#avatar x golden compass

[naavispider]

OMG OMG OMG

I remember reading an idea sort of like this ages ago. But I can’t remember if it was an avatar fic or smth else 💀

have you ever seen the golden compass? The movie with the spirit animal daemon things???? well, I rewatched that yesterday and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

so, imagine Spider’s daemon spends his entire childhood flicking through forms. The first being a gigantic spider, and the second a blond, shaggy furred dog. Only, when (insert daemons name here) finally settles, he’s a beautiful orange tiger.

this, at first, would be wonderful. (Both bc tigers r fucking cool and second bc it has symbolism from the start of the first movie when tigers are brought back from extinction - it would be the first time Jake or any other humans see a true orange tiger).

BUT BUT BUT‼️ when quaritch was alive his form was ALSO a tiger - a white one - with the same gruesome three-strike scar along its eye m. Bc I’ve decided daemons and humans share scars.

OR OR OR‼️‼️‼️ spiders daemon settles in a desperate attempt to protect him when they meet the recoms for the first time‼️‼️‼️ AAAAAAAAA

I would imagine that Navi don’t have daemons. And they don’t understand the connection between daemon and human. So, therefore, spider doesn’t really get it either. He just sees his worst fear realised and believes his daemon is betraying him.

THIS ALSO MEANS‼️‼️ Recoms might have Pandora daemons‼️ I would imagine some of them would have ikrans as their daemon, zdog would defo have one of those purple bat things and Lopez would have a viper wolf I don’t make the rules. But quaritch would definitely have a giant thanator.

and when they are being pulled up into the ship- or any other time ig - Quaritch’s thanator (who is male, spiders daemon is also - pretty sure it’s like uncommon for daemons to be the same sex as the holder but that’s just how I pictured them) would totally have spiders daemon held by his scruff in his mouth that would be so cute.

ALSO ALSO OMG IM HAVING SO MANY JDEAS JUST WRITING THIS. They would torture spider INSTEAD OF THE MACHINE - they would try to separate him from his daemon like they do in the golden compass ‼️

My original idea was for humans to be shapeshifters. Mainly bc I totally wanted that held bu the scruff scene - but it’s actually quaritch doing it not his daemon. But also, the idea of a thanator daemon grooming a growly tiger daemon is so cute to me.

daemons show people’s true emotions. So spiders daemon is definitely as scared at the beginning, but visibly relaxes very quickly I’d assum - especially around quaritch. And I totally want an over protective thanator pacing the outskirts of their camp every night - lingering on the place spider is sleeping.

sorry for rambling, legit typed this out in three minutes I was so enthusiastic I was shaking. I have another idea from ages ago that I still need to type up - just bc I wanna share ♥️♥️

Hellooo old friend 💞

Firstly I'm soooo sorry it has taken me this long to respond. Life's been crazy and I've got a promotion/new job which is draining all my mental energy. I've not really been able to write anything at all in the past few weeks and it's making me sad 😭

This prompt is incredible and I 100% agree with the imagery of Quaritch's daemon holding Spider's by the scruff of the neck 😭 I don't have names for them (but I think Spider's one would be a girl) so here's some headcanons.

Quaritch's daemon is a thanator and Spider's is a tiger. As they are both full sized I think this makes for a very interesting concept. Spider's daemon settled after a huge argument with Neytiri a few years ago when she banned him from coming round. (They got over the argument like in the comics but ever since then Spider has an added resentment towards Neytiri because he was desperately hoping his daemon would settle as a creature from Pandora. He feels that if they never fought then he wouldn't be 'shackled' with an Earth daemon, which only adds to his 'alienness' in the clan's eyes.)

At the beginning of the movie Quaritch is almost sure straight away about who Spider is, because the daemon is a dead give away. (I don't know the lore from Golden Compass if characters are like,, born with their daemon or what, but in this AU the fact that Spider's is a tiger is a major give away for Quaritch).

"Miles?" He asks when suddenly a tiger emerges, growling, from the bushes to protect Spider.

Spider has seen enough of Q's video logs to recognise him, too.

The kids are not only surrounded by a dozen recoms but also all of their daemons. Z-dog's is a viperwolf, which pins Tuk down on the ground while Prager's prolemuris attacks Lo'ak. Wainfleet still grabs Kiri and works out that they are Sully's kids.

"Let them go!" Spider yells as he lunges for Wainfleet and his tiger launches itself at Z-dog's viperwolf.

Then, Quaritch's daemon emerges from the trees, silencing the kids with its presence. It goes straight for Spider's tiger, pinning it down easily. Spider yelps as he feels the bite of the thanator around his daemon's jugular. Quaritch commands the thanator to ease up a bit, but still keeping the tiger trapped.

"How are you alive?" Spider growls.

"Your daddy backed up his memories. All his personality too. It was all saved onto a drive and uploaded into... me."

"Let them go..!" (he's struggling because of the thanator's grip on his daemon)

Quaritch smirks, turning his back on his son as he radios command.

Cut to the parents arriving and all hell breaking loose. Q's thanator releases Spider's tiger when a blast goes off right next to them. Spider and his daemon run like Hell. The tiger is only slightly faster than Spider, but the thanator is in hot pursuit. (once again my lack of knowledge about the golden compass lets me down because idk how far Quaritch and his thanator can be separated, but let's say Quaritch catches up fast). When the blast causes Spider to fall down the bank he is initially knocked out but his tiger isn't, and stands guard to protect him, growling, when Q approaches.

The tiger tries to fight the thanator, but ofc is easily overpowered because of the size of the thanator.

Spider is groaning slightly as Quaritch pulls him over his shoulders, but he's too out of it from the fall to be able to prevent himself being carried off

He is aware that he can't see his daemon, and suddenly panic sets in. He knows the recoms could easily hurt her to hurt him.

The adrenaline kicks in enough for him to lift his head and scour the forest through weary eyes - his tiger is being carried in the jaws of Quaritch's thanator a few paces behind them. "Get off!" he tries to yell.

(don't ask me how the daemons are lifted into the demon ship)

At first, Spider and the tiger are thrown into the same cell. They huddle together for warmth at night and the tiger does a good job scratching up the door and tearing down the security camera.

The only person who can handle the two of them is Quaritch, because of his daemon, so it's a struggle to get Spider into the Neuroscanner, and there are some nasty fights between the tiger and the thanator, resulting in a lot of pain for Spider.

The neuroscanner is useless though because spider doesn't give them anything, so eventually they decide to bypass the ethics board and separate Spider from his daemon. Quaritch does not know about this (and like in the golden compass) enters just in time to see them doing this to his son. He's able to stop Ardmore and eventually Q convinces her to let him take Spider out into the field.

When Spider is faces with seeing Q again, he has the full stoic facade, but his tiger is trying not to cower and is trembling. Q sees this and takes even more pity on Spider, his heart breaking for him when he sees what the RDA has done to him.

After a while in the forest, Spider's daemon starts to relax and bond with the thanator, especially since the thanator protects and looks out for it against the Pandoran wildlife.

At night, spider and his tiger curl up together and Q watches them in the firelight thinking all of his deep, wishful, fatherly thoughts, while his thanator is looking at him pointedly as if to say 'why are you jealous of them, I'm right here'

Nevertheless, the thanator looks out for Spider and the tiger

Spider riding Q's thanator eventually

Spider and Quaritch watching their daemons playfully interact and Spider being totally embarrassed while Quaritch is sitting there smugly watching his daemon lick Spider's to clean its fur

If anyone has more please share!! I need to brush up my knowledge of the golden compass lore, but I tried!

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

I just saw naavispider's post about The Golden Compass x Avatar and I wonder what Cabin would look like if the characters also had daemons (if you haven't watched this movie, it's something like an animal personification of the soul, it shows your emotions etc.) - what would be the daemon of Quaritch, Paz, Spider or Hunter (maybe twins too if you have any ideas)? And as if it influenced the story

Hello! I'm sorry this took me so long to get to! I've been sick and I needed some time to think about it.

I'm familiar with the Golden Compass and I tried to watch the t.v show but couldn't really get into it (I watch a ton of movies but I just don't really watch t.v at all so it's more the format in which I was trying to consume the story then the story itself) I did go and read Naavispider's The Golden Compass x Avatar posts though and I did really like the concept so here's what I think that would like in Cabin.

I really like the idea of Spider and Quaritch both having tigers as their daemons. i think it fits them both really well.

