#and it’s not just the technical skill of drawing but the looseness and creativity that the arts encourages

[bilaudad]

yes yes yes 💯💯💯

the worst advice I have ever received in my life hands down was in my late teens before going off to college, when I was told that there were “science people” and “arts people,” and that they generally didn’t overlap which is complete horseshit.

I had so much angst about which kind of person I was, changed my major a million times when I was in undergrad, fretted endlessly about my future and identity. skip forward, I’m now in the medical field, and also finding so much joy in launching myself back into art, which I neglected for too long. I’m having the time of my life exploring the digital medium and indulging my current hyperfixation (and along the way shedding some toxic shame over being “cringe” or “not normal about” the thing).

and you are so right, these things inform each other. being a better artist makes me a better scientist, and vice versa. neither have a monopoly on curiosity or creativity, nor intelligence/analytical thinking. they are not enemies, they are soul mates. and they r absolutely fucking on the couch

“the arts and sciences are completely separate fields that should be pitted against each other” the overlap of the arts and sciences make up our entire perceivable reality they r fucking on the couch

[badcaninecemetery]

[a list of overhaul headcanons that i've been obsessed with + soft x reader imagines]

he's kind of low-energy, so i imagine a lot of his hobbies would be similar.

given his physique, he'd probably enjoy working out, exercise, and/or yoga. he'd listen to documentaries about scientific discoveries while doing the mindless and repetitive movements. he'd intently watch a creative recreation of the discovery of tiktaalik and then forget he'd been cycling for over an hour.

i definitely think he'd be into reading too. typically he reads autobiographical nonfiction, but i'm sure he could be swayed into more literary nonfiction. he'd also read academic/scholarly journals/publications. he'd spend hours reading and reading.

playing strategic/mentally stimulating board/card games would interest him too. it's to keep his wits sharp, and perhaps hone in his poker face more and more. he probably did this a lot when he was younger, but then it became a hobby so he just does it to keep his brain thinking.

he'd also be into things like wine making or custom metal work, something that he can build and create. chemistry is something he really would enjoy, and there are endless possibilities there. he probably brewed beer and things like that when he was younger to earn pocket money and get himself further out there, but it stuck around too.

along those lines, he spends a lot of his time studying and working on his technical skills. he has many things he has to practice and learn, and i don't think his hunger for knowledge is satiable. he'd dedicate time for learning languages that might help him one day. science and math become some of his favorite things to do to pass the time—it's like doing crossword puzzles to him.

when he was really little, i think he probably tinkered with model kits. he's a little too shy to show those off though, but they're still hidden away in a closet just in case he ever wants to attempt them once more.

—

imagine kai tells you that he has a surprise for you, so he leads you into the living room and reveals with a gesture a board game. his eyes are crinkled around the edges, so you know there's a smile underneath that mask of his. you'd play with him, only for him to obliterate you every. single. time. it's typically chess because he teases you that it's your skill level—and you should be glad he didn't pull out the checkers board (or worse, go fish).

imagine watching him fiddle around with experiments. he shows you the elephant toothpaste one and you both would watch in horror whenever it starts exploding out more than it was supposed to. whenever you ask what happened, kai admits that perhaps he shouldn't have been focusing on your reactions as much. but whenever he's not doing anything in particular for you (and he totally doesn't do those things to impress you), the two of you just parallel play in the same room. he's busy, writing notes down in that doctor's scrawl of his and staring down intently through his bulky jewelers loupes; while you're relaxing on the other side of the room, perhaps doing something quiet and easy like drawing, or knitting, or writing, or researching.

imagine soft jazz in the background during these things. kai slowly turns to face you with a hard stare whenever you start playing your mix of sad jazz. he shakes his head softly, telling you he's not going to examine the medicinal samples in his petri dishes to billie holiday's "the man i love" (which makes him shift from foot to foot awkwardly because of the lyrics). a sly grin starts to stretch across your face as you switch it to old german jazz (the kind that plays in those 1930s men's fashion instagram reels), and you start doing a little dance towards him, shaking your hips and shimmying. kai's eyes are wide, but he's unable to not succumb whenever you lightly grasp his hands and loosely swing his arms back and forth (he's imploding internally).

imagine making him a rap, rock rap, and/or nu metal playlist. it's sometimes heavy and emotional or bitter, and sometimes it's nice for him to lean back and grimace at the ceiling whenever he listens to the words. so you hook up your phone to a speaker, then hit shuffle. his head is leaned against the back of the couch, eyes closed while the playlist cycles through. one second cypress hill is playing, the next it's eminem's fack. kai's face contorts into dissatisfaction before his eyes open and he pointedly looks at you, but you just snicker and say it's like a game of russian roulette. i wonder just how many times this song is hidden in this playlist? kai just sighs in acceptance.

imagine kai gushing to you (in a definitely calm and composed manner) about some or the nonfiction/journals he reads, or documentaries he's watched. sometimes he'll throw a word out there that you don't know, but he's very willing to explain what it means. he's brief and precise whenever he elaborates the information, and he'll offer to let you read/watch the materials too. you'd definitely sit down and read/watch it (even if it doesn't particularly interest you, but you know kai enjoys it).

imagine the two of you getting into stuff to do together like reading theory (you wouldn't stop jokingly spamming links to the communist manifesto and industrial society and its future at three a.m. in the morning—but then you both dipped in émile durkheim and kai was immediately enthralled). or doing something like learning animal taxonomy (you wouldn't stop calling the centipedes little lovers). or something simple like drinking coffee (or whatever you'd prefer at that moment) in public and people watching.

so many little things to pass the time, just brief smiles and witty glances behind coffee steam.

[bravevolunteer]

headcanon + drawing

SEND IN HEADCANON + A WORD / PHRASE FOR A RELEVANT HEADCANON ABOUT MY MUSE.

michael has kept up art as a hobby since he was pretty young, some of the earliest examples of enjoying this were actually based on his father's and henry's animatronics: as a kid, he used to be pretty fascinated with them, draw a bunch of them, bursting with excitement to show either of them his 'ideas,' whether it was new designs he liked to make up or collections of silly little comics. he grew more embarrassed by this the older he got, and stopped showing people his drawings, but kept up with it consistently!

he expanded the subjects of course, still keeping the cartoonish vibe but more so filling sketchbooks with lots of miscellaneous doodles. he would do this especially when he was stuck at the restaurant without any of his friends to mess around with, sketching the animatronics, decorations, and people. he keeps doing short comic-like work ( i point to the silly stylized stick figure ) and often incorporates humor, but he also ends up improving technical skills a lot too. though he doesn't deliberately practice this as much as most would recommend, he can do portraiture and anatomy pretty well ( his strengths there being the fact that he uses very loose and open strokes, so while the technical choices aren't PERFECT, his more realistic work still comes off as stylized and interesting ). he is stupidly good at animatronic and robot parts definitely from the amount of practice he's had just observing them.

he mainly uses just... pencils and pens— anything he can get his hands on rather than seeking out specific materials.

he's not a painter— michael just figures he wouldn't be any good at it, though that's more so the way he's thinking about it. he thinks he doesn't exactly have the drive to sit down for hours and meticulously craft a "real painting" ( in the heaviest of quotes ), personally i think he'd really benefit from quick-paced messy painting as an outlet.

in a similar vein, he doesn't really consider himself much of an artist because of the stereotypical connotations of the word— michael doesn't think he's really making anything worthwhile, which is why it surprises him so much when people are impressed and/or think he could pursue something creative. i am once again saying i think his art teacher was the only one he really got along with and who made him think beyond a one dimensional definition of art.

also just look at his canon doodles wahhh

[canmom]

Animation Night 136: The Zagreb School

Good afternoon everyone! Welcome back to my odd little... column I guess, in which I infodump about animated films (or topics only tangentially related to animated films, like the history of the samurai) and attempt to, in some sense, curate a big collection of all the great animation in the world that I can find? That’s kind of what this ended up being, huh.

Writing about animation is tricky. After avoiding some of the most obvious clichés - it’s so smooth! - you’re left with some slightly less cliché phrases like ‘strong key poses��, ‘graphical’, ‘sense of form’, ‘energetic’, ‘weighty’ ‘strong character acting’... or maybe you throw open your mental dictionary of production terminology and praise the ‘boards’ and ‘LO’ and ‘sakkan work’ and ‘genga’, which has the great advantage of making you sound like an industry insider even if you’ve never worked a day in animation (*cough*).

To get further you need to get very specific, and start pausing on specific frames and drawing bright red over things, and pull out your deck of animation principles and artist words - timing, spacing, arcs, line of action. This is the specialty of the Twitter account Frame by Frame. A useful type of analysis but also one that is very easy to parody...

‘course you might say this is less a parody and more a perfectly legit “animation” analysis with an unusual subject.

But the real reason for all of this is that animation is something you feel more than process in words. When you create an animation, you can plan it out carefully with keys and breakdowns and arcs and timing charts (a skill that was all the more necessary when you couldn’t hit a ‘play’ button in your software) and apply concepts you might know about like ‘hand accents’ and ‘overshoot and settle’ and so forth, but even with that you are going to spend a pretty long time flipping between drawings, erasing and redrawing bits, and shifting the timing to and fro until it just looks right. And then when you watch an animation, it evokes a feeling that can’t just be broken down into all those applications of technique. And describing feelings in words is its own entire art form...

Anyway, that’s a roundabout way of... partly self-reflection, because for a series of essays about animation I don’t do a ton of actual animation analysis so much as biographising, but also to say, today’s subject is a pretty tricky one to approach!

Tonight the plan is to look into the Zagreb School of Animation - not a literal institution but a (loosely defined) artistic tradition that began in the 50s in what was then the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, centered around (you’ll be shocked to learn) the city of Zagreb, capital of Croatia.

