#but wasnt this supposed to be a traditional drawing yes. yes it was.

[greasydumbfuck]

stardew valley frank yaaaay

[anris-resurrection]

Ramble ahead:

I went to school for studio arts, and in my senior year I had to take one final intermediate course. I'd been wanting to take figure drawing forever but it never fit in my schedule, but they finally had a course not directly in conflict with my ceramic (main focus) course. I didnt know it at the time but it was a blended course for the studio arts college and the animation college. So to my delight it would involve digital drawing as well as traditional. And since I had a tablet I didnt even need to pay to rent the schools. So I was excited. But! I had a job I was hoping to put in new hours at and previously, my studio profs had been good about me being flexible with my hours if the class allowed it, so I emailed the professor months in advance and make it very clear that I was just curious about the attendance policy and that if it were not possible to flub the hours I was totally ok with that. She says its strict attendance and I said cool thank you, she said cool thank you.

Anyways. The professors was a visiting artist, nice, talented (*cough* cute *cough*) new to the uni and new to the studio college. And on the first day she was doing ice breakers and asked people to raise their hand for the college they were from. There were probably like? 5 out of the 20 students who were studio artists, and I raised my hand for studio art. We get to names and hobbies, she says my name and doesnt even let me answer before loudly asking if I decided if I was committed to the class or not. I was cought off guard and mumbled a yes. And she moved on to the next name. After that we went over the syllabus and everyones mumbling answers. We get to the section about the online learning portal (were we submitted assignments and got grades etc.) She asks "do you studio art students know how to use the computers?" We all mumble a yes. And she looks me in the eye and says "what was that? Do know how to use the computers?" And like? I say "...yes, we use them all the time" and shes like good, I didnt know if you guys used that stuff around here.

We were sitting in a class room connected to a computer lab. In a building with a graphic design program. As a room full of college age students who had more than just art classes. But she assumed we didnt...know? How to operate the university wide online portal.

And then later on, in our first nude figure drawing lesson, I was doing it wrong lol, pottery kid remember. And she came up behind me and said, "you're not supposed to contour, didn't you studio kids already learn this?" I

Shocked once again, I reply, "no sorry I'm in the pottery focus and this is my first figure class, can you show me what to do?"

And she was like? Taken a back, that I didnt have experience with figure drawing. She said sorry and demonstrated the propper technique and I thanked her and she left.

Idk. My drawing wasnt bad, I draw people already so I knew how to draw a people realistically, it just wasnt... figurative... idk. so I guess she just thought I was showing off? Or being dumb, or annoying again lol, who knows. We did eventually get to a good place. Probably because I took her instruction seriously, but man, that was a weird class.

And the animation kids were weirdly combative too. So the studio building my final year was a brand spanking new dime piece donated by some rich people in town. And they hated us for it? Even though the old studio art building was a haunted leaky, remodeled gym a day away from collapse. And would drop how they had to actually apply to get into the animation program and how easy it was for us.....idk

Just? Thinking about college and that was the weirdest class I'd been in.

[voidselfshipp]

The Bells Of New York

Cw:mentions of a woman being harrased,implied sexism (cause its 1700)

