#feed dialogue? with colours? is that from me

[birdkittenn]

if i had a nickel every time i suspected someone read my fics and decided to take the idea of a feed, with coloured text deciding which character is talking, i'd have 3 nickels at this point

[bloodstained-ballgowns]

i just rewatched ‘the woman who fell to earth’ a couple of days ago for the first time since it aired back in 2018 and the more i think about it, the more i like it.

thirteen is the only doctor for whom i feel a tangible, rose-tinted nostalgia. she wasn’t my first doctor, but she was the first doctor i watched live, the first doctor that i spent an actual extended period of time with over the episode rollout. her intro episode has middling parts (as can be expected with most episodes of Who) but there’s also so much good that i really want to highlight.

first of all, there are some really great character dynamics set up here. much more interesting than i remember, tbh. ryan is a guy who loves mechanics but is stuck in a warehouse job he hates, a guy who obviously wants to connect to people, a guy who by the end of the episode has lost both his mother and grandmother in the space of a couple of years and the step-grandfather he didn’t really want is all he has left (minus his absent father). that’s interesting.

yaz has a keen sense of justice and this raw, intense yearning to help people, to do something worthwhile, something more - the way she has chosen to express that is through law enforcement, but it’s not quite giving her the satisfaction she wants. that’s interesting.

graham’s experience with cancer means that he constantly feels like he’s living on borrowed time. meeting grace gave him purpose, gave him family, gave him the will to fight when he fought it was all but over, but now grace is gone. he and ryan aren’t related, but they’re family, and now they’ve got to figure out how to care for each other without the very lynchpin that brought them together. once again with feeling: interesting!

“i’m just a traveller. sometimes i see things that need fixing. i do what i can.” i like that they circle back to the ‘just some guy’ portrayal of the doctor here, both because it’s the one i’m partial to and because it feeds particularly well into the whole ‘the doctor is an unreliable narrator’ aspect, especially in the wake of the increased deification in the moffat era. it's a nice set up, even if it gets completely overhauled circa series 12/13. in fact, having thirteen keep this as a persistent attitude throughout the Timeless Child of it all could have been really effective re: her reticence with her companions and refusal to address or deal with her past.

the scene where thirteen builds her sonic screwdriver might be one of my favourite sequences in nuwho. i love that it’s a hybrid of alien tech and sheffield steel. i also love that they highlight the ‘mad inventor’ side of the doctor here (her teleportation circuit is based around a microwave?) and wish that they had carried it forward more. it would have been the perfect basis for her to bond with ryan over. jodie also pulls off the humour of the episode well, considering the significant shift from moffat dialogue.

i enjoy thirteen's outfit: the vibrancy of it as mirroring her childish excitability, but also as another part of the mask - if i dress all colourful then maybe i can ignore/outrun/masquerade my great capacity for darkness! etc etc. the shopping trip with yaz and ryan is a bit shoe-horned in at the end but it's cute that she finds it in a charity shop. (back in 2018 i bought a t-shirt with a couple of stripes across the chest solely because it remotely resembled the one she wore lol. nerd from a young age, me.) jodie also looks soo hot in capaldi's outfit though so a spin on the traditional suit would also have been appreciated.

some miscellaneous points: i like that she tells Karl off (“you had no right to do that”) right after saving him. i like that she gets it wrong at first and makes it clear that she’s working on the fly. she’s following her instinct, and that instinct is to help people. doctor who has been beautiful before but the cinematography takes such a huge step this era. “it’s been a long time since i bought women’s clothes” i am choosing to believe this is about river thank you and good night.

[theemporium]

okaaaaaaaaaaay i just the new dialogue prompts so prompt no. 1 with sirius but please feed us with a lovesick fool!sirius <33333

1.”Okay, maybe I have a crush on you! So what?”

.

Sirius Black loved to do anything that would piss his mother off and take her a step closer to an early grave. 

Whether it was proudly sitting amongst those who weren’t purebloods or part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, or wearing his house colours with pride despite the stain it left on the Black name. Whether it was embracing muggle culture, or picking on every little fight he could when he stayed under her roof. 

Sirius liked to push her buttons. He liked to poke the bear and he liked watching that vein on her forehead look as though it was seconds away from exploding. In fact, it had been another one of her fancy dinners that he attended on a whim in hopes to find a way to piss her off. 

What Sirius hadn’t been expecting was to meet you. And what he certainly wasn’t expecting was to fall head over heels for the girl his mother would ship him off with before he could even blink. 

He had tried to fight his feelings for as long as he could. He reminded himself that you were probably a pureblood elitist like the others in that room, that you were a Slytherin and you probably turned your nose down at people who he considered his closest friends. 

But then he started noticing you around Hogwarts and quickly realised that wasn’t the case. And it became a quick—and borderline pathetic game—for Sirius to find any excuse to be near you, to be on your radar.

He made jokes whenever he knew you were in the room and eagerly sought out your reaction to see if you laughed. He would make funny comments in classes you shared together to see if you’d lift your head from your textbook to notice him. He would throw peas at you during dinner to see if you would turn around to find him in the chaos of the Great Hall. 

His most recent attempt wasn’t even meant to be anything grand. Just a simple question he made up so he would have an excuse to walk over to you during potions and talk to you. 

But then Snape had made a point of kicking his bookbag in Sirius’ path and the wizard didn’t have enough time to catch the movement before he was stumbling forward, crashing down on a table full of potion bottles that smashed around him.

“Holy shit, are you okay?”

Sirius blinked, the blaring lights above slowly being covered by your face as you stared down at him with a concerned expression, eyes glancing over him to make sure there were no physical injuries. 

There was a slightly bitter, citrus-like taste on his lips that he didn’t have a chance to question before he was blurting out the first thought that came to his head when he saw your face in his line of vision. 

“You are really pretty!”

You paused, glancing down at the boy with a slightly surprised expression. “What?”

“Like, genuinely one of the fittest witches I have ever seen in my life,” he kept going, unable to stop himself. “Maybe even the fittest.”

“Thank you?” you said, a little unsure by the bold statement. 

“I think you might actually be the girl of my dreams but you make me nervous to talk to you and I have never had that with a girl before,” he told you, his eyes widening a little at just how easily that confession slipped from his lips. 

Sirius quickly scrambled to sit up, not caring about his soaked uniform or the mess around him as he glanced down at the bottles smashed on the floor. His eyes landed on a certain label and he tried not to let out a string of curse words.

Of course out of all the potions he could have possibly accidentally consumed, it had to be a truth potion.

“You feeling okay there, Black?” you asked cautiously.

“I like the way you say my name!” Sirius blurted out before slapping a hand over his mouth. “I—uh, pretend I didn’t say…anything that I just said in the last few minutes.”

However, to his surprise, you smiled and let out a small laugh. “Anything else you like?”

“You!” Sirius said confidently, though his face and ears burned as red as his house tie. “I…fuck. Okay, maybe I have a crush on you! So what? You’re pretty and smart and you make my heart feel funny.”

“I make your heart feel funny,” you repeated, sounding amused by his confession.

“Yeah, like a good funny,” Sirius continued even if his hands were clenched into fists at his side, nails digging into his sweaty palms. “Makes me wanna kiss you.”

You raised your brows. “Yeah?”

Sirius contemplated if a sinkhole swallowing him up would be too far-fetched to occur right now. “Yeah.”

“Well, I don’t need a potion to tell you I wanna kiss you too, Black.”

His eyes widened. “You do?”

“You’re not as subtle as you think,” you told him with a grin. “But it’s cute.” 

Sirius grinned back at you. “So, if I asked you out on a date, you’d say yes?”

“Ask me, Black, and then you’ll see.”

.

