#I used drawing this as a palate cleanser

[circuscountdowns]

based on this suggestion by @arsonistmoth, just a silly thing, imagine how long it’d taken lamb to finish that

[bi-widower-dads]

bi-widower-dads' February Fic Recs: Canon

Thank you to everyone who submitted recs for us! We've done some sorting and collating, and we've got two posts for you: AUs and Canon-'verse - and a whole load of excellent fic for you to get stuck into while we wait for Barduil Month in April! Without further ado, here are the canon fic recs, featuring tags, links, summaries, and all the reasons why the recommenders think you should give these fics a try!

Header image by mod @piyo-13!

(a note about tags and trigger warnings: tags are selected from those on AO3 as being those that best describe the story for the purposes of this event; trigger warnings are supplied by the recommenders and may not be comprehensive - your mileage may vary. We've tried our best to include Tumblr handles wherever we can, but if we've missed yours out and you want it included, just let us know!)

One-shots

Scenes From a Not-So-Clandestine Romance by MasterofAllImagination / @cutlerbeckettt | G | 3258 words | tags: 5+1 things, so much fluff it's sickening, seriously don't even read this

Summary: As the relationship between Bard and Thranduil grows beyond merely that of two allies, they become proportionately blind to how obvious their displays of affection are to their people. Pretty soon their feelings are an open secret shared among everyone in Mirkwood and Dale-- except the kings themselves. (or, five times someone caught Bard and Thranduil secretly kissing, and the one time they did it in public) What do you love about this fic? The author's completely correct that this is just So Much Fluff. It's great, it's cozy, it's a palate cleanser that makes you go "aww" and giggle a little at how oblivious they are.

We'll lay here for years or for hours by bispecimen | M | 5000 words | tags: canon divergence, different first meeting, animal death, hunting, could be considered canon compliant since it still works w future events, dilf vs dilf parenting techniques, canon-typical violence

Summary: "The leaves were rolling, green and healthy. Swirling around the legs of the Bowman as if they were about to bring some magical creature in his presence. But Bard didn’t feel like anything good was about to be brought in front of his eyes. The stillness of the air was suffused with something nocive. This part was forbidden for a reason. The deeper he went, the longer he stayed. He knew, he knew that." What do you love about this fic? Am possibly biased because I did the art for this, but lovely and lyrical!

but the sun is eclipsed by the moon by RC_McLachlan | G | 5288 words | tags: none

Summary: The Battle of the Five Armies threatened to unmake the world, but The Negotiations of the Three Kings might actually succeed. Or, a short lesson on the lifecycle of dandelions. What do you love about this fic? Great writer I've followed for a long time!

more than words can wield the matter by BiSquared / @scary-grace | M | 5422 words | tags: cultural differences, love letters, miscommunication, accidental marriage, getting together, laws and customs of the eldar are somewhat followed, POV Bard the Bowman, post-BotFA, as canon-compliant as barduil gets

Summary: It might be uncommon, but Bard knows it’s not unheard of for humans to share a single night of passion and part ways in the morning – or if not to part ways, then at least never to meet as lovers again. Apparently it’s unheard of among elves, because the first letter that arrives from Mirkwood, two weeks after the elves’ departure for their forest, is significantly less businesslike than expected. What do you love about this fic? The premise is funny enough that it could have come across as crack, but it creates actual narrative tension and a satisfactorily cathartic ending.

The Well-Worn Path of Words by Ias | T | 10,725 words | tags: letters, slow burn, pining, miscommunication, love confessions, epistolary

Summary: It wasn't so strange that Thranduil would call him a friend. And yet the word seemed to draw them closer like a length of string, binding them together, yet still so fragile. [In which Thranduil and Bard begin writing each other letters over the long winter after the battle.] What do you love about this fic? Fantastic epistolary fic from a great Barduil author!

Multi-chapter (in progress)

Language of the Forest by BaccaratBlack | T | 1,095 words | tags: victorian flower language, sort of unrequited feelings, cultural differences, cultural misunderstandings, courtship, secret admirer

Summary: Bard is perplexed by elven courtship rituals. Thranduil is very determined and unaccustomed to not having his way. What do you love about this fic? Who doesn't like a fic with the themes of courtship, flowers and a "secret" admirer?

Multi-chapter (complete)

A Tale of Love and Longing (as told by Galion) by jotunblood | T | 39,288 words | tags: courtship, secret relationship, developing relationship, sexual tension, light angst, post-BotFA, slow burn, Galion POV, Galion is a good friend

Summary: Galion knew all the almost imperceptible ways joy, anguish, and hate could change his King’s face. He also knew-- Thranduil’s denial be damned-- exactly how he looked when he was pining. What do you love about this fic? We see Thranduil's and Bard's relationship develop through Galion's POV and he's the best BFF/Wing Man a King could ask for.

Blossoming Spring by SlytherinImpala | T | 56,210 words | tags: fluff, post-BotFA, snark, slow burn, healing, friends to lovers, scars, movie canon, first kiss, getting together

Summary: Bard and Thranduil meet again as winter gives way to spring following of the Battle of Five Armies. What do you love about this fic? I love the gentle snarkiness between the 2 characters and how they slowly learn to open up to one another. They feel very in character and when they fall in love it doesn't feel abrupt. Definitely worth a read if you love a gentle Barduil slowburn.

Series

The Kings of the North by Evandar | T | 14,240 words | tags: partial fix-it, interspecies romance, fluff, blind thranduil, self-esteem issues, communication

Summary: There is unease in the north, as old alliances must be rebuilt and leadership learned. Bard is confused, mostly by King Thranduil, and King Fili is determined to be the best king he can be. Sigrid, meanwhile, wishes things could go back to the way they were. What do you love about this fic? This was one of the first series I ever read for barduil and definitely played a huge role in getting me into the ship in the first place!

Boundaries 'Verse by Sir_Nemo | T | 30,967 words | tags: fluff, getting to know each other, getting together, family bonding

Summary: Bard has been working for the elves for years, never actually meeting one, until one day he notices an elf watching him work. The elf becomes a constant in his life, and the two of them slowly start warming up to each other. What do you love about this fic? Bard and Thranduil's personalities really shine through in their conversations, which I feel is a core component of the plot, and makes for a very stable relationship that the story can lean on.

[ellekhen]

Of Silk, Sun, and Sparks

Summary: Laundry day forces Church to make use of a gift from his betrothed, much to Astarion's smug satisfaction. But the tiefling's relaxing, sunlit evening in Waterdeep is about to get a lot more involved — and magical — thanks to the arrival of a dear friend.

Pairing: Astarion/Male Tav/Gale (w/established Astarion/Male Tav) Rating: Explicit Length: 1.4K+ words; Chapter 1/4

As I'm currently in the middle of a pretty dark part of a longfic, I decided to play around with this as a bit of a palate-cleanser!

Timeline-wise, this takes place after The stars in between, but it's not at all required reading!

Whether this is your first Churchstarion fic or your eighth, I hope you enjoy! ^_^

-----

Excerpt below:

Church huffs a laugh, tapping the graphite stick upon his lips before giving up and setting his drawing aside. 

“Come here,” he whispers, and Astarion doesn’t waste another second. He crawls into Church's space, kneeling between his legs as he presses him back by the chest against the side of the windowsill. His lingering kiss deepens only briefly before he pulls away, regarding the dazed Church with a smirk. And then he nuzzles into the tiefling’s neck, sighing into his skin as his lips trail along its curve, down to his clavicle, and further down to his ridged sternum as the elf teases apart the collar of Church’s robe. 

“Thank you for finally wearing this,” Astarion mutters, pressing a kiss against the bare skin above his heart. “I was afraid it had gone to waste.”

“I haven’t done laundry yet,” Church admits sheepishly. “Desperate times, and all.” Still, he smiles and sighs into Astarion’s featherlight touch. “But I see what I missed out on.”

“What took you so long?” Astarion scowls, flicking away a speck of lint.  

