not renpy stuff:

..this software helps you take breaks and avoid RSI and it is pretty invaluable for me. it will track based on the time you spend moving your mouse or keyboard. this also helps keep on task n if you get distracted you're more aware of it.

..if you are a writer, i cant recommend getting an alphasmart neo2 enough. especially if you cant handwrite. its an old device that lets you type textfiles without a bluelight screen. you can 'send' what you write directly to your computer through a printer cable and it types it out. it fits plenty and its useful for writing script outside the computer. refurbished ones on ebay are good.

..its easy to get really overambitious and perfectionist and then not make anything as a result..my advice if this comes up is to prioritize the existence of the thing rather than its ability to match the impossible image in your head. that ideal picture will always be shifting into more impossible territory as you improve anyway, so think about what you're actually capable of and make it actually happen!! important to remember ur not triple A studio.. being independent is an advantage cuz you can do anything!

thts all i can get from the top of my head tht i havent said here before(ithink?)..i think about the last one a lot honestly i think thats my best advice i have if you can call it that

hopefully this helps.. good luck with your vn/game!

[elliesgaymachete]

I’ve now seen mean girls the movie the musical the movie a second time and it’s still just as good so here’s a full review

The Narrators bit was so much fun, the way they kept looking at the camera, breaking the fourth wall, and that one shot where they’re doing announcements and the name plate just reads “narrators”. The way the movie opens on them recording a video for social media in a garage and it ends in the same place with the garage door closing while they wave under it like the curtain on a broadway stage. Amazing.

The way it switches from fullscreen to widescreen just for songs where Regina controls the narrative like a fucking puppeteer. Like, at first I thought it was every song, but it’s only for Meet the Plastics, Apex Predator, Someone Gets Hurt, and World Burn. It’s SUCH a stylistic choice and I absolutely loved it

THE CONTINUOUS SHOT IN I’D RATHER BE ME!!!! HOLY SHIT!!!!! IT’S SO COOL!!!!! I love me a good continuous shot and would have LOVED to be a fly on the wall on set that day

Also still on I’d rather be me, the way the huge iconic moment of regina getting hit by the bus is completely overshadowed by Janis getting her moment. Loved it.

There were also a lot more smaller continuous shots that were really cool!

The use of social media, especially since social media as we know it today didn’t really exist when the original movie came out. It was a big part of the broadway show and keeping that translated REALLY well to the big screen

I made a separate post about this but the fact that they actually made Janis canonically gay instead of it just being subtext or if you squint. It makes Janis a much more sympathetic character and makes her vendetta against Regina feel even more real.

Making Cady’s mom a single mom was a surprisingly nice change and Jenna Fisher was truly a delight in all of her scenes.

The tease when Tina Fey almost sang where do you belong 😂 (though I am still bummed they cut where do you belong 😔)

THE LINDSAY LOHAN JUMP SCARE

Avantika was a delight and her comedic timing + deadpan delivery as Karen was so perfect

Literally everything about renee rapp as regina was perfect, but especially at spring fling when she’s high on pain meds was so much fun

Someone Gets Hurt (Reprise) was absolutely phenomenal. I didn’t know it was gonna be in the movie and gave me chills the first time I heard it. Auli’i fucking crushed it

I also love how they took a homophobic insult from the original movie (“it’s not my fault you’re like in love with me”) and turned it into a new queer jam for the end credits song. Can a gay girl get an amen?

This movie is truly just a fun time

[deadbeandrop]

camp lazlo and "The Machine"

i forgot i had written about this on the screenshot blogs' FAQ, so i think i'll make it a post with my updated conclusions as well... so, have you ever wondered what's up with the colors in the HD version of the show?

y'know...

...this?

the first time i had watched the show, it was in pretty bad quality, and i had chalked any color differences up to that. even when i did have access to a few HD episodes, i never really noticed it outside of slinkman being a bit... lighter, mostly due to the fact that everything else was so submerged in Gunk in the first place. as you can see, the "issue" affects almost exclusively the yellows, most notably seen in the sky, or in characters like slinkman or clam, or even in lumpus’s glasses, and characters' eyes in general losing their off-white tint due to this. a quick look at any streaming service that has the show will tell you that almost all "official" distributions have this issue, and often (in)consistently so, at that. it may very well be the only version these services have access to (considering how they often the resources they have access to aren't always the best, which leads to things like episodes out of order or incorrect subtitles). to say the least, it bothers me a lot, especially for someone like me who's very particular about this sort of thing...! (it's sort of the reason i put the screenshot blogs on hold for a while, aside from the fact that it's a bit of a time sink — the issue just stressed me out too much!)

so, what's going on, then? my friends and i had ended up speculating about it for a while, and we had a lot of theories — was it the result of an upscaling process done for streaming services? was it something technical, like issues with the video encoding? did someone in charge of the process simply fuck up? all of the above?! and... most of all, why???

now, i know very little about all the technical stuff, but i've come to believe the most likely explanation is also the most simple one, with a little bit of obscure knowledge on the side... in that, i think it makes the most sense if the colors are fucked up due to The Machine at cartoon network. see, this isn't just an issue with camp lazlo, and there are other CN shows that have been a victim of this too, such as billy and mandy.

and here's what mr. atoms has to say on the topic:

the shows had also both aired their "later" seasons around the same time, circa ~2007-2008, and it explains away a lot of those inconsistencies, too — "It’s also the reason that Mandy’s hair changes from pure yellow to light yellow and back again all the time." in most other shows, the effect this would have is likely a lot more negligible. as one of the main characters, mandy is pointed out a lot as it'd be something you'd notice the most. camp lazlo, on the other hand... is a show where the whole sky is colored a bright yellow.