A/n: much singing cause you know,cannon Is a musical

~~~~~~~~~~~

The horn of the boat blew as it was tied to the docks the plank fell and the servants went down it with the language of two very important guests.

Jerico jumped down the ramp holding her umbrella in one hand her father,Raymond dragged his feet to his daughter, who was looking around the place.

Suddenly a sound distracted her,the chime of the church bells.

--Father,isnt this beautiful?

Mildly annoyed her father said--yes my dear

--Do you see the snow around Us?--She sang-- Do you feel the peoples Will to change?

Oh look at them living their lifes, every day hearing the bells of New York square coming to life?

Jericos dad took her hand and stops her,singing--I see the desire in your eyes my dear but we have one hundred Years for our Revelation, we cant draw any attention

A is Woman getting harassed on the street,jerico goes to save the day to be stopped by her father

--This is unnacceptable look at all of this!--she sang with anger--This place needs some change, te digo yo que si!

--We have to wait,theres not time yet

--This town needs change

And that ill bring my way.

For I am the revolutionare

In the streets of New York! Get ready world cause i am here

And with me i bring change

To The sound of the beautiful bells

Of New York!.

Raymond sighed taking her into the carriage.

The Manor they stayed at was big enough for jerico to run around the place.

Before she could however her dad gave her a dress, not her style.

--AND a corset too?this is bull--

--no no,no swearing

--what is this all about?

Her dad sighed taking her hands-- im sorry dear but we need to act as it is normal here, the world is not yet ready for where we come from..

Jeri stormed off into her room upstairs bregudgingly putting on her dress.

--whats the matter dear?--vica, her helper said, putting on the corset.

--I dont enjoy getting my lungs crushed....

Vica laughed and nodded--it is quite challenging but after all the wars youve been through, I think this is nothing compared to you and your armor

Illa came in with the traditional terran dress,she put it on smiling at the familiar feeling of the lightweighted green fabric, the exposed shoulders and the turtleneck.

Sadly for her she also had to put on the cumbersome Pink dress of the eighteen Century.

--This is so annoying!--jer slammed her hands against her desk, while vica did her hair--I get to Keep my hairbun...at least

And so she heard the trotting of horses, she peeked through the Window to find two men stepping out of the carriage,she gasped softly and ushered her helpers approach.

Vica and illa leaned in,--who are they?-- she asked.

Vica smiled fixing their suit--alexander Hamilton and marquiss lafayette, your dad is helping them with the revolution, they catched your eye?

Jerico shook her head with bright Pink cheeks,and a knock on the door informed her that it was time to go to the dinning room--anyway we should get going,come on guys

Vica and illa transformed into cats,vica a black cat and illa a white one.

As jeri Walked down the corridors she couldnt help herself but to sing--would you look all around us, this luxury they gave us, just because.

The red carpets that cover the floor, all this Marble pillars and Stones,the biggest of mansions its all white and enormous, but with it they come prices to pay.

Like this stupid Pink dress...!--she went down the stairs picking up her cats--but at least our guests are quite the catch, wonder what they Will bring for us...--she stops singing entering the dinning room.

--Mr Hamilton, monsieur lafayette, my beautiful daughter, jerico.

Raymond put an arm around her shoulders and Walked her to sit Next to him.

Hamiltons breath hitches when their gazes meet, she had the deepest of green eyes he had ever seen.

He trips and falls over his words, trying to explain their plans for the revolution,lafayette wasnt of any help as it seems the beauty of their acquaintances daughter was making him nervous.

Raymond wasnt pleased with the two men after his daughter,who seemed to be rather amused by the mens behaviour.

But thank god, after a minute of trying the plan came across rather well, and with dinner everything calmed down a bit.

There wasnt Many places where jerico could add her own point of view, as part of her fathers "fit in" plan she wasnt allowed to add in conversations she was allowed to back in her home.

So right after she finished eating she excused herself and went to the big garden where she took off the dress and hung it in a Bush.

--Finally free!--she sings-- finally me!, can you feel the breeze blowing in the trees?!--Her cats walk closely-- do you see the clouds passing by in the night Sky?no rules to follow no stupid plans to act by, its me, myself and I!...--she twirls and falls to the Grass-- every small being, working day and night, the animals sleeping and stalking around?.

Oh how I miss being free, no stupid rules to follow,no plans to act by, just me...myself...--she made a pause- And I...

She sighs putting her knees against her chest and her arms around her legs.

Vica purss against her side--I cant wait to go back home...I cant Belive dad would make us act as something we arent,I dont like those dresses,I hate being diminished for the gender I was asigned at birth..I hate those corsets and I hate to act pretty and shy so the men arent scared away!

Suddenly a Man offers her his hand,he looks up.

Hamilton smiled softly--Then why obey by something that makes you feel so bad?-- he said helping her up.

--youre not supposed to see me like this..--she said gripping the sleeves of her dress that gathered at her wrists.

--See you by how you truly are?

--yes...--she sighed looking away.

He takes a few steps closer--if I may--he takes her hand and she meets his eyes-- I think youre very beautiful just the way you are, you shouldnt abide for something that tells you you shouldnt be you..

--The whole situation is serious,and we cant risk it..

--but that doesnt mean you should Hamilton licked his lips and offered his arm--let me take you for a walk

She took his arm--if you think you can change my mind,youre wrong mr.hamilton

He chuckled softly--can I try?

--youre welcome to

And so they Walked through the garden, the quiet chatter being interrupted by soft laughter and terrible puns.

When it was time for him to leave he escorted her back to her room,and smiled.

--Will you come to tomorrows meeting?--Hamilton asked.

-- I dont think my father Will let me

--Then lets make a plan, ill leave the meeting early and ill meet you at the gates of the mannor,ill take you to town and ill give you a tour

--youre insane--she said with a small smile--i like that

She pressed a soft kiss against his cheek--good night, Alexander --and so she closed the door changing into her night gown, and falling on the bed.

During the ride home Hamilton couldnt stop thinking of her.

And she wasnt able to fall asleep thanks to the thoughts of him that plagued her mind.

Somehow someway they knew they were meant to be.

[blackicedragons]

Bro I must get the lore on Cyril and Ignitus. How did they get together? Why did they decide to have a kid (specifically for the prophecy if I read right)? When did their relationship start going wrong? And, most importantly, is there going to be a parent-trap style subplot to try and get them back together?