“I was afraid of damaging it, and really making it a waste…”

“Oh for gods’ sake!” Astarion sputters in disbelief. “This…” he grabs at the tail-end of the robe’s belt. “…is spider silk. Not your cheap run-of-the-mill wood pulp or…”

He trails off, red eyes flicking up to meet Church’s as they widen. 

“…your heart’s racing,” Astarion tilts his head curiously. “Why?”

Church huffs a laugh, and Astarion keeps his exaggerated frown of confusion frozen upon his face as his eyes remain fixed on Church’s. At the same time, his hand carefully pulls at the silken belt, undoing its bow with a deliberate, theatrical flourish. 

Church raises a brow at him and Astarion returns it with a wicked smirk. 

“Testing the structural integrity?” Church grins. 

“Perhaps,” Astarion murmurs lightly. “Although it may take further experimentation.”

“Hm,” Church blinks slowly back at him. “Proceed.”

Astarion hooks his finger into the belt, tugging gently as he pulls Church in for a thorough kiss. Just like the belt, he takes his time as the tiefling moans softly through every push and pull upon his lips and tongue, every broken murmur exchanged between the two of them. Astarion's other hand floats up to wrap firmly around the back of Church's neck, pulling him ever closer, ever deeper...  

“Gods,” Church breathes. “I love you…”

He moans against Astarion's mouth as the belt unties completely, and Church gasps as his robe slips aside beneath the elf's eager touch. 

He expects Astarion's hands to head straight in for the kill, but instead he takes his time, fingers drifting back up to pull Church's robe further down, slipping the silk off of one shoulder —

— and the other. 

Astarion leans forward, pressing a kiss and a soft whisper against the warmth of the tiefling’s neck. 

“What?” Church pants, breath catching at his partner's electrical touch upon his skin. 

“I said…” Astarion murmurs. “…I have a gift for you.”

At that moment, a light tap sounds upon the door, and Church startles — hastily pulling his robe back together.

“You’re late,” Astarion drawls, sitting back upon his heels.

Their guest pushes his way sheepishly inside.

“Forgive me,” Gale chuckles, raising a bottle of wine in peace offering. “Seems I got lost.”

[likeabxrdinflight]

I have read azula in the spirit temple, because of course I did. it's like 7 bucks for the digital version and honestly? wouldn't pay much more than that.

it's...fine. it's fine. it's not offensive, it's not groundbreaking, it's just...fine. I will say I do really like the art style, it's a vast improvement over the yang-led comics. there's some great drawings and all the characters look really good.

otherwise...? I mean it just doesn't do much with its story, and I think that's kind of intentional. I strongly suspect that now that avatar studios is a thing, major story beats in the comics series are over for the time being. this very much feels like a tease of "can azula redeem herself?? we just don't know!!!" and then they very much do not commit one way or the other with it. which tells me that if any major storylines featuring azula are going to be happening in the future, they probably won't be happening in the comics, but in some future movie or animated series.

and honestly? good. I always felt comics were the wrong medium for telling stories in this universe, they have never managed to replicate the gravitas or complexity of storytelling of the animated shows. so if this comic is meant to be like...a palate cleanser, a teaser for things to come in future projects...fine. that's fine. but it does mean this particular story comes across non-committal and honestly...kinda boring.

like, every character azula interacts with outside the first couple pages is a spirit. none of it's real, the stakes are so low, and everything that happens once azula arrives at the temple is a vision from this guardian spirit, who tells azula that if she could accept what the visions were saying then this was her chance of redemption. but honestly that just feels like a cop-out and I don't really buy it, because none of it was real. and azula knows that.

what this story felt like instead was less redemption arc and more character exploration. and as a character piece it's...it's fine? like I said, it's not offensive like the search or smoke and shadow were (though it does loosely play off where smoke and shadow left off, it mostly ignores the search, so props to it for that lol). but there's nothing in here that will come as a surprise to anyone with basic reading comprehension who's watched the original show. the writing's a bit shallow but broadly inoffensive.

honestly the most surprising thing for me was azula acknowledging out loud to a vision of ursa that she's entirely aware that her father used her as a weapon, and felt that ursa failed to protect her from that fate by leaving. which is an interesting dichotomy given that much of azula's character is bound up in that identity as her father's perfect daughter in contrast to zuko being the failed son. (then again, quite a bit of time has now passed in universe since the end of the tv series, so maybe it's not overly shocking that azula has done a little introspecting in that time.)

other than that, there's some fun interactions with spirit!mai and ty lee, and then there's a final vision with spirit!zuko that comes so close to being a halfway decent climax to this little story, but none of it's a major revelation to anyone who's been paying attention to azula's character. the spirit visions all serve the same function that azula's hallucinations did in the series finale- they act as her unconscious mind telling her the truths she already knows about herself deep down.

the ending leaves azula in kind of a middle ground place, very little about her circumstances have changed except she's decided to ditch her girl gang and go run off to do something else- which is kept extremely vague. I can't help feeling that is an intentional move to set her up for a totally new story in a different medium that likely doesn't want to rely on any foundations laid in any of the comics series. and I wouldn't be shocked if that medium is one of the alleged movies that avatar studios is supposed to be producing. so this feels less like a real character arc so much as a character reset.

and from a creative, lore standpoint I don't have a problem with this. that's probably what they needed to do if they want to use azula in their future animated projects. my problem is that the story the comic tells to give us this reset is just kinda boring for someone who's been with this fandom since the original series aired.

The fact is that I've read and seen fan works that addressed these exact same issues and character beats with much more finesse and for much higher stakes. this comic gave me the feeling that the dialogue was directly addressing what fans have been saying about azula for years and putting a neon light on it. and that's...again, it's fine? but it's not groundbreaking for those of us who've been saying this shit since 2008. and I guess it's nice to see some of those character beats canonized officially, especially if there's a likelihood that we'll see animated azula again, but as far as I was concerned the fact that azula wanted her family to love her and was used as a weapon of war was already obvious, so spelling it out with another comic felt...redundant.

and I guess that's how I'd describe this. it felt redundant to me, as someone who's spent a lot of time with this character already. maybe it's good that it exists so that larger and newer swaths of the fandom can see azula in this light, but for long time fans of the character? there's truly nothing in here about her that you don't already know.

if this really is a reset button for the old comics canon/jumping off point for an animated project, then...I'm not mad about it, exactly. but as a stand alone story it's just...fine. it's fine, but little more.

[diablo-that-first-spark]

Palate-cleanser sketches 24-06-10-13

So! ... Vessel of Hatred got a trailer.

Uhm... I didn't watch it... I wish I had muted the effing thing as well, tho. Let's just say I had issues going to sleep that night. (Hate the video's thumbnail, too.) I'm genuinely afraid to get the DLC now. Probably gonna wait for some trusted sources to chart the brutality levels first.

I needed cute baby Quiet being cute to restore my inner calm. Sorry, fellow Skarner/brackern enthusiasts, we'll get back into LoL stuff eventually (might be after the US trip, tho).

Hey, kenyizsu. What the F are you doing in the Diablo franchise then, if you can't take this?

Good question, and I must say, there is a goddamn reason why I prefer to draw and write fanart connected to D3, and it isn't JUST because of the actual story and actual characters who do actual stuff and actually achieve something.

-almost launched myself into yet another D2 tangent, but I promise I won't-

I hope everyone who plays the DLC has a great time with it! I may not join you on this one, but we will see. I swear to God, if they start dealing with Tyrael's story line in this DLC, I'm gonna loooooosssse itttt.

2024.06.15

[myulalie]

Writing procrastination game

Thanks for the tag @thehollowone16!

1. What's the name of one of your Wips?

Men Like Us (Daredevil, Matt Murdoch/Vladimir Ranskahov), I had the idea as I brainstormed and I really want to keep it.

2. Describe a Wip in the format of __+__=__

A/B/O + Celebrity AU = it’s 5pm somewhere tour (Shadowhunters, Malec).

3. What tags/warnings will one of your Wips need if you share it?

Bad Friend Scott (Teen Wolf, Sterek), but I’m trying to redeem him! I often use the canon typical violence tag as a warning otherwise.