(Tumblr is only gonna let me post five videos in here so, I’m gonna have to spread them out a bit...)

The occasion for this is the appearance of the Zagreb Film channel on Youtube, which has been uploading clean, HD releases of dozens of old Czech films. But it’s also heavily indebted to the blog Animation Obsessive, who wrote about the Zagreb Film channel, and before that, a great deal about them and specific films made by artists associated with the Zagreb School.

OK, these guys are from Zagreb, but what makes them a big deal? We can say their influence is a unique graphical style influenced by the once-renowned UPA in America, all an overt and conscious break away from the ‘full animation’ of Disney. We could talk about their influence in Eastern European animation and worldwide. We can perhaps quote a certain manifesto, from an art show in 1968...

Animation is an animated film.

A protest against the stationary condition.

Animation transporting movement of nature directly cannot be creative animation.

Animation is a technical process in which the final result must always be creative.

To animate: to give life and soul to a design, not through the copying but through the transformation of reality.

But that doesn’t actually tell you very much, and also that’s where it gets trickier, because the Zagreb School - especially in their earlier years - were crazy varied in their output. As AniObsessive put it...

The Zagreb School is a tricky thing to pin down — scholar Ronald Holloway said it best when he called it “a loosely fitting group of artists in open competition with each other.” Many of its key figures were art-school graduates. Even more had a background at Kerempuh, something like Yugoslavia’s answer to MAD Magazine.

It was never just one thing. Zagreb School cartoons are wild and anarchic until they’re sad and serious. They’re cartoony and geometric until they’re loose and painterly. It’s less of a style and more of a “protest,” per a manifesto signed by some of the key members.

So to get more concrete, we’ll have to narrow our scope to particular artists and films. I’m not going to be able to do the Zagreb School anything like justice - there have been massive books written about them, and even when AniObsessive boil it down, that gives several long articles - so take this post more as a signpost, to explore further if you’re curious...

Here is Kod fotografa (At the Photographer’s) by Vatroslav Mimica, with lead animation by Vladimir Jutriša. I’m leading with this one because AniObsesive have written an extensive breakdown of the animation style, which is a great read. But here let me put in a little background...

Traditional animation is usually divided into two broad strands. To start with, there is the famous ‘full animation’ pursued by Disney, spreading to Warner and later carried on by Disney offshoots like Don Bluth and Dreamworks. It’s a style which really came into its own in 1937, with The Old Mill (1937) and Snow White. Inspired by studies of live action film using the rotoscope (see: Animation Night 65), ‘full animation’ pursues what Disney called ‘the illusion of life’, when the drawings cease to seem like drawings and appear as a living, breathing character.

To this end, ‘full animaton’ places drawings on 2s and 1s (12 or 24fps) - mostly on 2s, speeding up to 1s for rapid actions, and applies a body of techniques summarised by Disney’s ‘Twelve Principles of Animation’ to create a sense of continuous motion: arcs, overlapping action, overshoot and settle, lots of dangling bits to shake and wobble. A huge emphasis is placed on acting, with the animator conceived of as an actor inhabiting that character and lending them unique mannerisms, drawing initially on the ‘broad’ acting of vaudeville performers but later splintering into more reserved styles suitable for more dramatic stories.

‘Full animation’ traditionally avoids certain techniques that will break the ‘illusion’. It will rarely use hold frames, or shots that are just multiplane effects. The extreme of full animation is the work of Richard Williams (Animation Night 119).

Then there is ‘limited animation’. This is mostly associated with TV animation, both in the States and in Japan, where the need to make a lot more animation in a much shorter time necessitated production shortcuts. These include

animating at a reduced framerate anime will usually animate on 3s i.e. 8fps, or even 4s i.e. 6fps, and drop to 2s for fast action

hold frames the same drawing stays on screen for a long time

partial holds when most of a drawing stays still, but a small part is varied, e.g. a character’s mouth and maybe jaw moves to indicate speech while the rest of their face stays still

moving holds a single drawing is moved across the screen without changing. can be used to, for example, make a very cheap walking shot by shooting a character from the shoulders up and moving them up and down while scrolling the background

bank shots repeated footage that is reused, sometimes every episode - e.g. henshin (transformation) sequences in old-school magical girl and super robot anime

multiplane effects/animetism when animation consists of sliding ‘book’ layers passing over each other, without trying to create an appearance of 3D space

loops particularly for repetitive actions like walking, but also sometimes for background animation - a handful of frames can be cycled repeatedly

As anime envolved, animators like Yoshinori Kanada (AN 62) and directors like Osamu Dezaki (AN 95) appeared who found ways to make animation that turned these limitations into strengths. Anime started to emphasise the storyboard and layout, with increasingly elaborate camera moves and a very cinematic approach to the animated ‘camera’. And viewers got used to animation on mixed 2s and 3s, and even started to come to recognise the special value of its ‘snappy’ feel - which is incidentally part of the reason for animators’ loathing for AI interpolators.

It’s not strictly that one is the ‘Japanese style’ and one is the ‘American style’ mind you. Indeed, ‘full animation’ has mostly been practiced in just a handful of studios, mostly in America, and almost exclusively in films, because it is kind of insanely expensive.

Then we come to the slightly more obscure terms for ‘hybrid’ styles, such as the ‘full limited’ of Mitsuo Iso - although this is subject to many misconceptions as @why-animation noted for this translated interview. But to briefly summarise, ‘full limited’ refers to mixing the techniques of full animation - constant movement, strong sense of weight and overlapping motion - with the reduced framerates of anime (typically on 3s). The iconic example is Iso’s animation of Asuka fighting the Mass Production Evangelions in End of Evangelion.

I mention this because I’m about to talk about a very different sort of ‘full limited’. The ‘reduced animation’ - a term coined at UPA - practiced by the Zagreb School is a form of ‘limited animation’... yet one that paradoxically often involved extended sequences on 1s, as you can also see in this brief ad...

The way this is still ‘limited’ is that these ‘smooth’ sequences are one of two extremes. Characters slide with uncanny smoothness from pose to pose... or they remain perfectly still, moving our attention around the frame. As AniObsessive note, the spacing is very even, where conventional animation wisdom would say you should use a slow-in or slow-out, overshoot and settle. It’s consciously extremely unnatural, in an arresting way.

So returning to At the Photographer’s... (link, again) - this film builds on that into a fascinating string of visual gags, morphing pespective, playing with shapes... it feels in some ways like Flash animation, way ahead of its time. The film’s soundtrack is entirely musical, timed with the animation in a way resembling the ‘Mickey Mousing’ of Disney, but here used to create an uncanny distancing effect. The photographer struggles to get the boy to create a proper smile, an expression represented by hyperdistorted photo collages, a technique also used (along with painted elements) in the background.

I won’t try to itemise every gag, but I think it is cute how the kid’s mouth floats around his face like a little fish.

Czech animators at the time of this film, and honestly pretty much throughout the existence of the ‘school’, were working with truly limited resources. Pavao Štalter, director, background artist and lead animator of The Masque of the Red Death (1969) once described it...

All of our cameras are made from aircraft scrap from landfills. We are madmen who work with abnormal effort. Instead of making a film in three months, it takes us a year. Everything is done by hand. … Here in my little room in the studio, it is 45 degrees Celsius in the summer, and we work ten hours a day! I really don’t know how long we can say, “Tomorrow will be better!”

Masque shows a very different face of the Zagreb School, with the gloomy, textured, bleak world of expressionist paintings. Its animation is a mix of cutouts and traditional animation in paint. Its process was discovered experimentally, Poe’s story is presented without dialogue, though there are some really choice screams and there is a song with lyrics. But mostly it’s an incredible atmosphere piece.

Masque, writes AniObsessive, was also unusual in its funding: while Zagreb Film received funding from Tito’s government, in an unusually hands-off arrangement, it didn’t go very far. For Masque, a large part of the money instead came from the American company McGraw-Hill, primarily an educational publisher, a serendipitous connection made by a display of the film’s storyboards at MoMA. You can read more about its story here.

That is also the end of my video limit for this post, and I haven’t even begun to cover more than a fraction of the Zagreb school’s important films. So please hold on for part 2, where I’ll write about a few more in the next hour before we begin our film night...

[untilcrimsondawn]

A Statement From Sinna

"Until Crimson Dawn was a project I originally started sometime in 2018 on the Warriors Amino App. The Roleplay was really just a whisp of an idea, always getting halfway onto its feet before quietly being placed back on the burner to let simmer. I've always had a lot of ambitious and time-consuming ideas, but this Roleplay had to be among one of the biggest creative projects I have ever worked on putting together. Over the years I have continued to improve my storytelling skills and worked on the loose plot for UCD. I always had the vision of this story being driven by people with different minds than I, and having DMed for DnD games, I know not to come up with a linear plot if I don't want it derailed completely.

I never could find the sweet spot between too ambitious or too generic, wanting to stand out from the hundreds of thousands of other Warriors-based Roleplays without wasting hours of my friends' time as well as my own, for a project that may not even get much traction. However the passion that I have had continually over the last five years has always weighed heavy in my mind, and I have always regretted how past iterations of this project never saw themselves actually published. It brings me great pride to be able to present this Roleplay now, after hours of hard work to write, draw, design, and put together the technical aspects of discord.

It may not be much right now, but it's so important to me that people are actually interested in my project and want to join. Literally a dream come true."

| | |

A statement from one of our Admins and founder, Sinna!

[shinondraws]

Aw thank you!

I think I agree, I may be time for me to look into something new. I have felt like stagnating for a while now. I'm happy with my current growth in technical skill buy there is something in the creative front that needs to be unleashed.

