#and also how a purely good character in the Foundation would work

[seiishindraws]

Hey seiishin, I'm a beginner artist and i was hoping you could give a full tutorial on how you color?

hello! this is a bit of a hard question to answer since i dont think giving a tutorial of how i colour without learning any foundational colour concepts first would be very beneficial, so i'll try to give you some basic tips on picking colours instead since this is a very VERY expansive topic and im simply not the kind of person that can pass on that knowledge very well especially since im not the best at it lol

when im picking colours for my drawings, i try my best to "unify" the colour pallet so that it seems more cohesive, this tip from ggdg sums it up pretty well i think

other than that, i usually try to pick colours that generally look good together based on different colour harmony concepts, like these!

i'll try and show you an example with something i'm working on right now. you'll notice i didn't colour pick tinkaton's colours from its art and went for a warmer pink and saturated the blues of the hammer a little.

you'll also notice the canvases i draw on are NEVER pure white. this isnt to say pure white is something that can never be used but white is a colour that usually influenced by surrounding colours, so pure white in most pallets just wont look right. so its not usually a colour i would use as a backdrop if youre trying to pick good colours for your art. but again, there's always exceptions and this isnt a hard rule. here's pure white compared to the colour my canvases usually start with

another thing i should touch on briefly is colour relativity and the importance of value and saturation.

value is SUPER SUPER important for making sure all the colours in your art stand out from each other and read clearly. as you can see here, most of the values here stand apart from each other, and i can see that i probably need to adjust the darkness of the light blue in comparison to the pink hair tips, though the lineart separates them well enough already i think. this is also a good way tocheck you havent made any dark skinned characters too light. values are important guys!

hot tip: put a layer of pure black on top of your art and set that layer to "colour" and BOOM! you can see the values of your art in grayscale.

and i'll also briefly touch on colour relativity. because we percieve colours relative to each other, we usually read a colour as something its not when its surrounded by certain other colours. let's take a look at my background drawings in the cover i did for the shuichi saihara zine:

though i only used a bunch of different purples, when all of them are perceived in relation to each other, a warmer purple can look like blonde hair amongst all the other purples!

as for the brushes i use while colouring, i like textured brushes! i bought these so i cant share them for free but im sure there are many free alternatives out there

anyway, sorry if this isnt exactly what you wanted, but there are TONS of people out there that have worded this better than i ever could, i would suggest looking up some youtube vids on colour theory, but i hope these little tips are useful enough!

[marisol-holme]

The retired good girls guide for writing

I haven’t always been able to understand myself. 

I never felt like I was able to clock pure basic needs. Couldn’t tell if I was hungry or thirsty. I finished my meals early, preferring to always feel full, in a silent critic of my mother and father’s controlling rule over my life. A few bites of fuck you always left on the plate. I liked to see how far I could push it. How little I could drink, sleep, or eat, and still function. A true desert island scenario would see me lasting years; I had inadvertently trained myself for it. Except my desert island was more devoid of emotional fulfilment and attention. 

I had to get creative. I developed some interesting tendencies, sure. But mostly I just wanted to escape. Now my parents never went out, and my internal world was already tumultuous at best, so I did what anyone would do and read. I read voraciously. The ability to turn off my hunger had seeped into all areas of my life. A fugue state dissociation through most of my early years through to adolescence. But I was able to come alive when I was reading. When I read, it was like my first breath. Hungry. I could imagine these worlds and built them up easily, colourfully within my mind’s eye. I'd picture the strong female characters that I admired. I’d taste food, hear music. It was the only time I was ever able to really live, before I had to go downstairs and pretend to eat.

Unwittingly, my upbringing fostered just the correct environment for me to develop a writer’s hunger. Because a writer is always a reader before they grow mad to write. I grew mad fast. I had to. I had to create worlds for me to escape into, away from all the shouting and fighting. Alchemise what I’d read into something new and original. It helped that I was an avid daydreamer, although a psychiatrist might call me a maladaptive daydreamer, but it only ever occurred to me when I was bored. Parallel to this, I grew into shame, so what I wrote I would throw away. I sadly have none of my early works. They are long decomposed into sub-atomic and absorbable waste, probably seeped into a water system somewhere and live inside all of you. Yuck. Not even my best work. 

Then I grew up and I had no dreams because I was not hungry. I hadn’t picked up a book in a long time. I dabbled with things that made me feel warm. Partying and shallow conversations. Grotty pubs and sticky clubs. Good friends made me feel a good kind of warm. But it took me a long time to find my way back to literature. Through a work stint as a Nursery Practitioner, I found my way back into writing. You see, at the nursery we had to send updates to parents all about what their children were getting up to. I enjoyed this task and wrote the children’s days like stories. Descriptive and alive. I’d got the bug and the bug had bit me. I didn’t last long once I had started writing again and I quickly found myself working at the Ideas Foundation. 

Through my new employer, I was encouraged to trial as much as possible to find out what I enjoyed doing. I was also very privileged to have access to several creative professionals who genuinely wanted to help and mentor those younger than them. Mentors can see all your ducks and help you to get them in a row. My ducks were all over the place and needed very graceful guidance. You push my ducks too much and, well, they explode. Poof!

Speaking to seasoned professional copywriters, I was able to glean their persistent journey into the profession. The confusion I once had around my goals has seemed to have dissipated. The ability to feel hungry for life and understand myself has only grown. My spark is back. 

The excitement and giddiness I feel when I think about myself as a writer is immense. The energy can fuel me for days. I look to the bottom left of my documents and the number of words that can pour out onto a page grows and grows with each project I set myself. The possibilities as a writer seem endless from this perspective. 

I understand that there is a lot more to these dreams that simple want. I must be focused. Persistent. Take up the offers of guidance from those around me. Accepting critic and moving towards goals. But the potential is there. I understand myself a little better. I value my work a little more. Hopefully, one day in the not-so-distant future a book of mine might get thrown away and end up decomposing in the damp soil into tiny fragments that find their way into us. At least that work will be better and born of something other than the child’s will to survive and create. That would make me feel okay. 

[stari-hun]

The Foundation vs Manus Vindictae

This idea was inspired by @ihaveforgortoomany ‘s post here!

It’s so fun that the story makes sure we know and see that the difference between The Foundation and Manus is the head start the Foundation has on being an established organization, and whether they pretend to be good. This is also like you said, a big part of why the Foundation wants to restore time. They had a massive advantage in being a long time establish organization. In Regulus’ time, it was implied from her reaction the Foundation had full authority to approach Arcanists and register them, or at least strongly convince them to join. Manus tries to have a persona of salvation over pure goodness but this is maintained moreso because they can’t actively gaslight people.

If you look into The Three Doors and see how people were affected by the incomplete version of the Artificial Somnambulism. They were going insane because it was never a good machine with good intent. It was made to use frequencies to manipulate the mind of an arcanist. While Laplace employees use the machine in order soothe injured arcanists or panicking ones, that doesn’t mean they’re not brainwashing members. They bend reality for these people to comfort them but that comfort is built on dependence and complete trust of the Foundation. Which is why on of my theories is that the AS is a reason Arcanists have mental breaks so frequently in the Foundation, the Manus has breakdowns within their ranks however that’s from exposure to the Manus Masks carrying The Storm chemical within them. Name Day in Getian’s character story event even has a mention that the AS is very dangerous for the way it gets into someone’s head, and Getian breaks into it because he had experienced something similar. He’s then able to have them see what he wishes. Taking what Jessica saw in [The Old One Flew Over the House], the AS is also used as a training tool for arcanists and a way to get true test answers out of them. Why would she need to take her exam in the AS when she could simply answer Foundation staff 1-1?? There’s no point of it besides getting into Arcanist’s subconscious. The reason this doesn’t work on Vertin anymore is because she holds zero trust for The Foundation anymore.

I think Arcanists in general tend to take a lot more mental stress from contradictions in their heads, for instance people create false memories if they have a gap in their memory because the brain doesn’t like having gaps there. We’d rather lie to ourselves or create a false reality than deal with pure unknown, but with The Storm no one knows what anything will be next.