...definitely one of the worst shows that could've been hit with it.

even so, "The Machine" application is not actually the only state these episodes are stuck in... or rather, i don't think so, at least...?

so as far as i know... (which certainly isn't everything,)

- in order to to accommodate for the transition period from box TVs to flat screen TVs, i believe that camp lazlo, was, in fact, a show that was produced in a widescreen format, so it could be aired in full on new TVs and crop to fit the 4:3 aspect ratio of older ones.

- i am not sure if this inherently means it was also produced in Full HD (1080p).

- as can be confirmed by old recordings (one of the only additional benefits of sites like WCO keeping the old versions around is stuff like this, as annoying as it is trying to find anything else...), both color corrected and un-corrected versions of at least part of the show have aired at some point.

- as far as i'm aware, there is NO version of this show in Full HD with un-corrected colors.

- however, what i do know is that there is a widescreen, non-HD (480p or 720p, i can't remember off the top of my head) version of the show with the un-corrected colors. if you have a bit of a keen eye, you might have noticed it used on foreign variations of the official cartoon network youtube channel for clips. (it had fooled me at first into thinking it was a secret, all correct colors, and Full HD version of the show, but unfortunately this isn't the case.) see, my friends and i went on a little hunt for it for a while, with that detail as our basis, and it is out there... just not on the standard american versions of those services. instead, we had to look at a whole variation of HBO's streaming service itself, HBO GO, of which's entire existence is still currently on the line due to the HBO rebrand. (we have rescued it from there, in case of it becoming lost media of sorts, but due to technical limitations were only able to get it by recording, and thus also still has the HBO logo.) the mere existance of this version is very interesting to me and raises a lot of questions that may also contradict some of my earlier statements.

- and finally, i haven't looked at every set of files there is (as from all the different streaming services) so i actually am not 100% certain if there's actually variation between THOSE as well, and if there is... the situation is even more confusing to me.

i don't know if there will ever be justice for this, or if any victims of The Machine have ever recovered from its Wrath. it's a topic i've gone over dozens of times trying to sort it out, because, i'll be honest... it sort of haunts me.

but there's your little information dump and speculation for the day

[bluebudgie]

Oh hi. I heard it's gifs tips'n'tricks time.

View this as a little addition to this post I made a while back.

This time I thought I'd take you through my gif making process. It'll be very specific to Photoshop CS6 but maybe some of you will find parts of it helpful regardless.

And since our biggest nemesis appears to be ~The Tumblr 10MB File Size Limit~ I decided to go for the absolute worst premise for a gif: Lots of stupid wobbly particles and gw2 bloom and transparency effects. Because huge gifs love these.

Aah, a horrifying amount of those in this single scene. Perfect!

Let's start with a little timelapse video, and I'll get into the details with screenshots below then.

So this actually went smoother than expected? Not super much fiddling needed in the end, but here's how it went in detail:

Load the raw footage into photoshop.

You can do this in two different ways: What I do is simply drag & drop the video file into the program and it'll open with a video timeline and some rudimentary video editing options.

What you can also do is File -> Import -> Videoframes to Layers and select your source video, which will give you a timeline of separate still image frames instead.

It comes down to preference, I used both methods in the past but nowadays I find the video timeline more intuitive.

Cut the footage to roughly the right length.

From experience I know that most of my gifs are around 3-4 seconds long. This can of course vary depending on different factors. Don't get too attached to the exact seconds you selected, you might have to shave off a bit depending on how evil the file size decides to act.

Optional: Change footage speed

Depending on the gif and its purpose, I slow the footage down. I usually do this for the visual effect (especially nice for showing off animation details) but it also has the practical side effect that it can help with file size. Say you want a gif that loops after 4 seconds. At 100% speed your gif will move at your original framerate (in my case 60 fps); if you slow it down but keep the same length in seconds it'll logically use less frames. That's less data to blow up the size! Yey.

Crop the image.

Now this is probably one of the most crucial parts when it comes to your final file size, and your gif looking nice on tumblr. Since the tumblr dashboard displays images at a width of 540px, you want this to be your absolute minimum image width to ensure a crisp image. If I can, I'll make the gifs larger (I like starting at a minimum of 600px and then reduce the image dimensions if needed).

With that in mind.... choose your image crop wisely.

A "widescreen" image like this will be the most merciful in terms of file size, but might not always be what you want in terms of composition.

Given tumblr's very vertical nature, this kind of approach will look great in posts (if it fits your image composition of course), but at 540px minimum width tends to be a file size monster.

For the gif I'm attempting to make here I opted for a more square approach. The subjects of the scene fill out the image's space nicely, and it's still a nice size for tumblr posts overall. Let's see what the file size will say about this.

Replay your footage after cropping to make sure you didn't accidentally cut off any motion you didn't mean to cut.