4. Alternative title to a Wip?

OCAU (Shadowhunters, Malec) is actually titled It’s 5pm somewhere (run up to me) I just kept the name of the doc x)

In the same vein “TMI” and “Skyrim” (Shadowhunters, Malec) used separately to refer to the same fic The Mortal Instruements: Skyrim ^^’

Malec: The DUFF (Shadowhunters, you guessed it) is also a good one but I haven’t came up with a title yet. Batman AU (Shadowhunters, Malec) which is actually not a Batman AU? lmao

5. Which Wip are you most likely to update/finish next?

My Teen Wolf Sterek fic for Fandom Trumps Hate seems to be gearing up to be the next complete fic but who knows!

6. What is one of your Wip's document title, not its name but what you have it saved as?

Good luck with this one: DWS!MP (Teen Wolf, Sterek).

7. Post any sentence from your Wip?

The Sheriff position is elected after all.

Plot twist is it not for a Teen Wolf fic (Stargate SG-1, Sam/Ba'al) x)

8. A scrapped idea from your wip?

There was a verbal fight with Alec early on in Skyrim and Magnus running off and ending in a different part of the map that @spark-draws and I scrapped because it would fit better later in the story ^^

9. What's a story you'd love to write but have yet to start?

So many! I’ve actually posted a lot of my old wips these past few months as part of my “WIPS Wrapped for Christmas” challenge and most of the short ones are out now.

I really want to get to Mummy!Magnus soon so it’s on top of my list because it’s not a multi-chapter, or so I believe so far ^^

10. How many Wips are you actively working on?

Usually just one at a time, although sometimes I take a break to write a palate cleanser (or several) before picking up my main WIPs.

11. Is there a scene you're struggling to write right now?

Yes actually! I’m rewriting a scene from Teen Wolf season 1 when Chris and a couple of hunters corner Derek at the gas station to intimidate him but I don’t want to just retell canon so I’m struggling to find the right angle to make the scene feel new and interesting.

12. Not a question but a second kudos!

Tagging: @foodsies4me, @limnall, @lastlymatt, @polarnacht1, @sterekxhale and anyone else who feels up to it!

[arbitrarygreay]

Great iyashikei requires loss. A lot of examples are self-obvious, by being post-apocalyptic (Girls Last Tour, Sora no Woto, Kemurikusa). The central character exclaiming "suteki~!" at everything manages to not be insufferable because the audience knows how much better these characters could have it. It brings peace/joy by putting the audience's first world living into perspective. Some of those "living in the countryside" type iyashikei (Flying Witch, Tamayura, Non non Biyori) is kind of doing a contrast with urban living, but I nonetheless have a harder time connecting to those shows, because they often feel more like papering over the cracks than having it as underlining subtext. From that angle (advertising rural living), a more energetic TikTok Shenanigans approach or a more nonfiction nitty-gritty approach catches my own interest better, whereas the iyashikei approach doesn't land. Another category would be supernatural beings: Natsume Yuujinchou, Konohana Kitan. Their stories involving spirits and such are full of mono no aware, keenly aware of the passage of time when juxtaposed against the inhuman. It's a horseshoe of the very long-lived and the very short-lived entities and phenomena, always mismatched against human time-scales. There's K-ON, which stands out from other CGDCT by dint of its lush KyoAni Yamada Naoko execution. The dedication to atmosphere in the day-to-day lends it the "keen awareness of the passage of time" as the previous paragraph, both in the audience and in the characters. Everyone knows that graduation is relentlessly incoming. The care paid to the liminal scenes (such as the opening to S1E13) emphasizes to the audience the careless adolescence they will never experience again quite in the same way (or never experienced in the first place). Tamayura tries too hard to have the characters verbally point these things out, which ruins the immersion. But the way to sidestep that slight unreality of the characters is to inject more of the unreal into the world. And thus, some of Tamayura's shortcomings work perfectly fine in Aria. Aria is a curious case, threatening to stubbornly counterexample my theory. Sure, some of its episodes do follow the third "tales of the supernatural" category, but much of the rest is just post-scarcity paradise living. So what allows Aria to retain its "greatest iyashikei" title? Where is the loss? Well, for one thing, I do actually find some of the most "suteki~!"-centered episodes to be a bit too fluffy, and rarely rewatch those. I've heard that the manga is stronger on that point (as is Konohana Kitan), because they can go harder on drawing the luscious settings, which therefore creates that "and you will never quite have this experience again" feeling you can get in real life from exploring a location at your own pace. So again, what makes Aria the greatest iyashkei? Simple, really. Aria's strongest episodes are when the characters actually go through with meaningful turning points in their lives, or when the characters are being openly nostalgic about the past stages of life behind them (which is reinforced by the generational structure of the cast). And finally, the whole premise of Neo-Venezia underlines everything with the fact that the author and everyone in that world are striving to re-create a lost time and place. tl;dr iyashikei that fails to land is probably because they tried to create peace via pure paradise. As with using salt and/or acid in cooking, you gotta have lack as a contrasting palate cleanser and taste enhancer, even if you're going for a qingdan style.

[snowberry-crostata]

Clothing of Skyrim, Part VII: Regional Styles Continued

Earlier today I attended a webinar for work which left me both intrigued and concerned. As a palate cleanser, I decided to continue working on my Clothing of Skyrim series and flesh out styles in the four holds I hadn't gotten to yet (the first five holds can be found here). This time we visit The Rift, Hjaalmarch, Eastmarch, and Winterhold!

The Rift

Riften is second only to Solitude in the volume of foreign trade that flows through the city. Its proximity to the borders of Morrowind and Cyrodiil influences styles in the region and helps support a flourishing cultural exchange. Large enclaves of Dunmer and Argonians live in the city, bringing with them their cultural and stylistic traditions. The temperate climate of The Rift allows for the wearing of clothing and textiles that would be impractical in other parts of Skyrim. Silks imported from (or, more frequently, smuggled out of) the Summerset Isles are a high-value commodity among Riften’s wealthy elite. Lining the interior of otherwise subtle garments with richly-dyed silk or satin is a favorite status symbol of bourgeois merchants living in the city. Block-printed Dunmeri designs remain popular as well. Foreign influences wane outside of Riften, where the clothing of farmers, trappers, and woodsmen more strongly resembles styles found in neighboring Falkreath and Eastmarch.

Hjaalmarch

Cold and damp are the defining characteristics of Hjaalmarch, and its inhabitants’ clothes reflect the need to survive in this harsh environment. Fulled or felted wool is worn for its warmth and water-resistant properties, and outerwear made from waxed or oiled cotton and flax is occasionally seen (though the materials are more often used as ships’ sails rather than in clothing). Since antiquity, the inhabitants of the sparsely-populated Karth River delta have passed down the skill of weaving grasses into textiles. Ornamentation on garments in this region tends to be less ornate than what is seen in neighboring Haafingar or Whiterun due to both a lack of wealth and the difficulty of trade in this inhospitable region. However, locals are known to add tassels made of yarn, string, or even grass as decoration, and decorative knotwork – a skill that originated in the fishing trade – livens the otherwise dour appearance of those living in and around the Drajkmyr Marsh.

Eastmarch

Fur and wool dominate the clothing produced in Skyrim's easternmost hold. Bear pelts are particularly prized and are often left partially intact to be worn as helms or cloaks, echoing the hold's heraldry. The Nordic preference for long hair, seen on both men and women, is particularly strong here. Elaborate braids and other designs are a common sight, with six and eight-stranded plaits being particularly popular. As a result, Windhelm is home to one of the highest concentrations of professional hairdressers in the empire. In the south of Eastmarch, those living in small villages around the region’s hot springs have recently established a lucrative dyeing industry. The springs’ abundant sulfur, when mixed with caustic soda and other compounds, produces colorfast black, gray, and rich brown cotton dyes that are difficult or nigh-impossible to replicate via other processes. The burgeoning trade in textiles has been an economic boon for these parts of the hold.