After the events of Book 3, Vertin no longer places her trust in the Foundation because she knows what Constantine did. Madam Z wasn’t able to find out in time to save them, so Vertin watched her classmates disappear in front of her because Constantine wanted to unlock the potential in her. She then went on her own journey to record the eras directly, without being able to save anyone. Vertin won’t ever leave The Foundation because their goals align, but she might one day near the end of the story work with Madam Z to overturn the current system. Sonetto on the other hand has an imminent fate of her loyalty breaking towards the Foundation. She already suspects them of being morally corrupt at least to her standards, and she’s torn between choosing them and Vertin. From how we see her trust Vertin in [A Nightmare at Greenlake] + how she doesn’t make any comment on following the rules when Horropedia is blatantly breaking them, I think her loyalty switches to Vertin at some point.

Also a big theme is that Manus and Foundation both very much consider people expendable. The Manus treats weaker arcanists and humans blatantly as canon fodder, but Constantine sacrificed a group of children because they were defectors (Horropedia makes a note about how their actions had the entire school talking to the point they ran out of space to discipline them) and it might push Vertin to want to go out into The Storm to find a cure in the Name of Peace.

[crim-bat]

Well I regret sending that anon now because I inspired a rude person to send one as well, sorry. I still disagree with the framing. The body of your post is dissonant with that “I’m a long time fan of Jason” intro. I see people saying damian shouldn’t exist because he and Tim are hitting elbows both being robin and Tim existed first, and the only rebuttal needed is “I think Damian is an interesting character and I like reading about him” and I say that because like him. (And that very wrong damian criticism is pushback against people saying Tim shouldn’t exist because he doesn’t have a place to be right now.) You not having a similar feeling about Jason just… seems like you don’t like him? Calling it cannibalism instead of just the characters being around for decades and the same ground being trodden, when there are other characters that do this as well, notably even ones you bring up as counterexamples. I’m not going to say anything else because I think I laid it all on your doorstep already, sorry again and have a good night

Hold up a moment. You dont get to call me rude after firing off first and walk away. Many people do think Tim shouldn't be robin anymore and actively complain that he's still not moving from a junior role to a graduated title. Red robin wasn't perfect but it certainly wasn't worse than him going back to robin.

I'd challenge you, dear anon, to ask yourself a question.

1. Has Jason ever had a good all caste story?

2. Has he ever had an actually good story when he went postal as an anti hero? Under the hood doesn't count as he was purely the antagonist then.

3. How about a good story where he worked with his brothers and him constantly having a chip on his shoulder was endearing like Damian?

4. How about a run where he was batman for a bit and then the real deal showed up to beat the snot out of him?

I'm not saying there shouldn't be any bleed into what other characters do but there's nothing creative with what they've done with Jason because it all relies on him fundamentally never having a defined niche, outside of crime boss, to call his own.

And because Jason is placed where other characters that are more established and would otherwise be a better match for a story and because Jason has fundamentally nothing going on that wasn't cribbed from someone else, including the first iteration of the outlaws which was just a worse version of the outsiders which were also dicks friends (that's a 5th and 6th thing he took from another character, dear anon), he lacks the foundation to tell his own stories properly.

Dear anon, Jason, as he is treated right now, is a middle child copy cat who deserves better than both the writers who created that situation and the fans who enable it. Including you, dear anon

[jbaileyfansite]

Ariana Grande interviews Jonathan Bailey for VMan Magazine (2024)

Jonathan Bailey’s acting career began at the age of eight when the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company cast him in a role coveted by all little boys who like musicals: Gavroche in Les Miserables. Since then, he’s starred in contemporary plays, refined his iambic pentameter flow via several Shakespearian productions, and, in 2019, won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in the gender-swapped revival of Company. In other words, Bailey is a theater nerd. 

This made his upcoming role as Fiyero Tigelaar in the movie adaptation of the Broadway hit, Wicked, all the more unbelievable to him. Over Zoom, with co-star Ariana Grande, Bailey admits that he’s only recently had the space to fangirl over the reality that he’s playing the lead in a musical that rocked his world when he first saw it at the age of 15. Tuning in from Thailand, he and Grande chat about his upcoming project, another adaptation, Jurassic Park, and the memories of Oz that he (reportedly) carries in his pocket.

Ariana Grande: Hi, good morning. What time is it for you?

Jonathan Bailey: It’s 8am. Feeling pretty fresh.

AG: You look beautifully fresh. Just for context, for people reading, Johnny, you’re currently in Thailand. What are you up to over there?

JB: I’m on a really long holiday in the jungle, pretending to run away from fake dinosaurs… Um, no, I’m filming Jurassic Park.  And there are massive links between it and Wicked because it’s got so many of the same crew.

AG: Yes!

JB: The bereavement of leaving Wicked behind has been sort of solved by the fact that so many of them are still here. So, I’m keeping the Wicked dream alive, but with dinosaurs. 

AG: That’s so beautiful. You’re so lucky to have a little piece of Oz with you still every day.

JB: I carry Oz in my pocket. 

AG: Yes. How is it going? 

JB: I am loving it. We’re doing a whole new version of the Jurassic Park franchise.

AG: What can you say about your character, about this new franchise?

JB: I can say that it’s written by David Koepp, who wrote the original. It feels like it’s in ultimate hands to bring it back to what the original achieved. (Jurassic Park) was the first film I went to see with my whole family, and I was way too young, I was terrified. There is a similarity between doing this and Wicked, I also saw the original run of Wicked in London. 

AG: I would love to touch on Fellow Travelers, which was such an emotional and expansive project. What was the process of taking on a character like Tim, whose story is told over several decades? 

JB: Fellow Travelers will always be something that I’m incredibly proud of. For me it [was] the most fulfilling creative, emotional, and spiritual thing I’ve done. Tim and Hawke (leads in Fellow Travelers) are allegories. So many men that lost their lives. It’s never lost on me, all the other actors that couldn’t come out or were vilified for being caught having sex in toilets. All the horrific ways in which a pure thing like man-on-man love has been misconstrued.

AG: It was absolutely palpable. 

JB: I had this amazing weekend in Bangkok and I met this group of Malaysian dudes who were just so brilliant. They were doctors and they were really bright, intelligent, kind, sweet men who were having such a brilliant time. We ended up having dinner and, after a few drinks, they were telling me that they come over from Malaysia to Bangkok because they can’t be out to their families.

AG: My God.

JB: It’s so painful.

AG: I was gonna say, this leads us beautifully into The Shameless Fund, your foundation that you launched actually this week, congratulations. How does it feel that it’s finally out there in the world?

JB: It’s been a labor of love for about two years. When the second series of Bridgerton came out, I was suddenly aware of an increased platform, especially the fact Bridgerton is viewed in multiple territories where being gay is different. So, I just sort of fused the two together—

AG: It’s a beautiful way of making sense of it all. 

JB: Thank you for being an icon and an ambassador for the Shameless Fund.

AG: I’m so proud of you and I love you and your heart so much. Okay, moving on. I was wondering what things have helped you recharge your human battery?

JB: I’ve adapted my life slightly. I don’t live in a city anymore, I do a lot of swimming and gymnastics, which is something that I’ve done [since] I was younger. I [also] think it’s friends, which I know is such a sort ofeye roll [answer]. I’ve got amazing friends, they’ve always been there and I’ve been friends with them for so long.

AG: And me, for 2 years. 

JB: I’ve spiritually known you for 20 years.

AG: Yeah, 100. Let’s move on to Wicked. How did you prepare for the role of Fiyero? 

JB: I mean, it’s a complete dream come true. The preparation started when I listened to the soundtrack when I was like 15. And I remember viscerally; it sent ripples through culture. Also, I remember hearing the orchestration. I hadn’t really heard the synth-meets-full-orchestra-meets-syncopation.

Something about it just completely grabbed me. My best friend from school, me and him went to go and see it together—we were soulmates through school. And it was so funny that, like, two lads just went with it. I think the themes of Wicked have probably expanded, and that’s what I’m really excited about with the film.

AG: Yeah, it feels like it needs to be now more than ever before, perhaps.

JB: I went to go meet Jon (Chu, director). We chatted for about two and a half hours and it was really emotional. The one thing that we talked about with Fiyero: everything is so easy to him. How do you tell the story of someone who seemingly doesn’t care? What’s he frustrated by? We discussed it and found quite a human thing, I think. And, obviously, with our film, it represents extreme privilege and it’s about his bubble needing to pop. 