Next up: optional colour corrections

I tend to crank up the saturation for gifs way, way more than I ever would for regular screenshots since I find that often the limited web palette can make them look fairly dull. But like everything else so far, this greatly varies depending on the scene you're showing.

Note that colour correction can increase or decrease file size depending on what exactly you're doing. The more different colours you have, the larger your file size will be.

Reduce image dimensions

Since my original video footage was fairly zoomed out, the cropped area only left me 575px of width to begin with. In an earlier attempt (that I absolutely did not fail to capture and therefore had to record the whole thing a second time) I tried to leave it at these dimensions, but the 10MB size limit did not like that so now I knew better and immediately reduced the width to 560px.

Note: After you've changed the video's dimensions it won't let you edit the speed anymore (for some reason), so make sure you've got that settled.

After all the adjustments are done it's time for the moment of truth...

File > Save for Web...

This beautiful window will open and...

Aww almost.

But honestly? That's not bad at all. I've had completely different disasters to deal with in the past (starting somewhere in the mid 20MB, good luck trying to make use of every size-reducing trick you've got up your sleeve).

Before I do any adjustments to shave off the last few KB though, I preview the gif to make sure it loops correctly. I want the Chak to sway seemlessly. Turns out it didn't, so I back out of the window to remove a few frames from the footage. And when I open the "Save for Web" window again....

Well that's anticlimatic. Apparently those few frames were enough to get the file size where I need it. (Note: Sometimes Tumblr likes to be a little b* and pretends your file is too big when you're this close to the 10MB limit. It be like that.)

While my gif journey theoretically ends here, I want to at least show you a few more things that could have helped if I had needed to get the file even smaller.

So this dithering thing I keep making a big deal of...

It can make or break a gif. In my experience this is so, so crucial to the final file size and quality of the gif.

In my own very amateurish words, dithering is a way to emulate colours that aren't actually part of the images colour palette. This is especially needed for in-game transparency effects like fog, glowy stuff, or smooth gradients. And that is part of why I chose this hell scene of all the ley line glow and the typical gw2 bloom that's particularly bad in this area.

PS CS6 offers you three different kinds of dithering techniques: Diffusion, pattern and noise.

My go-to is diffusion dithering, which has adjustable quality levels.

In my opinion it's generally the type of dithering that's often the least noticeable and creates the smoothest looking images. Unfortunately, it's also the one that creates by far the largest file sizes. Another downside is that it doesn't work super well with heavy DoF/fog etc. effects and is prone to really ugly banding, especially visible the more you decrease the quality. It looks awful for this particular scene. (Look at the glow around my asura's headpiece if you don't know what I'm talking about. Or... just the entire background.)

Both noise and pattern dithering will get you smaller file sizes, luckily.

I've never used noise so far (it tends to look messy in my opinion), but pattern gets the job done! Especially for gradient heavy gifs it's a lifesaver. It's definitely more noticeable than the diffusion dithering on static parts of the gif, but it absolutely makes up for it by not having any ugly banding effects. This is also what gave me the neat little 9.99MB file size in comparison to the diffusion dithering's 15.31MB.

Last but not least, if fiddling with the dithering or image dimensions doesn't help you get below that magic 10MB mark...

Limit the colour palette

You can either manually colour edit your image to use less colours for a more artistic approach, or you can let Photoshop limit the palette to its best abilities.

Additionally you can double click each individual colour to replace it how you see fit. (I've done that in the past when Petthri's yellow eye colour got erased and I had to bring it back manually.)

In this gif's example, reducing the palette from 256 to 128 colours has brought the file size down from 9.9 MB to about 8 MB. It can have a big effect, but doesn't always in my experience.

SHOW US THE GODDAMN GIF ALREADY!!!

Not the best quality gif we've ever seen on tumblr, but given the extremely unfavourable source material I think it turned out alright. I have to admit I'm actually surprised it worked at all.

Oh well! This got long (once again). I hope this was at least a little bit helpful to someone out there. Happy gif making!

[kyomunosaki]

Geminism Trial, thoughts and observations

I just noticed Geminism's trial is out, so this will be a short post on my thoughts regarding it. I've been eagerly waiting for this game for a few years now, especially since I'm a massive fan of Sayonara wo Oshiete, and this brings back a ton of the staff from that era.

I've tagged some other games that are related / probably inspirations, so take that as you will if you're seeing this post randomly lol

Overall Thoughts: An amazing introduction to a game that I've been excited for, for a while now. The writing style in Japanese is absolutely amazing, unique and got me absolutely hooked, and the visual and sound direction are just phenomenal. I want to also note it has the best direction of presentation I've ever seen from a visual novel to date, with tons of cool cut-ins and effects. I cannot wait to experience the full version of this game.

There will be at least some minor spoilers with OOC screenshots and whatnot in the rest of this post, so keep that in mind if you read!

First thing I noticed was that the game is in Unity, so I wonder if it'll take advantage of effects and stuff at all? It makes sense for the CRAFTWORK staff that I know of to work in an engine like this though, since they have some wizards there.

I like that they open their eyes when you hover over the game button, this sort of presentation in VNs adds a lot since it's like the cover to a book or album, it gives something to the rest of the atmosphere that's hard to describe.

The settings screen is super neat, but also the "戦局" screen being there is super interesting. I think it's something like a TIPS page that some older ADVs have, so it serves as a reference as you read. I'm guessing who has what body part is going to be important throughout the work.