OH THIS IS A DELICIOUS ASK THANK U OMG

okay so i actually, admittedly, have way more of this thought out than i should bc i dedicated hours of my time to daydreaming about this........//////MAJOR SPOILERS for some elements of the rewrite btw!!

our four main guardians have, in my canon, been incredibly close for many years. ignitus was always known as the wise-man and the voice of reason, and despite cyril's bad attitude, he was always honest and kept up with tradition to a fault. ignitus was good at difussing the bad situations cyril caused with his rude comments, but cyril often stood up for ignitus when the red dragon found himself to be a bit soft-spoken. the two had a deep respect for one another and they spent alot of time together as close friends.

when the year of the dragon was drawing close and the prophecy reared its head, ignitus and cyril were asked by a council of elder dragons to make the egg that would become their savior (yes, it is because red and blue make purple. im incredibly creative, i know!!!) the council figured that two heavily respected guardians that had excellent handles on their elemental abilities would create an ideal purple dragon for the future. the two initially weren't very keen on the idea, but they understood that they were only being asked to do so for the sake of their fellow dragons. eventually, they accepted the plea. ignitus was the sire and cyril was the dame in the situation (in the rewrite, spyro is mentioned specifically to have ignitus's horns and frills while also having cyril's eye shape and scale patterns)

intially, the two of them only did this because they saw it as their duty as guardians. yet, ignitus found himself fretting over cyril often. he would guide him around carefully, making sure he didn't stumble around given the weight of his belly during pregnancy. he got cyril food, groomed him, cleaned his room, and spoke about how he wondered what their egg may be like. though cyril was a bit bratty about everything, he was incredibly grateful for ignitus's diligence and patience. cyril would ask ignitus to stay in his nest for the night, and exclusively sought out ignitus for comfort and care. for the first time, cyril was being fairly polite and even seemed to be happier, and ignitus had come out of his shell. they spoke for hours about their egg's future, and then about their own. volteer and terrador jokingly referred to them as the "new pair of love doves". after some time, cyril was actually the first to confess that he loved ignitus (he was always a little too honest), having said "no one has ever chosen to put up with me for so long" and, despite being a little surprised, ignitus reciprocated, telling cyril that he "could never really grow tired of him". despite not knowing what the future held, the two decided they would do everything they could to raise their child together, and to be with each other through whatever the coming year would bring.

and then the raid happened. the temple was destroyed, chaos was everywhere, and the eggs were all shattered. cyril was injured, and ignitus, feeling frightened and panicked, sent their egg away to hopefully find a safer place to hatch. the war began not long after. although ignitus cared for cyril and stood beside him in battle, his guilt only grew as the war waged on. he couldn't help but blame himself for everything that had happened. cyril tried to talk him out of it, saying he was being irrational, saying that none of this could all possibly be his fault, saying there was nothing more ignitus could do. ignitus refused to listen, and put the blame for the war on his own shoulders, feeling that it was the only way he could properly take responsibility. the two of them fought harshly. ignitus couldn't come to terms with his own self-loathing and grief, and cyril couldn't find his softness and reasoning in a time when things were so hard. after their last fight, they didn't speak again, and cyril was captured a few days later. of course, ignitus entirely blamed himself, and lamented that the last words he ever spoke to cyril were words of anger and sadness, and cyril lamented the same in his cage.

when spyro arrives and frees the guardians, ignitus and cyril are intially very tense! they both never imagined seeing each other again, and they don't really how to apologize to one another and how to make up for all the negative energy and time between them. they barely speak to each other unless they have to, and they refuse to be in a room alone together for more than a few awkward seconds. spyro, ember, and flame can obviously see how weird they're acting, but terrador won't explain anything. the three kids go to volteer who, of course, literally can not keep his mouth shut about it. he tells them that ignitus and cyril were once together and deeply in love, but the war tore them apart. ember, seeing a touching love story in the making, decides "HEY!!! LET'S GET THEM TO MAKE UP!!!!" and literally drags spyro and flame into her plans. the kids do anything they can think of; sending the two guardians flowers from """"secret admirers", throwing around mushy-gooey poetic love notes, lighting candles everywhere, decorating the temple, and trying to set the "perfect romantic mood" for the two sad-sacks. eventually, they get caught, and cyril and ignitus bring them into the training room to reprimand them. not having the courage to speak up, ember and flame are silent, but spyro eventually confesses that volteer told them everything, and that the kids just want to see their guardians happy again. taken aback, the two send the children away, and are alone in the training room for the first time. after a bit of silence, cyril speaks up first. "you never apologized to me.." he mumbles, the air around him feeling cold. ignitus counters that cyril refused to speak to him. the two begin arguing, and it seems like this is just going to be another horrible fight, but the two war-torn dragons break down. ignitus admits that he feels its his fault because he sent spyro away, and he could never make up for all the pain the war caused those he cared about. he couldnt accept that it wasnt his fault because he was the head guardian, he needed to be better, he was SUPPOSED to be better. and he wasn't, and now it was all too late. after hearing this, cyril, for the first time in many years, found his softer side. he spoke gently, telling ignitus that no one expected him to do this on his own, and that he needed to learn to count on the others instead of expecting everything out of himself alone. cyril told him that, even though their future wasn't a happy one, at the very least, they were both there. and spyro had come home. after a bit more talking, there's definitely like, a super passionated lovey-dovey kiss and make up scene, and it closes with the two stupid boyfriends deciding theyre going to tell spyro the truth

AND YEAH BASICALLY THATS ABOUT THE GIST OF IT i am soooo fucking sorry this response got this fucking long but i genuinely adore this plotline and it makes me soft and fuzzy inside!!! and yeah basically their relationship is gonna go thru some ups and downs but itll develop alot more as the story goes alone and i think itll be alot of fun to show u guys!!!!! anyway ajfjfjjfd thank u for asking me this bc i was looking for an excuse to gush abt them lmao BUT if u have any other questions abt my rewrite or anything go ahead and ask!! thank u thank u thank u!!!! <3