AG: I think our characters share that in a big way, Elphaba comes along and pops both of our bubbles. Perhaps for the first time we both are able to look at things differently. And it’s not that we’re not loving, heartful people. It’s just that we’ve never had to look outside of what affects us until we meet her.

JB: Exactly. And anyway, it was Jon. Basically, the answer to every question about Wicked is Jon Chu. Don’t you think?

AG: Yeah, I do. I think we were very spoiled to have done this with him. It felt like a teeny, little secret student thing—its intimacy. It felt so small and private until all of a sudden, we were outside, and the Daily Mail was hand gliding over our set—oh, he should play the pterodactyl in your film. 

JB: I think he’s actually hovering over right now.

AG: Can you explain what this was, please? 

JB: It was a man on a massive kite, floating around with his legs hanging down.

AG: I couldn’t believe my eyes. Well, firstly because I don’t have the best eyes. But secondly, because there’s no way. There’s no way! I was like, ah, guy on a hand glider.

JB: With a GoPro. With a GoPro on his toes.

AG: With a GoPro on his toes. Was your experience filming Wicked at all what you expected it to be?

JB: There were certain elements of it that I was incredibly impressed by and I think that is because of the love and care of Mark Platt and Jon Chu. Obviously we’ve grown up loving theater and musical theater, I always felt attached to that wonderment. I think my expectation might have been that somehow in the making of something, you lose that. But we were on those incredible sets. 

AG: Oh my gosh. Best in the world.

JB: I think I was in Wicked fan survival mode for the last 18 months. I’m starting to really get excited about it.

AG: It takes a certain amount of time to grieve something like that. I mean you’re already in Thailand and a whole different person, but it’s interesting how it takes a while and then it hits you.

Source

[lifeandtimesoftrying]

The overlords’ persuasion, the Morningstar’s power, and what this means for Charlie

Hazbin Hotel's been rotating in my head since the finale and I have capital-t Thoughts about the worldbuilding (and its implications). So!

Hazbin Hotel’s power system is fundamentally divided into two parts: the overlords, whose abilities are fully tied to and determined by their connections with other denizens, and the Morningstars/other Hell-born aristocracy, whose abilities are innate and unchanging. I think this is why Lucifer is incredibly powerful while not really having power, the overlords seem to be running the show, and Charlie’s character has a lot left to come.

(This got pretty long and there are spoilers, so I’m putting it under a cut!)

Lucifer doesn’t have much authority—the meeting to decide the fate of hell is attended by only the overlords, other demons repeatedly dismiss Charlie (often even using her relationship with her dad to do so), and when we do finally meet the King of Hell himself, it’s when he’s engaged in a hobby which he clearly has a lot of free time for. When Charlie needs large numbers of allies, it’s Alastor and Rosie who coordinate to get them for her, and Alastor is terrified of Zestiel but told Lucifer “fuck you” to his face. Lucifer doesn’t have any control over his subjects.

However, he is still incredibly powerful. He and Charlie, whose powers presumably came from him, defeated Adam, and in the finale sequence he conjured the foundation for a whole hotel without any strain.

The overlords function in the exact opposite way: their powers are gained through their various relationships with other people, and can be influenced as such. Most obviously, Carmilla Carmine explicitly tells Vaggie that the best way to fight is for love, but Rosie is powerful because of the ways she can provide for people and gain their loyalty. Alastor’s known to have bought souls to do his bidding, and the Vees are all themed around ways to influence people (pornography, TV, and social media), and at least one of them also has contracts for souls.

“Hell’s Greatest Dad” illustrates both the overlords’ and the aristocracy’s perspectives. Regardless of how authentic Alastor is being in his claims in the song, it can be assumed that he’s doing everything he can to convince Charlie to work with him, and Lucifer is doing the same. However, their approaches are polar opposites.

Lucifer’s persuasion relies on his innate abilities: he calls himself “the big boss of Hell himself,” and says that he can help “with the punch of a pentagram / I wap-bam-boom, alakazam / Usually I charge a sacrificial lamb / But you get the family rate.” This emphasizes both his familial (and unchangeable) tie to Charlie and his inborn abilities, which come up again when he says “there’s no substitute for pure angelic power.”

The reasons that Alastor cites for why he should be chosen are all based in the actions that he’s done for Charlie, and the resulting relationship that they have because of those actions. He emphasizes his consistency (“who’s been here since day one”) and reliability (who’s been faithful as a nun), both of which are good traits for an overlord to have.

I think this contrast is why Mimzy has to show up when she does: there is no way to resolve the argument about whether to choose that which has been built or that which you were born with. And that’s because of Charlie. Charlie’s dad was never mortal, but her mom was. None of the overlords have been called immortal, but many of them are confirmed to have been mortal. A large part of Charlie’s arc in season 1 is her learning how to connect with the people around her and get them to believe in her. She is, in many ways, beginning to function like an overlord would. With one major difference.

We know that Husk used to be an overlord, most likely one of gambling. Gambling is really three things: chance, skill, and being able to read other people without them being able to read you. And from what we know of overlords, getting that status requires all of those traits. Chance and skill exist in any field, but the ability to see past other’s facades without revealing your own hand is incredibly important here, to the point where it’s Alastor’s whole shtick—a smile is a way of staying in control.

But where overlords try to read those around them while keeping their own feelings hidden, Charlie always has her heart on her sleeve. When she goes to cannibal town, Alastor’s advice that she always smile quickly stops working, and only after she’s processed her feelings about Vaggie by talking with Rosie is she able to convince people to follow her.

But this is still only half of what she’s potentially capable of. We haven’t seen her try to battle anyone on her own and win—the closest we got was Valentino, but she quickly backed down from that. Since a second season is scheduled, my bet is that it’ll follow her learning the extent of her innate powers, and how to pair them with her connections to others—after all, she is the only character with both mortal an immortal lineages.

[artoriarts]

there’s a lot of talk about missed potential in jjk, and I agree, while culling games onward was a good ol fight shonen, shibuya incident was something special, dark and painful but built on a core foundation of hope and positivity that drives yuji as a character, but it kinda peaked there, never hitting the same emotional depth after, with the exception of maki and the zenin assassination arc.

But from the many things I’ve seen brought up, one of the things I haven’t seen is just the core premise of cursed energy not being used like it could be from the getgo. Instead of just being Ki, it was something developed *through* the negative emotions that pool and spawn curses. This is just gonna be me spitballing but listen listen.

Yuta’s the best way to segue into this. A sensitive kid loses his best friend and spirals into grief, unknowingly channeling his cursed technique (instead of just being able to copy, him being able to replicate/leech soul ‘data’ in general) as he hangs on to every memory and memento of her, acting as almost ritual and binding her soul to his, resulting in the vengeful spirit we know of rika, his raw cursed energy output resulting from the feedback loop of negativity that comes from the mass guilt of the horrors rika enacts in his defense, as well as the guilt of trapping her with him in the first place when he learns it’s his fault. His power is the direct result of the weight he carries with him.

And in the same way, other characters bear their trauma in their power. Maki’s frustration and spite at the circumstances of her birth placing her under every disadvantage with the system as it is. Sukuna’s raw hatred and disdain for his fellow man. Gojo’s isolation from his own humanity as The Strongest, growing up both closer to everyone than anyone could ever know, as the six eyes’ ability to see the flow of cursed energy allows him to practically read people’s minds emotionally, and yet expectations and power have placed him on a pedestal so far away from humanity, pressured and forced into sorcery, not a single other interest permitted, from the moment of his birth. Yuji, being a newcomer, predominantly working off fear and the still fresh grief of his grandpa, along with the pressure he now feels as someone capable of sorcery to protect those who are not, one bornout of love but no less harsh, and after shibuya, like yuta, he gains a burning core of guilt for what his life has allowed to happen. Stretching more now but instead of becoming racist and getting skilljacked, geto breaking at the end of hidden inventory is where his character launches off from, instead of how it dooms itself to end; I would need to put more thought into it to make it make concrete sense but his want to rid the world of nonsorcerers and “evolve humanity” is not out of hatred for the weak but his love for humanity as a whole, he wants a humanity that can defend itself against the natural consequence of its existence that is cursed energy, and sorcerers are basically the only ones who can do that, so non-sorcerers are simply liabilities and sources of cursed energy that don’t pull their own weight, and kenjaku is maybe more like a symbiote to him, his patron that just so happens to have the same practical goals as him, albeit a different motive of pure scientific curiosity (assuming they still want the tengen merger or if they’re still in the story at all, they don’t fit into this brainbaby idea quite as well as everything else, but I digress).

