#but its amazing and i get so much visualisation out of it

[du-hjarta-skulblaka]

I'm up to issue 9 of Chainsaw Man now and I do not regret this choice in the slightest, it fucking slaps. I'm in romantic and physical love with Quanxi and Violence Fiend really is just a Lil Guy

[rottenraccoons]

Hi!! First of all, I wanted to say how much I LOVE Obscura, I’ve played through chapter one enough to get nearly all the endings now!! You guys are doing amazing work, I’m so excited for chapter two!

My question is sort of a writing/planning one! You’ve created such an interesting and complex story that can branch out in so many ways; so what is it like to plan and write something this complex, and what was your process like while developing it? Any tips?

Thank you!! <3

Aw, thank you!

I think our story can look deceptively complex from the outside, but from the inside it's actually pretty manageable (and this would be true for any story you make, too!). I'll show a bit of my process and hopefully that'll help you.

So this is a peek at what my workspace looks like (cropped to avoid showing too much). On the right are all the variables I'm working with, on the left is the script, and that little red square poking in is the preseason testing for Formula 1, because I need background noise to work (and I like F1).

With the variable list visible like this, it's actually very easy to keep track of all the different possible choices the player has made, and so it's pretty easy to either accommodate them or write in ways that suit all possible versions. So that's cheat #1: just keep your variables on hand and you eventually get used to thinking about them as you go.

Another thing that helps is our plot structure. Sam Kabo Ashwell wrote a very helpful blog post that helps visualise the different way choice-games like interactive fiction, CYOA stories, and visual novels can structure their branches. Obscura might look like a "sorting hat" at first, but it's better to think of each route as its own "branch and bottleneck" narrative. No matter what happens in the branches, things always bottleneck to the same place. No matter how your party goes in Oleander's route, either you get a bad end or you end up dancing together. So cheat #2 is to just think about places where your narrative can converge and ensure that your branches will come together to that bottleneck again.

Which isn't to say that this doesn't take work! If you're used to writing totally linear stuff then it can take a little time to get used to thinking in terms of branches and variables. But the good news is that when you start at the beginning of the story, there's not too much to think about. As long as you don't dump a huge number of variables on yourself right away, you can build them up as you get more used to thinking about them as you write.

I hope that helps!

[fairyminnie444]

just wanted to share something positive regarding manifesting my celeb sp to vent and maybe motivate ppl! for context, i discovered loass back in july and have been consciously manifesting a relationship with sp ever since. i didn't really understand how to do things "correctly" and was relying on methods to get me what i want (that i knew did nothing to make me confident in having my desires but i forced myself to do it since it worked so well for other people *sigh*) until i had a big 'aha!' moment a couple months back where my understanding of living in the end/living in the 4d finally clicked. so, around that time i was scrolling through social media and saw a quick advertisement about travelling to sp's home country and had such a strong urge to book a holiday there next year and so i just did it, and it felt so right. after that, i've been walking around with such a deep feeling in my gut that we're already together, we're perfect for each other and that we will meet on my holiday. no matter what i'm doing or where i am, being in a relationship with him is always in the back of my mind like it's something instinctual. my sp is someone with a very busy schedule, to the point where he doesn't have any free time at all to be wondering the streets and meeting new people. well, it just got announced that he will be taking a long break from his schedules (for the first time in his career) at the time i will be visiting. also, last week while visualising what our meeting will be like for fun, i briefly thought 'it would be so cute to meet him at a record store', then shortly after he mentioned he visited a record store recently (something he hasn't done in years). also, all of my friends and family keep telling me that they see me dating/marrying a celebrity even though they know nothing about me manifesting him lol. this period now where i'm just waiting for the months to pass by until my holiday is very strange honestly but nice, since it gives me a chance to focus on manifesting other things in my life and letting sp take a backseat since oddly i found it way easier/more natural to manifest him than anything else (i guess my self concept is stronger in that regard)? also, people put wayyy too much stress on which tense to use when manifesting. you can affirm "it will happen" instead of "it has already happend" as long as you have that true belief in what you're saying. sorry if this was really clunky to read, i've never actually sat down and layed it all out for anyone before hehe <3

yayyyyyyy ngl im so curious hahha

anyway thank you for choosing me to tell this, and congratssss for your manifestations.

its amazing to see how you got this, it’s already done and its all yours <3

[cherryblossomforest]

You know what? I'm actually proud of how much we've managed this year. It's been absolute hell but we made it. I keep having to remind myself that we actually are safe and secure right now. That's amazing! Despite this year starting in hell, we've managed every single day even when it felt like we were dying.

We also have reached new levels of working together too and whilst we still have a long way to go we aren't so judgemental of each other and can at least not be disrespectful which is huge! With that has come more memories which is really difficult but to be expected. Lately I've been helping Namaari and Amara cope with their trauma reactions in fun new ways which is great. I'll tell you something... ChatGPT is my best friend for finding new grounding techniques and visualisations to help parts remain grounded. I also learned more about Amara and I've come to the realisation that she's a trauma holder but also a protective part especially when it comes to protecting Namaari. Working with her has gradually helped us have newfound empathy and compassion for her too and Namaari.

I've been able to sit in a memory without completely losing my grip on the here and now and I'm able to at least validate how they were feeling in this memory. Whilst it's not fun it is something that's helped us become closer. Its also given me more perspective without remembering a whole load.

I've also been able to reassure Melanie and Niara and help them get out of their memories. It's easier to help these two because I've known about their trauma for way longer.

I've learned I actually don't have to know about the trauma to help parts cope. I can help them stay grounded which then helps the rest of us.

This doesn't always work and I'm learning that's okay too. The small steps I'm making with help in the long term.

