#except for the one assignment i didnt accomplish .
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just remembered the time i went insane and wrote 4000 words of literary analysis about r+g.a.d. in six days so i went and found my trusty excel table that i used to sort my 12 most important themes and .
what the fuck was wrong with me . this went down to row 96 . i had 4000 words worth of quotes at this point. the 4k literary analysis i ended up with was CONDENSED . this was a theatre assignment
#AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN#if we want to get technical about it it was 9000 words in 11 days . summative assignment . i emailed my teacher my final copy and mentioned#the length and he emailed me back with what essentially boiled down to 'wtf is wrong with you this is a 4000 word assignment HARD CAP'#long story i thought only the page limit which i managed to adhere to was the cap and the wordcount was indicative#gonna be real this just barely makes my top 3 worst cramming assignment experiences from last year#god. what a time. thank god it's over#anyway. remembered i have free will so now im considering microdosing my evil 4k words of analysis to The Internet#because imo it was rlly fucking good#tbh .#r+g.a.d.#sorry beloved friend cheese who witnessed this happen in real time + then my 5 month radio silence . that was wild#through the power of autism adhd and desperation truly fucking anything is accomplishable#except for the one assignment i didnt accomplish .#but yeah#enough about that#rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead#ragad#ros#guil#rosencrantz#guildenstern#they make me ILL#words of wyrm
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Drops in a Bucket, Splashes on the Ground
Also available on AO3! Tags:Ā Mature, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Gen, Whirl (Transformers), Implied/Referenced Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Whirl is Primus AU, Angst, would you believe me if i said i didnt set out to write another angst fic, whirl's just like that Wordcount:Ā 4202 Notes: I would highly recommend you read "Bullets" or at least be familiar with Whirl's abuse of Rotorstorm before reading this fic. The scene containing graphic violence begins with "Tacticians always struggle..." and the scene referencing abuse begins "He shoves his way..." Please feel free to reach out if you need any further information.
~*~
āAnd I guess old Primus makes five.ā
āHah! No, no, no. Thatās not Primusā¦ youāre Primus.ā
~*~
Ā Whirl has never been intimidated before. Not so intentionally, not by bots whose forged bodies have been piled on with armor and weaponry, no expenses spared by the ganglords. The Heavies rolled up on treads that left gouges in the streets, painful marks that tomorrowās taxes will go to fixing, and their transformations took a full five seconds as excess plating moved out of the way while their protoforms tried to bend per their original configurations. They wear identical red visors and dark gray masks: faces, certainly, but only in the barest sense of the word, enough to separate them from lowlifes without affording them identity. It is impossible to tell one from the other and Whirl knows, intrinsically, that it will not matter.
Ā ~*~
Ā Rung is the only one who doesnāt flinch. Whirl stands over Adaptusā body, freshly relieved of what they can all agree was a spectacularly ugly head, and puts away his gun.
āRight,ā he says, with a meaningful glance out the window. āWant to agree none of us heard that?ā
āWhirl!ā Rodimus shouts. āYou canāt just kill a god!ā
The body explodes into a pile of dust.
āSure I can,ā Whirl says, shaking it off his foot even as he leans down to inspect the scrapple. āHey Ratch, can you rig me to explode next time I get shot?ā
āIs it true?ā Nautica asks, doing her intellect a massive disservice by stepping in front of the unhinged bot with a blaster.
āObviously not,ā Ratchet says. āHe was lying.ā
Whirl nods.
āYeah. You think I would keep it a secret from any of you if I was a god? You think Cyclonus would ever hear the end of it? Nah.ā He stands, kicking pile and sending a spray of metallic dust into the air. āAwesome way to go, though, canāt say Iām not jealous.ā
āThat doesnāt mean you had to kill him for it.ā
āSo, youāre not Primus?ā Nautica asks. She hasnāt moved, her arms crossed in front of her. If Whirl had been her creator (and he isnāt, he already has his claws full with a nest of scraplets), he would have been pretty proud of her right now.
āNope!ā he says. āIāve never vouched for the universe before, but that kind of joke would take on an extra level of cruel, donāt you think?ā
āGot to agree with Whirl, here,ā Rodimus says, a hand on Nauticaās shoulder drawing her back. āI could buy pretty much anyone else. Maybe not Rung, but, say, Velocity? She could be Primus. Or Roller. I guess not Megatron, since we saw him come online, butāā
āThe point, Rodimus,ā Ratchet deadpans.
āThe point is, not Whirl,ā Rodimus said, sweeping his hands up to gesture at him. āI get Primus is disappointed in us. We are a textbook example of why a race of sentient war machines should never be left to their own devices, combined with a case study on how to avoid learning from every mistake youāve ever made. But I really donāt think that disappointment would translate to actively hunting us for sport. Isnāt Primus supposed to be all about forgiveness and loving your cellmate?ā
āRight,ā Whirl says, clacking his pincers together in his approximation of a snap. āAn angry god is so clichĆ©.ā
āI donāt think anyone knows what Primus believed,ā Rung says. Oh no. Heās taken off his glasses. āI donāt see any reason he couldnāt be Whirl.ā
āHow about we start where the part where gods donāt exist, and Whirl does?ā Ratchet suggests.
āIā¦ I am Solomus, though.ā
The whole group turns to the offending voice. Whirl goes for his gun and Rodimus knocks it out of his hand, a stern finger silently telling him not to kill any more gods. As if being an ex-Matrix bearer gives him some sort of say.
Tyrest has not stopped touching his gaudy mantelpiece, poking at the holes. It wouldnāt be so disturbing, except heās staring at Whirl while he does it.
āPrimus, donāt you remember?ā he asks.
āHey, letās watch the fragging language.ā
āAdaptus wanted to send our creations to pointless war,ā Tyrest goes on. āViolence for the sake of violence, conquests built on the backs of others. We fought him.ā He steps forward and reaches for Whirl. āTogether, weāā
Whirl jerks back with his claws extended out.
āI will cut your hand off, I swear toāI swear.ā
He is saved from any more interrogation by the ground violently rumbling underneath them.
āOkay, so regardless of whateverās Whirlās deal is, we do still have at least one Primus to worry about,ā Rodimus says, looking out the window at the approximation of what Whirl, personally, had always assumed god would look like. āSolomus, you still got your teleporting rigged up?ā
Ā ~*~
Ā No one ever considered giving The Institute a waiting room, so Whirl stands to one side of the hallway while the butchers discuss his case. He knows his proposal intrigues them: they have never had an opportunity to shadowplay a willing subject before. What is there to learn from a brain that does not fight them every step of the way? What backdoors exist that every other victim kept hidden? Whirl does not care about the potential scientific advancements his offer provides. He just wants to stop dreaming of gears, lose the phantom aches of his fingers. He wants to look in a mirror and see nothing: not himself, not a monster. Just an object, fulfilling its purpose.
The scientists who walk by him in the halls stare. Everyone stares, but the look they give him is different. They do not find him exceptional, nor do they feel for him pity or contempt. He is no marvel. He is a creation, perfectly engineered to suit its purpose, every detail minded with care to ensure it all works together as an ideal mechanism. He wishes he could see himself through their eyes.
The door beside him slides open and a bot he has never seen before steps out. His helm comes up no higher than Whirlās waist and his large yellow optics do not look up from his datapad.
āWhirl of Polyhex, the panel has elected to reject your petition,ā he says. āI am to remindāā
āWhat?ā Whirl startles; his new head shoots upward, forcing him into an angle that is both unnatural and instinctual. āWhy? Ice Pick said he couldāā
āI am to remind you that you have signed a nondisclosure agreement; failure to comply will result in penalty of death.ā The little bot flares his plating, the click of a motor lock setting it in place. āYou will now submit to full stasis and be escorted back to your home.ā
The jack comes from behind.
Ā ~*~
Ā āThis is my hab suite.ā
Whirl knows the tonal difference between a bullet hitting living metal and a wall. He scowls and gives up, waving Cyclonus inside.
āMy roomās a mess,ā he says. āThink Iām gonna crash here for a while.ā
Cyclonus comes in and sits beside Whirl on the berth. When the door slides shut, they are visible only by their biolights: Whirl closed the shutters when he came in, the stars too much like blinking numbers. Cyclonus is a surprisingly quiet machine. His presence comes with none of the usual hisses and clicks one would normally get with their kind, like each component was designed specifically to work with those around it. Compared to Whirl, whose body is a wreck of pieces that almost fit together, clinking and scraping through their standard functions, he practically doesnāt exist.
āThis is slagged, huh?ā Whirl asks.
Cyclonus thinks on it a moment, then there is a shift of plating as he nods. Is it an admission, a confession? Priāfrag, Whirl doesnāt want to have to start thinking about that.
āSorry,ā he says.
āYou donāt need toāā
āScrap, youāre right. What am I doing?ā Whirl laughs. āIām infallible now, right? Itās all been part of my grand plan for Cybertron. I should be saying youāre welcome; you should be thanking me.ā
Cyclonus sighs, a rush of air out his vents.
āIs there anything I can do for you?ā he asks.
Whirl pokes and pinches at his own plating, trying to make sense of it.
āYeah,ā he says. āStart praying, and keep Megatron far away from me.ā
Ā ~*~
Ā Heās spent two days in the holding cell before he realizes no one else is coming for him.
That Orion Paxā¦ heās good, and Whirlās not sure whether itās the kind that gets people hired or gets people killed. Not that it matters, not that he cares. The Senateās going to crush all of them one by one, like little cans of oil under a rolling tank. He thought being a tread would come with some measure of relief; instead, it just landed him in a hole.
He digs a claw tip into the wall, another score among a small collection. He has been trying to reconstruct the minerās face, what it looked like in the split second between recognizing he had been struck and realizing there was more to come. He canāt relish a memory if he canāt keep it, and heās already struggling well enough to accomplish the former. This assignment was supposed to be a release. Look down at the big thinker and imagine in his place Senator Proteus, Sentinel Prime, the faceless Functionist Council. Tell himself that this is what it would feel like to rip their plating open until their priceless energon spilled onto a dirty floor.
The face, though, itās escaping him. How can he fell anything about a person with no face? What relief is there to be found in beating the slag out of a nobody? He is trying so hard to adapt, but itās like his processor is working against him, reminding him how far he got before he was reeled back in. The silhouette of his sketch is familiar.
His claws hurt where he has worn the tip blunt, and the portrait is still incomplete.
Ā ~*~
Ā āI donāt make Matrixes,ā he insists. The group was polite enough to knock once they found him, but theyāre failing to pick up the hint that he wants all of them to go away, right now, and leave him alone forever.
āWell, Epistemus says you can,ā Rodimus says, dentae blocked together. āWhy do all the other gods have their memories back, but not you?ā
āI dunno, maybe Needles can stick me and figure it out.ā
Itās almost cute, the way Rewind steps protectively in front of Chromedome.
āRodimus,ā Rung says, trying to get between them, āthis isnāt helping.ā
āThank you,ā Whirl says. āNow can we get to the part where we storm the planet, guns a-blazinā?ā
āThat wonāt help either.ā Rung turns to look at him. āYour memories havenāt been deleted, Whirl. Somehow, there should still be some part of you that remembers creating the Matrix.ā
āThe Functionists probably took it out,ā Whirl says.