For Paz's daemon I picked a kestrel, since they're a bird of prey but a smaller one that's still pretty deadly.

for the characters in my Blood Brothers Au.

I feel like Hunter would have something that looks harmless but is deceptively badass, like a honey badger or something.

I think Gunner and Ada would still be at an age where their daemons are still shifting but Gunner's would definitely settle into an animal know for stubbornness like a ram or a bull. For Ada I don't know why but since I made her such a girly girly I like the idea of her having a really scary animal, like a shoebill stork. Something that just makes you go what the fuck?

Now onto how this would play out in Cabin. I'm going to focus just on Cabin because I feel like things will get insane quick if I use this concept on Blood Brothers.

So Spider's tiger looks like one you'd see in a sideshow zoo. It looks under fed, it's coat is dull and dirty, and it is defensive as hell. Spider tries his best to act the opposite of how his daemon appears. He's friendly, always willing to help, polite. He tries to be the ideal foster son until he's given a reason not to be. but it's never any good. The second he tries to politely introduce himself to a new set of foster parents his tiger will protectively wrap around him, crouching low, and growling at the new caretakers. It makes everyone terrified of him. Spider doesn't hold it against his daemon. He understands why it's like that and at least with his tiger he's never truly alone. He sleeps curled up with her every night, talks to her while he eats his meals when he's alone, and plays with her all the time.

Quaritch sees all this and immediately can see right through his son. The tiger is defensive- it's scared of being hurt and looks in desperate need of care. When he kidnaps Spider (don't ask me how that would logistacally work when you also have to transport a tiger) he does things a little differently. It's Spider's tiger that's chained up in a shed out back constantly watched by Quaritch's own all white tiger. Spider's tiger will growl and snap at it's parent doing everything it can to fight back. Quaritch's tiger fights right back, subduing Spider's like a naughty kitten, one giant white paw holding the orange tiger's head low while the white tiger licks it clean. This is a daily occurance.

Inside the cabin, Spider is just locked in his room at night. During the day Quaritch is never far from his side, making sure he eats, forcing him to do school work, fussing over him to no end. Spider fights him every step of the way. The very first meal Quaritch served him got thrown across the room. It took hours before Quaritch succeeded in forcing Spider to clean it up. It took even longer to get him to sit back down afterwards. Then father and son stared each other down over a plate of cold meatloaf that Spider refused to eat. The sun was coming up the next day before Spider finally broke down and ate his dinner, too hungry and tired to keep up the useless fight.

Spider raises hell where ever he can. He's always met with firm discipline ( and I do mean discipline not physical abuse) and a level of blunt patience that he's not used to receiving.

Quaritch watches the tigers to gauge Spider's progress. Spider's tiger gains weight. It's fur now clean and shiny from its parent's daily groomings. The tiger still fights it's parents but slowly but surely- over months of time- the tiger fights back less and less. It'll still swat and growl but all it takes is a firm scruffing by it's parent to get it to lay down for it's grooming. The orange tiger even starts to close its eyes and relax as it's parent cares for them.

Spider meanwhile is struggling to find ways to resist. It'd be easy to hate the man if he actually raised a hand against him. At most his father will pick him up and lock him in his room when he's being a "bratty kid" as his father will mutter under his breath. And when refusing to eat meals, or not doing the homeschool work he's given, or even refusing to shower for days in the hopes that something will get a rise out of the man all fail, what's really left to do? He doesn't want to starve. He doesn't want to walk around in his own filth. He doesn't want to fall behind in school and be a moron when he eventually escapes. So he does as he's told. He pointedly speaks to Quaritch as little as possible. He hisses and bares his teeth when ever Quaritch tries to gently brush Spider's hair from his face while he's studying, or cup his cheek before saying goodnight. He openly scoffs when ever Quaritch says I love you even after months. Even after part of him starts to believe it.

It takes almost a whole year but finally Spider's tiger stops fighting it's parent. One morning it simply laid down ready to receive it's parents care and never stopped, even staying in place long after it's parent was done to bunt and snuggle.

Quaritch eagerly test his own son, starting by simply moving his boys curtain of hair from his face while he's pouring over his math work book, an act that'd sometimes get the father's hand smacked. Spider doesn't react. Thrilled but trying to not react he pats his son on the back and walks away. That night he calls out to "Miles" for dinner. His boy would alway yell back that that wasn't his name! Tonight he looks a little annoyed but says nothing. Eventually it becomes a non issue.

Spider's tiger is the first to be tested. Quaritch lets it out of it's restraints. At first it doesn't even know what to do, now so used to it's cage that it doesn't know how to leave. It's parent coaxes it out, staying close while the orange tiger explores it's surroundings. And it never runs off. It sniffs around, chases a butterfly at one point, then finds a nice sun spot to bask in it's parent joining it. Curled up next to the white tiger the orange tiger chuffs contendely.

Seeing this Quaritch unlocks the front door holding it wide open for his son. Spider blinks at the bright light, not rising from his spot on the couch where he sat reading a book. "it's a nice day. How 'bout you come outside," Quaritch coaxes. Slowly Spider puts down the book and meets his father on the front porch his eye instantly connecting with his tiger. He hasn't seen her in a year and it feels like a piece of him reconnects when he does. She looks so healthy, so sleek and powerful. He feels completely content when he flops down beside her. She curls around him as Quaritch approaches lifting her head to let the man pet her.

[ao3gobi17]

I just saw naavispider's post about The Golden Compass x Avatar and I wonder what Custody would look like if the characters also had daemons (if you haven't watched this movie, it's something like an animal embodiment of the soul, they also show real human emotions, etc.) - what would be the daemon of Quaritch or Spider? And how did it affect the story?

I read the first book but couldn’t get into it and I did see the first movie (I think they made a TV series later?) but I honestly don’t have much recollection of how the daemons worked!

Which means my answer is probably going to be wrong but Quaritch’s daemon would be working with him to bond with Spider and his daemon. And if it was easier for the daemons to make headway together then all the better for Q. Spider would be trying to shield his daemon from Q and Q’s daemon. Again, sorry if this doesn’t work in that universe aha. Given we have a cast of over a dozen with the recoms, it would be a nightmare having daemons for all the characters 😂 Though does a daemon die when the human dies? Because if Paz’s daemon was still alive I could see that being an interesting plot point!

I’m guessing the story of Custody wouldn’t change too much as the core structure would be the same but just in a magicky universe? The way certain things happen would be different probably.

<3

[thelucyaddams]

Azula x fem!reader

Two childhood friends talking for a bit.

Hurt and sadness was present in (Y/N)'s eyes when she looked at her childhood friend who was chained to the earthen wall by Toph.

They both met when they were not older than four for the first time and their friendship was a huge secret by that time. But it was close and deep and probably the only real friendship the firenation princess ever had.

Azula tried to act cool and like it wouldn't affect her at all to see her (Y/N) together with the enemy. But deep down it hurt her as well.

Another person that betrayed her. First by vanishing years ago till she appears again by the Avatars side.

Though this betrayal hurt the most. More than Mai and Ty Lee's. Of course she'd never admit it.

"You should go and try to find Ozai. I can handle her.", (Y/N) said.

Aang and Sokka looked at their friend with worry in their expressions. Even the earthbender seemed a bit unsure about that.

When (Y/N) became friends with them she opened up to them about her past with the princess. They knew how hard this must be for her.

They knew she actually loved the cruel firebender. She fell in love long ago and that never changed even after everything that happened.

Azula chuckled.

"Can you now? I'm a formidable fighter even without my bending.", the princess said with the typical playfulness in her voice.

(Y/N) looked into her golden eyes and felt her heart drop. She always tried to avoid fighting her directly. But if there was no other way like now then she'd do it.

"I'm not bad myself you know. Remember that one time I actually beat you."

Azula laughed.

"How old were we again? Six? Seven? It was only one time and it wasn't a real fight either. I mean you sneaked up on me when I didn't expected it... In fact I was looking for you all night and was worried you got caught by the royal guards or someone else. But no you just hid because you thought it was funny to tease me in that very moment. ", the princess said and actually seemed to look back at it with some nostalgia.

"I scared the hell out of you and managed to throw you to the ground.", (Y/N) teased.

Some of the tension between the both girls eased and it was almost like they were thrown back to that specific time again when their eyes met once again.

"I could do it again.", (Y/N) added playfully slightly forgetting the situation they were in.

"Oh no, you couldn't. I learned from that you know. There's no one that could sneak up on me now or ever again.", the princess replied.