And this isn’t just a story thing, it also affects the battle system too. Desperation while losing a fight actively makes you more powerful - also means consequently that like people who keep their cool like gojo (ignoring the minor insanity (and him seeing his ex-boyfriend)) have an inherent power limiter; he may be the strongest but he doesn’t get the same power buffs that everyone else can. Maybe positive energy actually like exists aside from mahoraga and rct. it’s harder to use because well people latch onto negative emotion easier than positive emotion and if you’re fighting obviously things are not sunshine and rainbows, but it is more effective against pure curses and can heal (also then if you can only rct off positive emotion, that power swing from negativity kinda shifts you into a glass canon with more damage but less ability to heal).

Do I turn this into fanfic. Do I do that thing where you make fanfic but break it so far from anything canon it’s basically just original content. or do I just keep it all locked in my head because I’m lazy. Decisions decisions.

[alice-after-dark]

okay wait ive got 2:

1) when people portray vox as a cringefail loserboy whos whipped to heaven and back for either al or val

2) when people act like r*dioapple has more foundation in canon than any other alastor ship

Hello friend!!!

Okay, hard agree on both fronts.

(putting under a cut cause this got long oops)

On the first one, fucking THIS. Vox is flamboyant and theatrical and he definitely has a temper, but everyone seems to forget that he is LITERALLY introduced to us as a manipulator of the masses. Like I adore the press conference scene. This is who Vox is to the rest of Hell. People take him very seriously. When the accelerated extermination is announced, people rush to get his opinion. Fuck, they don't even do that to Charlie, the literal Princess of Hell! Vox has his moments sure, but defining him by the occasional cringe is like defining Charlie by that one instance where she was having her conspiracy board red string moment and losing her damned mind trying to figure out what to do to get her plan to work. That's not who the character is at their core. And Vox is most certainly not whipped. There may have been a time in his life where he was for Alastor, but even if that was the case, that time is long dead. Literally the moment he finds out Alastor is back, he launches an attack. That's not whipped and I don't think he really ever could be. Whatever happened between them clearly caused him a good amount of pain and even if things get better between them, I don't think they'll ever have what they once did. At least not right away. As for Valentino, it's called damage control, not being whipped.

On the second one, not gonna lie, I don't pay all that much attention to R*dioApple (censoring out of courtesy because that's how the ask was sent) so I've never seen this claim, but I totally get why that would be frustrating and kinda bs. I may be a ship-what-you-want-to-ship kind of person, but uh...yeah it's made pretty clear at every opportunity that Alastor and Lucifer don't like each other, so to claim they have the strongest foundation in canon as a ship is a little...yeah, no. Like, I get it, I'm a RadioStatic shipper and there is definitely problems between Vox and Alastor, but we know that they have some kind of history and that they, at minimum, were friends (referencing the photo and Alastor's "old pal" comment"). We know canonically that Lucifer and Alastor met for the first time canonically in episode 5 and Alastor instantly felt threatened and went on the attack. That's not a solid foundation for canon.

Again, if you like R*dioApple , THAT'S TOTALLY FINE! YOU DO YOU! It's not my cup of tea, but that doesn't matter! If you like it, go forth and enjoy! But be realistic. There is nothing wrong with liking something that doesn't have a strong canon basis and you don't need to force one to ship something. Fuck, I do it all the time! My favorite ship in this fandom also currently hate each other! And I love me some good ol' they've-never-even-met-but-fuck-they-would-be-so-interesting. Shipping something purely because you enjoy the potential dynamic is totally legit!

[chubs-deuce]

@drawmanda ik I already dmed you about this but my inbox ate your ask up so I'm responding to it this way now! <3

first of all thank you so much!! sdkjhsdkfh

And well, technically I also draw almost everything by hand too :o

I understand the frustration of being slow, but "fast" digital drawing actually has very little to do with not drawing things by hand (a trap most people infatuated with this terrible AI ""art"" trend unfortunately keep falling into) so much as optimizing your workflow!

admittedly a lot of this is also a matter of both personal preference and practice - but you can hardly practice and have preferences on what you can't know should be a focus right?

Under the cut is a list of the things I do that speed up my own digital art workflow (this one got hella long, sorry):

1) I sketch very loosely and often often skip the lineart entirely.

Something that's imo really important for actually almost all artists to practice is reducing sketches to their essentials!

A good working sketch should be rough and block in the shapes and placement of the features you have in your mind - the details don't come in until later, so they actually have very little business being put in at this stage!

It's meant to be a guideline and foundation for the upcoming detail work after all, not a finished, tidy drawing in and of itself.

Use quick, airy brush strokes to roughly pencil in some vague shapes and don't be afraid of indecipherable scribbles or flyaway lines! All that isn't needed won't be visible later anyways (either bc you turned off the sketch layer or erase the offending bit of sketch away)

Naturally, cleaned sketches are a thing people post plenty of online too (me included), but I promise you most artists that do proper lineart and/or render out insanely polished pieces have a very rough and probably barely legible sketch underneath those pieces lmao

And guess what! Most of my own "lineart" is nothing but cleaned sketches! :'D

I erase the construction lines like the circles for the heads and redraw a few bits and bops, re-trace some lines for legibility and/or to make them more visible and voila! Sometimes this is faster than lineart and keeps the original flow and energy that's in the sketches, other times this takes me just as long as lineart would lmao (highly depends on the amount of details and how lost you get in those).

Note how I didn't even "finish" a lot of the lines in the rough versions and many pieces of the og sketch were kept unaltered? I also tend to focus more on detailing out the faces than the rest - this is one part pure laziness and one part knowing that the faces will draw the eye's focus the most lmao

But see, sometimes I don't even bother with all of that noise! I just color the sketch as is:

This is a bit of a "trust the process" thing sometimes because a sketch can look utterly incomprehensible until you block out some colors and/or silhouettes to give your eyes context!

All in all most sketches take me between 10 minutes and half an hour, if it's a more complex pose or set of poses of interacting characters it can take closer to 2 hours, but in that case I also tend to use multiple layers for various iterations of rough sketching and to separate the characters on their own layers so it's a bit easier to keep track of the limb placements etc - it's best to keep a flexible mind when it comes to your approach to sketches.

Not every drawing will need the same level of care put into its sketches, don't be afraid of being rough with it and trying out different things if your usual way of doing things doesn't feel right!

2) Understanding the tools at my disposal!

Imo something every learning digital artist needs to get in the habit of is experimenting around with the tools at their disposal :D

It can seem incredibly daunting, especially when a program is absolutely packed with functions, but the more you work with different things and figure out what you like using and find ways to use them in your workflow, the easier it gets and the quicker you become! You'll be surprised what knowing your way around well can do to your work speed :D

Dick around with different presets, settings, colors, layer blend modes, filters etc

One of the first things I did when I first downloaded CSP was to just pick up every tool in the list one by one and doodle a few strokes across the empty canvas - no real goal or direction in mind, just getting a feel for it and then did a few drawings using different sets.

Imo even if you end up never using certain tools, it's still handy to know how they work!

3) HOTKEYS!!!!