Winterhold

Hsaarik’s Head has the distinction of being the landing point for the Atmoran migration to Skyrim, and Winterhold has held to Atmoran traditions and ways of dress more than any other hold in the kingdom. Embroidery on leather is a defining feature of the style, and fur trim and linings are a near-necessity for surviving the long, cold winters. Owl and hawk designs, again drawing on Atmoran tradition, are a recurring motif. In the College of Winterhold, elaborately quilted robes help insulate the faculty and apprentices from the chill that seeps through the college’s walls. Novice’s robes are gray. After choosing an area of specialization in their third year, students begin wearing colorful robes which identify their chosen discipline. The faculty’s robes are distinct from the students’, with wider sleeves, liripipe hoods, and velvet trim.

[viviaubm]

rushed drawing of a new oc

he was just supposed to be a generric design but i love him so much im sorry

Sweater wizard

he/she/they genderfluid

-Friends call him Lace

-He's just a normal guy

-They use magic to put on and remove their breasts

-Works as a tailor

-She just wants to drink hot chocolate and watch studio ghibli movies

ive been making so many fucked up ocs lately for horror campaigns but i just wanted to make a cozy little guy as a palate cleanser

[tonytylerdrawz]

2022 Recap and 2023 Precap(?)

This year was a combination of terrible but ok?

Success: Got my website up and hosted on Tumblr. Started streaming on Instagram and Twitch. Got a sketchbook started. Switched to a faster digital setup. Networked with other artists. Felt I leveled up with my work. Expanded to other platforms (Hive, TikTok and Twitch).

Fails: Threadless summer drop was a flop; never did a fall or winter drop. Never had a detailed plan for the year. Exited DeviantArt, Twitter, and ArtStation. Ko-Fi and Patreon didn’t make a ripple. Substack didn’t work out. Instagram saw growth but little engagement.

Goals for 2023

Social

Instagram and Facebook: Focus less on the platform. They keep implementing policies that limit reachability. Use the platforms, but do not be discouraged with limited growth or engagement. Tiktok: Share more here but don’t try to spend my time trying to make content for it Tumblr: Keep on plugging away and try to get my old account working again. Post more. Hive: use it mostly to network. It's been slow.

Support Sites

Patreon: Get it up and running. Start small. Ko-fi: mirror Patreon but update the commissions and digital stuff.

Merchandise

Threadless: Update with good designs and rework the old ones. Spend much more time designing. INPRNT: Make a bigger impact with better designed prints. Advertise them! Storenvy: try a preorder sticker/print/etc drop.

Streaming

I really want to stream more, particularly on Twitch. Not a lot of takers so far, but I have a friend helping with that. I would like to do at least two streams a month.

Projects

Only Human: planning on drawing this again. Doing a short story this year. Lucy Winters: would like to do this once in awhile. On Tiktok and Reels. As a palate cleanser. Wand Slinger: Figure out a project with this. Currently thinking a narrative artbook.

[denimbex1986]

'Christopher Nolan is a unique breed of filmmaker. Auteur driven blockbuster filmmaking is few and far between, so he’s a rare bird. Like many writer/directors, he began with independent roots, before growing to studio cinema. Of course, Nolan also revolutionized comic book and superhero films, paving the way for him to essentially have a blank check. His movies are consistently the biggest and most ambitious in Hollywood. With his latest flick in Oppenheimer now out and drawing raves, it seems like a perfect time to look at his entire directorial career.

Below, you can see how I rank Nolan’s work to date. My list will probably be a bit different from yours, though nothing will strike you as particularly wild (Tenet isn’t number one or anything). He’s one of the most consistent filmmakers out there, drawing a legion of hardcore fans, so the man is clearly doing something right. Now a dozen films deep, he’s on the way to an all-timer of a career.

Here now is my current ranking of the movies helmed by Christopher Nolan…

12. Following – It’s hard to place Nolan’s directorial debut, as it’s almost a student film. At the same time, Following clearly shows a filmmaker beginning to grasp with the themes he’d become obsessed with later in life. Your mileage may vary, and it’s lesser Nolan, but the infancy of his mastery is in evidence.

11. Tenet – This is the one Christopher Nolan misfire (relatively speaking), and yet, Tenet does have plenty that works. Some of the action sequences are terrific, and if he outsmarts himself a bit, this is one of the flicks that shows how the director would have helmed a James Bond picture. Was it worth getting COVID to watch in a theater? Not in the slightest? Does it play decently well now, removed from expectations? To some degree, sure.

10. The Prestige – I’m lower on this one than most, but I fully acknowledge that The Prestige is high quality cinema. A palate cleanser for Nolan and Christian Bale (among others) between Batman pictures, it’s a genre work as well as a period piece. In some ways, this is where you can find the breadcrumbs of what would eventually become Oppenheimer.

9. Insomnia – As close to a for hire gig as Nolan would ever take, Insomnia is still very much in his wheelhouse. It seems wild that he would make something with Robin Williams, but in the latter’s creepy/dark period, it really works. Williams is the highlight, for sure. Just directing, Nolan takes something a bit ordinary and lends it his usual impeccable craftsmanship.

8. Batman Begins – It doesn’t hold a candle to its two bigger and better sequels, but Batman Begins is one of the great superhero origin stories. Not only is the grounded nature a brilliant choice, but the casting would give us Michael Caine as the best Alfred, not to mention Bale and Morgan Freeman, among others. Even if it’s a test run for the next two installments, it’s still wildly successful and an easy watch.

7. Inception – This is probably heresy to some, but I only find Inception very good, as opposed to utterly great. Now, I don’t really have any flaws that I see within it, it’s just never quite grabbed me like it has for others. His other “in between Batman” outings, he pairs with Leonardo DiCaprio for a science fiction Bond epic. This may be the most revisited of Nolan’s original works, in part due to how much fun it’s clear he’s having with the material.

6. Dunkirk – Now we’re into the top tier Christopher Nolan works, starting with Dunkirk. Every master storyteller makes their war epic, often focused on World War II, and Nolan is no exception. Mixing that sort of old-fashioned film with his obsession with time results in a structurally fascinating work. I have a hunch that this is among his least revisited efforts, but that takes nothing away from how impeccably made it is.

5. Memento – This is where we fully met Nolan. Memento is as twisty a tale as he’s ever taken on, yet it’s always crystal clear. Even this early, the confidence, interest in time, and tinkering of conventions are out in full force. This is the kind of movie that, when done well, launches careers, so it’s no surprise that something this great springboarded him to the major leagues in short order.

4. The Dark Knight Rises – I have more affection for his final Batman outing than most. The Dark Knight Rises is as big as it gets, with bold choices, from Tom Hardy‘s Bane voice, to a dour nature that almost forgoes a happy ending. Is it a bit unwieldy? Sure. Do I absolutely adore it anyway? You better believe it. We’ll never know what it was originally intended to be, but what we got was still pretty spectacular.

3. Oppenheimer – Nolan’s newest work, Oppenheimer is fresh in my mind but immediately top three quality. Here is some of my rave review of the movie: “Oppenheimer is an epic character study as well as a dire warning. This engrossing experience builds to an endgame that places no less than the fate of humanity almost at death’s door. It’s heady stuff for summer cinema, but in Nolan’s hands, the urgency is never ignored, but the riveting nature of it makes for one of is most unique works to date. Frankly, given the choice between more work like this and more explorations of the action genre, I’ll take ten more Oppenheimer types before he goes back to Tenet. We’ve seen him master action. Now, he’s mastered the biopic and character study.”

2. Interstellar – Catch me on the right day and I might threaten to rank Interstellar number one here. I was so very taken by this sci-fi spectacular, which also sees Nolan get as emotional as he ever has. Some found the mixture not to work, but this is the only time that the filmmaker has brought me to tears. The sequence of Matthew McConaughey watching the years of recorded videos from his children, ending with a grown Jessica Chastain, is devastating. Try not to cry, I dare you. Throw in an incredibly bold ending and I love this big swing.

1. The Dark Knight – No surprises, but The Dark Knight is the pinnacle of Christopher Nolan’s achievements. It’s pretty perfect and as good as this kind of flick can be. Plus, as we all know, Heath Ledger is iconic and gives an all-timer of a performance as The Joker. There’s not a ton of space between my top three picks, but when you look at Nolan’s resume, it’s hard not to land on this as number one.'