[knifenymph]

events from a meditation 💗

i just got back from a Big meditation about an hour ago and wanted to just log my results! i wrote this right as i came out from it so its a bit long because it includes like all details lol. you can ignore this!

super long meditation transcript under the cut

as i began meditating, i was met with this hound that i have been in contact with for the past few days. he has been managing my offering with bartering with the universe. he has gotten more aggressive with me as i have not kept up my end of the bargain, but is calm when i am obeying. last night he caressed my hair as i fell asleep, bringing my sleep poppet to me as well. he brought me into this meditation by having me hold onto the scruff of his fur and walk with him. he was avidly against me riding on his back; he does not like things on his back. he declined my suggestion to hold onto his underbelly fur as well. i was to walk. i was barefoot. 

i traversed different landscapes with the uniwolf; he brought me to a city on fire first, a grassy field next, then a frozen desolate landscape, and finally just the air. he was to teach me the strength of my love, i came to find out

    with the city on fire, we stood back behind it and he asked me to put out the fire with my love. he told me the fire was of cause to my actions of disobedience. he made me realize the disconnect in some of my actions; my first initial action did not have as big of an impact as i had originally thought. this message was also evident within the earth landscape. i harnessed the love that i held in my heart with thoughts of my loved ones and reliving memories, and pushed it out over the city in a mist like form. my first action was to push out my love like a wave, but when i took a second look, i realized that the waves wasnt as big as i thought. in analogy, i created a tide pool rather than an ocean.       i worked harder to push more energy into my love, and soon the city began to fizzle out. the townspeople were safe, but they were not our focus. soon the town was just dark with soot. we were done; my job here was done. 

     we began to continue on when i noticed i was barefoot. the terrain changed from a black void like astral plane into a more gravely texture. we were approaching the earth based element of this journey.

     in this part of the journey, i was to move a large boulder from the field. i had to figure out how to move this boulder with using just my love. my first instinct was to use my love as water to erode the rock, but i then changed into using it as a shovel as i knew that method would take longer than i would like to stand. i began using my love as a shovel, but the message from the fire zone resurfaced: my impact was much smaller than i had thought it was when i really looked closer. rather than shoveling out a yard at a time, it was more like a handful of inches. this was not good.     i began to shovel the earth more with stronger love, but then i began worrying about the bugs and the worms within the dirt. what impact was this act having on them? then i wondered about the Earth; was this hurting her? i was shoveling away her flesh and body. i stopped to ask the uniwolf of my impact; he said there were things living in the dirt, but they would be fine; unharmed. but i was not too certain. i asked the Earth if this hurt her and she said yes, but she was used to it by now. this was not okay with me. i was able to dig a significant ravine within the earth before i realized the harm i was causing. with this, the uniwolf congratulated me. i had understood the purpose of the task. i learned that care and compassion and consideration of others was one of the strongest types of love, even if it didn't move the boulder like i was supposed to do. by caring for beings even as small as worms, i exhibited the strength of my love

     the uniwolf brought me to him, i grabbed his fur once more, and we walked through a part of the ravine i built towards the next task. water. as we walked, i spoke to the uniwolf about my empty cup. he was confused on what i meant. i told him the metaphor that i had once heard: you cannot pour from an empty cup. i explained the meaning and he took a moment to ponder on it as we walked. i took out a cup from my heart and set it out into the rain to refill. i made a joke about something. he laughed. the rain was to cleanse and purify and refill my cup while also washing it of tensions and stresses and hurts and pains. i was refilling the scorpio moon water energy of my heart. my heart’s lake.

     he brings me to a tundra-like zone. it is barren and desolate, he tells me, when i ask if there are any animals in the water or any life around at all. my task is to heat up the water with my love and melt the ice on top. i first sink the top layer of the ice with the tenderness my love holds. the uniwolf watches on. my tenderness is heavy and sinks the top layer, and then i begin heating up the water with thoughts of the warmth love brings me: the heat of my cheeks after laughing so hard; the warm happiness i feel when talking to friends; the soft warmth i feel when i am regressed and small; these kinds of things. as the water heats up to a boil, though, i find that dead fish come to the surface. i turn back to the uniwolf in question, and he tells me that the water was toxic and had killed all the fish. that was why it was barren and desolate. with that in mind, i brought down a pillar of yellow light love to meet the raspberry colored layer of love on top of the water to cleanse and purify the water. the yellow love light instantly clears the water and brings the fish back to life. i draw the toxins out of the water and into the air, raising my raspberry love layer to come envelop those toxins so they do not spread far into the atmosphere. the love encapsulates it, then purifies it and drops more fish into the water.      i give the fish the ability to consume the toxins from the water and repurpose them into love and light. the fish are about four inches long and an angelic yellow, cream color. they are able to eat the poison and turn it into good, while still staying alive. i manifest that these fish will stay safe and protected, able to reproduce and repopulate this space

     the uniwolf asks me to heat up the water a bit more now. it has cooled to be a bit cooler now. he asks for it to be warm enough to swim in comfortably. after i do so, he asks me to get out so we can travel to the next portion of the journey. i wish to stay in the water to wade through as i have now made it warm enough to swim in. he asks me to get out. the area that was to swim in recedes and i begin step out, the fish flocking to me in thanks. as i step out though, the fish seem to turn into leeches outside of their natural habitat but i remove them after a moment of nervousness with pure love energy. it incinerates them as it pulses from inside of me. 