I use my pc's keyboard hotkeys for. Every. Fucking. Thing. Mind you I'll be mostly talking in the terms and list hotkeys specifically for Clip Studio Paint since that's the program I use for my art, so if you use something else please do your own research on what the corresponding hotkeys are for your program if the ones I tell don't work!!! I promise you most of them have very similar functions just on different key combinations and will also usually let you edit them in the settings :D (this comes from someone who's at least tried out most of the available ones - Such as Medibang, FireAlpaca, Gimp, Krita, Rebelle 5, Paint Tool SAI (this one used to be my main before CSP) and I even tried photoshop and procreate on someone else's devices in the past)

The reason I use hotkeys is so I don't have to drag my curser around and click things by hand unnecessarily, the hotkeys save me a ton of time in the drawing process!

some examples of hotkeys I use for basically every drawing:

the classic undo (ctrl+Z) and redo (ctrl+alt+Z, other programs often use ctrl+Y for this tho); on touch-input compatible screen tablets you can often tap with two fingers to undo and 3 fingers to redo

zooming (this has multiple methods, you can use the ctrl+"+" and ctrl+"-" combo to zoom in and out, you can use the scrollwheel on a mouse or you use what my personal preference is: hold ctrl+space and drag the stylus to zoom in and out; if you have a touch-input compatible screen tablet you can also use two fingers to zoom in and out like you would on phone!)

rotating the canvas (technically has more than one way as well but I'm ngl I can't remember the way that isn't what I use anymore lmao, hold shift+space and drag the stylus - pro tip, you can reset the rotation with the Pos1 button, in the navigation window if you have it docked or in CSP's case also at the bottom of the screen!)

mirror canvas (in the viewport only! permanent rotation requires a transform!) using the M button (this is handy for checking proportions and when you just can't get your hand to do a curved line that goes against the natural range of rotation of your dominant hand's wrist)

drag viewport (i.e. move along the canvas by holding space button, then clicking and dragging)

merging layers (ctrl+E)

selecting multiple layers (click on layer, then hold ctrl and click on any other layers you want selected individually; if you want to quickly select a long and uninterrupted list you can also click on the first layer, then hold shift when you click on the last, this will select all layers in between too)

grouping selected layers (ctrl+G)

deselect all (ctrl+D)

transform selection (ctrl+T)

bring up hue/saturation/luminosity sliders for currently selected layer for quick color adjustments (ctrl+U)

switching between tools (I memorized which keys correspond to which tool categories in CSP and then use the "," and "." keys to move between presets within the category; I also have my CSP set up to have multiple presets in my tool bar that I can cycle between using the same tool button)

changing brush size (hold AltGr and drag cursor to increase or decrease brush size)

switching between drawing colors This is an especially big one for me!!! Did you know that using the little transparent color underneath or near your front and back colors turns your currently selected tool into an eraser? It keeps all of the texturing and blending settings too! I often use larger round brushes to block out an area and using this I can just use the same brush as an eraser to taper the strokes or refine corners without losing the texture using the C-key :D When I'm coloring switching between front and back colors helps a ton too, and for that I use the X-key! Here an example of how that looks executed in practice:

Notice how I never have to stop moving my cursor away from the drawing unless I'm picking new colors? :D I also use this a lot for my shading process! I will often use two tones on a layer with its blending mode set to add or multiply in order to shade and quickly switch between them for easy blocking and blending! Tumblr doesn't allow more than one vid per post so here's a youtube link to a little demo to show what I mean!

4) I aim for vibes > visual accuracy, especially in backgrounds!

(though this applies to how I approach character illustrations too)

A background doesn't have to be mega detailed or coherent to get across what you need it to!

I often use blurred photographs and video game screenshots as backdrops for my art, other times I roughly block in some squares and silhouettes to give the viewer some implied context of where they're at

Detailed backgrounds, unfortunately, will almost always cost you tons of time to do, so the speed with those unfortunately really does come from extended practice more than any shortcuts I can offer :')

for at least big room layouts like this tho I can recommend building the scene in sims 4 or something similar first and roughly tracing the screenshot for proportional guidance, something I've done in this one^ for example!

5) STENCIL BRUSHES <3

BOY THESE THINGS CAN BE DAMN USEFUL!

None of the things in this image below were hand-drawn by me!

These are just some of the ones CSP comes with by default! I downloaded quite a few handy custom ones over time too lol

I really implore you to not get too overly reliant on them however, they can be a huge help for when it doesn't need to be super accurate, but unless you're really good at making them match your style they can stick out a little sorely, so use them sparingly and only where you can easily make them blend in with the rest of your piece!

Also I've seen your lovely art in the tags I frequent a few times now and while the insane amount of detail you lovingly pour into it makes it a really cool and recognizable style that genuinely wows me anytime I see it, I can also see how time consuming it'd be to create it!

I do however think it's a gorgeous style that is worth every minute you put into it, so please don't be discouraged by any slowness! :3

I do of course still hope that any of my tips helped even just a little bit!!!

Keep up the amazing work and take care <3<3<3

[restlesshush]

Cabin Pressure for the reverse unpopular opinion asks?

Ohhh this is such a kind one to give me thank you <3

Cabin Pressure is soooo joyous I really don’t know where to start. I started writing out an answer about how 1x06 Fitton is a crucial episode for cementing a solidly affectionate foundation for the crew’s dynamic going forward, but then I realised I was not doing a good job at making it comprehensible to you and therefore it was failing as Cabin Pressure evangelism.

Fitton is glorious, and very structurally important, but I suppose in terms of it reflecting the wider joyousness of cabin pressure, what’s important is that basically nothing is happening plot wise (they are just waiting for a guy named Goddard) and it’s still utterly wonderful. One of Cabin Pressure’s key strengths is in the way that just mundane interactions between the characters can be absolutely delightful, and Fitton is the first episode we get where this is the absolute core. Arthur’s everyday happiness speech has brought me out of a long term foul mood on multiple occasions (“you’re hardly ever – you know – blissfully happy with the love of your life in the moonlight; and when you are, you’re too busy worrying about it being over soon. Whereas the [stepping into a bath of the exact right temperature] moments – there’s loads of those!”), and that’s only one thing – it’s an episode completely packed with delightful nuggets.

I think this phenomenon of just purely the interactions between the characters, regardless of plot, being enough to sustain 30 enormously delightful minutes of radio (Ottery St Mary is also a shining example, where an episode structured largely around a car journey has launched fan art, a day in its honour, and me insisting on taking my friends on a pilgrimage to the titular location) is what gives cabin pressure such marvellous relisten value. The jokes only mature on repeated listenings, because they’re not based in some sort of surprise or twist that only works one time, but something very thoughtful and frequently deeply grounded in character that resonates more strongly the more familiar you are. Douglas going up and down in the lift practicing his speech in Cremona so that it ends precisely on the ding is even more delightful after twenty six episodes than it was after three, because yes absolutely that is something Douglas would do. He isn’t at all as effortlessly suave as he’d like you to believe, but he loves doing putting excessive meticulous care into appearing so, which I find an extremely charming character trait.

And Cabin Pressure is just full of all these delightful little details, which is why I just cannot recommend it highly enough. S1 imo doesn’t quite yet have the foundation of warmth it goes on to develop but Fitton absolutely clears that up, and just does so so beautifully and charmingly, while also being a really lovely example of the things that make the show so wonderful.

[swallowerofdharma]

Yashiro’s Cruel God part two

Intermission: romanticizing trauma or Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate.

Most people looking at someone like Yashiro would feel deeply sorry and they would make a wish for him to find something or someone good in life. But when we start talking about healing we forget or we don’t know what trauma is. Manga can actually help us understand much better in what terms trauma really works: the word we use in several european languages comes from the Greek word for wound τραῦμα. I don’t have the same linguistics insights for the Japanese words - it would be great to have that insight if someone can provide it - but I have access to visual representations, because a number of mangaka associated traumatic events/memories with physical injuries, and the very severe ones with a lost limb, a lost eye. I have talked about this briefly here. The earliest in life or the most severe or prolonged or repeated traumatic events or experiences - the deeper the injury is registered, written in the brain. In the case of a lost limb, there isn’t much healing to do, that part of the body is forever changed, but there are other things to do: relearning how to do things in different ways according to the changes and forgetting about what you could do before or what other people can do with their limbs intact and fully functioning. Of course you can get a prosthetic, an aid, you work around the injured parts. But they ache, they give you phantom pain, they don’t grow back, and the healing is only possible in the parts that are left. Thinking about trauma like this is how we don’t romanticize it. I really think that Yoneda-san is intentionally making a point to show how difficult this process of adaptation is and also how common is for the people around Yashiro to not fully understand or care or know what can be done and what can’t be done. Only Yashiro knows himself that well, can properly determine his boundaries. First he went through a long phase of trial and error and he progressively learned to regulate his impulses quite successfully I must say, because we see that he was alone, lacking guidance, and he did end up naked in an alley, but at least he was sober and drug free. That is when Misumi came in and, although he had also his selfish motives and interests, he cared enough and offered Yashiro some guidance and most importantly conditions so that Yashiro needed to learn how to restrain himself and only indulge his sex drive more safely and more intentionally, setting new rules and adapting to a life full of other responsibilities and commitments. Remember that the premise here isn’t to assign blame or make moral judgments or excuses, but to understand how these characters grew, matured or changed or how they developed their expectations and interpretations of the world around them.