I also find it funny that Awasumi's voice is at 100% by default while the rest are like 60%, and I really wonder if that's because a certain famous someone voices him, who's using the pen name 杯瑠万花 (literally read as: Pile Bunker, I'm not joking)

The visual style reminds me a LOT of Ciconia, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a direct inspiration. The widescreen NVL format with the film grain + blurred backgrounds just screams that was an influence on this game.

The OP being called "twyndyllyngs ~Fuguai no Alice~" is kinda funny in mind with the last point too, since Ciconia draws a lot from TRianThology in turn as well.

The visual direction is indeed amazing, I haven't seen anything like this since going through some of Shumon Yuu's stuff ages ago. Should also be noted this game has proper scene jump as well, which is damn impressive to implement into Unity of all engines.

The writing style is actually really excellent overall, I love lines line this in particular. It's harder to read than say, SayoOshi though. It should be noted that it's getting an English release on the same day as the Japanese one too, so it's cool that it's going to be so accessible and something actually done by a first-party and not some underpaid localizer.

I just realized it's somewhat like Muramasa with the sprites, which is pretty funny when her main one looks so relaxed here.

And yeah, the writing is really damn good and funny so far. I've also realized the game is just mixed weirdly, which is why Sugita's character is 100% volume lol. He's doing a damn amazing job too, I wouldn't have been able to tell it was him if not for his voice PV which pointed out how obvious it was him with the lines they used.

The other 3 voice actors as well, Nakaya Shiho, Nakaya Naho and Sumeragi Mikado all do amazing jobs as well. I really like that the Nakayas chose their pen names to seem like siblings. Also it should be brought up that they do vocals for the OP, which I think is amazing.

It should probably also be stated that it's still 100% a CRAFTWORK game, so expect some extremely graphic and definitely triggering psychosexual content if you read this.

I can't get a pic that's as out of context as these, but the visual effects are pretty crazy. They definitely take advantage of having a more traditional game engine, which is pretty amazing since Unity is somewhat infamous in terms of VNs.

Another no pic thing but the choices are like Fallout 4, where it's just a truncated form of what you actually say, and I think that's kinda funny.

Excellent! I don't have much more to add at the end here, but if you got this far thanks for reading! I'm always looking for new JVN mutuals, especially anyone who reads stuff in Japanese, so please hit me up!

[transgirl-gaming-thoughts]

Definitive Alex Amelia Pine 3D Mario Opinion List (Based on the Games I’ve Played)

64: Vastly overrated. Controls poorly in stages that are too tightly designed for the wide-turning, slippery Mario. In desperate need of an actual full remake/remaster. - Honorable Mention: 64DS, a strange side-make? not exactly a remake in the traditional sense, as there’s so many pros and cons to both this and the original. Has some neat ideas and changes, but still keeps the core flaws that make me dislike 64.

Sunshine: TDB

Galaxy: Incredible. Truly narrows down the 3D Mario formula to a pure form that highlights the strengths of the series. Immaculate level design, immaculate soundtrack, tight controls, actual fucking story and lore, gorgeous.

Galaxy 2: Incredible 2. Refines and perfects the style of Galaxy with even more level design concepts and the same amazing controls and design philosophy from the first game. Dropped the already light story/lore which is easily the weakest part of this game, but still an improvement on the first and perhaps the greatest Mario game of all time. (Galaxy 1 as a close second)

3D Land: Simplistic to a fault. Great for the 3DS, especially in the era it released in. Simple fun to give your thumbs something to do and just casually turn your brain off and run through. Nothing crazy or special, just Another Mario Game(tm)

3D World: Really fun obstacle course-style platformer, playing to some of Mario’s strengths with its gameplay. Features multiple characters with unique abilities and playstyles, also great fun with a friend. - Honorable Mention: Bowser’s Fury? haven’t had a chance to play it yet, but it looks amazing and runs in 3D World’s engine, so high hopes!

Odyssey: Bites off more than it can chew, and more than Mario can digest. Wide open spaces that are wayyy bigger than necessary, takes forever to get anywhere and then tries to overcompensate with complicated diegetic platforming challenges that don’t fit Mario’s style too well. Probably the weakest one-off game mechanic in the form of Cappy; unnecessarily complicated button combos for special moves and a pretty superfluous, shoehorned capture mechanic?? Could’ve at least made the cap throw moves better integrated instead of being crazy button combos that completely fuck you over if you don’t get it exactly right the first time. Not a fan of this one, but has some good ideas, like New Donk City for example.

3D All-Stars: a compilation of “Vastly Overrated”, “TBD”, and “Incredible”, yet sadly leaves out “Incredible 2”. Not bad, not great. Oddly enough leaves 64 in 4:3 instead of widescreen like Sunshine? Weird.

[rosieuv]

The dokis + Emari (DDLH)

I had to make it widescreen to fit them all on. For a fangame thing. No idea when I'll actually use these sprites though as they don't appear on the start screen.