[pharawee]

As it turns out, I unfortunately don't have the time to both gif I Feel You Linger in the Air and write commentary (also, it kind of feels like cheating since I've read the novel and know what's going to happen. I've read some of my mutuals' theories but joining in on the conversation kind of feels like ruining people's fun 😔).

That being said, I love the novel not just as a BL novel but as a beautifully written and crafted (and translated - it comes with so many footnotes!) story in general. Definitely check out the official translation if you like IFYLITA and want to support its writer. It's well worth the money.

I've written before that I was very curious about how the series would approach the way the novel almost treats the past as its own character. Descriptions of history and culture and architecture (and language but unfortunately some of that gets lost in translation by necessity) are so vivid and colourful, and it's such a big part of why I love the novel so much.

You'd need a huge budget (and lots of cgi) to translate this attention to detail into visual form - to the point where it would probably detract from the story itself - but IFYLITA found such an amazing workaround that adds so much depth and colour to the narrative: instead of relying on the environment to tell a story about the past it concentrates on the characters itself.

And tbh at first I was a bit irritated by the large cast of secondary characters (most of which exist only at the very fringes of the story in the novel) because I thought it would take away from Jom and Yai's story. There's an episode early on where 20+ minutes pass without either of them appearing or being talked about.

Only, the story as it exists in the series would simply not have the same impact without Ming and his aging mother, or Fongkaew's tragic backstory, or Prik's family background, or Ueangphhueng and Mei's quiet love story, or the sympathy the series extends towards characters like Khamsaen and James (Robert can get f'ed in both the novel and the series though). It's the intricacy of their relationships and social standing that paints a picture that's just as vivid and vital as Jom's observations of the past in the novel - and I love that. It's such a natural, visual way of storytelling and it complements the novel incredibly well. It's like the novel offers an inside look through Jom's perspective, and the series provides an outside look through showing the characters and their lives.

There's so many other things I'd love to write about eventually (like how the series portraits Yai when in the book we almost always view him through Jom's eyes, or how the series visualises the mystery and horror of Jom's time travel, or how both novel and series treat karma) but giffing comes first because silly moving images is what I'm here for. 🙏

[onejellyfishplease]

I am all about constructive criticism. I mean, how am I supposed to get better at writing/drawing if people won't be honest with me and give me tips to get better. I personally think that people who can't take constructive criticism aren't very bright. How are they supposed to get better at things if they don't listen to others who are just trying to guide them?

Also, I would love some more tips on how to make the shell better. If you are willing, of course. :)

I am horrible at drawing. I usually have to trace things to get a decent drawing. (For instance, I traced like five different things to make Mikey a pony.)

I'm so much better at coloring than I am at drawing. My writing needs work, too, but I'm getting better.

First of all, can I just say that you shouldnt worry about tracing art to improve your own (as long as u aren't posting it as soley your own but thats a whole other rabbit hole) I did too! It helps build ground work for a good understanding of anatomy and poses.

However there are a few holes in tracing. Forst of all it is quite limiting in the outcome of your work, as your art is stuck static in one pose. this can alkost hinder your ability to see things in '3D' and visualise objects for multiple angles. it can also lead to 'skin wrapping' , which i think is the hole you fell into here (and also a term i just made up now)

with the shell, you only coloured it within Mikey's trace lines - this caused the shell to loose a lot of its mass - making it look, quite frankly, not like a shell.

a way to improve on this is to look at more references of Mikey's shell in the show and its shape from different angles. this can help you get a good idea of how it should look, and it is a good idea to practice drawing it from these angles. this will improve your ability to think in a 3D space, (which is so darn hard, but seriously useful)

however, and you may have noticed this yourself, when you add new additions to the figure, the line art just doesnt line up! the line quality is different!

This is because the line you have done for the addition is Your Line. And we love your line.

so lets make the rest of the traced lineart fit into your style, instead of you fitting yours into theirs okay?

You may notice that when you trace art, the line work is just not the same, the lines are shakier than the original and it just doesn't look as good. this is not a reflection of your skill.

It is because, usually, (at least when I did it) you follow the original line so closely that it turns out shaky, probably taking your pen off the page a few times to take a break from the oen stroke. while the original artist did that line in one sweeping stroke.

a way to fix this, and make the line arr cleaner and more you, is to instead use the drawing as a very close reference. for example:

instead of tracing the exact lines of the art, merely trace the general shapes of the art. not only then do you add your own flair and gesture to the drawing, you are then more free to add more shapes to this sketch.

You can still use the reference drawing as closly as you want, but try to focus less on getting the exact lines copied, and more on the general shape. you linework wont be perfect the first time, it might be really messy compared to your usual tracing, and thats fine! you should see some of my sketches before i refine them!

But these will be your lines, theyll be smoother and more gestural, and overtime you will get better control over your penstrokes doing this.

Okay I cant really think of anymore to add here, I hope this helps! i think this was just one big word vomit lol. Keep drawing!! cause no matter what you do, as long as you are actively drawing you are always improving! dont be afraid to push yourself out of you comfort zone! who cares if it doesnt turn out the way you wanted it to? Its your art, You Created That with your Own Hands, and I think that is amazing.

<3

[krizzler]

How I see

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

-as someone with synesthesia.

#1 - SKINNY

I kinda think of skinny as light, pale and soft. I think the lyrics really reflect those elements, especially since the song is mostly about body dysmorphia. And when I think about body dysmorphia I think of pale and colourless things. So everything about this song just lacks colour, but in a good way. I think it symbolises Billie's growth and development through the album. She starts paler but then she slowly develops colour through the songs, also symbolising that she's found herself and she's comfortable in who she is.

