#i am not good with the designing aspect without input

[dummerjan]

i need to come up with several designs for my journeyman's piece until monday and i have no clue besides maybe pintucks and blue wool twill

[zahri-melitor]

Batman Eternal

I think for a weekly, event comic that was promising to deliver the Bat Family, it underperformed. Some people had a good event, some people had a mediocre event and were underused, and there were a few absolute shockers.

The Good:

In terms of a 'push Bruce to the limit' event, it was interesting in that this one pushed Batman, the Bat Family AND Bruce, separately, to their limits. I'm used to events being 'pick two of the three'. That said, it still underestimated the effectiveness of its supporting cast.

Bruce had a solid event, in that it was focused on him and broke him down to build him back up by running him ragged and keeping him guessing on 'who caused this'. Honestly I don't have a lot to say about Bruce's plot, sorry. It was an okay mystery running through various rogues? I think making Cluemaster Who Dunnit was not the right choice (Arthur should always be a bit pathetic), but I can see why they picked him in the story that's returning Steph and after making Riddler the big bad for Zero Year.

Selina actually had a reasonable event. She got her entire backstory rewritten and ended up controlling crime in Gotham at the end of it, but eh, the former happened to a lot of people during n52 and the latter is something Selina ends up doing every now and then. Her plotline involved organised crime and Carmine Falcone, so it was even something associated with her long term story arcs.

Jim Gordon: look, once we get past the incredible miscarriage of justice that was Jim being arrested and convicted for manslaughter (please, please, explain to me how Jim shooting the signal box input was what caused the trains to crash, rather than the railway routing that meant there was timetabling and no fallback override for two trains SHARING TRACK while running in opposite directions), it was essentially just an excuse to put Jim in Blackgate and start up the plots there. Which you know, went pretty well. Jim got to be the strong man, show off his personality, and presumably this all sets up the Superheavy plotline (sigh).

Julia Pennyworth. Look, I don't hate the idea of Julia, so much as am confused by the very tight timeline constraints required for her existence (post about this coming), and I resent that DC let the team basically invent a new Oracle without being allowed to acknowledge that Oracle is Barbara Gordon. It's like it's an important role in Gotham! Anyway. In terms of what Julia brought to the page, I did appreciate that the writing team seemed committed to increasing the number of women characters populating Gotham, I am happy to have someone not Alfred running comms for the Bats, and I can see several ways she'd be an interesting character to have around, long term, for storytelling. I could grow to like her. But man. I had a really hard time swallowing her existence while Barbara's in the same event having her character destroyed.

Harper Row is so clearly Scott Snyder's pet. Honestly, I really enjoyed her design and the general arc of her story; adding an electrical engineer to the group is actually a relatively unoccupied niche and gives her points of differentiation, but by handing her such a major part of the plot while other, fan favourite characters were appearing and getting not much at all was setting her up to fail in the eyes of the audience.

Steph ranks up in the 'had a good event' category. She essentially reran her origin story combined with aspects of her War Games plot (before everyone yells at me, I particularly noted the correlation with the part of the story where Selina hid her with Holly coming through here with Steph hiding from Arthur and her getting dumped at the Rows for protection. Go actually read War Games). I liked the concept of the Spoiler blog being what she used as her name inspiration here. I again wouldn't have minded if she had actually interacted more with other Bat characters (everyone got very siloed here) but you know what? The story brought her back and set her back up in her default sort of background state. Seriously, they picked from Steph's biggest stories here (her origin, War Games, and actually parts were in conversation with War Crimes, which is a phrase I never thought I would say), and that was a reasonable decision imo.

The Mediocre:

Luke Fox got an interesting plotline with Jim Corrigan and the Spectre. Unfortunately it rarely interacted with the rest of the story (apart from leading to Arkham blowing up). This could have been a separate mini.

Tim got to appear in actual Bat titles, doing actual Bat things, and while being abrasive I could squint at him and see his original characterisation. Tragically despite this he basically didn't get to interact with existing characters he knew for most of the plot. Got handed the idiot ball on occasion to show off Harper. I wish he'd had more opportunities to spend time with characters I know and enjoy him with.

Kate Kane was there, for this event. She got to spend some time with Barbara and Jason. She also really didn't do much of anything. It felt like an obligatory 'you currently have a solo' appearance.

Jason Bard: look this is where I'm conflicted. If this was simply Random Cop #34, I'd have probably bumped it up to good but unrealistic (in terms of the speed run to Commissioner), but as a Jason Bard story? About all they kept or knew of Jason was that he's a cop, he was mentored by Jim Gordon, and that he Has A Limp. I am still outraged they made Babs give him the limp, I think making him a minor antagonist of this was a waste of bringing back Jason Bard, and the endpoint left him in a position where he's moderately unusable by other writers (there was a slight set up for 'transition him over to a detective agency' but there was no resolution on why anyone in Gotham either among the GCPD or the Bats would trust him after this).

The Bad:

Hush. No, not so much in his story (it was boring, it was Tommy being Tommy, yawn), but in the fact for no apparent reason Tommy is running around with his head bandaged. WHY? No reason was given. Using the bandages as his 'costume' is actually painfully irritating, because he wore the bandages during the original Hush as he was healing from facial reconstruction surgery. Here, he was imported into New 52, with his face wrapped in bandages, and no reason given. He wasn't trying to become Bruce and steal his identity. He was just...in bandages. Because that's how he looked in Hush and the fanboys think of him, despite the fact he basically never appeared in bandages again AFTER the initial Hush storyline. I'm infuriated in the pointless iconography that misses the original intent that this is.