The poses were based on the original sprites and I kinda regret doing that as the skirts were a pain to look right (especially Sayori's)...and Monika's left hand. I changed the shoe colours to match their colours, Sayori's top 3 shirt buttons are undone, the bow is tied unevenly, she has a penguin pin on her blazer (hard to tell in this drawing though), her left sock is falling down and her skirt is to her knees; Yuri's blazer is longer, tucked in and the top button is undone (hard to see with that pose though), her socks are shorter or pushed down I can't really tell and her skirt also goes to her knees; Natsuki's blazer doesn't have any sleeves (they're all wearing blazers different ways), with pins and her shirt has shorter sleeves and her socks have polka dots and there is a reason for that but spoilers; Monika basically looks the same but with freckles and wavier hair; Emari's an OC but I followed the formula of: have hair accessory and black socks are reserved for sentient characters only. Also the colours are either brighter or darker than the original it depends on the thing. The glitched ones are holding an item that represents them: Yuri has a butterfly knife, Natsuki has her phone to represent the people who screw her over, and Sayori...well it's self explanatory. Basically Monika's the only one who looks just like her official sprite but with a stiffer pose as posing is hard to draw. Yuri and Monika are a good few inches taller than their canon height; Natsuki is like a foot shorter than Yuri now.

Separate sprites (Newgrounds ver)

[louisupdates]

Louis Tomlinson’s Top 10 Songs Ranked

21 July 2023 | 10:00 am | Skylar Flowers

The UK heartthrob has just announced a massive tour of Australia and to celebrate the Vodafone presale starting today, we’ve ranked Louis’ biggest and best songs.

Earlier this week, one-man pop powerhouse Louis Tomlinson announced his imminent return to stages Down Under and if you’re a Vodafone customer (and believe us, you should be), you’ll be able to get your hands on the very first tickets this morning (July 21). An exclusive Vodafone presale will kick off at 10am AEST, running for 72 hours until the same time on Monday (July 24).

You can head here for more info on how to take advantage of that presale.

Come January, he’ll deliver his mind-bending blend of bubblegum, Britpop and rock to his biggest crowds yet in Naarm/Melbourne, Meanjin/Brisbane and Eora/Sydney. The run comes in support of Tomlinson’s stellar second album, Faith In The Future, and although this tour will be his biggest on local soil, we’re expecting tickets to fly right out the gates.

To get the hype train chugging at full steam, we’ve crafted the ultimate playlist to soundtrack your ticket-scoring endeavours: a meticulous, indisputable* ranking of Tomlinson’s ten best solo releases.

10. Just Hold On (with Steve Aoki) [2016]

We’ll happily admit that Tomlinson’s first solo outing followed a fairly safe formula – squeaky clean, harmonic vocals (supplemented with plenty of “woah-ohs”) flowing over the unique kind of pseudo-clubby bubblegum pop beat Steve Aoki is a certified master at – but for what it is, Just Hold On is exactly what it should be. Back in ye olden times (2016), it proved to us that Tomlinson had the chops to carry a pop banger on his own, lapping up every lumen of the spotlight. And listeners seemed to agree: the song went Platinum in five territories (including Australia), came just one spot shy of topping the UK charts, and still pops up in Tomlinson’s live sets from time to time.

9. Back To You (featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals) [2017]

Tomlinson’s second track as the headline act landed some 16 months after Just Hold On, making for one of the most brutal waits we’ve endured between a debut single and its follow-up. But it’s without a doubt that Back To You was worth the wait, shining with an equally cool and catchy beat, and an impassioned vocal performance (carried by emotive lyrics tailored for maximum swoonability) that made it undeniably clear: Tomlinson was always the biggest heartthrob in One Direction, and goddammit, he’s still their biggest heartthrob in his solo era.

Bebe Rexha’s vocals add so much colour to the tune, too, as her smoky swagger gels with the sweetness in Tomlinson’s own delivery. Us here Down Under were especially stoked on Back To You – racking up three Platinum certificates and a peak at #11 on the ARIA Charts, it remains Tomlinson’s biggest single as a solo artist.

8. Two Of Us (2019)

Though it came out a solid 15 months after lead single Miss You, it was Two Of Us that really kickstarted the cycle for Tomlinson’s debut solo album, Walls (which arrived in January of 2020). It was a bold choice for that role, too, as a deeply emotive ballad steered by haunting grand piano chords and widescreen orchestration. But it was a power move: the song itself is striking and cuts deep with authentic pangs of grief, Tomlinson’s vocals swelling from lowkey and melancholic to intensely poignant as the music builds. Thematically, too, it’s one of his most important efforts – a touching ode to his late mum.

7. Walls (2020)

The title track from Walls is another ballad, but this one stands out a little more with its ear-pricking instrumentation, channelling the greats of ‘90s Britpop with its coolly strummed acoustic guitars, droning pianos and atmospheric string- and synth-work. Released as the album’s fifth and final single, it offered a fantastic summary of everything we’d heard thus far, from the searing pain he poured out in Two Of Us to the energised pop-rock of Kill My Mind.

Then there’s the lyrics – some of Tomlinson’s most gripping and evocative – with the chorus in particular standing out for its motivational punch. He sings: “These high walls, they came up short / Now I stand taller than them all / These high walls never broke my soul / And I, I watched them all come fallin' down / I watched them all come fallin' down for you.”