#2 - LUNCH

Lunch is definitely a hard one. Whenever I listen to a song, I can always see all the colours in different parts of the song. Especially this one. But it only looks good in my head and to physically make it visual to other people is hard because I had to include all the colours without it looking terrible. So what I did was I kinda channelled the main colours and what came out was blue and orange. Blue being the base of the song, and then orange being the guitar in the background. These two colours and this song make perfect sense to me and I'm super happy about this one.

#3 - CHIHIRO

This song is mostly blue but BITTERSUITE and BLUE are blue already so I wanted to make it more diverse. So I gave the song a listen and decided that the base of the song is blue 100%, and in the chorus of the song you kinda feel melancholic, euphoric, ethereal etc. So I drilled deeper into my brain and decided that in the chorus of this song, I could feel a bit of yellow. I think it adds to that floating, euphoric feel of the song.

#4 - BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Unfortunately my least favourite on this album. I obviously don't hate anything Billie's put out at all, but it screams clean girl. I can't stand clean girl so I have a bit of a dislike towards this song. It's a good song obviously, but not for my ears. It's very soft and dream like, and I think the white and baby pink really reflect it. Love how this is like a polar opposite to LUNCH.

#5 - WILDFLOWER

This was nice to do. Finding and looking through photos really helped me understand this song better. It's the perfect balance between hard and soft. I think this is like the middle man in this album. Especially when you know what it's about. Or who. This reminded me a lot of Guitar Songs (TV and The 30th). It's like a morning walk through a field on an overcast day at your grandma's house. It's a bit of a laid back green. Symbolising the mood of the song.

#6 - THE GREATEST

This was the hardest song I've had to visualise. This song is more of a feeling than a visual. But I'd probably say it's a mix between blue and green. Blue being the base, green being the accents. This whole album definitely has blue in most of its songs. I'm still not sure how to view this song but I think this is the closest I can get.

#7 - L'AMOUR DE MA VIE

I don't think this song needs much of an explanation. It's neon, it's bold, it's different. It's a vibe. The colour perfectly matches the sound of the song. I mostly see red and orange in this song and I think that's to do with fire for some reason. It's hot and it burns your eardrums like a hot branding iron in the best possible way.

#8 - THE DINER

I think the diner has the same look for everyone. It's dark, spooky and possessive. I can't believe it's second least streamed song on the album because it's my no.1. Black is the base of the song because I feel like it's set at night, then we have red because it's hot and bold. I added in some photos of circuses because the little instrumental sounds like a spooky circus. This is THE Halloween song of 2024. Fight me.

#9 - BITTERSUITE

This is such an amazing song. To me it's blue. But a very darkkk blue. It also feels like you're drowning so I incorporated lots of water into it. This feels like swimming at the sea in a storm. It's terrifying and exhilarating in the best way. I think this song would also smell like Eilish no.2 and I'm so sad that this is the least streamed of the album.

#10 - BLUE

this song is the bluest of blue. It's neon. It's again more of an feeling that a visual. Very similar to BITTERSUITE but just more vibrant. I find it hard to explain this one but I think for a song that's also hard to visualise, it's probably the most accurate on the list.

[dangersam]

Happy Holidays everyone, here's one more small update for the year!

Weld tool

This is a new script mod tool that allows parts to be attached to one another, without them needing to be properly aligned together.

They can even be unfrozen.

Jointed attachments can be created, including rotary, slider, or any other type.

Note that the attachment locations are still derived from the part's alignment grids, so an attachment can't be created at an arbitrary position or orientation. This doesn't make much difference for fixed attachments, but it does limit the possible locations of jointed attachments.

Also note that some part behaviours may be expecting only one attachment of a certain type, and creating extra attachments with the weld tool may result in unexpected behaviour.

This tool is really intended for advanced builders who want to circumvent the usual grid based limitations, it's not intended to replace the standard building system.

Lua scripting

For the modders out there, there are some additions to the Lua scripting API. From a Lua script it's now possible to get and modify part behaviour tweakables, create and delete part attachments, and even apply physics forces to parts. I look forward to seeing what you can come up with using this stuff!

There are a few other improvements and additions too, as always, check out the release notes for details.

Thanks to you all for your support this year, for playing the game, and for sharing your amazing creations!

Release notes:-

Lua scripting changes and new features:-

Added new ITweakables interface implemented by part behaviour to provide access to its tweakables.

Added methods to IAttachmentOperations to create, replace, and delete part attachments.

Added FixedUpdate entry function, called on Lua scripts once per simulation time step.

Exposed fixed delta time value.

Added new IPhysical interface implemented by part descriptor, with a method for applying a force to a part.

Added TargetedPosition property to ITargeter interface.

New script mods:-

ServoTool - Sets a servo / stepper motor's trim angle from its current angle.

WeldTool - For attaching one part to any other, without them needing to be aligned together, or even frozen!

PhysicsExample - A simple demonstration of applying a force to a part.

New 2.5x9 truck wheel (rim designed by Nate).

Implemented joint force / torque debug visualisation, and added options to ConstructionDebug script mod to enable it.

Added dropdown menu to part behaviour UIs, as an alternative way to choose a joystick axis to bind.

Added toggle to video options for disabling chromatic aberration, independent of vignette.

Bug fixes.

[22degreehalo]

So recently, I started watching Bluey!

In a way, that was inevitable: I was a brony back in the day (and yes that sure is a whole subject in its own right I'm not getting into right now lmao), I work in a setting where I frequently interact with children, and I'm Australian. It was just a matter of time, and when my aunt over the Christmas hollies demanded my parents and I watch 'the cricket episode', that was just the final permission I needed to do it.

So, those are three potential reasons to watch it: because kids' cartoons can be highly enjoyable and good viewing in their own right, because it'll help me better understand and relate to kids, and because it is The big cultural product coming out of my country for this entire decade probably and that's interesting.