    the final task is not far; air. we walk just a ways away and he tells me to walk on air. the love i have for my friends makes me feel like i am walking on sunshine, so i use that. i walk up stairs of sunlight. i then realize as well that sometimes the love i have for my friends blinds me and makes me naive, making me a bit of an “airhead.” but i accept that and then channel that to aid me. i understand that sometimes my friends distract me and draw me away from my path, but they make me happy. i just need to be mindful.      i finish this task and he is proud of me. i have completed all of what he asked of me, finding different ways than the traditional at times. he tells me that he would like to have regular journeys with me where he can mentor me and teach me the ways of the universe. become whole and one.

     i ask him of the dream i had last night, as i have been asking to have vivid dreams of the things i need to know. i asked if with these journeys and lessons, will i be able to see spirits like i was able to within the dream. he said that i will be, but not as vividly as the dream. i understand that. [rest of the paragraph is redacted as it is personal]

i thank the uniwolf for what he had to teach me. i thank him for what he brought me to show him. as i was thanking him, he thrusted me out and away from my meditative trance, bringing me wholly and fully back to the physical. he was done with me and i was done with what i had learned. i thank him once again. thank you. 

[jonathankatwhatever]

An entire comedy routine just wrote itself by taking the idea of old jokes and going through them to reveal what makes them work. First one that occurred was, How do you tell the Italian motorcyclist? By the bugs on his teeth. Which you play up with a drawing or you exaggerate that in performance. Bonus points if it’s a comic making fun of a comic who does Italian jokes like that without irony. Super bonus points if you do it like Fellini, so you bring out why that joke occurs, why you can end the story of a man’s life with an eternal circus (while the Scandanavians play chess). And that became a simple voice trick: I say, I say, I say, boy. Sounds like a racist white guy, but put on black face and it’s Amos & Andy, meaning people think the voice is then black just because of the face.

So, you can argue the reason that old humor worked wasnt that it was racist, but that it portrayed things that people find funny using stock racial characters who actually reflected the fact that they were white men in black face, meaning the voices were exaggerated white voices of both how black and white people talk. Playing in make believe blackface (because it was radio) made it easier to laugh at the situations by giving a bit of distance. That distance is the reason, I think, for their success in early radio: it was common denominator American humor, and American humor is built on making fun of others. The idea is supposed to be that everyone here is some form of other to, well, most others. It’s the larger order social extension of Mr. Bennett’s observation that we exist to give sport to our neighbors.

Then I’d tell one of my favorite Jewish jokes about the guy named Jones who goes into court to have his name changed. The judge looks over his request and says, ‘I see, Mr. Jones, that you were here only 2 weeks ago to change your name to Jones.’ The judge carefully lays the paper on the desk, takes off his glasses, folds their arms together, then leans forward, and asks, ‘Why are you here to change your name again?’ And Jones answers, ‘So vhen dey asks me vhat my name vaz before Smith, I can say, ‘Eet vaz Jones.’ And I haf de paper to prove eet!’

This joke is so Jewish, it’s hard to describe. Here is a guy who figures out a loophole just so he can make an argument that not a single person will ever believe. Figuring out loopholes and finding they dont work is common to all humor. The Jewish twist is the absurdity in the end result: yes, he’s completely right, and no, he’s completely wrong! That is the Jewish God: it’s everything so it’s nothing. You can make an argument and that argument is literally everything, and the Jewish idea is that is absolutely nothing compared to God. To me, that is one of the ultimate Jewish lessons: stop competing to be God, and start instead competing to be a better world. The human need to impose control over others is like trying to prove your God’s favorite by mistreating or eliminating any other choices. That’s not the idea, folks.

But that takes me into the land of righteousness, and I need to shower and shave. And stop eating cherry jam though I love it. I would Pooh bear a jar of cherry jam with you. I have a long tongue.

So, above: construction of American humor as making a fairly blunt form of fun of others because that allows individual groups to maintain their nuances of traditional humor, at least for a longer period because mass culture is a process which can only be stable in certain aspects for so long. You can see how the grouping understanding is coming together. It’s much easier for me to see and describe in storyline: the shift of desire through familiar seeming pathways that correspond exactly to the melodies I play and how the textures shift colorings. So, I can identify where taboos shift, where a taboo becomes the attachment of distance, so a step of 1zK, and that, as it divides according to what I’m calling the familiar-unfamliar search sort function (so I can type fu a lot), takes the familiar and as sexual and attaches 1zK across each pair. As in, take daddy as f, so it fu’s to unfamiliar but still daddy. This answers a very old question of the line inherent in the question: in every way but ... as in she’s not my daughter, and that highlights how each definition ‘not my’ can be fu’d or not. A number of twists. Like plot twists, so this gets to storytelling itself.

[a-panda-reads-act-omega]

ACT OMEGA PART 8

THE 24/10/16 UPDATE

Woow, another liveblog from your favorite act omega liveblogger. Are there any other livebloggers out there i need to know.  So yeah, here we are with part 8! Big Vriska number for the win. Also only two updates away from double digits! Yeah, I’m not sure I thought this through with the whole update-update format, this might take a L OT of posts to get caught up. Luckily, I have no problem with making a fuckton of posts. Anyways, I think we left off with the kids, so lets hurry up and get back to them!

(Cant post the image. Here’s the link. http://mspfanventures.com/?s=16414&p=47)

GASP, IS thIS SOME MULTIPLE CHOICE SHIT? Well considering I’m forever going to be staying chronological, I suppose I should start with the one on the next page! 

A CHARACTER SELECTION MENU appears through the power of NON-LINEAR STORYTELLING. You know the drill by now, have some free will! Or just go in this order, if you think agency is overrated

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE

Oh, that’s helpful. Great, I’ll start with ONE then.

The fact that you are a dedicated and loyal reader is obvious and indisputable, so of course you won’t be moving on ahead without having taken a gander at all of the options presented to you.

Obviously! what kinda brainless CHUMP would move on without you explicitly stating to? NOT ME.

Anyways, starting with ONE.

PFt, woah their eyes. 

KANAYA: (Hey) ROXY: oh heeeeey! KANAYA: (Hey To You Again Except Slightly More Quietly) ROXY: (oh sorry)

