#I have a lot more to learn about effectively using my camera (then again it’s been about a year since I used it so I’m rusty to boot)

[inga-don-studio]

Davis Graveyard yard haunt. Milwaukie, OR (Oct. 21st 2023)

[thesiltverses]

The pacing and near overlap of “I close my eyes” “I keep my eyes open” in the season 1 finale is something that has stuck with me these past few years as a really profound moment of storytelling. The masterful voice acting is no small part of it, but something about the editing of where to put those lines in relation to each other really resonates with me. Are there any moments of audio editing and engineering that you, personally, are particularly proud of?

Thank you! If that was S1 you most likely have our S1 editor Sammy to thank for that moment!

Uh, there's quite a few audio-editing/engineering moments and learning experiences which I'm proud of during my time working on the show, but most of them are relatively mundane or playing a support role from a storytelling point of view - which is how it should be, I guess.

I completely agree that the pacing of lines is essential, too, but the solution is to listen over and over again, then again with reverb and effects applied in order to gauge exactly how much silence is the right amount of silence...so afterwards you don't end up with much of a sense of catharsis or pride, more a sense of burgeoning madness.

I think I've mostly figured out how to sell a punch, which I'm proud of because I think audiodrama fight scenes often sound isolated, static, and artificial (always, always give your victim something to fall into).

I think we've developed a pretty extensive portfolio of scene transitions (smash cuts, slow fades, a rhythmic sound in one scene transforming into a rhythmic sound in another scene) that are fun to listen to while also clearly establishing a new location.

There's a lot of episodes I remember fondly as an audio editor because they taught me useful stuff, rather than because I think they're my best work (for example, the S2 episode with Faulkner in the caves got me addicted to my habit of having the POV/'camera' dipping briefly underwater to follow a character's movement.)

I really like the big action sequence from last episode (no spoilers, but you know the one I mean if you've listened to it) as an example of complex audio assembly, which is probably a healthy habit. It's good to feel like the last thing you did is the best thing you did.

[genoskissors]

Principal Monokuma’s Room Check!

Trigger Happy Havoc Girls

THH Boys Rooms

Again, there are a few notes throughout to explain some things I thought most would not know or just to clarify things changed in localization. Also, if you are disappointed by the three nearly empty rooms, the girls’ cottages in 2 will hopefully make up for it.

Maizono-san's Room Edition

Popular idols say that they have such a harsh schedule that they can’t even get a good night’s sleep. The bleak room Maizono-san has makes me think about that a little.

Checkpoints: A: It’s a bed with pink sheets, which are common in girls’ rooms. The fact she makes her bed after waking up shows she has a methodical personality.

B: I thoughtfully placed a sewing set in the drawer! Wouldn’t you like to see the girls try at least one kind of needlework?

C: I am a gentlemanly bear, so I don’t look into girls’ trash cans, rummage through them, open them up, sniff them, or put them in my mouth, that's correct.

D: The girls’ shower rooms are locked! No matter how much fun the girls are having in the dorm life, as long as I’m alive I will not tolerate any insolence!

Kirigiri-san's Room Edition

Ah, this again. Following Maizono-san, Kirigiri-san is also plain and simple. Hey, hey, you’re a girl, aren’t you? Wouldn’t it be better if you had a bit more girly flair?

Checkpoints: A: Kirigiri-san’s bed looks like it would smell nice. Imagining a prickly girl like her sleeping defenseless makes me feel protective.

B: It’s a desk for studying, just like everyone else’s. Including Kirigiri-san, I can’t imagine most of the students sitting here.

C: A surveillance camera is common for all rooms. But, to the cool Kirigiri-san, my gaze seems to have no more value than a bug.

D: Oh! Sorry, I forgot to prepare a trash can for you! But beautiful girls don’t blow their noses, so it’s okay!

Asahina-san's Room Edition

This room gives the impression that someone loves exercising, whether awake or asleep. With all these training items, it’s like a small gym. I’d like to see Asahina-san use it too. Upupu.

Checkpoints: A: A stepper for training the lower body and a roller for abdominal muscles. The roller particularly is inexpensive but highly effective. It’s okay to kneel at first.

B: It's a balance ball that helps you train your core body on a daily basis. It's pretty fun, isn't it? Oh, and you can't miss the school swimsuits hanging out to dry!

C: Unfortunately, There’s nothing as simple and effective as a training tube! I can’t use it because my arms and legs aren’t long enough...

D: Bottles for hydration and a first aid kit. She’s so well prepared and considerate in case of emergencies, I bet she’ll be a great wife with lots of children. Note: Anytime someone makes a joke about the bad ending, an angel loses its wings.

Fukawa-san's Room Edition

As expected of someone called a literary girl, she has an incredible amount of books. With the books being piled up around the bed and desk, you can tell what kind of reading she does. Note: Toko’s Japanese talent is “Literary Girl”.

Checkpoints: A: As you can see, this desk is a built-in piece of furniture with a fairly thin top, so I wonder if it will be able to withstand the weight of all these things piled up...

B: The windows are bolted down securely! ...but that doesn’t seem to concern Fukawa-san. She has manuscript papers pasted all over the window. Boo hoo. Note: Monokuma uses the word “しょぼーん” which is commonly associated with the kaomoji  (´・ω・`).

C: Placing books in front of the shower room means you can read during toilet time! You’re addicted to always learning. Note: I think there's a pun here but I don't know if it's intended. The word for reading is “dokusho” and the word for addict is “chuudokusha”.

D: At first glance, it may look like a rose in a vase, but it is actually an air freshener stick. She’s confessed to hating baths, so she has to be careful about the smell.

Genocider Sho’s Room Check!

Fukawa-san's Room Edition

This is the room of the woman I share my body with! A pungent smell of no libido! Perfect for a sullen faced, nail-biting, gloomy introvert! Kyehahaha!!

Checkpoints: A: There are so many books at my feet... It will get in the way when Byakuya-sama is brought over! Clean it up a bit!

B: I must be nearsighted, writing all these small letters little by little in such a dark place. As I thought, this woman is weird! I need to bathe in the light of passionate love!

C: Wait! There’s no sign of it being used recently! I could end up in bed with Byakuya-sama at any moment, so I have to at least take a bath!

D: Ah! A green and white bouquet. It’s specifically for weddings! Wait for me, Byakuya-sama! I’ll grab this now and dive into your body!

(Back to Monokuma)

Oogami-san's Room Check

The strongest primate is the ogre... this is Oogami-san’s room. It makes it clear if you end up killing each other, she won’t let you get away with it. But please don’t destroy the room.

Checkpoints: A: For tile splitting demonstrations, usually they use tiles that are easier to break. But Oogami-san’s tiles are the real deal. Note: Tile splitting is the same thing as board breaking in martial arts.

B: Excuse me... Of course, it’s okay to do training in your room, but there’s no need to drill holes in the floor!? Someone will have to repair it.

C: This is Ogami-san’s uniform. I don’t really get a chance to see her wearing this. How about we go hand-to-hand again? Upupupu.

D: Seriously, this area is littered with broken tile debris too. This may cause the floor to collapse or leak, I don’t know!

Celesomething-san's Room Check (This is how Monokuma refers to Celeste)

The dark interior gives off a sense of immorality and makes me super thrilled! Since all students received a private room, it would be pointless to not enjoy it this much.

Checkpoints: A: The dresses on the mannequin torsos are changes of clothes. The short-sleeved frilled one and the bustier style look good together, don’t you think?

B: Umm... is Celesomething-san planning to sleep here forever? Of course, I have no intention of interfering with personal hobbies and preferences.

C: Oh my! A goth lolita costume’s cat! It is cute, but you can’t compete with me, who is both cute and a little mean.

D: The desk is full of makeup supplies. The brush size and type, how to use different sprays, these are things boys don’t understand.

Enoshima-san's (Mukuro’s) Room Check

Ah, what a shame! Enoshima-san is a charismatic high school girl! Even if you aren’t interested, just play a character! Seriously, what a shame!

Checkpoints: A: Oops, I forgot to bring pink sheets for this girls’ room. She doesn’t seem to mind though.

B: Everyone is treated equally, so the windows in Enoshima-san’s room are completely blocked off too. I hope you enjoy your killing game school life to the fullest.

C: Saying you can’t sleep if you change your pillow is what a coward who is completely immersed in a comfortable life would say. You have to live in the environment you’re given. Note: "I can't sleep when the pillow changes" just means that you can't do something if it's not to your liking. It's not usually a metaphor but here it is used like one, while also being literal.

D: You guys all agreed to meet in the dining hall, but it’s okay if you seclude yourself here and eat, you know? Eating alone isn’t that bad, right?

[tapakah0]

Girl omg I am IN ABSOLUTE LOVE with your animatics- I’dmarrythemifIcould- can I ask what program do you use for animatics? And do you have any tips on making animatics (especially abt character and camera movement) or any sneak peaks into your process? I’ve been wanting to dip my toes into trying it out but I’m not quite sure where to begin.