Team Avatar watched them interacting in awe. They've never seen or heard Azula talk to someone like that. Like she was actually showing some affection and honesty.

It was a weird scene to watch after knowing only her cunning and playful side.

"But I must admit... I do miss those times. You... You were a good friend.", Azula confessed in a short show of compassion and affection.

(Y/N) felt her heart skip a beat.

Maybe their friendship wasn't lost like she thought long ago. Maybe they still had a chance. She could help her. Help Azula to change or at least to show her her father is wrong about this war...

But it would be a long way to go...

"Didn't you want to look for father? Hm, guess you just distracted yourself. Time's up.", Azula said with her usual playfulness again as she freed herself all of the sudden and attacked.

Yes, it would definitely be a challenge. But if (Y/N) could safe her somehow then she'd accept the challenge.

[nithringthekobold]

Ever wanted to use the deck of many things, but feared it’d ruin your campaign?

Well, anyone who wants to is welcome to use my homebrewed “deck of several things”. Many would be a better word for it than several, since it actually has more things than a deck of many things, but given the title was already taken it was the best I could do. 

Basically, the idea was to make a 54 card deck (standard 52 playing card deck, +1 joker of each colour), and to make it have various effects of escalating potency without ever quite causing anything as disastrous and campaign-ending as the infamous Deck of Many Things does.

 Without further ado, here are the details.

“A seemingly mundane deck of 54 playing cards in an ornate wooden box, including a red and black joker. Each card has a unique magical property, that applies when the deck is thoroughly shuffled, and the card is drawn. If the one drawing the card has an intelligence score of 4 or lower or is unaware of the deck’s magical properties, as well as the fact that there are potentially quite dangerous risks involved in drawing, cards drawn have no effect. If anything in any way diminishes the randomness of which card(s) will be drawn, such as the deck being intentionally poorly shuffled/cut, or the bottom card of the deck being looked at before drawing (as this gives the drawer the knowledge that one specific card will not be drawn), the cards have no effect. If any single card is removed from the deck, destroyed, or marked in an identifying way, the deck loses its magical properties until another card with the same suit and value (that cannot be distinguished from the rest of the deck while face down) replaces that card, the deck is shuffled, and the deck is placed inside its wooden box and the box kept shut for 1 hour. As soon as the card is drawn, the drawer gains the knowledge of what its effects are. The effects happen within a number of seconds. The suit of hearts represents blessings, effects that grant vitality or healing. The suit of diamonds represents treasures, mundane, magical, material and metaphysical. The suit of clubs represents chance, with each one having an equal chance of a boon or a bane befalling the drawer. The suit of spades represents curses, losses, and all manner of unpleasant things. Red. 1.    Joker: Gift of the Crimson Fool. You feel imbued with power as memories from an ancient hero of your class fill your head. While you don’t retain these memories for long, the experience and talents remain. You gain however many experience points you still need to reach your next level. 

Hearts. 2.    Ace: Blessing of Vitality. Roll one of your hit dice (that of your highest levelled class if multiclassing, your choice if tied) and add your constitution modifier. Permanently gain that many hit points.

3.    2: Blessing of Healing. You gain possession of a small, red berry, full of life essence. Upon eating this berry, you can roll one of your hit dice and add your constitution modifier, regain that many hit points. This does not expend any of your unused hit dice.

4.    3: Blessing of Rest. You lose any levels of exhaustion you currently have.

5.    4: Blessing of Satiety. For the next week, you require no food or water.

6.    5: Blessing of Mana. You obtain a small vial of a blue liquid labelled ‘essence of Mana’. Upon drinking it, all your expended spell slots are restored. There is only enough for 1 dose.

7.    6: Blessing of Medicine. You gain possession of a small vial of dark red liquid, labelled ‘Panacea’. Upon drinking it, all hit points are restored and all diseases and poisons are cured. There is only enough for 1 dose.

8.    7: Blessing of Respite. You gain possession of a golden apple. Upon taking a bite of this apple, you gain the benefits of a long rest. Only one person can gain these benefits as the apple loses this property upon being tasted.

9.    8: Blessing of Talent. You gain +1 to an ability score of your choice, but it cannot be increased beyond 20.

10.  9: Blessing of Arcana. You gain one level 1 spell slot. If you know no level 1 spells, learn one of your choice. If this is the case, your spellcasting ability for this spell will be Wisdom. Otherwise, use the spellcasting ability of your caster class.

11.  10: Blessing of Power. For 24 hours, your spells do not expend spell slots.

12.  Jack: Blessing of the Undying. For the next 24 hours, you cannot be reduced below 1 hit point by any means except for effects caused by this deck. You still feel pain and sustain injuries, which do not heal any faster than normal.

13.  Queen: Blessing of the Gods. You gain the features of 1 level Cleric, not counting proficiencies or hit dice. You are not sure which God has blessed you, if any. Your alignment does not change unless you choose for it to do so. Your exp does not change. This does not count as gaining a level. If you already have the features of a level 1 cleric, this card has no effect.

14.  King: Blessing of Salvation. A small glass orb appears in your hand, inside which is a swirl of golden light. Upon breaking it, it allows you to cast your choice of ‘Raise dead’, ‘Greater Restoration’ or ‘Regenerate’ once without material components. 

Diamonds. 

15.  Ace: Treasure of Divine Favor. The card summons the Avatar or Envoy of a God of good alignment of your choice before you, communicating with you in a language you speak. The representative usually takes the form of a small or smaller sized beast, a hovering sphere of dim light, or some other harmless phenomenon. You may attempt to make a good impression on this God, and if successful, they will grant you a favor of your choice so long as it is within their power and within reason. Failing to earn their good grace or offending them results in the avatar leaving, doing the drawer and others present no harm.

16.  2: Treasure of coins. You obtain a pouch containing 5d4 x 10 Gold Pieces.

17.  3: Treasure of gems. You obtain two gemstones worth 100 GP each.

18.  4: Treasure of Companionship. You gain a familiar as if by the ‘find familiar’ ritual. If you already have a familiar, this card has no effect.

19.  5: Treasure of Space. You obtain a bag of holding.

20.  6: Treasure of Friendship. For the next week, you have advantage on Charisma skill checks that are not Intimidation against any creature, even ones that are otherwise hostile towards you.

21.  7: Treasure of Might. You gain a magical weapon of your choice with a +1 to attack and damage rolls.

22.  8: Treasure of Resilience. You gain a piece of magical armor that grants you a +1 to your AC.

23.  9: Treasure of the Oasis. You obtain a Decanter of Endless Water.

24.  10: Treasure of Rarity. You obtain a random ‘Rare’ Magic Item. (Chosen by the DM).

25.  Jack: Treasure of True Desire. You obtain a silver compass. The needle of this compass points you in the direction of whatever it is you desire most at that moment.

26.  Queen: Treasure of Regal Shelter. You gain the ability to cast Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion without expending a spell slot. You may do so 3 times under this card’s effects and may not cast it more than once every 48 hours.

27.  King: Treasure of the Mage. You obtain a spell scroll for a random (alternatively, determined by the DM) spell of 7th level. You must provide the material components required to cast the spell normally, however, and these components are always consumed. The scroll is useable only once and cannot be copied into a spell book, as it becomes incomprehensible by any who try. Black. Clubs.  

28.  Ace: Chance of Treasure and Curse. Flip a coin. If heads, roll 1d4. If 1, gain the effects of the Jack of Diamonds. If 2, gain the effects of the Queen of Diamonds. If 3, gain the effect of the King of Diamonds. If 4, gain the effects of the Ace of diamonds. If tails, apply the same effect, but with Spades instead of diamonds.

29.  2: Chance of Change. Flip a coin. If heads, obtain a scroll of polymorph. If tails, automatically fail a saving throw against a polymorph spell the card casts against you and be turned into a sheep, as per the spell’s effects. 

30.  3: Chance of Flight. You obtain a scroll of Fly that can be used to target up to 8 willing creatures. Have the DM flip a coin in secret and make note of the result. If heads, the spell is cast normally when you attempt to use the scroll. If tails, the targets are instead affected by the Hold Person spell and are treated as though they’d failed their initial saving throw.

31.  4: Chance of Drawing. Flip a coin. If heads, you gain the effects of a random card from the red half of the deck. If tails, you gain the effects of a random card from the black half of the deck, excluding this one. (Out of character, if using a physical deck, continue to draw until you draw one of the required colour, jokers included, and ignore all drawn cards except for the one of the required colour.)