[max-the-silly-guy]

GUYS GUYS GUYS PLEASE HEAR ME OUT ON THIS

Yellow and purple are opposites on the colour wheel, and what else is purple and yellow? The colour of Newton's filaments.

If we're following the theory that Newton is being influenced by the Titans or merely under their control and not full on possessed, then this could imply a lot.

One thing that immediately came to mind (for me at least) is how the Titans could've been merely taking all of Newton's bottled up hatred and lack of self worth and multiplying that by like a hundred. (think of Mr L from spm and you'll understand what I'm implying here)

While Newton when we first meet him and towards the end of the game (when his filaments are yellow) is what he wishes others to perceive him as, meanwhile when his filaments are purple (so while he's under the control/influence of the Titans) he's showing his true emotions towards those who've most likely hurt him in the past

Another thing I've noticed is what the colours themselves imply.

While yes, yellow is mostly associated with joy and happiness, but it's also commonly seen symbolising cowardice, illness, betrayal, egotism and anxiety.

Which perfectly sums up Newton in the beginning of the game, already showing us what kind of character we're dealing with.

He seems like a joyful and outgoing character, costly showing himself off in the best way he can. But the more you interact with him, the more dialogue you receive from him, the more you start to realise there's more depth to this otherwise 'silly and goofy' character

Newton's whole thing is that he wants praise, he wants affection. He desires it more than anything, which just further feeds into the idea that he's self conscious and struggling from extreme anxiety. Believing that he'll never be good enough, leading him to go to extreme lengths to get people to finally notice him.

Meanwhile, purple is a colour commonly associated with royalty and power, showing Newton's newfound abilities now that Titans are controlling him and basically manipulating into committing mass destruction across his planet.

But what else is purple associated with? Decadence, self-indulgence, conceit, pomposity and pride.

Purple is also sometimes seen as a color of mourning. Which is implying the old Newton, the one the player met at the start of the game, is dead. He's not the same character, not anymore and not right now. He's a twisted corrupted version of himself, letting his hatred and want to prove himself as worthy of attention and love get the better of him.

It's those emotions that allowed him to be manipulated into freeing the Titans, and why he never fought back against their control over him until much later into the game where he finally had enough and snapped.

Going back to my original statement about the two colours, purple and yellow, being opposites on the colour wheel.

These are called complimentary colours. They're exactly opposite eachother and sometimes referred to as 'harmonious colours' and contrast extremely well.

This implies that these two sides Newton has to himself, they CAN co-exist.

One of my friends even pointed out that when mixing light, overlapping purple(or magenta) and yellow gives you white. (Do some research about the additive colour mixing theory if you don't believe me this is true)

And what does white symbolise? Most commonly, purity and peace. Further proving that the two vastly different and seemingly contradicting personalities Newton showed in the game are able to exist alongside one another.

There's nothing wrong with experiencing emotions of jealousy and spite and neither is it wrong to display yourself as overly positive and confident in yourself to others, but the important thing is to not let these feelings and emotions dictate your life.

The Titans merely helped bring the negative bottled up emotions to the surface. They didn't create a whole new snarky personality for Newton while controlling him like a puppet on a string. It was there the whole time.

It was what Newton always wished to have done, to finally let everyone who ever wronged him experience EXACTLY what he did.

[sollattes]

HnL boys dates !!

note: the bold dialogues are the boys, and you're the italics

Hanaoka fujio: amusement Park dates

-since fujio is a hyperactive puppy, he is literally gonna ride every attraction in the amusement Park

-gonna eat every amusement Park food with you

-he is so down to wear matching hairbands with you

-might protect you from the haunted house if he doesn't run away

-you literally have to hold his hand firmly so he'll stay by your side and won't run off somewhere, then get lost

"Babe, let's ride that - NO! wait, let's taste that first WAIT!-

"Fujio, calm down"

Tsukasa takajo: cafe hopping dates

-the one who orders 8 shot of expresso in his americano

-can't hide his smile every time you would feed him a piece of your dessert

-secretly taking candid photos of you in every cafe that you go in then sets it as his wallpaper

-let's you ramble your heart out. He likes listening to your voice anyway

-he prefers to sit beside you than to sit in front of you, so this way he can play with your hands easily

"Hey tsu, how do you like your coffee?" "I like it as black as my soul." "I'm gonna get you a French vanilla instead." "wait-"

Todoroki yosuke: library dates

-two of you are like a book club but two people that meets up every Friday to tell the other about the book/s you read the past week, and todo likes that very much

-you would buy a bunch of books for the other and for yourselves then after finishing the books you both bought you would then switch in the meet up

-now, if you're reading but studying or doing an assignment instead, todoroki would love to help you do it

-would let you drag him into any book isles you want

-adores the comfy silence that the both of you have every time the two of you would get too lost in the books you were reading

"The first book is shit ngl." "I agree, but the second book is tolerable, though."

Ueda sachio: painting dates

-since sachio is a sucker for being domestic af, he would love to display proudly the mugs or bowls that you painted around his house

-and if someone asks him about him, he would gladly show it off and boast that his s/o painted it for him

-of course, he too would paint you mugs and bowls, and he would paint it with designs or colour that remind you of him

-his stomach would be full of butterflies every time he would see you use the mugs or bowls that he painted, or he would see you flaunt it to others that he made it for you

-he would imagine domestic mornings with you drinking coffee/tea from the matching mugs you both made for each other(the thought makes him giggly and kick his feet)

"I painted your favourite flowers." "I painted you as a duck chio^^"

Sawamura shoji: baking dates

-flirts with you the whole time but acts like he's doesn't know that he's doing it

-is a sucker for doing clichés with you in the in he kitchen like back-hugging you while mixing something, tying your apron for you, putting up your for you, etc...

-smears frosting on you, then makes out with you with the excuse he's "just cleaning you" up

-his favourite part of the while baking process is when he two of you would be washing the dishes while cake is baking in the oven, like sachio doing something domestic with you makes him fold

-makes bomb ass coffee/tea drinks for the cake

"I like the cake, but I prefer your cake anytime." "excuse me-"

Odajima yuken: shopping dates

-goes to 12 different stores with you and you will not leave without buying something

-YOU.WILL.NEVER.PAY.FOR.ANY.THING. You? paying for something? Over yuken's rich, hot, gorgeous dead body

-will buy you everything you try on or you say that looks good

-if he tries something on or look at something the you say "it looks good on him" or "it'll look good on him" he would definitely buy 10 different versions of that clothing item

-Ice cream after the whole shopping trip is ESS.EN.TIAL.

"Your ass looks too good in that. Don't buy that." "That is a... very confusing comment yu"

Shoji sameoka: late night drives

-already has a playlist for your late night escapes playing in his car

-hums along or sings along to every song in the playlist with you, while his hand would tap the steering wheel to the beat, and the other would be holding your hand

-buys some snacks and let's you feed him while his driving

-admires how beautiful you look while the blind is blowing your hair

-your destination would be the beach. He would just love to lay in the sand with you while the breeze caresses your faces slowly, and the waves would slowly mix into music that would play from his phone

"Why are you looking at me like that, sho?" "Because I would rather admire you than the stars"

Nakagoshi ooki: music shop dates

-serenades you with a guitar, he randomly picked up

-he has like a bunch of songs dedicated to you already, and if you ask, he would play them for you

-he would stop and just listen if he hears singing or humming along to the song that was playing in the shop

-loves it when you would design/draw on his picks

-he would buy all the songs you recommended to him

"My music taste is your face." "ooki, as much as sweet, that is, I really don't get it"

Tsuji: skateboard Park dates

-now, this could go two ways, but let's go with if you don't know how to skate

-would be very protective of you while teaching you, he would never let you go so you wouldn't trip

-but if you do trip while learning and get like scratch, wound, or a bruise from it, he would immediately start acting as if it's the end of world

-and if you just wanna watch to avoid that whole fiasco of tripping, tsuji would show off and do some extra tricks in front of you

-while walking home from the park, the wo of you would make stops and random food trucks you see on the road, and of course you guys would buy some, then continue walking while eating the food you bought

"We are never skateboarding again." "it was just a small scratch tsuji"

Shibaman: arcade dates

-his immediate goal would be to win that giant bear that you can only get via tickets, for you

-fails miserably at the claw machine a million times before admitting defeat

-the both of you ATE THE WHOLE PLACE on that just dance machine

-you lowkey beat his ass at those shooting games, but he did redeem himself in the basketball games

-at the end of day Shiba did not win you that giant Teddy bear but still you got a cute but smaller stuff toy, Shiba swears(on smokey's grave) that he will win you that giant Teddy bear

"I swear on all my ancestors' grave that I will win you that bear, babe." "Shiba its okay-" "NO ITS NOT" "oml-"

Tags: @simpforchuchu

[averageartistamber]

Okay, so Sider Order.