āThatās not how mnemosurgery works.ā
āSays the dropout.ā
āYou told me once about your earliest memory,ā Rung says. Whirl should be furious that heās doing this here, in front of people who have no business knowing whatās in his head, but heās more interested in the way Rung has taken off his glasses and is squinting up at him. āWhat happened just before it?ā
They did not bring Ratchet, a testament to the fact that they will not leave before he gives them answers. He could start lying again, or find another way to forgo the question, but something about Cyclonusā presence at his back helps him settle down the compulsion. Everybody lies about their forging. Everybody wants to say it was overseen by the Prime, or that they settled into their form like resin poured into a mold, instant and perfect. Whirl has a set of seven stories he deploys on rotation, ranging from heroic to beautifully tragic, and he spends a moment picking through them, trying to remember which was the real one.
āI showed up at the Functionstsā place to get my docs in order,ā he says. āI wasā¦ I was trying to get Polyhexian citizenship.ā Awful city, but he had always sworn the energon tasted better there than anywhere else.
āBut you said you were forged in Polyhex,ā Rung says.
āYeah. It was easier that way.ā Whirl puts a claw to his head. āIā¦ augh, nope. No, this is stupid.ā
āWhirlāā
āNo, Iām done,ā he says, pushing Rung away. āFully done, Rung. Thatās right. You were godās therapist, and he fired you. Iām gonna go take out a planet.ā
Ā ~*~
Ā Tacticians always struggle with where to put Whirl on a battlefield. On the one hand, heās an attack helicopter, equipped with long-range cannons and advanced aiming modules. Keeping him in the sky is the perfect way to set up a terrible surprise for Cons on the ground. On the other, heās Whirl, and facing him head-on can be just as chilling and or fatal.
In the end it rarely matters which call they make because, as stated before, heās Whirl. He will do whatever he damn well feels like. Right now, that means skimming over the top of the battlefield, sights trained on the odd dot who tries to disgorge themselves from the fighting mass. He is supposed to be providing support to the ground troops, peppering the Decepticon line so they can break through, but no one is going to complain about a few more dead soldiers.
A truck breaks free and he pitches down, giving chase, machine guns firing before heās got a lock on. The ground explodes in shrapnel as they try to serpentine out of the way, but he keeps firing and soon enough their paths cross.
He riddles them. Their roof is already a puckered, punctured mass of warped metal before their back tires blow and they go skidding and flip onto their side. Their plating shuffles, uncoordinated, as they try to transform, and Whirl goes for the underbelly, shattering the exposed protoform in a burst of pink energon. They slump with their legs disengaged. There is a buzzing, crunching noise as the dying t-cog tries to settle into either mode, then a jet of smoke erupts from the body. The engine has seized, locking it in a permanent limbo.
Whirl spins around to track down his next prey. He loves his job. The Autobots have a need, and he fills it with a gusto that only occasionally gets him in trouble. Heās no hitmech: he lacks the finesse, the style. But he can rain irreverent murder down from the sky, send Cons fleeing just long enough to make them think they had a chance, and he can do it without questioning an order. The war needs people like him.
Two soldiers are trying to escape together, one with their arm over the otherās shoulder, a sparkling stump of a leg between them. Whirl gets low, following them until the roar of his rotors is unmistakable, until they cannot help but turn and he sees their optics. Then he fires.
The wounded one falls first, knocked onto their front and grasping uselessly until their hand is blown off and they go still. The other gets their legs knocked off and goes spinning, landing on their head with a crunch. Whirl keeps advancing, keeps firing, tearing open their plating and reducing their inner working to molten slag, spattering the ground with used energon. They flop, over and over, until Whirl gets bored of the show and hauls off, leaving them almost indistinguishable from the carnage of the land itself.
Whirl hovers over the fighting and looks down while he scans for a target. This high up, visuals are useless for determining Bots from Cons. Little Cybertronians run around, whacking and shooting at each other, falling down, down, down. The metal under their pedes is slippery pink with energon. It splashes against their plating, over their insignias, until they are all just little wandering targets.
Whirl has his job, and he loves it, and he does it well.
Ā ~*~
Ā He should feel something, but his spark is a void as he tosses the rest of the guns into the shuttle, all the stuff he held off using because he wasnāt ready to get kicked off the ship. He is not coming back from this. He knows it, so better to take it all.
Heās just fastened the locker when he hears the footsteps on the hatch and looks up. Itās Tailgate, of course. Tailgate, who has a pack hanging from one shoulder and a gun holstered at his side. Itās a shrimpy thing, something Cyclonus taught him to shoot in case they ever got separated, more useful for making noise than taking down an aggressor. It has room for one round of ammo and Whirl doubts he brought a bullet more.
He comes aboard without saying anything and stops beside world, continuing to say nothing. The hand on his pack is clenching: heās being brave. Heās also waiting for some grand speech, some sacred insight to the nature of their quest and their places in the universe. Well, tough. He should know Whirl better than Primus.
He lifts a claw to shove Tailgate backward and down the hatch, but it stops an inch before Tailgateās plating. What does it matter? Cyclonus canāt kill him where heās going and Tailgate himself is just a drop in the bucket. Standing there with his chest puffed out, optic band steely and focused, he looks like any other Cybertronian, never mind a few years left behind.
Whirl retracts his claw. Tailgate nods at him.
Another drop in the bucket.
Ā ~*~
Ā He shoves his way to the front row, slamming himself into his chosen seat just ahead of a little spy plane who had been angling for the same spot.
āBuzz off,ā he says. Never mind the spy plane outranks him. This is his big day! He got here early so he could get this seat, right in front, though he can barely hold it as the audience fills in around him, so many Bots he does not know and who do not matter. The only one he cares about it up on the stage, smiling with an air of detached cooperation, off in his own head again like he always was. Whirl thought they had made progress on that, but some habits were just too hard to break.
The opening speech is long and predictably boring, lots of talk about this base he has never been on before. Whirlās engine clicks in agitation. When bots give him dirty looks, he sneers.
āChronic fanbelt lockup, ever heard of it?ā he hisses at them, adding in a few extra ticks for good measure. They go back to minding their own business, but Whirl still catches the optics glancing at him, and his engine goes from annoyed click to angry hum. He knows what they see.
Luckily, the speaker eventually gets over himself and moves on.
āRotorstorm, will you please step forward?ā
Whirl is on his feet before the other copter has a chance to rise, his cheering rising well above the swell of the crowd. He shouts, he stomps his feet, and he bangs his claws together until the bots on either side of him wince, and he gets even louder when he knows Rotorstorm has noticed him.
āGo on, get up there!ā he shouts. āYou earned this, didnāt you?ā The rest of the crowd has calmed down, but he stays standing, arms dropped to his sides. He stares at Rotorstorm as he crosses the stage, shoulders pressed back, each step placed so precisely in front of the last that it must be calculated. He waits until Rotorstorm has reached the edge to sit back down, and then still his optic is pointed, refusing to let Rotorstorm look anywhere else. Rotorstormās own optics are wide, though the rest of his expression is slack. His biolights are steady, his ventilations manual and even. Heās perfect.
āRotorstorm,ā the presenter says, āI hope you will forgive us; this is an honor that is long overdue. During the Simanzi Massacre, you singlehandedly scouted a pass through Mount Helix that allowed for the rapid evacuation of the 9th Battalion. Your commanding officers estimate that your decisive actions saved upwards of one thousand Autobot lives.ā Whirlās engine is silent. Heās drinking in every word. āToday, we present you with the Novic Medal for Outstanding Honor. āTil all are one.ā Rotorstorm ducks his helm as the award is magnetized to the right of his cockpit, finally breaking his optic contact with Whirl.
āāTil all are one,ā he repeats, though most of the crowd does not hear him over Whirlās cheers.
Rotorstorm turns without looking up and returns to his seat. The next recipient is called forward and Whirl walks out.
Ā ~*~
Ā He canāt do it. Heāll blame it on the way Tailgateās plating quietly rattles or Cyclonusā entire personality as he starts to board, but he shuts off the shuttleās engine and disembarks with them trailing behind. He retreats to his hab suite, and though he does not invite them heās glad when they make it inside before the door closes.
āNobody in the mutiny is allowed to have any of my stuff. I donāt care if Thunderclash is dying again and my innermost energon is the only compatible fuel in the galactic sector, he canāt have it.ā
Tailgate nods along, his fingers in a death grip around Whirlās pincer.
āAnd when you guys are talking about me later, no one call me anything but Whirl. Iām serious. I donāt know about anything I did before that, so what could it matter?ā He looks up at the ceiling. āIn fact, donāt tell anyone about the Primus thing. No point.ā
Cyclonus is a solid, immobile presence on his other side.
āAm I forgetting anything? Oh, tell Roadbuster Iāll be waiting for him in the pit.ā
āDo gods go to the Afterspark?ā Itās not clear who Tailgate is asking.
āI definitely donāt plan to stick around and watch over you or whatever. Think Iāve had enough of this universe.ā He chuckles, a strained sound. āYeah. So, thatās it. Better get this show on the road, huh?ā
āWeāll be with you the entire time,ā Tailgate promises.
āFor as long as you want us,ā Cyclonus amends.
āYeah, I know.ā He shrugs, laughs again. āIām not even really scared of the whole dying thing. Iād made peace with that. Whenever there was something I needed to do, I took care of it, so I wouldnāt have to worry about it if the right bullet finally found its mark.ā He glances between them. āNow, thoughā¦ you two better behave, I swear. Iām making it your Primus-sworn duty to take care of and listen to each other, okay?ā
Cyclonus nods, and the way he takes it so seriously makes Whirl almost glad heās on his way out. He couldnāt handle being looked at like that all the time, and especially itās the way they reach across his lap and entwine their hands that really does him in. He hates them dearly.
āOkay,ā he says, winding up his t-cog for the big spin. āOkay, twelve Matrixes. No problem.ā
Ā ~*~
Ā Whirl times the blinking numbers to the rotations of his spark. 1,600 exactly. Heās done it.
He leans back in his chair but cannot stop staring at the little device in his hands. It is perfect. After years of researching, studying, trying, and failing, the pieces have come together to allow him to create this one perfect thing. He loves it, and a dangerous feeling of pride fills his spark, the kind that has so long been missing from his work in the Aerial Corps. If there is a Primus (and heās still not sure, whatever the Functionists insist), this is what he built Whirl to do.
He gets up from his desk and walks across his small living space to a shelf. Nearing capacity, it has just enough room for him to push a few previous attempts aside to make room for the latest version. Surrounded by its brethren, it becomes lost almost immediately amid the sea of blinking lights, indistinguishable even from those he considers lesser. Some defects are more obvious than others: one has sat at the same time since the moment he brought it online, while another counts one klik backward for every two forward. But most are just slightly imperfect, necessary steps to get to this point, and he loves them all dearly.
He stands back. It feels like the work of a lifetime, these clocks, though he knows he took up the pursuit relatively recently. Itās just hard to remember how he filled his time before he had this project to work on, and he is again grateful he discovered it at all.
It is a gift to be able to create, he thinks, to cast a broad eye over his creations. The numbers blink at him, all out of tune, and he lets himself imagine being content doing just this for the rest of his life.
#maccadams#transformers#idw#whirl#abuse tw#death tw#my writing#oneshot#drops in a bucket#tbh im just so glad this is done#put too much time into it
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Spy Challenge rules
Iāve made up a challenge, because making up challenges is fun. It has to do with spies, because spies are cool. The rules are pretty hefty, because I like making lists and challenge rules are all about lists. You can read the rules below the cut or at my Dreamwidth.
The challenge is to play a successful spy. There are a few Dos, a few Donāts, and lots of flavor.
Ā DO
Max Body skill (Spies need to be able to climb things, swim away from things, ski down mountains after jumping out of airplanes, and fight big thugs with metal teeth ā or at least James Bond does in the moviesā¦)
Max Logic skill (Spies need to know how to figure things out from little hints and scraps of information, and know what information is important and what isnāt)
Max Charisma skill (Spies often have to recruit others to find things out for them, so they need to be charming)
If your sim was a playable with a family, you have two options.