And all of them turned out to be well-founded! It has helped me to visualise a lot better how kids work and learn and live, and it's good viewing: the animation is pretty, the music work is great (some very well-placed classical pieces alongside the Steven Universe-esque chiptunes), and it's equally capable of being sweet and funny and genuinely meaningful. There's a lot that can be said about that; the contrast with the mixed reaction to the 'darker' Avatar remake, or even just the way limitations (in this case, quick 7-minute runtimes) can breed creativity.

But it was that third reason which surprised me the most. I'd heard all the jokes about how American kids are picking up Australian slang and even accents and so forth, but I never properly prepared myself for how... it would feel, seeing my life depicted on TV like that.

It's not like Australians never get to see our country on TV. We have our own reality shows and soapies and all that, but I don't watch the latter and the former... aren't exactly depictions of ordinary everyday life. When Australia does show up in media, it's usually through satire: either Simpsons-style, or our own home-grown Kath and Kim or The Castle. And that's not a knock on either of those last two: they're pitch-perfect depictions of Australian culture and I'd highly recommend anyone who wants to understand Australian humour or social mores to watch both! It's just that they're very... self-deprecating. Which, again: Australian culture. We're like that.

But Bluey is so... beautiful.

I've always had a weird relationship to my country. I've never really fit in much with the culture; I'm too sensitive and sincere for it, and it's usually pretty obvious I think. And the environment? I just don't entirely know how to relate to it. All of our holidays are based on a calendar and geography an entire world away. Native plants and animals and the like always seemed like they Belong To the, well, native Australians. I'm not witchy, I'm not a health junkie, and I'm not super outdoorsy (though I do like a hike now and then!). My main way of interacting with my country is through just walking down the street, and marvelling at how pretty my city is, and how lovely (and/or annoying!) the birds are.

And I get that from Bluey. Something it's good at, even outside my personal connection to it I think, is depicting this certain sense of awe at the world that children can have, when everything is so new and strange and wonderful. The pilot episode features a long, zoomed-in moment of the youngest child encountering a walking leaf bug, and her whispered, thinking-out-loud amazement. 'Why would a leaf want to walk?' indeed!

And there's that: the rainbow lorikeets flocking in trees; the jacaranda flowers softly falling outside the parents' bedroom window. But also the man-made things. The green deck chairs out on the lawn, drinking white wine and cider while the dads barbeque. The sausage sizzle and pavlova. The opening presents Christmas morning and then going for a swim in the pool with your cousins.

It's romanticised up the wazoo; it boggles me a little when people complain about how big the titular character's house is, because... yeah! It's idealised! It's meant to be pretty and comfy and a little wish-fulfilmenty. That's not to say that everything is perfect, but it's larger than life; not to quote the old cliche, but it's a preschoolers' show, for gosh sake.

And for someone who has always loved the world too much and felt silly and cringy and embarrassed by it, there's something really, really lovely about finally getting to see artists direct that love at the actual world I see around me. Not exactly the same; where I live is much drier than Brisbane, for starters. But it's close enough.

This, I really feel like, is a new cultural image of Australia that will resonate in the public memory. Not Mad Max, not Steve Irwin, just a pretty, hilly city by the beach, with bright cockatoos and wandering bin chickens, shallow creeks and gumnut 'dollars', and families gathering for barbeques and friendly games of backyard cricket.

(The cricket episode really is a very good one!!)

[ferret-does-stuff]

A while ago I made a theory on Project Edens Garden and with Chapter 1 coming up I thought I'd share some more thoughts as my original theories have shifted slightly.

This will include spoilers from the demo (specifically from WeebyNewz's video) so you have been warned.

I'm going to make a tier list of least to most likely to die characters in this post just to try and visualise how I feel at the moment with information we have. Keep in mind this almost definitely will not be accurate when Chapter 1 does release.

Like many others, I originally theorised that Cassidy would be the one to die in this chapter, but honestly it's so in-your-face that it seems like a red herring. Ingrid also gets a lot of screentime in that little segment at the start, but it's less obvious and while it's unlikely that either of then will die yet, it isn't something that can be ruled out at the moment. There's a strong possibility, but it may be a red herring.

I also want to rule out characters who have barely been given any attention (Desmond, Ulysses, Jett, Mark) as since they haven't had much time to shine, I doubt they'll be victims this chapter (blackened is a possibility, but none of them seem to have a motivation to kill currently).

I also want to rule out Diana and Toshiko, Diana because she seems to be being set up as a support to Damon, as she defends him and goes against Wolfgang and I think if she were to die it's more likely for her to die once the despair truly kicks in, as she knows that a murder is possible but doesn't seem to be motivated from what we see. Toshiko seems too plot relevant to die in the first chapter, plus I doubt anyone in the cast would stoop so low as to kill a child, if she is to die it would be late game and probably as a blackened.

Also I should've mentioned this at the start but I'm completely ruling out Damon and Wolfgang, again they're just too plot relevant and I doubt Damon will pull a Kaede, he's not stupid enough to risk it and Wolfgang is in complete denial, he wouldn't kill anyone at this stage, nor would he be an easy target.

In terms of characters I think might live but there's also a strong possibility of then dying are Kai, Eloise, Jean and Wenona. I have my reasons so just hear me out. Kai and Eloise are two charaxters with clear motive to get out as fast as possible (Kai with his career and Eloise with her mother) which makes them decent candidates for becoming blackeneds. I can honestly see Kai as a victim, since he's both an easy target and not many members of the cast like him. Wenona has her buisnesses but her rivalry with cassidy would be interesting if one were to kill the other, but she seems as if she has room for development and I can see her as a mid to late death. Jean also seems to be getting quite a bit of spotlight this chapter, ehich raises some death flags, especially since he and Tozu seem to be at odds as he discovered the secret area. I wouldn't be surprised if he were executed by Mara.