Funny thing is my life drawing teacher has been trying to push me into doing more expressive and loose work, which is so hard since I am so used to doing very detailed and carefully planned works. It may stem from the same thing.

Maybe I have kind of lost my artistic voice?

I have mostly been doing commission work lately and they have been really fun projects to work on! But I feel like I would need to get into a space where I can just experiment in peace. That would require time and freedom from pressure which I don't have.

Art is so hard.

[the-empress-7]

advert for Art Direction - Pearl

Important questions raised by this ad:

1. if this animation has been in the planning for 2yrs, how are they just getting round to advertising for an Art Director?

2. The publicly announced producers have worked on Tangled and Gnome and Juliet. Why aren’t they tapping their professional internal networks for this position.  

3. Or have they ran through all options from points above and have now been forced to ho public to get an art director?

https://www.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=2c7c3c2d6d5a1cb8&from=serp

Art Director – Pearl

Netflix Animation

Los Angeles, CA

With over 204 million subscribers enjoying great content in over 190 countries, it’s an exciting time to work at Netflix.

By serving as a platform for original storytelling, we’re fueled by the broad appeal of being able to instantly enjoy unlimited movies and TV shows and seek to create joy for our members around the world. This guiding principle has informed our commitment to animation, a universal language, and the establishment of Netflix Animation Studios where creative visionaries can perform their best work.

This is the new wave of animation — and you can help shape it. Our goal is to tell stories that no one has seen but that everyone will remember.

We are seeking an Art Director for Pearl, a CG heartfelt adventure comedy series. Pearl comes from the mind of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and centers on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl who finds inspiration in a variety of influential women throughout history.

The Art Director will help to develop, create, and support the aesthetic vision of our Executive Producer Team. They will be the source of clear communication to the art team, ensuring everyone is following patterns, keeping consistency, giving clear verbal and visual instructions to the next person in line and to our partnering studio. The Art Director will identify and confirm we have created all our assets appropriately for a smooth hand-off. Working with Production Management, they will work to tie any loose ends and keep the art train on the tracks.

An accomplished artist themselves, the Art Director must convey direction and visual communication through applied artistic skills. They will work with the CG Supervisor to develop the CG Pipeline – design through the outsource studio design instructions – sharing responsibility to define scope boundaries and generate clever solutions to work within them.

What You’ll Do: – Develop and communicate the style guide and theory; spanning visual development, character design, environment design and props/fx – Partner with production leadership and technical teams to understand and clarify creative direction and scope, timelines, tools, and budget – Works closely with production to create asset breakdown lists for assignments – Prepare for and lead design handouts by communicating overall direction, design requirements, and expected level of polish to the design team – Supervise a team of artists in-house and/or around the globe – Troubleshoot and review potential changes on a regular basis with creatives and production staff – Jump in to create assets along with the team — we want to see your skills in action too! – Work with CG Supervisor and Production Manager to ensure art packeting is complete, communicating the visual instructions fully, before sending to partnering studio. – Provide notes and mentorship to creative teams and partners, incorporating hands-on drawing, reference, and tools to enable these teams to do their best work – Assess portfolios and demo reels and take part in interviews for building design team – Collaborate with grace, humility, inclusion, and open-mindedness

What You’ll Need: – 3-5 years of CG animation production experience – Expert working knowledge of digital drawing tools such as Photoshop a must – Considerable knowledge of color theory, lighting, staging, and perspective – Proven leadership on animated shorts, series, or features – Excellent communication skills – Samples and/or credits demonstrating excellence in roles such as visual development, background paint, color design, or character design

Netflix Animation

1 day ago

=====

Your question #1 has been my question #1 as well. It’s going to months and months before this show makes it to Netflix. 

[athenagrantnash]

Gunpowder Milkshake review

There are four elements to a film that, when all are achieved, can elevate a film from “good” to “great”; and any film that can achieve at least two of these elements is certainly a good and enjoyable film.

These elements are (in no particular order)*:

Aesthetic

Cast (charm, likeability, acting skill, etc)

Characters

Writing (story, script, dialogue etc.)

*While all four elements are important, writing is in my opinion the most important of the four.

So does Gunpowder Milkshake achieve all of these elements? Let’s discuss. (not a spoiler free review)

1) Aesthetic

I cannot say enough good things about the aesthetic of this film. The lighting, the camerawork, the set design, the costumes, it is all top notch. There is never a moment where what you are looking at isn’t visually engaging.

One of my favorite elements is how much is said about each character based on their costumes. 

Karen Gillan’s Sam wears an orange jacket for the majority of the film - a jacket she stole because she didn’t like the clothing provided for her. Early in the film it’s established she doesn’t quite know what kind of assassin she is - she is as undefined as her jacket. But there’s a sportsmanship about her, as she won’t kill the three stooges when they aren’t trying to kill her, and she draws the line at ever letting a child be in danger.

Chloe Coleman’s Emily spends the entire movie in a yellow coat - representing the optimism and joy that comes with childhood innocence, an innocence that at the end is marred by the blood red handprint across the back of her coat.

The clothes worn by Angela Bassett’s Anna May, Carla Gugino’s Madeleine, and Michelle Yeoh’s Florence are all very similar, but specific to each character.

Anna May wears dark blue - signifying depth and power - and she has more layers than anybody else - Madeleine has the sweater/jacket, Florence has the vest, and Anna May has both. And just like her clothing, she has layers. You can sense the power and ferocity, and anger that lies rippling just below the surface, only just barely kept in check. 

Florence wears green - signifying serenity - , and her outfit has nothing loose or soft about it. She is exactly as she appears to be - exactly as a tiger stalking its prey appears to be - quiet, contained, serene... deadly. It’s her serenity that keeps Anna May’s ferocity in check, but don’t mistake that for safety.

Madeleine wears pink - signifying kindness - and instead of Florence’s vest or Anna May’s vest/suit jacket combo, she instead wears a soft sweater. She is kind, trusting to her instincts, and protective of Emily. But her kindness is not weakness - just look at her weapon of choice if you disagree.

And while everybody else is wearing bright and/or striking colors, Sam’s orange jacket, Emily’s yellow coat, Anna May’s blue suit, Florence’s green vest, Madeleine’s pink sweater, Scarlet - completely at odds with her name - is wearing colors that are practically nondescript. She has isolated herself from the other Librarians, and that’s shown in a beautifully subtle way through her clothing. And yet, in a further note of subtlety, she is wearing soft oranges, showing her connection to Sam (also in orange) and how that connection is what brings her back from her isolation. Her clothing is loose, but not soft, reflecting a deceptive casualness, which matches her personality perfectly.

I’m not even going to touch on the visual brilliance of the lighting, set design, and camerawork because words literally will not do it justice. You just have to watch and see for yourself.

Additionally, an argument can be made that, since “action” is not its own category, that would fit into this section too - and while it’s literally impossible to top how visually engaging the lighting/set design/camerawork/etc. are, the action is certainly on par with it. The fights are all incredibly fun and creative, and they take advantage of the setting they are placed in, the road blocks or handicaps the characters have to work with, and at no point ever feel stale, repetetive, or boring.

So where does this movie rank in aesthetic? 5/5

2) Cast

There is not a weak link in this entire cast! Karen Gillan, Lena Heady, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, Paul Giamatti - every single one of these actors has proven time and again how much talent, charm, and onscreen charisma they have. Relative newcomer Chloe Coleman legitimately holds her own, even among such a star-studded cast, and is simultaneously sympathetic, charming, likable, and absolutely adorable.

Even bit players like the three stooges that Sam takes out, Emily’s dad, the doctor, and Jim McAlester play their roles to perfection.

As a side note, am I the only one who was a little bit disappointed that McAlester’s first name was Jim? It would have been hilarious if his first name was Kevin, and then we could have drawn our own conclusions about the criminal turn Kevin McCallister’s life took when he truly embraced his childhood propensity for chaos.

So where does this movie rank in cast? 5/5

3) Characters

This is where the movie starts to falter a little bit. Every single character is likable, but a lot of that can be attributed to how excellent the cast is.

Most of the characters are fairly cookie cutter, and while there is nothing about them that is particularly annoying or stereotypical, none of them have enough depth to truly be “great” characters.

The closest any character has to having any sort of depth or complexity is Nathan, who - while he doesn’t hesitate to send an entire army after Sam - sends her a private message and provides the only help he can.

Not that any of the characters are bad - I think my analysis of the lead lady’s clothing proves my opinions on that pretty conclusively - but they could have been better

Additionally, at just under 2 hours there is barely enough time to develop them properly. Florence in particular could have been much further fleshed out in ways that are not solely inferred through the costume design and acting.

The relationships between Emily and Sam, Sam and Scarlet, Scarlet and Anna May, Sam and Madeleine, Anna May and Madeleine, and Madeleine and Emily are done fairly well. I understood each dynamic and how it worked in the larger story that was unfolding. Florence had none of that - to the point that (if not for the inferred analysis based on clothing) I’m still not entirely sure if she or Anna May was the de facto leader of the librarians. If they had added something - either her legitimately having a moment where she takes charge or (even better) establish a rivalry between Florence and Anna May over who is in charge that would have done a lot, but unfortunately as it stands Florence didn’t get the development that Michelle Yeoh deserved.

So where does this movie rank in characters? 3/5

4) Writing

If the movie started to falter a bit when it came to its characters, it faltered even more when it came to the writing. In fact it’s the writing that can be blamed for the characters not given the development they should have gotten, even if these are two different categories.

And yes, it’s an action film, so technically the plot takes second place to the fisticuffs and gunplay - and while I’m not going to hold the genre against the film, even as an action film the script could have been a lot stronger.