It seems they gotta be quiet for reasons. H  m m M..

ROXY: (why r we whispering) KANAYA: (I Am Not Entirely Sure)

So they just need to be miss zuipPer lips for no reason then?

KANAYA: (That Just Seems To Be What Everyone Has Lapsed Into Doing) KANAYA: (And Now Speaking In A Normal Volume Will Draw More Attention Than Desired Especially When Attempting To Have A Private Conversation) ROXY: (im lovin this private convo already but you might need to make it snappy)

so everybodys just whispering? do they all got SECRETS? Also, what’s the hurry Roxy?

ROXY: (john looks about ready to get down n dirty with some srs leadership biz)

Oh yeah.

KANAYA: (Alright Then I Will Attempt To Be Brief) KANAYA: (I Wanted To Thank You Again) KANAYA: (For The Matriorb Certainly)

Alright cool! It seems that this Kanaya does remember Roxy giving her the good ol’ matriorb. 

KANAYA: (But Additionally For Everything Else You Have Accomplished Today) KANAYA: (I Know Being The One To Strike The Final Blow Against Our Shared Enemy In The Midst Of Battle Does Not Necessarily Warrant Gratitude But I Thought It Might Be Nice For You To Hear That What You Did Was Appreciated)

What she DID, was prove herself to be a goddamn BADASS. But honestly everybody here’s a badass one way or another. 

KANAYA: (At Least By Me) KANAYA: (On Behalf Of My Species As Well As All Those Who Suffered At The Behest Of The Condesce) KANAYA: (And All Those That May Now Be Born And Live Free Of Tyranny) KANAYA: (You Did Good)

Pft, nice. “Ya did good, kid.” 

ROXY: (omg i am cri)

goddammit these lines always manage to be fucking perfect.

ROXY: (that wasnt brief @ all but twas so so bootiful) ROXY: (gdi cmere moms big loveable space gf)

OK this doesn’t need to be stated, but I fucking love roxy.

KANAYA: (Um I Would Prefer It If We Saved The Hug For Later Maybe) ROXY: (aww ok thats cool)

nO FUCKING HUG NOW

KANAYA: (Anyway I Have Only Just Met You But You Have Already Proven Yourself To Be Just As Extraordinary An Individual As Your...) KANAYA: (Uh) KANAYA: (Rose)

Nice Kanaya.

ROXY: (as my rose?) KANAYA: (Yes Your Rose) ROXY: (;D)

ITS CONFIRMED, Rose is Roxy’s Rose. this conversation is so cute.

See you’re still over there TZ. Whatcha lookin at? The uh... oh youre blind. what are you doing terezi?? come on girl, celebrate!

ROXY: (okay looks like john got distracted by somethin) ROXY: (so since we got a little more time to chat it up) ROXY: (and so long as were exchangin bomb as FUCK felicitations) ROXY: (youre not so shabby yourself yknow) ROXY: (like damn i was absolutely right youre one deadly customer)

Yeah no fuckin kidding, this girl knows how to kick ass.

ROXY: (seeing u whip out that BEASTLY CHAINSAW) ROXY: (was a sight to behold)

PFt, that was nothing. You should have seen when she single handedly put three of the most dangerous characters on the meteor out of commision. 

KANAYA: (I Really Did Not Do All That Much Surprisingly) KANAYA: (Or Perhaps Unsurprisingly) KANAYA: (I Am Not Sure If I Was Erring On The Side Of Caution After All) KANAYA: (Out Of Consideration For The Gift You Gave Me) KANAYA: (Or If Perhaps I Was Simply Unpracticed)

Well yeah, she didnt do as much in this battle as the others.  But like she said, she had the matriorb to keep safe. PLUS, she wasnt godtier. So yeah Kanaya, you’re excused from doing your makeup during the final epic battle.

ROXY: (who cares??) ROXY: (we WON) ROXY: (gave that witch what was COMING TO HER) ROXY: (and thats the end of that no point gettin our knickers all in a twist over it no more)

Roxy’s got the right idea. There doesn’t gotta be any more “proving yourself.” You did the battle, and you came out on top!  JUst be done with it.

KANAYA: (Yes I Suppose Youre Right) KANAYA: (Though I Do Wonder How Things Might Have Gone If I Had Attempted To Dust Off One Of The Old Fraymotifs)

Oh shit, Kanaya’s got fraymotifs? And also, you can use fraymotifs without being godtier?

oh. wait. terezi isnt godtier is she? Yeah, you totally can use fraymotifs without godtier.

ROXY: (no kidding!) ROXY: (yeah that woulda been pretty badass) ROXY: (we could have had a sick combo) ROXY: (void and...) ROXY: (uh) KANAYA: (Space) ROXY: (right yeah space)

Well too bad you’ll never have the opportunity to USE that sick deadly combo!

I am ONE HUNDRED percent sure that will be the case

i am SO SURE

nobody has to die anymore

so

completely sure.

KANAYA: (It May Have Indeed Been Sick But Upon Further Reflection Perhaps Not)

No kanaya, it would be SUPER fuckin badass dont even give me that shit.

ROXY: (wait rly) ROXY: (how come?) KANAYA: (I Dont Feel Like I Ever Got The Opportunity To Truly Get In Touch With My Aspect Like You) KANAYA: (It Has Never Seemed Pertinent That I Be Able To Cast Some Sort Of Spacey Enchantment) KANAYA: (In Fact I Have Yet To Stumble Across A Scenario I Could Not Handle Through More Traditional Methods) ROXY: (u mean a deadly body slam full a sharp metal teeth twice the length of your head) KANAYA: (Yes Precisely) KANAYA: (That Tends To Cover The Bases Pretty Well)

WELL, Chainsaws do seem to cover many different issues. Mainly the ones which involve somebody needing to be cut the fuck in half. But I dont know if being “In touch” with your aspect was ever really a thing. I mean, when did John become “in touch” with his aspect? He just sorta got the powers and did shit with them. i dont really know what that has to do with it- wait a goddamn second. People always associate the wind aspect with like independence and shit, right? And.. the last thing that happened before John went godtier, was a choice. Given to him by Vriska, who for the first time decided to step back and let him decide what to do on his own. Whether or not she would have owned up to what she said about letting him decide how to fall asleep, he still made the choice and went with it on is own. So maybe that’s got something to do with it.

Or maybe I’m just an idiot.

ROXY: (well you know what thats cool) ROXY: (u do u) ROXY: (besides) ROXY: (hopefully there wont be any more reason for you to wreck shit)

GOddammit stop saying shit like that

KANAYA: (That Would Be Ideal I Suppose) KANAYA: (However It Is Always Wise To Be Prepared) KANAYA: (Just In Case) ROXY: (ofc!) ROXY: (and hey) ROXY: (just cuz we won the game doesnt mean there wont be any more opportunities to like) ROXY: (explore yourself and your aspect) ROXY: (our cool powers are too friggin handy for them to just stop bein relevant once we walk thru a magic door)

SPeaking of which, can THEY HURRY UP AND WALK THROUGH THE MAGIC FUCKING DOOR YET IM GETTING ANXIOUS.

ROXY: (maybe someday youll get the chance to blitz ur chakras and get spacey w it) ROXY: (and itll be at your own pace instead of having to rush it for the sake of fixing some giant spacetastrophe) KANAYA: (That Does Sound Nice)

YES IT DOES NOW HURRY UP THROUGH THE DOOR SO THAT BECOMES A REALITY COME THE FUCK ON JOHN

KANAYA: (Considering Right Now I Am Very Unsure Of How To Even Begin Blitzing Those Particular Chakras) ROXY: (i bet u can ask john) ROXY: (hes rly good at givin advice for stuff like that)

YES HE IS BUT HE ISNT GOOD AT OPENING DOORS AAAAA