Here's a few of my random observations and thoughts:

So here it looks like Pearl Drone is flying Eight in through a window? Ands it looks like some kind of factory or packaging plant. I've heard folks saying that the things being packed in boxes could be something akin to Mem Cakes from Octo Expansion...Perhaps and early sign that Kamabo.Co is involved.

FINALLY, ENEMIES THAT AREN'T OCTARIANS!

Well, these Goo-bers are interesting. Many have pointed out that they resemble fish species that feed on coral. But I also want to add that they have an "undead" aesthetic even more overt than they sanitised people. Someone on Tiktok pointed out that they look like fossils, and the "jelly" surrounding the bones (and what seems to be their ink) could be a visual pun on "fossil fuels". Note how the "bursts" of fluid don't look anything like the ink that other entities in the series use.

This basically confirms that we'll be playing as Agent Eight. After the first teaser I saw a lot of theories about being a clone floating around.

Now everyone's going crazy about DedF1sh (Or Acht, as they are referring to themselves here.) There's some interesting dialogue here. First of all, "another bystander who got suck in here", so, "another" in this context could be themselves since she's talking to Eight and Pearl, but there could be a chance that we could encounter more people who have ended up at the Spire of Order. Plus, she's most likely not here of her own accord, from the "bystander sucked in" part (assuming she's telling the truth). People are being brought here.

Secondly, Acht mentions knowing Marina from "way back", so we could be getting deeper into Marina's backstory (another common theme in the fan theories). Dedf1sh also introduces the player to the Chip and Palette system, which are a core part of the DLC's gameplay loop, since they appear to be going for a Rogue-like. Ther chips kind of remind me of the paint colour swatches you get at a hardware shop, combined with computer chips (that's not totally relevant, I'll admit).

More stuff to do with the gameplay. It looks like each floor has a few variants with different difficulties and objectives, which reward a currency, most likely used to buy chips and other upgrades. It's giving that impression almost that the Spire is another "testing facility", akin to the Deep Sea Metro. Hopefully this places doesn't contain any blenders.

Unusual way of spawning in, where you can see Eight's soul ghost...thing enter a polygonal model before fully forming. There does seem to be a lot of digital glitchy stuff going on. Maybe some virtual reality elements?

Finally, what I think looks like a boss arena (although some have suggested that this machine is the Big Bad itself). Upon close inspection, the "faces" scattered around it are covered in the oil and are moving around a bit. Looks kinda like Tartar during the final confrontation when he for some reason had a blob of sanitised goop on his face. I might be reading too much into this.

I mean, if they wanna bring Tartar back, he is an AI, so they could say a back-up copy of him was found somewhere. Like, a time capsule with the Professor's crappy spare USB or somethin' idk.

Anyway, that's all I got for know. Just gotta wait for Spring.

[bluebeerg]

Feed me, Illie. Feed me all night long.

A little Halloween treat for our beloved Illie, and it comes with a singing blood-thirsty Portfish - It's her own Little Shop of Horrors!

I watched the movie the first time in October and got a little into it. Thought of Illie and her... one out of five lines of dialogue, but I think it's fun to imagine songs from the musical with adapted lyrics - "The guy sure looks like Portfood to me. The guy sure looks like Portfood to me!" - though I wouldn't know who to make the other characters

Below the cut are things that managed to stick around on the canvas, so I'm just going to explain both MSPaint thangs and adaptation AU things down there ... It's, uh... It's awfully long-winded.

Here's something rare. Because layers don't exist on MSPaint (I don't care for Windows 11 and AI image generation), you'll have to settle for other methods. One of them is just drawing over with another colour, since MSPaint has that cool eraser trick, and this is the other that makes use of MSPaint's faux-transparency. I'd always think of them like. "save states". Drawing in this program always was like the Ship of Theseus anyway.

The purpose of these were to, for whatever reason - whether it's making a mistake or erasing/drawing over too much or because of MSPaint's sometimes short undo memory, they're there to copy sections (or the whole thing if you want) and paste unto the one you're working on, like a bandaid. Or, if you've messed the whole thing up, you've got the back-up right there. It's the save state! For this, the arm and the shape of the Portfish gave me some trouble - which is why the sketch and just the lined part was put aside. It helps that MSPaint is so pixels and you're able to move the selected thing with the arrow keys.

This is kind of a big example, where the whole drawing is put to the side, but it can be smaller things too. For this, it was cases of arms and her glasses and buckets and Portfish (as seen later below) etc.

Here's a example that I managed to dig up from Artfight of Binx that shows both drawing with different colours and the scattered bits put to the side.

Obviously the right was a WIP. These things never stick around when getting to the final product, so having all of these Illies stick around after was great to write this much about. Moving on...

When drawing Find Everything, I do try to stick to the art style (while incorporating my own elements) - but I feel as if Illie is much more realistic compared to, say, Capri or Mayor Majig who's emphasis is on silhouette and strong poses. For example, hands. Hands in Find Everything can be varied, but are always consistent and usually simple or cartoonish. Capri has circles for hands, Mayor Majig has mitten for hands. But I look at Illie and her four-fingered hand (not uncommon, Orsten and Ratthew have them too), the subtle distinction between her shoulder and her arm, the roundness of her elbow (which has inconveniently been erased...), the single fabric fold on her dress, the shape of her hand against her hip...

What was I talking about? Oh, right, somewhat adhering to Find Everything's art style where possible. I always like to keep in mind other characters when drawing. Seymour Illie's (Illie Krelborn's?) fly specifically call back to Chatti, while her collar and cuffs nod to Mayor Majig (although his coat's cuffs are only sometimes seen, and I would've liked to have Illie's collar flared out more to match Seymour's) - though, I did briefly think to have a triangular neckline, but a rounder one is a nice connection to Illie's original sprite. Another was placing Seymour's iconic glasses on top of Illie's head instead of it being in her hair - a big part of it being because of how the bridge of the glasses blending into Illie's hair, but the other being because I think Illie is needing of a top-of-the-head accessory as a stand-in for her sunhat. After all, both drawing and seeing her without the accessory was a bit odd. But I did look to other glasses-wearing NPCs for that and, I suppose fun fact, I guess Purrtrude and Bouncer (and I suppose Radical Duck) are the only characters who have a gap between the lenses of their glasses to have a bridge- despite the number of NPCs that wear sunglasses. I did also think of Lennard, who has those solid white glasses lens, which Purrtrude does have also.

I did worry a little about the cream of the vest outlining the zipper line breaking the art style (only Ratthew really has the line of his zipped-up jacket showing), which is why you see the three of them showing a difference there - but I decided to hell with it. The Find Everything NPC art style is versatile and changing anyhow, and the back of Seymour's vest is that same colour. I felt the same with the pants pockets, but I wasn't too worried about it since... It was plausible enough, and Seymour puts his hands in his pockets enough for it to matter. To me, at least (I call back to his little bridge in Feed Me where he wanders over to the mirror). It kind of went similarly with the pattern on her dress shirt - Seymour's subtly patterned shirts were important to me, and I think it just looked better.