6. Bigger Than Me (2022)

Tomlinson’s newest era began last September, when he dropped the lead single from Faith In The Future: a rousing slow-burner called Bigger Than Me. It’s the perfect song to bridge the gap between his first and second albums, starting off as a lowkey acoustic number and growing into a big, bold pop anthem you could scream along to at the top of your lungs. It swells into a peak around three minutes in, where Tomlinson is virtually howling to contest with the operatic strings, spirited drums and scene-stealing synths. When we first heard Bigger Than Me, it felt like a proper reintroduction to Louis Tomlinson – and goddamn, were we keen to learn more about this new version of him.

5. Just Like You (2017)

After launching his solo career with two collaborative tracks, Just Like You marked the very first time we heard Tomlinson without a guest singer or heavyweight producer. Released standalone in October of 2017 – about a month and a half before Miss You kicked off the Walls era – this airy pop gem serves as somewhat of a theme song, very on-the-nose as Tomlinson literally opens it with a verse about how he’s “the guy from the one band” with the “whole world in [his] right hand”, prone to racking up “headlines that [he] can't stand” with his lavish escapades (“Night out and it's ten grand”)... Before explaining that as his fans, we “only get half of the story” when we see Tomlinson revel in all “the cash and the cars and the glory”.

Is it self-indulgent? Yeah, absolutely. But does it absolutely slap nonetheless? Yeah, absolutely.

4. Miss You (2017)

It makes sense that the music video for Miss You takes place at a party: accented by tasteful juts of an electric guitar and a thumping drum beat, the song feels triumphant and energising – the kind of song you’d blast in your room to hype yourself up while you get ready for an actual party. Following on from Just Like You in December of 2017, this was also the first time we heard Tomlinson shine on a track driven primarily by electric guitars, something we’d hear a lot more of on Faith In The Future, but felt like a special treat on Walls.

3. Kill My Mind (2019)

Remember how we noted that Walls (the song) saw Tomlinson channel an ambiguous ‘90s Britpop flavour? We can be a little more straight-up with Kill My Mind – this song is Oasis as fuck. But we say that as nothing but a compliment: charging forward with brisk strumming and animated drums, the artist’s vocals soar overhead, his thick Yorkshire accent gripping as he sings passionately: “You kill my mind / Raise my body back to life / And I don't know what I'd do without you now.” Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without this absolute banger in my morning playlist.

2. Written All Over Your Face (2022)

Walls was a stellar album, no doubt about it – this list features three songs from it, after all – but it’s with Faith In The Future that Tomlinson has really come into his own as a solo artist. The headstrong rock’n’roll energy weaved throughout it peaks on Written All Over Your Face, clear from the outset as, over a punchy drum beat and rollicking bassline, the artist embraces his heartthrob personality, seeped in sensuality as he quips, “Hey babe / It’s written all over your face.” You’re telling us this is the same man that once sang on What Makes You Beautiful!? Sheer insanity.

1. Out Of My System (2022)

The latest single from Faith In The Future – a post-release pick that made impact earlier this year – is a punk-laced belter that stands out with ripping guitars and a downright explosive chorus. It feels like an almost oddly natural fit for Tomlinson, too, as he smashes through the more intense vocal delivery with stunning aplomb – he’s a bonafide rocker, and Out Of My System shows he’s much better suited to reign in this world than in bubblegum pop.

On his upcoming Australian tour, Tomlinson will play three of the biggest and most renowned venues in the country – two in the open air (sorry, Sydney) – and this is the exact kind of song those venues were built for: a rip-roaring anthem-in-the-making that no sane human could stand still (or, God forbid, sit) for.

LOUIS TOMLINSON 2024 AUSTRALIAN TOUR

Sunday January 28 – Naarm/Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl

Tuesday January 30 – Meanjin/Brisbane, Riverstage

Friday February 2 – Eora/Sydney, Qudos Bank Arena

Presale: vodafone.com.au/ticket

Tickets: livenation.com.au

[ericsfanfictions]

New Demigod Cabin: The Tritopatores

The Tritopatores ("thrice-ancestors") are a trio of benevolent Athenian wind gods associated with childbirth, marriage, and the home. Their names are Amalceides, Protocles, and Protocleon, and they're said to be children of Gaia and Helios, or possibly even older. They are ancestor deities that Athenians and other people in Attica prayed to when they prepared to marry or wanted children. They watch over the family and protect the household.

Demigod children of the Tritopatores are always born on Wednesday (because it's the third day of the week) in a location that has the number 3 in either the street address or zip code. Their social security number, license plate number, phone number, etc. always has at least one 3 in it. Children of the Tritopatores are more likely to be born with Down syndrome, since this happens from having a third copy of chromosome 21. When a child of one of the Tritopatores is claimed, a blue triangle with the letter T inside of it appears above their head, accompanied by a soft breeze.

Adult demigod children of the Tritopatores almost always get married and have big families. Daughters of the Tritopatores are three times more likely to give birth to triplets than regular mortals. If a child of the Tritopatores goes through two unhappy/unsuccessful marriages then their third marriage will be blessed with joy, love, and prosperity. They have a strong interest in ancestry and frequently become genealogists or have medical jobs related to genetics. They often find themselves living or working on the third floor of their building.

The children of the Tritopatores always incorporate the number 3 into their usernames and passwords without even realizing it. Their favorite foods are "three cheese" entrees and "triple chocolate" desserts. They often date or befriend demigods from the Athena cabin. They also get along well with other demigod children of domestic deities like Eileithyia and Hymenaeus, and they hold Hera in high respect as well. They frequently visit Hestia while she tends the hearth fire.