And now for the characters that I think are most likely to die. I think Eva and Grace are both very likely to die. I think Eva could become a blackened to use the groups distrust of her to make herself seem as if she were framed, then use that to pin the blame in someone else because its never the most likely suspect, is it? In the Bible, Eve is the first to fall to temptation, I think Tozu will make her an offer to act as motivation. Or, she could attempt murder and someone will kill her in self defense.

For Grace, there's an audio file in the trailer that includes a distorted version of her screaming "get me out of here" in the first trial, sounds suspiscious right? Grace has also already had a brush with death once in this game, she wants to get out as soon as possible. She's stressed and in a bad place, and she might do something drastic.

Anyway here's the tier list

Anyway this is all speculation, have a good day

And thank you to the devs for making such an amazing fangan!

[disdaidal]

by the way i wanted to stop by and tell u that i feel you very much re: your writing struggles and dilemmas!!! like it's so frustrating having so many thoughts and ideas and plots and headcanons etc and feeling like it's physically impossible to get down into words! and it sucks that it's so clearly and easily visualised in our head and yet when we attempt to put words onto paper/document it's like. this is a Mess.

but also literally every time i start criticising my own work these days i try and pull myself back and be like this is literally for me and when i don't put pressure on myself to try and have it perfect and ao3's greatest hits worthy then i usually end up having a blast typing out all my lil funky fic things and it's fun again. and then i wanna share it with a friend and i realise it's not coherent enough for that then it sucks again. then i tell myself its for FUN and it's a vicious cycle lmao

ANYWAY all that to say i hear you wholeheartedly and i think whatever you've managed to write is amazing and every little fic and au you've ever thought is probably incredible and i hope u always know that ❤️🫶🏻

Aaaand two days later~ 🙈

I already started writing a lengthy answer back to you, but then Tumblr decided to be a fucking 🍆 once again and deleted everything, so. 🤪

Anyway, I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said here. Having all these ideas, all these tropes and AUs, all those scenes and dialogues circulating in your brain and yet you feel like it's not good enough—definitely not good enough for publishing. You keep telling that to yourself: it's not good enough, it will never be good enough, you'll never be one of those popular writers who write these total bangers one after another, so why bother, right?

But I also wholeheartedly agree with that statement that you should primarily write for yourself. I also had a lot of fun recently writing something on my docs that I still haven't fully published on ao3 or anywhere else, and I gotta say, I kept rereading that work over and over again because that one I truly wrote it for myself. Like, it felt so good to be self-indulgent for a change (I honestly can't recall the last time I've genuinely enjoyed reading my own writing before that, which is very telling I think), and when I suddenly experienced that feeling—that pure joy—once again... That feeling was so euphoric.

Like, what even is the point of writing anything if it feels like nothing but pain and misery all the fucking time? 🙈 It should be fun and self-indulgent. Most of the time, at least. It's really fucking hard for sure, but it still should be fun.

Anyway, I'm rambling again here, so, thanks so much for this ask and your words of encouragement. Made me feel a little bit better again. <3 I also want to say that whatever you're currently writing, even just daydreaming about, I genuinely hope you're having a blast at it. And if you ever decide to publish/share any of those stories of yours, I'm 100% there are people out there who are ready to kiss your feet just for writing that story and sharing with them. I certainly feel that way about certain stories, even authors, so. Who knows, maybe our stories could have the same kind impact on other people, too.

Gotta stay positive and just... goddamn write. Right? :D

[emmym1]

My thoughts on... Black Widow 2020 (#1-5) "The Ties That Bind"

So after finishing the incredible 50 issue run of Captain Marvel by Kelly Thompson I decided to start reading Black Widow (2020) which also happens to be written by her! I was super excited to read it because Black Widow is one of my favorite characters in the MCU, and while I had casually read some of her comics a few years ago I never really was able to delve into everything the character had to offer in the comics. So it was super excited I now have that chance! And I have to say it absolutely blew my mind how amazing these first 5 issues were, all of my expectations were exceeded.

This run started off amazing and immediatly grabs your attention within the first three pages with its amazing art and visualisation of action sequences. It was actually incredibly how fluid and smooth the action in this. It was drawn in such a way that you could easily understand the flow of the action while also seeing every single detail of it. The art in general in this is absolutely fantastic in everyway. I was really intrigued by the setup of this first arc. Black Widow getting taken out only to reappear as a super happy mother in a perfect family. I was really curious to see as to what actually happened. And as the story progresses you get more and more Truman Show vibes. I think it was a really great pick to have Arcade be the mastermind behind it as this type of thing was completely up his alley. I loved Clint's and Bucky's involvement in this as well. Them trying to figure out what is going on with Nat and not being sure whether they should pull her out of this or not. It's really bittersweet in a way, as they realize it is too good to be true for Nat but still hesitating to pull her out as she seems genuinely happy and at peace. It's kind of tragic too as I imagine she hasn't had much peace or chances to just live life and be happy, and now that she has that chance she gets forced to leave it all behind. Her slowly remembering her old self and then remembering who she was was so well done. The way she slowly took upon her old spy habbits was great. In general they did an amazing job at showing how much her being a spy affects her mind, how she percieves things and how she stands in her daily life. Little things like putting tape on the door so she would know when someone was waiting on her, stuff like that really did a lot for her characterization and showing how much being a spy influences her daily life. The moment she realizes everything and is back to her old self was kind of heartbreaking in a way. As she knew from that point on that she wouldn't have the chance anymore at a peaceful and blissful live with her husband and kid. Even worse, that she would have to break all ties with them so they would be safe and wouldn't get caught up in her troubles. It must've been such a painful moment for Nat, because you see that she genuinely cares for them and genuinely wants a normal life with them. But she just can't. And it's super heartbreaking because you know it really hurts her that she can't have that. The final few issues of this arc were defintely the most emotional and admittedly made me tear up a bit. Them trying their best to bring Nat's husband and kid to safety. And just as she checks up on them and turns her back they get blown up by the people behind this entire mess. That moment was incredibly emotional and heartbreaking, especially due to how good the art was during it. Nat crying as you see her face through the fire, realizing what just happened, and why it was right of her to force them to break all connections with her. It's very painful. I'd imagine that in the back of her mind there was a small part that was convinced that they could make it work somehow and they she could have her happy life with them. And now she gets the ultimate proof that she can't, no matter how much she wants it.