The Illie on the right shows the original idea for her expressed in the sketch above, where she has the glasses in her hair, none of that beige in the middle or pant decoration.

You would think it would be a bit of pre/mid-sketch, but I drew these in the middle of lineart (or colouring, I don't remember) out of boredom or need of change, and out of the possible need to have an obstructed look at Illie in her Little Shop outfit. It did help regardless in terms of messing with colours though, and quickly redrawing Illie's sprite was fun.

Speaking on colours, the left one uses altered default MSPaint colours, the right uses altered colours picked from Illie's sprite - with the browns coming from Illie's dress, the beige coming from her yellow accents (which just turned into a sad yellow-green), and the shirt coming from her sunhat. The middle, of which is the final and accepted Seymour Illie, uses a combination of the two.

Portfish things! It was a bit of a struggle to make Portfish look less like a goofy little guy and more like a living, intelligent, and conniving creature.

Its walleyes were a bit of a problem, before I realised when drawing it that wait... Portfish doesn't need eyes. Especially if Illie gets to look more like Seymour, then it being without eyes makes it look closer to Audrey II. It also reminds me of the Flappy Fish in Bloohoo Beach. If they can be without mouths, who's to say Portfish can't be without eyes!

I did want to keep it's iconic gaping mouth, but it never did sit right - kind of looks like a leech, no? - and the Portfish can close its mouth anyway (thus a different shape), so its wicked smile was a fine excuse enough.

There was also something about the state of the bucket, whether it would be lined or lineless. Originally, I wanted the bucket to be lineless to imitate the 3D word and objects of Find Everything, but it clearly looked better for it to be cohesive to Illie. It's not like it's entirely unheard of for NPCs to use temporary 2D props either (see: Epic Monkey signing the Celebrity Autograph).

Some other variations to the water bucket I had thought of was adding a state of rust or wear to it, with it being alike to the dinky used can that Seymour first puts Audrey II in, or having it be a beach toy-like bucket as Illie is found in Bloohoo Beach (and it could be a little nod to the Sandcastle Thing, with it's toy spade), but ultimately these were left only as brainstorms for time, as I wanted to finish drawing this in time for Halloween fhsdkh (which it was, this whole spiel is what took it so long to be uploaded here)

And yeah... That's it! Something about the water having that wavy pattern to resemble the water texture of Find Everything, and yep! There's that for you! The End. Don't Feed the Ports or something.

[dorizardthewizard]

Galactik Football season 3 rewatch, eps 1 - 3

Ok I'm finally rewatching s3, thought I'd put up some thoughts like I did for the previous seasons

Episode 1:

Oh boy here we go

Ok right off the bat you can tell the animation isn't motion captured anymore which... yeah it's not as good. But the drop in quality is more noticeable in the 2D animation which was already a bit rough in the earlier seasons

New Micro-Ice voice actor :( No wonder the VA's walked out, the budget for this season was 2 pennies, a shoelace and some gum.

Well since that robo cat was disguised as a real one, I'm guessing there actually are real ones running around?

Corso: This doesn't look good! Sonny: NOT. AT. AAAALL!!

What in the 2000's comedy dialogue

They look so goofy 😭

So like, why are the Snow Kids apparently so much more out of shape and uncoordinated than other teams? Everyone else would have had a break too? You don't HAVE to nerf them just to make them the underdogs again, you know

Why is Mice doing the door to door marketing of his drink himself, he's a rich football superstar now? Also very surprised Mark didn't just say that it sucks

Aaaand season 3 tries to tell us there's suddenly distance between Mei and D'jok with no buildup whatsoever. Mei's already chilling with Sinedd what is this pacing 😭😭😭

Mei joining the Shadows is one thing but skipping the training to chill with Sinedd on a beach... she would never. She cares about the team, not just D'jok. She wouldn't do it like this!

tbf D'jok kind of has a point here – disappearing with no good reason and arriving late to the match is irresponsible at that level of play, but it's played as if he's being controlling over her? And no one else is wondering where she went, they just compliment her fit??

Yeah it's not just the animation, the direction is lacking too in the matches but I don't know enough about cinematography and pacing to describe how exactly

Why are they watching this broadcast about Paradisia during half time, hellooo? Did he hijack their satellites or something??

Ngl the worldbuilding around Paradisia is pretty cool

Mei immediately just switches to the Smog skfsfdks BUT THE PACING IS SO BAD THAT IT'S HILARIOUS

Is that allowed? Wouldn't there be penalties for someone using another flux in the match?? I guess it's a friendly

Aarch: It's possible to experience the Smog, if a player is overwhelmed with extreme anger

OK so this kind of messes with the lore of the Smog... I just don't think it should be so easy to start using another flux where the key is just... the emotion you're feeling? I mean sure, it was implied the Smog feeds off negative emotions and/or strengthens them but... ach there just needed to be more buildup to this!

And you're telling me NO ONE accidentally used the Smog before? Not even Rocket, when he was about to punch Luur after Tia got injured, but Mei does over some love drama we don't even know the cause of???

The Shadows stadium is so cool btw, the crystal like shapes on the ceiling, the emo colours... chef's kiss

Yeah it's annoying that D'jok is just acting the same way he used to because the writers don't know what to do with him, but again we don't know how long Mei has been acting like this and I would get annoyed too, although blaming her for the loss of the game was too much. Then again she's probably distancing herself from the team because of how he's behaving with her but again, I'm left here trying to speculate how their relationship broke apart because it was all in a timeskip! I shouldn't have to do that!!

I'm not against them breaking up, I can see how their characters can clash but... give me some more buildup god damn it!

And Mei joins the Shadows... ngl she slays in the outfit but... OUGHGHHG ALL THIS JUST IN EPISODE ONE

Also ngl I think the new writers just skimmed the past episodes and thought that 'pretty girl would go for the bad boy' was enough justification for Mei and Sinedd to get together which like, ugh. They've had like one interaction! And it wasn't a nice one!! Hoooow did they start getting closer let alone start dating AAARGGGHH

Episode 2:

I just... don't think Mei would leave the team like that! As I said she cares about all of the Snow Kids, she'd at least tell Tia or something before running off like that and leaving them to find out from a freaking TV broadcast!

Aarch: If I had a nickel for every time one of my players ran off without telling me, I'd have- ah forget it it happened again

Hearing Sinedd sounding so pleasant is hilarious, it sounds so forced

Oh wait nevermind Mei did try to send them a message beforehand. It's actually really sweet how she addressed each and every one of them individually... Mei calling Ahito little brother and him burying his face in the pillow 😭😭😭

BUT IT'S STILL TOO SUDDEN AAAAGHHFG

TIME TO GET THE OLD MAN YAOI GOGGLES OUT

Okay I love the new dynamic between Aarch and Artegor now that Artegor's gone to rehab been cured from the Smog. Now Aarch is the one who needs a bit of guidance

Harvey and Sydney!! Robo buddies

Artegor just straight up taking up the practice sessions, who's running the Shadows then?

Also he slayed in this outfit

This drill is a little callback to Micro-Ice's test at the very start of the series, except more badly animated lol

Ahito: You're going to need an instruction manual D'jok! D'jok: Oh really? I know you by heart!

Hmm... foreshadowing for D'jok's "betrayal" later?

Love Artie and Bennett, hilarious how excited they are to “go on vacation”

Aw these kids are so excited to go to a beach, it's so rare for them

This soundtrack on Paradisia is quite pleasant actually, I wish they released the OSTs after season 1. There's this one Netherball soundtrack I love

Sinedd is still an ass so I wonder why Mei is even hanging out with him

Episode 3:

Yay the Wambas!