[chamomileteainabuttercup]

Thoughts on The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 6

Well, we could get almost anything in terms of quality this week. Will we see Din, or has he fucked off into the background again? Will I have to tolerate the Mods? How are we one episode from the end of this season when so little has actually happened in the present timeframe? What has Boba named the baby rancor? Can we look forward to another appearance by renowned jizz musician Max Rebo? Let's see.

I just checked with me and I've officially given up hope of seeing Cobb Vanth, and that's mostly because there isn't time to do anything interesting with him, not without abandoning all sorts of other things that I accept should be given narrative priority because they were raised first (not because I find them more personally interesting than Cobb Vanth, hubba hubba). I will now relocate my hope for him to The Mandalorian season 3.

If the whole of Boba's show has just been used to set up the events of the next season of Din's show, well, Boba's a supportive friend and I love that about him, but it would be unfair and it would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Presumably we will see more of Boba this week than just in the Previouslies. PRESUMABLY!

oh god I just thought of the worst thing

what if they kill Boba Fett and season 3 is among other things about Din avenging him

jesus why do I have to think of things like that

fuck that thought!

Temuera Morrison is hot

(that thought functioned as a palate cleanser)

we've got a shitty desert, we've got some goons in pixie hoods, we've got a Hamilton Beach ice cream machine full of... something

FUCK ME THAT'S COBB VANTH

oh jesus Cobb you have no armour you're practically nude and you're ALONE now I'm afraid YOU'RE going to die you're just going to be bumped off in the first minutes of the episode I have it paused in genuine dread please don't give me more and more bad feelings, show

ugggghhhhhhhhhhh

aw he's made up a meaning for his stripey belt buckle, that's adorable

I like how vague his boundary-drawing is, "out there" to "out there"

please be safe Cobb

incidentally how did Cobb get here

the pixie goons have a car, I don't see his bike or anything, he no longer has a jetpack enabling him to drop down from the sky, apparently he just approached them on foot in the open in broad daylight and they didn't notice until he talked.

Cobb, you are a diplomat

and they... demonstrated a lack of critical thought, given that the sexy cowboy was posing them no inconvenience and allowing them to depart unharmed

yes, retire, retire to a lovely little moisture ranch with your Mandalorian gentleman friend and live in peace and contentment (and abundant moisture)

WELL it's the opening titles AND Cobb is not yet dead! Superb!

okay, I realise that the spice is loose in a box that can be flipped open without even operating a catch to make it easy for Cobb to overturn it with his foot, but if spice is a valuable commodity, why is it loose in a box that can be flipped open without even operating a catch

do they not have plastic bags in space

no bras and no plastic bags

also we're seeing a lot more of Cobb's neck than previously - saucy

CHAPTER 6 - FROM THE DESERT COMES A STRANGER

bugger me days, that's Din Djarin

fucking seriously, if we don't get Boba for another whole episode, I will riot

I say this as someone who loves and cherishes both Din and Cobb

but Boba has earned this

anyway nice pointy hills

okay, there's Artoo, now why when finding a Jedi was such a production before can Din now just go directly to Luke's hideout? Did he stick a tracker on Grogu, like Spock sticking one on Kirk in The Undiscovered Country? Or are they going to retcon it to say that Luke did leave a forwarding address?

ugh I hope Luke looks better than he did last season

I say this as someone who loves and cherishes Luke Skywalker!

"Hello, friend," said Din Djarin to a droid.

okay, it is getting up my nose that this is apparently no quest at all, Din can just go right directly there. It's as if he could always have looked Luke up on Spacebook. I mean, did Cara or Fennec or Bo-Katan or someone else who actually watches the news tell him, "That dude who just took off with your kid is called Luke Skywalker, he lives on such-and-such planet"? (But if Bo-Katan knew Luke Skywalker was a Jedi and where he could be found, why wouldn't she have directed Din to him instead of to Ahsoka, who isn't taking pupils? Or as well as Ahsoka? So presumably not her?) Why am I having to do so much work to figure out how Din knows where to go, in all the vastness of space, to find some washed-up twink who didn't even introduce himself?

nice beetlebot

the robots are very cute, I am glad they know how to lay a drystone wall, it is a dying craft in many places

Artoo has activated his unhelpful little shit subroutine

once again, Din is wearily exasperated by whimsical bullshit

HE JUST WANTS TO SEE HIS BABY BOY

THERE'S A BABY BOY

okay yes, his face is not MOVING yet but so far Luke looks considerably better than last time

no eat froggy, Grogu - yes, I know, this is boring -

okay catch froggy with your evil powers! I like it!

Grogu's like "aw man, my last dad was fun."

levitate ALL the frogs

only in this way will you actually impress the little ratbag

he's just swooshing Grogu along, which is admittedly cute and solves the little legs problem

Luke, your hair is too brown. Please just get some Sun-In on that. You and Leia being twins doesn't mean you have to match.

Welcome back! You have not remembered what I, as an audience member, am most interested in - who the hell got you out of there and then lost you again

(maul maul maul maul maul maul)

"The galaxy is a dangerous place, Grogu." "No shit, Master Skywalker! Would you like to look at my memories of some of the things that have tried to personally eat me over the past year? How about the times I was shot at? Nearly burned alive? Drained of blood by a mad scientist? The time my dad yeeted himself into a dragon's maw and left me to be raised by a cowboy? The baby shackles?"

Ahsoka's there too? And Din doesn't have an obvious question for her like, "If you're an old friend of Skywalker's family, why did you just send me to a seeing stone instead of giving me a referral? Do you realise my baby got kidnapped by evil robots? And I met my BFBF (best friend Boba Fett), but that is beside the point."

At what point is Ahsoka supposed to have learned this?

What was the point of last season's quest!?

Ahsoka if you stonewall Din Djarin about seeing his baby so help me I will slap the blue and white thing off your head.

at least Din is asking one pertinent question

FUCK OFF AHSOKA look I'm sorry Ahsoka, we go way back, I love you, but STOP DADBLOCKING

HE CAN BE A FOUNDLING AND A PADAWAN AHSOKA IT'S CALLED BEING BICULTURAL IT'S CALLED HAVING A BLENDED FAMILY

STOP IT AHSOKA

you know what Din? It is okay to want to see him for yourself! You love him! It's a good thing! Balance between love and duty is possible and healthy!

bug OFF Ahsoka!

Din please find the self-esteem in your heart to tell her to bug OFF

jesus wept

and so Din just walks away LEAKING BLOOD FROM THE HOLE IN HIS CHEST WHERE HIS HEART WAS

and Luke LETS GROGU WATCH HIS FATHER FLY AWAY WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE TO HIM

LIKE HE'S BOBA FETT

OF WHOM THIS SHOW OSTENSIBLY IS THE BOOK

Grogu - kick his twink ass.

you know what I don't even care that he put him in a backpack, I'm surly now

fuck you Luke that jump was adorable

hey do you remember that Samurai Jack episode with "Not fly. Jump good"?

I love Samurai Jack

wasn't the greatest fan of the continuation/final short season because I didn't feel Jack needed a love interest/didn't find that particularly believable as how Jack in particular would fall in love BUT I am glad he got back to the past. (whachow)

for me the greatest example of who Samurai Jack was is the episode where he gets his hand stuck inside the magic orb imprisoning the fairy who could grant his wish to get home but if he uses that wish to get home she'll be trapped in the orb forever, and he has to have a big fight with only one hand usable, and at the end he just smiles at her gently and says, "I wish we were free."

I love Samurai Jack you guys (this time I didn't italicise it because the first time I meant I love the show Samurai Jack and this time I meant I love the person Samurai Jack)

remember when he infiltrated a rave wearing a Cat in the Hat hat

We are almost halfway through episode 6 of 7 of The Book of Boba Fett and I don't see BOBA FETT. This is a RIPOFF.