The Tritopatore's cabin resembles the Athena cabin and is painted in shades of light blue on both the inside and outside. The flag of Athens flies above the cabin, and the roof tiles change color to match the clouds in the sky. All demigod children of the Triopatores have free access to Ancestry.com and other genealogy sites. Above each of their beds is a group of picture frames that contain portraits of famous or important ancestors. There is always a pleasant, gentle breeze blowing inside. At one end of the cabin is a big widescreen TV, which they use to host movie trilogy marathon parties. There are three chairs in the room, which can magically expand to fit three people.

Demigod children of the Tritopatores can multiply non-magical items into three, and can also create two temporary copies of themselves. They can fly and levitate and have some control over the winds, but aren't strong enough to summon or control storms. By listening to the whispers of the wind, they can hear things that are out of earshot. They are resistant to love magic, and the some especially strong individuals can cause opponents to be inflicted with birthing pains. Children of the Tritopatores have their powers, strength, and stamina increased if they are within a city, and are even stronger when they're inside a home.

Historical Demigods/Legacies: Constantine Angelos, Manuel Comnenos, Maria Callas, many prominent Athenians.

Cabin Members: Aarti Tripathi, Seth and Trinity Adams, Tercero Balza, Trey Fallon, Head Counselor: Atticus Comnenos

[bad-heads]

Saltburn

It took a moment for this movie to settle in on me, and I’ve really been fighting to reconcile what I wanted this film to be with the story that I was given.

If this were about a man driven by love, I am the first one boarding that train. Have you been in love? I say “in love” in the same way that you are “in” a swamp being pulled deeper into sliming, hungry mud. If you are in love like that, is gross, desperate, terrifying, and you will think and say and do things that repulse you at times. I know this, I keep journals and it is physically painful to see the words describing how I felt about this person. I had burned three journals to exorcise these feelings, and I am mostly just glad that I don’t need to revisit the worst of it. So, I am on board for the drinking of the bathwater and the writhing on the grave. I have been there, and to me that is very viscerally real. I can even see needing to be near someone so badly that if they won’t have you, you will get as close as you can if it means sleeping with their sister, their closest friend, a discarded former hook-up, or worming your way into the home that they grew up in. Finally, even if you would never, ever admit it in the most private crevices of your own skull, the absolute climax of if I can’t have you, no one can have you.

If that were the story, it would be powerful. But I don’t think that was the story.

Instead of a powerful story about the obsessive drive of a desperate love, it is a story about… class commentary? In the end, I get the feeling that it was about the impossibility of clawing your way out of the middle class, which turns it from today’s The Talented Mr. Ripley into a ramshackle rehashing of Parasite with a less sympathetic lead character.

Really, I think it takes a specific writer to be a good director, and if you aren’t a good writer this will obviously hinder your movie. My opinion is that this movie could have been great if someone else wrote the story, especially with Emerald Fennel being enormously wealthy herself, the class commentary is muddled. In the end, it seems that Oliver was motivated by envy and not lust and it is hard for me to get behind that, although it is there if you squint your eyes. I also haattteedddd that they had to over-explain the twist! The flashbacks can be left out completely, because it is so much more powerful to tell and not show so that the audience can put these pieces together ourselves.

Now, that all being said there are so many things that I did love about this movie. There was a lot of symbolism and deliberate choices, like the minatore and the maze and all that. The tracking shots were mesmerizing! I thankfully did not watch this with my mom when it was suggested for family movie night, but I woke up my dog so that she could watch the final scene because it was just straight dope to me. Also, as soon as the movie started I was gasping for air because the 4:3 aspect ratio is my absolute jam. Death to widescreen, widescreen is for the dogs.

Now, I will watch it again but I am going to choose to rewrite this mentally as the most unhinged love story and forget the class stuff because out of the things that this movie was trying to say, only one rings true for me.

[skyboxeye]

Capturing the ambience of LEGO Rock Raiders

This classic LEGO title can swing from relaxing to stressful quickly, especially when mining in one of the more hazardous biomes.

Running the game

Rock Raiders was released in 1999, and needs modification to install and run on modern systems. You can use the community alternate installer on Windows 10. It's recommended to use the Masterpiece edition to avoid issues with copy protection.

For the most vanilla experience that runs on modern systems, follow this guide on using dgVoodoo. However, LRR can be improved greatly with mods - read on.

Community Edition and Cafeteria

For further fixes and QoL improvements we can look towards LRR's legendary modding community. First, it's recommended to run Community Edition for additional options, and fixes for, the game.

Second, you'll want to launch the game through the Cafeteria mod loader. This includes a Community Edition Core mod, and I recommend adding a couple more:

Extended Dynamite Countdown (this also seems to resolve dynamite-related crashes)

HighPoly Rock Raiders

Unlimited Camera Rotation

Despite all of this I still experienced frequent crashes. I'm not aware of a perfect fix beyond what's advertised by various overhauls (Baz's Mod, Axel's Mod, and Aiden's Improvements Pack). OpenLRR aims to reimplement the game's EXE with fixes for modern systems but isn't complete at the time of writing.