Mark's favourite hobby is cock-blocking Micro-Ice

The Mice delight joke is getting very old very quickly

Ain't the barman that robot announcer from Netherball??

Yuki's convo with the Elektras... something lgbt is happening here

God this is so funny, I love these goths

Enter Lun-Zia! She confuses me because we've never seen her on the Wambas team and there is like, zero mention of her ever having played with them, plus if she was Aarch would surely know of her already and she's wearing civvies from what I can see so... is she just some rando who happens to be good at football or not?? It seems kind of dumb to get someone like that when you could get a player who's actually used to playing in the big league. Why not just introduce her earlier as a new up-and-coming player in the Wambas team?

Every villain needs a creepy witch lady

Kind of funny that Micro-Ice didn't catch on that Yuki is going to the Elektras when they meet them at the bar, come on he's not dumb. Also why is he acting like Yuki is leaving the SK forever, it's just one tournament (at that point, anyway). Actually I'd say it's a good thing if some of their players get some experience on other teams!

But yeah I feel like they could have built this up more – had her talk to Mark or something beforehand discussing why she feels she should do this, idk just something so it doesn't feel like plot point B needs to happen sooo it's happening now.

Aarch: We're expecting you back after this tournament is over! Yuki: You can count on me!

I feel like this whole team member reshuffling should have been done beforehand with negotiations between teams so none of them get stiffed but whatever

Tia: I'm not so sure I want her in the team either! Rocket: Why? Tia: I have my reasons!

SHE WOULD NOT FUCKING SAY THAT. Why is she already salty that Lun-Zia is joining the team?

D'jok: Nice try, feet girl

IS THAT RACIST??? D'JOK!!

D'jok is mean to new person because they're replacing a former team member, we've already done this plot

Kind of wish we'd seen him develop into actually being a good captain as he only started to get to grips with it at the end of season 2, but here we go

Ok it's veeeery interesting to see Artegor's reaction to Aarch being harsh with D'jok and reminding him that he's going through a rough spot. Wonder how much of that comes from the experience of dealing with Sinedd... Artegor might have a soft spot for D'jok considering that “you'll always be a kid from Akillian” conversation in season 2, oouuughh the parallels between those two angry boys that Artegor probably sees himself in!

I also really wish we got to see more interactions between Artegor and Sinedd after Artegor got his mind cleared, would have been weird for Sinedd to have someone looking out for him all of a sudden

Aww Mice trying to make D'jok feel better, crashing a jet ski with your homie always raises the spirits

Aaaaand mood ruined. Mei moved on fast huh 😭 Damn vulture journalists. I actually kinda feel for him

DON'T GO INTO TINTED WINDOWS VEHICLES WITH WEIRD VILLAIN LOOKING DUDES D'JOK!! D'JOK HE HAS AN EVIL WITCH LADY!!!! D'JOK!!!

[boyfhee]

hii could you please give tips on how to find fonts for your fic banner + the the font you have in your tags and navigation page. i also want to know how to find aesthetic pictures like you find them. i also want to know what are the best times to post on tumblr, and i also want to know how do you over come writer's block and get ideas fpr your fics/headcanons. sorry if i am being a bother and sorry for asking too much. pls do ignore me if you dont have time. i am sorry

hello ^_^ please don't apologise for asking, i'm always ready to help if possible :]

— FONTS

for banners, i use canva and the fonts provided there. some of my favourites are abril fatface, bernoru, burgues script, charm, coterie, slight, more sugar, apricots. there are a bunch of free options so just hit and try to see which one suits your design the most

for tags and navigation, i use yaytexts. cursive one is the cursive script, paragraph of text on the pinned is in sans serif and title is in sans serif bold. you can scroll down the styles column to find these

— AESTHETIC PICTURES

i use pinterest and there is no way except searching and curating your feed. try to specify your searches as much as you can. some keywords are : white typography ( or any colour, ) [ brand ] aesthetic, [ colour ] gradient, acubi. try using visual search or reverse image search. you can download images from mood boards on tumblr too

— POST TIMING

you need to know your audience for this, as in their demographic distribution, when they are most active. for me, it's usually after 6 pm ist. to find yours, try posting at different times and see when you got the most notes in a specific period of time ( like an hour or two, or more maybe ) that is most likely when your readers are most active.

there isn't really a set way to find or maybe i don't know that yet, but another way to make sure your work reaches more audience is self reblogs. it simply means reblogging your work every few hours, preferably two or three ( you can schedule it ) to make sure it hits almost every timezone. the icymi tags are for this purpose only

— WRITER'S BLOCK

i get the worst writer's blocks and i literally force myself to write or else i will be posting once bimonthly TT what i recommend in writing whenever you get inspiration. it can be anywhere, you don't have to worry about grammar, vocabs or sentences, just jot down the ideas as soon as you get them.

another thing i do is read a lot. it helps me get back to writing, sometimes gives me inspiration. reading helps with vocabulary as well so that's double the benefit

— INSPIRATION

songs, movies, webtoons, prompts on tumblr or pinterest, books. you need to keep your brain juices flowing. try to think about how a single dialogue prompt can be used in fluff and angst works both, for example. sometimes, random scenarios come to me out of no where, but i think you will get there when you start writing / get in the flow of writing

alternatively, discussing with friends, other reads / writers, reading ( very important, i cannot stress enough ) can help you come up with ideas for fics. for headcanons, a thousand of them have been done you can literally start by picking one and doing your take on it.

[lerry-hazel]

Yep, still ranting: 4x17 Honor Among Thieves

Weird continuity, plus more of Root-centric thing

Remember that scene at the very end, where Shaw needs Root’s help to “translate Harold’s instructions”? 

I get it’s supposed to show Sameen seeking Root out. I mean, I have as much to say about that as about any other awkward romance buildup the show’s been tiring to force-feed me, but I get that I’m not expected to wonder why she didn’t just ask Harold.

Nevertheless, since I was planning to anchor one of my silly fix-its to this dialogue, I went to figure out where exactly Harold was at that time.

Imagine my surprise when I rewinded further back and saw Harold leaving Root’s side not even 5 second earlier. Literally: there is no fade-to-black and location change; Root just watches Harold walk away, takes two more steps, and here Shaw is, on her other side, the same burning building at the background.

What had Harold and Root been doing in front of the burning building? Hadn’t we seen Harold rushing back to the subway after sabotaging the printers, to help Shaw with her own break-in? Yes, we had. I can’t think even of a bullshit reason why the screenwriters had him – both of them – go back.  

Especially after he explicitly told Root she had to stay off the radar after unnecessarily attracting Samaritan’s attention – again.

I mean, it was incredibly convenient that the secretary was close enough to Root’s height, built, complexion and hair colour, but it doesn’t really explain how Harold got in. Well, the security guard was perfectly willing to let in a random guy with an SMS for credentials; and the cameras wouldn’t have been installed in the first place, had Root not been caught sneaking around Wilkins’ computer.

The question that has always bugged me about that part (oh so casually dismissed by Harold): Where had the original two children she showed up at the playground with come from? And where did they go when she ended up leaving with Wilkins and his son?

But now that I’ve started paying attention to what exactly Root is doing, plot-wise, it also leaves me gapping that the only reason why she gets to dress up as  “French Mary Poppins Barbie”, have a clandestine meeting with Harold, whine about her ever-changing identities and boldly hack into Wilkins’ personal files under Samaritan’s very nose –

– the only reason all that screentime went to Root is because –  

Jared Wilkins, a software engineer who left a lucrative job in the tech sector to start a legit computer-related charity he is obviously passionate about and is actively recruiting for –

 apparently, – wait for it –

DID NOT SET UP A WEBSITE!!!