The reveal afterwards that it was a fakeout and that in reality her husband and kid were safe somewhere else on the planet was really shocking. Because it completely recontectualizes the scene where they get "blown up" and Nat cries. One could say she was just acting so everyone would be deceived and convinced of what happened. But I feel like those were genuine tears because like I said she gets the ultimate proof that she can't have a normal and happy life with them. But furthermore, from that point on they're basically "dead" in Nat's eyes. She can't ever see them again, no matter how much she wants it. She'll never know whether they'll be happy and never will get to see her kid grow up and that must be absolutely heartbreaking to realize. And that's what I think she started to realize as the plan was set in motion and the explosion happened. Her happy, perfect family is gone forever and even though they're still out there, she can't ever see or reach them. It's incredible tragic. But the moment that really hit me was this piece of dialogue she has with Bucky afterwards, who was the only one in on the plan: "There's an ache in me I've never felt before. In all the things I have been through... the highs and lows... the peaks of joy and the depths of sorrow...all pain and regret...nothing has felt as empty as this ache. It feels like and endless hole. And I cannot imagine how something so dark and endlees and empty could ever be filled." Seeing her say this and breakdown into bucky's arms on the floor was incredibly emotional and heartbreaking. It really made me tear up because you realize how tragic all of this is. And it only gets proven further in the last few pages of issue 5 as you see both Nat and then her husband and kid sit at the front of their houses each in a different part of the world as Nat talks about finding peace and happiness thinking about how she might be watching the same sunset as them. It's such an emotional page. This first arc just completely sold me on this run. I was left feeling absolutely speechless and emotional after finishing this arc. It really shows how tragic Nat as a character is and how bittersweet her life is. The trajectory of her life is such a tragic one but yet she manages to always push through and be better, even now when she basically lost her entire newfound family that she was genuinely at happy and at peace with. But still she pushes through and wants to be better because of them. And that's what really makes this character so interesting to me. She's been through so much, suffered so much and yet she still stands strong even though it's not always easy and even though she'll never have the normal life she might dream of. She does the best she can given her circumstances and knows who she is and what she can do, but also the things she isn't and can never have. I'm so happy I decided to start reading this run. I'm completely hooked and this first arc just left me feeling speechless and emotional. The art and writing of this run is just absolutly incredibly, every action moment is perfectly visualized and the writing just really sells her as this incredibly spy that can't get topped by anyone while also being a really vunreable person deep down. The last few issues were just incredible and I can't wait to see how Nat will evolve from this. Will she be able to become better for them as she promised or will she give in and take revenge for what she lost? It's going to be really interesting to see where they'll take the story from here. And I for one can't wait to read it!

[kasdim-xaldai]

ufo mapping + astrolabing: plasmoids, drones, etc

an astrophysics + astronomy applied project. we are plotting the latitudes and longitudes of recent UFO sightings. we will extrapolate the data to recognize geo-celestial patterns, that may inform us about interstellar intelligence.

UAP Sightings Map from National UFO Reporting Center in Davenport, Washington USA.

Gather latitudes and longitudes. ~ "Have you reported it to NUFORC yet?" You definitely should, asap, and send them the media evidence and additional information. Follow the link above. ~ People often get anxious with paranormal/abnormal activity, so be open-minded and patient with people. Also take into serious consideration and empathy, that if they saw some gnarly sh*t while they were genuinely just minding their business, that is a live changing and mind-altering experience. So, we do take things seriously (yet), and with a grain of consciousness and salt. ;) ~ I suppose that's where we step in and gather those stray posts. Not only will it help connect us with other Starseeds and Chosen ones, but its a peer support service that can very well help people not lose their minds, by normalizing something very abnormal. By the simple fact of "there are people out there that don't think you're too crazy or eccentric to listen to". Just be as clear as you possibly can, and be honest!... ~ If for whatever reason the sighting cannot be reported, or is not yet filed with NUFORC, (a) drop a pin via Google Maps, and copy and paste coordinates into an email addressed to soley@criptext.com, or a threads social media post to @apollo_soley; (b) If you have EXTREMELY gnarly additional information, that is perhaps too "woo woo", eccentric, or "too spiritualist" for mainstream, and also including your own divination and scrying that you would like to keep insulated and private: drop pin via Coordinates app by Mapnitude Company Limited, save and label, and share with us!