I have Clip Studio Paint EX, but I’m still trying to figure out the animation features etc and, again, I wanna try my hand at making animatics, that’s why I’m asking :3

Okay... For almost all animatics I use Toon Boom Harmony Premium (it has a lot of stuff and it's comfortable for me) Also sometimes I use Krita and Clip Studio Paint (I used this video to understand main features of this program (Little fact, I used Clip Studio to animate "Yellow light" for the first time). Lately started animating in Procreate too, pretty funny and comfortable one About tips... I had one about smoother shifts between frames (but for some reason I can't find it? Even with the fact that I did put a special tag on it) and I don't know what exactly you need about other tips. Almost everything I make intuitively, I kinda see where to move camera too make right effect? But I can tell one most useful tip, if you really wanna animate, try to imagine how it will move in your head, use references (just watch video and copy on paper on program moves from there), look how things in your life moves, it will slowly stuck in your head if you will be stubborn enough. Because, I will be honest, I didn't learn any animation basics but over time, as I look at video lessons, I understand tha I do know them (but I think it will be important to know them theoretically, not only intuitively, if you will work with other people, because they help to specify how it should be animated (key frames, inbetweens, timing and other things) Artists which lessons I use to watch from time to time or I just love their way of animating: Toniko Pantoja, Alex Grigg // Animation for Anyone, GOBELINS Paris, ToastyGlow, pollovy, -岂几Kai-, Neal Illustrator, SAD-ist, Casserole :D, WolfyTheWitch, Rodrigo Sousa, Amelia B (There are more, but these are the first ones I always remember, and of course a lot of cartoons)

About wips...... I have a lot... "I bet my life", "Finale" Leo's pov, "Earth" and others in queue... I almost completed key frames for "Agnes" animatic (Full song, about 4 minutes? I'm making my dream live over here he-he-he), but I am so crazy about sending wips so that I created my little rabbit hole (to hide from Cass *giggle*) to stop sending them on tumblr because I want to make full emotional experience from completed work... It's not so cool if you already experienced first emotions from this when you could experience the whole thing biting your knees

I hope something from there was helpful, don't rush, try to understand how it all works firstly, try to understand what kind of animatic you want to make and what you want to show and make it~~~~ You will love it when you'll see what you're able to create~~~

[lightofraye]

All About Glen

I'm in the mood for something... easy.

Or, rather, I thought this would be easy. Then I went deep diving and have yet to surface. This post will likely edited a few more times in the next few days (maybe? I'll let you know either way), so keep an eye out!

So... who is Glen Powell? Besides a possible new rising star in Hollywood. (Certainly his upcoming projects say he's in high demand!)

Come with me, and I shall tell you!

Also, I had so much fun diving into his background! Learned more about this guy than I realized!

(And I also turned my daughter into a Glen Powell fan! I'll explain why/how in a bit!)

Raised in Austin, Texas, born on October 21, 1988, to Glen Powell Sr and Cyndy Powell, he's the middle child of three. And the only boy. He has an older sister named Lauren and a younger sister, Leslie. Named after his father, the Original Glen (no, seriously, that's his Instagram!), Glen was a child actor. He started performing with the Austin Musical Theater program when he was in the fifth grade, learning to tap dance--according to Leslie, there is video evidence--and appearing in The Music Man and 42nd Street.

Oh, he explored all sorts of extracurriculars' growing up. Football, lacrosse, all sorts. However, his passion and fascination were movies.

The actor recalled that he would be “picking dandelions” in the outfield while playing baseball as a kid, and his parents, Cyndy and Glen Sr., were ready to let him try something else.

“I played violin for a bit, and all of a sudden, I was like, ‘No, not into this anymore.’ They let me give it up,” he continued, noting they were supportive until Powell found something he “really loved.” That’s where his acting career comes in.

At the precious age of 5, his father took him to see Steven Spielberg's megahit, Jurassic Park, in the summer of 1993. Glen ended up watching the movie multiple times in theaters, and again on home video, trying to figure out the secrets of the film's special effects.

In an interview with Austin Monthly, Glen said he began making his own science fiction films growing up. He'd use a home video camera, computer, recruited his friends to be actors, and searched for props in his family's basement. Seeing this, his parents encouraged him to enroll in acting classes.

His second grade project was on Steven Spielberg's use of practical effects in Jurassic Park. In 2003, when he was 14, he got his first movie role as "long-fingered boy" in Spy Kids 3: Game Over. His location in Austin helped him land the role. Director Robert Rodriguez discovered Powell, then 14, while looking for "local hires" to accompany the primarily Los Angeles-based cast.

"You're just trying to find someone locally that won't get nervous, that'll give a performance that kind of measures up to the other actors. He walks in with a stature and confidence and just nails it," Rodriguez told IndieWire. "So now, it's no surprise to see [he made it as an actor], but he already had that quality at 14 and clarity of vision that that's what he was supposed to be."

Two years later, he played a paperboy in The Wendell Baker Story, a part that required him to get hit by a car, which he practiced with his mother in a church parking lot.

In 2006, everything changed. His mother, Cyndy, drove him five hours to Shreveport, La., to audition for Denzel Washington, who was directing and starring in The Great Debaters. Powell got the part--and a powerful agent: Ed Limato, who represented Washington.

Powell also starred in Fast Food Nation (2006), and The Hottest State (2006) over the next few years.

Still in high school at Westwood, Powell even considered deprioritizing his acting career until receiving a pep talk from Denzel Washington during the filming of The Great Debaters. In the movie, Powell played Harvard University student Preston Whittington and impressed the two-time Oscar winner. "Denzel Washington really pushed me out of the nest a bit and said, 'You should double-down on yourself. You should give [acting] a shot'," Powell said.

A year later, Limato called Powell in his dorm room at the University of Texas at Austin.

"Ed said, 'If you're going to spin the wheel on an acting career, now is the time to do it'," Powell said.

Taking a chance, Powell dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles in 2008. “Ed always told me, over and over, that the definition of a movie star is somebody who guys want to grab a beer with — fun, not threatening — and who women want to date and bring home to meet their parents,” Powell said.

Limato had a history of helping turn actors into big stars--among his clients? Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, and Kevin Costner. Limato also gave Powell a crucial career tip: Don’t take on a role in a big franchise too soon, however tempting the paycheck; stars are built in smaller movies of varied genres.

Unfortunately for Powell, Limato died two years later, leaving him without an advocate.

It was a rough and learning time for Glen. He supported himself through coaching community sports and small acting jobs (a Dockers commercial, an episode of The Lying Game, a cable series).

Not long after Powell moved to Los Angeles, Limato introduced him to Lynda Obst, a fellow Texan and a producer of hits like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Contact, and Sleepless in Seattle. She hired Powell as an intern, a job that involved reading scripts and giving feedback.

It helped him learn how Hollywood ran.

Obst recalled, "He was adorable--charm off the charts. But that is not what impressed me, and it's not why he's succeeding." She went on: "Actors can turn on charm, but they can't turn on intelligence. Glen is smart and learned about developing scripts and the structure in movies. It made him independent and wily."

He eventually got dropped by the William Morris Endeavor talent agency. He began to question whether superstardom was even achievable anymore. He took to writing scripts and sold several to help keep himself afloat during his shaky start.

Glen took Washington's advice and gradually began appearing in more prominent titles, including the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, in 2012 as an unnamed Gotham Stock Exchange Trader. He also appeared in the ensemble movie, The Expendables 3, in 2014, appearing alongside action stars such as Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In 2016, he played astronaut John Glenn in Hidden Figures. Glen was cited as saying that upon viewing a rough cut of the film with unfinished special effects, he was critical of his performance. "I just remember being like 'I ruined this beautiful movie, the legacy of these amazing women'," he explained in an interview with Variety.

Fortunately, critics and the audience disagreed--the movie made more than $230 million at the box office and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

He took a detour into comedy for his next roles, including the teen movie Everybody Wants Some!! (2016), and the Netflix rom-com Set It Up (2018).

In between all that, he went onto a recurring role on Scream Queens (Ryan Murphy's show on Fox), and appear in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society. He's even done voice roles, such as the Netflix cartoon, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, and an episode of Rick and Morty.

How he got the huge leap to everyone's attention was something he nearly turned down. He lost out on blockbuster roles including Captain America, Han Solo in Solo, in addition to pieces in films ranging from Friday Night LIghts to Cowboys & Aliens and The Longest Ride.

His break was something he nearly missed out on.

When Miles Teller beat him out of the part of Rooster in Top Gun: Maverick, and Tom Cruise and director Joe Kosinski offered him the role of Hangman instead.

The problem?

"If I were editing this movie, I would cut him out immediately," Powell said to British GQ. The original version of the character was a lousy pilot who made it to Top Gun through nepotism, a storyline Powell thought did the film a disservice.

Luck was with him. Cruise and Kosinski decided to hear him out and ended up convinced, rewriting the character based on Powell's notes.

“What we were talking about is, how can Hangman service the story and give the flavour of the original Top Gun that you need?” Powell said.

“I said my piece to Tom about what I do and what I do well, and he listened. Tom’s a listener. He listens to the crew members, he listens to his collaborators, and he hears people.”

And good thing he did — Top Gun: Maverick went on to become a box office phenomenon, and Powell’s career got the kickstart he had waited so long for.

2022 was his year. He appeared in the war drama Devotion, the Netflix animated comedy Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, and Top Gun: Maverick. The latter, the sequel to the 1986 vehicle--became the biggest movie of the year, grossing nearly $1.5 billion at the global box office.

Powell underwent extensive training for the film, including underwater escape simulations and flights in F-18 aircraft to prepare for the G-forces he would experience on camera. Cruise even paid for the actor to complete flight school as a Christmas present, allowing Powell to earn his pilot's license.

We all know what happened after this. His role with Sydney Sweeney on Anyone But You brought him even more attention. His future projects will keep him busy for at least a couple of years. (He did tease he has a start date for Top Gun 3, but has refused to say more than that.)

He's been romantically linked to Nina Dobrev in 2017, Australian TV host Renee Bargh from 2018 to 2019. He began dating model Gigi Paris, starting in 2020. We know in April of 2023, they broke up for good.