There were areas where Yashiro, as a full formed adult, still refused to be challenged, mostly because he had adapted and learned how to be self reliant, but unfortunately also because he interiorized an image of himself as someone unlovable, as a consequence of his parents’ behavior and later his unrequited feelings for Kageyama. Yashiro can absolutely find love. He fell in love twice, other people have fallen in love with him before, he doesn’t want to hurt others, he generally cares, he has gained much better social skills than those he had as a teenager, he is still an eccentric but not unreasonable or crazy. The problem is that he doesn’t know how to accept romantic love because he doesn’t recognize the feelings of being loved. The new experience is confusing, disorienting and scary, nauseating, because he lacks points of reference. He can’t go back to a foundation in love, an original self that is pure and secure and healthy, because his parents didn’t help him build it or deliberately destroyed and reshaped it with fear. Romanticism poses love as a good, natural, inevitable human thing, implies an ideal world where everyone has that pure healthy self and if pain and hardship are inevitable in life and each person is wounded, they must get to heal normally or simply by reaching back and restoring that pure and secure and healthy self as much as possible. If it was parental love/care and responsibility to offer the best condition for the self to be that way, then it will be the love/passion and commitment of a romantic partner to help healing the inevitability wounded self later in life.

I don’t think it was pure coincidence that in the same chapter you have these two different scenes not far from each other. Doumeki has been left behind and he is reminiscing about the events that brought him to this point. I am still focusing on Yashiro now, so that I haven’t properly talked about Doumeki, who has his own wounds within him, but as I mentioned last time, Doumeki experienced betrayal, especially regarding his father, after he already had a foundation in a family with a sufficient amount of care. Even if his parents weren’t especially doting or his experience was so much at odds with his sister’s experience inside the same family, he still developed normally, if not very reserved or able to express himself only through controlled physical aggression at kendo practice. We see in this memory another element, Doumeki playing normally with other boys and having fun. When the chapter goes on showing Yashiro in a flashback, we see him spying on Kurobane’s nephew on Misumi’s order. But we also see him as this uncomfortable nineteen years old who is an outsider and feels like one when confronted with normal children playing normal games.

I’d really like to write a proper analysis of the confrontation between Yashiro and Doumeki in the car in chapter 32, because I think that conversation is a very good example of two people coming from completely different places and confronting each other without reaching a solution that would work for both of them, because of lack of understanding and the extreme difficulty to communicate. We see very well here how the dynamics older/younger and realist/romantic play out. Scenes like these, where they talk, get to know each other, they are there and they were frequent even.

For now, I just want to underline another example of Yashiro looking at children with a foundation in love/safety from the outside and having to wrangle with that feeling of alienation. How can he take part in that same world as these people, how can he be part of the same world Doumeki lives in? Since he is going to meet Hirata and he doesn’t know what might happen there, his only choice is to leave Doumeki behind, but since he doesn’t obey anymore, Yashiro has to push him away and, if necessary, intentionally hurt him. Doumeki tries different strategies to stay, and Yashiro seems to relent on occasions, but when the time comes, he takes the gun and shoots.

Again a long post, and I don’t know how much I have accomplished with this. Between phone calls and my cat giving me the stinky eye because I am two minutes late to feed her, although I had mentally prepared to tackle the part about Doumeki, I recon I am going to leave this part as it is and continue the analysis later. Hope you don’t mind, I am not great at planning things out. So this is again to be continued…

[acheronist]

I am reading The Goldfinch. I'm where he just started hanging out at the furniture/antiques place regularly. It's written well, it's holding my inerest, but I don't yet see what all the fuss is about. So not as a criticism but in an effort to appreciate something I might be missing, why is it a book you love?

well.

donna tartt is one of my favorite authors anyways. I think she's a spectacular freak and her storytelling skills are exceptionally good and i've read as much of her work as i can possibly get my little hands on!

but for tgf specifically, the narrative being soooo so so centered on personal emphasis & meaning being bestowed upon specific artworks despite them being very unpersonal objects (after they get out of the artist's hands, that is,) in stark comparison to the way that art that can belong to/be seen/be consumed any random fucking person alive in the modern age has been the only existential buoy in my life for a very very very long time. in my lowest times, instead of killing myself i go stand in art museums and think about how much love and creativity is innate in humanity despite times of crisis and war and disease and all of the fucking agonies and everything going wrong and having no control over it. ha ha. it's always been a balm to me, to remember that there is goodness and love preserved in artwork, and that artwork is tougher and longer-lasting than you'd initially think, and that it's always there waiting for me to come back to it and see it in a different emotional state to find new meanings in it. this is the same as how theo thinks about the painting thru different times in his life!! going from needing it desperately as a connection to his mom, obsessively as a comfort, and then reviling it for being a representation of his life's biggest trauma and yet still tending to it and caring for it, to the heartache of losing it and the relief of retrieving it with the one person who genuinely loves him as an act of devotion and apology for a previous betrayal....all while navigating how systems in power are neglectful and uncaring and capitalistic. it's all just So Much To Me.....

and I know the middle chapters where theo just goes on and on about the intricacies of antique forgery aren't as fun and sexy as the vegas chapters with boris (underage drug abuse and gay sex WHEEEEEE) OR the actual criminal chapters at the end (mysterious borderline-noir criminal heist slash subtextual romcom), but they're soooo so poignant to me. because in my own little life, curating the art and music around me and finding beauty and importance and symbolism in these subtle things is a vital central axis that i need to have, much like i need a nice bed or a good meal or a glass of clean water. much of how i cope and navigate the world is very deeply focused around art & art analysis, and I think the only other book i've read that articulated that sort of feeling quite as eloquently would be john berger's way of seeing, which is an academic and analytical text. but i just love fiction so much, so to have tgf as the extremely emotional fiction option to go along w my nonfiction art thesis books that are tonally very prim and objective and well organized..... DELICIOUS. i love it. and i love a fictive narrative built upon tragedy. i love works that call back to each other in conversation, and stories that cannot exist without the foundation of Something Else Existing A Millennia Prior. i love comparing works and establishing what makes them similar or different but how they approach the same themes. and i love to see characters (THEO. boris. pippa. hobie. andy.) that i can identify with who struggle with similiar problems i have, because it makes it easier for me to get thru my own life. this isn't groundbreaking reasoning though, that's just how every human alive consumes art and content. of course we look for ourselves in fiction. of course we as individuals want to find things that we relate to.

and also in a purely self-indulgence way, I also looooooove it when media is unbearably long and i can get completely entranced and study it closely and always be able to find new details that throw the whole story into a completely new light, which I think tgf does very well because it's almost 900 pages LMAO. every time i reread it there's a new nuanced angle for me to think about actions and thoughts leading into consequences and i just eat that up every single time.......

but despite all of this i do recognize that tgf is not everyone's cup of tea. like it's genuinely one of the most meaningful texts in my heart but i completely understand how it can be long, and boring, and melodramatic, and a bit insane, and convoluted, and pompous, and not worth the time to get from cover to cover.

but it is worth the time. to me.

[r-2-peepoo]

I think Codywan has such a wide appeal and is only growing in popularity (even if they’re still pretty small compared to how huge the whole fanbase is) bc they have a canonical close friendship built on a deep mutual trust so there’s already a foundation for a relationship there (there is the dilemma of ranks but it’s less of an issue imo bc we know Obi Wan isn’t the type to cross anyone’s boundaries like that) but also because it’s simultaneously far enough removed from canon (we see less of them together than other pairings, romantic or otherwise, but still enough that it doesn’t feel forced) that you get quite a lot of creative freedom with them. This works even better when you realise both of them are very reasonable, levelheaded people which explains why so many of the fics about them are just pure fluff or at least hurt/comfort. They provide the best sort of escape from the immediate angst of canon which is why cosy romance really suits them. They’re both also pretty tragic characters and sort of embody the overall tragedy of the entire story in a way so, while angst also works really well, picturing a sadness-free ending for them is always lovely.

Obi Wan’s pain obviously gets more of a focus in canon, what with him being a main character, so it’s so nice to see someone like Cody be able to relieve him of some of it, or at least help him cope. The idea that when you rewatch A New Hope, you could have in the back of your mind that he actually wasn’t alone all that time is just really reassuring to think about.