Barbara had a terrible event. Even if I excuse everything as she was still grieving over Dick's 'death' and Jim being in jail, and the fact she was undergoing personality surgery in her own title (Batgirl #35 sigggghh), a complete random 'ship Barbara and Jason together' plotline came out of nowhere premised on the fact Barbara was missing Dick? Or something? And their age gap in n52 nonsense is only a couple of years, rather than Babs being ABOUT TEN YEARS OLDER and having babysat Jason. Ugh.

Speaking of: Jason Todd did somewhat better than some of the others in that he got to actually hang out with Barbara and Kate for a storyline, and honestly pairing him up with Kate is a route DC should look at more often in terms of character mediation, but lost 1000 points for the Jason/Barbara stuff. Also had a terrible costume (but what's new there).

Crystal Brown I am so sorry. Not only did you get yet another completely new look and personality, you lost all the few characterisation elements we had for you, you collaborated with your ex-husband, and you betrayed Steph at one point. You should be awarded damages for pain and suffering.

Lincoln March/Owlman: you were in this event SOLELY to confuse Steph and delay her cooperation with everyone else. I resent your entire existence in this timeline and it irritates me that Scott Snyder set up an entire previous event essentially to introduce you to the main universe and then waited going 'did you get it?' You are not Thomas Wayne Jnr sorry.

[anogete]

Oh my goodness

Hello to anyone who remembers me. Real life and mental health both sank their claws into me. I've been avoiding social media because... well, many reasons but most because I feel like I'm a big ol' disappointment.

But today, I've come here like the humble whore I am to ask for a beta. Before you get excited, I have to warn you that it's not for Marvel, which (if you remember me) is what you likely know me for writing. Read on for an explanation about where the fuck I've been and what fandom I've spiraled down into lately.

In 2019-2020, I had a lot of grieving to do for some close loved ones who passed on. This led to a really shitty space for my mental health where I went into a functioning depression. I was doing things, but only the bare minimum required to exist without people catching on that I was in a bad mental space. I can't say I've completely kicked that, but I'm trying to do better. At the same time, I had a bunch of stuff going on a work. Specifically, I work for a team of advisors who provide financial planning services to individuals/families. I was promoted to an associate in 2020 and then we went through a merger with a larger firm in 2022. So, work has been crazy with me taking on additional responsibilities and working to build new processes after the merger. In addition, I managed to finish my bachelor's (20 years after I dropped out of college!) and take classes toward getting a CFP designation over the past 2 years. I'm scheduled to take the CFP exam in November. It's a 6-hour bear of a test covering pretty much all aspects of personal financial planning. And then next year I'll be continuing with my team as an advisor myself. Do I have anxiety? Fuck, yes. But I'm trying to stop cockblocking myself on the career front.

ANYWAY, enough with the boring stuff. I've been drowning in material for classes and studies with so little fun in my life. Somehow I got on CODTok (Call of Duty) and my little imagination ran wild as I watched these absolutely filthy edits of those boys. And for the first time in a long time, I felt that itch to write. I really should be focusing on studying for this exam, but all work and no play isn't fun. It's taken me 3 years to learn that lesson, but it has managed to finally sink into my thick skull.

My problem is that I know virtually nothing about Call of Duty because I don't like video games. As for the characters--I only know minimal info (mostly from YouTube videos and a COD wiki). It would be nice to have someone more knowledgeable than me to look over what I've written. And if not that, then it would be nice to have anyone other than me give it a beta read to point out my stupid mistakes or plot holes. I have about 16 pages of a Ghost/OFC written. It's my usual--heavy on the dialogue and sexual tension with a side of plot/action. I don't know how fast I'll be at writing this. Work is kicking my ass and I still need to dedicate my weekends to studying for this test. But if you're willing to take a little ride with me, I'd love some input. Send me a message or email me at anogete527@yahoo.com if you're interested. I miss and love ya'll.

[permanentcaregiver]

What is Permanent Regression?

Permanent regression is a non-agere term used when someone who has experienced severe trauma or otherwise brain-alterning event(s) enters a permanent and indefinite state of longterm regression in age. It is exclusively involuntary, often being an unpleasant and stressful way to live, and can also fall under the umbrella of dissociative symptoms. It is not a part of the age regression community, or a community term. Permanent regression is used as a medical identifier, for those who have a severe set of symptoms due to neurological and/or mental health conditions.

How does it affect people?

People who are in permanent regression cannot control their regression or regression-affected behaviors, such as cleaning, eating, bathing, or working. Permanent regressors often have body dysmorphia, age dysphoria, identity incognruence, trauma symptoms, and dissociative episodes. It is often impossible to function in daily life as someone who is permanently regressed without a designated family member, therapist, caregiver, or combination of adult guardian(s.) Permanent regression is majorly disruptive in every aspect of a person's life, activities, and personal relationships.

Is this the same as forever-kids?

The short answer is no. While forever-kids is a similar term, permanent regressors are unable to be aware of their adult status or do anything to switch off, they are completely regressed at all times. Forever kids is a community term, and loosely defined as "a regressor who is always or almost always in their headspace" (credit: deliriousdadd on IG.) Permanent regression is different, and not a headspace. It is where one cannot conceptualize they are in an adult body or have adult obligations, and live every day in the mental state of an infant or child. They are unable to do most things on their own, or ever come out of the regression they are in.

Am I a permanent regressor?

Permanent regression can often come across as delusion or dissociation due to the severity of it, which is why the answer will usually be no, and thats okay! It's a lot nicer to be someone that can use regression voluntarily and positively, and enjoy the time spent regressing. If you are able to complete basic tasks and bodily care, are aware and/or comfortable in being an adult, find your regression is mostly/entirely enjoyable or comforting, can function without adult input/help, or your regression is voluntary, you are likely not a permanent regressor.