Glen Powell Sr, his father, was an executive coach. His mother? A stay at home mom. Leslie is working on her career as a singer, and was fortunate enough to have had a song be used for the Olympics!

Both parents have trolled the hell out of Glen during the premiere of Hit Man. In a way, his family is what keeps Glen grounded.

Amusingly, Us Weekly described his parents as the first ever nepo parents.

“The greatest gift that my parents gave me is never making me sit in things I didn’t want to sit in and letting me chase the passions I wanted to chase, no matter what,” Powell, 35, told Us Weekly exclusively while promoting his new movie Twisters. “I am really grateful for my parents for not trying to deter me from a job that has such a low success rate.”

As his fame continued to rise, his parents have made various cameos in his movies over the years.

His Instagram is full of photos of behind the scenes, with family, and of course, Brisket.

There was a rumor that Glen was opening a restaurant in Austin. This has been researched and debunked. I did go into detail about his future projects here.

--

So how did I convert my daughter into a fan?

Because I was talking to her about the gossip regarding him and Sydney Sweeney. I showed her the photos, then I showed her how he was with his other female costars.

With Adria Arjona from Hit Man.

With Daisy Edgar-Jones from Twisters.

And her first thought: "He makes them comfortable. He's safe. That's why they're so relaxed."

In that instant, she became a fan. That's all it took.

So yeah. Got fans here.

We're looking forward to more about this green-eyed Texan!

--

BONUS: Glen also is rather hilarious on Twitter! Check this out!

Hilariously, he decided to run with it!

We love a star who can make a joke like this!

Sources (with blatant lifts when possible): New York Times (using web archive due to paywall) Entertainment Weekly Us Weekly Biography Los Angeles Time Variety *I freely admit/acknowledge I relied on existing writing to put all this together. I added, rearranged, edited, as necessary. I am grateful to the access of this information that allowed me to compile this biography!

[mj-iza-writer]

Masochist whumpee who messes up simple tasks to get hurt by their master. When whumper notices this they get very angry and decide to show whumpee what real pain feels like

Warning: lab whump. Inclusion of detailed amputation.

"Whumpee, you're going to get into trouble if Whumper catches on that you are messing up their experiments purposely", Test Subject 2, watched from their cell.

"I can't help it... It's the only way we get attention is when they test us", Whumpee held onto their side as the stinging went away, "I just want attention. I don't care how I get it."

"We are test subjects for this lab, we don't get things like that", Test Subject 3 sighed, "just behave before you get in a lot of trouble."

Whumper came in and opened Whumpee's cell.

"Come on. Let's try this over again", Whumper sighed as they lifted Whumpee into their arms.

Whumpee laid their head against Whumper's chest as they were carried to the room.

"Don't get too comfortable", Whumper scolded, "I'm not exactly happy with how your results are going. You've been causing a lot of unnecessary issues. I know it's not my test either, as the others are doing just fine."

Whumpee gulped.

"Wow, it's almost like night and day, you did that perfectly", Whumper frowned, "almost too perfectly considering earlier you barely understood what I was asking from you."

Whumpee nodded and looked down.

"You aren't purposely screwing up are you?", Whumper glared.

"N-no Master, I just thought a little more about what you wanted and was able to complete it now", Whumpee smiled weakly, "I-I'm sorry."

"Ymhmm", Whumper leaned on the table and pulled out their phone, "how about this video. I decided to place a camera in Test Subject 4's cell for a different a test and was upset to learn this behavior."

Whumpee gulped again as their conversation was played in front of them.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?", Whumper grew angrier, "you have no rights in this lab. You have no rights to having wants for attention. You are a pitiful rat. My rat. I do not like that you played me as a fool."

Whumpee held their head down, "I-I'm sorry, I-I just want to be loved. I miss...."

Whumper backhanded Whumpee, sending them off the lab table and to the floor.

"You don't get to have wants", Whumper yelled and stomped toward them.

Whumpee crawled backward until they ran into the wall.

"Please... please", Whumpee pleaded.

Whumper grabbed them by the neck and pulled them up.

Whumpee stammered and choked as they were pushed against the wall.

"You want attention so much.... you just signed up for my newest experiment", Whumper grinned evilly, "I've been waiting to do this to somebody, but I didn't know who. It will be rather painful you see."

"No please", Whumpee whispered.

"You want my attention so much. Well, here you go", Whumper dropped Whumpee and watched them fall to the floor.

"Prepare them", Whumper stomped out of the room.

Whumpee was strapped down to a table and dressed in surgerical drapes.

Whumper came in dressed in surgical dress.

"Please Master, forgive me", Whumpee pleaded, "I won't do it again. I won't ask for anything. No wants, nothing. I won't even talk unless you want me to."

"I know you won't... not after this", Whumper sighed.

A team came in, also dressed for surgery.

"This test it to study how much pain the human body can be in. The test subject will be getting amputated at their wrist on their right arm. They will have to meet a certain predetermined threshold before anesthesia is offered", Whumper looked over the team, "this will also prepare this subject for future planned test. This subject is right-handed, so I will be able to study the effects of losing that hand."

"Please", Whumpee yelled, "don't do this... please."

"To late", Whumper didn't look at them, "everything is prepped, I'm not stopping now."

The first slice was made.

Whumpee's scream was blood curdling.

Whumper continued, ignoring Whumpee.

"We will leave some skin here for me to sew the stitches", Whumper sighed.

Whumpee continued to scream.

"Place something in their mouth for them to bite down on", Whumper continued to cut, "prepare the bone saw. I've already cut the arteries and veins, we are tying them off now. Nurse hold that."

"Whumper, they are reaching a very high rate. May I recommend anesthesia now", a different person showed them the screen, "they don't look like they are doing alright."

Whumper looked at the screen, then at Whumpee.

Whumpee was pale and shaking, sweat glistened from their skin.

"No, not yet. I want to see what happens once we hit bone", Whumper grinned.

Whumpee whimpered. They were in too much pain to even attempt yelling now. Their vision blurred and everything sounded muffled.

"Whumper in my professional advice may I...", they tried again.

"No you may not", Whumper sighed calmly.

Whumpee whimpered as they heard the saw start.

"Please", Whumpee whispered quietly.

Their back arched as the saw hit bone.

"You may give anesthesia", Whumper watched.

Whumpee was taken to their cell and laid down on the floor.

The other test subjects watched sadly as the nurses walked away.

"Ar-are you okay?", Test Subjest 2 broke the ice.

"N-no", Whumpee rolled over to look away from them. They cuddled what bit of their arm was left.

Whumper removed more than what was originally planned. After the anesthesia was given, Whumpee fell unconscious. Whumper decided to take more.

"What happened... what did they do?", Test Subject 3 asked curiously.

"They uhm", Whumpee couldn't say it. With tears in their eyes they showed the left over part of their arm.

"No", Test Subject 1 gasped.

"I wasn't given anesthesia until they cut into the bone. I felt it all", Whumpee sobbed, "I just wanted attention", they whispered, "is that bad of me? ""

After a few days Whumpee was taken back into the room so Whumper could examine the wound and make sure it was healing properly.

"How are you feeling?", Whumper talked absent mildly.

"Ok", Whumpee whispered, they made a small whine when the bandages were removed.

"What nothing else to say. You know you can talk right", Whumper moved the stump around.

"No Master", Whumpee kept their head low.

"Hmm, I guess that's fair. The surgery took a lot out of you, I bet. Your recovery seems to be doing well. You're eating and progressing. No signs of infection either", Whumper started to put new bandages on, "looking back, I believe I may have gone a bit too far by doing this to you... at least without the proper anesthesia for you. I'm sorry about that. You just made me so mad. I couldn't help myself."

Whumpee let a few tears fall. They splashed onto their uniform.

Whumper reached up and lifted Whumpee's face.

Whumpee's eyes were sunken in and dark. Their color was much paler than before the amputation. Their lip quivered as Whumper studied them.

"I understand that I shouldn't have messed with your results, bu...", Whumpee sniffled, "but what was so wrong about wanting attention. It's not like I was asking for much, I was happy with you beating me up. I just craved human touch.... wa-was that wrong?"

More tears fell from Whumpee's eyes as Whumper studied them.

"I have no answer for you besides the fact you ruined my research. In that, you irritated me to which I didn't care what you wanted", Whumper frowned, "I..."

"I know", Whumpee whispered in frustration.

"Hmm, alright back to your cell with you", Whumper frowned, "I'll consider if I want to give you any gifts for an apology."

"Don't bother, in the end you got what you wanted. You wanted an amputated test subject, you got one", Whumpee sighed.

"Watch your tongue", Whumper warned, "you can be upset, I understand that, but you may not speak freely."

Whumper sat at their desk studying some notes.

A nurse entered.

"How can I help?", Whumper frowned.

"Whumpee is refusing to eat, they denied breakfast and lunch", the nurse sat down, "they are dangerously close to getting sick if they don't eat. After that procedure."

"Tie them down and tube feed them then", Whumper frowned.

"No I'm not doing that", the nurse crossed their arms.

"Excuse me?", Whumper looked a bit shocked.

"After what you did to them, and what you do to those test subjects, you owe them all an apology", the nurse frowned, "they are all severely touch starved, you need to do something before they all die of broken hearts."

"I do, do I?", Whumper grinned, "tell me... since your the professional, what should I do to make a bunch of test subjects happy?"

"They're test subjects, but they're also people... can't you agree on that?", the nurse frowned.

"Fine if you are so concerned you can be the one to ask each one if there is something that can be provided to make them comfortable. I guess I should make it up to Whumpee, and it wouldn't hurt to boost their morals. Whumpee can't have anything until they eat though, got it?"