I LOVE GROGU BUT WHERE IS BOBA FETT

I'm bored

I wish I was watching Samurai Jack

or a show with Boba Fett in it

I mean Grogu's cute as hell no matter what I always enjoy seeing him but I don't need these time-chewing scenes of Luke giving him Jedi 101, I need to know what's going on with BOBA FETT and his friends Din Djarin and Fennec Shand

I DIDN'T ASK FOR THE AHSOKA AND LUKE SHOW

did you notice how apart from the very first scene the story of this episode appears to have nothing to do with its title

can you WRAP this shit UP

much like the Armorer wrapped whatever that is up

are you two going to even let him have the gift his father brought for him so he can KNOW he's still LOVED and REMEMBERED?

"so much like your father - who murdered many small children, in fact, Grogu's classmates"

DON'T LET THE BABY TAKE A NAP ON A ROCK IN THE MIDDLE OF A STREAM YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT CHILDCARE

and off she fucked, having contributed nothing of benefit and pissed me off to no small extent

okay at least we're back to Tatooine and Din, having checked off his side quest and once again emotionally seppuku'd himself, can go and see Boba

(hug hug hug hug hug hug)

Din just flies straight in through the open garage door without so much as a radio exchange about permission to land because this FORTRESS has no fucking SECURITY is this how KRRSANTAN GOT IN TO NEARLY MURDER BOBA IN HIS BED????????????

would have enjoyed hearing Din talk back in piggy grunts

FINALLY

TWENTY-EIGHT MINUTES IN

BOBA FETT

Fennec, if everyone in the room doesn't already know what you're recapping, you have bigger problems than Din can solve (and he might actually need this recap but isn't in the room yet)

I mean literally your team is Krrsantan, some misfit youths, two green piggy guys, a baby rancor and maybe Danny Trejo, I don't know if he stuck around.

okay so here's what I want

Din walks in

sees Boba with his helmet off all handsome and re-melanined and re-eyebrowed

sparkly filter and "Dream Weaver"

"This is the Mandalorian, Din Djarin" - when did he get there? Why is Boba apparently only noticing and acknowledging his appearance now?

with nothing more than a look and a nod and no visible emotion, when Fennec couldn't stop smiling at the sight of him

Din did you just volunteer Cobb's village for a fight again

I can't be mad, classic Din

that is a really good hood ornament

who the fuck is that inferior Rick Grimes-looking cowboy with a red scarf why does he get a close-up

(although it would be funny if red scarves are fashionable in Mos Pelgo because everyone admires Cobb)

ADORABLE TWINKLY-EYED SMILE FROM COBB

Temuera Morrison can twinkle his eyes like nobody's business, couldn't he have got a little eye-twinkle in the previous scene?

yep, Cobb is immediately impressed with the hot-rod, satisfying

and immediately asks about Grogu because he is a good egg like that

thank you, someone expressing sympathy for Din's loss (even if you did put it on the same level as an admittedly super cool suit of armour)

"more careful" says the man who faced down four armed pixie goons alone in the cold open

yes you can buy him a drink, you can also hold his hand and stroke his hair

oh, they're changing the town name (to what it was in the book that introduced Cobb Vanth)? just in between now and the cold open, when Cobb referred to it as Mos Pelgo?

"that's a city folk fight"

"See, that's what I like about you, Mando. That big smile of yours lets you get away with anything." I love you Cobb. I do.

BUT I'M STILL FUMING ABOUT THE SIDELINING OF BOBA FETT IN HIS OWN SHOW

he'll see what he can do, for you, because he loves you

now for a town meeting, I hope featuring authentic frontier gibberish

this is the stranger from the desert?

HEY JO

be safe Cobb be safe Cobb be safe Cobb

okay, the deputy can get shot, that's all right

HAT

HAT

HAT

CAD MOTHERFLIPPING BANE

shoot him and TAKE HIS HAT COBB

his hat looks a lot smaller than it did in the cartoons

the deputy continues to volunteer for a shootin'

Cobb cannot believe he hired this guy

srsly Cobb maybe Jo, who clearly has a good head on her shoulders, would be a better choice?

is it really sticking your nose into something to ask the name of someone who already knows your name?

at least people are talking ABOUT Boba Fett

BE SAFE COBB BE SAFE COBB BE SAFE COBB

Jo snipe him from the window!

Deputy I don't know what you think you are sneaking forward for but if Cobb gets shot because of you I believe I've mentioned I will riot

MY COBB NO

it looked like it hit his shoulder, it looks like maybe he moved a little? PLEASE BE ALIVE COBB

the subtitles are giving us some terrible extra dialogue like "Something's wrong with the marshal!" no shit, he just got shot!

well now I guess I have to riot

is Max Rebo in tonight?

WHY ISN'T THERE A SHOT OF MAX REBO

oh fuck they're doing a The Untouchables with a bomb in the camtono

SHIT

well now I'm glad if Max Rebo wasn't there

so now Luke lives in a stone beehive

I'M NOT INTERESTED IN YOU RIGHT NOW LUKE SKYWALKER

TINIEST CHAINMAIL TEESHIRT

MITHRIL VEST

Luke you manipulative turd

HE CAN CHOOSE BOTH

GROGU LOOK HIM RIGHT DEAD IN THE EYE AND TAKE YOUR BESKAR

GROGU THIS SCHOOL SUCKS THINGS WILL NOT END WELL HERE

DID

DID BOBA FETT EVEN GET TO SPEAK ONCE IN THIS EPISODE

THIS PENULTIMATE EPISODE OF THE SHOW THAT BEARS HIS NAME

WHAT THE FUCK MAN

and they're still throwing new cards on the table like Cad Bane

Okay I thoroughly enjoyed the Cobb Vanth scenes (other than the parts where I was paralysed by dread) but otherwise, WHAT WAS THAT?

did Temuera Morrison get injured or sick at some point during the shoot and large parts have to be rewritten around his availability?

okay me now, on behalf of Boba and to a certain extent of Cobb:

[jonnylovers-in-neverland]

Guy Berryman’s commentaries on each song off “Music of the Spheres” on Apple Music!

You don’t become one of the biggest bands in the world without sticking to a system. In Coldplay’s case, that means starting every album with an agreed-upon title that dictates the project’s direction, from songwriting to production style to visuals. “It allows us a little bit of discipline in the studio knowing what we're trying to build,” bassist Guy Berryman tells Apple Music. “If you're building a building without any kind of architect's drawings, you would just start piling bricks on top of each other.” This preparation particularly came in handy in the case of a paralysing global pandemic. Since 2019's Everyday Life was always intended to be stripped-down and introspective, without the customary world tour, the band already had a trove of songs earmarked for a proper larger-than-life affair and a vision for their use. They knew it would be called Music of the Spheres and they knew it would be helmed by Swedish über-producer Max Martin (no relation to frontman Chris), a partnership they kicked the tires on with the Everyday Life track “Orphans”. “He's just so talented and everything just meshed together so well with everybody's personalities in the studio,” Berryman says. “We had thought ahead to playing in big stadiums.”

Lead single “Higher Power” could not have made those blockbuster intentions clearer or been a better showcase for (Max) Martin’s trademark pop sheen. The entire project is so imbued with youthful spirit that five tracks have emojis as titles. “Let Somebody Go” features Selena Gomez, while “My Universe” boasts none other than K-pop phenomenon BTS, who could always use some brains to pick as they learn how to navigate megastardom. “I think they're bigger than us,” Berryman says. “We should have been asking them.” Read on for behind-the-scenes tales of making Music of the Spheres.

“🪐” “That’s an intro piece called ‘Music of the Spheres’. We always make albums as a whole, and we started putting interludes and musical sections between songs, almost like palate cleansers.”

“Higher Power” “I think people needed to have something uplifting. We wanted to put out this optimism and positivity into everything on this album. The famous story which is going around about this song is how Chris kind of was tapping out the drum pattern on a bathroom sink, and he recorded it on his phone and then went and wrote the song on top of it.”

“Humankind” “You can sketch ideas out in the studio sometimes, and that was one we were really kind of struggling with before Max took the reins. It didn't sound very fresh; it had a good energy, but was maybe just a little bit too rock for us, and he really gave it more of a modern shine. It could be from just editing the basic song and the song structure or it could be adjusting slightly the rhythm pattern to make it all stick together better.”