Can I become a permanent regressor?

No. Permanent regression is not only completely involuntary, but also comes with a whole lot of pain, discomfort, and confusion. It is not something to aspire too or want to "achieve." While it's very possible to have good times and positive feelings as a permanent regressor, it is still a symptom of severe conditions. Just because it may sound like something nice, to "really feel like a kid all the time," in reality it is a life of misplacement and can be lonely.

Important things to note

Permanent regression is not something that is usually healthy or happy for those going through it. It is very important that if you are privleged enough to have access to healthcare such as therapy, and you feel you may be in permanent regression or nearing it, to see someone that can help you cope with it. Not everyone has access to the trauma therapy or medication needed to be able to move on and heal, and some people that are permanently regressed will not be able to move past it at all. Be concious of how you speak to those that experience it, and understand that what others are going through is likely much more alarming for them than it is for you.

Coined by me and my regressor

June of 2023

Owners of term >>>

@permanentparent + @faetoddler

[shinygoku]

thoughts on cgi episodes of ttte? I'm curious to hear whatever praises or criticisms you have for that era of the series

Apologies for the delay, I started this but felt it was too Stream-of-Consciousness to be worth publishing. After a virtual pair of scissors it's much better but it's not one of my best metas. Still, I sure have Thoughts! So if you happen upon this month late answer, enjoy~

I think, much like the model series, it's quite the mixed bag... but even at its best None of the CGI episodes or specials reach the early pinnacle set by Seasons 1 and 2.

I'm famously[?] s3 Critical but I'm much more likely to wanna watch one'a the episodes where David Mitton was director than anything CGI (...depending on the episode lmao, some are nuclear waste as early as 3 and a lot in 6 lmaooo) -- that's in part due to my immense fondness and respect for the scale models and practical effects.

This ain't me ragging on CGI, but it is me saying that for Thomas the live action Supermarionation style works best for it. The CGI itself allows for things that wouldn't be possible [or finacially sensible], and that's good! But I feel like it became a crutch for the series to continue spinning wheels without covering new track, y'see?

Like, the Engines as models are still limited in some of the same ways irl Steam Locos are - they have to have track to run on, there's an upper limit for the rakes they pull, you can't bash them into walls without heavy damage, things like that. This also helped inform the post-Awdry stories they ran, it's the kind of limitation that makes writing more robust.

This doesn't make it immune to running out of ideas, of course, but it's a reliable guideline. The model series very much running out of plots is why I don't watch any post season 7!

With CGI there's an "all bets are off" aspect where they could use it for more complex settings, scenarios and characters. But a rot still started to creep in and hit the nadir with BWBA, where they just do whatever a weird ass mandate insists upon.

There's also the moving faces debate, I suppose. CGI letting them lip sync and giving them individual voices was another big game changer. But was it needed? The books lend themselves so well to the Narrator style (when it's someone like Ringo, even better hahaha), but the more distinct voices there are, the more room there is for something to sound ...off.

So let's sum up some CGI pros:

Increased possibility of complex designs, mechanisms and scenery

Episodes should be easier to produce and more effort could go into other areas

If lucky, the voice acting will be good

And some cons:

The majority of the CGI is still pretty daggy looking, and bad CGI ages it much more than seeing the edge of a physical set

The episodes either don't do much interesting with the freedom, or go too far and do stupid shit like an action movie bridge jump or the whole engine rocking back and forth like a kiddie ride when they talk

The voice acting isn't well suited to the stories... or it ain't good at all!

I mean it genuinely when I say not only is 2D Animation better for a less-realistic version of Thomas, but AEG actually going as balls to the wall is an improvement over the dying thrashes of BWBA. The CGI shoulda held itself to more realism, but didn't, but at least Very Cartoony Trains having extendable spider limbs is more consistant with itself.

...In summation, I am Not A Fan of CGI Thomas. Which is why I limit my input of CGI eps, honestly! I ain't saying everything about it sucks, but the collective whole of it isn't good enough to keep me watching.

[igb120gottafigurethisout]

We did some playtesting for our game; here is the first questionnaire we did with our playtester "Peter"

Player Questionnaire for "Desolate Ruins"

Your name (optional): Peter Unique ID #: 1

Game V2.1

Thank you for testing this game. Please answer these questions as accurately as you can.

Preliminary Questions:

Have you seen or heard anything about the game we are testing, called “Desolate Ruins”?

No

Experience Level:

I am an experienced video game player. Strongly Agree

In a normal week, roughly how many hours do you spend playing video games? Hours: 15hrs

Which Platform do you regularly play games on: Computer, PS5

Genre Preferences:

I enjoy action platformer games: 3/5 Somewhat Agree

I enjoy rogue-like games: 5/5 Strongly Agree

I enjoy adventure games: 5/5 Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree

Currently, what would you say are your three favourite game genres? 1. Rogue-likes 2. Action Adventure RPG’s 3. First Person Shooter’s

What would you say is your least favourite game genre? 1. Racing

Thank you for your answers. Please tell the test conductor you are ready to continue.

Playtest Feedback Summary

General Gameplay:

How intuitive do you find the game's controls? Very simple to understand, attack on R is weird. Other keys made sense.

Are the character's movements responsive to your inputs? Really nice and responsive, but hitbox is janky.

Did you encounter any issues with character movement, such as lag or unresponsive actions? No lag, no unresponsive actions.

How smooth do the character animations feel during gameplay? Nice most of the time, some animations did not work.

Level Design:

Do the levels feel balanced in terms of difficulty? Not super hard, but hitbox needs to be more defined.