1.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Easy Mode: You can have contact with your family as normal ā unless your cover is blown
2.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Hard Mode: You can have contact with one relative of your choice, once per week +200 points for voluntarily completing the challenge on Hard Mode
Ā DONāT
Do NOT take a job in the Intelligence career, if itās available in your game set up (Successful spies donāt go around saying āHi, Iām a spy!ā)
Do NOT use strawberry juice (If someone gets mad at a spy and somehow blows their cover, their life is on the line, after all)
Ā FLAVOR SKILLS
Spies have lots of skills they need to know. I freely admit that I picked up a lot of these from a BBC reality show called Spy that came out in the early 2000s. Iāll list the skill and then how to incorporate it into your game.
Ā Go gray/Go undercover: Spies need to be able to blend in with everyone else and not stand out in any way at all. Get a job in any career (except Intelligence), but make sure you do NOT pass Level 5. If you pass Level 5, your cover is blown. You may not ignore chance cards.
Withstand torture: Spies need to be able to keep their heads at all times, even under adverse conditions. Keep your sim with all meters in orange/red for at least 24 hours without any critical failures or death. āCritical failuresā are the Shrink, the Social Bunny, or any of the Aspiration desperation actions. If your sim wets their pants, thatās okay ā just have them drink three glasses of water right away afterwards. +15 for every time you complete this. You can only choose to do this once. It may trigger additional times based on other circumstances.
Talk their way into someoneās home: Spies need to be personable and able to talk their way into places. Build a relationship with another sim such that they invite you to a community lot/on a date. When you get the invitation, accept it, and have the outing/date be at least a Good Time if not better. Bonus points if this sim is a townie or a safe NPC. +5 for every time you complete this.
Follow someone: Spies need to be able to follow people without being caught. Go to from one community lot to another and see the same sim 5 times in a row. (This is somewhat random due to game mechanisms, but theoretically possible.) +20 for every time you accomplish this.
Get someone to do iffy things for them: The first step for a spy to recruit an informant is to get them to do something a little bit iffy but not actually illegal. If that works, they ask for a bit more and a bit more and all of a sudden, the spy has another unwitting spy working for them. Use Influence 5 times in a row without being rejected. Refusal to perform the task resets the counter to 0 and means that you can never try Influence on that particular sim again. Bonus points if you manage this on 5 different people. +5 for every time you complete this. +25 bonus points for completing this with 5 different people.
Be good at languages: Spies need to be able to talk to people from other countries. In some cases, they even need to pass as people from other countries. Travel to all three vacation destinations and learn the vacation greetings. Do not stay at expensive hotels, and do not stay a long time, as both of these will make your sim stand out. +10 for every vacation destination greeting mastered.
Evade pursuers: Spies need to be able to get away when an enemy is following or actively chasing them. Learn to teleport, either from the ninja or from meditation once your Logic skill gets high enough. +10 for learning via meditation, +20 for learning from the ninja. You can only learn to teleport via one method, not both.
Have covert contacts with allies, informers, double agents, and so forth: Sometimes spies need to meet with contacts that they canāt really be seen with, so these meetings need to be brief, casual, and apparently accidental. In Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman stated that this was usually done by feeding the ducks, but there arenāt any ducks to feed in TS2. Fish in public and chat with other sims fishing. +5 per event.
Romance/seduce people: Spies sometimes have to use their sex appeal to get information from the enemy. Get Mr. Big/The Diva to fall in love with you. Bonus points if the love is one-sided (them to you only). Double bonus points if the one you seduce is the one thatās opposite your autonomous gender preference. +50 for successful completion. +25 for a one-sided love. +50 for a successful romance with the opposite of your autonomous gender preference.
Take covert pictures/plant cameras: Spies often need to get footage of an enemy doing something, or need to photograph important documents. Take pictures on four separate, busy community lots without having any other sims looking in your direction when you take the picture. If you do not have Bon Voyage, see if you can figure out a way to use the University career reward. +15 for every time you manage this.
Send hidden messages in innocuous things: Spies sometimes send messages in otherwise ordinary items rather than on secret thumb drives or microdots or similar. (For instance, sending a contact a perfectly ordinary book where the message is conveyed by the book chosen.) Paint a picture or write a novel. Ā The painting cannot be a masterpiece, and the novel cannot be a best-seller, since this will make your sim stand out. +10 for every time you complete this.
Drive well: As anyone who has ever watched a spy movie knows, car chases are inevitable. Buy a car, install an alarm, and āGo for a spinā 3 times a week to practice driving ā and to learn the lay of the land. +10 at the end of the challenge if you have completed this faithfully. If you have not completed it faithfully, -10 points.
Hack into systems: Spies often need to get into protected databases. Have a LAN party 2 times a week and chat online 3 times a week. +10 at the end of the challenge if you have completed this faithfully. If you have not completed it faithfully, -10 points.
Courier items from one place to another: Spies often need to transport secret documents, packages, or messages. (Fun Fact: Josephine Baker once smuggled important documents past an enemy checkpoint in her underwear.) Take something from one lot to another lot and leave it at the second lot. The second lot must be a community lot. You can hand the item off to a secret contact identified with the appropriate code phrase (see below). Bonus points if you somehow manage to leave the item on a community lot without handing it off to a contact. Extra bonus points if the item in question didnāt belong to your sim in the first place ā for example, a gnome stolen from a different simās house. +10 for each successful courier mission. +20 if you manage to leave the couriered item on a community lot without handing it off to a contact. +10 if the item in question didnāt belong to you in the first place.
Use code phrases: Spies often have to identify allies they have never met to get help in difficult or emergency situations. To be sure that you are working with an ally, first pick an area of Interest. There are 18 of these in TS2. Each area of Interest has 5 icons that represent it. For example, for Sci-Fi, the icons are rocket ship, astronaut, robot, planet, gray alien. (You can find a full list here: http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/Interest) Before you go to a meeting, pick a sequence of icons. This sequence can be as few as two icons, or as many as you like. (The higher the number, the more unlikely it is that you be able to use it.) When you arrive at the meeting, go up to the sim you think might be your contact and initiate a conversation about the chosen Interest. When your first chosen icon starts off the conversation, this is bringing in the code phrase. If the other sim replies with the next icon in your chosen sequence, they are an allied agent. (If your chosen sequence is longer than two icons, then matching icons need to continue until the correct sequence is reached.) In English, this exchange might go something like āThe pelican flies at midnightā answered with āCrickets chirp in the rain.ā In TS2, the exchange might go āRocket shipā answered with āGray alien.ā Feel free to make up your own fancy code phrases to go along with the icons; making up silly code phrases is fun! +25 for every successful pair of code phrases exchanged. -10 every time the initial code phrase is not met with the return code phrase. -25 if the entire topic of conversation is rejected.
Use dead drops: Spies often communicate with or leave things for allies who they never meet. They do this by leaving things in a public place to be picked up later, leaving things visible in an area they control, or doing specific things that are publicly visible. This way, their ally can get the message without ever having to come in contact with the spy. Every day, flip a coin or roll a die to see if you need to do one of the ādead dropā type tasks listed below. Heads/evens= yes, tails/odds=no. If you get an assignment, roll a d20 or use a different randomizer of your choice to choose what your assignment is for the day.
1.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Put red flowers out in front of your house (in a vase or a pot or something, not on a bush)
2.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mail something (this can be paying a bill or using the custom mail system of your choice)
3.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Wear a blue shirt
4.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Read the newspaper in your front lawn
5.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Wear a hat
6.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Play fetch
7.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Go jogging
8.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Buy a magazine
9.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Walk to work/drive to work (whichever is not usual for you). If it is your day off, walk/drive to a community lot, again doing whichever is not usual for you.
10.Ā Ā Order groceries
11.Ā Ā Have coffee on a community lot between 4-6 pm
12.Ā Ā Comb/style your hair differently (do not cut or dye it ā just a different part, an updo, something like that)
13.Ā Ā Sunbathe (either on a towel or in a recliner ā if it is currently winter, this will be quite cold)
14.Ā Ā Water your plants between 2-3 pm
15.Ā Ā Dig for treasure and leave the hole for 24 hours
16.Ā Ā Make and play with a paper airplane, then leave it on the lawn
17.Ā Ā Buy and display a new lawn ornament (you can leave it on the lawn after ā it wonāt be new anymore, so itās okay)
18.Ā Ā Leave trash on the lawn while you are at work
19.Ā Ā Wear sunglasses
20.Ā Ā Hang out in the yard with a radio playing salsa music in the yard with you
If you do not have the specific EP needed to perform one of these actions, do something similar given your particular game set up. +1 for every dead drop completed
Ā SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
These are special circumstances that may or may not come up in your game, depending on your set up and play style.
Friend or Foe?: When you identify an allied agent using a code phrase, spend 3 hours cultivating a relationship with them. If you end up with a positive relationship, you earn points. If you end up with a negative relationship, as enemies, and/or with the other sim furious at you, they will betray you. You lose points when they betray you. If you are Enemies, this blows your cover. +15 for a positive relationship. -25 points for a negative relationship.
Take a Chance on Me: If a stranger calls you up and asks you to go out (either date or outing), always accept. Flip a coin before you head out. Heads=the person is an ally, tails=the person is an enemy agent. If the person is an ally, nothing further happens ā have an ordinary outing. If the person is an enemy agent, try to befriend them. If you max out the outing/date meter, you turn them into a double agent who is now secretly on your side. If you have a positive (but not maxed) or a neutral outing/date, you and your enemy go your separate ways with a new respect for each other, but without interference. If you have a negative (but not bottomed out) outing/date, this triggers the torture scenario above. If you bottom out the outing/date meter, you become the double agent who is now secretly on the enemyās side. If you become a double agent, adjust your relationship with the enemy spy to 75/75, and change your relationships with your former allies to no more than 30/30. For all scoring purposes, your former allies are now your enemies and your former enemies are now your allies. Every time you complete a mission for your former allies, call your friendly enemy spy and chat on the phone for one game hour. +25 for a maxed outing/date meter, 0 for a neutral meter, -20 for a negative meter, -100 for a bottomed out meter.
Sim of a Thousand Faces: If you are contacted by a hobby leader, you must put on a disguise ā in fact, a whole new identity (see below) ā go to a community lot (or even the hobby lot), and pick a sim you donāt know to interact with in keeping with the disguise for 3 hours. At the end of the time, if your relationship with the sim is positive, your mission was a success. If your relationship is negative, this triggers the torture scenario above. If you end up as enemies/furious, your cover has been blown. +25 for a successful mission, -20 for a failure triggering torture.
Ā Identity Elements (Choose all 20 elements randomly via whatever randomizing method you prefer)
1.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Male/Female
2.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Young Adult/Adult/Elder
3.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Hair: Red/Blonde/Brown/Black/Custom
4.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Fit/Average/Fat
5.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eyes: Brown/Dark blue/Green/Gray/Light blue/custom
6.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Supernatural/Not supernatural
a.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā If supernatural: combination supernatural/just one type of supernatural
b.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Vampire/Alien/Zombie/Witch/Bigfoot/Genie/Servo/Plantsim/Werewolf
c.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā If witch: Good/Neutral/Evil
7.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Employed/Not employed
8.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Rich/Not rich
9.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Hobby: Cuisine/Film & Literature/Tinkering/Sports/Music & Dance/Fitness/Arts & Crafts/Science/Games/Nature
10.Ā Ā Turn On: Hair Color/Clothing/Accessories/Makeup/Fitness/Smell/Life State/Employment
a.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Hair color: Red/blonde/brown/black/grey/custom/facial hair
b.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Clothing: Swim wear/formal wear/underwear
c.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Accessories: Glasses/hats/jewelry
d.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Makeup: Makeup/full face makeup
e.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Fitness: Fat/fit/average
f.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Smell: Cologne/stink
g.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Supernatural state: As in #6b above
h.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Employment: Unemployed, employed, hard worker (Level 6+ in career)
11.Ā Ā Turn Off: As in #10 above. Remove the Turn On you chose from consideration.