Most importantly, the movie should have been at least thirty minutes longer in order to allow more growth and development for each of the characters. One scene that should have been in the movie was one of Emily while she was captured by McAlister. He should have tried to turn her against Sam, not realizing that the revelation that he had killed her dad had already done that. But Emily is smart, and the more he talks the more she realizes she’s directing her anger at the wrong person. Then when Sam turns herself in so that she’ll be safe it solidifies it for her - Sam might have pulled the trigger, but she’s not the heartless killer that she should be angry at.

And that is just one example of how a longer runtime and a few more rewrites could have given the story and characters a lot more depth.

Now onto the white elephant in the room.

“There’s a group of men called the firm” (yes, I’m going there... somebody has to).

I get what the film was going for, but this is the most perfect example of why it needed one or two more rewrites. 1) If it’s a group of men, why is Sam working for them and why is she recognized as the best at what she does? The movie is trying to imply inherent sexism, but because it felt the need to slam us over the head with that line all subtlety was lost.

Sam could have just called it “a group” and then we the audience would see that while men and women work for them, the ones calling the shots are all men. And then to turn around and show how much more prepared, professional, and competent the Librarians are would make this point in a much more subtle and compelling way. There is a lot more power in using that kind of storytelling than in explicitly telling your point to the audience in so many words. 

However, while most movies that go this route make all their male characters useless or stupid, Gunpowder Milkshake did manage to not do that. Other than the three stooges, which Nathan chose to send after Sam because he didn’t want her killed, therefore by design are supposed to be useless, all of the people that our mains go up against feel like legitimate threats.

And I’m glad, because as a woman I do not like the recent tendency to turn men into useless idiots and then imply that is the only way the women managed to defeat them. I want women going up against men who are at their best, and still win. And this movie did that.

Additionally, I will say that the whole “group of men” thing is a minor quibble on my part, as it doesn’t fall into the pitfalls most other movies who are making this point fall into. But it is unfortunately an example of why the writing could have been much better.

Add in some awkward dialogue that only worked because of how ridiculously charming and likable everybody in the cast is, and we unfortunately have writing that is sub par and does not live up to the standards set by the other three elements. The aesthetic, the cast, and even the characters deserved better writing.

As a side note: Where do these people get their milkshakes that they manage not to melt even after three hours? Because that’s some circa 3000 level galaxy brain and I want it.

So where does this movie rank in its writing? 2/5

Conclusion:

I said at the top that for a movie to be “great” it has to meet all four elements, but to be "good” it only has to meet two, and Gunpowder Milkshake  definitely  meets two of the elements.

Where it begins faltering and falls short of being “great” is in the characters and the writing, which is a shame because the brilliance of the cast and the genuinely engaging and breathtaking aesthetic deserved to be in a movie that can be called great.

I would love a sequel to this movie that does flesh out the relationships better, provide more depth to the characters, and allows for the writing to match the quality of the cast/aesthetic.

So what is my total ranking for this film? 3.5/5

It’s good, and I will definitely watch it again and recommend it to people, but it so easily could have been great.

[mtherhino]

One side, Two lives

Chapter nine

Nothing but a bad memory

First Previous Next

Warnings: swearing and eating disorder

Roman had woken up feeling awful and tired. He looked over at his clock and saw that it was three am. He had went to sleep at midnight.

Get up already you piece of shit. Roman sighed heavily. The voice practically never left him alone at this point.

           Roman was a pretty tolerant person. He put up with a lot even though he didn’t think he it. So the fact that he was actually annoyed and angry at this voice spoke volumes.

You know you’re a real fucking jackass sometime. Roman said as he got out of bed and headed towards his closet.

Well theres no way I could be worse than you, though that isn’t a very high bar is it? Roman paused as he was grabbing his jacket, not being able to say anything in response.

No witty retort for that huh? That’s because you know its true.

“Shut up” Roman growled to the darkness. This had become an unpleasant routine for the light side. Wake up, be insulted, pretend to eat, work on projects, workout till he felt like he might break, and then work on his projects again until he passes out. Then repeat the next day.

           Roman took a deep breath to calm himself down, he knew listening to voice wasn’t helpful for others so he tried his best not to listen. Though it did get hard when he agreed with it.

Enough talking, since I’m up early I might as well get things done. Roman though as he finished getting ready for the day and went over to his desk. He already had the next three videos planed out and scripted so he didn’t have much assigned work to do. Never the less he still pulled out his laptop and started typing out ideas that could work.  

           * time skip

Roman sighed and leaned back in his chair. He just finished writing out the next video, all he had to do now is finish putting the script together. He got up to stretch and checked the time. He was a bit surprise to see it was already nine am.

“Shit, I didn’t think it would take me that long.” The prince cursed to himself.

This is why you have to wake up early. Sleeping is a waste of time since you clearly don’t have the skill it takes to get your work done like a normal person. The voice said inside his head.

“Ya I guess you have a point.” Roman said as he brushed some of the stray hairs out of his face. His stomach growled which kinda surprised him. Geez how long has it been since I last ate? Roman tried to think and realize he hadn’t eaten in three days. Well shit, guess I have to eat today.

Technically you don’t have too. The voice said in a cruel tone. Roman rolled his eyes. I don’t want to but if I don’t I’ll pass out and I need to finish this script. The voice grumbled and that was as close as it ever came to agreeing with Roman.  

           The creative side walked out of his room and down the stairs. He didn’t hear anyone else up so he didn’t bother to shape shift yet. He walked into the still dark kitchen and went to grab an apple from a boll on the counter. Kinda odd that Patton isn’t up yet. Maybe he’s taking a second chill day or something. Roman thought to himself.

           He looked down at the apple in his hand and his face twisted in disgust. The idea of eating, it was just, not fun. It’s hard to explain. He felt like he was going to eat poison instead of normal food. Like eating would cause him some sort of disease. It’s just an apple, come on Roman. The creative side took a bite of the apple and chewed. Dammit why must this be so hard.

The prince somehow finished the apple and threw away the pit. He went back to his room and went over to his mirror. He had been rather cautious with going into the imagination ever since the voice had come back. It always got so much louder there that Roman had a hard time remembering that the voice was in his mind and not a person talking right next to him. Roman shook his head and walked through the door. Today the imagination was a bit cloudier but the prince simply smiled at the dark clouds. Unlike most he never saw rain as a bad thing like most people did. To him the rain was calm and beautiful, something that kept the plants and animals alive.

The prince started off towards a shoreline he and his brother had made when they where younger. Right next to the water sat a large cliff and today Roman’s goal was to climb it. It made for a good workout and the danger of it all was just fun to the princely character. Once he finishes his short jog the shore he looked up at the might mountain cliff. It was hard to quite see the top from his point of view and it made the creative side smile at the challenge.

           The adventurer started his climb, summoning some gloves and sneakers to make it ever so slightly easier. He was already in a more adventuresome outfit, jeans and an old shirt and jacket, but he had a certain pair of sneakers that where specifically for this. He started his way up (not using a rope but meh, who needs them) and was making decent time, especially considering his lack of sleep and food recently.

When he was half way up he looked out at the view before him. The early morning sun was shining through the clouds and onto the water making it sparkle, the wind carrying the smell of the sea. Roman smiled, he used to come here a lot when he and his brother where younger, it was one of the first places they had made.

 The memories where nice until they reach a certain point. Roman grimaced slightly, he didn’t like to think back to what happened, but the voice had brought those thoughts back to the fore front of his mind. He’s just a voice now, calm down. Roman told himself and tried to refocus on his task at hand.

Keep telling yourself that. The voice said, nearly making the prince loose his grip. He had been so lost in thought that he forgot the voice could hear everything he was thinking.

           Shut up. You’re nothing but a bad memory at this point, you have no power over me. Roman practically growled in his mind as he started to climb faster.

Do you really think that? Roman didn’t respond but kept climbing. Because he wasn’t sure. Ever since the voice had re appeared the red side had felt a feeling of dread. He didn’t like to think about the feeling too much, summing it up the feeling to unpleasant memories coming back. He shook his head and looked up, he was getting close to the top of the cliff at this point which put a small bit of ease into the prince’s mind.

           Roman was pretty tired when he finally pulled himself up to the top of the cliff. Not eating enough was starting to catch up to him and the thought made said side scowl. He sat up a little and looked around. The top of the cliff was covered in green grass that swayed in the wind and the tree line was only a few meters away. In total in was a rather lovely and calm place to be.

Maybe one of these days I’ll take Virgil here, I bet he would love the fireflies that come out at night.Roman smiled a bit at that thought, and looked up at the slightly stormy clouds. It looked like it would rain any minute and the creative side was glad he had finished his climb before that happened.

            He laid down on his back and tried to catch his breath, he was more tired than he thoughts he would be. As he looked behind him he saw a mountain in the distance and looked away. He absolutely hated that place even though he was the one who made it. That was the last place he had seen- just before he could finish the that thought a drop of rain fell on his nose.

A light rain started so the prince decided it was time to head back. He walked back to his door that was part of an ancient looking tree that was on the edge of the meadow. The entire way there the voice chastised the red side about being tired and not being strong enough. By the time Roman was back in his room his self esteem was extremely low. He changed into a pair of jeans and a comfy T-shirt and threw his now soaked outfit into a corner.

He wanted to throw himself onto his bed however sadly he knew he had work to do; but first he had to change his bandages.

His ribs were pretty much healed at this point so Roman hadn’t seen a problem with doing a bit of adventuring. He saw that it was 12 at this point and it felt like his day was dragging on forever. The prince sighed and went over to look at the work on his desk. The video he was working on was pretty simple, just Thomas having fun with his friends doing a few different challenges that have to do with musicals. He figured that he could give himself a little break and went to go get water for him and Alexander. He was certain that the others would be up at this point so he shapeshifter just a bit and made his clothes look a little bit nicer.