Are there any parts of the level design that feel confusing or unclear? Attack is unclear; walking into instructions needs to have clearer prompts.

Did you encounter any areas that felt too easy or too hard to navigate? Not too hard, generally too easy as it is a simple platformer.

Are there any places where you felt stuck without a clear way to proceed? Yes, when the dead screen came up and you could still move feels really janky.

Feedback and Rewards:

Does the game provide adequate feedback for your actions (e.g., sound effects, visual cues)? Yes, except for the attack. Spamming attack caused no animation to play.

User Interface:

Is the HUD (heads-up display) clear and informative? Super evident and clear.

Are there any elements of the user interface that are distracting or unnecessary? Yes, controls staying up is unnecessary.

Bugs and Glitches:

Did you encounter any bugs or glitches during your playthrough? If so, can you describe them? The dead screen allows continued movement.

Were there any instances where the game crashed or froze? No.

Did you find any issues with collision detection (e.g., getting stuck in walls or platforms)? Yes, when fighting skeletons, floating on a single pixel.

Enjoyment and Engagement:

How enjoyable did you find the overall gameplay experience? Enjoyable, more than expected.

What aspects of the game did you find most engaging? The animations for the character were nice, making the character feel alive.

Were there any parts of the game that you found boring or repetitive? More variation in platforms and more options for paths.

Suggestions and Improvements:

What features or improvements would you suggest to make the game better? Accurate hitboxes, special abilities.

Are there any additional elements (e.g., enemies, power-ups, environmental hazards) you think should be added? Yes, all of the above.

Difficulty and Challenge:

Do you feel the difficulty level is appropriate for a game of this type? For a first level, yes.

Controls and Mechanics:

Did you find the control scheme easy to learn and use? Yes.

It was a good learning curve to have for us a group getting playtesting organised and keeping the playtests professional.

[0livesfilmbl0g]

C R I T I C A L R E F L E C T I O N - FILM NARRATIVE

Within this project, I undertook the role of writer, co-set designer and script supervisor. I wrote and redrafted the script multiple times, meeting up with the rest of my group and taking in their input and the input of Catriona from the weekly meetings. I oversaw what costumes the actors would wear on the day of filming, which I spoke to them about prior, however, Louise Cade oversaw the designing and creating of the band t-shirt for one of the actors. I made two ice cream sundaes from playdough and clay, which were vital plot points within our film. (More pictures from my blog: https://www.tumblr.com/0livesfilmbl0g/711967790687485952/march-2023-we-secured-our-filming-date-for-friday?source=share ) I oversaw finding and getting most of the props, such as the tablecloth, sundae glasses, skateboard, cutlery etc. On our shoot day, I took notes on camera and sound after each take, this allowed my team to keep themselves right and helped the editors find the best takes quickly. I also made sure there were enough pauses in the actors’ acting for the voice-overs, which was a vital part of our film.

Within the film crit, we received very constructive feedback on various aspects of our film. Each of the lecturers agreed saying that the voiceover throughout our film wasn’t necessary and would’ve worked well, probably even better, without it. I completely agreed with this after seeing it from their perspective and now understand better what a good voice-over is, and what its key purpose is. I am glad to have learned this since I know it will make me a better writer in future. Another criticism we received was to do with framing. We were told the master shot could’ve been tighter since the actor walking into the frame had been cut off. By doing this we could’ve eliminated the white-wall syndrome we faced due to having to use a classroom, as well as created more of a sense of place as the wide shot made the room seem empty instead of a bustling café. I wholeheartedly agree with this and will take it on with my next project.

In class we were instructed to think about only having one of the characters have a voiceover. While I agree that this worked much better than the initial two voiceovers, I wish I had thought more about what the voiceover was saying, since one of the main criticisms in the crit was that the voiceover didn’t convey any new information, and the actresses acting did the voiceovers job anyways. Catriona suggested we focus on the female character’s inner dialogue being the opposite of what she says out loud, however as a group, we didn’t think this would be easily conveyable in such a short timeframe, as it would take longer for the characters’ relationship dynamic to be clear to both parties. Although we did take on the idea, and when redrafting the script, I changed her inner dialogue to be more truthful and crueller than what she was saying out loud, although not the opposite of what she was thinking. I think the strongest points of our film were the sound and acting since we received compliments in the crit that the sound recording and sound design were consistent and well done. The actress’ acting really helped convey the character’s personality and allowed the audience to dislike her character. This is exactly what we were going for, and her performance was strong and believable. I think some of the camera shots could’ve been improved upon, as the master was just too wide and some of the lower angles on characters were slightly confusing and out of place. We also could’ve paid more attention to the background wall as it was a little bare.

Our group worked very well together, as we all pulled equal weight and got along very well. We didn’t experience any major creative differences and all of us were confident in our individual roles. I think if we had more experience in making films, we would’ve been able to pick up on the voice-over being a weak part of the story, the master being too wide, or parts of the dialogue being weaker than others. We worked well as a team and gave each other feedback on small things when asked, and we are all proud of each other for putting so much work into the film.

I have learned how powerful hindsight is when making a film, and that not everything will work out, despite how good it seems at the time. If we could go back and re-do the whole film, I am very confident it would be much better. I have learned a lot about writing characters and dialogue, as well as bringing a set to life in film form, and it has been rewarding to see it all come to life. With this experience and hindsight, I have learned a lot, and the feedback on other components of the film, such as sound and directing has given me a good knowledge that I will be able to use in future. From watching other films my peers made I have recognised the importance of set design, and I have understood that even with our limitations to a Craiglockhart location, we could’ve played about much more with set design.