The nurse came back and handed a paper to Whumper, "everyone has spoken."

"Let's see what the idiots want", Whumper looked at the paper.

"Test Subject 1 wants some books... approved. Test Subjest 2 wants thicker blankets... approved. Test Subject 3 wants me to die or a coloring book and markers. Coloring book is approved, but they get crayons, I don't want marker everywhere. Test Subject 4 wants to die... makes since they are going through a bad experiment right now. They would like softer blankets... approved", Whumper frowned, "Whumpee wants attention and cuddles... they get a weighted blanket and a weighted teddy bear", Whumper went through the rest of the list. "Everything else is approved."

Whumper went down the corridor where the test subjects were kept. All of them huddled into the corner of their cell.

Whumpee turned away when they saw Whumper walk by.

"I thought I'd let all of you know your request were approved, at least most of them I don't plan on dying or killing any of you", Whumper sighed and started to leave.

The nurse entered minutes later with a cart.

"I come bringing gifts", they announced.

Every one came close to their cell doors to look.

Everything was handed out, but Whumpee still sat in the corner of their cell... they watched.

"Pss.. Whumpee, come here", the nurse finally came by, "Whumper approved for you to have a weighted blanket and weighted toy so I hope you like these, but you can also ask me for a hug whenever you like. That goes for all of you."

Whumpee took the gifts and nodded, "thankyou so much", they tenderly walked back to where they were sitting. Covered up with the blanket and cuddled the stuffie.

It wasn't enough, they needed more. They were thankful to the nurse for getting these things for them.... but one thing they had learned was not to voice their wants or desires too loudly. These items would have to do for now.

Probably a different type of story, I hope it's okay and that you enjoyed it. Thankyou for the ask.

[onbearfeet]

Queerwolf By Night: Queercoding, Media Literacy, and Werewolf By Night (part 3)

Lovely to have you back for this, the final part of our examination of WBN being queer as fuck. If you missed the earlier presentations in Media Studies and Writing Hacks With Kat, Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here.

We've gone through the Hays Code AND the AIDS crisis so far, and that's a lot, so could I interest you in a cup of coffee brewed over a campfire?

Thanks, Ted. You're a peach.

So let's look at the final scene of WBN through a queer lens. There's a needle drop, color is restored to the world, and we see Jack waking up in the woods to drink coffee, grunt at Ted, and eventually decide that sushi should happen.

(Side note: I have a whole rant about queercoding and sushi, but I cut it, so here's a gif of Aziraphale gayly eating sushi in Good Omens, which you should watch.)

Okay, enough queer angels. Time for more queer monsters.

First things first: this scene is SO DOMESTIC, y'all. They're literally playing house in the woods, in that Ted has built Jack an adorable little house and brewed his morning coffee. The camp is littered with little domestic touches like the French press and the guitar. It's a homey, if slightly eclectic, vibe. (Where did Ted find a payphone?)

There is no explanation for these objects being there, afaik; Ted and Jack both have presumably come from some distance away, involuntarily in Ted's case, so there's no reason Ted would know the location of a well-stocked camp to put an unconscious Jack down in if Jack even set one up. Presumably the camp is Ted's work, but there's never an explanation for where he got any items other than the robe and the phonograph. (I'm particularly curious about the flower mug, personally.) Yet the objects are not remarked upon, and the entire scene is played as if this is a relatively normal morning for the two of them.

In fact, most of the mechanics of the scene are effectively those of a morning-after scene, perhaps a morning after characters fall into bed for the first time. Jack wakes up groaning, crawls out of bed to see where he is, and finds his partner has laid out something like breakfast for him and is prepared to discuss the events of the night before whenever Jack is ready.

And speaking of that discussion, we once again have displays of queercoded masculinity: Jack and Ted being physically affectionate, playful banter, and emotional vulnerability when Jack asks about Elsa. You know the drill by now. The camera pans up as "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" swells and fades out.

Wait.

Rainbow?

Let's talk about music in this film.

Michael Giacchino is primarily known as a composer of film music. WBN is his directorial debut. I guarantee you've heard his music before, because it's basically in every summer blockbuster franchise. If you can't get John Williams, Danny Elfman, or Hans Zimmer (all of whom are getting long in the tooth), you get Giacchino and he turns in a fucking SCORE.

Now, I am not a music person. Not at all. But even my musically illiterate ass knows that traditional film scoring derives a lot from classical music, especially Romantic composers like Beethoven. And that means LEITMOTIFS, baby!

(I learned about leitmotifs from Bugs Bunny and Star Wars. Do not be impressed.)

A leitmotif is a short musical phrase that can be used to signify a character, object, or theme in a larger work of music. For a very basic example of this, look up the Force theme from Star Wars and watch a supercut of all the times it was used to indicate that someone was using the Force. Or just watch this Sideways video about why the music in Rise of Skywalker was ass:

Anyhoo. The point of leitmotifs is to give an audience a feeling without necessarily tipping them off to exactly WHY they're having that feeling. And Giacchino LOVES his leitmotifs.

So when he uses someone else's music, he's extremely aware of the emotions that can come attached to that music. It's literally what he does.

There are two pieces of music used in WBN that Giacchino didn't write: a late 1930s recording of Vera Lynn singing "Wishing Will Make It So" and Judy Garland singing "Over The Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz. Let's start with Vera Lynn.

Vera Lynn was an English singer most associated with big band music before and during WWII. During the war, she was known as "the Forces' sweetheart", both for her efforts to entertain the troops and for the fact that she was kind of every British fighting man's waifu. What Betty Grable's legs were to American GIs, Vera Lynn's voice was to British servicemen. She's best known for the song "We'll Meet Again", which is about exactly what it sounds like. She was a nice lady, by all accounts, and there is a ferry boat named after her now.

A Vera Lynn song about childhood and wishing is what Verussa plays in the labyrinth, apparently to annoy Elsa, who switches it off (even though that's going to inform everyone of where she is). For the purposes of queercoding, Vera Lynn is mom and apple pie, or possibly mum and fish and chips, and above all she is safe, compulsory heterosexuality. The Forces' sweetheart.

Judy Garland, on the other hand, is a queer icon.

I can't overstate what a Big Deal Judy Garland and Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz are in queer culture. The themes of the story, including acceptance of the unusual and embrace of a found family (along with the sapphic elements of some of the books), resonated so deeply with queer people that for several decades, "are you a friend of Dorothy?" was code for "are you gay?" The US Navy actually launched an investigation to find the mysterious "Dorothy" who was supposedly the ringleader of all the gay sailors.

And then there's the song itself, with its theme of longing for a faraway, more colorful place where those who don't fit in at home are loved for who they are. It's, uh, pretty resonant with the queer experience.

So I now draw your attention to the phonograph. Gramophone. Record player. Whatever it's called.

In WBN, we first see the player set up in the labyrinth, presumably by Verussa or at her orders. It's playing a Vera Lynn song about childhood and wishing, which apparently annoys Elsa so much that she switches it off, thus alerting Jack to her location.

The next appearance of the player is in the camp, where it's now playing "Over the Rainbow" beside Jack as he wakes up. Ted has presumably stolen it; there's no other candidate for that, and we already saw him swipe a murder robe for Jack, so why not a record player too?

In other words, Verussa Enthusiastic Heterosexuality Bloodstone sets up the Compulsory Heterosexuality Machine, after which Elsa Ally-Coded Bloodstone turns it off in disgust, and Ted swipes it and turns it gay for Jack's benefit.

That's the coding. That's BARELY subtext. I really don't know what else to tell you. This essay started with my making an offhand joke to bluemoonperegrine about Ted and Jack being "literally friends of Dorothy" and then realizing nobody else in the conversation had noticed this stuff.

So what do we do about all this? Is WBN queer? Does all the Wolfstone stuff pale in comparison to the glory of Russallis? Am I trying to start a ship war in a fandom so small it probably wouldn't fill up Vera Lynn's namesake ferry boat?

Jack, you can answer this for me.

Nope. Not trying to start anything. I happily read Wolfstone, and technically have written some. I love all three WBN leads and am happy to enjoy them in any configuration (although my personal preference is group napping in a puppy pile, because these characters deserve naps).

I just figured it was worth documenting all this so people who haven't had the benefit of my very strange education would be better equipped to recognize (and ideally enjoy) old-style queercoding when they see it.

Wait a minute. You promised writing hacks. It's in the series title and everything.

Shit, you caught me.

Obviously, queercoding isn't a universal tool. There are plenty of storytelling contexts in which it's much better to make characters explicitly queer. Representation matters, and all that.

But sometimes you won't have time for explicit confirmation (like when your story takes place overnight and nobody really has time to play tonsil hockey). Sometimes you won't be able to include it due to outside constraints (like Disney being Disney).

And sometimes, you'll remember that there are plenty of people who can't or won't pick up explicitly queer media. Homophobic parents who won't let their kids watch Love, Simon ... but who WILL let them read your YA novel about unicorns or whatever where there are two female unicorns who are, uh, life partners. Grumpy uncles who refuse to acknowledge their nephew's boyfriend until they notice that, hey, they kinda act like Finn and Poe from that Star War. And so on. Sometimes, coded rep is the best rep you can get ... and so it's useful to have. A good toolbox has ALL the tools.

So if you're building characters for your story and don't or can't have specific queer goals, throw in a little coding. Put a rainbow T-shirt on a kid. Let two boys hold hands or have literally any feelings. Let a girl say a girl is pretty. Look up some of the older symbols for queer love and have someone growing lavender in their garden, or use newer queer symbols and have a character crack an egg in a key scene. Have a character who's content without a romantic or sexual relationship, and has an arc about something else, because aces and aros exist too.