ROXY: (tho he probably doesnt even know it pffff) KANAYA: (You Are Also Very Good At Giving Advice) KANAYA: (That Was Not Necessarily A Request I Simply Thought I Should Point That Out) ROXY: (TOO BAD youre gettin some anyway ;P) ROXY: (rly tho ive hardly even begun to wrestle my voidy powers into submission) ROXY: (still got a loooooong way to go on that front) ROXY: (but thus far most of my blitzing has just been like) ROXY: (being around the thing) ROXY: (and letting myself embrace this like) ROXY: (natural synergy i got going w it) KANAYA: (When You Say) KANAYA: (The Thing) KANAYA: (Do You Mean Nothing) KANAYA: (Considering Your Aspect Presides Over Literal Nothingness)

Yes Kanaya, this is exactly what she means.

ROXY: (pffft) ROXY: (yes thats what i mean :p) KANAYA: (Okay I Was Just Attempting To Clarify) KANAYA: (How Does One Surround Themselves With The Concept Of Nonexistence) ROXY: (i dunno!) ROXY: (when u put it that way it does sound pretty mind bending) ROXY: (i guess ive just been lucky?) ROXY: (or maybe the nothing is naturally attracted to me and lucks got nothin to do w it)

WELL YEAh, what isnt naturally attracted to you? Guys i just really love roxy help

ROXY: (but yeah i got that voidy ring @ one point) ROXY: (and when john started getting to fixing the timeline he took me to a place that felt like) ROXY: (the nothingest nothing to ever unexist) KANAYA: (That Sounds Interesting) KANAYA: (What Was It Like)

Probably nothing.

THATS a cool panel right there.

ROXY: (well it was) ROXY: (white) ROXY: (but not pure white) ROXY: (just slightly off) ROXY: (and) ROXY: (it was super vast) ROXY: (but not like regular outer space where you can actually see stuff like stars stretch on and on til you cant see it anymore) ROXY: (which at least gives u a sense of distance) ROXY: (but instead it was almost claustrophobic) ROXY: (cuz there was nothing there) ROXY: (you and all the other somethings just completely enveloped by a shrink wrap o absence)

HUmm.. thats pretty interesting to say the least. Not really sure what to think of it though! Just pretty nifty.

KANAYA: (Hmmmm) ROXY: (never really tried putting this into words) ROXY: (i think the thing about it was that the void sort of) ROXY: (changed) ROXY: (depending on how i chose to perceive it) ROXY: (cause the whole point is that its kinda like) ROXY: (idk) ROXY: (maybe a little like binary) KANAYA: (Binary?)

too bad sollux is dead he’d get a kick outta this.

did anybody make this connection. computer hacker guy who likes two’s. Binary. man. i feel like everybody did.

ROXY: (yknow binary) ROXY: (computer language) ROXY: (0011101100101001)

TRANSLATOr HELP

“;)“

omfg she just winked in binary.

KANAYA: (Oh That) ROXY: (the way that works is basically) ROXY: (you have a bit) ROXY: (like a computery bit) ROXY: (and it can say either 0 or 1) ROXY: (and dependin on which it is the computer displays the info differently) ROXY: (but the void is like a completely blank bit) ROXY: (there isnt a 0 or a 1 written on the bit yet but thats all were programmed to understand yknow) ROXY: (like 0 is technically nothing but whats important is that theres something there for you to see) ROXY: (but what im gettin at is that really void is just blank space waiting to be written on) ROXY: (by somebody like yours truly) ROXY: (im the computer and youre the person reading the display)

Oh. That’s pretty cool and shit. 

OH shes gettin all magicky here

ROXY: (and my whole voidy thing) ROXY: (is that i gotta figure out the code for whatever i wanna make exist) ROXY: (and write it on the blank bits) ROXY: (then) ROXY: (i snatch em outta the void!)

Oh AGAIN. YEAh, roxys power seems a lot cooler now.

ROXY: (yoink!!!)

*gasp*

nice lipstick yo

Kanaya is so fucking cute oml. She looks kinda dumbfounded by this lipstick.

KANAYA: (Wow) KANAYA: (That Was Really Quite Insightful Roxy) KANAYA: (I Think I Am Already Beginning To Understand Things Better) KANAYA: (But What Is This) ROXY: (p sure its lipstick!) ROXY: (and its 4 u) ROXY: (i dont rly know if pinks ur color but) ROXY: (here it is anyway!)

Oh god help me im already starting to ship it.

KANAYA: (Another Gift) KANAYA: (Why) ROXY: (daaaaw i dunno) ROXY: (i mean its actually kinda cool i was able to make this at all) ROXY: (i bet it must be bc of you somehow) ROXY: (you like lipstick right?) KANAYA: (Yes) ROXY: (i dont know if this is just me but i bet this is totes a thing w space players) ROXY: (like i get the vibe that u guys r more in touch with the objects around you) ROXY: (specially the ones thatre important to you) KANAYA: (I Suppose...)

HMm.. Interesting bit of aspect analysis. That could possibly be a thing.

ROXY: (well?) ROXY: (ru gonna take it or what) KANAYA: (I Really Cant Accept This) KANAYA: (I Was Attempting To Alleviate The Debt Of Gratitude I Have Already Been Accumulating Towards You) KANAYA: (A Measly Thank You Is Hardly Enough) KANAYA: (And Yet You Present Me With Even More To Be Thankful For)

COme on Kanaya dont be like that. Just take the thing and be hAPPY! you dont gotta prove yourself for a gift.

ROXY: (man thats not how this works) ROXY: (you dont owe me nothin) ROXY: (but heck if it makes u feel better) ROXY: (the space egg wasnt rly 4 u it was 4 all the little trollings that need to be born) ROXY: (skewering the batterwitch was definitely 4 me and earth and stuff) ROXY: (and the lipstick is to thank u for takin such good care of my mom :D)

Dont you mean your Rose?

KANAYA: (... That Does Make Me Feel Slightly Better) ROXY: (so youll take it??) KANAYA: (Okay) ROXY: (hella) KANAYA: (Thank You) KANAYA: (Again) ROXY: (dont mention it!)

She will likely mention this many times.

WEll that was the end for their interaction I suppose, so it seems like we get one page of another interaction then? I guess Dirk and Jake.

Ohp, yep. Jeez they look awkward.

DIRK: (... So.) JAKE: (...) DIRK: (...) DIRK: (That was some fight, huh.)

Goddammit this is awkward. 

JAKE: (Oh yes that sure was a doozy of a brawl we all just participated in.) JAKE: (Or rather multiple brawls.) DIRK: (I think you’re probably up to speed on exactly how well mine went.) JAKE: (Um.) JAKE: (Should i be?) DIRK: (Nevermind.)

Just another beheading of good ol’ Dirk. Seems like that’s a common thing for him. 

((OhOFOHSANSIJFN  HOLY SHIT I PRESSED A BUTTON AND FOR A SECOND I THOUGHT I ALMOST DELETED EVERYTHING I WROTE DAMMIT TUMBLR GIVE ME WARNINGS))

JAKE: (Sorry... its just difficult to, uh...) DIRK: (Don’t be sorry. It doesn’t actually matter.) JAKE: (The important part is you won right?) DIRK: (Yeah...) DIRK: (How did yours go?) DIRK: (If you feel like sharing, that is.) JAKE: (Oh i won too!) DIRK: (Well. Obviously.) DIRK: (I meant... like.) DIRK: (Specifically, HOW you won.) DIRK: (I’d be down to hear some details of all the kickassery you've been dishing out.) DIRK: (That must've been pretty crazy solo.)

Come ONNNN guys, quit dancing around the topic here. Somethings bothering you and its making everything shitty.

JAKE: (Oh.) JAKE: (Well i wasnt alone for long actually.) JAKE: (In fact it was quite the clusterfuck of skeletons sprites and green goblin brutes!) JAKE: (That crabby troll fellow even showed up at one point.) JAKE: (He seemed to be having a difficult time with one of the tinier rascals but i was up to my ears in fracas and fisticuffs myself and couldnt really lend him a hand.)

Dammit Karkat. I love him, but god he’s adorably pathetic in fights.