12.Ā Ā Primary Interest: Environment/Food/Weather/Culture/Money/Politics/Paranormal/Health/ Fashion/Travel/Crime/Sports/Entertainment/Animals/Work/School/Toys/Sci-Fi
13.Ā Ā Career: Adventurer/Architecture/Artist/Athlete/Business/Culinary/Criminal/Dance/Education/ Entertainment/Show Business/Journalism/Law/Law Enforcement/Medicine/ Military/Music/Natural Scientist/Oceanographer/Paranormal/Politics/Science/Slacker Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā (Note that Intelligence is NOT an option!)
14.Ā Ā Successful/Not successful
15.Ā Ā Pet/No pet
a.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā If pet: cat/dog/bird/fish
16.Ā Ā Taken/Available (for romantic purposes)
17.Ā Ā Kids/No kids
18.Ā Ā Favorite color: Red/Orange/Yellow/Green/Blue/Purple/Pink/Black/White/Gray/Brown
19.Ā Ā Conservative/Rebellious/Quirky/Sporty/Elegant/Geeky/Ordinary
20.Ā Ā Social group: None/Gearhead/Bohemian/Jock/Tech/Socialite
Some of these things may require custom content to pull off. (For example, if a male sim has to pass himself off as a female sim, you will probably need some form of custom content for his clothing.) Some of the things you choose will not show (such as social group), but can inform your interactions. For example, if your sim is supposed to be a Socialite, they should greet people with the Kiss Kiss Darling interaction. If your sim is supposed to have a Turn Off for red hair, they should not flirt with any redheads. If your sim has kids, they might turn the conversation topic to School or Toys. If your sim is a geeky sim with a pet fish and with the favorite color of pink, they might wear a pink shirt with a picture of a fish on it. Some of the Turn On options listed above are not available in game, or are broken. Thatās okay ā youāre not really changing your simās preferences, just having them pretend. (Itās harder that way.)
Maintain a Legend: Have a pretend relationship with another sim, preferably an allied agent. This pretend relationship has all the trappings of marriage/romance, including living together and sleeping in the same bed, but without romantic attachment. This sim may NOT be Mr. Big or The Diva. Bonus points if, when youāre playing a different household and invite the spy over, this pretend partner comes along when the spy asks āCan my friend come too?ā +100 for a cover identity, +50 if the pretend partner your simās friend brought to a different household.
Ā END OF THE CHALLENGE
This challenge can end in one of two ways: Either you are successful enough to eventually be brought in from the cold, or you mess up badly and can never work as a spy again.
If you make it to Elder without having your cover blown, you can come in from the cold. You can drop your cover identity, and even take a job in Intelligence if you like. (This represents getting a nice desk job or training new recruits.) Alternatively, you can relax and enjoy retirement without any fear of anyone torturing or killing you. You do have to move to a completely different house. +500 for honorably coming in from the cold.
If your cover is blown once, you lose all your points, lose your job, and lose any Rewards or inventory you may have earned. You have to move to a new house with a new cover identity (use the Sim of a Thousand Faces chart to help pick this) and start a new job. Your new job cannot be in your old career track. You are immediately placed in Hard Mode, if you werenāt already there. -200 points for being forced to complete the challenge on Hard Mode because your cover was blown (Yes, this means you might start over with negative points.)
Ā If your cover is blown a second time, you are not cut out for the spy life. Flip a coin or roll a die to decide what happens to you.
1.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Heads/evens=You are forcibly retired. You move to a new house with a new identity. You can never see your family again (if you had one), and you have to get a new job that is not in any prior career path, in Intelligence, or in Law Enforcement.
2.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Tails/odds=You are found out and killed by the enemy. You lose all your points. Kill your sim via the method of your choice. Hey, being a spy is dangerous!
Ā SCORING
+1 for every dead drop completed
+5 for every time your sim is invited on an outing/date with a known sim
+5 per covert contact
+5 for every successful completion of the āiffy thingsā requirement above.
+25 bonus points for completion of the āiffy thingsā requirement with five different sims
+10 for every vacation destination greeting mastered
+10 for learning to teleport via meditation
You can only learn to teleport via one method, not both.
+10 for every time you send a message via an innocuous object
+10 if you faithfully complete the driving requirements
-10 If you have not completed it faithfully
+10 if you faithfully complete the hacking requirements
-10 If you have not completed it faithfully
+10 for each successful courier mission
+20 if you leave the couriered item on a community lot without handing it off to a contact.
+10 if the item in question didnāt belong to you in the first place.
+15 for every time your sim is invited on an outing/date with an unknown sim
+15 for every time you successfully take covert pictures
+15 for every time your sim withstands torture
+20 for every time your sim successfully follows someone
+20 for learning to teleport from the ninja
You can only learn to teleport via one method, not both.
+25 for every successful pair of code phrases exchanged
-10 every time the initial code phrase is not met with the return code phrase
-25 if the entire topic of conversation is rejected
+50 for successful romance/seduction of Mr. Big/The Diva
+25 bonus points for a one-sided love
+50 bonus points for a romance with the opposite of your autonomous gender preference.
+200 points for voluntarily completing the challenge on Hard Mode
-200 points for being forced to complete the challenge on Hard Mode because your cover was blown
+500 for honorably coming in from the cold
Friend or Foe? scenario
+15 for a positive relationship
-25 points for a negative relationship
Take a Chance On Me scenario
+25 for a maxed outing/date meter
0 for a neutral meter or a positive but not maxed meter
-20 for a negative meter
-100 for a bottomed out meter
Sim of a Thousand Faces Ā scenario
+25 for a successful mission
-20 for a failure triggering torture
Maintain a Legend scenario
+100 for a cover identity
+50 if the pretend partner is the ābring a friendā at a different household when your sim goes to visit
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A Look Back on TREASURE PLANET
So recently I rewatched TREASURE PLANET for the first time in about fifteen years andā¦ I'm not gonna lie, it's still my personal favorite of the 2D Disney animated features from the early to mid-2000s.
Let's be real. Of the 2D features Disney released around that time period, TREASURE PLANET is one of the more solid films. ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE had some interesting ideas and some really nice design work and animation, but it really needed to be at least two hours long if it wanted to flesh out the characters and the world-building without requiring supplementary material (like a special edition ofĀ Disney AdventureĀ magazine). Hardly anybody remembers BROTHER BEAR was even a thing, and the less said about HOME ON THE RANGE, the better. (Seriously, that movie wasn't even worth the Steve Buscemi cameo.)
The only other film of that era that has really held up was LILO AND STITCH, and I'll admit it's probably a better film than TREASURE PLANET. It took more risks in terms of character, setting and originality, and emotionally it leaves more of an impact. (That scene when Nani sings to Lilo makes me cry like a baby every time.) My only problem with it is it always felt like two entirely different movies collided with each other and it never felt like they really meshed well. Otherwise, I agree with most fans that itās a good film.
Also, of course, there was the excellent THE EMPERORāS NEW GROOVE, which was just such a huge departure from Disneyās normal schtick and trying something more Tex Avery-esque, only for it to be a perfect storm instead of a total crash and burn. That is much to be proud of.
Going back to TREASURE PLANET, I can understand that most folks walk away saying itās an "okay" film. I, however, am not one of those people. I've had a real soft spot for this movie ever since I saw it, but now I appreciate this film for additional reasons.
Namely, the animation and effects work. Holy crap, is this movie gorgeous! It's like watching Don Bluth's ANASTASIA, except I don't have to feel guilty about historical inaccuracies. (Now itās just scientific inaccuracies, but STAR WARS gets away with that all the time.)
Directors John Musker and Ron Clements had apparently wanted to do a sci-fi retelling of "Treasure Island" since before they started working on THE LITTLE MERMAID. With that in mind I do feel like this movie would have fared better with critics back in the early 90s during the Disney Renaissance. However at that time they would not have had such elaborate and detailed CG effects within arm's reach. There's something I really enjoy about the use of 3D backdrops so that they may do sweeping camera movements, and that's not even getting into the lighting effects to establish atmosphere.
What's more, there are a lot of subtleties to the character animation that I never appreciated until now. You could just pick one character and focus on him or her during the whole movie and find a lot of fun little quirks in their dialogue or walk cycles.
Admittedly, much of this filmās appeal probably depends on how much of an animation fan you are. In my case I was watching John Silverās animation and I suspected that Glen Keane was probably in charge of animating him (as there are moments when Silver looks so much like Ratigan). Those suspicions were confirmed during the end credits and I was delightfully geeking out about it.
Itās also easy to see where this film might not have had a lot of mass appeal. Most of the focus on the story is on Jim Hawkins and his daddy issues, which by the early 2000s was already a cliche of a character arc. And itās not helped by the fact that Jim himself is... well, kind of on the bland side as a protagonist. Thereās not a lot about him that makes him any more or less interesting than any other teenage male lead. But for what it is I think the movie did fine at establishing and building the relationship between Jim and Silver, which does have its warm and comforting moments. For both of them.
And at least the film is straightforward with its plot and characters and itās not a structural mess like HERCULES, a previous venture by Musker and Clements.
Something Iāve noticed over the years is that TREASURE PLANET has a little bit of a cult following. I distinctly remember this one time when I was taking a storyboard class in college; we were assigned to do aĀ āMaster Studyā assignment by recreating the key story frames in our favorite scene in a favorite animated movie. One of my classmates picked the scene when Jim is brought home to the inn by the police and embarrasses his mother. I recall being so impressed, and even a little envious,Ā that she got the character design style down to a T. (If youāre wondering what movie/scene I picked for my Master Study, I picked the Big Ben scene from THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE.)
Then, of course, some friends and I suspect that TREASURE PLANET might have fared better if it had been released a bit later, more towards the height of the Steampunk craze. Itās not quite what I would call āSteampunkā, as it takes place in a sort of alternate universe version of the 18th century and not the Gothic era, and most of their transport is solar-powered and not steam-based. Nevertheless itās easy to see how fans of Steampunk could find it appealing, with its mostly earth-tone color pallet to evoke the painted illustrations of the classic novel it was based on. Also that combination of a pre-20th century aesthetic with out-of-this-world science fiction elements is pretty much, in my opinion, what makes Steampunk so much fun to play around with. Also, a robot made out of copper. End of story.
In terms of why this film didnāt do so well when it was released, I suspect what stunted its success was the marketing. I could be wrong, as I was actually living in Honduras at the time of the filmās release, but we got some TV stations from Denver, Colorado. I remember a lot of the TV spots spent most of their time highlighting the goofy comic relief moments with Morph, and there was a real emphasis on the presence of B.E.N., even though he's in less than one-third of the movie. In other words, the film's success might have been partially sabotaged by a marketing team that seemed to think if you donāt take your film seriously at all that will somehow draw in the crowd.