Group Padlet Link (process pre/post here): https://padlet.com/405837661/film-narrative-group-d1-pa5pj7odcofnkw5c

Personal Tumblr Link (photos of shooting here): https://www.tumblr.com/0livesfilmbl0g

Krooked Quiche shirt design: https://padlet.com/405837661/film-narrative-group-d1-pa5pj7odcofnkw5c/wish/2571772465

Menus and photos for background wall: https://padlet.com/405837661/film-narrative-group-d1-pa5pj7odcofnkw5c/wish/2571768854

Link to final film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t_x3Ms8TMY&feature=youtu.be

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Fairy Tales Recaps: “The Grimm Child”

Happy November, everyone! Considering that this is normally the time when we’d be gearing up for RWBY Volume 9 — and when I would normally be preparing to recap it — I thought I’d pass this unprecedented hiatus by recapping RWBY: Fairy Tales instead. Originally, I had no intention of watching, let alone reacting to, these shorts, but after I sat down to “The Grimm Child” on a whim last night and found that I had a surprising amount to say about a five minute episode, I figured what the hell. Let’s give it a go.

What’s the purpose of this project, then? To recap these shorts as they stand. Meaning, to analyze precisely what’s delivered to the viewer without (much) input from the original novel, tumblr posts, friends’ explanations, wiki articles, etc. What stood out to me while watching this episode was how confused I was about certain aspects, a confusion that was cleared up by interacting with the above resources. Problem is, “The Grimm Child” should be able to stand on its own. Reading the novel should not be a requirement for watching the adaptation of that novel — that, in many ways, defeats the very purpose of an adaptation. So I want to take a look at how well (or not) RWBY has created a show free of that, “Well, it makes sense if you just engage with these other texts, games, interviews, and assumptions,” something the franchise has struggled greatly with in the past. Though I very much welcome explanations to further conversation, if your response to this post is some version of, “It’s actually fine because the book says — ” then you’ve missed the point of the project. As someone who is a long-term RWBY fan, but who hasn’t yet snagged RWBY: Fairy Tales, I should be able to sit down with the adaptation and follow along without a small mountain of questions piling up. Sadly, that wasn’t the case for our first episode.

But, as always, let’s start at the beginning.

Many stories explore innocence as a blessing and a curse. A blessing to not understand evil and a curse not to recognize it. However, all good stories do share one thing in common. They are not what you expect.

As pleased as I am to hear Ozpin’s voice again, the actual meaning of the narration is a little lacking. Admittedly, the start of this introduction holds up very well post-viewing. It is an innocence that drives Poppy to both enter the forest and dare her brother to do the same; it is her inability to recognize the real danger she was in that results in tragedy. Great start. “They are not what you expect” though? I’m not even sure I agree with that philosophy in a general sense — many genre-dependent stories thrive on meeting expectations — but, more importantly, the episode essentially toots its own horn before failing to live up to that standard. The message is that the viewer should expect the unexpected, good stories surprise you... and then it completely failed to surprise me. From the setup of a dare going wrong, to everyone in the town meeting a horrific end, “The Grimm Child” is filled with a dime a dozen ideas. Which isn’t a bad thing. As just said, people tend to love new stories filled with old, familiar concepts. Rather, the problem lies in the episode implying that these fairy tales will be #different — innovative and shocking — and then not living up to that. By the story’s own criteria, it’s not good.

As a franchise, RWBY thrives on delivering senseless, but inspiring sounding messages (just look at most of Ruby’s speeches nowadays), so, like many others, I’ve grown used to the feeling of getting swept up in a confidently delivered statement only to later go, “Wait... that doesn’t make sense.” Luckily, we leave philosophy behind and open on a beautiful shot of Poppy in the forest:

I’ll admit that on the whole this animation does little for me, but I quite liked a few environmental shots, these included. I also like the designs of Poppy and Oak, specifically that they’re given different shades of red hair. Also, it’s worth noting that Poppy is voiced by Kdin Jenzen, the actress for May Marigold in the main webseries. For whatever other faults the franchise has in regards to queer representation, I personally believe it’s an important step that we not only have trans characters voiced by trans individuals, but that their work opportunities aren’t limited to trans characters either. Having Kdin voice May and Poppy back-to-back is a good move within a company that, too often lately, has been making mistakes. So that’s a plus. 

The animation of the forest might be pretty, but the staging leaves something to be desired. The distance makes it appear that Oak is just a few feet away; he should be able to see Poppy. Poppy looks back, seemingly right at her brother, implying that she can see him too. So why is he shouting to know where she is? This is the start of an episode’s worth of confusing animation choices, things that, frankly, have very easy fixes. For example, here you can just show us Poppy in the forest and have a voiceover of Oak yelling for her. We don’t need to see him in this shot because we’ll see him in just a moment when Poppy runs back out. We can wait ten extra seconds to introduce his design. Though this scene, on its own, just creates a, “That’s a little weird” reaction, these choices will become more of a problem when the episode is actively trying to convey something to the audience. 

Just as Poppy is criticizing Oak for being a coward, a darkness appears that she's terrified of. She makes a run for it with that darkness licking at her heels, only just managing to make it back out into the sunshine.

From here, we get a pretty believable exchange between the siblings. I like that Poppy moved from terror to confident dismissal almost instantly. Who hasn’t seen, say, a friend get freaked out down in the basement, only to brush that panic off the second they’re safe upstairs? What scares you is easily rationalized in the light of day — “a curse to not recognize [evil]” — and no one wants to look like a scaredy cat in front of friends — or worse, siblings. So I absolutely buy this switch, as well as their banter. Poppy’s insistence that being Oak’s friend is not the same thing as being his sister? Relatable. The voice acting and animation does a good job of selling that balance between teasing and cruelty. Oak is nearly crying as he’s pushed into the forest, but we also know Poppy doesn’t really mean anything by it. She’s just fooling around. I went into the creepy forest alone, so now you do too. Otherwise, I get bragging and teasing rights for the rest of time.