No further comments.

[madness-poison-chat]

Welcome Home: Everything I found + some thoughts

This is my first proper post on this site. And after getting past the frustrating sign-up stuff, I really like this site. I'm planning on putting my toon skull on my pic for recognisbility, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

You all came here for Welcome Home's secrets, and here I will provide.

-There's an eye on the rock Wally's sitting on, which looks creepy. (And between us I find that looking at Wally's staring images are terrifying when on-website).

-All of the character voices rock. My favourites being Sally (she's my beloved), Howdy ("How's about a cauffie to keep ya goin' at the pahty?") and Poppy (Bri'ish + she makes chicken noises when flustered; great work).

-The crayon gifs lead to audios of Wally being his Other Mother self. It's possible that they're snippets of a full conversation he's having with someone.

-The interview segment has YouTuber Night Mind playing the guy asking questions. If you don't know who NM is, he's known for the little act of... Oh I don't know, ACTIVATING THE WH HYPE TRAIN?! Yep; supporting the supporters! (Wonder if MatPat will make a cameo?)

-On the exhibition page, if you click the word "answer" you're lead to a picture of someone's struggle to find a password and a strange red safe. The sage's numbers are replaced with symbols relating to the characters (awesome code there). It asks for a word password.

-Around all the pages are insect gifs. If you press them, you're lead to footage of...stuff, with the characters chatting off-screen. Here's the twist: at the end of each video, even though he shouldn't have any relevance, the characters call for Wally. At that point, the audio "base clefs" and the video glitches (spooky). I think these are live feeds into the WH world through Wally's eyes.

-Here's where my mind got stupid: these videos are all named "answer", and with the safe from before, I expected visual/dialogue clues to reveal the code. In one video, there's a nine-by-nine grid (like for the buttons), and in another Julie lists her favourite colours (I thought they related to the code grid or the spheres in Poppy's grid). Turns out though- I'm stupid.

-The real password involves answering the questions on a sheet in the exhibition area (of which will be ease to answer if you read the character bios). If you take the first letter of each answer from 1 to 5 (all in caps), you enter the "staff only area". (Here we go...)

-The text on the top of this page is written by someone on the WHRP describing their declining sanity as they hallucinate Wally at their bed-end and their endless questions about Welcome Home. This is no doubt the person Wally is trying to talk to in those audio recordings.

-And here's one final thing I think not many lore-scavagers have found... If you hover over the photos on the Staff Only page, you can more clearly read the letters in them. And one of them mentions how the black "paint" on the shipped merch shouldn't be touched by human hands lest they get nausea and hallucinations. This reveals 3 things.

1: The "paint" is of supernatural nature.

2: With the ooze below Home in the neighborhood, it's clear that IT's very real and in control of the "barrier".

3: It's extremely likely that our protagonist's night terrors were triggered and are still being fueled by the ooze.

So that's all I have. But one final thing I'll say here is that Welcome Home's plot reminded me of something I loved, but I couldn't remember until now: Coraline. Both stories centre around a surreal sub-world full of childhood desire, the inhabitants of both worlds are desperate to have the protag stay (forever), both worlds have dark and sombre secrets beneath them, and both of their main "threats" are the most desperate for the protag, but hint at something else forcing them to do this (or something controlling them in some way).

Anyway, that's everything I have for this looong blog. Stay inky Mes Amis. -💀🖋️

[solarsonicsoda]

Rebbie's Media Reviews - Shows I Loved

Day Job

This (so far) 3-episode Australian series came up on my Instagram feed and I had to check it out! I was not disappointed! The art style is immediately very cute and invokes quite a lot of nostalgia with the simple shapes, textured lines, and overly colourful palette. I really love how expressive all the characters are, and how they're stylised in a way that's visually interesting whilst also people you can imagine in real life.

The whole show is a mockumentary about the employees of a bowling alley, Gutterball, and they're loftier aspirations. This works out brilliantly, as two things I am a Massive Sucker for are mockumentaries and understated stories about scared and aimless 20-somethings. The humour is very passive, coming mainly from the silly behaviour and conversational nature of the dialogue. For less than 30 minutes total runtime, there's emotional weight too, mainly from the community of the employees and their hopes and bonds. It's quite sweet and charming all round, with unique camera work, absurdist situations, and relatable moments. My favourite moment/shot was the one that drew me in, which comes as the credits scene of episode 2 and showcases everything I like about this show.

I really recommend that you check out what's been released so far and see for yourself! Personally, I'll be waiting to see what comes next! Check it out here!

[footballffbarbiex]

Autumn: house decorating

player: john stones

words: 498

request: John stones | 250 - 500  | she  | Maybe they have different opinions on how to decorate the house for a Halloween party - that’s where the dialogue comes in - and just quite funny

-

Pumpkins were carved the day before and are now in the windows and on the steps to the house. The front garden is decorated with skeletons and gravestones with each of John’s teammates and guests that will be coming tonight. The kitchen and dining room are decorated perfectly with inflatable bathtubs filled with water mixed with red food colouring, ice and soon to be dry ice closer to the time when people are due to arrive.

“Halloween is my aesthetic.” John announces to her as he stands halfway up the ladder. He doesn’t need it of course with his height, but the ladder fits with the decorating vibe, making him seem a little more authentic. Or so he claimed.

She’s having none of it but continues to feed him the lights, passing inches of black and orange coloured bulbs on black wiring as and when he asks for it. It’s not how she’d decorate it but after losing best out of five in a game of rock, paper, scissors, John wasted no time in heading out for supplies.

“Nothing? No comment?” He asks, peering down from his extra height.

“I’m trying not to.”

“This is killing you for not doing this yourself, isn’t it?”

“And knowing my luck, you’ll just use my corpse as another decoration.” She grumbles as John’s laugh fills the room.

“Can you at least get changed into your costume first?”

“John, I swear to -” she cuts herself off mid sentence and shakes the ladder a little bit, not enough to actually make him fall but enough to make him cling to it for dear life and pull a stupid face.

“Babe, try that again and see what happens.”

Never one to shy away from a challenge, she does exactly that - all while keeping her eye contact firmly with him so he knows she means it. Her hands grip the handle again and give it a rough shake - still nothing to send him to the floor but the noise that sounds from him makes her sprint away as fast as she can as irrational fear from being chased only makes her slow down and laughter bursts from her. It’s enough for John’s strides to catch up with her, enabling him to wrap his arms around her belly as she continues to shake with laughter.

John chuckles as he buries his face into her shoulder, fingers giving teasing digs into her sides. “Wanna try that again?”

“No!” She squeals, trying to wriggle out from his grasp.

“Sorry, can’t hear you. Do you want to try that again?” his fingers inch up just a little bit more and her wriggling continues, laughter now is almost becoming silent.

“NO!” She almost yells it. Shouts it as loud as she can between her laughter. The simple two letter word is dragged out and John can’t help but laugh with her.

“Oh I love your laugh,” he states, pressing a kiss to her neck and holding her a little closer.