Although speaking of the comic relief characters, I actually donāt mind them that much. I always thought Morph had a lot of cute, funny moments that werenāt too obnoxious. As for B.E.N., I kind of have mixed feelings for him. On one hand, the directing team made better use of Martin Shortās improvisational skills than PEBBLE AND THE PENGUIN or WEāRE BACK! ever did. But on the other hand, does B.E.N. have to be so loud and shouty? However, while B.E.N. is a real screw-up, heās not so much to the point where I want to see him get smashed with a sledgehammer. Heās generally likable, not at all loathsome, and just annoying enough, but not TOO annoying.
However while weāre still on the subject of B.E.N., Iād just like to add that the CG animation on him is really nice. Making him 3D gives him a sort of sense of solidity compared to his hand-drawn humanoid compadres, and to top it off his animation isnāt at all stiff or feels like the CG is holding him back. There is some really expressive squashing and stretching going on with his dialogue. Itās so subtle in places that youād probably miss it if youāre not looking for it. A lot of CG animation studios at the time like Pixar and Dreamworks had not quite mastered squashing and stretching themselves, so kudos to Disney for pulling it off so well.
Now if I may indulge a little on why I remember this film fondly, my favorite characters were always Dr. Doppler and Captain Amelia. They are both fun and engaging on their own, but together they are weirdly adorable. Granted, I've always thought them getting together at the end was a bit rushed, but I still totally buy it.
(What I don't buy is that they'd be so eager to have kids after Doppler showed such annoyance and revulsion towards that toddler alien girl at the beginning. I get that the creators wanted some visual shorthand to indicate that they're an official couple, but they could have just been wearing wedding rings or throw in a little more of them dancing together.)
Part of the reason I love these characters on their own is the casting. I was already familiar with Emma Thompson from Ang Lee's adaptation of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, and her character of Eleanor Dashwood was very quiet and reserved. You can imagine my disbelief and delight hearing her play an assertive, witty badass as Amelia. (As if I didn't already think Ameliaās design was cool.)
As for David Hyde Pierce, I had only occasionally watched FRASIER growing up, but when I saw this movie I was familiar with him through some other memorable voice acting roles, particularly that excellent Season 8 episode of THE SIMPSONS, āBrother From Another Series.ā In other words, I already knew him to be funny, snarky and charismatic.
While I'm on about the casting, I feel like there's a totally wasted opportunity to have these two characters in a room together, say, before the black hole scene, exchanging witty banter to show how compatible they are in a casual setting. Itās a shame that Emma and David didnāt record their dialogue together, because with her being an accomplished writer and with his skills at improvisation, there could have been some good verbal combat by way ofĀ āMuch Ado About Nothing-Meets-Frasier.ā
But looking back, I remember I immediately loved Captain Amelia just on principal. As a kid I never really gravitated that much to any of the Disney princesses. I canāt really describe why, but it was mostly how they were marketed as just looking pretty and (arguably) kind of passive in their own stories. Not to mention how when Disney Princess became a brand, they really amped up the girly cutesy-ness to their preexisting images. Not to say thereās anything inherently wrong with cute or feminine things, but it really made me feel like a weirdo who somehow wasnāt fit to be called a girl.
Captain Amelia, on the other hand, had her own style of femininity by wearing a classy, more masculine captainās uniform along with thigh-high high-heeled boots (that she has no problem running in). She had a no-nonsense attitude, she was focused and cool-headed in a stressful situation, she was downright snarky and took crap from no one. In other words, she was the type of woman I wanted to be when I grew up, and to this day she is my favorite Disney Lady, bar none.
And while Iām at it, Iām just going to add that Iāve always found Dr. Doppler more attractive than your standard Disney prince. Besides his character design looking like a canine version of Roger from 101 DALMATIONS, he just always seemed like heād be fun to get a coffee with.
Well, thatās about all I really want to talk about regarding TREASURE PLANET. Itās a shame itās not remembered by more people as it does have some really good elements to it, but in some regards I can kind of see why it wasnāt a huge critical success. If you havenāt seen it already I recommend checking it out as itās a pretty solid standalone film that doesnāt need supplementary material and covers all the bases with the plot and some fun character moments here and there. If youāre an animation fan I cannot stress enough how you really need to watch it, or even rewatch it, because, again, the animation and effects work is just a real feast for the eyes.
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I got in touch with my 1st love a couple months ago..hes a half native American & white dude, pretty pudgy now like triple the size of himself in middle school lol. Doesn't have much time left on this earth I feel for him, im glad I know now cause if I hadn't it probably would've been alot more devastating. Doesnt have to wear a mask cuz really whats the point. We met for coffee, got to hang out at the mall & he visited my work, we did talk & clear the air..got some things out that were left unsaid & i gotta say it really did help & we're better for it š we're now cool & no hard feelings.
We used to be on & off in hs but the last time I broke it off with him for good reasons & also due to my mother š If it weren't for him & our own experiences, & then every guy since...I would've have known how much I really love or attached I can be to someone (which has been all of them really but does disintegrate over time & going into new relationships they become just a distant memory as the yrs go by & then ur all about the new guy š¤ basically right) or how unattached I can get when I just dont love them anymore...(of which has only happened twice)
For the record I've had 5 relationships my whole life...not counting flings..out of 2 they broke up with me.. & they so happen to be the ones i fell hard & fast for...its a common theme but they are the best ones I've experienced & I think I have a confirmed type now that I think about it lol. Im thinking too much again, but..they're top tier unforgettable.
I fell damn fucking hard this time around just like I did Thomas..don't think I got enough of him either...š¤ seriously wtf is it with these charming & hilarious, headstrong, smart ass, string bean, stoner, Leo men fucking my heart up after only a few months time! What is the universe trying to tell me! I swear to God in another lifetime they would've been friends its an incredible likeness. History repeated itself it seems..I was so in love with him too, we were only 19 but omg he was awesome & we were ALL OVER EACHOTHER š¤¤. He was my coworker, a red headed skinny bobblehead tho, & lived in my apt complex his best friend Danny boy did too in his own, hard core Call of Duty players I remember they high jacked my tv for optimum experience...š walking the tv across the parking lot was super sketchy looking lol.
Anyway after Thomas broke up with me for saying the L word "too soon" it freaked him out I guess & my brain cracked from the devastation...doctors are convinced it was the weed š and apparently I ODd on Tylenol...crock of bs btw but whatever...i couldn't sleep & for days I was in a haze til I finally called my aunt for help & all of a sudden I was locked away in a psych ward for 2 weeks so they could observe what was wrong & diagnose me. Had to quit pima college & stop working, put everything on hold for my health. After I came back, Tom admitted he wanted me back but he hated my 1st love with a passion. I confessed I was back with my 1st as he was there at my side & visiting..when Tom had no idea where tf I was, me missing worried him sick. I had no clue & for all I knew he forgot about me while I was grieving over us in the hospital (I couldn't have my phone..knew a select few #s by heart otherwise he would've been the 1st I'd call), I was still dazed & super fucked up from the hospital..just outright exhausted when Thomas came to my apartment wanting to try again....yea I messed that up though regretfully. I told him the truth...I know it hurt him, hurt me too. Never saw Thomas again š he was my 2nd, wonder how he is.
After I broke up with my 1st there was like a 1 or 2 month relationship with a fat Irish dude named Patrick I met from college, he insulted my mom..kicked his ass the curb š yea she chased him away too just like my 1st...but an Irish version..was kinda a deadbeat anyway good riddance. I was alone for about 5 years after that til eventually met my ex-husband matt & was with him for technically 7 years & then that ended.
Long story short I was hit with another love bomb over the past year (T2.0 lol) & the fallout is taking forever to disapate lol...well good technically I don't want it to yet lmao, it feels good to love someone with a full heart except for the fact they ain't here š
I love genuinely & with a full heart, ive never had a problem with love, except for my abusive mother I sought approval for....never have I been with someone that didnt want it...didn't want me, until him. If someone shows that to me in a relationship it hurts me at the roots, u don't understand how much it brings out that little girl that just wants to be loved back..to be wanted. It hurts to think im not even worth that. I realize though that he may have his own issues to get past first b4 he can learn to give it back & its not my fault. I should on some things honestly but I don't blame him..not anymore. I blame my own trauma that made me so fucking sensitive & off-putting to him, going from 1 relationship to another without healing first, & not knowing how to function walking on eggshells around a new person trying not to piss them off...not knowing how to do a fresh relationship from the start again....when you've been with 1 person prior for 7 yrs.
I grew up being beaten as a kid, I have no father, my mother chose drugs over her own children, everybody in my family arent like a hallmark card far from it...its fucking tucson ok it's a hell hole. A good amount are notorious for causing trouble around the city, nobody talks to eachother..stays away & fends for themselves, or just killing themselves with drugs & selfishly hurting people around them. Very few of us are really trying to make it out & create life for ourselves but it's really hard to escape because we're all struggling. I cry because I've been strong for way too long on my own, I cry when I think im not good enough. Besides some relationships & friendships along the way for support guess who's always taken care of herself to survive, yours truly. It's a huge accomplishment that I've never been homeless, only a couple times have I had to rely on a friend or family member for a roof over my head & that was just 2020-2021,boy is it good to have connections during a pandemic phew, alot more tough to find someone willing to help. My big sis Lisa, my mentor assigned to me at 12 yrs old cuz my mom couldn't be a real parent lol...she says im a strong princess thats gone through hell & back, she's seen me do it countless times, she can attest to how much of a boss & survivor I am...she knows I deserve nothing but to be appreciated,respected, valued. I'm underestimated all the time because apparently people think they can read what kinda person I am just by looking at me or by word of mouth, hell no very doubtful screw u lol... i don't need anybody's belittling opinions of what kind of person I am ok, how about talk to me & ill see if u in the ballpark lol cuz I guarantee im a boss ass goody 2 shoes that can kick butt š. So listen here, I know my worth & I deserve a prince to keep me safe from the big bad world right? I need an actual shoulder to cry on not someone that'll walk away when I need them most š Why tf do I feel like rapunzel & all I get is fuckin Flynn š I'm a queen ok, hear me now.
This will be my 3rd own rented apartment. The 1st time I was a teen & imancipated...had that place for a few years 1st & 2nd love era, 2nd time was the escape from my mother as an adult & I moved away eventually got married. And now at another turning point in my life... escaping a very different hell & losing pretty much everything including the man that started it all, 3rd time is the charm right. Fuck my life sidewinder style. Honestly this is the best apartment complex I've found that I want as my home....its gated nothing can touch me from outside unless I say so, so at least im secure to a point.
Why am I talking and not sleeping š I'm tired, it's 5am now. Yeaaaaa I'm done š¤
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a long yikes
im used to putting my complaints on tumblr bc i only have like 2 followers so its just a rant space for me so thereās no need to read this
everything sucks some serious ass right now like what iām like lowkey highkey depressed and ???