There's a whole universe of coding out there. Go add some layers to your work.

Or better yet--see if they're there already. You might surprise yourself.

Sometimes the monster has a familiar face.

[jtl07]

jt (finally) watches warrior nun - s2 e1 - Avatrice fight thoughts pt 2

Guess who finally finished the episode! I’m gonna do a post on the dance of romance and the aftermath of the fight in a separate post because I want to go out of order and talk about the fight scene since I’d already started talking about it here.

For such a short scene it does a lot - my notes ended up quite long lol. It was a great scene to highlight how much better Ava’s gotten - but what was also interesting was how it showed how much better Beatrice is compared to Ava. So I figured I’d do a bit of a comparison of the following:

Fight styles (plus a little bit more on each of their opening moves)

Success against multiple attackers / situational awareness (and hits taken)

Vibe in general

First, can we applaud the fact that Ava doesn’t run? Like, even faced with two dudes initially she immediately - and a little cockily - squares up. And yeah she seems a little worried when the number ups to five, but she stands her ground, doesn’t make any moves to run. And these dudes are like, twice her weight and a full head taller than her! Pretty darn badass.

Okay so let’s start with fight styles: So despite Ava being taught by Beatrice, Ava has more of a brawler feel. Makes me wonder if Beatrice leaned into it when she was training her. As in: she must of have noticed Ava’s tendencies, would have definitely taken Ava’s personality into account, yknow? And yes, there’s fundamentals and safety but the best teachers and coaches nurture what’s already there. And idk, I feel like Beatrice isn’t the type to stifle (not when she herself has been, not when Ava has such a passion for living).

Ava tends to swings wide, has extra movement compared to Bea, who’s the epitome of precision and fluidity. Also interesting is that Bea stays grounded the whole time, whilst Ava goes airborne three times: her opening takedown (0:11), a jumping front kick (0:47), and while caught in a rear bear hug (0:50). She literally launches herself into every move, which is very much in character for Ava.

Also, speaking of opening moves: Beatrice’s opening move (0:33) is a simple one that takes advantage of her surprise entrance: it looks like she grabs one dude’s shoulder from behind and somehow gets him to his knees. Feels in character to Beatrice, not getting attention even from the camera lol. But though it’s not as flashy as Ava’s entrance, it’s effective, which is all that matters.

What’s lovely to watch about Bea’s fight is just how fluid it is - similar to the Arq-tech fight, everything flows together. For example, take the moment after that nasty wrist lock strike (0:41): she not only blocks that second dude’s punch but is is already transitioning to a shoulder lock (which, again kudos to KTY for her physicality, the way she uses her whole body, stretching up then twisting to torque the dude’s shoulder - again, very important to use one’s whole body when performing joint locks against a bigger opponent), which flows into crashing the dudes together, and that beautiful spinning back kick.

Everything about Bea’s fight screams professional. I mean, there’s that straight punch she does at 0:54 where it’s precise and powerful - and look how she retracts just as quickly, already loaded for a follow up. And if we’re going to talk about precision: freaking performing a wrist lock is already finicky enough, but to keep that pressure while moving?? Geez.

Also the whole flipping the dude behind her with that shoulder shrug (0:58): yeah, I don’t understand how that’s possible, there was no momentum or leverage, but if we’re going to suspend disbelief and look at it in terms of story, I can see what they were trying to do in painting Beatrice as an aikido master.

Speaking of mastery, let’s move to the second point about multiple attackers. One of my first thoughts as I was watching this scene was, “How did Ava learn to fight multiple opponents if she’s only been training with Beatrice?” If this is the first time she’s been in that kind of situation, she does a good job! She makes smart choices and divides her attention well (good example is the very first exchange at 0:32, she does a great job getting the first dude off-line with that parry that turns him and starts to expose his back - I bet if it’d been 1 v 1, she’d have likely followed up on that, but she makes a good decision to tend to the second dude; also at 0:36, she takes a hit but is smart about getting that dude out of the way so she can do that fun push kick on the other dude).

All in all, yeah, Ava takes a few hits but she shows incredible situational awareness for the level she’s at (and likely for her first 1 v many fight).

Then we have Beatrice. Whereas Ava was constantly reacting, Beatrice was in complete control of her fight. It’s an interesting contrast to the Arq-tech fight: there, she took on each guard one at a time, but here, she is almost always is engaged with both dudes at the same time. Plus, she’s unarmed here. (Which now makes me wonder if Beatrice also “leveled up” while in the Alps. Huh.)

The ultimate example of Beatrice’s superior situational awareness is of course that no-look dodge at 0:55 - probably the closest she ever gets to getting hit during this fight. Note that Beatrice takes no hits during this whole fight, compared to Ava taking three hits (plus a grab; also not counting the crowbar strike she phased through).

Lastly, we’ve got their general vibe. Ava, just like in freaking everything, is just so in the moment and loving it. Now that she’s overcome her flight tendency and has confidence in her fighting abilities, she relishes being in the action. Yeah, there’s that scary moment when she’s caught in the rear bear hug, but she thinks quickly (bases out, seems to also go for the dude’s grip - all textbook moves to execute when in that situation) and gets out of it safely.

Also, I mentioned she took three hits: Did you notice that she just kept going? Yeah, she has the halo to help her heal, but that doesn’t shield her from the pain and the shock of getting hit. It takes a heck of a lot of conditioning to take a blow and just keep going, and Ava does a fantastic job keeping focused.

But if we’re gonna talk about focus, good god, Beatrice’s focus is on another level. This is Beatrice in kill-mode 0 I mean, that look she gives the dude when she wrist locks him at 0:57?

How did that dude not die on the spot? Seriously. Beatrice is cold as ice here, and she doesn’t drop her guard until the very end. (I still think it’s so interesting, the way she steps feet together at 1:03 - it’s very reminiscent of ending a kata, of formally ending a match; though she’s very much still on her guard, almost resigned even, her body has acknowledged that the fight is over).

Oh, I also forgot to mention two things: First, Beatrice again chose not to step in when it comes to Ava interacting with Michael. What’s the saying? Third time is a habit? But she does what she always does, which is watch. Which leads to my second thing: Beatrice must not have been far to have come in so quickly. I wonder if she started heading home then turned back around (maybe she saw Ava’s opening move and felt a little bit of pride?) or kept close the whole time (only stepping in when the odds turned decidedly not in Ava’s favor).

I guess it also explains Beatrice’s vibe in this fight. At Arq-tech, she was fighting only for herself, but my thoughts then are ones I still believe now: that Beatrice sees herself as expendable. But here, she’s not alone - she’s fighting not just for herself, but for Ava as well. She has to win, because to lose means Ava getting hurt.

So yeah, lots of rambling lol - I didn’t expect to be so fascinated with this fight until I started taking notes. I guess the last thing I’ll say is how analyzing this fight made me more sympathetic to Beatrice - when she tells Ava she’s not ready, she truly believes that, and we see evidence here. Ava loves being in the fight, does a pretty bang up job, but Beatrice knows it’s not enough, not when it comes to Adriel.

Anyway let me know what y’all think! Happy to expand on anything but also just happy to have y’all reading along <3

[leonaquitaine]

GPose Tips: Portrait Photography

Let's put our Warriors of Light front and center by borrowing some IRL photograph techniques, and adapting them to gpose!

From Wikipedia: "Portrait photography, or portraiture, is a type of photography aimed toward capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses."

Given the nature of this theme, we'll be relying heavily on facial expressions. If you want to learn more about how to use the gpose tools for that, check out this guide on Facial Expressions.

Subject Focus

While backgrounds can help tell the tale, we want minimal distractions.

We can do this by choosing neutral backgrounds or negating a rich background by diffusing it.

We can also draw attention to the subject by creating strong contrast zones that detach the focus from the background. In this example, the soft blue and the medium yellow sources contribute to the contrast with rim light zones:

Being the focus of portrait shots, the subject's expression is front and center. And no element brings more attention than the eyes:

Three-Point Lighting

We'll touch on the concept to explain one of the most commonly used composition setups. We'll use the three Point Lights available under Lighting Settings.

Key Light: gives shape to and emphasizes features;

Fill Light: placed opposite the key light, creates a counterpart to it;

Back Light: helps delineate hair and headpieces.

Keep in mind that the Three-Point Lighting setup is not a mandatory rule. Feel free to play around with placement and intensity; I often use the 3 Point Lights to enhance environmental light sources, for example:

Butterfly Lighting

Another option I often use is the Butterfly setup. With two light sources (a key light placed top-front, and a fill light placed bottom-front) it creates a very clear delineation with sharp features.

Slight variations in camera angle can bring completely different shadow areas and focus; give it a try, and you may land in unexpectedly nice shots:

With these hints in mind, let's pick some compositions apart!

This one, for example - Strong DoF negates details, and environmental light gives emphasis to the character's face:

DoF again, with two layers of diffusion (the bookshelf and the background), with environmental light providing contrast zones:

Did I mention DoF? Yes, let's use some strong DoF to detach the character, and enhanced natural light to pop the features.

By now you may have noticed that I use these tips a lot: for example, most of my 'poster' and Eorzea Collection shots rely heavily on these tips.

Give it a try, and share your results!