“✨” “It's an interlude.”

“Let Somebody Go” (feat. Selena Gomez) “It's just a really lovely ballad. And quite early on we realised it needed a female counterpart to the vocal. And we were very grateful that when we asked Selena to sing on it, she loved the song and was happy to do so. Collaborations in general are something that we've done more of recently. We never really used to do it before. When we were younger, we kind of locked ourselves in a room and felt we had to prove everything ourselves. But I think as time has gone on, it's become more interesting for us to work with other people from different parts of the world, different genres. It just adds colour and character to the music.”

“❤️” (feat. We Are KING and Jacob Collier) “We love the way that sound shaped up with all the stacked layers of vocals; it's almost like a modern-sounding gospel song in some ways. Sometimes as a musician, it's my job to step in and say, 'Actually, the best course of action for me is to not play anything at all, because what we created here has a much more unique sound.' You have to take your ego out of the picture and understand that the best job you can do is leave something alone. Because then it allows the other songs around it to sound bigger and fuller.”

“People of the Pride” “We started the song probably over 10 years ago and couldn’t really finish it. Again, this was one which Max really helped shape sonically. The way we had it before, it sounded a little bit old-fashioned, almost like glam rock. What Max managed to do was take the energy and layer in a way which preserved that feel but also made it sound very modern at the same time.”

“Biutyful” “That's quite an interesting song from a production point of view, because it's really kind of pushing the boundary for us in terms of vocal identity. The manipulated voice is almost like an alien character singing this song. Is it Chris' voice? That is highly, highly confidential. Nobody will ever know. It's going to be a big old secret.”

“🌎” “It’s an interlude.”

“My Universe” (feat. BTS) “BTS were asked in an interview who they'd like to collaborate with, potentially, and a couple of the guys said they'd love to collaborate with us. A lot of the themes on this album are about bringing people together and taking away divisions and walls and boundaries and all of these human constructs that keep people apart. So we felt like this would be great because it's an unusual collaboration between people who are known to come from a different genre and completely different part of the world.”

“♾️” “That is not an interlude, it’s a longer piece—a collaboration with an old friend of ours who has been on our albums before, Jon Hopkins. He's an unbelievably talented musician, piano player and arranger. He works in an electronic genre on his own music, so he has the ability to create these very beautiful landscapes in a way that none of us can really do.”

“Coloratura” “Each album can quite easily be defined by the singles you release on the radio, and it's always important to us when we make albums to include many different moods and textures and styles. So it was important to us, as a counterbalance to some of the poppier songs, to have something which was unashamedly long and complicated. It started off with more of a conventional song structure, then Chris came in one day and showed us the arrangement including all these interludes and sections between the parts we were already familiar with; it was a big challenge to piece it all together. Max's involvement on that song was extremely minimal; if he got hands on it, I think it would be chopped up into something a lot shorter, the chorus 10 seconds in.”

[theaceofskulls]

Okay this is the last one for now, but I’m chewing on the other Eisenhorn books, the absolutely fantastic The Infinite and the Divine (I’m not done with it but seriously, even if you’re not a 40k fan, do yourself a favor and go read about those gay robots and their weird divorced couple energy across space and time), and of course, the palate cleanser of 40k, the Ciaphas Cain novels, so you can expect more of these in the future.

Anyways, this time it’s Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waagh!

Did I intentionally set two series back to back that both have Prophets as their central character? No, but I’m happy it turned out that way.

This is a story that is carried by it’s framing device: the story being told of the great ork warboss being told to a very radical Inquisitor via translation from Makari the Grot, Ghazghkull’s most constant companion.

It’s a fantastic use of unreliable narration in every way which does a great job of showing cultural disconnects between humanity and orks as well as orks and grots.

I’ll admit that even though I like 40k orks, I’ve never liked the fact that like a lot of 40k, they’re locked into an alignment, which is Always Chaotic Evil. This story doesn’t go out of its way to change that, but it doesn’t 100% lean into it. It tries to understand the orks in a way but never attempts to fully humanize them, and I think it works out for the best.

The book is funny at times, reads in part like tall tales mixed with second hand accounts, and a blend of half truths. Ghazghkull himself feels distant, the narrative only rarely allowing us to see more than he purposefully presents himself as, and the odd cast sitting around the story are insanely easy to get invested in, from the Space Wolf shaman on permanent loan to the Inquisitor, the psycker Ogryn lady who bucks every stereotype, or the translating ork who presents an edge of danger despite his unnaturally calm demeanor.

The plot itself in the story feels like a straightforward, if oddly delivered, retelling of Ghazghkull’s story with only a few cracks from his wiki page being smoothed over or filled in, but with such flavor and personality that it justifies itself. The mysterious nature of orks and whatever is going on with the Prophet really serve to draw you in as you get closer and closer to some unknown truth behind it all, just tantalizingly out of reach.

This is not a complicated book and there’s not a lot to discuss that the book itself doesn’t already lay out without spoiling its more clever twists, so instead I’ll point to some fun bits of fluff from the book to leave off with.

Orks, despite being asexual beings, have a concept of biological sex but also loan the concept of gender, and the book early on goes out of its way to establish correct pronouns. While this is probably just used to establish the fact that the title character has always been referred to with he/him, it’s still interesting to see it be brought up in universe and then to note that at least via translation, they/them tends to be a default for several orks. (Side note, this brings up my biggest pet peeve with orruk in Age of Sigmar where rather than confirming the fungus thing, they refuse to elaborate at all but like every other franchise with orcs in them has moved on from male-only)

And my other fun detail to leave off with is that Makari relates the idea of a grod, an ork’s favorite enemy, to the closest concept an ork has to love (which is translated as “the word for when you like someone enough it makes you stupid). This is further expanded upon when an ork wants to make sure their ship is confirmed by asking if Yorrick ever talks about how much he hates Ghazghkull too.

[toaheadcanons]

General reaction time! Again, this will contain HEAVY SPOILERS FOR TALES OF ARCADIA AND RISE OF THE TITANS. SKIP THIS IF IT GOT THROUGH YOUR FILTER.

So, let's begin. Firstly, as beautifully visually executed as the movie was, I think we all could tell the full original team wasn't working on this part of the TOA project. Setting that aside for a moment though. Trust me on this.

I was SHOCKED at the animation quality this time around. TOA has almost always had pristine graphics, and a movie budget took things to a while new level. Well done, TOA animation team!! 🥰🥰🥰

The MagiScience Camelot. Can I live there? Also, do they live there?? It's sort of unclear, did everyone just decide after the end of Wizards to form their own little bubble or???

I'm curious as to whether the time loop could result in a sort of 'duplication glitch' for the Amulet. I'm putting my speculative stuff in yet another post, because WOW that ending gave my lil' brain a lot to work with

There were so many fantastic scenes intermixed with the not-so-great points. The Best Man scene. That whole sequence in which there's some Blaaarghy hinting sandwiched into the scene between the couples comforting each other. I just 🥺 I know there are a few dull points here, but that whole ten minute span is just so on point. I really wish that accuracy to the characterizations carried all the way through.

I really, REALLY need to know how much time passed between Wizards and ROTT. Really really. Like I know the kids were 15-16 at the start of season 1, and 16-17 by the end of season two, but from there time becomes quite nebulous. I'm speaking in age specifically for our human characters here, as we still have no idea about how the Akiridion, Wizard-Immortal and Trollish life cycles actually work. Like I get that now they're later teens to early adults in age, but considering some of the err, plot choices, I think it's important to know?

I'd love a series, a comic, hell a set of shorts even, where Steve gets some main character time. I really wasn't a fan of him being sidelined the whole time. Give me my Creepslayerz please, Mr. Netflix.

I've started to look at this less like a movie and more like Predacons Rising, a made-for-TV movie/special finale episode. Except, knowing DreamWorks, we also may be seeing the beginnig iteration of another "[name here] of Berk" style of different series, set in different points in time. ESPECIALLY with that ending.