But also the benefit of seeing so much of Obi Wan is that we know what he’s like as a person really well and so we know he would do exactly the same thing for Cody, hence the real potential for balance in their relationship. I do not think Cody’s pain gets focused on nearly enough in canon (that goes for all of the clones honestly) or in fics, but we can feel safe knowing that if Obi Wan were real, he would be the most accommodating, patient, compassionate person anyone could ever have as their partner or their friend or anything else.

I know I’m just stating the obvious here but there is so comforting about two genuinely kind, good people having a healthy, balanced relationship and that’s why literally no one else compares to them imo. Ik not everyone captures this balances in every fic, but that’s how I view their canon dynamic and how it translates to fanfiction. There doesn’t need to be toxicity because they know how to communicate. They’re definitely both still melodramatic, I mean they are Star Wars characters after all, but it never has to swerve into being unhealthy. They feel like if the feeling of a hug was captured in a ship.

[blowflyfag]

ECW Magazine: February 2000

FLIGHT OF RAVEN

Raven returns to ECW roost and brood about life

By S. Connor

RAVEN RETURNED TO EXTREME CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING on Aug. 26 and shook the foundation of the promotion. At the first TNN taping at Elks Lodge in Queens, N.Y., he paired with longtime nemesis Tommy Dreamer and beat The Dudley Boyz to claim the ECW world tag team title. 

In the following interview, Raven talks about his days in World Championship Wrestling, his childhood and his motivation for returning to ECW.

A CHILLING CHILDHOOD

Q. WHAT KIND OF CHILDHOOD DID YOU HAVE?

A. A miserable one. No one liked me. I was very unpopular and I was staved for attention because my dad never told me he loved me. I was extremely outgoing, loud and obnoxious just to get any kind of attention.

[Raven pulls Rhino off Tommy Dreamer]

Q. DO YOU HAVE ANY BROTHERS OR SISTERS?

A. I have an older sister but she had mental problems of her own. In fact she has emotional problems that are bad enough that she gets disability from the government. She also has very poor health problems, but she’s a great person.

Q. WAS THERE ANYTHING YOU COULD HAVE DONE TO MAKE YOUR CHILDHOOD BETTER?

A. I probably could have stopped picking on her and abusing her. I was embarrassed by her problems and I took it our on her. It wasn’t her fault she was that way, which left me with even more guilt for being cruel to her because I thought she was embarrassing me. It just snowballed.

Q. DO YOU BLAME THESE PROBLEMS ON YOUR PARENTS’ LACK OF ATTENTION?

A. Yes, complete lack of attention. I also have a fragile brain chemistry to begin with. My sister is actually unipolar. She’s just depressed. I’m bipolar, I’m manic/depressive. I needed more attention than your basic kid to begin with but i got less than your average person so it was a double whammy. My parents were so wrapped up in my sister’s problems they didn’t give me any attention. I had problems just as bad as her but apparently I hid behind an armor that was thick enough and it was such a good act that nobody saw though it. But they should have seen through it. They are my parents. My I.Q. was 143 and they should have realized how special i was. If not special, then I should have been treated like any normal person. I often envied kids that at least got beat by their parents. If they got beat, at least they knew that their parents cared. Mine were indifferent. Indifference is the greatest cruelty of all. 

[Unlikely tag team: Tommy Dreamer and Raven]

ABOUT RINGMANSHIP

Q. HOW IMPORTANT ARE MICROPHONE SKILLS IN WRESTLING?

A. The greatest interviews in the history of the business were Mankind’s interviews as Cactus Jack in ECW. I don’t think anyone will ever cut promos better. Like a Seinfield episode, he went all over the place, but at the end the whole story came together in a neat little bundle. Cactus was always teaching you something. Austin is tremendous. In World Championship Wrestling, as far as charisma, I’m a big fan of Kannan. He is one of the most charismatic guys ever. Rey Mysterio Jr. is one of the greatest pure athletes I’ve ever seen in my life. In ECW, Axl Rotten is absolutely remarkable. Rotten can actuallt wrestle scientifically as smoothly and as well as anybody. If he dropped 30 pounds and Paul  Heyman [owner of ECW] have him a chance to really prove himself, all of a sudden you’d have a new major star.

WCW STRIKES OUT

Q. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR CAREER IN WCW?

A. I was never allowed in the “big 10” of WCW. I wasn’t popular enough and I didn’t get my shot. Anybody who truly has seen my work with an unjaded and uncynical eye would probably include me in the top 10. I haven’t drawn money in the major territories because I’ve never been in the position. 

Q. SOME OF YOUR GIMMICKS: SCOTTY THE BODY, JOHNNY POLO, SCOTTY FLAMINGO. WERE THEY REALLY YOU?

A. Yes they were. I’m a manic depressive! Scotty the Body was a character I created. The World Wrestling Federation gave me Johnny Polo and Dusty Rhodes gave me Scotty Flamingo - offshoots of Scotty the Body, one of my original names. I wanted to be the most flamboyant, obnoxious, abrasive, loudmouth chickens—heel I could be because I knew it would give me the attention I craved. If i didn’t get the attention at home, I wanted the adulation of strangers. I found along the way it’s no substitute, but it does to an extent alleviate some of the anguish and pain. If you talk t the boys in the WCW locker room. Konnan, Saturn or Disco Inferno would say either I am the most moody pick on the planet to the most wise ass goofy bastard you ever met.

[‘My parents were so wrapped up in my sister’s problems they never have me any attention.’]

RAVEN-DREAMER SAGA LIVES ON

SINCE RAVEN RETURNED TO EXTREME CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING ON AUG. 26, HIS LEGENDARY FEUD WITH TOMMY DREAMER HAS BEEN REVIVED. 

AS KIDS, THE TWO WERE BEST FRIENDS UNTIL A GIRL NAMED BEULAH CAME BETWEEN THEM. DREAMER STOLE BEULAH FROM RAVEN, EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN”T REALLY WANT HER. WHEN SHE CAME BACK INTO THEIR LIVES IN ECW, OLD HATRED BETWEEN RAVEN AND DREAMER ROSE UP AND DROVE THE TWO TO FIGHT THEIR BATTLES IN THE RING.

DESPITE THEIR HATRED, THE TWO BECAME ECW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS WHEN RAVEN RETURNED TO THE FEDERATION ON AUG. 26. THROUGHOUT SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER OF 1999, DREAMER WAS BARELY ABLE TO DEFEND THE TITLE BECAUSE OF AN INJURED BACK. RAVEN ONLY INVOLVED HIMSELF IN THE MATCHES AT THE END TO ENSURE THE TWO UNLIKELY PARTNERS KEP TTHE TITLE. HOW LONG DREAMER AND RAVEN CAN CONTINUE IN THIS DYSFUNCTIONAL MANNER IS ANY FAN’S GUESS.

SUCKING UP?

Q. WHAT WERE YOUR DAYS LIKE BEHIND THE SCENES FOR WWF?

A. When i was working for Vince McMahon [owner of the WWF] as associate producer of RAW, Vince made me put on a suit and tie. It was killing me. As soon as I was done producing, the sh-t would come off and I would put on a pair of ripped up jeans, a pair of boots, a T-shirt and leather jacket. That’s who I am. Me and Shane McMahon became really good friends. I was an original member of the Mean Street Posse, because me, Shane, Rodney and Pete Gas used to hang out all the time. I think it’s kind of amusing that Raven’s actually a Mean Street Posse member and they all dress in their ivy league clothes. Me and Shane are really close friends. I can’t say anything bad about him. We used to hang out constantly. It was funny because all of the boys would say, “You’re just  sucking up to Shane so you can get over with Vince,” and it’s just the exact opposite. What would happen is I’d get total heat with Vince because I’d have Shane out all the time, back when I used to drink. I quit drinking two tyears ago. I had Shane out every night of the week partying and Vince thought I was a horrendous influence on his son. 

[I’ve been to a couple psychologists.’]

BACK ON THE COUCH

Q. DID YOU EVER SEEK OUT HELP FOR YOUR PROBLEMS?

A. I’ve been to a couple psychologists. I found one phenomenal one who really helped me through my baggage. My father’s passing away recently - he was very ill so it was the best thing for him - took a lot of that baggage away. I don’t by any means glorify his death, but it enabled me to turn my life around.