[messydiabolical]

@dandenbo asked me for the art asks: 🎠What is a typical 'workflow' for a piece from idea to finished? It turns out to be a long answer so here's its own post, under the cut to save your dash! How I go from screenshot to painting: (This is not intended to be a 'this is how you do it!' kind of guide. I absolutely don't do an optimal route, this is just how I go about painting and what works for me! I've done a workflow for a screenshot to painting as I do a few different things but this is one I could explain somewhat coherently. My comics tend to be created pretty chaotically lol)

1) I take an ungodly amount of screenshots while playing. Also pester friends for their screenshots or stalk the group discord for interesting shots.

2) Go through all those screenshots cursing why I took so many, looking for those great moments that I want to paint. I’m particularly looking for nice poses/captivating moments, dynamic lighting or interesting expressions, and they don’t need to have all 3 as we can fix some of that in the next step. Here’s the screenshot I chose for my Keahi x Thane piece:

It was a cute, soft moment between them and I liked the highlight at the edge of their profiles. 3) Refine the screenshot. I don’t use anything fancy for this. I game on windows PC, so I open up the screenshot with windows photo editor. I crop the image, play around with saturation, exposure, contrast, just basic editing until it looks tastier. For this piece I wanted it to be hyper colourful and vibrant, leaning towards warmer tones.

4) Decide what I will change, then gather references for those changes. In this case I was fortunate that not a lot needed changing. I knew I wanted to move Thane’s eye position to looking at Keahi rather than the way he is slightly off focus, do a more realistic ear with earrings for Keahi, make Thane a little more smiley and lower his eyelid and give Keahi nicer eyelashes. I keep a whole bunch of art guides and tutorials on my PC so I grabbed the necessary ones and sent them to my ipad ready to have on hand for the sketch stage. I have Thane’s character model in XNApose, so I can check things like his eyelid specifically in that (this is actually for a different project but shows you what I mean)

If I was going to change up the lighting/shading I would also gather references for that. For example sometimes i’ll take screenshots of lighting schemes I love from films/tv shows (think the strong teal and orange scheme in Mad Max or the neons of Blade Runner). Or for precise shadows, I can again use XNApose. I also have a little 3d printed Thane head I can shine a torch at and take photos of to get shadow ideas. For humans there’s lots of reference to be found with online searches, I find pinterest more useful than google for this. For specific expressions or body parts, i’ll just take photos of myself (hand poses, smiling from the right angle etc.) My camera roll is an interesting place. I have drawn drell frills on my neck and on my chest before to see how the lines would fold at certain angles. 5) Setting up a canvas I work in procreate. For a piece like this I try to go pretty big, say 5000 x 4000 pixels, then i’ll crop down later as needed. 300 DPI. As I work, I’ll make duplicates and continue on the copy each fresh session. When i’m finished I make a backup save of the PNG and .procreate files on an SSD. I immediately turn the background colour down to a more muted colour to not burn my retinas. If i’m using a textured background like an oil board i’ll insert it, and any overlays like canvas effects. Set up my layers from the start basically for easy toggling throughout. I try to be good and label things to make life easier, it doesn’t always happen though. I don't wear a digital glove or use paper effect screens but I do have a bottle of screen cleaner and a microfibre cloth handy at all times. 6) Sketch. I’m still very much learning to draw. I tried for a long time to do the classic ‘ball for a head, draw the planes/lines etc. It was a constant struggle and never clicked for me, the ball especially always made things much worse, turning a circle into a 3d image in my head just does not happen. I find it better to just start drawing and work things out as I go (I use procreates reference window to see my screenshot). So I’ll have my sketch in one canvas, and i’ll also have a second canvas with the photo ref on it at the same size, and if I feel like something is really wonky and off i’ll test my lines over the photo to see what’s gone wrong, then go back to the sketch and correct the areas that revealed. Sometimes I’ll use the grid feature if i’m getting stuck.  Here's a few of the sketch stages:

Here I tried out the lines on the photo and noticed that Thane’s frills were a little too far to the left, and Keahi’s eyebrow needed to arch down towards the nose.In the next pass I correct these:

Also, and I know i’m gonna get side eye from some people for this but I really could not care less to be honest. On some pieces i’ll just trace the screenshot. Sometime I just want to get to painting, am not in the mood or mindspace for a learning experience, and this is a hobby. It’s my screenshot, no one is getting ripped off. My latest Javik piece was done this way 🤷‍♂️ 6) Painting. I’ll start by blocking in the background and the portrait flats, usually on separate layers. I try to have an idea of the background colour from the start as this can effect the whole piece overall, but sometimes you just gotta change it as you go so having it on a different layer makes this much easier.

The painting itself I’ll lay down wider areas of colours, then start going in and refining bit by bit, I tend to work on one area at a time, and sometimes I’ll get pretty well rendered on a small area before moving on, other times work on a wider area. It really depends on my mood and what i’m vibing with that day. Like you can see here I’ve done some general messy colouring all over Keahi, but done a lot of refinement on the eyeball:

7) Finshing the piece, uploading and testing: When I’m sick of rendering the painting and don’t think I can add anything more to it without gnawing my own wrist off, it is time to finish up! I make sure I toggle all the layers I want on, add a top signature layer (lol I lie I forget this all the damn time). Then i’ll upload the piece to my google drive and open it up on my big 4k monitor on my PC, and on my phone, and see how it looks (my ipad is a 9.7inch air). I find that once off my ipad, it often looks a little less saturated and contrasting as it does in procreate. So I might go back and change the levels if it’s too big a difference until it looks decent across devices (it’ll never look perfect on them all though, just gotta find that happy medium).

8) Posting online I really don’t have any strict steps for this. I know some people go for optimal posting times, and will make multiple copies of their pieces in different sizes to fit better on different sites (damn you instagram and your need for everything to be square). I… do not do any of this lol. I post when I’m done whatever time or day that is. I do tend to reblog/retweet etc before I go to bed, as I live in the UK and that will at least be getting into evening time in US. I reblog my own stuff a fair bit.

[bengiyo]

The Warp Effect Ep 12 (Finale) Stray Thoughts

The week of finales continues! I was forever changed by My School President. Will this show change me as well?

Last time, things finally came to a head at Jedi and Rose's wedding, which used prom as its theme. Jedi and Rose continued to make me believe in long term romance. See-ew committed the cardinal sin of proposing at someone's wedding. Mollie and Nim managed to reconcile a bit. Joe and Army danced in public, and are building their romance. Alex learned that the sex ed teacher was his bio dad and refused to forgive him for abandoning his mom. Alex tried to reconcile with Jean, but Jean refused. Kat is hanging out with Tony now. Alex learned that the camera came from his bio dad.

As always, so much happens on this show.

I do enjoy the sci-fi conceits of someone experiencing this huge period of time, and then returning to an earlier moment. Everyone else being so confused amuses me.

I also like Alex immediately going to reassure his little brother.

Clize and Sing are so funny together. I hope we see them paired again.

Alex getting ahead of the Mollie issue by kissing her himself is unexpected, but makes sense to keep it from becoming a rift between Nim and Mollie.

Oh, Alex, please don't out Army and Joe.

Yep, they're still closeted jocks, so yeah that's definitely the same outcome.

Jojo definitely likes Kill Bill, Vol. 2.

I love Jedi and Rose so much. Mark and Best look so comfortable together.

Have we not learned our lessons about drinking too much??

Jojo, why have you joined the ranks of people forcing me to witness vomit??

Ah, nice. Shielding the gays is the right move.

I swear if Jean gets expelled still because of these photos....

Fah is also so funny. She actually works really well with New. Cutting off the music when she passes out was fantastic comedic timing.

Alex is still a people pleaser, but I like him being confident about helping people.

I actually like the chemistry between New and Fah a lot.

I'm never getting over the BTS clip where Clize slaps Sing so hard that he walked away stunned.

This elevator make out competition is peak Jojo. Best, Clize, Mark, and Sing are so amazing.

It's a bit contrived, but I really like how far a little earnest validation is carrying all of these couples.

Even Sarran gets a nod.

Oh, I do love creating the intro at the end.

Absolutely comedic poses for Jean and Alex's consensual first time. Still, that was much nicer than what happened originally.

This friend group is honestly impressive if they all not only stayed in their pairs, they also remained friends for a decade.

Kinda hope Alex gets the memories of the better ten years and doesn't have to piece those together too.

Final Verdict: 10, Highly Recommended. This show was an absolute delight from start to finish. I cannot overstate how impressive it is that this show remained legible despite the sheer volume of threads it was managing. This show managed to be funny and sexy, while still continuing the mission to make people more comfortable with their bodies and aware of their own sexual health. It also managed to accomplish those educational goals without feeling like an after school special. It's also the queerest show we've gotten to enjoy in quite some time. I'd say in some ways it cared more about queer issues than some of the BLs we've watched. Please watch and enjoy this.

[pikahlua]

Pika Rambles about the new OP because why not

If there’s anything I’ve learned from season 6 of MHA, it’s that whatever Twitter’s reaction is to something, I’m likely to have the opposite reaction.

I’m not often one to go into my opinions on things in MHA I feel are “good” or “bad.” Sometimes it happens, but just generally I’ve been trained to read and analyze a lot of things without respect to whether or not I like them or agree with their philosophies. I’m usually trying to understand a story more than anything.

But OPs are a different matter.

I have a weird thing for OPs. I’ve watched many over the years, and in some cases even decided whether or not I would watch an anime based on its OPs. (I’ve also...made a lot of AMVs.) OPs are supplementary material that are opportunities for animators to showcase their creativity and their understanding of the story’s themes. For that reason, I’ll happily ramble about my love for MHA OPs 1-4 and 7 anytime (god, especially 7; I’ll never get over the candy apple sakuga).