DIRK: (It looks like he’s alright, so no harm done.) DIRK: (How many of those green dudes were there again?) JAKE: (Im fairly certain there were 14.) DIRK: (And you trounced all of them?) JAKE: (Actually k...carat dealt with one of them i think.) JAKE: (They were small but a decidedly tricky foe. It was scurrying around so fast i dont think a single one of my bullets even grazed it!)

He has ALLLL the luck Jake, ALL of it!  Honestly, can we get a Vriska/Clover battle?

DIRK: (Well, shit. Sounds tough.) DIRK: (Still, my score reads "Jake: 13, Goblins: 0".) DIRK: (Oh, and I’m pretty sure the name you’re looking for is Karkat.) JAKE: (Is that so?) DIRK: (Yup.) JAKE: (My mistake then...) DIRK: (Don’t worry about it.)

Dammit Jake, don’t be so fucking hard on yourself. I feel bad for him now. Like, he’s beating himself up over not knowing a complete strangers name.

JAKE: (Have you spoken to him at all yet?) DIRK: (Nah.) JAKE: (Would you like to?) DIRK: (I guess? Sure.) DIRK: (He and Dave seem to be in the middle of something, though. No point in interrupting.) DIRK: (Besides, I’m talking to you right now.) JAKE: (...) DIRK: (...)

(...)

Alright dammit, I guess we’ll see if they get over whatever’s bugging them in the next update, because that’s the last page. Seeya next time and whatnot folks.

[shoutscion]

alright i was gonna save this to be a big surprise but this story’s too good to pass up

buckle up yall this one’s a long one

so right now i’m working on something i call a Slow Sequence, which is just the parts of jack and casie that arent just jack and casie lost in the woods. they’re top down more traditional rpg segments where you can manage your inventory, relax, and engage in some good old wholesome messing-with-casieisms

here’s an early look:

i’ve been working on this for the past week now and i’ve basically got them ready to go, ready to replace the existing shop sequences with an entirely new screen that allows you to do a little exploration and conversation before you get back out into the world and into Fast Sequences (the normal game). this morning in particular i was working in over drive. probably because i’ve been working my ass off on commissions and i might be in a like, productivity frenzy

i managed to crank out a new tileset i liked, some new dialogue, developed a vision for Casie’s Outpost (it’s probably not actually called that, but it’s the outpost that casie lives at, so let’s call it that for now) (it’s either that or “outpost 22″ which just doesnt make any sense yet so like lesser of two evils here) in a couple hours

and then i ran out of memory.

gm8.1 has a very particular quirk that i like that makes it really good at rapid prototyping and it’s that it saves all of the shit you do to ram instead of the hard drive. this means that you can start a game really fast without having to wait for an entire new save cycle and recompilation which makes it really good for brute forcing code, which is basically the breadth of my programming playbook. hit it over and over until it works. unfortunately, hitting things over and over will eventually (read: after 4+ hours of work with very large files) swamp gm’s alotted memory, and cause gm to lock up. but running out of memory is a hunter not unbeknownst to its prey. i have a contingency. my contingency is to save immediately, and have backups in case something goes wrong. which sometimes it does.

i would say it’s like a 90/10 chance

anyway, today this corrupted my file.

and corrupted my automatically generated backup save file. 

because i accidentally hit the save button twice.

this was about an hour and a half ago. yes, the filename for this subproject was literally just called ‘fuck’. that was the word that was on my mind at the time. i dont think i was upset or anything i was just like ‘fuck’ but like, thats how i always am. the intention was to just import the project into gms and then merge it wholesale with the main jack and casie project, so the title of the 8.1 version mattered very little. you should see the rest of them. i have 4 files called temp0 through temp4 and some of them are just backups of the same file

anyway, if i had just failed to save or something (or just closed the window without trying to save) i would have lost 30 minutes worth of work. but because i took my shots, i lost weeks of work. like, the majority of the month of february. there’s supposed to be a demo out in march. march is in 7 days.

i went to bed and began to rethink my options. and also fall asleep, because i have been up for like 19 hours and i had just eaten and basically i was a mess of debuffs at that very second. fortunately, because i am a big fuckin showoff and enjoy rubbing my shit in people’s faces, i had a cache of shit lying around on discords and slacks and line chats i guess that i could just re-integrate back into my tileset proper but that would still leave me without the conversation engine which is stupidly robust and involved and took the majority of the time (the rest of the time was like, not even drawing the tileset: more like working out what the fuck non-enemy things would look like in jack and casie) i had spent on coding fuck.gm81. i had already done it once though so i had worked out the theory, so i just had to do it again. which i could do! it would just take all day.

there’s an exhibition tomorrow. and i was falling asleep. it was at this very second i realized that my mistake in accidentally pressing a finicky touch keyboard button twice had actually ruined pretty much everything, and decided to actually fall asleep in order to hide from my problems

so i laid there for like 45 minutes, ostensibly trying to go to sleep. not even really mad at this point or even like upset. more like that perfect trance like state of being simultaneously so infuriated but also so completely defeated that youre aware that raising a hand at all in protest is a waste of energy so instead you decide to just fuckin sit there, grimacing, trying to will a solution into existence

game maker studio has an import function that pulls information from a .gm81 file. it’s kind of finicky and kind of weird because it reads every asset one at a time and imports them one at a time so it’s kind of slow but you get to see a nice big bar that fills up as gms works its way through your file. it’s pretty satisfying. also, fuck.gm81 wasn’t an empty file. it was like 92kb or something. it wasnt corrupted in that it disintegrated or something and all the packets were destroyed, it was more like something was just being read wrong by gm8.1

i realized this all at once. i then realized i was screaming

importing it to gms worked

not perfectly, but well enough

i could fix a broken system in a heartbeat. or at least faster then i could build a new one.

the biggest problem is the obvious corruption. apparently, because i ran out of memory building backgrounds, the backgrounds are what got corrupted. in particular the main tileset that i had been working on for the past couple days had completely been replaced by just a sheer 255 255 255 black. but more importantly all the new art i had done for casie and company are OK, and my code is OK, and after a little digging i found a screenshot i had posted around of Casie’s Outpost in development

and now i just have to

rip my own

pixel art

but it beats doing it over again!