Plug lat+long into Planetarium. (a) Using Dominic Ford's In-the-sky.org we have an amazing tool to observe the stars and celestial around the given coordinates of latitude and longitude. (b) This same portal gives us an EXTREMELY important tool, the Live World Map of Satellite Positions. This is so important in distinguishing our plotted UFOs *from* already accounted for spacecraft. Granted, we as regular civilians who are not government level officials, can only see BUT so much. However, this project will attempt to gather and streamline as much verified, valid evidence as possible, to establish record of potential supernatural phenomena. So exciting ^_^

Distinguish UFO from Satellite, Drone, and/or commercial aircraft. This will be a tough task, considering that we are starting from scratch, as astrophysics enthusiasts who are hella online, and inspired creatives on our Spiritual Ascension journey....

data mapping method inspired by: https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/20876745/embed

article that inspired project: > https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14210747/Interactive-map-reveals-drone-sightings-new-jersey-texas.html > https://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/interactive-map-shows-alarming-trend-in-drone-sightings-across-the-us/

along with a lot of threads fyp + tl surfing.

email me soley@criptext.com with lat's and long's of ufo sightings, along with links and attachments of all relevant proof of said ufo sighting. this is a global project. yet, as i am based in the USA, a lot of the content will likely skew this way, but don't let that barricade interests, collabs, and reportings. it is important for the world to unite and ascend to 5D, and verily beyond. im stoked to hear from you and travel with you, starseed ^_^

[grandhotelabyss]

After doing the Joker 2 review, guess I'll do one for Megalopolis too. So watched a camrip of it, cause after the reception all my friends where scared going too the theather lol, but still: In short, I didn't like it as much as Joker 2 - but that probably means little to most, cause Iliked that one quite a lot.

But Megalopolis was interesting too - but one has to get the mood and tone of it - hence why it's called "a fable" on the title screen - it kinda is a farce on porpuse - many scenes, many of the best ones, are super over the top, just parodying the ridicolousness of the US's real life "new rome" wants - from virginal pop stars that get rebranded as hellish rebels after getting exposed in all ways of the word, to transvestite presidential candidates and other funny shit, like literal wrestling, both greek and american. Yet I'm not saying all of the farce works - cause the one that doesn't is the one which is not trying to be it - the whole "megalopolis", this city that is a metaphor for humanitys worth and potential - sadly fails the most - because it is supposed to be brillian, inspiring and groundbreaking, yet all the visualisations fail, on some level. One of the worst examples of that, is when the city is shown in full cgi "glory" - the lacking and video gamey looking special effects are only made worse by the total lack of originality in art direction or just any novelty - the city of the future might as well be from "meet the robinsosn" or any generic "this is what society if X happened" meme -

But those can work as either being kitch, or because they are jokes, yet in Megalopolis, everything depends on this one thing being real and aspirational - it could fail to being too ambigious, that would still work, but it looking like out of a toothpaste commercial is just...eh Yet maybe I'm too harsh - maybe it is supposed to look retrofuturistic, to even remind us to Copolas friends cgi worlds from the star wars prequels, which now often mocked, where something new - and which have been abandoned for nostalgia and screams for "real effects like when I was a kid in the 80s" More realistically, it could be that Copola is just old, and I dont say that with any malice, but that he just thinks it looks a lot cooler and original than it is - like my grandpa being amazed by a VR headset while I think its an embarassing waste of time. But still, even with this seemingly giant blunder - I think I am selling the movie short, because I don't regret watching it, even as a camrip where I could see a sudden shadow lifting up and walking out lol:

Yet that segways me into an interesting visual choice - a 9/11 esque tragedy being depicted by having the shadowws of the people be seen on the building walls - one of many great and interesting visual scenes. But it wasn't even just empty spectacle, the threat of a "broken Soviet Satelite" did obviously hint to Americas own fears of living in the shadow of the cold war, and it's new enemies emmerging literally from the sky 9/11 style. So I hope I didn't just shit talk the movie cause it was enjoyable in the end, even if it kinda felt a bit naively optimistic with the evil trump guy getting mussolini lynched and all the good guys making up and going to tommorow after giving a cartoon level good guy speech lol. But speaking of animation - I think this movie would have been praised to high heavens if it was made into an anime or something lol - then all the absurdity, the camp and the alternate history stuff would have been accepted without question and praised as "daring" - (or maybe not because a obviously satirical netflix pseuod anime "neo yokio" got mocked as "so bad it's good" for obvious humor and commentary because it was too strange and too disimilar from family guy or pokemon at the same time) Another simmilarity one could see is with Kurosawas "Dreams" - because that one was also a highly visually orientaited movie which was dragged down by a naive old man vision of the world "we just need live with nature in peace" "we just need to work together" - but do to my own biases I agree with Copolas childish "love will save the world message" more so it is what it is. And hey, Kurosawas real final film was his best and most interesting one, so maybe Copola will do the same. I dunno, I cant control time that much to see into the future for sure.

Agreed about the anime. I agree on the CGI but I thought the style itself was interesting, Art Nouveau replacing Art Deco as I said in my piece!

[inkedmoth]

"hey hows the writing going today?"

me with an armful of floor plan sketches: dONT LOOK AT ME

so yeah not much writing today lmao

floor plan rambles below the cut cause why not!!!

So clockwise from top left: Rhosynel's family home > Boromir's Quarters > Héobald's home > The Meduseld

Rhosynel's Home: Rhos's home is a decent sized one level building in the fourth level of Minas Tirith, it serves as a good midway point between the various inhabitants different job, and just about fits all seven family members (plus Ilmara)! Rhos's parents (Rhysnuar and Tholcred) manage the stables within the sixth level, while Rhymenel works in the Houses of Healing (and Wrennarys trains there) while Hamasael works as a merchant within the marketplace, and Rhos is up and down the City like a yo-yo.

There's an L shaped living space with the kitchen in the upper L and the dining and living area in the lower part. A corridor (which I should probably narrow and add a door to) leads to the four bedrooms, Rhos opted for the smallest room once Faelrys was born, and a tiny washroom.