This time, OP 11, the ramble isn’t a good one. “What? Really? But everyone agrees it’s the shiniest one yet! Is it just that weird Ochako shit they threw in there?” No, stock anon. It’s so much more than that.

I have opinions.

If you like OP 11...you may not want to read my thoughts under the cut.

I’m just gonna complain in list form from here have fun.

1. First, all the good: I like the song. I realize not everyone’s gonna like the song, but I happen to like it. I also like some of the OP, particularly the first bits of it before the title card drops. I think it’s a good use of some of the cover/non-story artwork Horikoshi drew during this arc. Except already saying that, I can’t help but notice a huge missed opportunity. This cover art would’ve made for an EXCELLENT theme in the OP:

It would’ve made up for the egregious lack of All Might too.

2. That title card is awful. Come on. They used to do fun things with the design or colors or something. This is just...weird effects that maybe will cause someone a seizure. It’s certainly not pleasing to the eye.

3. I don’t have a problem with the split screen bit. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible. Except the animation they give Ochako was basically already used in OP 8 so I don’t know what that’s all about.

4. All the Lady Nagant art is super lame sorry why do they repeat the same angle and pose twice? They could have used other camera angles at least, or even do something more with her younger self and angst? This is about as one-note as her actual role in the story (okay maybe it fits then).

5. I don’t need to complain about the weird ship bait that is the Ochako scene in the way everyone else already has done for me. I have a pressing urge to bring up though that Bones once again shows their lack of creativity here, and it feels like they have a vendetta against Ochako too. Where is her action shot? Her sakuga? There are plenty of moments from this arc that could’ve made a much nicer action shot here. Her smile is so weird because this whole arc she’s getting serious for Izuku’s sake and frowns at him a lot and stands up to him essentially. This feels like heroine-ization and it’s awful. Ochako does much more impactful and moving shit this arc than whatever the hell this is.

6. How dare you cheapen the hand-holding symbol of this series do you even know what the fuck is happening in this manga??? [clings to Iida’s leg]

7. The sakuga of Izuku swinging around is okay, probably the best part of the OP--except then we run into the Lady Nagant issue again

8. What the fuck is the weird white corpse from AoT doing here? What? What is that? Hello?

9. It needs to be said: the sakuga of Iida et. al. looks like absolute ass. I’m sick of fandom just salivating for nothing but sakuga while having absolutely no standards. “Action lines? Cool angles? Speedy animation? Yay it’s perfect!” No, seriously, if everyone’s gonna be so critical of the story and animation and pacing all the time, where’s your criticism of the actual sakuga? This shot looks awful and no one is talking about it. Not only do all the characters involved move awkwardly, you can’t even tell who they are. I wish we could have seen better highlights of the characters themselves, their faces even, including Shigaraki’s. YEAH THAT’S RIGHT. THEY’RE FIGHTING SHIGARAKI IN THAT SHOT. DID YOU EVEN NOTICE? YOU PROBABLY THOUGHT IT WAS IZUKU, RIGHT? SEE HOW DUMB THIS IS? IT MAKES NO SENSE FOR THAT TO BE SHIGARAKI EITHER, BUT IT IS. GO PAUSE A FRAME AND CHECK IT OUT. The special effects of their super attacks at the end also look like ass. This was the worst sakuga we’ve seen since the third movie and I am not impressed and I’m mad other people are.

10. Epilepsy colors Izuku is also terrible sakuga he’s so off-model it hurts I can’t stand watching this bit.

11. The Izuku+Tenko sequence is nice and a good show of creativity, and yet Izuku also looks off-model and I can’t stand how this is NOT the right season for this imagery. So that makes this a spoiler, basically? It doesn’t belong here. I like the subtle hint at the OFA star with the sun glare behind Izuku’s offered hand, but still this feels like they have no idea what this arc is about.

12. Exhibit #999999 that it feels like the animators have no idea what’s up with this arc: the ending image of Izuku doing the All Might fist in the air pose. Like, maybe it works if you read it as “he’s able to represent All Might because everyone else is there with him,” but it just doesn’t...feel right. It’s not earned based on the rest of the OP. Why couldn’t we just have them all be around the All Might statue? I don’t know what are you all even thinking when you draw this shit

[strawberry-seal77]

9. whats something you always come back to when drawing?

12. describe your process while drawing! <3

21. what do you think your artstyle would taste like? (I think it tastes like a strawberry banana smoothie :3 tasty and refreshing)

22. do you have a favorite color palette to work with?

<33333

9 - cats!!! always cats. I started drawing with cats and I think I'll keep drawing them forever and ever sbdfhjdshf. Otherwise, I feel like I always end up having characters put a hand on their hip sbdhjfb

(though not as much recently it seems?)

21 - Oooooh.... I think my artstyle would taste like starbursts!!!! Maybe lemon, since thats my favorite. smoothies are AWESOME though so I'm HONORED . !!!

22 - Hmmm... Not off the top of my head, though whenever I'm applying overlay layers I usually end up making everything pinker BFHDBFH. My most recent shaded drawings have all been in nighttime/dark environments (which is cool to work with!) so maybe that? :O

I do love sketching in red though >:3cc

12 - Gonna talk about the MAP part bgs here 'cos I remember them most clearly. Talking is long so it is UNER the cut :3

First and foremost, new file !!

Then, especially in the case of MAP-related things, I gather alllll my references and stick em above the canvas. For these bgs, I also put in the characters that gamzee had drawn so I could check how everything flowed.

(they weren't colored at the time so I just blocked it in sbdhfbhdf)

then, SKETCH !!! I'm still not too good at picking a perspective, so I just winged it. Turned out okay!!! Though I'm going to actually try to learn this stuff sometime fbhsdbfh.

You can see it's pretty rough, because my sketches are just doing as little work as possible to help me figure out space & such. The next step is to block out the colors, and while I don't have any actually saved, I'll make a dramatic reenactment.

(usually the bg colors would probbably be in there? but I didnt think about that fbdhsfb)

Then I went through area-by-area, shading it as I thought would make sense. First with the rock, which if you look has a lot of blurring! This was after shading with just rough lines, and you can see I went in and added more lines after that for texture. The bush was fun (though I was mostly guessing, even with reference) Looks like a cake... ehehe

the grass you can see has horizontal patches of light & dark, and thats something I thinkkk I got from a northflowo video!! It does indeed make the grass look better.

the background was a little funky since, again, I did it at the very end. BUT! Look at that tasty water!!!

The leaves in the foreground (for as little camera sense as they made) were fun!! and like a mini version of the whole process. Sketch, block out colors, shade em, begone

I'd say a lot of my doing art is drawing whatever I want to draw, and then going "ok how do I make this look finished-", which is usually basic colors or something in the background. For example- I did the bg last here, so it's on another layer, and you can see how much more finished it looks!!

even though everyyyything else is just as shaded :33

Also, this was another reminder of how useful it'd be if I actually recorded speedpaints HSBDHBFHF

If I'm drawing characters, I start with either the head or most defining (/important to get) part of the pose, and I do my silly little boxes then build out from there. Recently ive been drawing legs like this in the first sketch which I think is kinda funny, but effective! FBDHFB

[dragons-in-spaceee]

hello friend. Take this as an invitation to rant about whatever you want :)

YAYYYYYY :)))

okay so this is completely non fandom related lol I just went on a deep (ish) dive the other day about astrophotography! So as you know I do take pictures of space but I’m like the absolute beginner of beginners lol. My current equipment is a tripod and a decent camera and that’s it for photography, so I wanted to see what I’d have to get or what other techniques I could use to progress further. The biggest problem is exposure time - you need a longer exposure to capture the light needed to show the details of such faint objects as nebulae and galaxies, but a longer exposure creates star trails due to the rotation of the earth (nooooo). Also a higher magnification emphasises star trails. There are two ways to combat this: one is time consuming, the other is expensive. The first way, the one I’m going to try first as i do not have money to spend currently, is to stack photographs. I’m going to have to look more into the specifics of how this works once I have the time to try, but essentially you take a lot of short exposures of the same object then layer them all together in the right software to effectively produce a photograph of a much longer exposure. Luckily for me there are at least two recommended softwares that are free (yay!!!) and seem to work well from what I’ve seen, so I’m going to give it a shot at some point. The main thing that seems complicated is apparently you have to have different types of shots to layer? Dark ones and light ones and all sorts so I’ve got more to learn. I will be relying on the Sky At Night astrophotography explainers for this! For the exposures I am aware of the 500 rule: you divide 500 by your focal length (amount of zoom) times the crop factor (intrinsic to the camera) to get the maximum length of exposure time without trailing. I currently go over this limit sometimes as I don’t mind a small amount of trailing, but if I want sharp photos for layering I’m going to have to pay it more heed, which unfortunately means a larger amount of exposures is required to create the final image. Anyway, the second way to combat star trails is to use a tracking mount - a motorised tripod that tracks the movement of the stars across the sky. These are stupidly fucking expensive but by god do I wish I had one as it means you can almost expose for as long as you like with zero trailing. At that point your enemy becomes keeping the contrast high so, as the Sky At Night magazine highly recommends, most people still stack photos and do editing even with a tracker, but again it is not necessary with a tracker if you get the right settings. Plus less photos to stack. Currently, my plan is to first try stacking with my current equipment, then long term to buy the following equipment: 1) a tracking addition for my telescope tripod, 2) an attachment for said tripod that allows my camera to sit on top instead (ie so then the tracker kills two birds with one stone), and finally 3) an adapter for my camera to attach to the telescope itself, essentially becoming one huge zoom lens. In total this could cost up to £1000 so this is very much long term goals but THINK OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS I COULD TAKE!!!! For now, I’m waiting till the sun finally lessens its grasp on the sky and the nights darken again (as, I cannot emphasise how much it does NOT get dark AT ALL here in summer), then my targets will (probably) be the andromeda galaxy, Orion Nebula, and Pleiades for my first attempts at stacking!