32.  5: Chance of Wealth. Flip a coin. If heads, all coins you’re currently carrying duplicate, doubling your wealth. If tails, half the coins you’re carrying disappear permanently, rounded down.

33.  6: Chance of Talent. Assign numbers 1-6 to your ability scores and roll 1d6. Flip a coin. If heads, the ability score that corresponds to the d6 result increases by 1 but cannot be brought above 20. If tails, it is reduced by 1, but cannot be brought below 3. This effect is permanent.

34.  7: Chance of Chatter. Flip a coin. If heads, learn a language of your choice. If tails, forget how to speak one of the languages you know. If this leaves you with no languages, regain the one you lost after 1d4 days. You can relearn lost languages the same way you’d learn any other.

35.  8: Chance of Gems. Obtain a random gemstone worth 500 GP. Flip a coin. If heads, the gemstone will be an ordinary gemstone. If tails, the gemstone will have been taken from the hoard of a random dragon, who will gain the knowledge of where it is and how it was obtained until such a time as it retrieves it. Have the DM make this coin flip in secret.

36.  9: Chance of Age. Flip a coin. If heads, you age 10 years. If Tails, you become 10 years younger. Either effect can be optionally ended by succeeding on a DC 10 Constitution Saving Throw at the end of a Long Rest should they choose to do so. Characters cannot die from aging this way, nor can they become any younger than what is considered the age of maturity for their race. The effect is purely physical, and characters retain their personalities, intelligence, and memories. However, they take a -2 penalty to their Strength and Dexterity scores if reduced below the age at which their race reaches adulthood.

37.  10: Chance of an Ancient Soul. Flip a coin. One of the weapons you’re carrying becomes possessed with the soul of an ancient hero if heads and an ancient villain if tails. The weapon becomes able to speak (and will do so at the DM’s discretion), becomes magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance to nonmagical weapons, and gains +1 to attack rolls and damage rolls. However, if the weapon is possessed by a villain, it may attack your allies. If you miss an attack on an enemy with the weapon while an ally is within your attack range, and the soul contained in the weapon is inclined to do so, make an attack roll against that ally as a free action. This does not count for attacks of opportunity. Heroic souls may impose the same detriment against known evil party members, or members that have committed acts the soul considers worth punishing while it was present. In either case, the weapon becomes indestructible and will return to you after 1 hour if lost or thrown away. Gold gained by attempting to sell the weapon magically returns to whoever you took it from. The weapon may choose to retract its magical properties and impose disadvantage on attacks made with it if it decides it does not like its wielder.

38.  Jack: Chance of Twinning. A duplicate of you appears, and others become unable to tell which one is the real you superficially. Flip a coin. If heads, the duplicate will be of the same alignment as you. If tails, it will be of the opposite alignment (good becomes evil, lawful becomes chaotic). True Neutral characters’ duplicates will always have the same alignment as them. The duplicate will pretend to match your alignment if it is lawful or neutral evil and you are not, but will secretly work to sabotage you, and either way and will follow the party for 48 hours at which point it ceases to exist.

39.  Queen: Chance of Royal Favor. Flip a coin. The King, Queen, or other governing body of the country you’re in will become aware of your existence. If heads, they will hear only good things about what you’ve done (not all of which will be true) and seek to reward you appropriately (rewards decided by the DM). If tails, they will be told rumors of your villainy and seek your punishment for your crimes. A Knight will find the party 1d4 days later and challenge the drawer to honorable combat, one on one. Regardless of who wins or loses, the effect ends, and the ruler becomes unaware of your existence once more. However, if the Knight is killed, you will earn a bounty in that country. (The DM rolls death saves for the Knight if they are reduced to 0 hit points). The affected ruler will not remember how they became aware of you, other than that they heard rumors about you.

40.  King: Chance of Luck. Flip a coin. If heads, you gain advantage on all saving throws, ability checks and attack rolls within the next 24 hours. If tails, you instead gain disadvantage. (40) Spades. 

41.  Ace: Curse of Frailty. ** Roll 1 of your hit die (that of your main class if multiclassing) and add your constitution modifier. Permanently lose that many hit points.

42.  2: Curse of uncontrollable screaming. The drawer becomes unable to stop screaming for 1d4 minutes. They may still speak, but only by shouting words at the top of their lungs. In a town or city, this may result in trouble with the local authorities at the DM’s discretion.

43.  3: Curse of Criminality. In some random city in the country the character is currently in, a magical clone of them appears and commits a crime of varying severity, then disappears. Bounty hunters will pursue the character, proportionally as strong and aggressive as the size of the bounty warrants, and local authorities will likely fine or arrest them on sight if they visit the city in question. The bounty is equal to 1d20 x 10 GP.

44.  4: Curse of Swapped Sex. For 1d6 x days, a male character’s body physically transforms to that of a female, and vice versa. Their mind is unaffected. People familiar with the character will likely confuse them for a sibling they were unaware of, unless they are aware of the curse.

45.  5: Curse of the Scarecrow. ** A scarecrow (see the Monster Manual for stats) begins to stalk the party. Roll 1d12 when the party attempts to take a long rest, and the scarecrow attacks on a 12. The scarecrow’s corpse disappears on destruction. With every successful destruction of the scarecrow, the DC for the scarecrow to appear decreases by 1. The Scarecrow only stops appearing permanently once it appears and is defeated on a roll of 1 on the d12. When the scarecrow attacks, it is immune to damage from anyone except for the one who drew the card and also ignores all other possible targets. If the drawer is reduced to 0 hit points, the scarecrow becomes vulnerable to all damage and attacks all other targets indiscriminately, losing interest in its original target. 

46.  6: Curse of Teeth. You grow teeth on every patch of your skin, not counting eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and other orifices. You take 1 damage every time a tooth is removed, and it immediately begins to regrow, fully regrowing within 30 seconds. All of these teeth fall off after 1d8 hours. During this time, you take a -10 to Charisma checks except for Intimidation, which you have advantage on instead, and others who are unaware of the deck and its effects will likely mistake you for a monster of some kind and become hostile towards you or flee from you, at the DM’s discretion.

47.  7: Curse of terrible luck. For 24 hours, you gain disadvantage on saving throws and attack rolls. Skill checks other than intelligence checks made to recall information also suffer disadvantage.

48.  8: Curse of Lycanthropy. You become a werecreature of the DM’s choice, transforming into your hybrid form every night when the sun is fully set and reverting at dawn. Your alignment changes to match the typical alignment of a werecreature of your type, as specified by the monster manual. The DM may optionally choose to take control of your character during these transformations. You are unable to infect others with your lycanthropy gained from this deck, and this effect lasts for 1d4 weeks.

49.  9: Curse of Greed. You feel an irresistible compulsion to draw two more cards. Do not shuffle the deck again before drawing, and do not replace this card in the deck until after you resolve the effects of the other two drawn. Their effects are activated as normal.

50.  10: Curse of Reversion. ** The drawer’s alignment shifts to its polar opposite. Lawful becomes chaotic, good becomes evil, and vice versa. True neutral characters are unaffected. At the end of each long rest, the player can choose to make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw to end the effect.

51.  Jack: Curse of the Fool. For the next 48 hours, the drawer must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma (persuasion) check every time they speak to any other character who was not present at the time of them drawing the card. If their check fails, the character they speak to hears whatever they’ve said as some kind of joke, or as utter nonsensical gibberish at the DM’s discretion, often laughing at them, but always dismissing whatever they said as ridiculous, unimportant, or just otherwise invalid.

52.  Queen: Curse of Vanity. You gain incredible vanity for the next 1d4 days. If any creature says anything negative about you, you must succeed on a DC 15 wisdom saving throw or make an attack with a weapon or damaging spell of your choice against that creature. Additionally, if at any point you see a mirror, a still body of water, or anything else that shows your reflection, you become infatuated and stare at it without interruption for 1d4 minutes, forgetting anything else you were doing. If any creature makes an attack against you, you must use your next available action to attack them back. If any creature breaks the mirror or in any other way obscures your reflection from you, you must use your next available action to attack them.