Capturing footage

The Parameters tab of Cafeteria allows us to easily configure which flags to launch LRR with.

At a minimum I recommend setting up:

best

testlevels

fpslock 60

nointro

You can set widescreen resolutions in Cafeteria's Settings tab.

Camera controls

To zoom in and out, use the +/- keys. Arrow keys rotate the camera. Selecting a Rock Raider offers over-the-shoulder and first-person camera options.

You can cheat by setting large values for the InitialCrystals/InitialOre properties in Data/Lego.CFG. This is especially useful if you want to photograph buildings and vehicles that are unlocked later in LRR's tech tree. We can also using this file to change the presentation of the game - read on.

Hiding the HUD

We can hide the HUD by editing Data/Lego.CFG. This massive plain text file configures the game's frontend, as well as many key gameplay variables.

Look for lines that define UI elements and "comment them out" with a semicolon character, modify coordinates s.t. they are moved offscreen, or delete them. You can also remove or modify the referenced bitmaps so they appear transparent.

Combining a no-HUD mod with the game's first-person mode can produce some amazing screenshots!

Identifying sounds

LRR's ambient soundscapes are defined in Lego.CFG. Look for the assets enumerated under SFX_Drip, SFX_Ambient, and SFX_Ambientloop.

Putting it all together

Overlay the game's ambient assets with your captured first-person no-HUD footage.

[hexfloog]

Hiya! I was thinking about the remastered animation Cel style evil Conan post you put up recently, and I just wanted to say how amazing and impressive it is! I love love love the look of old animation and you really nailed it. I’ve been trying for ages to mimic that look myself and haven’t been able to crack it, so if you ever wanted to talk about your process on this piece, I’d be all ears! Wonderful work, again!

Waaah hi liv!! Thank you, I'm so glad you like it, and that it comes across so convincingly!! One of my favorite things is to make digital art that can have a second life as a different medium, and I wish I had an easy answer for you as to how I go about doing that, but the truth is that it's mostly the result of a lot of trial and error. And a metric ton of references.

Here's a quick process video of my last piece to try to show off what all my layers are like, but I know it's mostly useless without an explanation!! I can't explain it all because I was kinda winging this one for funsies but I can give you general tips for this particular look.

Clip and words below the break!

As a disclaimer I didn't really go into this one intending for it to come out looking the way it did. So it's more of a hybrid look between my usual "clean" digital rendering and a fake screenshot.

[1] Reference, role models, and inspiration - I'm not kidding when I say I used to tote around an entire, dedicated folder filled with printed reference. These days that usually takes the form of about a million browser tabs (￣▽￣) I stare at early Detco and the first six movies a LOT. And Cowboy Bebop. And Akira. And and [insert your choice of 80s-90s anime film]. Depending on the exact look you're trying to replicate, you can always look to a more era-appropriate movie.

I love pulling inspo from films in particular (both animated and live action) because cinema is a whole other art that employs all kinds of techniques for our usual considerations (like lighting and framing), and looking to them can inspire some pretty poignant imagery, especially when you're trying to create something that's meant to mimic a single-frame capture of exactly that. I don't keep up with movies or anything, but I do have my favorites, and it didn't really occur to me to look to them until some of my favorite artists revealed that they do the same with theirs.

For this particular piece, I also had to establish some consistency with the other piece that bookends the scene, so I actually referenced my own art, too.

[2] BIG canvas! I usually work at two or three times the size I expect to export. Following standard aspect ratios for animated productions can help sell the look. Letterboxes have their own ratio, too, if you choose a widescreen canvas; and subtitle fonts are usually standardized to certain font families and colors since their primary purpose is to help make the media accessible. All this is usually a quick google search away, OR… if you're like me, and you still watch physical media… you can just yoink most of this from a real DVD.

[3] Thin lines!! I still can't quite nail the right line weight for these-- I definitely went too thick here-- but they tend to be very fine. And imperfections are good! Nobody has a perfectly steady hand, especially with traditional cels.

[4] Less is usually more when trying to sell a screenshot look… it's easy to over-ink and over-render and-- in my opinion-- restraint is necessary to sell it. This is the hardest thing to explain… it's design vs. rote emulation, I think. But that said, digital aids (next point) do a lot of the heavy lifting in these - as far as the art is concerned, a little will go a long way! These were some of my easiest lines and shading. So on that note…

[5] …Blending modes, masks, and filters are all your friends o___o I get a lot of mileage out of the default tools already available to me in the art software. There's plenty out there that's available for free, too! I recommend you find a fake anime screenshot tutorial, follow it once, and just go nuts when you get to the part where you can play with these settings. The make-or-break for a convincing screenshot-- in my opinion-- is texture and bloom, and all these digital tools will help you achieve that.

I hope this helps!! Hopefully the video can help you see a bit more of the process since I can only really offer tips. It shows everything at full size so you can see the details, so go nuts!

Thank you for the ask! Beaming plenty of good luck that you can find the look you want!!

ALSO I REALLY HOPE THIS IS THE PIECE YOU MEANT I'M LITERALLY ABOUT TO QUEUE THIS UP AND JUST REALIZED THE ONE THAT CAME BEFORE THIS IS MORE REMASTERED CEL ANIMATION LOOK SKSKSKSK

the same tips apply though so i hope they still help all the same :3c