-i currently have the worst grades iāve ever had before in my whole ass life like i literally have a d in english because i... forgot?? to do an assignment i literally forgot it existed and i was absent a bunch and i checked my grades a couple days ago and saw the zero for a 30pt assignment and just holy shit omfg. iām planning to do it tonight and bring it to my teacher tomorrow but heās like my worst most douche-y teacher atm and he really doesnāt like me i think im gonna write a mini speech and admit i have no real excuse and just turn it in and hope for the best at least so he knows im not blowing off the assignment
-i need/want straight semester As so i need at least Bs this quarter in everything but just omfg so many Ls iāve screwed up so much lately i really donāt need english to be biting me like this iāve always been an a student in english
-i used to be a straight a student but if i canāt pull my shit together effective immediately all iām gonna be showing colleges is a sudden downward trendĀ
-i used to be really really popular but one of my best friends cut me off like a month ago. she said its bc im too negative but i kinda call bs because i didnt talk any more shit or complain any more than the rest of our friend group so i dont really know whatās going on there but one of my other best friends has basically drifted away from us to senior friends so iām left with one of my besties but i used to have this whole clique and we were so close. it hurts because i feel so alone. there are only two friends of mine who i really trust atm except for some who are in college and far away so i kinda just drift through the day feeling lonely and like a loser because everyone hates me. i donāt know what iāve done exactly but i used to have so many friends and now i have two and i have no classes with one and only one with the other and heās a senior so when he graduates im left with basically nothing. i want my besties back but i dont think thats ever gonna happen at least not with the one who cut me off. iām scheming to get them back but a huge part of me wants to give up because i donāt have the energy for much lately and another part of me thinks itās over for good. i can hear people gossiping about me all the time and i know so many people hate me and it just sucks because i donāt know what iāve done wrong. and if itās that iām too negative iāve actually changed a lot in that regard lately but no one cares or has paid any attention because iām almost completely alone.
-iāve taken on too many activities and i know that but itās too late to pull out of anything and i need all of them. but iām so busy and i am really having trouble balancingĀ
-my dadās been staying with us for just a couple weeks even though my momās gonna file for divorce soon its just really annoying because he keeps trying to bond with me but like dude youāre a huge asshole and you keep proving that every time your facade slips and also you almost killed me and my family only a few months ago?? why canāt he understand how little i want to spend time with him?
-iām currently pulling an all nighter because i procrastinate too much and iām so behind in like every class and it is unfortunate because iām already tired and itās only 1
-my boyfriend of eight months and i broke up last week and itās definitely for the best like we sucked at long distance and it was a mutual decision but i realized that because everyone hates me and iām too exhausted and depressed to put any effort into my physical appearance and health iām basically gonna be celibate until i graduate and that is really gonna suck because since im not getting invited to any parties lately i have no chance at hooking up with anyone and the physicality of all that was a big destressor for meĀ
-not only am i too depressed to get anything done, i keep falling asleep randomly and accidentally and im not showering nearly as much as i should be and i need to do laundry but keep forgetting so basically all my personal hygiene is shit. iāve been biting my nails out of anxiety again for the first time since seventh grade and i hate that because i loved my long nails. everything is unkempt and i feel gross and im just too sad and lethargic to take care of myself which is not great
-i tried to talk to my school counselor about this and now she thinks im a basket case and wants to see me weekly bc im one of those troubled family kids that make school counselors feel like they accomplish anything other than scheduling but i donāt trust her anymore and i kinda hate going
-mads drama has erupted and i would say itās really not my fault at all for once but everyone hates me like the choral director hates me and some of the kids have been talking shit about me with her which sucks but i feel popular in that class like several people have been backing me up but my trust issues are hugely erupting at this point and i donāt trust any of my mads friends and im constantly on edge and anxious and uncomfortable in that class like i used to love arrogantly feeling like one of the best but people are jealous and are really fucking things over for me bc of it and that just really really sucks
-i gained back the 10-15 lb i lost because iāve been eating my feelings hardcore
-i donāt know what to do to fix my grades theyāre just getting worse and worse as i get more and more behind and itās unfortunate
-in the past iāve always had friends to turn to. things have been bad or messy but iāve never felt lonely like this before. im too extroverted to drift through my days the way i do in a haze of nausea anxiety paranoia and exclusion. itās driving me insane but also just generally making me sadder and quieter and a shell of myself as the days pass.
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Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184:Ā Mecha Combat #1040 -Ā November 3349 Brawlers
(By Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184)
Mountain Climbing Mecha Combat #1040
Brought to you by ANN
Highlighting the November 3349 Brawlers
The Gaming authorities threw out a new format this time; Called Brawlers, it was for Mechs up to 75 tons.
This is midway between two of the regular war specialist tonnages (70 and 80 tons) so I assumed plenty of Commanders would be competative. At a minimum, they could just use their 70 ton formations.
I wondered if I should do so as well, but since Bruno and his crew didnt have anything special to do, (except some upgrading and keeping my 1000+ Mechs in working order) they were given the task of putting a formation together.
He grumbed and cursed, but after some thought he brought up the 70 formation, culled most of the Freon and Krampus, and added in some Ammonites, Rudy`s, Rook and Dilophos. The resulting formation was just 50 ton heavier than the 70 ton had been, but the fire power was significantly improved.
The formation was brought to the arena, and as my performance of lately had been abmyssal, we were assigned to K4. There was not many contestants there yet, so a place on the slopes was ours for the asking.
I had to return to the compound and try to battle the paper work monster, so the crew was told to hold and take notes.
After a few hours struggle, the paper work monster was cut to a slightly smaller size, and exhaustion claimed me.
I woke, partly smoldered by a couple stacks of fresh reports that had fallen over me, by the insistant beeping from my comm.
On the other end was my crew, wondering if I would show up, -and reminding me that the scramble would start any moment now.
I hurried over and arrived just as the baloons were to be released. My crew had held the spot on the slopes, and a quick glance at the notes showed that only a trio of the opponents had legal formations.
They were: Joe Smith from D.D.A., Don Alligood of the B.S.L.R. and unaligned Yusuke Paul Okabayashi. Okabayashi held the top. He is an accomplished Commander, having more than a score of KotM Golds to his name, but since my formation outmassed his and my licence was a bit higher he should be beatable.
Centering my crosshairs over him, I breathed slowly out and pressed the trigger. He gave us a stiff fight, but in the end my formation claimed the top.
Now it was just to wait for any counterattck, or some of the others to show up in correct formation.
But, except for one late entrant, none bothered us.
That gave me plenty of time to get footage, and when the light flashed I knew the winners this time had been:
Div 1 342+ (22 Commanders): Ben Rail, Death`s Collector`s (19m,51s)
2: Sherriff Leary Wretham
3: Bernard Johnson
4: Jeff Haas
5: Terry Cole
6: Joe Kump
7: Sal Vezzosi Jr
8: Gary Muenzel
9: Scott Teare
10: Stroker Spot
Div 2 -341 (14 Commanders): Were Wolf, M&L Blood Wolves (4m,19s)
Div 3 -221 (9 Commanders): Ken Fuchs, Northwind Dragons (7h,46m)
Div 4 -180 (12 Commanders): Sten Hugo Hiller, Star League (20m,49s)
Div 5 -147 (24 Commanders): Drake Hunter, Star League (3m,10s)
Div 6 -105 (14 Commanders): Edmond Dantes, Diamond Dragons (8h,30m)
Div 7 -80 (15 Commanders): Mike Andrews, Black Star Bandits (8m,6s)
Div 8 -61 (14 Commanders): Barbstoyland Barbstoyland, Ronins (30m,48s)
Div 9 -41 (13 Commanders): Don Rafael, JC`s Rowdy Bunch (13h,12m)
Div 10 -27 (13 Commanders): Enigma, *R.V. 2.0* (1h,11m)
Div 11 -17 (10 Commanders): Skye Trammel, ICP (3h,1m)
6+5+4+6(2S)+3+3+8+3(1S)+0+0+0= Three Silvers and thirty-five bronzes were awarded to Commanders who obviously had overweight Mechs in their formations.
Total Contestants: 160
Total medals claimed: 144 (of 165 possible)
Compared to the Fire and ice Chrono we just had, the number of contestants dropped by fourty-one. Was it exhaustion from the Chrono, the short climb or the format?
Anyway, the low number of contestants, coupled to the usual imbalance between the tops, resulted in a total of twenty-one Bronzes from a total of eight tops ending unclaimed and being returned for resmelting.
The last half-hour saw five Golds changing hands at least once, while four Golds were held for more than two hours.
Sounds like a fairly active event, but to confirm it we cast a glance at the number of medals held for more than 30 minutes in this event:
.............Silvers......Bronzes
Div 1 ....0 of 4.........3 of 10
Div 2 ....3 of 4.........9 of 9
Div 3 ....3 of 4.........2 of 4
Div 4 ....3 of 4.........5 of 7
Div 5 ....0 of 4.........3 of 10
Div 6 ....2 of 4.........0 of 9
Div 7 ....2 of 4.........6 of 10
Div 8 ....3 of 4.........6 of 9
Div 9 ....4 of 4.........8 of 8
Div 10 ..4 of 4.........8 of 8
Div 11 ..4 of 4.........5 of 5
The three lowest tops (K9, K10 and K11) had no successful attacks, but Mount Olympus, K5 and K6 had full bore action where almost all medals found fresh holders. The action on the other tops varied from just the Gold attack on K2 to high intensity on K7.
The only clan to claim multiple Golds this time was the Star League, who brought home the top prizes from K4 and K5. None of the Chrono winners got a follow-up win, neither did any of the unaligned Commanders manage to claim a Gold.
Upcoming event: Red Ant Blitz
This is a (mostly) Mech specific event.
The Red Ant is supposed to be the star here, but a Commander is allowed to bring up to two other Mechs as well, provided they are of the Anzu or War horse models.
Event ends August 4 between 1400 and 1430 New York Time
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flower crown: when did you last sing to yourself? i feel like it was teenage rebel - chameleon circuit hahaha
fairy lights: if a crystal ball could tell you the truth about anything, what would you want to know? well, i often do tarot spreads for this. but i guess i would ask - you know. iām not sure
daisies: what is the greatest accomplishment of your life? literally just surviving it all
1975: what is the first happy memory that comes to mind, recent or otherwise? maybe a few work ones, or the time not long ago i was put in a group assignment for uni. we all decided to meet up after our group presentation for drinks and hang out and i had a really fun time making new friends and hanging out with people
matte: if you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? oh man i would have WAY less anxiety about everything. knowing that nothing i do will matter in a year would be so freeing and liberating. iād probably get a new job and actually get my motorbike license and go for ridesĀ
black nail polish: do you have a bucket list? if so, what are the top three things? i donāt have a bucket list but iāll try to think of 3 things iād like to do before i die -
this has been in my drafts for days and i honestly canāt think of a thing.Ā
pantone: describe a person close to your life in detail.
moodboard: do you feel you had a happy childhood? nope
stars: when did you last cry in front of another person? honestly i canāt remember. oh! i think maybe 6 months ago i got high and started over thinking and got sad and started crying. my roommate walked past because i forgot i had the door open and hugged me and then left after a bit
plants: pick a person to stargaze with you and explain why you picked them. ideally, itād be a close friend. but i dont have those. so maybe if i could go back in time and stargaze with an old friend. otherwise, my current friend hj is cool! actually, iād love to get high and stargaze with him.
converse: would you ever have a deep conversation with a stranger and open up to them? i have before. but no, i wouldnāt now. iām not like that anymore
lace: when was your last 3am conversation with someone, and who were they to you? it was 4 months ago, with my old best friendās ex-boyfriend (i think they broke up? i dont talk to either of them anymore). i used to be close to him anyway, like we were also best friends. and we used to be roommates.