53.  King: Curse of Incompetence. You lose the effects of your most recent level up for 1d4 hours as your character becomes unable to recall what they learned to constitute that level up. You lose access to features and feats gained, but your HP and ability scores remain unchanged. (Curses marked with ** cannot be removed by any means save for the effects mentioned in their own descriptions if applicable.) 54.  Joker: Disaster of the Ebony Trickster. You are suddenly wracked with terrible pain as a curse descends upon you. You are reduced to 0 hit points and fail one of your death saving throws automatically. You become immune to the ‘Spare the Dying’ cantrip until you finish a long rest. Medicine checks made in the attempt to stabilize you fail, as no physically injury has actually been dealt. Potions or other magical healing effects from spells of first level or higher function as normal.“

[titusmoody]

A list of movies and shows I’ve watched, arranged by enjoyment from least to most

Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

The Prestige

Don’t Think Twice

Bohemian Rhapsody

Beetlejuice

Snow White with the Red Hair

A Wrinkle in Time

The Golden Compass

Hugo

To Catch a Thief

Antz

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Inglorious Basterds

Angel Beats

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Isle of Dogs

Hyouka

An American Tail

Dante’s Peak

I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore

John Carter

Watchmen (2009)

Gangs of New York

Kingsmen: The Golden Circle

Scrapped Princess

Death Note

The Mummy (1999)

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Captain Marvel

Solo

Doctor Strange

Twister

Outlaw Star

Escaflowne

Martian Successor Nadesico

The Road to El Dorado

Ghost Hound

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumia

Rogue One

Black Panther

Space Dandy

Armageddon

Full Metal Panic

RahXephon

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans

Lincoln

Beyond the Boundary

Tenchi Muyo

Men in Black

Grace and Frankie

The Incredibles 2

The Third Man

O Brother Where Art Thou

Apocalypse Now

Log Horizon

The Cat Returns

Julie & Julia

Independence Day

Gurren Lagann

Baby Driver

Kill Bill (1&2)

Finding Dory

Bakemonogatari

Deep Impact

Theranos

The Laundromat

Made in Abyss

My Life as a Zucchini

The Royal Tenenbaums

Fyre Fraud

Patlabor (OVA)

The Matrix

Penguindrum

The African Queen

Elfen Lied

Drive

Once Upon a Time in America

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

The Breakfast Club

Room

Fyre

Heat

Golden Boy

Hunter X Hunter

Milk

Only Yesterday

The Big Sick

Kagemusha

Hidden Figures

Raging Bull

A Place Further than the Universe

East of Eden

Ping Pong the animation

Bonnie & Clyde

L.A. Confidential

Betting on Zero

Blackkklansman

The Hurt Locker

La La Land

Baccano!

I, Tonya

The Last Jedi

As Good as it Gets

Lost in Translation

The Eichmann Show

Punch Drunk Love

Blade Runner

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Gundam 0080

Gunbuster

Sunset Boulevard

Your Name

Saving Mr. Banks

Annihilation

Inside Llewyn Daniels

The Jungle Book

The Shape of Water

One Punch Man

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Mr. Nobody

The Dark Knight

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Crazy Rich Asians

Alice in Wonderland

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Cool Hand Luke

The Tiger King

Synecdoche, New York

Pi

Hibike Euphonium

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Flip Flappers

Yuri on Ice!!!

Contact

Moon

The Wolf of Wall Street

Moonlight

Pinocchio

The Blair Witch Project

Kingsmen

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

American Gangster

Porco Rosso

Annie Hall

Good Night, and Good Luck

Keep Your Hands off Eizouken

Won’t You Be My Neighbor

The Social Network

End of the Tour

The Searchers

Azumanga Daioh

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Marriage Story

Tatami Galaxy

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mobile Suit Gundam (Movie Trilogy)

The Lobster

Doctor Strangelove

Mulholland Drive

Rushmore

Going Clear

Boogie Nights

Whiplash

Behind the Curve

A Lull in the Sea

Mystic River

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

What We Do in the Shadows

Her

Ex Machina

Knives Out

Nightcrawler

Hanasaku Iroha

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Tokyo Godfathers

Coco

The Farewell

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Rick and Morty

Network

The Eccentric Family

Manhattan

The “Before” Trilogy

Glengarry Glen Ross

The Little Mermaid

Dallas Buyer’s Club

The Master

Moulin Rouge

Ghost in the Shell

Goodfellas

The Graduate

Lion

Shaun of the Dead

Mean Streets

Das Boot

Magnolia

Berserk (1997)

Shirobako

Better Call Saul

Zodiac

The Irishman

Mob Psycho 100

Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

On the Waterfront

Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Ladybird

The Florida Project

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Six Feet Under

Paprika

Eyes Wide Shut

Schindler’s List

Barton Fink

Arrival

Burn After Reading

Avatar: The Last Airbender

All the President’s Men

A Serious Man

Triplettes of Belleville

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Perfect Blue

Chernobyl

The Wind Rises

Bojack Horseman

Neon Genesis Evangelion

[khuxdul]

30 Questions Tag

Got tagged by the lovely @gay-pippin! I've never really shared anything about myself on this blog, so this should be fun. ✨

1. How tall are you?

Let's just say about dwarf size (around 5 feet...I am...smol...)

2. What color and style is your hair?

Black and Pomfy, the top half is always tied back in a bun to keep it out of my face.

3. What color are your eyes?

Black, like The Pit. 👀

4. Do you wear glasses?

Yeah- my eyesight clocked out in sophomore year of high school for me, unfortunately. I can't see from afar (I lack Legolas' Keen Elf Eyes)

5. Do you wear braces?

Nope! I've always been more or less content with my smile, so I'm good.

6. What's your fashion sense?

Sweaters and Jackets, babey. I've also been known to sport the Mom Style (I'm a sucker for a Good Tunic) and I really enjoy atheleisure wear (I like the style without the actual physical activity, thank you very much). 👌

7. Full Name?

All y'all are getting out of me is my first name, Paulina, though I'd much ratcher you all call me by my nickname, Peps, if you please! 😊

8. Where were you born?

California, Land of Heat and Oranges ☀

9. Where are you from and where do you live now?

Southern Cali, to elaborate further. I live in a small city/town near Big Ol' LA.

10. What school do you go to?

I'm in my first year at a local community college- I'm an animation major!

11.What kind of student are/were you?

The kind of student who procrastinates and struggles and is always tired and yet somehow miraculously still manages to get good grades, RIP. 👏🙌

12. Do you like school?

It ain't bad- if anything, it's just routine for me, which I guess is good. I'd much rather sleep and watch TV at home, though.

13. Favorite school subjects?

History, Philosophy, and Art classes.

14. Favorite TV shows?

New Girl, Criminal Minds, Brooklyn 99, The Good Doctor, Stranger Things, The Twilight Zone, Queer Eye, Parks and Recreation, Forensic Files, Drop Dead Diva, Lie to Me, Vicious, and a whole lotta cartoons (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall, The Amazing World of Gumball, etc.).

15. Favorite Movies?

Obviously the LOTR/Hobbit movies, Disney/Pixar films (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Moana, Treasure Planet, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Hercules, Finding Nemo, Zootopia, The Rescuers/The Rescuers Down Under, Monster's Inc./University, etc.), DreamWorks films (HttyD, RotG, Kung Fu Panda, The Prince of Egypt, El Dorado, etc.), the Harry Potter movies (Order of the Phoenix is my favorite), Mad Max: Fury Road, Pride & Prejudice, Kingsman: The Secret Service/The Golden Circle, Arrival, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, Bohemian Rhapsody, Black Panther, Hairspray, The Pianist, Happy Feet, The Village, Lady in the Water, and so many, many more.

16. Favorite Books?

Tolkien's works (a bit obvious again), The Harry Potter series, The Percy Jackson Series/The Heroes of Olympus/The Kane Chronicles, The Golden Compass, Dracula, Pride & Prejudice, The Guardians of Ga'Hoole Series, What We See When We Read, Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over The World, The Narnia Series, etc.

17. Favorite Pastimes?

Drawing, playing piano, and sleeping.

18. Do you have any regrets?

Knowing the fact that I'll probably never write out any of the fic ideas/prompts I have, most likely 💀

19. Dream Job?

I'd love to be either a Storyboard Artist or a Character Designer for Disney Animation Studios one day! That or maybe create my own cartoon series.

20. Would you ever like to be married?

I guess so- I'd hate to do taxes on my own.

21. Would you like to have kids?

Yeah, actually! I really like kids (since we're usually into the same things, like cartoons, pfft).

22. How many?

Two boys is what I'm hoping for (named David and Mateo, maybe).

23. Do you like to go shopping?

Eeeh, sometimes? I really have to be in the mood for it, and I much rather go book shopping than grocerie/clothes shopping.

24. What countries have you visited?

Only one- Mexico back in 2015. I loved Guadalajara!

25. Scariest nightmare?

All of them involve catastrophic natural disasters like earthquakes and tornadoes/hurricanes/tsunamis- I'm a Big Weenie during any type of storm or earthquake, so that fear seeps into my dreams, rip

26. Any enemies?

Those who hate Frodo Baggins are my Sworn Enemies- I will personally fight you all, and I promise you that I will win. 😤✊💪👊

27. Do you have a significant other?

Does my cat Weasley count? He is a Wee Lad, a Precious Fool, an Absolute Bastard. I Love Him. ❤

28. Do you get along with your family?

Yeh, especially with my older sister.

29. Do you believe in miracles?

Yes, in the sense that I still manage to keep up my good grades, even though I Never Know What I'm Doing, Ever. That and how I'm still alive in a post-BotFA age and the crippling agony that is Bagginshield that drains my life-force. 💔

30. How are you?

I'm okay! Been busy with school. Tumblr-wise, though, I've been feeling a little lonely. I'd love to talk to more of my followers and mutuals, so please, come have a chat with me! I'd love to get to know y'all some more.💛

---

And that's that! I'll be tagging @mizimeluh @loveherpizzapalace @x-kytanna-x @love-and-bagginshield @gaaladrieel @ghisborne @bisexualfili @vtforpedro @arkenburglar and anyone else who'd like to join in! Can't wait to hear more about you guys. 👏🙌

[naavispider]

About Compass AU:

What if Paz was allowed to keep the baby just to perform tests on it to get rid of the dust/try to get rid of the dæmons for good? (As dust, it had no effect on children from what I remember).

Also, daemons were named by their parents' daemons and I wonder where that puts Spider's - who would name him and on what basis. Btw If the dæmon is of the same sex as the owner, it usually indicates dysphoria/homosexuality (body dysphoria fits Quaritch's Recom for me, so he would def have a male animal).

Generally when someone touches your daemon you feel a huge discomfort - unless it is in the form of some kind of love (I'm not sure about that either) so what if Quaritch was touching Spider's daemon and Spider didn't even know that when someone else touches it it should feel uncomfortable because no one ever told him? (No one even bothered to tell him about it, and being touched by a real Navi doesn't affect it or anything like that).

I'm thinking about what the animal form of the other people we know on Pandora would be, and I think Ardmore could have a big snake or that monkey like the evil lady from the movie (I don't remember the name). Norm maybe a bird? Max, I have no idea, and Jake, maybe a dog that disappeared after being permanently transformed into a navi. I don't have many ideas for recoms. Thanks in advance for reading this mess, sorry for any mistakes 😅

OOO more excellent lore and suggestions for this AU! Thank you for sharing!

You have got me seriously wondering what would happen to Jake's daemon once he became Na'vi! I think Eywa would be able to recognise and see his daemon, and therefore allow it to continue living when they performed the consciousness transfer. The idea that he would lose his daemon is... really sad.

I'n so curious what others think!

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

The cabin fic is so heartbreaking 😭 I feel like I’m watching a caged tiger with his claws removed, getting """domesticated""" (a.k.a conditioned into staying in line) and whenever he even thinks of showing his teeth, he’s hit with a whip. His fur may shine and his body may be healthy, but the big bow around his neck is choking him and at the end of the day, a tiger does not belong in a cage…

This description was so beautiful thank you 💞

It reminded me of an au I wrote based off of the golden compass where Spider and Quaritch both have tigers as spirit animals and Spider’s tiger ends up being exactly as you describe. It’s right here if your interested: 

[evensquirrellier]

Last Song I Listened To: Bury Me in Black by My Chemical Romance

Last Movie I Watched: The short film Two Distant Strangers

Currently Reading: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, and Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Currently Watching: The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Avatar: The Last Airbender, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Schitt’s Creek, and The Wilds.

Currently Craving: Sleep

Currently Working On: The book I’m writing, five different fanfictions, an original story I’m writing to get better at telling stories in verse, and my mental health.

Currently Playing: I’m very close to finishing Celeste, which I highly recommend, and the Minecraft modpack Project Ozone Lite

@pxregoth @andychaosuniverse @bisexual-apocalypse

Catch Up Game

was tagged by @amethysttribble, thanks!

last song you listened to: ultra cure happy tanjou, from the smile pretty cure movie soundtrack. like 90% of the music i listen to i’ve given it elaborate fandom context, this one for a massive magical girl decon-recon crossover it would be too much work to actually write

last movie you watched: ringers, with my parents? it’s this documentary about the lotr fandom we’ve had for years but i’ve never actually seen before, thought it would be a nice epilogue to our trilogy appendices binge

currently reading: more books than i can goddamn count, as well as several different websites and a whoooole bunch of fic. i’d blame the lockdown, but i was like this well before that

currently watching: two tmnt adaptations (don’t ask) the dororo adaptation on amazon prime, four separate really long youtube series

currently craving: a diurnal sleep schedule

currently working on: the kidnap-dads-all-the-way-down fic, the fëanorian tauriel saga, a drabble collection for this other fandom i’m in, my old jrpg blog, a couple of miscellaneous sims projects that might get off the ground sometime this century, posting a dumb headcanon per day here until i run out

currently playing: fe fates and three houses, rhythm heaven, super mario 3d land - :static: - my big list of nso games, my big list of nitrome games, that bundle for racial justice as was on sale last year - :static: - objectively too many pokémon romhacks, some rts games i played when i was younger, my millionth kh1 replay - :static:

tagging, uh, @procrastinationonvacation, @whotookliterallyallthenames, @werian-wintertid, @niphredilien, plus anyone else who wants to give this a try

[cltreherne]

Applications of 3D Essay

From CGI in movies to creating entire worlds in games, 3D Modelling has become an incredibly helpful asset to many sectors of the creative industry.  

In product design, 3D modelling can be used to render packaging work for a client. A designer can simply create a model of a can, bottle or packet based upon the product that the client provides, the artists can design the packaging, and finally display it on the model to pitch that work to the client.  

Before 3D modelling, these companies would need to create 2D renders in programmes like photoshop or illustrator. This provided a neat but less realistic image of the potential product and took significantly longer than simply applying the design to a model that had potentially been made weeks ago.  

3D modelling has become crucial in the games industry for some of the worlds, characters and stories that many designers want to create. Before the application of 3D modelling, companies would make 3D spaces using 2D images and animations. This can be seen in classic games like Qbert which are entirely 2D but try to create 3D worlds. 3D has allowed the games industry to use photorealistic graphics and real-time raytracing which becomes more and more accessible with every generation of graphics cards and consoles. With designers and artists learning to make 3D models from the comfort of their homes, the games industry is seeing better talent and original work from younger people who are passionate about games and their creation.  

Similarly, with the Visual Effects companies working in film and TV, 3D has provided a great number of opportunities. 3D modelling allows VFX artist to capture realistic scene lighting, create characters to visualise in the real world and create spectacles that completely defy reality. A fantastic example of this is Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’. The blackhole known as Gargantua was a 3D model that had painstakingly accurate physics simulated for it and the result of that simulation created a beautiful and awe-inspiring model to be used for the movie. Without 3D modelling, simulations for physics and lighting like this would be far more difficult or even impossible.

3D Development Software

3DS Max is a proprietary suite designed to do particle effects with 3D modelling. 3DS Max saves projects in .3ds format, which is made up of the textures, polies and lighting of a model. The programme can also support motion capture, resulting in more realistic animations. This can be seen in James Cameron’s Avatar which features a whole race of CGI people in a CGI world. However, the programme can also place CG images into a real-life scene. Other examples of films made using 3DS Max are Alice in Wonderland, 2012, Blade Trinity and Cats & Dogs.

Maya is designed to be used along-side 3DS Max, using the proprietary file format .mb. This format is lossless but saves space using binary algebra. Maya is used for loads of things from texturing, lighting and particle effects to modelling and animation. Maya has the capability to transfer files to programmes like Unreal or Unity for games. Maya is currently used by Rooster Teeth Animation to make the series ‘RWBY’ which is modelled and animated within the programme. Other films made using Maya are Finding Nemo, Hugo, Rango and Frozen. Games created with Maya include Mirror’s Edge, For Honor and Dead by Daylight.

Cinema 4D is used by a wider range of industries such as architecture and science, and has been used to make Inception, The Golden Compass and Monster House. The programme uses .c4d, which is another proprietary file format. C4D focuses on motion graphics and sciences because of its simulation capabilities with particles and fluids.

Plugins are added to these programmes to add features that the default suit couldn’t use. Maya features a number of plugins that make the application easier to use. In Maya, Massive has been used for games on the Wii and the XBOX wherein it simulated crowds which, before the plugin, would have needed to be created manually. When your project is facing a budget, Massive bridges the gap and saves you time and money.  

Application Programming Interface

Games are written in one language and machines like your PC or console use a different language. The API acts as a translator between these systems so that the game can use all of hardware that it needs to be able to run. There are two key APIs made for this process. These are Direct3D and OpenGL.

Direct3D is a part of Microsoft’s DirectX. PCs running windows primarily use DirectX as well as Microsoft’s XBOX which is where it got its name.  

OpenGL is open source, meaning it can be changed by anyone who has access to a copy. Open GL is cross platform and so can run on PC and consoles. This means a game can be made for PS and also be released for PC or XBOX.

These two programmes are the leaders in the API market because of their complex nature and ongoing support. Around 60% of all computers use DirectX as it’s Microsoft Windows proprietary software. However, OpenGL can also be used on Windows as well as all other operating systems it supports such as OSX, IOS, Android, Linux and Playstation. Being open source, OpenGL receives constant community support but no official support. On the other hand, DirectX is proprietary so receives no community support, but Microsoft is constantly working on it.  

3D models are made up of lines, vertices, faces and polygons. Working as dimensions, a vertices is a dot anywhere on an x,y,z axis and creates a line when two vertices are connected. When you join 3 or more vertices together you make a polygon and when you join polygons together, they act as faces of a mesh. More complicated models have more polygons and therefore a higher ‘Poly Count’, making a model take longer to render book look far more realistic. 3D software usually features pre-made meshes called Poly Primitives which can be moulded and modified to make different shapes such as a sphere being turned in to a head. Basic primitives are a cube, sphere, cylinder, pyramid and a Torus (Ring). Starting with these primitives can save an artist a lot of time and effort; This is called Box modelling.  

With Box modelling, the artist usually needs to create many subdivisions in the primitive to be able to model it concisely and flexibly. Another way of modelling is with extrusion, where you stretch individual faces of the model which creates more faces and doesn’t require subdivisions. Both these methods can be used together to achieve more complex models.  

When an artist is creating 3D models, they face limits and constraints. One constraint is the polycount. Considering rendering time, polycount may need to be lowered to complete the project for a deadline. As well as time saving, lowering the polycount allows the model to perform better when used in console games. Limiting compatible platforms by heightening the polycount makes for a smaller market and having to high a polycount can cause performance issues as they take more processing power to load in. When a company wants to render high quality assets quickly, they use a Render Farm. Other effective methods are also used such as fogging and draw distance so that objects in the distance are either fogged out and invisible or dynamically changed to a lower poly to save on performance whilst still being immersive for the player and saving on memory.  

Lighting in 3D space can be crucial and has 3 core types: Point Light, Spot-Light and Area Light. Point lights are common for studio lighting effects and are close to real life lightbulbs. In this way, they emit light in every direction and disperses over distance. Spotlights operate like torches, being mainly directional in a cone shape and is typically used as a torch that the player can use. Area lights represent windows or screens, with a square of directional light. In Portal 2, Windows with fully lit offices behind them provided a large light source for the level scene. When lighting has been built, shadows are created relative to the 3 types of light used. Shadows add depth and realism to a scene and can potentially be built with raytracing when a light source is added.  

Texturing is also important to 3D models as it provides realism and feel to an object. An artist can add colours and materials to an object and the object can match the properties of the material. With clear materials like glass, light is reflected and dispersed differently to hard opaque surfaces. Changing aspects like these when modelling leads to photorealistic graphics and convincing immersive worlds. To simulate lighting for textures, normal mapping and UV mapping are used. This makes clear what parts of the texture to pop out, and that has an effect on how lighting affects the model. UV Mapping refers to opening out a shape as a 2D net to best apply a design and tailor it to each face.  

Pixel shaders are used with normal mapping to create more detain without eating up processing power, determining the characteristics and colour of a pixel to bring out more detail in models during animations. When rendering a scene as a 2D image, projection and clipping come in to play. Essentially, only what the camera sees is rendered and anything outside of the frame or obscured by an object is ignored. ‘Rendering’ itself refers to creating the 3D model using the aforementioned tools, tricks and methods. In this process, raytracing or radiosity can be employed to create a more realistic image. Radiosity is mainly used for real time rendering in games as it takes less processing power and runs more smoothly. Raytracing, however, is best used when rendering a single image as it works out lighting down to the individual pixels. Raytracing is becoming more accessible as technology improves and is beginning to find its way into film, TV and some games; though the gameplay performance does suffer significantly.  

When rendering many frames of an animation or many images under a strict time budget, Render Farms are used to distribute work between multiple servers. This saves a lot of time as one computer doing every frame of a CG sequence in a movie is ineffective and very time consuming. These servers will be running Rendering Engines, which translate the 3D model or scene into a two-dimensional image or frame. Many different engines produce different results as they use a variety of different methods. The three leading Rendering Engines are Lux, Maxwell and Blender. Lux is the fastest of the three, but the results are less detailed and blurrier with the poorest lighting. Maxwell handles colours the best, but each frame takes the longest to render. Blender produces images with sharp, crisp lighting and shadows and looks more realistic but lacks the colours that Maxwell can produce.

[letsreadwomen]

remainder of july + august roundup

it’s still acceptable in terms of timing right? i didnt read much in august due to holidays and travelling and family shizzle, which is also why the blog was on hold for a while. but im back to reading so figured id start with what i read in august and what is following shortly :)

JULY #2 (april through july #1 here)

Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capo Crucet this one has been living on my ereader a while and i wanted to pick something i’d had for a while rather than track down something new - and in this case it was the right decision! this is such an insightful study of life at an (im pretty sure fictionalised) ivy league university when hailing from a poor and marginalised area as a second-generation immigrant from cuba trying to find her way in the world of academics. it reminded me of The Summer Of Chasing Mermaids when the protagonist missed her heritage being all around her. strongly recommend both books and if you happen to read them both close to each other i’d be curious if they indeed pair well!

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee im pretty sure the only other superhero novel ive read was Dreadnought and that was long ago enough that i wouldnt be able to compare them. so that should establish my (non-)credentials for you. that said, i really enjoyed the energy of this story and characters. some of the twists were signaled a bit too often or strongly for them to merit the shock factor at the reveal. the conspiracies and family and friendship relationships felt genuine, especially the wish to trust in authority despite some warning signs. the soundtrack of The Incredibles works really well as a reading playlist for this, just fyi.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman i truly do not often read books not by women anymore, and they need to be supremely convincing (or book club assignments) if i choose to pick one up. but i read the His Dark Materials trilogy when i was younger and have been wanting to re-read it for a while now. the release of the BBC trailer for the upcoming tv show just served as a timely trigger. this opening novel just works really as an adventure novel with animal sidekicks which makes it solid reading for children while still having subtle (and less subtle) hints of storylines occurring beneath the surface and behind the scenes for adult readers.

AUGUST

Picnic At Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay i honestly do not remember how this crossed my radar, but it’s likely i was browsing my library’s borrowbox app and it came up. a friend of mine played michael in a theatre production at uni, but i admit i did not take in much when i felt obligated to go and support him. so as penance and to make it up to him i decided to read and then rant at him about it! it’s a cool mystery and analysis of characters, one of the few times i enjoy a slower pace in a novel because it just suits the atmosphere so well. give this one a go if you’re into disappearance mysteries, australian boarding schools for girls, mingling of classes, and some weird teachers and other various positions of authority.

The Cows by Dawn O’Porter i first found out about this one because of the book club im in: this year’s theme is animals so we were considering this novel until we realised the cows in the title are a metaphor for the wholly human characters. still, the concept sounded intriguing so i picked it up for some non-book club reading from my library. and it was really enjoyable! fully fleshed out female characters in completely different careers and with completely different goals and dreams, who we meet at points in their lives when things are shifting. the book focuses on women’s roles as mothers and i highly recommend if you’re interested in reading various perspectives on the matter.

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman this installment is probably not my favourite (im still going through the third one) as it feels like not much happens in terms of plot - but there are lots of character introductions, world building, and relationship developments. plus, lyra discovers fizzy drinks. maybe it will grow on me more in hindsight, but please know that i definitely enjoyed this one and would still recommend the trilogy to anyone with an interest in multiverse fantasy that features souls manifested as animal avatars and a thoughtful study of organised religion through a host of unique characters. great reading for children and adults alike, and probably makes for excellent reading to children.

coming up im working on finishing The Amber Spyglass (just under 3 hours to listen to) and i picked up and completed When Dimple Met Rishi after my parents were a bit negative about arranged marriages and i wanted to read a positive take (though this one is a bit ambiguous on the matter i guess). i also refreshed my palette a bit with a christmas romance because sometimes you need a comfort read when emotions are being annoying and acting up. stay tuned for more news and if you have any comfort reads to recommend they are always welcome x

[themediareviewer]

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

I should probably not do something different almost right off the bat, but seeing how I have just finished reading the book for Miss Peregrine, I thought I shouldn’t shy away from sharing some thoughts on both versions of this little diamond in the rough. If you would like to see my book review, you can find it here, although a bit of a heads up: I’ll probably be including a comparison of the two versions in that review. So if you’re interested in that analysis, please go check it out in the link above! For now, here’s the movie review, pretty spoiler free, in case you’re wondering! :)

It all started on an uneventful evening when I was looking for something to watch on Netflix. I finally I fell upon the movie Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016), a movie my mother had mentioned to me before. When I first heard of it, my first thought was that it was probably Tim Burton’s take on the X-Men. Peculiar children with special powers? Seen that, done that. But then, I read that title again and, who could read that and not be intrigued by it? It is one of the coolest titles I seen.

Now, although there are similarities between Miss Peregrine and the X-Men, saying that the two stories are similar in any way would be like saying that Romeo and Juliet and Avatar are basically the same thing. Suuuure, there are a lot of similarities, but let’s be honest, there is a lot more to a story than its plot points. Characters, settings, texture -- all of those elements can affect a story’s quality as relevantly as its plot. And it is in fact those elements which set Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children apart and above from other movies for me. I wish I had the time to describe all the little things that make this movie so interesting in my opinion, but I suppose I would rather you just go and watch it if you have the time to read me describing all of these good things one by one. Nevertheless, sometimes it’s good when someone point things out to you in movies, so you can pay them special attention when you watch them later on.

- Jacob: what I’m about to say will definitely not sound as flattering as I mean it to be, however, Jake is not an annoying main character. What I mean by this is that when a reader or member of the audience is about to embark in a journey of 2 or 10 or 50 hours through a story, they probably don’t want to spend that journey in terrible company. Make your protagonist too flawed in the beginning of the story, and you simply won’t convince the audience to begin the journey to begin with. Why do I care? Where are we going with this? Those are essential questions when I’m coming into a new story (even if I don’t ask them consciously). And in this case, I was very intrigued about where the movie ‘was going with this’, and ‘I cared’ because Jake wasn’t a brat, so I could enjoy the ride beside him. That -- paired with the fact that Asa Butterfield’s narration voice was incredibly pleasant -- was enough for me to be hooked within seconds.

- Miss Peregrine: it seems silly to point out that the title character is interesting, but believe me when I say, you shouldn’t take these things for granted. Harry Potter might not the most interesting character in each of his books, as much as he is the most essential to the plot. Well, in this case, Miss Peregrine was in fact the most interesting character of the movie for me. As Jacob first approaches her home -- after having run from ruffians, rode past drunken men, set fire to a bar, and finally reached her home breathless and frightened -- Miss Peregrine looks at him then at her hand watch and exclaims, “Right on time!” Ah, what a brilliant introductory line! (And she proves to be right to boot!) Miss Peregrine is a very intriguing and beautiful character -- though not a flawless type of beautiful (will I lose credibility for calling Eva Green any different from beautiful?). What I mean is, that it is the character’s mind that sets her apart, not her looks or clothing. She is absurdly confident regardless of the situation she’s in, and she deals with her children’s peculiarity with such calm and grace, you are almost convinced that they are indeed perfectly normal. She is the type of character I wish I could have in every story. One I would confidently leave my children with. A perfectly complex character with a set of imperfect flaws and insecurities -- the perfect mix for a superb and enticing character for me.

- The scary factor: much like the book, this movie doesn’t let you forget that this is not a world for the weak of heart. From the beginning, the pictures Grandpa Jo shows Jacob are not particularly endearing. There is always a sense of the Creepy in the movie’s atmosphere -- whether it’s on the children’s emotionless expressions, or on the contrast between the immaculate state of the house and the visibly disturbing powers some children display, or even the observation of a bombing as nothing more than a beautiful celebration of fire and explosions. The first time we are introduced to the villains and what they did, I could not believe how much I had misinterpreted this movie’s target audience. Nonetheless, it is the movie’s willingness to go into those creepy zones and not shying away from the grotesque, that truly got me on the edge of my seat.

Now, as much as I would love to say the movie is fantastic, I do have a few reservations in regards to it. Like many adaptations from books (an aspect which I’ll explore in my "books” post of this story), the ending is a bit... off. (Hear me sigh as I say this.) Think of it this way: A producing company wants to invest on a safe story to invest millions of dollars in, so they buy the rights of adaptation to a bestselling book. However, they can only be sure that the first book of the series did well. (In the case of Miss Peregrine, there are two other books at least in the series.) Well, now we have a situation similar to what happened in the case of The Golden Compass (2007). The director Chris Weitz took the gutsy approach to a situation like this: by the end of the movie, the protagonist literally takes a breath and states all of the things they didn’t accomplish throughout the movie! It is the sad sound of ‘Things you should look for in the sequel we really, really hope we’ll be able to make!’. And I say ‘sad’ because many people might have actually forgotten about the plot points that weren’t closed during the movie. This is a risky approach because if the first movie doesn’t do well, a second one will likely not get made. Which means we end up with an incomplete first movie, and no second to complete it. 

Tim Burton (or the production company behind the movie), seemed to take the safest approach instead, that is to say, to tie all loose ends as well as possible and if there is a sequel, just tare them open again... Agh. See, I don’t say ‘agh’ often, but loosely tied ends warrant one, I think. It is not a classy story solution and sometimes it completely contradicts or prevents important plot points from taking place later on in the second or third movies or books. Now, I am not saying that there is a clear cut solution to this problem; however, it is sad to think that a story is only deemed worthy of being told in its entirety if it brings enough money back. Imagine if Peter Jackson decided to tie all loose endings by the end of the first The Lord of the Rings “just in case”. They could maybe have killed Gollum off before *spoiler* he could guide Sam and Frodo through Mordor *end of spoiler*, or maybe they could have simply locked The Ring away at the end of the first movie and say a grandiose statement like, “The Ring will be safe from any who seek it... At least for the time being.” Cut to black. And then, were there to be a second movie, they could simply create an excuse to open up the cave again which would prompt the second leg of the race. I’m not saying it wouldn’t work, (and maybe if this weren’t adapted from a book, I wouldn’t have minded it so much) but books end at a certain point for a reason. They often leave important unanswered questions that will be revealed later on, or leave a character’s arc to be further developed. When directors and producers decide to “clean it up”, it often produces movie endings that feel rushed and unfitting. There is no sense of fulfilment or gratification. It’s like the movie credits are still rolling when the last few words show up: “The end?”.

Well, Miss Peregrine’s is no different. The ending feels too quick, like the script was really trying to push a climax and conclusion to Jake’s character arc, and conjured up a "full-circle” ending that nearly had me rolling my eyes. And I don’t roll my eyes at art! I always remind myself that art requires a lot of love and dedication from its creators, so I always try my best to respect them. But it is precisely because of how great this movie had been until that point, that I was immensely exasperated at its last 5-7 minutes. The storytelling had been so on point till that point that it was simply a departure from its own pacing and atmosphere. In conclusion, it’s a pity that this ending was a part of the movie, because you will have to endure those five final minutes in order to savour the wonderful 122 before it.

[naavispider]

Would you consider writing a golden compass x avatar AU one shot someday? I love it and I would love to read it in the form of a story

I don’t think I can commit to a fic set in this AU atm, I’m so sorry! I love the concept as well, but I have at least three other fics I am currently writing right now 🫢 maybe in future, for example if we get to Christmas 2024 and I’ve nothing else on then sure! If we’re all still here I promise I’ll cool something small 🥰