Speaking of, I know a lot of folks were quite upset with the end. I was too for a while, but those braincells just keep on bouncing around, and I have an inkling that however they decide to show us the potential/alternate timeliness, we'll see them somehow.

I'm actually quite excited about the idea of Trollhunter!Toby. From the beginning, I always thought he'd turn out to unknowingly be half-Troll or a changeling or something. Boy has a natural inclination for stones and crystals, the teeth issues, his stature and body-shape, hell, he seems at home in the scenes in Trollmarket throughout the series.

Please, Mr. Netflix, show us what his armor looks like? 👉👈🥺

Okay, picking back up on this not being the original creative team. There were some significant missed opportunities here, not only to draw on previous character development [Steve is a knight, Toby could have used his hammer instead of the glowing sticky-magic, etc.] but also to draw on ideas from The Book that would have gone REALLY well here! Lol and here I was hoping for the "what counts as a bridge" scene. 🤡

For those who don't know, Trollhunters in its original form is a book that reads much like a movie. It features a much different Jim, a much different many characters in fact. There were actually a few references I did catch! If you haven't had a chance to read it and you'd like a palate cleanser, READ IT. Oh it's so good I so wish more people read the book-

Aaaaanyway, back to the topic. The reason I'm looking at this more like a special than a movie is because is feels like it should have been a special. Or a miniseries even, like Wizards. This was a bit much to pack into a <2h timeframe.

BUT, I also feel like they could have waited to spring a plot like this on us until they had a concrete "next steps" plan. If they had, say, separated the beginning of the loop from the film, and used it as the beginning of a Trollhunter!Toby [Insert media type here] teaser/trailer, I have a feeling I'd be more happy with it. Also, why replace Anton's voicework for the audition speech? That I am truly upset with. The loop itself is actually quite intriguing, though.

All in all, I'm honestly pretty satisfied with the film. It was brutal, don't get me wrong, and for future reference I'd like to know how much it cost Netflix to get it a Y7 rating. That said, the parts that were done well were done VERY well. Im interested to see, when the series crops back up, what the true plan is moving forward, but until then my name is my bond. I make TOA headcanons, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Thank you all for getting on this roller coaster, it was one hell of a ride and I hope we get to do it again soon 😁

[alwaysthinkingoutloud]

Hannibal Episode-by-Episode Meta/Analysis: Episode 4, Season 1 (Oeuf)

In the office of Dr. Lecter, Will is telling Hannibal how close he got to Garret Jacob Hobbs, to understanding him. So close that, at some point Hobbs’ actions started to make sense to him. Will saw him. And now unseeing him, seems not possible. Right after that when Hannibal asks Will about how he felt when he saw Melissa Schurr killed, Will says that he felt guilty because he felt like he killed her. But this does not really make sense, does it? That murder happened long after GJH was dead and at that point everybody thought Nicholas Boyle was her killer. So why would he feel guilty? I think at that point of the conversation, who Will and Hannibal are talking about becomes kind of ambiguous. Afterall, Hannibal killed Marissa because Will was closing in to the Copycat Killer and he wanted to divert him, creating a murder he can pin on Nicholas later. In a sense, Will was guilty of Marissa’s death. But he did not know it then. What I believe is, around this time in the series, Will and Hannibal (as the Copycat Killer) had already developed a kind of empathic/telepathic bond (that also explains seeing both himself and the Copycat Killer as the stag). Will often had the answers he was looking for already buried in his mind somewhere. I think that was why he felt guilty about Marissa’s death. 

As Will continues talking, the same ambiguity is still there. He says he got so close to him, and that he feels like they are doing the same things at the same time during the day. Unaware, he thinks he is talking about Hobbs, but I do not think he is, he talks about the Copycat Killer. And I think Hannibal is aware of that. That is why he asks if Will felt the same way even after Hobbs was dead. And that is also why he gives that look to Will, when Will says 

“I know who I am, Dr. Lecter. I am not Garret Jacob Hobbs.” 

Will may know that he is not Garret Jacob Hobbs, but he does not really know who he is or with whose mind his still is bonded.

Just like Alana tells Abigail that she needs someone to relate to in this experience, so does Alana. She seeks comfort in Hannibal’s company, just like everyone else does. It is darkly funny how sheep come running to wolf even before wolf’s asking. Hannibal must have that predatory scent of trouble which for thousands of years kept our ancestors on their toes, made them fail staying away from indefinitely because of subconsciously not being able to deny themselves the thrill. Anyway, so what he does is to flirt his way out of disagreements with Alana and do what he wants to do anyway. Alana gets quite furious after he finds out about Hannibal’s getting Abigail out of hospital but she is still a way too enchanted by Hannibal ever to attribute this to anything other than him being unprofessional out of his feelings for Abigail.

Just as Hannibal’s agenda with Abigail was anticipated, Hannibal draws attention to the fact that as of now; none of Hannibal, Will or Abigail has a family. And as he tells Will that soon he is going to find out those three have more than that in common, he is not just talking about her aptitude for the psychological. He is talking about their murderous side. Will does not know it about Abigail yet but for Hannibal, this commonality is more than ideal to make a family.

That short scene where Will goes out to his garden with all his dogs, but they leave him alone in the yard in a matter of seconds… He sighs probably thinking Hannibal was right, that his best shot at making a family is not his collection of strays but Abigail -Will is not yet aware, that idea of a family has Hannibal who comes with the package- . Also the last scene of the episode shows Will’s dogs all sleeping in one corner and Will sleeping alone. Hannibal evidently succeeded to awaken the sense of loneliness in Will to strengthen his need of Abigail. As Hannibal also tells Jack, he thinks Will too needs his anchor to stream behind him in heavy weather. His family to keep him grounded when it all gets rough out there. His pack, even, to remind him of what he is… So Hannibal is simply trying to give Will that.

I would die if I did not mention this in between, that scene where Will storms in Hannibal’s office and throws his jacket and his bag on the therapy couch, but as the neat guy he is, Hannibal attempts to straighten up the gift but he does not really. And he does not even touch Will’s jacket. On the other hand, in the next scene, he does straighten up Abigail’s book with a great care. So this whole thing just made me feel like Hannibal is ready to accept Will as he is. That he does not even mind his mess that much.

Although Will felt responsible and parental for Abigail since the beginning, Hannibal familiarizes Will with the concept of family and Abigail in the same context at every chance he gets. He did not introduce those feelings to Will in the first place but surely he magnified them. Just like he does when he tells Will that Abigail is lost too and it is perhaps his and Will’s responsibility to help her find her way. 

On the other side, he supports Abigail emotionally and clears her doubts about herself, he does not let her feel remorse about what happened. 

He also makes her think that he needs her as much as she needs him: 

“I would surely feel safer if you were in the FBI, protecting my interests.”

Hannibal replaces her memories of her father which she associates with being victimized, with the new ones which has Hannibal himself and gives her her power back. Almost like, redirecting the flow of devotion and loyalty she had for his dad to now himself. As he played a role at the events that broke her down to pieces (just like that teacup that slipped out of Abigail’s hand and crushed into pieces), he is now building her back up to be unapologetically herself. At some point, Hannibal’s goal pretty well may have become making his own family, just like the woman who kidnapped the ‘lost boys’ was trying to do. Erase the old family and make space for the new one to come.

From the look Will gives to that woman after she gets shot, it is visible that he can understand the lengths she went in her search for a family. Actually, each time Will empathizes with a killer to help the FBI, he familiarizes himself with an aspect of Hannibal. It was Hobbs who taught Will the distorted rationalization of cannibalism (just like Hannibal does), then it was Stammets who taught Will the destructive lengths one could go to bind with those he loves (just as it is what Hannibal does all the time) and finally this woman who used murder as a palate cleanser for a new family to come that which she is a part of (just like Hannibal is trying to do both to Will and Abigail by normalizing murder to have a common denominator to make a ‘family’ out of them). So that is how at the end of the season, Will was able to see Hannibal’s true face without needing any tangible proof. Because he already had tried hard to understand and succeeded to see the shreds of Hannibal and those, when combined, were more real and clearer than any other proof there could be. (more to talk about that later)