If you’d like to be added/removed/update your URL, then please let me know here. Crossed out means that tumblr cannot find your blog at this time.

forever non smut:  @Yagetintoit  | 

Forevers: @pom277​  |   @emilielfc​  |  @odegaardsblues​​   | @archxron​  |  @lawsandother​  |  @meteora-fc​  |  @smileytaa​  |  @holdmybvbeer​  |  @football-and-fanfics​  |  @ofxinnocence​  |  @footballerimaginess​  |  @imaweirdobutyoulikeit​  |  @kxndrixx​  |  @chokinghazrdd  |  @marcdurm​  |  @pingyu-in-wonderland​  |   @dreamyfootball  | @declansmount​  |  @penguintransporter​  |  @degea-drama-llama​ |  @callyhandra​  |  @gatekeptlee  |  @elliestonesx  |   @peterparkerbae​  |  @untitled92260​  |  @heli991113​  | @mrsmctominay​ |   @football-rambles​  |  @britishmoonchild​  | @ninuffi​  |  @thiagoalcantaras​  |  @0wlm0nkeygh0st  |  @mxsonxmountx​  |   @adorestonsey  | @nyctophilic0vitnir​  |  @keepitprivatehun  |

forever non smut:  @Yagetintoit  |

John Stones: @ladymarycrawley​  |  @bluemoonstonesy​  |  @in-my-body-bag​ |  @elliestonesxx  |  @degeathesaviour​   |  @mancity-js5  |  @johnstonessss​  |

[xian1na]

buncha words about buncha spring animes

I've had a bit of a break from anime for a last couple of years but I spontaneously decided to watch some new things from this season and now have a burning need to share my opinions with strangers on the Internet. Enjoy!

Hell's Paradise (eps. 1-3) - I read the first volume of the manga some time ago and remember thinking it was pretty cool and could be even cooler animated. Lo and behold, here we are. Now, I have a bit of a problem with shounen anime. I used to gobble battle shounens up like they were spaghetti but I just don't enjoy them as much anymore. Still, this one looks like it could be a good fun. I love the creepy imagery and vibrant colours of the island, especially when contrasted to toned down colour palette of the first two episodes. I'm also excited for how the characters will not only fight each other but also the hostile environment. There could be some nice juicy drama in future episodes. I'm not entirely sold on the main characters on their own yet (I think of all the spring shows I've watched, they might be the least engaging leads) but I like them conceptually, so to speak - Gabimaru being a wife guy is very sweet and really humanizes him and Sagiri... well, I'm not entirely sold on her subplot but she's a sword chick. Love me some sword chicks. And I like her design, too!

My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999! (eps. 1-3) - I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this one, I'm not a big fan of romance, rom-com, slice-of-life, and so on. This show reminds me of Bofuri, or at least scratches some similar itches. See, I played one MMO game a lot when I was a kid (I still come back to it sometimes when I feel nostalgic) but I've never been particularly good at it. Seeing anime about people playing games in an unusual way, not power-gaming their way to the highest level but instead messing around with their friends just reminds me of good ol' times. That said, I enjoy other things about this series as well. For one, it's very funny. For two, almost all characters are terrible but in a very relatable way and I kinda love them. I'd like the romance to be mostly built on the characters' personal growth, I get a feeling it could be a very satisfying story if it goes that way. But even if it doesn't, it could still be a nice little series.

Oshi no Ko (eps. 1-2) - Man, watching that first episode sure was An Experience. We went from an old guy being creepy about teenage girls to this weird breast-feeding scene, then to some really interesting insights into idol industry (and show-biz in general) and THEN to the finale, AND THEN to what the actual plot will be? I'm still a bit on the fence to be honest but I'd lie if I said I weren't intrigued. I think the character writing and visuals are amazing. Ai's characterisation in particular was phenomenal. You know how you sometimes watch a series where all the characters talk about this one supposedly super charismatic and special person but you just roll your eyes because you don't see any of it? That is definitely NOT the case here. I couldn't take my eyes off her, there is just something so hypnotizing about the way she's animated. That said, I'm not a fan of humour and dialogues here. I don't like how everything is spelled out and nothing is left up for interpretation (I have similar problem with Hell's Paradise, by the way). But those are minor flaws and I definitely want to see how the story unfolds.

Heavenly Delusion (eps. 1-3) - Frankly, I think this the best show from this season that I've watched so far. The characters are likeable and they have a fun dynamic, the setting is interesting and it's presented very well (they're showing, not telling and all that), the dialogues are natural sounding and the visuals are gorgeous. There are some things I wish weren't here but I'm willing to look past them (at least for now) because the rest is so solid. So I say this is 'the best' show but is it my favourite? Hard to say. The thing with mystery shows like that is that it's very possible that once all the mysteries are solved, there won't be much else to enjoy. Also I'm a bit wary of where Kiruko's plotline is going. I really hope this series is good. Sadly, often anime that I think is going to be the best of the season doesn't deliver in the end and leaves me sulking and disappointed. That said, Heavenly Delusion is based on a manga and the manga is apparently good, so maybe all these worries are unfounded.

and finally Skip and Loafer (eps. 1-3) - I said that I didn't expect to enjoy Yamada-kun as much as I did so when I sat down to skip and loaf, my expectations were pretty high. I had to re-adjust them a bit though. From some screenshots here and there I'd seen before watching I expected a different kind of show, maybe a meaner one?But instead Skip and Loafer is very positive and cute. Both Mitsumi and Sousuke are very observant and empathetic characters and watching them interact with their classmates (and each other) is a lot of fun. I really liked the subplot with Egashira in episode 3. Egashira was kind of an asshole in episode 2 and when we see her again she's being kind of an asshole again but then she has this moment of anxiety when she compares herself with Yuzuki. And that by itself would be fine character writing but then Sousuke actually notices that she's feeling down and compliments her a little, despite what happened between them in the previous episode. It's such a kind thing to do and the whole show seems to promote this kindness and wholesomeness without being sugary sweet. In this bleak, dark, dark world something like Skip and Loafer is a real balm for the soul.

That's it for the currently running series. I hear there's even more good stuff though, so maybe I'll get around to it next week. I also started watching two older shows.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (currently on season 1, prologue + eps. 1-3) - This, ladies and gentlemen, is my very first Gundam. So far I'm pretty into it. I should probably mention that I haven't watched Utena (yeah, yeah, I know, shame on me), so I only heard about similarities between the two shows (or rather homages paid by GWitch). So I pretty much just take GWitch as it is and don't think about wider context. I really like the characters so far. Suletta is a little ball of anxiety but what I really appreciate about her is that despite how shy she is, she's always speaking her mind. It's kind of inspiring, to be honest. I often keep my thoughts to myself even when I want to speak up because I lack confidence but I when I see Suletta I feel like I want to become a better person. This probably sounds very corny, or maybe sarcastic but I'm 100% honest right now. Miorine is also great. Based on her design I thought she'd be a quiet and withdrawn type but boy oh boy, she isn't that in the slightest. At this point I don't know what the main plot will be exactly but one thing I do know, is that I love these girls and I'm rooting for them, whatever their goals'll end up being.

Spy x Family (eps. 1-3) - I wanted to watch it when it was airing but first I missed one episode because I was busy, then the second one because I was tired and ultimately I missed the whole thing. Now that I'm in anime watching mood again I decided to give it another go. I'd read a little bit of manga before anime even came out (2 volumes iirc) so I'm not going in blind for the first 8 episodes or something like that. And I actually re-watched the episodes I've already seen. There isn't all that much I can say about these first three episodes, other than Anya is wonderful and the whole show's a perfect blend of funny and wholesome. Man, so many wholesome shows these days. I wonder if it's a good or a bad sign. Anyway, episode four is the interview in the school. I recently reread the first volume of the manga and was literally laughing out loud during these chapters so I'm curious to see how it was adapted.

That'd be it from me. Thank you if you read all my ramblings ^^ Sometimes writing down my thoughts helps me in organising them and even realising what they are exactly. And I think it's a good writing exercise, too, so I'll probably write another post like this next week. Until then!

[patiusarchivist]

A Lash at a Time

Yall know me over the years with my off-and-on SWTOR writings for my Sith Inquisitor. I really feel like the storyline and its companions deserve better, but I suppose you can only do expect so much for a MMO. The amount of time in the Cold War and after, they need development.  And Ashara always been a mild annoyance to me and the decision of having last minute companions in Act 3 is stupid when they don’t get much dialogue or interaction before your character becoming ‘Protagonist #60001 in the Galaxy and their quiet gallery of meatshields’.  You don’t really be ‘master-and-apprentice’ with her to me, moreso a new person that you gotta debate with about the big differences in ideologies and no real say in her corruption. She is just stuck by circumstances and we gotta keep her. The Sith Warrior is more of a Inquisitor storywise in their differences!  But anyway - have some Ashara venting on the fact she keep having to fight other Jedi and anger to her ‘Master’. I say this happened after the Foundry and on their way to Hoth.