So Oak goes in alone and doesn’t return for... a really long time, far as I can tell. Poppy waits until it’s dark out to start calling for him, which is weird given the implication that she was only in there a few minutes herself and could hear him calling her. It’s one of those stylistic choices that I understand — can’t have the bad stuff happen until it’s nighttime! — but in-world it raises questions about what Poppy was thinking. Am I supposed to take away something about her character because she waited this long? Who knows.

Poppy does venture back into the forest though, braving her fear because her brother might be in danger. Which, you know, he is. Poppy finds him splayed out — in an interestingly supplicant position — and unresponsive. He’s white as bone, covered in grimm veins,  and sporting void eyes.

Here’s where the animation really starts to fail in terms of clarity. I thought Oak was dead. He’s not. Or maybe he is and the grimm is just controlling his body? It’s never made clear. There’s obviously something wrong with him though, yet Poppy only reacts to how cold he feels, not any of the significant changes in his looks. I’ve heard second-hand that, in the book, Ozpin added these physical features in order to warn future generations against Salem: white skin, black veins, and creepy eyes are her distinctive style. Is that worked into the story proper though? Meaning, I love the idea of him changing details to achieve this goal, but within the adaptation it’s unclear whether other characters can see what Oak looks like, or if that’s just for the audience’s benefit. A sort of non-diegetic visual. Because as Poppy leads Oak back to the village, two others ask whether he’s feeling alright. He no longer has eyes. Of COURSE he’s not alright! Maybe my immersion is just easily broken, but it’s weird to have such a striking change and no one properly reacting to that. And again, this could be an easy fix. If Oak actually looks like this within the story world, have Poppy comment on it. Let her pull his cloak hood low over his face so no one else can see him. There are quick, minute changes to smooth all this over.

I’ve also heard that this grimm, the Chill, is fairly intelligent. Little of that makes its ways into the story though. Neither does its name, outside of Poppy saying Oak caught a chill. If the Chill needs a body to leave the forest — which I now doubt considering we hear it flying around later on — why did it just have Oak laying there for hours, rather than heading back? Why does Oak act as if he’s comatose, with Poppy literally leading him along? None of this implies that he’s possessed by something sinister. From what I’ve gathered, there’s a moment in the story where the grimm recognizes the word “home” and follows Poppy in order to get access to more victims. Again, that’s a thing you can animate. Rather than making him appear comatose, let Oak approach Poppy menacingly, he’s coming for her, she’s scared and blurts that they need to get home... and Oak stops. Tilts his head. Nods or smiles. There are ways to tell the audience, “Oh shit, this kid is possessed and Poppy is making a mistake bringing something intelligent back to her village.” Instead, the implication is that Oak is still himself, but sick with some grimm disease? Had his soul stolen and is now an empty husk?? It’s all just ambiguously creepy.

A side detail I really like though: it starts to snow when Poppy gets Oak back to town, whereas before it was a summer or spring day. Now that’s a great visual to convey that she has indeed brought something unnatural into their midst.

So Poppy gets Oak back in bed where he sits hyperventilating with a blanket over his shoulders, again implying that he’s got some sort of grimm sickness that will sweep through the town, not an intelligent, malevolent entity. She apologizes before going to sleep — “Sorry. Love you” — and is woken up hours later by something crashing through her window.

The implication, based on later information, is that the grimm escaped at that moment. This is Oak, fully possessed, leaving the bedroom via window to attack the rest of the town. Except he’s clearly already killed everyone? Her parents are already dead downstairs, for example, and Oak’s footprints lead from the front door to the next house, not the window. Poppy also, oddly, goes looking for Oak in the house despite her busted window being the very obvious way of leaving the premises. Or, at the very least, something wrong I’d expect her to check out. It’s another one of those details that makes a first watch far more confusing than it needs to be. Just let Poppy hear a scream as someone is attacked. That wakes her up, she sees Oak is gone, goes to find her parents, etc. Having the window smash and Poppy ignore it is a very strange choice.

So she goes downstairs and finds her parents dead, with the image being about as creepy as this animation style can manage. She finds Oak’s footprints leading to the next house. As Poppy tracks her brother, we get a shot of her own feet and they look... bad.

I mean, I kind of want to give them a pass here. I once spent hours trying to draw a hand. Not a good hand, just a passable, human appendage. So I get that this is some challenging anatomy, but on the other hand (haha), I’m not a professional artist employed by a major corporation. We can’t do any better than a vague, foot-shaped slab?

Back to the plot though, Poppy finds her neighbors dead and Oak in the upstairs bedroom. There’s no visual indication that he’s dead this time because he looks exactly like he did when she found him in the forest: open mouth, blank stare, white skin, grimm veins. 

This is what I mean about the animation failing to convey some basic takeaways. All we have to go on is Poppy crying this time and not leading his otherwise unresponsive body back out of the house, so he must be dead. It’s just too bad the visuals couldn’t convey that when we first see him, and that, frankly, I can’t even be sure he’s not going to pop back up and find someone else to kill. He looks exactly as Poppy does at the end of the episode, still walking and, presumably, plotting where next to go. So where does danger end and tragedy begin here? 