Q. DESCRIBE RAVEN NOW COMPARED TO THE ONE WHO APPERED JAN. 8, 1995.

A. I came out in January 1995 as dark and as bleak and as miserable as one could possibly be. A lot of people say I left the character consume me, but what they don’t understand is it was already consuming me to begin with. I just found the forum to play it out. It was cathartic, it gave me release. By the same token, a lot of the negatives that accentuated it had a detrimental effect on me. It took a long while to work through all of that as well. What you see now is probably the most stable and happy I've ever been. Raven now is cruel, hateful and malicious, but bot as brooding and not as sullen. Fans will see a more sarcastic edge. Raven is 75 precent of the brooding bastard and 25 perfect of the glib, wise ass prick that Scotty the Body was. 

FROM ECW TO WCW AND BACK AGAIN

Q. HOW DID YOU COME TO THE DECISION TO LEAVE ECW THE FIRST TIME?

A. I didn’t want to leave and to be honest, I begged Paul. I said, “Please, I don’t want to leave.” Eric Bischoff [then vice president of WCW] offered me a lot of money to go to WCW. Of course ECW’s pay scale has jumped since then, but at this time it was a very hefty contract. I begged Paul to give me half of what Bischoff offered, but he couldn’t he just didn’t have the money. I had to leave and it broke my heart. All the boys said, “You got to go.” Now that ECW is on national TV with the TNN deal, I’m like: “well, I cant let them go on national TV without me. I got to be there for it.”

Q. BUT DIDN’T BISCHOFF ASK YOU TO LEAVE WCW ON AUG. 23?

A. I didn't really have a choice. Bischoff called a meeting and said, “Raven, start working through our attorney outside. You’re not happy with the company so you can leave right now.” I said, “bye” and walked out the door. Later Eric said, “I think you should think this over, I think you should stay. What are you going to do, go work for Paul E.?” I said, ”No, I’m going to Vince.” He said, “You are not going to Vince.” I said, “You said I got a release. I would think that implies I could go wherever I want.” Eris said, “I’ll let you go to ECW but you can’t go to Vince.”

Q. HOW DO YOU GET ALONG WITH BISCHOFF NOW?

A. I like Eric a lot, I think he’s a great guy. I know there’s a lot of horror stories of how badly he treats all the wrestlers, but he’s always treated me with a lot of respect. He always made time for me.

[thelazypetowner]

One of the Facebook groups I'm in features a breed every month, and August 2024 is sapasree month. I thought I would share my posts here so we can spread some awareness and education since information is very difficult to find (in English especially, but also still in Korean).

Day one is just basic information.

Sapsalgae 삽살개, affectionately called sapasree 삽사리/sapsali 삽살이 and occasionally shortened to sapsal 삽살, is an indigenous dog (토종개) from South Korea. The name originally derives from Hanja (Chinese characters in Korean language) 煞 (evil spirit) and 揷 (to stop), and in Hangeul, the name becomes 삽사 (chase evil spirits) where 개, gae, means dog. Thus, the sapsaree's literal name means to chase or ward off evil spirits, and as such, sapsarees are often seen as guardians or protectors that bring good luck and peace.

Sapsarees have lived in South Korea for thousands of years, but exactly how long is unknown. The history of sapsarees are largely known through oral stories, folktales, paintings, songs, and writings. Potential evidence suggests they have been around since at least the Silla Dynasty (57 BCE – 935 CE), and for some time, they were typically kept by royalty. They were largely kept as companions, but they were sometimes used as military dogs (specifics of both of these purposes are unknown but likely along the lines of a general purpose companion, watch dog, and hunter). It wasn't until the Koryo Dynasty (918–1392) that commoners started owning sapsarees. During Japan's occupation of Korea, Japan issued Ordinance No. 26 in 1940 to kill dogs for fur to use as military resources. Sapsarees were largely targeted for their long hair, and an estimated 1.5 million sapsarees were killed during this period. Sapsarees came dangerously close to extinction, and in 1969, professors from the Kyungpook National University began searching for sapsarees. Of the dogs believed to be pure by appearance and behavior, only about 30 were found by 1972 when research began.

The true dedication to preserve sapsarees began in 1989 when Professor Ji-hong Ha committed to getting sapsarees recognized as a national monument (designations to animals, plants, formations, etc. that highlight and represent Korea's heritage), and in 1992, the Korean Sapsaree Foundation was founded and sapsarees were designated as National monument #368. From the original ~30 dogs saved, only 8 remained, and from those, the breed was carefully bred for preservation and protection. In 1999, sapsarees became available to the general public, and more recently, have become available to international buyers. Today, the Korean Sapsaree Foundation permanently houses approximately 500 sapsarees for preservation, breeding, and research, and sapsarees now number in the several thousands.

As sapsarees have always been companions, their strength comes from their qualities and behavior with their family. They are most well known for their loyalty and loving nature, but they are also characteristically gentle, obedient, and sociable within their circle. They are said to love with their whole body with their people. They are not known to be a vocal breed, but they are very watchful and may alert bark at strangers. In doing so, they are characteristically fearless and loud. As current priority is toward health and genetic diversity, specific traits on individuals are less selected for or against. As such, traits like prey drive, energy level, food drive, toy drive, and social friendliness with other dogs may vary. Sapsarees are a smart breed, but they are not bred specifically for work or sport, and sometimes motivating them can take time. Uniquely without being selected for, sapsarees generally seem to enjoy water and are generally very clean dogs (ie, not crate dirty and may hold their bladder for long periods). Weak character and nervousness is a fault, and excessive aggressiveness is a disqualifying fault.

Appearance-wise, sapsarees are known for their rectangular shape, large head, large ankles, and shaggy (furnished) fur. Combined with their watchful nature, they are sometimes called "lion dogs" but generally have a amiable appearance. While they are known for their shaggy fur, approximately 3% of sapsarees have what is called "short fur" (unfurnished). In Korean, the short hair sapsarees are sometimes called Goryegae 고려개 (a term coined by Professor Ha), but they are genetically the same. In Korea, sapsarees are considered large dogs. However, they are generally a medium-sized dog at about 52-63 cm tall and 20-30 kg (20-24 in tall and 44-66 lb). They have floppy ears and are generally moderate and well balanced dogs in all aspects due to lack of specific breed purpose and trait selection. Because of their near extinction, priority has been placed on health and genetic diversity. While some selection toward appearance is considered, there remains some variation in appearance in regards to subtleties and specifics. Per the foundation, sapsarees are considered blue or yellow, or variations of blue or yellow, or spotted. Genetically, sapsarees appear to be able to be black, brown/liver, blue, various intensities of red (including a very light cream), and piebald. Various markings and variations appear as sable, agouti, masks, minor ticking on noses and paws (more ticking may be noted on piebald dogs), tan point, and residual white on the chest, paws, and nose. Erect ears are a disqualifying fault.

[ceo-of-kimona]

Other than that one time with the tequila, what do Kim and Ramona really have that would make them a good ship?”

I bet you’re asking, well, lemme tell you. Hooo boy let me tell you.

So, first of all, they just have pure chemistry together. Even when they aren’t as high as a kite, they completely hit it off together. Every time they’re together they just have so much chemistry. They’re honest with each other, can open up to each other really easily, and always have a lot to talk about. Hell, look at the scene before they get wasted at the party. They have one of the most real and chill chats in the entire series, talking about the glow as well as a bunch of other personal stuff and reading each other’s emotions and boundaries perfectly.

Also- when they’re together, Kim almost always has a slight smile. Now I know this sounds inane on its own, but keep in mind that Kim isn’t exactly beaming out a smile 24/7. Usually her eyes are low and her expression ranges from flat to angry (which is very gender of her but I digress). So someone getting s smile out of her is a massive deal, usually reserved for significant others like Jason or Scott. So Ramona so consistently getting her to crack a smile, joke around with her, and even let down her harsh exterior means a huge amount.

These two have made more real conversations and connections than any other two characters in the entire series. They are so damn raw with each other and it works so well. Ramona never judges Kim for her talking about her thoughts and feelings, no matter how sharp they may be. Likewise; Kim never judges Ramona for her past and immediately stops pushing when Ramona sets a boundary for something she doesn’t want her to know.

This is just the beginning, the surface level stuff, the foundation of their relationship. There’s a lot more from here, but I’ll save it for future posts.