Man I’m using up a lot of energy today with summoning. Roman thought as he sighed and fixed his hair just a bit. He straitened his posture and strolled into the room unsurprised to see Logan writing something down at the table.

“Hey specks, what do you think of todays fine morning?” The princely character said with a faked smile. He grabbed two glasses of water and went to sit at the table. The logical side responded without even looking up from his work.

“Not bad, I was able to finish up my work pretty early so I decided to start on some of my own projects.”  A small smile was on the logical side’s face which made the prince curios. So he stood up and looked at the notebook in hand and saw a familiar creature drawn onto the page.

“How do you know about zip lions?” The creative side asked, clear confusion written on his face. Logan finally looked up.

“A zip lion?”  Roman nodded

“That’s what your drawing isn’t it? That’s clearly a drawing of Suzan, only her main looks like that.” Roman said tapping the part of the drawing that had a very fluffy main.

“So that’s what they’re  called.” Logan said looking back at his drawing. “Suzan was very nice by the way.” Roman went to go sit back in his chair.

“Yah but how do you even know her?” The logical side shrugged.

“Remus took me to the imagination yesterday.” Romans eyes went wide and he could never let up the opportunity to tease people.

“Wow didn’t know you and Remus went on a date.” Roman said with a smirk. Logan’s face turned bright red as he looked up from his notebook. He struggled to find anything to say. It was pretty funny to watch, the same Logan who almost always had something to say was speechless and that was quite the accomplishment in Roman’s book.

“Calm down I was just messing with you.” Roman said. He liked messing with his friends but he didn’t want to ruin Remus’s chances with the nerd. Logan re adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

“Well it most certainly wasn’t a date but it was nice. Your brother is quite the interesting person Roman.” Logan said with a soft smile. Roman smiled. He definitely has a crush on Remus. Of course instead of saying that the prince faked gaged.

“Hearing complements about my brother is killing me.” Logan rolled his eyes. The prince got up and stretched, though it did hurt his side a bit.

“Well, I have script to finish. Bye specks.” Logan nodded to him and Roman went back to his room. He gave the water to Alexander and the fly trap gave a sound similar to purring. The creative side smiled and petted the plant’s head a few times before going over to his desk. He finished up his work relatively quickly and putt his materials away. He didn’t have much else to do so he decided that he would just watch some Disney shows.

           After selecting Gravity Falls the creative side jumped into his bed and wrapped himself in a blanket. Since the day had been rather stressful he decided that he would try to relax before Patton called them all to get dinner. As the prince fell asleep the voice started to think. He absolutely hated Roman but he needed him for the mean time to make his plan work. Just you wait Roman, one day, you’ll be the one that’s nothing but a bad memory.

That took a while to write. Anyways I hope you’re all thoroughly worried for the future. It’s a lot of fun to make scenes creepy and stuff. Well, that all for now humans, have a good day, bye!

Tag list:

@lovelivingmydreams

[my-makeshift-masquerade]

You do the in-house artstyle for pokemon so well it looks like official art at first glance! Your Emi art looks like a concepts for an upcoming game npc sometimes.

Thank you for the encouragement! (That’s what my therapist told me to say whenever I get a compliment, because I have a bad habit of denying them!)

Anyway, I guess I am what you would call a “style chameleon”, which is a somewhat controversial thing to be in the art world from what I’ve heard. Essentially, it means I am extremely skilled at emulating other art styles. I have taken inspiration from a wide variety of artists and art styles for about 16 years now! Everything from the drawings in scientific textbooks to pokémon and anime, from renaissance art to classic disney animation… I studied it all!

Note the word “studied” used in that last sentence. This has nothing to do with tracing over other people’s art. (Tracing can be a great way to get practice in motor skills and muscle memory; just don’t steal!) Studying an art style is different than copying it blindly. You have to sit there and wonder why the artist used that shape, that form of shading, that pose, etc. You take note of every little thing and how they all blend together into patterns, until you can eventually imitate it yourself!

A couple art professors I met told me this was “cheap” and “unoriginal” to do, but I beg to differ. If you learn the techniques and strategies behind multiple art styles, that only adds to your creative abilities! I mix and match things I’ve learned from all sorts of sources to create my own unique art styles. Who says you can’t combine renaissance anatomy with animated features? Who says you can’t merge aspects of technical drawing with surrealism? The point of art is that there aren’t supposed to be any limits.

I think people assume me emulating art styles means I don’t draw anything but carbon copies of other styles, but that isn’t exactly true. Heck, look at my Don’t Starve artwork! Half of it isn’t even in the games Burton-esque style! That was when my style was very freeform and I am honestly debating whether Emi and my future OCs would look better in that loose style I love doing. It just seems people like my ability to imitate the in house style though, so I am worried deviating from it would make my art less “pokémon”?

[nemo-of-house-hamartia]

Hi there Nemo! I wanted to ask, if you have any pointers on working up to confidence to share your AC OCs so beautifully? I really admire seeing you be so open about them. I have 3 (though one is technically a loose self insert shhh) and I want to share their stories and about relations to their loves (one is with Shay & the other Basim) but I cannot never bring myself to take that next step. I can’t draw & I’m much too doubtful to fully write out their stories by chapters. But I really admire what you do, and i guess what I’m getting at is that I appreciate seeing someone enjoy shipping OCs with canon characters again. It warms my heart. I hope I can one day join you in that confidence again. <3

- Faye

Good Morning to you, dear Faye!

Thank you so much for your ask!

Brace yourself because I am about to write you an essay (and hopefully I will manage to help you a little bit! 💗💗)

As for pointers I can give to you on how to build up the confidence to share your ocs to the world, allow me to report my experience. 

I have been writing about OCs ever since I was a tiny lassie of 10, since Star Wars: The Phantom Menace came out in 1999.

Throughout the years, I jumped back and forth between sharing my own OCs (mostly in the form of artworks, because I wasn't confident enough with my writing skills) and just quietly hiding away with them in my burrow, where no one would ever know about them.

But in the long run, I started to feel sad about it and grew restless. Because I wanted so much to share what I had with others, to be able to talk and joke and just discuss about them, but not only about my own, but about others’ as well! 😁😁

I always loved talking about OCs with people, because I just adore seeing the way people create a whole new persona to see some of their dreams realized through them!

It’s something absolutely endearing, to see the passion and the life that literally sparks with people when they share about them.

it’s just something so beautiful, I could spend days listening to them talking about our fictional babies!

But I was scared and afraid that, if I were to share them, people would attack me and tear me down for not making them good enough, too bland, too Mary Sue-ish (and gods, I fucking hate that term, if I could I would fucking ban it, because it's fucking useless and nowadays it’s misused so much, istg).

To be honest with you, sometimes I still have that fear that someone will come and destroy me with their words.

But when this fear gets me, I take a moment to pause, take a deep breath and remember one thing:

I write for the fun of it. I write the story I want to read. I write because all I want is to have fun with the characters and just go down my road, while not bothering anyone in the process.

Whether people like what I do or not, it's on them, not on me. I don’t have power over their thoughts or their actions.

I can only offer what I have to offer and always try to offer my best, and even in that case what I have to give will not be of everyone���s liking, because we are all different and we all have different tastes and interests.

And that’s absolutely fine!

But there is still not much I can do about it!

I cannot change my vision, my creativity, for the sake of an audience, especially in regards to OCs and FanFictions, because it would mean catering to them and not to myself.

And that’s not what fanfictions and OCs are all about, in my most humble opinion.

They are stories to be enjoyed, first and foremost, by us writers, because they are OUR stories.

That’s my mindset most of the time.

If people like what I write, It would truly fill me with joy, and, of course, I'd truly be grateful for it, because validation is always nice to receive, and I would be a hypocrite to say that it isn’t.

It’s human and it’s valid, especially when we share something where we literally pour our soul into.

But that doesn’t have to let you sway from who is the first person that needs to find joy in their characters and story: YOU.

When I post a story on Tumblr or on AO3, I do check the kudos and comments, like anyone.

But if I see that what I write was not received as I thought it would, I don’t lose courage.

I just roll up my sleeves and go on on my own path. Of course, I will always try to improve, try to get better, because as humans and writers and artists, the journey of learning is never-ending. But I do it because I want to become a better artist/writer for myself. I want to become a better version of myself! 😁😁

I also try to stay positive as much as I can. But I also have to admit that I have a net of friends that always helps me get up whenever I fall down and feel drained or insecure, and that surely helped me in the confidence department.

If you need a friend in that regard, someone to share your Ocs with, know that my DMs and Asks are always open! 💗💗

And also, in regard to the fact that one of your OCs is a self-insert: it's absolutely valid, just like any other OCs you have created.

You see, I do believe that, when creating OCs, we do infuse them with a part of our souls (first of all because they are indeed an extension of ourself and second of all because, on a more practical level, it's much easier for us to write about what we know than what it's stranger to us).

So never EVER be ashamed about one of your OCs being a self-insert, because, in my personal opinion, All OCs are to an extent and there is truly nothing wrong with that. (I mean, to make a practical example: my Dottie and Lucia are both introverted bookworms, and I wonder where that particular trait comes from? *points at self* Plus, OF COURSE, I WANT TO IMAGINE A ROMANCE WITH JACOB AND FEDERICO, HELL YEAH! - And no one can take that away from me! LEMME BE AS HAPPY AS A PIG IN THE MUD AND ENJOY THOSE TWO HANDSOME GENTLEMEN!! 💗💗)  

So you want to express your creativity, your ideas, your love for the character, and the game through a self-insert? Valid. Absolutely valid.

Through an OC? Valid.

I’d definitely say to go for it.

You are not sure you want to write a full chapter story? Go for one shots with an already established relationship between the oc and the canon character and write small moments between them. Truly do as your heart wishes, because no one can take that away from you.💗💗

I hope I managed to ease your worries, at least a little bit.