[toky502]

Prototype number 9: White chimera

Mixed with horse, caterpillar and slug and attribute of hope. The little being is blind and since he was born he had to learn to see the world in a different way. Volhutt told me that even though he doesn't have eyes that won't limit him in this world, and that her is very beautiful. Generally acts more like a human horse, is very calm. The prototype demonstrated the ability to have omnikinesis at a high level and matter manipulation at a medium state. She is very sociable and friendly, her physical structure is stable, she passed her tests successfully in 3 days, very effectively maybe she is smarter than I thought. Mass production will be carried out as soon as possible. The creature usually sleeps a lot as she gets tired very frequently, ironically I have no idea if she is asleep or awake as she sleeps standing up, a rather strange habit, she usually does not open her eyes, she only opens them when she is using her powers. Without a doubt a fascinating specimen!

Dr. Wayne Ding Gaster

Prototype number 10: Black chimera

Mixed with wild cats, an octopus and a worm and the attribute of hate. The small being has a unique physical structure is intangible and tangible at the same time at will. He also has a fanaticism about consuming darkness and shadows of food, he normally acts more like a human octopus, but still retaining his wild side and dexterity of a human wildcat is very restless and somewhat absent-minded for some reason. The prototype demonstrated the ability to copy the powers of its rivals at an almost perfect level and move through the shadows of living beings or objects. To my surprise, it is very friendly and adapts quickly to its environment, ironically the creature does not have any shadow and its physical structure is stable, it passed its tests successfully in an about 3 weeks, it took a little longer than I expected since the prototype did not I understood the emotions of living beings for the most part. My youngest son had to help me on many occasions with this specimen to make it as sociable as possible, at first it didn't go very well so to speak. But, over time the prototype 10 became opened with my son and formed a bond of trust and loyalty. To the point that they became as close and sticky as gum, they ate together, played together and slept together, they even went to the bathroom together, for the love of science damn! who does that!!! Mass production will be carried out as soon as possible. My son told me this morning that he wanted to adopt the prototype, there is no problem on my part but I gave him only one condition if he wanted to keep the creature. Never ever! I should let the prototype try to eat my precious shadow again, one can't work in peace these days!

Dr. Wayne Ding Gaster

Prototype number 11: Silver chimera

Mixed with seahorses, a dove and a hummingbird and the attribute of Honesty. The little being is quite happy and direct, but he has a defect, he becomes obsessed with the order of the most complex or simple objects that surround him. He usually behaves more like a human pigeon, he demonstrated the ability to shrink his own body and that of his rivals without any limit, apparently luckily it is temporary and does not last long according to my calculations the effect of his ability lasts about 12 hours. To my surprise, the prototype can reverse it at will. Besides the fact that he likes very sweet food, a lot of fruits have been disappearing from my refrigerator lately, especially pineapples! I might have to put more cameras in my kitchen. He is very sociable and friendly, his physical structure is stable, he passed his tests successfully in 7 days, although he organized my documents almost all the time in each test, something that was a bit annoying. Mass production will be carried out as soon as possible! One day I went to the palace of the monarchs to look for more information about the weapons of antiquity and I found an extremely giant spider maid monster carrying an ancient car, I was scared shitless! Luckily the young woman saw me and recognized me immediately after leaving the car in another place, she headed in my direction and began to shrink to a normal height, she said her name was Muffet and that she planned to visit me in my laboratory. I was quite intrigued by his ability, when her finished his exhausting work she explained to me that he was looking for me to create an object that would help him carry out and facilitate his daily life to make his work more bearable. I automatically said yes and the next day I showed him the prototype in my laboratory, at first she wasn't entirely convinced and told me that maybe it was a joke or something. I told her that he would not regret his decision and that adopt the prototype 11! Since both are similar to each other in many aspects, for some reason the problem of missing fruits was solved the next day!

Dr. Wayne Ding Gaster

Prototype number 12: Red chimera

Mixed with lizards, a chihuahua dog and a mosquito and the attribute of determination. The little being is happy and curious about his environment, he really likes helping others, he demonstrated abilities to climb walls, create quite resistant force fields, suck blood to increase his physical strength and not to mention that he can fly without the need for wings. He was created based on prototype 1 to help and cure him, he is practically like his younger brother. It has more similarities with a human domestic dog, but its behavior is more of a human mosquito, it is very sociable and friendly, its physical structure is stable. He passed his tests successfully in 2 days, he is very efficient and fast, perhaps the determination in his being has something to do with it. Prototype 1 was taken out of its suspension chamber and put in contact with prototype 12 and surprisingly they like each other quite a bit. The creatures spend almost all their time playing in the laboratory and prototype 1 has not eaten anything suspicious at the moment, apparently every food that I give to prototype 1 is automatically given to prototype 12 even though it clearly shows symptoms of wanting to eat, he puts up with it. A rather negative behavior that I have noticed since he puts his brother as a priority before himself. Despite this it will be under observation and I will subject it to more tests, I have discovered so far that the blood of prototype 12 can neutralize and repair the physical structure of prototype 1. For now it is a great advance! the only problem now would be the mind and abnormal gluttony that the creature suffers from. Today a second, quite particular human arrived in the land of monsters. He has a light blue sweater with violet stripes, and his appearance is similar to Asgore's adopted son. What's the worst that can happen!

Dr. Wayne Ding Gaster

PREVIOUS - END! - FIRST

Most of the prototypes were inspired by the old (underwar) designs created by @revolvius !! ♥️

[hannahs-fieldnotes]

Vision Board

Notes:

Find a best friend. This goal is probably the most important to me but also the most difficult. I have a hard time with people. Hugging – even family – is really hard for me. I am super shy and there is no one I am really close to. I do have people I consider friends, but even with them, I am not at ease. This has always been the case. I don't know why. Not sure how, but I will try to force myself to form relationships with people I admire and maybe i will find someone i can trust, talk freely with and take on any adventure without worry.

I really want a group of friends I can hang out with, have fun and just feel like i belong. Right now when i am invited to group events i have a hard time talking, i feel clumsy, boring and like an outsider.

I want to eat healthier. This is probably one of the standard goals everyone has on their lists. Right now, I have no discipline or rules. I want to learn more about what I am consuming and its effects on my body and the environment. One of the main goals is to gain control over my sugar addiction. Another goal is to eat and drink more things i really love (like fresh orange :drool:) - even if they are more expensive and/or take more effort to prepare.

I definitely need to drink more. I've always had a hard time staying hydrated because I don't get thirsty often. I can go a day without drinking, only realizing I need to water when I have a headache the next day. I need to work on tracking my water intake and make it a habit to drink regularly, as it doesn't come naturally to me.

More city trips. I want to explore my country and Europe a bit more next year. I plan to do some short city trips, either alone or with a friend. On my list for this year are Paris, France, and Prague, Czech Republic. Additionally, I'd love to visit Mont Saint Michel, Barcelona, Chamonix, and many more. This category also includes attending events like concerts and festivals. Do you maybe have any beautiful city suggestions in Europe for me?

I want to go on a sailing adventure. My family already owns a very small boat, and I've been a few times with a university club, but I haven't learned much yet. My goal is to get the license and knowledge to steer a small dinghy and spend at least one summer traveling with it. While I might not be able to take lessons or sail this year, I can already work on the theoretical knowledge needed, mainly navigation and knots, to pass the exam.

Spend more time outside (in nature). Since I spend so much time on the computer and on my phone, I want to work on going outside more. I have a hammock I used to sleep in outside – maybe I can start doing that again. I also want to go camping more frequently, even just for a weekend to prepare for upcoming big hikes like e.g. E4.

Take more pictures. I used to take my camera everywhere and often visit locations because I heard they would be beautiful. At some point last year I stopped taking pictures. I think it was a good habit, since it also helped me remember all the cool stuff i did.

I will also go running again outside. Another activity i kinda stopped doing at some point but miss. Right now i am working on a training routine which will hopefully prepare me to run a half marathon again in a few months.

Adopt a dog. My dream is to one day adopt a dog. When I looked for puppies last year, I fell in love with a big white "ice bear". I wanted to call her Greta. Right now, a dog does not fit into my life, but maybe I can prepare. I will try to help out at the local animal shelter and work on passing the exam that will allow me to own a big dog.

Be more conscious about the environment. I see all the terrible things happening in the world and also how much trash I create. I know there is a lot more to do, but I will try to think about ways to make the world a better place starting with my own life.

Read more and stay up-to-date with what's going on in the world. I recently started reading books again and want to make it a habit. I will also try to stay informed by reading news articles now and then. If I can afford it, maybe I can subscribe to a daily news website.

Find a home. Right now i don't have a place i feel safe and at home at. My goal is to move into my own place with my boyfriend. I also need to organize and declutter my stuff which is all over the place and pure chaos atm. Let me know if you're interested in a post about this journey.

Get a job in the field I love and improve my skills. I finished my university degree this summer. I haven't found a job yet but hope I will soon.

Take notes and be more creative. I have a sketchbook and a list of creative things I want to learn/try out. Also, this blog is something I always wanted to start. I hope you like it, and I hope I will be able to keep posting! Feel free to dm me anything you think I could do better or let me know your thoughts in general ♡.

What are your goals this year and how does your vision board look? I am wayy too curious...