Originally, I formed the theory that whoever the grimm was possessing was identifiable by Oak’s looks. Since all the bodies we see are uniformly shadowy and made up of a single color, you only get the white skin and veins if the grimm is currently inside you. Except, Oak still has those looks post-death. If you want your audience to understand that this creatures is now on the loose, give us the original looking Oak, or a dead body looking Oak, to inform us that something has left his body and is now on the prowl. Instead, three characters will have the white, vein-y, void eye look, whereas everyone else won’t. Three characters will be able to move around post-contact with the grimm, whereas everyone else won’t. The visuals do nothing to help the viewer understand what’s going on here, beyond the generic, “It’s something bad.” And, importantly, I don’t get the sense that RT is being deliberately ambiguous. Some stories are meant to generate confusion in its audience. I don’t think a five-minute fairy tale is. 

Poppy moves to the next house and we get a jump scare of a villager suddenly moving around with blue eyes. What does this mean? Why is it important? I suppose we’re meant to understand that this is the grimm, finally coming for her? Indeed, Poppy is consumed by darkness as she runs back to her house, the same sort of darkness that ran at her in the woods...

... but she’s totally fine once she locks the door. It’s only when she touches a body beneath Oak’s bed that she becomes infected, leading me to originally believe that the grimm-ness is transferred by touch. Beyond the fact that this is, apparently, wrong — the Chill, as said, is meant to be intelligent and deliberately leaving her for last — upon second viewing I realized that Poppy continually touched Oak before bedtime: his shoulder in the woods, holding his hand when they entered the village (skin-to-skin contact, what I originally thought might be the catalyst for death/possession), and his shoulders again when leading him away from the questioning neighbors. You all get what I mean about the visuals doing nothing to clarify the plot then, right? Mistakenly grabbing a grimmified arm doesn’t have much of an impact when she’s been touching her grimmified brother this whole time, living us wondering why she turned. 

Poppy pulls that villager out from underneath the bed and there’s no emotion attached, outside of the generic horror of finding a body, any body. We don’t know how he got there. We don’t know who he is. We don’t know why, this time, Poppy became grimmified. She asks the empty room, “Why not me?” so of course the audience expects an answer to that. Yet based on the visuals we get, we’re left as confused as Poppy herself. You can’t terrify your audience — or even just tell a solid story — if the audience can’t follow the basic series of events. 

As another example, Poppy looks at a pair of glasses on the side table when in one of the houses. It’s clearly meant to be a shocking moment for her, yet I had no idea what it meant the first time I watched the episode. It took me a second viewing to realize that the villager who asks after Oak is the owner of those glasses. So, given the supplemental knowledge that the Chill is supposed to be intelligent and taunting Poppy, were those left in one neighbor’s house to imply that the other neighbors, those boys, are dead too? But how do we know she’s not just in glasses guy’s house and that’s his room? The quick cuts and generic setting means we’re unsure of where Poppy is at any time. I didn’t realize she’d run back to her own house until she entered her room. The generic dead bodies, deliberately erasing features for the creep factor, means I have no idea who any individual character is. We only know two villagers besides Oak and Poppy, but I couldn’t tell you which of the bodies we see were them. Maybe by taking the time to look at some stills, but not as the episode airs. So whatever horror the glasses and subsequent bodies were meant to invoke in me is lost.

Adding on to those themes lost, I’ve heard that the grimm specifically moves within the children, leading Poppy through the village and, as said, saving her for last. That’s wonderfully spooky. Too bad it’s not in the adaptation. Is this guy meant to be a kid? 

We saw this animation problem in Volume 8 of RWBY where Cinder, meant to be this very young child, comes across as a young adult, if not older. Now, we have this story centered around children, yet you can’t tell at a glace who’s a kid. Oak is the only one whose design accurately conveys his age and that’s partly because we spend the most time with him, watchin him cry, comparing him to the taller, older looking Poppy. The two kids they pass in the village? The ones we see for only a second? It’s primarily one holding a ball that gives their ages away, not their design. If the opening’s lines about innocence were meant to continue through the tale’s plot, if the story is saying something about children and how evil moves through them... I didn’t catch any of that here. 

So Poppy is grimmified in the end. Her staring blankly into the broken window is one of the shots I loved this episode —

— but like everything else, it’s undermined by the lack of clarity in the storytelling. I don’t really understand what’s happened to her and, thus, I’m unable to revel in the expected grief of that. I’m too busy trying to piece the events together to fall into the story’s horror. Post-the siblings banter, there’s a persistent confusion that carries over into Ozpin’s final lines:

We all have a certain, natural inclination. We expect that evil should be easy to recognize rather than accepting it can lurk behind any face, and yet we are often the slowest to see the darkness within ourselves.

What happened to innocence? The danger of ignorance? The evil discussed here can’t just be the literal grimm now possessing Poppy. The meaning of a moral like this is that evil hides in plain sight and anyone can succumb to it. It looks like Lionheart. Or Raven. Or even Ironwood. Yet this story wasn’t about a good person led astray by nice-sounding promises, or the betrayer putting on an ally’s face. Am I supposed to understand that “the darkness within ourselves” also includes Poppy? But she didn’t give in to any intrinsic darkness within her. She just made a stupid mistake! Is darkness now siblings ignorantly daring one another to take foolish risks? Because if so, the world of Remnant really is doomed. How about we get a moral about listening to the wisdom of elders — don’t go into the forest — or seeking help — tell your parents you messed up and that Oak is hurt — or even just an acknowledgment that sometimes simple mistakes can lead to horrific consequences. This moral about darkness lurking within anyone and our inability to recognize it within ourselves, while a great message on its own and literal to a certain extent here, otherwise doesn’t fit the story about two siblings conducting a dare that goes horribly, horribly wrong. To say nothing of how, visually, this evil was easy to recognize. Super easy! It really defeats the wisdom of the message when evil is represented by dead-white skin, missing eyes, and creepy veins snaking around a person’s body. That is, quite literally, the exact opposite of what Ozpin is trying to teach here.