And Know that I have your back, Faye.

OCs deserve more love and appreciations.

AND I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL ALONE IF I MUST.

--Nemo

[dawna-the-daring]

Dawna the Daring

Information

Name: Dawna Annabelle Walthomew Nobel

Tilte: Dawna the Daring

Rank: High Noble

Species: Shapeshifter/Faye Mage

Nicknames: Dawn, D, StarLight, Favorite, Silver Knight, Morning Light, Moonchild/Moonbeam, Hope

Aliases: Diana, Dee, Delilah, Debra, Dot, Donnie, Deeadra. Depending on the time period or mission depends on the alias used. All names start with D to acknowledge the first name she was ever given

Multiple possible ships: Hisirdoux Casperan, Bular the Butcher, James the Changeling (o.c), Delilah the Deadly (o.c), Kelpy the Kindred (o.c), Noble the Nifty (o.c), Steve Palchuck, Claire Nuñez, and Jim Lake Jr.

[Can also be shipped with one of your o.c's if discussed and agreed with]

Stats

Intelligence: Very High

Fighting Skills: High

Magic Level: High

Strength: Above Average

Speed: High

Durability: Above Average

Profile

Age: 916 years

Gender: Female (Fluctuates)

Sexuality: Pansexual genderfluid

Weight: 210 lbs

Heigth: 5'8"

Skin Color: White

Ethnity: Camelot (European)

Hair color: Hazelnut Brown (Can change)

Eye color: Green (Can change)

Background

Weapons training: Dawn typically uses her magic in a fight but in cases where magic isn't practical she has extensive battle training from the Order, the Gum Gums, and the Trollhunters/Gunmars Resistance. She can use just about any weapon but her magic split blades are her favorite and what she's most comfortable with. One is named after herself and the other her sister (Dawn and Dusk) as they are twin blades that are split.

Dawn watched the Round Table train and learned how to weild a sword that way. She is also proficient in knife/dagger throwing. Can weild an axe and throw a spear with great aim. She can also use a bow and arrow though she doesn't like them as much. Anything around her can be technically be used as a weapon but that doesn't mean it's an effective one.

Abilities

- Dawn is a powerful mage who learned magic during Camelots golden age. Merlins books and teachings helped her but sneaking out from the castle and exploring the woods around Camelots walls allowed her to truly learn magic for herself and what it means too her as a mage. She is most powerful with elemental spells as she learned from the woods and not a proper teacher. She has trouble with things like teleportation, telekinesis, and transmutation spells/hexes unless the spell she uses is connected to elemental magic.

- Her elemental magic attracts animals. She is good at calming stressed/angry animals as they can sense her magic and trust her. She can not speak directly to animals but she has an understanding of what their saying/feeling when they talk to her. If she listens closey enough plants also emit feelings and tell stories.

- Knows many different languages as after Camelots fall she took the time to explore the world. Has a slight accent but does a good job in sounding like a local. Strickler also taught her several codes like morse and tap that they use to have conversations during boring meetings.

- She is very knowledgeable on subjects like math, science, history, psychology, philosophy, biology, art history, anthropology, sociology, and many other subjects. She loves learning and often reads for hours at a time in her freetime. She absorbs knowledge like a sponge and one of her favorite past times is to listen to someone tell stories of their culture/past. Listening to others inspires her own creativity. She could sit and listen to Nomura, Strickler, and Otto's stories all day.

- Very empathetic and kind she just wants everyone to win. Whether she's a GumGum, an Order Spy, a freelance agent, or part of the Trollhunters she knows everyone and has seen their better side. She wants to believe everyone can be redeamed. Dawn wants to bring peace and when peace isn't an option she's hesitant to kill and perfers to injure or incapacitate instead. By nature she is a loving person and this has been used against her but she refuses to let herself see kindess as a weakness even if it has hurt her.

- Dawn is very adaptable when it comes to her environment or status. It's why when she's taken into the Order she rises quickly in the Changeling ranks and becomes a spy. Throughout her long life she has lived as a princess, a noble, a hand maiden, a pauper, and for a time a servant. Going through these various statuses she has learned a lot about herself and the world. She tries to treat everyone with respect and decency depsite status.

- During the GumGum war she became an amazing strategist and spy. Her skills to shift into any form allow her easy infiltration into an enimies camp. She uses her spy skills to watch how someone fights before devising a plan to counter their style and bring them down. She's best at making her enimies fall by finding their weaknesses and using it against them.

- Borne before electronics were around, Dawn often turned to the arts for entertainment. Hundreds of years of practice makes her a talented artist and story teller/song writer. She loves drawing and writing and has made hundreds of journals over the centuries. She has met great artists who have changed history over her life. Some being William Shakespeare, Leonardo Di Vinci, Michelangelo, Donetello, Raphael, Vincent Van Gogh, Charles Dickens, Virgina Wolfe, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Frida.

Weaknesses

- Dawn usually thinks things out and takes a calculated graceful approach to her fighting but when it comes to her close friends or family she can be very impulsive. She sometimes rushes into dangerous situations head first. She's also very stubborn and often gets in trouble for her sharp tongue.

- She is very protective of her friends and family. Dawn will do anything to keep them safe and has struggled with a savior complex ever since the fall of Camelot. She deals with severe self worth problems from unaddressed feelings and this causes her to think everyone is above her and their life is worth more than hers. Dawn has gotten hurt many times because she fears loosing those closest to her.

- Dawn has severe memory probelms from trauma and magical accidents/incidents. This leaves her vunerable to manipulation and can make her gullible at times. She is not naive and is often able to figure out who is her true ally and who is not but it can be hard to realise what's happening if she feels she's surrounded by friends/family. The Order especially her designated guardian or mentor Strickler have made it hard for her know what's right and what's wrong.

- Since she has been hurt and manipulated most of her life Dawna struggles with sharing things. Secrets are a common occurence and this can cause tension in a group setting. She keeps much of her past hidden and feels guilty about the secrets she hides but feels her friends/family would abandon her if they knew how she really felt and what she's been through.

- When she's hurt she often ignores it and lets the problem get worse because she doesn't want to address it. Her friends often have to drag her to a healer for treatment. This causes a lot of problems. She struggles with opening up so if she admits she's hurt or lets you bandage/heal her it means she trusts you far more than she'll admit.

- As a shapeshifter Dawn can shapeshift into anyone. After joining the Order her powers are put to use for infiltration/spying. Wanting to impress her higher ups Dawn often took her assignments too seriously and forgets who she is. She has identity problems and this can cause her great distress. However she has found ways to cope with this and Otto helped her master her powers so she'd control them and they wouldn't control her.

- After the Fall of Camelot, growing up in the Order Dawn has suffered many punishments for messing up an assignment/job. Strickler and Otto shielded her from the worst of it and sometimes Nomura would take the blame for Dawn but she has a lot of unresolved trauma that is buried deep within her. She will always feel indebted to Strickler and the other changelings but she also knows the Order is not a good place for her. The only good thing that came from all the punishments she's endured is she now has a high pain tolerance and she knows how the Order works.

- Dawn's maturity often fluctuates. She goes from being a young teen to an older adult yet she's always in the body of someone inbetween. Dawn could change her shape but mentally she's still that teenager who watched Camelot fall and wasn't able to save her family before they destroyed eachother.

[leilabeaux]

In My Sights II

Masterlist | One

Pairing: Ivar/Reader

Word Count: 1885

Warning: Schmut, this part literally starts off with a bang.

Summary: Certain obligations call you back home.

Author’s Note: So much for this being a one shot.

Your hand grabbed the headboard tightly, holding on for leverage as you slammed yourself down onto Ivar over and over again. You bit down hard on your lip when you felt that sweet release slowly creeping up on you again. Trying so hard to hold back your desperate moans, you refused to let him know how badly you were falling apart. But when you felt his thumb start to circle around your clit, you were unable to stop yourself from crying out his name.

He wrapped his hand around the back of your neck, pulling you down to him. “Say it again, say my name again,” he whispered harshly into your ear as his thumb moved faster.

Your head was so cloudy from the pleasure that you found yourself willing to follow his order and repeated the cries of his name. He kissed you deeply while his hand tightened around the sides of your neck. You felt the spasms taking over your body as you became lightheaded.

Digging his head back into the pillow, Ivar groaned out loud as he came inside you after feeling your pussy clench around him. Your senses felt overloaded when he loosened his hold on you, the rush of air you were finally able to take in seemed overwhelming. You continued grinding your hips slowly against his while you both rode the aftershock of your orgasms.

You collapsed onto his chest in a sweaty mess of loose limbs. A part of you was surprised he lasted as long as he did. It seemed like he was determined to make up for all the lost time and make sure you didn’t forget him if you decided to make yourself scarce once again.

“Stay with me for once. It’s the least you could do,” he insisted, pulling you back to him when you tried to get out of bed. It was the same thing every time you two got together, he’d beg you to stay and you’d have an internal struggle while you told him no.

Feeling his arm wrap around your back, you laid your head against his chest. “Because I stole your kill?,” you guessed.

“Because you said no,” Ivar lamented softly. Taking your left hand in his own, he gently caressed your empty ring finger. “I still have the ring if you changed your mind.”

You were foolish to think he wouldn’t bring up the elephant in the room.

This is why you stayed away for so long. You knew if you kept showing up in his life that he would slowly try to wear down your resolve. At least he didn’t have the ring with him this time. It was hard enough just saying no to his hopeful face at the time and even harder saying no to the beautiful ruby stone surrounded by a diamond halo.

“Ivar, you hardly know me.” It was the same response you gave him the last time.