I like to think its probably reasonably standard size for the mid levels idk

Boromir's Quarters: OKAY SO I imagine there's a larger complex for the Stewards family, but I also really liked the idea of Boromir basically having a bachelor pad, which gives him a semblance of privacy away from his father, his own safe space so to speak. I DO imagine this is separated from the Stewards Complex by a single corridor, so he's not fully away from his kin.

A decent entrance way with space for shoes/coats/weapons to be dropped, leading into a spacious living area which is semi-open plan between the sitting/dining/study, but can be portioned off with screens if he wishes. There's a fireplace directly opposite the door, with a very nice painting of Finduilas above it. The dining table is big enough for 8ish people, and he has a private study because this man is absolutely a workaholic. He has a large bedroom (with a large bed hee hoo) and a small private balcony with a table/chair for reading, as well as a closet and washroom off to one side.

Honestly it's probably reasonably humble considering he could have remained within the larger complex, or even opted for a bigger set of quarters. Also there's no kitchen cause let's face it they have servants to keep them fed and cook elsewhere.

Héobald's Home: We've not reached this house in Swift Wings but it DOES crop up eventually so I wanted to sketch it out anyway. This house is based within Edoars, the films has the city being a bit sparse, so I've headcanoned it as being a little more built up. I've been visualising this building as being a bit like a tudor town house, tall and narrow and somewhat skeewiff from the outside.

The entrance hall is narrow, with low ceilings and thick beams, but it leads to a warm kitchen/living space (passing through a space under the stairs to access the back room), and is nice and cosy. There's a washroom downstairs, which also acts as storage and laundry. To get upstairs the staircase is very narrow with low beams and leads to a narrow landing and four kinda cramped rooms.

Since Héobald lives with his three adult kids, his daughters husband, AND two twins, their bedrooms are cramped but warm even in winter, with thick knitted blankets and oh whats this Only One Bed you say? I wonder how that got here.

Meduseld: Full disclosure for this layout I found this neat floor plan and based my ideas off it.

The distinctive great hall with its throne, pillars, and fire pit, are fairly akin to that of the movies. But from there I've created side and rear chambers accessed by corridors (and I've just realised I've utterly neglected anywhere to wash. amazing.) To the left we have the Heirs Chambers, increasing in rank the closer they get to the Kings Chambers, while on the right is either rooms for visiting dignitaries, established lords, or just flexible living to be used as needed (aka I ran out of ideas)

The three rooms at the back are for the Kings use, and consist of a private study, his own bed chamber, and then a council room. Fun thing I thought of, directly behind the throne is the fireplace of the kings room as I'd like to think that residue heat may seep through the wall and warm the back of the throne a little lol.

anyway, now to fend off the urge to draw an entire map of Minas Tirith

cause i wont lie i really really want to

[seriously-mike]

Spackle, Glitter and 90s Algorithms

Oh boy, did I get schooled lately. Namely, I mentioned Suno and Udio, the Great Automatic Discopolizators, to someone who's into music, coding and weird software projects from thirty years ago. I really haven't expected something so simplistic and outdated from those websites, particularly now, but hey, "AI" is nothing but a gold foil sticker slapped on any half-assed algorithm these days.

what am I looking at exactly? That specific website appears to be running on a standard "Midi Bard System", loaded with the various sample libraries that have been published over the last century that sample libraries have gotten published. Mixed with several libraries similar to OpenUTAU The "Midi Bard System" operates on a similar methodology as the Jabberwocky Poetry Generation system. Yes, the Jabberwocky Poetry generator is referred to as an "AI"--but it lacks any form of sophistication so as to make path-finding in 90s RTS games seem like fscking Einstein Look, it looks like the main source of this dispute is you not actually being as familiar with computers, electronic music and any of the underlining systems involved in creating them, that what essentially is a fairly cheap trick can seem like excessively advanced technology What I am seeing here, is an old toy--that LISP enthusiasts would go on about to not end--being loaded up to the gills with samples and instruments to work with--based largely upon what has been published over the last century to legally make use with But okay, I guess a concession here is "The Bard Midi Toy is _technically_ something you can call an AI" But like... this is literally just the Jabberwocky methodology being granted more stuff than text to throw onto a page This is not as advanced as you are making it out to be

I will note that I am impressed that somebody took a toy from thirty years ago, and jam packed it with ALL of the Midi Instruments (ALL OF THE THEM) and every sample library from the last Century A toy that mostly didn't get much usage outside of "neat idea" due to how little CPU cycles people had, that music sequencing kind of required heavy optimisation to be a thing. So having an "AI" (by early 1990s standards I suppose we could call it that) that was inclined to put out stuff that wasn't what it was asked for--was not as much of an interesting thing to do As per background music, it would be done for a bit, but turned off due to its creations sounding "too samey" after a while -=- But no, this is not a new development in AI. This is literally somebody taking a toy that was only slightly more sophisticated than visualisers--and just throwing it onto a turbo charged server farm, with every Midi Instrument and Sample Package made thus far And yes, it _is_ able to be called an "AI"--but based upon the standards of a time period where Graph Theory was never well implemented into software--and Rubber Banding as a defacto standard for AI in games

Yowch. That kinda explains a lot of the stuff, particularly the way DMCA bots aren't picking up on any of it because it's - shockingly - original enough, slapped together from instrument samples and synthesized voice and not, you know, some form of mathemagical fairy dust made out of actual copyrighted songs, but what I still don't understand is how it imitates the voices of actual singers, particularly more distinctive ones like Lemmy Kilmister and Kazik Staszewski.

It also explains how other sites, particularly ones with more manual fine-tuning, work, but the most amazing thing is that we're dealing with rusted-out thirty-year-old junkers covered in spackle and glitter. That tech was out there for thirty years and only now it has powerful enough hardware to run on and gullible clientele to pay for it.