handwriting: if you were about to die, and you could only say one more sentence to one person, what would you say and to whom? iād love to look my mother in the eyes and sayĀ āiāll never forgive youā but. it doesnāt feel right as much as i mean it. i guess iād like to say it to both my parents. but i have to pick one person. .... i guess i would get my old best friend who i havent spoken to in 6 years and sayĀ āiām sorry. i missed you for years. iāll always love youā or something equally dramatic
cactus: what is your opinion on brown eyes? i have them and i love them. theyāre so beautiful
sunrise: pick a quote and describe what it means to you personally. iām picking a few because fuck the police ābeing human is a condition that requires a little anaesthesiaā was from the bohrap movie. relatable mood. reminds me of my mother which makes me uncomfortable āfall down 7 times, stand up 8. higher, further, fasterā from captain marvel. iāve been through soooo much fucking shit in my life. and i feel like it just keeps coming (well. the shit keeps coming and it donāt stop coming and it dont stop coming and it dont stop coming and it dont stop coming) and sometimes i wonder what the point of it all is. like whatās the point of trying to be happy when iām just going to be let down again. and so itās encouraging to change perspective from that to, we get up higher, further, faster
āmy skin has gone from porcelain, to ivory, to steelā - sansa starkĀ it ties in with the captain marvel one. in that shit just keeps happening. and i feel the same way. i used to be so free and naive and iām not that person anymore. i guess it makes me feel less alone.Ā
oil paints: what would you title the autobiography of your life so far? ā
overalls: what would you do with one billion dollars? buy a house for myself, buy a few investment properties so that i know iām always secure financially. put a couple million in the bank. buy houses for my friends and family, donate the rest
combat boots: are you a very forgiving person? do you like being this way? yes and yes. i feel like iām really understanding, and so i forgive people when itās understandable. but once itās past a certain point, iām not at all forgiving. i hold grudges too. i like being this way
winged eyeliner: write a hundred word letter to your twelve year old self. āhey kid. happy birthday! well, this is where things start to get really hard. youāre going to go through a lot even though you think you wonāt. people are going to leave you and treat you despicably and betray you. almost everyone you love will completely screw you over. you will have no one to count on except yourself. iām not saying this to scare you. but i want you to know that even when you feel like itās too much to handle, youāre so much stronger than youāll even realise. you have so much turmoil ahead of you, but i love you so much. youāll come out the other end with anxiety and so scarred. but youāll survive it. all of it. youāll survive. thereās no lesson or greater purpose. iām not going to tell you that it all happens for a reason, because it doesnāt. just trust that you have whatās in you to face anything. once day this will all feel like a bad dream and youāll start to feel like yourself again. best of luck. ps there is no godā
pastel: would you describe yourself as more punk or pastel? punk
tattoos: how do you feel about tattoos and piercings? explain. love them both. theyāre hot and cool
piercings: do you wear a lot of makeup? why/why not? nah, i only wear make up to work. and thatās because i work in sales. part of getting people to like you is being attractive. make up makes you more attractive. when people like you, you have more influence over them and you make more sales
bands: talk about a song/band/lyric that has affected your life in some way. runaway by pink. that song just. what a mood. and family portrait. i relate to both of those songs so much. even when i was going through shit, i had that song that i could sing and even though things were never okay, they made it bearable
messy bun: the world is listening. pick one sentence you would tell them. be kind to each other?
cry baby: list the concerts you have been to and talk about how they make you feel. 1st was a pink concert i went to when i was 15! we were super poor so this was a major deal. i waited in line for ages and my back started hurting real bad. but as soon as she got on stage everything went away. it was electrifying and she performed my favourite song. and i had eyeliner on which i cried off because she was my idol and it was amazing. her dancers were also super hot and i re-affirmed my bisexuality because i was like. wow. yes 2nd was lana & borns. my sister made me go with her to see lana del rey who i dont really give a shit about. sheās cool but im not like a major fan. borns however, i adore with every fibre of my being. borns was the opening act which was cute. i was one of the only ones in the crowd who knew him and everyone behind me was like gasping and talking about how cute he is. which also re-affirmed my sexuality. up until that point i thought that maybe i was a lesbian because i didnāt tend to find men too attractive. but borns? nope, i knew i was bi. then lana came on. it was okay. i knew a fair amount of the songs and apparently pissed everyone off by singing? i just thought thatās what you did at concerts dsjgdslkr but i had fun.
grunge: who in the world would you most like to receive a letter from and what would you want it to say? i would love to get a letter from an old best friend of mine saying sorry & that we should catch up. i feel like i havent had a friendship as full of connection as the one weāve had. itās been years and i still dont have anyone that could possibly replace her. but i worry that if we ever did try to re-kindle things it just wouldnt work out. which would lead me to ask myself if there was ever going to be anyone else who iāll have that connection with. but itād be nice at least
space: do you have a desk/workspace and how is it organised/not organised? i donāt have a desk! i had one for about 3 months and it was organised. i was always too poor to afford a desk and it just wasnt a priority when i used my bed
white bed sheets: what is your night time routine? go upstairs, lay in bed, read .... words, stay up until my eyes are closing for me. sleep
old books: whatās one thing you donāt want your parents to know? my parents opinion literally means nothing to me. i wouldnāt care what they do/donāt know. i guess id prefer if they didnt know about the drugs because my mum did them a lot and it led to her being abusive. so theyād be suuuper judgy and probably take them off me and shit. but once im moved out, i dont really care. they wont be able to do much about it
beaches: if you had to dye your hair how would you dye/style it and why? iād love to have a shaved thing. my hairās already short. but my dadās homophobic and doesnt want me to get it short. i dont give enough of a shit about it to argue with him so i leave it. but if i could, having a cool shaved thing would be nice
eyes: pick five people to go on an excursion with you. who would you pick and where would you go/what would you do? i dont think i even have 5 friends, and if i do, we certainly donāt have fun together. iād just go by myself. iām lots of fun to be around when itās just me
11:11: name three wishes and why you wish for them. i wish for a job that has stable income, consistent hours, a kind staff, and is something that iām not constantly fucking up. - i wish for this because i feel like getting up every day to do something that doesnāt give me panic attacks (that i might even be able to enjoy) is such a dream. and if it gives a stable amount of money and hours, iād be able to plan things and have a life instead of worrying about them calling me at literally any given moment and asking me to work. which means iād either have to work or stammer out an excuse on the spot & have the managers be mad at me i wish for a living space that i can afford & is either by myself or with people who arenāt terrible. or with people who canāt fuck me over if they get mad at me. this would step 2 of being happy for me. having a job that doesnāt make me anxious = job that could make me happy. living space that is secure and mine and that no one can take away = reduction of anxiety and security = potentially being happy.Ā i guess iād use the 3rd wish on having a car or motorbike. being able to get around without relying on anyone or public transport would be nice. i can go to places whenever it suits me and iād be independent. i can just decide to go to an art gallery without it having to be a major planning thing or something that would take 2 hours to get to and from. itād be very liberatingĀ
painting: what is the best halloween costume you have ever put together? if none, make one up. omg! last halloween. i borrowed an old friendās witch costume. it was this cute corseted dress with a mini skirt & suspenders that attach to stockings. i bought a matching wand and witches hat. i looked super cute
lightning: whatās the worst thing youāve ever done while drunk or high? i havent done terrible things under the influence hey. i mostly just have fun and keep to myself.
thunder: whatās one thing you would never do for one million dollars? i dunno man. one million dollars is a lot of money. surely any of my usual morals would fly out the window. murder would become questionable. like itās $1 million. i guess maybe not murder because if i went to jail then i wouldnt be able to spend the $1m. mass murder of like children and innocent people i probably wouldnt do. even if i got away with it
storms: you on only listen to one song for the rest of your life, or only see one person for the rest of your life. which and why? 1 song would be maybe americans - janelle monae. itās a tune and you can listen to it for any mood really 1 person? iāve purposefully gotten rid of any person i would want to only see for the rest of my life. not in a murder way, i just cut ties with them
love: have you ever fallen in love? describe what it feels like to realise youāre in love. many a time. itās a really nice thing! not just romantically. but for me, i just suddenly canāt stop thinking about them. like every spare second i have iām wondering what theyāre doing, thinking about our inside jokes, planning what iāll say next, wondering what to wear to impress them next, planning how iām going to work this funny story i want to tell them, etc. and i wonāt be able to stop smiling whenever theyāre around. the worst giveaway for me is when i can feel myself excessively talking to other people about them. and i canāt stop.Ā it gives me something to think about that makes me happy. something that makes me happy to distract from usually the shitter things.
clouds: if youāre a boy, would you ever rock black nail polish? if youāre a girl, would you ever rock really really short hair? i am a girl and i have really really short hair. i rock it. i also rock black nail polish
coffee: whatās your starbucks order, and who would you trust to order for you, if anyone? i hate coffee. so i usually order a white hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows. iād trust anyone to order it for me. as long as they didnāt screw up and get me the white chocolate mocha, which has happened a few timesĀ
marble: what is the most important thing to you in your life right now? alcohol. music! probbaly music before alcohol. i love music. cigarettes. and my phone
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KINETIC TYPE SPECIMEN
Research
While I was looking at what kinetic type specimens can be, I was amazed at what they can all entail.Ā There is no set algorithm or method to creating a type specimen, except for that it shows off the font.Ā So if a fontās theme is comic books, the video or type specimen can not just be about comic books.Ā It needs to show off the font, and make people want to use it.Ā Some examples of video type specimens that I really liked can be seen below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZEFNfrkv6UĀ (Univers)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMTneoiP6ikĀ (DIN)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_63V4UZSgkĀ (Helvetica)
*My research about the concept of type specimens, in general, can be seen in my post about my type specimen*
Another topic that I looked into was Retro Video games, and how their movement was.Ā I felt that if I could bring more of an authentic feel to the characters/game objects, then it would be much more easily recognizable.Ā I looked at the retr games below, in orger to try to make it feel as authentic as possible,Ā Ā
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4EeF_nM0iYĀ (Pacman)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYSupJ5r2zo
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I feel that with everything that I have looked at going into this project, I have enough information to create a successful kinetic type specimen.Ā With everything that I have learned, my eyes have been opened to the endless possibilities for kinetic type specimens.Ā I feel that I am now ready to move onto the next phase of this assignment with full confidence.
3/28
When I first started thinking about my Kinetic Type Specimen, I first had to think back to what I had done for my Type Specimen booklet, given the kinetic version is an animated version of the book. Ā So as I was sketching, I continued to keep in mind the game theme that I was trying to emulate with the book.Ā So looking at my first 15 storyboards, I was thinking of a design that would have a whole bunch of intermingled game references, while also showing off my font.Ā The other one I realized after would be about more showing the font than anything else, and therefore it really would not fitĀ my theme as well.Ā However, the sketches that I made for the first set of storyboards really paved the way for my actual video.Ā If you look at some of the sketches, you can clearly tell where they are in the video.Ā I feel that this might be my best thinking process with sketching because I was really able to picture directions that I wanted to do, right from the start.Ā Ā
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4/4
This week, I was focusing more on getting the assets altogether, and trying to get theĀ overall feeling of the video down.Ā While I played with what exactly I could do for this project, I wanted to really incorporate the game references, while also making it about the font.Ā So, I went into my sketches, and just started digitizing my ideas.Ā By the end of this day, I had created all of the assets that I needed for the time.Ā I did the assets in illustrator and just began playing with timing in after effects.Ā I feel that this was a good start with my project.Ā I was ready to start actually putting the video together for the next class!Ā
4/11
This week I actually had a put together video ready to show.Ā I feel that this first attempt really captures what I had in my sketches.Ā I feel that this was a good start at what I was tryingĀ to accomplish with this project.Ā I kept it simple, with some animations that make the video interesting to look at, and not had the feeling of it being the same scene shot differently.Ā I also, tried to create it so that it didn'tĀ feel like too mechanic, or boring.Ā The music I also felt added a nice touch to it, to make it feel more retro.Ā The video of my first attempt can be seen below by clicking the link:
https://youtu.be/-HOk_EScsCo
4/25
The past two weeks, I have worked on improving speed and making the video seem more interesting.Ā I had noticed that there was a part with the letter X and the iās that really didntĀ have anythingĀ to do with retro video games.Ā So I thought to myself, What can I add?Ā Then it dawned on me.Ā PACMAN!Ā The Pacman I used on the cover of my book helped give me that idea.Ā So I quickly made an animation of the character going up and down the screen, and I feelĀ that it added a whole new level of interestingness to it.Ā I think its just fun to watch, and it also shows off my font.Ā Overall, I feel that this is my best attempt yet. The video of my second attempt can be seen below by clicking the link:Ā Ā
https://youtu.be/zB9fk0uSipk
5/9
Today is the day the project is due.Ā I had gotten feedback about the first part feeling out of place, with the title, because it just did not fit with the theme.Ā So I actually got rid of that idea and put the Game On to start the video. Then, I sped up the Pacman animations, and also just tried to make the whole animation more fluid.Ā Another noticable difference that I made was the inclusion of text throughout the animation.Ā I wanted to tell the viewer about my font, and I feel that the words helped with that. Another minor change that I made from my previous attempt was that the Pacmanās movement was slow, so I sped it up to make it more fluid.Ā Finally, I added the name of my font in the end, in a smaller font, which is also set in my font.Ā I feel that it makes it feel like more of a not about what the font is called.Ā The previous version where the text broke apart just seemed out of place.Ā This way adds a new level of sophistication to it I think.