Other than your addiction to labels, luxury, and murder, he only knew of a few small facts you deemed safe enough for him to know. None of which you thought would cause a man to spend at least six figures on the perfect piece of jewelry for you.

“Well if you marry me, then I can spend the rest of my life getting to know you,” he contended as he interlaced his fingers with yours.

“How about we just enjoy the next few hours?” You were grateful that you were looking away from him. You didn’t think you could take seeing the disappointment that you were sure was on his face.

Ivar only hummed in response. You knew this wasn’t going to be the last you would hear of this though it seemed like he was conceding for the night. The truth was that you wanted to be his wife, you wanted to wake up every morning in his arms. But you weren’t naive. You knew that the only happy ending women like you get is one where you don’t end up with a bullet in your head.

You closed your eyes and allowed yourself to be lulled by the sound of his heartbeat.

It was a faint buzzing sound that stirred you from your slumber. After a few moments of trying to wake up, you realized it was all coming from your phone. You looked down at Ivar and was thankful that he was still deeply asleep. Carefully slipping away from his hold and out of bed, you grabbed your phone before going to the bathroom for privacy.

You tried to hold back your disgust as you evaluated the room. You couldn’t understand why he would lower himself to such grimy accommodations when he had more than enough money to buy a whole luxury hotel if he wanted to. Shaking your head, you started going through your phone.

You had two missed calls from the same contact. There was no name saved under it, only a single emoji of a cross. Your finger hovered over the screen as you dreaded having to return the call. You knew the voice on the other end would be displeased over being ignored. A single message popped up just when you were about to hit call.

You are due for a confession.

Kind of early for that, ain’t it, Padre?

Do not call me that and you are due whenever I say you are due.

Fine, I’ll be there as soon as I can.

Good. I will have a plane waiting for you at the airport.

That was not good. If he knew where you were, then it was very likely he knew what you were up to. Cracking open the door, you peeked to make sure Ivar was still sleeping. So much for staying till morning.

You quickly freshened yourself up, taking care to wipe the mascara and lipstick smudges from your face, before stepping out and quietly putting your clothes back on. Gathering his clothes, braces, and crutch, you set the items by the bed so he had easy access to them.

You didn’t take a chance on kissing his goodbye, fearful that he would wake and give you too many valid reasons to stay. Hopefully, your parting gift would ease his frustration when he woke up alone.

——

You said you would be there as soon as you can but that was a lie. After your long flight back to Wessex, you decided to take a much needed soak in the bath. It was just before midnight when you texted that you were finally on your way.

Though you never missed an opportunity to get dressed up, you knew walking into the church wearing a high-end dress and a pair of pumps at this time of night could possibly draw some unwanted attention. Instead you were dressed in a well-worn University of Wessex hoodie and plain jeans. To the few people currently occupying the pews, you were just a normal college student looking for some spiritual guidance.

You entered the confessional booth and knelt down on the step, clasping your hands in prayer. “Bless me, father, for I have sinned. It has been three weeks, twelve hours, and six minutes since my last confession.”

You wondered if you had the wrong booth when all you got was silence. Usually the exchange was simple, you would say the code—twelve hours and six minutes—and then the priest passed along a memory stick containing your next assignment. The remainder of the time was spent with listing your unabsolved sins.

“Hello? Is this thing on?,” You jested, giving a few raps on the partition. When it did finally open up, you could tell it was him even though the screen obstructed most of his face. “Damn,” you softly whispered.

Heahmund stared down at you, slowly exhaling as if trying to control his annoyance. “Hello, Sister Mary Julian. I am glad you could finally join me.”

The Bishop was very careful to limit his interactions with you which you took no offense to. The rare times he made an appearance was either to make a very special request or to lecture you over your work. “So, this assignment must be a juicy one if you’re personally delivering it to me,” you hoped.

“I think we both know that there is no new assignment. I had been informed that you have been away for the past few days.” It looked like you were in for a reprimand tonight. Raising his brow at you, he continued, “Tell me, Sister, what was the purpose of your trip? And I think it is in your best interest if you do not lie to me.”

“Pleasure, mainly.” Technically, not a lie. The only reason you took the job was to see Ivar again. “Just needed a bit of R&R.”

“I found it very interesting that the son of a well known diplomat was also there getting some ‘R&R’. A diplomat who is a very generous friend of the church.”

“That is interesting.”

“And even more so that his son unfortunately died due to a severe allergic reaction.”

“Should have avoided the shellfish.”

“I did not get to that part yet.”

“Damn.”

Heahmund pinched the bridge of his nose while he roughly sighed. “While your creativity in your work does amuse me, I thought we agreed that you would not take a contract on your own. Remember I handle the clients and I pick your assignments. All for your safety. Or do I need to remind you why?”

“No.” Your hand instinctively went to scarred skin below your ribs, remembering when you first met him. You were a bloody mess, passed out at his feet after being betrayed by a client. But that was a few years ago and you felt a few years wiser now.

“Do not go behind my back again,” he warned. “Your set of skills have proved useful to me and to the church and I ensure that you are well compensated for it. We would both hate it if I had to cut ties with you now.”

Rising up from the step and brushing the dust off your knees, you were happy there was no mention of what or who else you were doing while away. Heahmund was willing to overlook the sinful acts you had to commit for work purposes but, as a bride of Christ, any personal intimate relationship was nonnegotiable especially one with a man whose family was considered an enemy of the church.

“I have not excused you. I told you that you were due for a confession.”

You didn’t care if he saw you roll your eyes as you kneeled back down. You made quick work running down the list of sins you committed since the last time you were in the booth. Murder? Check. Grinding against a married man? Check. Not dressing modestly? Check. Obsessed with material possessions? Always.

Still Heahmund held back on giving you your penance. “Anything else you might be missing?”

Your mind shifted to the image of Ivar looking up at you from his position between your thighs, his tongue flat against your clit while his hands pinned yours down on the bed. You felt yourself getting wet just from the memory alone. “No, nothing I can think of, Bishop.”

——

Tags: @youbloodymadgenius @spotgaai2000 @castielsangelsx @walkxthexmoon @multifandom0-0 @placetokeepstories

[shizukateal]

This is Skye. The idea behind their outfit is a fashionable wet suit, since they have water based powers and they have a very out there fashion sense. I still think it looks a bit plain, so I wondering if you had any suggestions on how to make t more expressive without cluttering the design

The mask stays the same because the entire team has the same mask design

Answer:

Ok, first off: great job with the cutout. Also I did not know swimming shoes were a thing, gotta keep that in mind.

I certainly don’t think this design is plain, but I see what you mean, the top is a bit bland compared to the shorts because it doesn’t have all the gold linings. Technically if you wanted you could just add those, remove the veils and have a pretty good design already, but since you clearly want those then we’ll have to get more creative. If you really want to keep the veils in that x shape on the top with the clasp, then I suggest you give them a turtleneck and long sleeves ending in points on the hands with some more gold lining to prevent if from feeling boringly monochrome.

(I apologize for my shitty paint skills, it’s the only quick way I have to explain the idea.)

This is the best idea that comes to my mind to keep it faithful to your original idea, and you can alter it however it suits you. Cut the sleeves and make them gloves, change the shapes of the gold lining, whatever you fancy. However if I’m being honest with you I would not put the veils so loosely in that formation. Either I would wrap them more tightly like they were a shawl/ scarf/etc. or I would find a way to hang them by the shoulders or neck. If I can point to a particular magical girl that does a similar thing then look up Nurse Angel Ririka.

Here’s the thing, your idea of putting them like that is not impossible to find in real life but it is unusual, and while fashion can’t evolve without some innovation if you completely detach yourself from how elements are used it’s going to make it more difficult for you to solve problems. I’m not saying this to discourage you, though. So you want to do a wetsuit, but with some new elements to make it fashionable. Great! If you don’t like the solution I posited here then go and find some references that might relate to what you’re attempting to do. There’s a ton of tight dresses with cutouts and loose gauzy fabrics. But if that’s too vague to look up then what about swimsuits with similar elements? The way you positioned the gauzes in your original drawing makes me think of art noveau necklines and sleeves on its dresses, which also tend to be loose and drape-y, maybe something about that will inspire you? Drape-like elements are also pretty common in ancient greek/roman clothes, or maybe look up something more on the middle-eastern side if you want even more gauzy drapes in fashion. How about you simplify the shape of the ribbons and turn it into a sort of cape with epaulettes or shoulder clasps?

If you like this particular idea there’s a hundred other ways you can apply it! Just tryto make sure not to block the cut out.

Lastly, I would take away the overskirt. I feel like you were inspired by the new She-ra for that, perhaps? But in that case it worked because the golden lines there were pointing to it and it wasn’t blocking anything important, here it just distracts from the cool cutout you made and honestly kinda already overstuffs the outfit, or maybe I should say that it disrupts it silhouette too much. But hey, if you like it, keep it, that’s just my opinion.

Hope this helps you!

[krayfishthetypelessblob]

I saw someone else do this so I hope it's okay to ask: what do you think of each MBTI type?

This is fine, I am always open to questions (technical or not), my responses are just occasionally a lot slower than I’d like.  Uhh no one take my responses too personally, is is going to be very subjective?

ISTJ: Unpopular opinion, but have my favorite sense of humor.  I’d prefer this type over my own, dunno why I decided to skew towards high Fe. Highly sarcastic, often 10x less organized and put together than they seem or stereotypes make them out to be.  Seem to vary between being very judgmental and almost emo in their staunch conviction to their values or seem to not give 2 shits about anything....  I know a lot of 9 core ISTJs.  Should be given the cooking stereotype that ISFJ has, lots of very angry bakers in this category.