“How could you?” 

Despite himself, Kallig grinned as he looked at the Togruta with that distinct quirk of eyebrow. “Do what exactly?” He asks with a cruel little purr and Ashara squinted back with the seething expected since they first crossed blades with the Jedi on the Republic capital ship. “Why do you drag me on these missions, Si-”

The word hissed as she caught herself in the sudden glow in the Inquisitor’s eyes, nevermind the subtle gathering of power in the room. The quiet warning was half-caught when her skin instinctively tensed as if already ready to receive the punishment. That heartbeat of tension was reflected immediately, Ashara hid her face behind the meditative triangle of her fingers. Breath in. Breath out. “My Lord.” 

The Second Kallig loved to hear it from the former Jedi’s lips. She can deny it all she wanted but at the end of the day, she was his. 

“Why do you bring me to fight with my own?” She asked with forced calm. Her eyes begged for mercy on the matter, but her master wasn’t going to allow it. “You killed a storied legend of the Jedi, don’t you realize that!? You killed him and I...helped.”  “Because they are no longer yours, my apprentice,” Kallig answered with a keen tone. “Because you need to learn that you are no longer a Jedi, not of the Order that you yearn for. That fate was no longer yours to have.” 

“I didn’t want this!” Ashara exclaimed with bared teeth. Her frustration lashed out, she tried to keep it together but her emotions were tearing at her already beaten walls and seeped. “You forced it! You made me choose, to die or be your apprentice! I had no choice!” 

Lord Kallig combed a glint of morbid amusement. “You did. You could have kept to your convictions and died with your honor intact or submit and become something beyond a mere Jedi.” 

“What is that!?” The former Padawan choked, her fingers twitched, and started to fidget. “That is not a choice! I-I…” 

“You what? You didn’t want to die?” The inquisitor challenged with his composure, feeding on her frustration. The raw fury seething under her skin. Do it, girl. Lash out. “Do you know how many whine that to me my whole life? Do you know how little life is for us? Do you know how many died around me like gnats before I even achieved what I have now!? You want to taste the true difference between a Jedi and Sith. Come and test me again, if you have even the conviction that Jedi love to spew.”

Ashara squared her shoulders and her power surged, the feral hate in her eyes pushed and she screamed with a lunge! Her blue saber flashed in its eye-sore colour, missing its mark by a mere motion of fingers. “Don’t patronize me!” She screamed, carrying herself in the redirected momentum with her twin-blade stabbing back for his stomach. A step back to avoid being skewered, Jaden opened his arms in a challenge. “Then prove you’re worth my best.” 

Despite killing Jedi, from Knights and their padawans, even her own Master - this Sith dares to say that. He was nothing more than a rogue Sith Lord and not even a prominent one among the thousands across the galaxy. Ashara screamed out her hate and frustration. If she wasn’t apart of the Order, she doesn’t need to hide her anger in this fate! 

Ashara’s sabers were crisscrossing and slashing with little restraint. Her foundations of Jar’Kai and Djem So pushed to crush this Sith to the floor and more but he always seemed one step away, forcing her to overextend just enough by sweeps of the Force and never making personal contact. “You. Coward! You sack of dung! You loathing, hateful thing!” The Torguta screamed, throwing herself to plunge her blades into his chest. The Sith Lord fell back, rolling on the floor, and kicked his apprentice over with her back slamming harshly on the ship’s wall!

Her lungs punched out of her lips and her vision shook in a flash of concussive white. Ashara almost didn’t feel the pain that was aching through her mind and bones, her outburst made her weary, and when she regained a sense of herself, the young woman recoiled at the sudden crimson blade reaching her face. Head thumped on the wall and Ashara found herself pinned under her tormenter’s lightsaber. Her hands gripped…at nothing! Panicked eyes traced the blade to the maskless man in his armour, holding her lightsabers in his fist. 

“No. I am just smarter.” Kallig said, “You are with me now, Ashara. You are, by all eyes of the galaxy, Sith at best or failed padawan-turned-dark. Whether you like it or not. And you will learn under me and anyone else who thinks they can teach the best lightsaber duelist in their dead master’s class. Your Jedi training will not save you, but it will help.” 

“You are not much older than me, what can you-’ Ashara managed to snipe before the blade came out so close. The lethal heat sizzling at her chin, aimed to end her at his leisure. ‘You can do this my way or would you prefer the traditional way?” 

In the query, his eyes glow threatening in their violet glare. 

Ashara felt the fear coiling her spite and lessened frustration, she already suffered that in their first meeting. Her muscles were burning and something else itching that she didn’t expect nor like. Eyes staring into his before glancing a little. “...Your way.”

Kallig rose his brow again.

“Master.” she sighed in defeat, even if with a little pout. It was enough. Jadus Kelzen, Inheritor of Sith Lords and Devourer of the Dead, didn’t enjoy having this stubborn Jedi as his ‘apprentice’ but she will do. They were in this together and he grinned as he tossed her lightsabers over.

“Good girl. Now...again.”

[bittersweetpangs]

Be it through a veil, tell the truth. And other writing advice

ZADIE SMITH:

"Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never ­being satisfied."

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/feb/20/10-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-two

Here are some more rules

ROSE TREMAIN:

1 Forget the boring old dictum "write about what you know". Instead, seek out an unknown yet knowable area of experience that's going to enhance your understanding of the world and write about that.

2 Nevertheless, remember that in the particularity of your own life lies the seedcorn that will feed your imaginative work. So don't throw it all away on autobiography.

SARAH WATERS:

1 Read like mad. But try to do it analytically – which can be hard, because the better and more compelling a novel is, the less conscious you will be of its devices. It's worth trying to figure those devices out, however: they might come in useful in your own work.

3 Treat writing as a job. Be disciplined. Lots of writers get a bit OCD-ish about this. Graham Greene famously wrote 500 words a day. Jean Plaidy managed 5,000 before lunch, then spent the afternoon answering fan mail. My minimum is 1,000 words a day – which is sometimes easy to achieve, and is sometimes, frankly, like shitting a brick, but I will make myself stay at my desk until I've got there, because I know that by doing that I am inching the book forward. Those 1,000 words might well be rubbish – they often are. But then, it is always easier to return to rubbish words at a later date and make them better.

4 Writing fiction is not "self-­expression" or "therapy". Novels are for readers, and writing them means the crafty, patient, selfless construction of effects. ...

HILARY MANTEL

7 Concentrate your narrative energy on the point of change. This is especially important for historical fiction. When your character is new to a place, or things alter around them, that's the point to step back and fill in the details of their world. People don't notice their everyday surroundings and daily routine, so when writers describe them it can sound as if they're trying too hard to instruct the reader.

8 Description must work for its place. It can't be simply ornamental. It ­usually works best if it has a human element; it is more effective if it comes from an implied viewpoint, rather than from the eye of God. If description is coloured by the viewpoint of the character who is doing the noticing, it becomes, in effect, part of character definition and part of the action.

MICHAEL MORPUGO:

2 Ted Hughes gave me this advice and it works wonders: record moments, fleeting impressions, overheard dialogue, your own sadnesses and bewilderments and joys.

WILL SELF:

1 Don't look back until you've written an entire draft, just begin each day from the last sentence you wrote the preceding day. This prevents those cringing feelings, and means that you have a substantial body of work before you get down to the real work which is all in . . .2 The edit.

3 Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever.