#backlog from june

[stardustandrockets]

Victor readjusted the shovels on his shoulder and stepped gingerly over an old, half-sunken grave.

In my opinion, opening lines can make or break a book. It’s the hook that makes me want to keep reading. Not in all cases, but in a lot of cases. One of my absolute favorite opening lines is from Vicious by V.E. Schwab. I was so intrigued by this line that I had to figure out why Victor was in a cemetery and why he was digging up graves. Vicious turned out to be one of my favorite books of all time with one of my favorite asexual leads.

Of course I had to share my Victor Vale magnet from Rainbow Crate for the third day of the anniversary challenge. I also couldn’t pick just one, so swipe to see my second favorite magnet inspired by The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

What book(s) has(have) your favorite opening line(s)?

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

A Blorbo You Treat Nicely, Right?

[rebonky]

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes 5/5 stars | 📖 | Read 5/21 - 5/26, 2023

First, we must all take a moment to appreciate how amazing the cover is. The main character, Yamilet, is a Mexican American lesbian and such an endearing character. While her journey throughout the book is a bit of a rollercoaster, it was heartwarming to watch her grow, gain confidence, and get a happy ending. Reyes creates a beautiful story about family and community prevailing above everything else, while not sacrificing any realism.

The In-Between by Katie Van Heidrich 4/5 stars | 📖 | Read 6/1 - 6/2, 2023

Targeted to a middle grade audience, this memoir in verse was a quick read, despite the difficult subject matter. While the book reflects the real life events of when Van Heidrich’s family was unhoused, the use of present tense and her 13-year-old perspective gives the story a sense of immediacy that captures the raw emotion of the situation— the frustration, anger, and grief all mixed up with the confusion of not being able to fully grasp the situation. The only reason that this wasn’t five stars is that the writing felt repetitive at times, but that may stem more from my personal issues with poetry than with Van Heidrich’s writing.

Missing Dead Girls by Sara Walters 2/5 stars | 📖 | Read 5/29 - 5/31, 2023

This was on the “new” shelf in the library’s teen section and I picked it up because the summary intrigued me. I must admit though that I was quite nervous about it because often these YA murder thrillers end up disappointing… and this one was no different. What bothered me most consistently was how the love interest, Madison, is treated as a manic pixie dream girl of sorts— a trope i disdain. Besides that, for its 225 pages, the book moves slowly with much internal monologue and flowery language that does little to take the plot anywhere.

[polarfarina]

Prompt for this one was "A blue man holding a pink eraser looks at an adult store." Knowing what adult store means but kind of tired of the same jokes being made all the time I tried to do something fresher... but this is kind of eh. Not every concept is a winner. I still think it's funny in my personal flop way

[eyes-of-the-rave]

more dnd art in advance of the campaign starting

more of my beloved małgorzata, same pose as my previous art of them but in their school uniform this time (they do keep the flashy-ass boots and necklace, though)

[front-facing-pokemon]

[emolgana]

thank u so very much it is a position i take with high honor

[robotwrangler]

I can now calculate exactly how many images of Yes Man I have accrued per year bc I remembered telling someone this in 2020

I have 1400 pics of yes man on my phone, am I cooked??

[shesnake]

Spider-Verse Artists Say Working on the Sequel Was ‘Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts’

Why don’t more animated movies look this good? According to people who worked on the sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, it’s because the working conditions required to produce such artistry are not sustainable.

Multiple Across the Spider-Verse crew members — ranging from artists to production executives who have worked anywhere from five to a dozen years in the animation business — describe the process of making the the $150 million Sony project as uniquely arduous, involving a relentless kind of revisionism that compelled approximately 100 artists to flee the movie before its completion.

While frequent major overhauls are standard operating procedure in animation (Pixar films can take between four and seven years to plot, animate, and render), those changes typically occur early on during development and storyboarding stages. But these Spider-Verse 2 crew members say they were asked to make alterations to already-approved animated sequences that created a backlog of work across multiple late-stage departments. Across the Spider-Verse was meant to debut in theaters in April of 2022, before it was postponed to October of that year and then June 2023 owing to what Entertainment Weekly reported as “pandemic-related delays.” However, the four crew members say animators who were hired in the spring of 2021 sat idle for anywhere from three to six months that year while Phil Lord tinkered with the movie in the layout stage, when the first 3-D representation of storyboards are created.

As a result, these individuals say, they were pushed to work more than 11 hours a day, seven days a week, for more than a year to make up for time lost and were forced back to the drawing board as many as five times to revise work during the final rendering stage.

"For animated movies, the majority of the trial-and-error process happens during writing and storyboarding. Not with fully completed animation. Phil’s mentality was, This change makes for a better movie, so why aren’t we doing it? It’s obviously been very expensive having to redo the same shot several times over and have every department touch it so many times. The changes in the writing would go through storyboarding. Then it gets to layout, then animation, then final layout, which is adjusting cameras and placements of things in the environment. Then there’s cloth and hair effects, which have to repeatedly be redone anytime there’s an animation change. The effects department also passes over the characters with ink lines and does all the crazy stuff like explosions, smoke, and water. And they work closely with lighting and compositing on all the color and visual treatments in this movie. Every pass is plugged into editing. Smaller changes tend to start with animation, and big story changes can involve more departments like visual development, modeling, rigging, and texture painting. These are a lot of artists affected by one change. Imagine an endless stream of them."

"Over 100 people left the project because they couldn’t take it anymore. But a lot stayed on just so they could make sure their work survived until the end — because if it gets changed, it’s no longer yours. I know people who were on the project for over a year who left, and now they have little to show for it because everything was changed. They went through the hell of the production and then got none of their work coming out the other side."

[armadillo-arts]

[art backlog: june 1, 2023]

i still like this one, i tried a couple new things—pixel brush, smaller canvas size (though this one wasn’t on purpose lmao, i copy pasted the sketch from an aggie), different coloring style— and got to stylize their calamity forms, it was fun!! i’d like to redraw it at some point, i have more ideas for these designs that i’d like to experiment with

thank you tumblr for not fucking over my image quality with the smaller canvas <3 unlike Someone <3 (well it’s not perfect but it’s better)

[nottodayjustin]

May-June 2024 best hockey tweet(s) of the day

tumblr decided I'm not allowed to post from my phone anymore so I had a backlog

[stardustandrockets]

What's a book that left you speechless?

It has been a while since I've read Blackfish City. This dystopia novel takes place on a floating city in the Arctic Circle. It's a queer, multi-POV story that will leave you questioning a lot of things. At least, it did me. I remember really liking how thought-provoking and relevant the story was. It took me a little bit to get through, but was so worth it. The twist and turns and how the author weaves the characters' stories together left me speechless at the end.

Have you read it? I was lucky enough to get a copy annotated by the author from a book box that no longer exists and it's so fun to have that insight.

Today is the last day of the 'Fight Like Hell' @rainbowcrate challenge. The prompt was to showcase the mug inspired by The Deep by Rivers Solomon with something watery. What better than a book set on a floating island in the Arctic and turning my dining room windows into the ocean? 😉

Synopsis: After the climate wars, a floating city is constructed in the Arctic Circle, a remarkable feat of mechanical and social engineering, complete with geothermal heating and sustainable energy. The city's denizens have become accustomed to a roughshod new way of living, however, the city is starting to fray along the edges--crime and corruption have set in, the contradictions of incredible wealth alongside direst poverty are spawning unrest, and a new disease called "the breaks" is ravaging the population. When a strange new visitor arrives--a woman riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side--the city is entranced. The "orcamancer," as she's known, very subtly brings together four people--each living on the periphery--to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. By banding together to save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay, they will learn shocking truths about themselves.

[defiledheartsblog]

I just released another monthly smut, thus increasing the backlog in size (it contains over 70k words!). This month's interactive smut and the backlog are available on my Patreon for my patrons in Outraged Fox tier. Now, the backlog includes:

June 2023: Kinda toxic smut with Marcus in a cave

July: Quinn wakes you up from a nightmare and is pretty weird about it

August: Niall gets ambushed by Hati in the middle of naked druid rituals (as one does) (with female Hati)

September: Kinda toxic Legate smut

October: Fooling around with a dom Camilla in her wine cellar (with female Hati)

November: Hati becomes the offering to Tinsae's goddess (another perfectly normal day in the peaceful town of Moguntiacum)

December: A drinking game with Niall and Marcus

January 2024: Reading poetry with Marcus

February: Quinn hogties you

March: Monster loving

April: Bondage with Niall (Niall is the one tying you up)

May: A trip with Tinsae

June: Revenge with Camilla (feat. Legate)

July: A cute little date with Marcus

August: In a closet with Niall (feat. Marcus and LT vibes)

September: A (slightly tragic) date with Quinn

October: How Samhain celebration could've ended with Tinsae and Camilla

November: Monster loving 🧌

December: A drama-packed scenario with Marcus and Quinn

January 2025: A sequel to the kinda toxic Legate smut (with male Hati)

February: Camilla punishes you (pegging included)

This month's chosen RO is Niall 🌼

[reputayswift]

INTO FOLKLORE: a folklore, evermore, & ttpd narrative playlist

The lives of several interconnected townspeople play out alongside their folkloric counterparts, answering the question: can we write our own endings…or are we destined to repeat the past?

insp. 1 2 3 4 5

[listen here] [visuals here] [follow along below↓]

CHAPTER 1: THE ROAD TO THE LOOKOUT 🛣️

gold rush -> exile -> chloe or sam or sophia or marcus -> this is me trying -> i hate it here -> epiphany -> hoax -> the prophecy

APRIL. James abandons a belated love confession over a misunderstanding at prom. Betty explores the folklore surrounding the local lookout, where a spirit still awaits her exiled lover.

CHAPTER 2: CLOSETS OF BACKLOGGED DREAMS 🎥

seven -> robin -> my boy only breaks his favorite toys -> peter -> coney island -> champagne problems -> the bolter -> marjorie -> clara bow -> thank you aimee -> the 1 -> dorothea -> i can do it with a broken heart -> mirrorball

MAY. On the precipice of graduation, aspiring actress Dorothea contemplates a proposal from her childhood sweetheart. 1950s television personality Marjorie Finlay faces a similar dilemma.

CHAPTER 3: FOREVER IS THE SWEETEST CON 🛸

cowboy like me -> I can fix him (no really I can) -> the tortured poets department -> peace -> august -> down bad -> loml

JUNE-AUGUST. James and August indulge in a whirlwind summer romance while hiding their true intentions. In the Summer of Love, two con-artists finally meet their match: each other.

CHAPTER 4: PROMISED TO ANOTHER 🌿

guilty as sin? -> ivy -> the lakes -> but daddy I love him -> illicit affairs -> the manuscript

SEPTEMBER. A 19th-century poet risks a prosperous engagement for true love. An affair between Betty's father and a bright young journalist proves to be anything but a fairytale.

CHAPTER 5: THE LOUDEST WOMAN THIS TOWN HAS EVER SEEN 🐈‍⬛

willow -> the albatross -> mad woman -> cassandra -> who's afraid of little old me? -> the last great american dynasty

OCTOBER. Inez hosts a Halloween party at a house rumored to be haunted by a historic town pariah. In the late 1600s, a woman is accused of witchcraft.

CHAPTER 6: NO BODY, NO CRIME? 🔍

tolerate it -> the black dog -> right where you left me -> fortnight -> it's time to go -> so long, london -> my tears ricochet -> how did it end? -> no body, no crime -> fresh out the slammer -> florida!!! -> happiness

NOVEMBER. Upon discovering her husband's infidelity, Betty's mother has a breakthrough about a long-forgotten cold case from the late 80s.

CHAPTER 7: 'TIS THE DAMN SEASON 🧣

evermore -> I look in people's windows -> the smallest man who ever lived -> closure -> betty -> imgonnagetyouback -> cardigan -> 'tis the damn season -> the alchemy -> so high school -> long story short -> invisible string

DECEMBER. Conflicts come to a head as everyone returns home for the holidays. The spirit at the lookout finally finds closure.

[where-is-hotguy]

Is hotguy stuck in a tree?

he certainly is! i'll... go get the ladder

......again

(FOR PEOPLE HERE FROM THE BRACKET PROPAGANDA: i am currently backlogged into late June with requests because i went inactive, propaganda requests will be fulfilled! it'll just take a little because i do asks in order. thumbs up)

[heliotropepajamas-books]

Fanbinding: Domina by AsMyWimseyTakesMe

Catching up on my backlog of books, I present fanbinding project #2

Domina by AsMyWhimseyTakesMe

Date Completed: June 12, 2023

Size: US Letter Quarto.  16,401 words/144 pages

Copies: 1

Sticking with my favorite 1920s characters, my next binding project was Lord Peter Wimsey set in a Sentinels & Guides are Known world.  While Harriet Vane wasn’t my favorite character in the book series I really like this fic because the sentinel/guide trope explains Lord Peter’s sudden obsession.  As always, we need more Bunter but there was a cameo from Bertie & Jeeves to tie it back to Green Ice (Binding #1)!

First time using HTV for anything, so ignore the gold gel pen touch-up on the spine.

I tried to keep things as close to my first book as I could - decorative paper from the same pack, all the fonts and measurements the same.  It’s going to be a thematic series going forward.

I don't seem to have the author's username if they're on tumblr, so please tag them if you know it!