INTJs: I’ve only met/confirmed them through the internet.  Again, same morbid/dry sense of humor as the above, fantastic to conversate with.  Similarly to ISTJ, not half as calculating as they’re made out to be.  Tend to be very outwardly disagreeable but with the capacity for being sympathetic and reasonable.  Seem to rate themselves as very logical, but more moved by their values and feelings than they expect.  

ESTJs:  Tend to avoid me and I tend to avoid them purely because we both seem to respect that we’d probably never agree on anything and we think very differently.  Very likable function stack in theory.  Inferior Fi is stil a lot edgier than you’d expect it to be and also incredibly stubborn.  This is my brothers type, if paired with cp6 and 7 have no patience for anyone’s opinions but their own nor anyone trying to control them by any means.  Only rule oriented when they agree with the rules.  Tend to have a streak of paranoia.  I value them in work settings because even though they sometimes get really stubborn are often reasonable people.

ENTJ: My only conception of this type is my great grandma, who is both an 8w9 and soc blind to add on to this type, and an close old friend of mine, who was 8w7 so/sp core.  Tert Se is quite a drug I’ll tell you.  I suppose they’re likely more reasonable without the 8?  Force of nature, hella interesting, fairly self righteous though.  Stubborn as an ox.

ISTP: The embodiment of cool.  Every one of the ISTPs I’ve met has been a walking stereotype.  Machines?  Check.  Sk8bords? If not, they vibe like the punk who would ride one.  Generally likable and even keeled, high Se makes up for lackluster Fe in my opinion.   I envy their ability to work in the real world, often highly creative too in their endevours. 

INTP: Tend to be drastic introverts, but very interesting to talk to.  Tend to be fairly self righteous, but realistically they have some leway with that because they typically know what they’re talking about?  Really cute when they are talking about things that they’re interested in because you can just tell that they’re really interested and they loose themselves in that despite their apathy.

ESTP: Generally, I initially really hate this type among first meeting them because I really grate with Se.  After speaking to them for more than like a week though, I typically feel a strong draw to them.  Se is such a weird function and very counter to everything that I’ve worked with, incredibly interesting to speak with about how they experience the world.  Their mind is just as quick as they are at adapting and working on their feet.  My closer friends have been of this type.

ENTP: Another one who is really cute when they talk about their interests, often a massive dork.  Tend to give more of a shit about people than they think they do, though they struggle to accept this aspect of themselves I guess.  Often think they’re the of pinickle of knowledge but struggle to understand the difference between a value judgement and their own logic sometimes.  Engaging conversator, loves sharing their opinions, another quick thinker. Intelligent dumbass is a really good description.

ISFJ: Give or take.  Either the nicest person you’d ever meet or a skilled manipulator.  Often very competent, often just as passive.  

INFJ: I actually know very few of these types, and most of them have a 7 fix or influence.  It’s just really weird because they are thrill seeking but slow af.  Either a 7 page paragraph for every thought or like... They won’t explain anything because they “just know” and the latter annoys me a lot.  Don’t like to admit they’re wrong, but great/interesting to conversate with in general.

ESFJ: Another give or take.  Have a strange capacity to be the most horrifying person you’ll ever meet.  Another case of self-righteous syndrome sometimes.  There are actually some reasonable members of this type though that I find really likeable because of their enthusiasm and their empathy (when they genuinely have it and aren’t just saying they’re an empath).  My mother is this and I get along with her as well, she’s fairly logical though/understands where her emotions end and are open to others feeling differently.  

ENFJ: I actually don’t usually get along with this type unless they have a 2 fix, and more often it’s a 3 fix.  I’m not sure why, I just find them annoying?  I had a friend who was this type and he was really cool and likable (2w3 so/sp core), deep and ethical thinking, bit of a sjw but I could get past that.  3 core ENFJ is the worst combination for type (purely in terms of my ability to tolerate them), I’m sorry if this applies to you.  Nontheless, I enjoy high Fe enthusiasm in general.

ISFP: Chill, genuiine, and artsy, often either very creative or very... Ditsy.  Often incredibly loyal and a big fan of the underdog and more than willing to accommodate them.  Very inclined to be a 9 core.  Rock music fans.  Generally very easy to like, but can also be very self absorbed and touchy.  Their world view is very much based on how they feel about things, but that’s just Fi in general I guess.  Very easy to manipulate.

INFP: The above is basically true for INFP, except INFPs are less chill.  They tend to think they’re chill, but they’re often not (with a few exceptions).  Another deep conversator that I enjoy at 1 am in particular.

ESFP: I’ve made one good friend with this type and I’d think we are almost complete opposites.  I have the same sort of issue with them I have with ESTP, Se just grates me.  Tend to project a lot, but are often really well meaning and creative.  Really enjoy philosophy, also tend to have a cute kind of enthusiasm when they let it show.  Either emo and adventurous or loud and comedic, I find very little in between

ENFP: Another very intelligent dumbass in the sense that they can explain a theory to you flawlessly then accidentally walk off a cliff.  Sometimes think they’re the pinikle of logic, but conflate knowing a lot with being logical.  Can be an interesting conversator, but can also be drastically self absorbed and self righteous, primarily if they’re 3 fixed.   Fairly interesting to interact with, often fairly neat takes on things.  Members of this type who aren’t my father are often very likable.  

[irarelypostanything]

The Myth of Genius (?)

I just watched Iron Man 2 (finally), a movie in which Elon Musk has a cameo.  Stark is a genius - he has the charisma and underutilized singing ability of Robert Downey Jr., he can invent time travel like it’s nothing, and he has a seemingly infinite wealth of knowledge in everything from physics, to computer science, to fictional science.  Maybe I’m reading too much into the Elon Musk scene, but it felt like he was a nod to the viewer: He served to remind us that even though Stark is a fictional character, there ARE geniuses out there.

Wisecrack just made a video called “The Myth of Genius,” which highlights some of the extremely dumb things supposed geniuses have done throughout history, draws limitations on individual areas of expertise, cites a popular, comprehensive study that proved the IQ test was a poor predictor of success, then ends with the thesis that there may not be a such thing as genius.

If I could talk to Jared, the narrator and co-writer, right now, I imagine our conversation would go a little like this:

Me: What about John von Neumann?  He learned calculus at the age of eight.  

Jared: I think you’re missing the point…

Me: You’re saying that geniuses are restricted to one area of expertise.  John von Neumann invented game theory, published his first math paper at age 18, made incredible contributions to the modern-day computer, and provided physics insight in the Manhattan Project

Jared: The purpose of this video wasn’t to suggest that individuals are restricted to one area, but to suggest that they have limitations

Me: How dare you

In all seriousness….

So maybe on one side of the spectrum, you have fictional characters like Stark - they can basically invent anything, for plot convenience, as well as to appeal to the natural human desire to watch someone who’s unquestionably competent.  Somewhere else, you have people like John von Neumann and Elon Musk.  All this video is really saying is that Elon Musk is no Tony Stark, that he has certain abilities developed through lots of deliberate practice.

I think that there definitely ARE geniuses, but I use the term rather loosely.  I think John von Neumann was a genius, but I also think my old tech lead is a genius for the conversion library he wrote, my old scrum master is a genius for his encyclopedic knowledge of C++, a Harvard graduate I know is a genius, the guy at church who writes his own music is a genius, and the person I knew in 8th grade who took community college classes is a genius.  Maybe that’s its own philosophy, or maybe it’s a simple abuse of the word.

There is, perhaps, an implication in this video that genius is just another name for hard work...but I think we all know there is a little more to the story than that.  Focus is an underlying ability, a mix of motivation, clear thinking, and the ability to use habit and ritual to make continued learning a priority.  There are also people who have the ability to draw connections in seemingly unrelated fields, and use that to their advantage.  This might be a stretch, but a hypothetical example might be someone who’s really good at music realizing that writing is similar.  Writing, they might reason, actually employs rhythm and changes of tone in an “auditory” sort of way, and the best writing is writing that has a distinct sound.  Most people would never associate the two, but creative people might.

Maybe a better example is people who figure out piano makes them really good at typing, but that’s a little bit less of a creative stretch.

If we don’t have so-called geniuses to draw inspiration from, the entire learning process and “deliberate practice” becomes a little bit more tedious.  If we believe we can become geniuses, then maybe there is a myth...but it’s a myth that still may be worth upholding.

******

I think that the education system is really good at measuring intelligence.  IQ tests are good at that as well, but intelligence itself is a very limiting way to characterize potential.

In every field, there is a collection of required skills that are never taught in school.  In healthcare, for example, it’s the ability to demonstrate compassion.  In software, it’s the ability to get a reading on people, particularly customers, and to understand what it is they’re really excited about.  This, and many other things, are hard to boil down to intelligence.  A technical person might be brilliant in the technical realm, but he/she still needs to gauge what technical things so-called “non-technical” people are interested in.  Without this, entire projects can be cut.

There are these two people I encountered, briefly, who are currently heading a research project.  I didn’t understand their core infrastructure, and still don’t, but noticed an obvious bug in their web design and submitted a potential fix.  These two might be called geniuses, if not brilliant, each with numerous publications pertaining to computer architecture.

They accepted the change graciously and, however briefly, made me feel like I was part of their community.  From the time I worked the fix, to the subsequent code review, to the merge, it’s like I was treated as an equal.

I think THAT’S the thing a lot of teams are missing.  We raise people up in school, and try to convince them that they’re all special, that they all might one day be the best...and some of them are, but we use things like participation awards to try to make everyone feel special.  What’s missing from the equation is that what’s really required is collaboration.  Good leaders don’t do everything themselves, they take on their own part and do it well, but what’s important is that they inspire others to move with them.

And probably, if there may not even be such a thing as genius, it’s okay not to be a genius.  What matters are the combined efforts, those who are inspired to follow, and how much the structure invites, rather than rejects, continuous support and a diverse set of knowledge.