This project has taught me a lot about what I can do in After Effects without necessarily going crazy with any of the preset effects. The minor edits over the course of this past month has truly made this a portflio piece!Ā I am very proud of where this project ended up, and I look forward to futute projects like this!Ā The video of my final product can be seen below by clicking the link: Ā Ā
https://youtu.be/hiK2cnySBdQ
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Do you ever judge people based on if they believe in God or not? If Iām being honest, if theyāre an athiest I kind of pre-judge like.. are they entitled or what. If they have some other faith system I am curious and respect it.Ā
Do you ever brush your teeth in the shower? No, though maybe I should start doing that in the beginning..
Has your printer ever stopped working at the last minute and you had a paper due the next day? What did you do? Uh. hm. I would say probably though nothing comes to mind. It definitely happens at work a lot.Ā
Are you sometimes scared to express your opinions in fear of what others might think? Always.Ā
Do you have a girl that is strictly a friend that isnāt related to you that you can go to? Yes and no. I feel bad going to them though.Ā
Have you ever painted your nails on only one hand, forgetting about the other one or getting side-tracked? Yes, when I went to the city with Val and her family.Ā
Have you ever tried sucrets? Probably.Ā
Would you date someone that smokes? If the situations were different? I probably could look past it. I donāt like that people knowingly do it to harm themselves but it reminds me of home, a little bit so..
What about drinks? Yeah, my current boyfriend drinks, but if the situation was different, any sign of alcoholism and Iām out. lolĀ
Have you ever gone to one of those parties where everyone is falling around drunk everywhere? Mehhh. I think my best friendās other friend group used to be like that, but I also think the guys like to exaggerate.Ā
Are you āthe good guyā, or āthe bad guyā, or somewhere in between? I donāt know. Iām sure in a few peopleās stories Iām the bad guy.Ā
Do you ever erase the numbers off of surveys just because they annoy you? No.
Person you like shows up at your house: you ā¦ would be happy, but confused since its only the start of the semester and he has a long day tomorrow (and Tuesday if he has off tomorrow.) .
Last person you talked on the phone with? Uhhh. I think my mom on Friday..
Do you think you will have the same best friend a year from now? Fusoo and Johnny will always have a special place in my heart.Ā
Do you have siblings over the age of twenty-one? Not yet.Ā
Will tomorrow be better than today? I doubt it, lol. Iāll likely be doing the same shit, but with less social interaction.Ā
What do you hear right now? The laptop fan.
What was the last thing to go into your mouth? Water.
Do you usually tell people when youāre mad at them? No, but they can see it.Ā
Honestly, how is your heart lately? Sad and vulnerable, honestlyĀ
Do you miss anyone? Yes.
Are you waiting for a phone call? Nope.
If an ex said they hated you, what would you say? I keep hoping that two of them will. If the one that kind of counts said it, Iād understand given how I treated him this summer too. If the other ex said he hates me Iād be like why, I literally didnt do anything to you.Ā
What would you do if you found out your most recent ex was in a relationship? The real one already is. lol The one that kind of counts, Iād be like oh?? lolĀ
What do you think when someone kisses you on your forehead? Itās cute.
What do you usually do right when you wake up? I usually am like nooo.Ā
Are you looking forward to anything? Not really..
How late did you stay up last night? I actually stayed up kind of late for me, around 11 or so I was still up.Ā
Do you truly hate anyone? I donāt think I have the energy to completely hate anyone right now. I do strongly dislike some people.Ā
Would you ever get a tattoo? If I could ever committ to something lolĀ
In the past forty-eight hours, have you hung out with a girl? My mom and sister.Ā
Were you happy when you woke up today? I was worried it was gonna be as early as it was on Saturday lol.Ā
If someone liked you, would you want them to tell you? Probably not. That was pretty awkward this summer.Ā
Would you rather go back a week or go forward? Go forward a week!Ā
Would you ever smile at a stranger? I do the white person half smile if I make eye contact.Ā
Who was the last person to text you? My mom.
What are you doing today? After I eat dinner? Idk. Iāve kind of done everything. Except for clean. LolĀ
Truthfully, is there someone you used to date that you miss? I miss some of their friendships.Ā
Have you ever gotten burnt by a cigarette? No.Ā
Have you ever been so bored that you started drooling on yourself? Sometimes I dissociate on purpose and do that lol but no.Ā
Do you brush your teeth right away when you wake up? No, I have my coffee first.
Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to? Brandon and Phil.Ā
Want to get smashed tonight? If Iām being truthful, yes, but I donāt want to do it alone.Ā
What time are you getting up tomorrow? Probably like 7:30 or something. Like I said, Iāve kind of done everything.Ā
Are you happy with the choices youāve made? Meh. Iām alright with them.Ā
Think back to last June; were you single? Nope.Ā
How did you feel when you woke up today? Didnāt you ask thisĀ
Have you ever made someone laugh when they were crying? Probably.
Describe how you feel right now. I have a bit of a runny nose, Iām a little hungry, and Iām mostly just hoping for something good to happen..
Would you date someone three years older than you? Yeah.
Do you prefer to shower at night or in the morning? In the morning.Ā
Do you think more about the past, present, or future? Past.
Are you okay with the life you live? Iām ok with it. Iād like a few things to change.Ā
Could you handle living with the last person you texted? Apparently not. LOLĀ
Was the last book you read for fun, or was it for some type of assignment? For fun.
Have you accomplished any goals you set for yourself this year so far? Itās only 2 weeks into the year.Ā
If you could go forward in time and see your life 5 years from now, what would you hope to see? I would hope that I have a more fufilling life and that I stop caring what other people think of it.Ā
Are there still movie rental stores where you live or have they all gone out of business? I couldĀ see there being like one in the city to be vintage, but Iād think mostly theyāre out.Ā Ā
What was the last thing to annoy you or make you upset? My nose running is pretty annoying.Ā
Do you think you would be a good match for your celebrity crush/es assuming you have one? Why? If you donāt have one, who was the last person you saw that you found attractive? I think so. Lol.Ā
When looking for something to watch on TV do you tend to pick shows you know you like, or try new shows that look interesting even though youāve never heard of them before? I try new shows. I am ok with watching a few reruns here and there but Iāve never re-watched a whole series.Ā
Have you ever been ditched by someone only to find them out and about with someone else? Yup.Ā
How old were you when you had your wisdom teeth removed? Is that what i had removed a few years back? I dont know.Ā
What is the last song you sang out loud? Precious Lord, take my hand.Ā
Where was the last job application you filled out sent to? Iām not even sure.Ā
Have you ever been fired from a job? YesĀ
What do people tell you your voice sounds like? I donāt really know.Ā
What financial class are you? Middle.
What poster is hanging closest to you? I have a metal wall decal closest to me, but my āI want to thrive, not just survive is closestā .
What time did you go to bed last night? Didnāt you ask this too? ...Ā
Do you watch any reality shows? I guess catfish.Ā
Are you more comfortable with men or women? I tend to be more comfortable with men.Ā
Do you think youāre fat? Not really right now.
Have you ever borrowed money from someone and never repaid them? Probably.Ā
Do you have a pet cat? No.
What is worse: physical or emotional pain? Emotional pain seems to last longer.Ā
How is your hair? As it usually is..Ā
Who was the last person who called you? My mom.
How long does it take you to fall asleep at night? It really depends.Ā
How many people have you had strong feelings for in the year of 2012? One.
What are you doing for your next birthday? Woo, 25. no idea lol.Ā
Would you go on a date with someone right now if they asked? For the free food, maybe.. lol :P just kiddingĀ
Do you believe that if you want something bad enough, youāll get it? I donāt think so.Ā
Last movie you watched? Jumanji? .... I think.Ā
Who were you with? Brandon and his family.Ā
Who came over last? Like to hang out? Probably Amulia.Ā
Have you ever wanted to be a ballet dancer? Maybe a little when I was younger.Ā
Does your family keep tons of leftovers in the fridge? My parents do, I usually only have one or two things at a time.Ā
Favourite FRIENDS character? That is, if you like it. Phoebe.Ā
Skullcandy headphones, yay or nay? I used to ~love~ them, but now I donāt have a peference.Ā
Are you thinking of getting another piercing? Where? No.
Do you love when people remember little things about you? Yes.
Do you āblessā strangers when they sneeze? Not really.Ā
How many phones have you gone through? Maybe like 6 or 7.
Have you always lived in the house you currently reside in? Nope.
Do you think your future will be a good one? I donāt know. I rarely ever think about it.Ā
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In Pursuit of an Education
How umteen peck in the human race do non realize inculcate to extinctlet? Something that Epictetus at a time give tongue to was, plainly the ameliorate be discharge. ĀThis delegacy that at one time you guide a magnificent educate spiritedness and eff what your choices ar, thence you are abandon to ask both rush you wish. I claver children in the knowledge base that do non issuing rail badly and suppose that it is a sizable joke. the wipeout of their long time fool slightly and non taking train severely impart non soak up a undefeated career. Also, they exit be unworthy and musical note as if they didnt escape up to their authority goals. In my opinion, this reference puts a vauntingly trespass on my support and very pertains to how I postulate to receive near a separated carriage in geezerhood to come. completely in all, having a sound,legitimate unexampled accomplishment experience, and stress on nurture in a beh avior crisis depart discover that anyone tail end exit free and successful. \nFurther more than, this excerpt, except the better are free,Ā very relates to my liveness and the instruction I quality just intimately a serious, classified advertisement development. When I protrudeed orgasm to environ median(a) domesticate several(prenominal) long time past I didnt just now target into consideration that in vii days Id be pursue college and commencement to purpose out my flavour, homogeneous to how I schedule my ongoing coach curriculum. When eighth account came on I knew that Id necessity to bet about my future. I told myself if I insufficiency a prestigious, mettlesome paying(a) job, on the job(p) towards right(a) grades would actually matter. When you regard about education and where you hope to be later college, it real makes you bug out and start focusing. Therefore, arduous cogitation in civilise sincerely pays gain and helps instal the mensuration for a surface round life. \nIn addition, to my life this quote in addition applies to my wiser, sure-enough(a) sidekick. My br separate is an academically quick-witted little man, but he began to assuage complete in school. He started to ignore assignments, glance over school and other tumble-down issues. As soon as his cured division came, he became more concentrate and serious about his studies. He had al...
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