So all in all, not a stellar episode in my opinion. A strong start and fun ideas that fell apart as we went on, which is par the course for RWBY. But it’s particularly disappointing in this case given that they had an excellent template to work from. Everything I’ve heard about the Fairy Tales book tells me that I’ll love it (I do intend to snag a copy someday), but it sounds like little, if any of that excellence transferred to the adaptation. Which is a failure of Rooster Teeth, not Myers. It’s one thing to eliminate so much of what made the original tale engaging, quite another to replace it with choices that don’t easily allow the show to stand as its own, unique art. To be clear, “The Grimm Child” isn’t a complicated tale. I’m not so dull that I didn’t catch the basic premise of “Evil thing in woods hitchhikes through this kid and decimates a village,” nor am I unaware of the ambiguous, even nonsensical vibe that fairy tales often embrace. But RWBY isn’t a franchise that can get away with a flimsy addition to its corpus on the justification that everything else is well written (it’s not), nor does it have the excuse of being an entirely original product where they can just do whatever it wants, clarity be damned. If this is the level of confusion and inconsistency generated from a five minute, self-contained story based on an already published tale... is it any surprise the ongoing, eight volume webseries is a total mess?

I’m hoping that the rest of the Fairy Tales collection is stronger. Despite my nitpicking about the animation (it is, apparently, Nitpick November lol), I’m fine with a downgrade in visual quality provided the animation is otherwise still benefiting the story. Does it look bad when Ruby’s cookies disappear while approaching her mouth? Yes. But does that animation tell us a lot about her and Ozpin? Yes. Does it look good when Poppy pulls a grimmified body out from under her bed? Arguably yes. But does that animation help us understand the situation and her ultimate fate? ...No. It just muddies things and this series isn’t so gorgeous that it can get by on spectacle alone.

I’ve seen a lot of people expressing excitement and praise for the show. Is that because they’ve already read the book, or don’t notice/care about these problems? I can’t say. However, it feels like RWBY: Fairy Tales is, thus far, banking hard on the RWBY approach to watching webseries: turn your brain off and fill in gaps with supplemental information/headcanons. “The Grimm Child” will make a lot more sense if you’re familiar with its original story, the same way Ironwood’s actions might make a lot more sense if you’re familiar with his semblance. The problem lies in neither publication putting that information in the story. So I’ll be interested to see if, moving forward, the other adaptations likewise lean heavily on the audience doing that work for the script, or if RT just needs a little time figuring out how to best translate prose into a visual medium. 

So, here’s hoping. See you all for “The Hunter’s Children”! 💜

[audrey5386022]

WEEK 10: WRAPPING UP

3D PRINTING

Continuing from my last post, this week after preparing the files for 3D Printing and getting it ready on cura, I decided to 3D print it. since all the difficult settings were dine with all I had to do was consult with one of the staff at the DFL to confirm that the settings were right and ready to go. some things i was nervous about was that the printing would take too long but after slicing it and making some adjustments such as sizing, infill and changing the print settings to fast which meant having 0.2mm printing instead of the 0.1mm for each layer, this will result in a rougher print but since this was only a model I concluded that this quality would suffice. Then onto the printing, it was interesting ti see the printer at work since this was my first time 3D printing it was great to see the progress at each stage and the see the interior construction was very exciting.

The end product was successful however since I had my bottle flat the printing filaments that touched the bed were a bit messier than the front, however after sanding the bottle it had quite an aesthetic finish and This activity has certainly sparked my interest to experiment further with 3d printing.

FINAL REFLECTIONS

This class has been one of my favourites so far, it had a great blend of theory and practical though it leaned toward the practical activities which I generally prefer that made the classes very enjoyable and the assessments felt very integrated with the things we were learning and that made it that much more immersive and it made me look forward to assessments instead of dreading it which is something fairly new to experience.

Having the class begin from teaching us basic sketching in order to built a foundation of the rest of the class really helped in understanding the importance of drawings such as engineering and orthographic drawings and made me realise how accuracy in the measurements are everything. I enjoyed the process of learning how to use the basic drawing tools before jumping into digital design.

I appreciate how this class allowed us to explore different mediums as a whole process, from taking our basic sketches to engineering drawings to 2d renders then foam models and finally be able to create 3d renders of our work and print them in 3d forms, the whole structure of this learning process made it not so overwhelming to follow along and eventually build on our skills to be well versed in designing an relaying our designs in a more professional way.

I really enjoyed how we got to learn different methods but they each complement each other as a whole process, even though at first the pen to paper orthographic drawings and perspective drawings seemed intimidating as I continue to get practice it really made me understand the components and could now easily produce drawings. along this learning curve, I appreciate the help I got from the tutors and my peers.

This class has really provided a learning environment where we can learn from each other and not be afraid to ask silly questions, the Tumblr aspect of this course was something that I was skeptical about at first when it was introduced but now have grown to love. this showed me the importance of self and peer input/ reflections to always improve on my work as it can always be better.

I believe that this course has certainly improved my skills in both analog and digital design. it made me understand that it cant just be one or the other and to be good at one we have to understand the other to fully gauge the design. Without this course I would not have been able to explore softwares such as 3Ds Max, illustrator, Rhino and others as in depth as I have as well as learning to construct physical models with the appropriate tools.

If i had to do this course all over again I would document my process much more and I would try to ask as many questions as possible.

I am honestly sad that this class is coming to an end but thankful for the experience and skills i have acquired. thank you to Gonz, Sarah and Rob for their guidance and advice along the way, they made the classes an immersive and insightful experience.

Hope to see everyone next term!!

[pizzazz-party]

Ring Analysis Part 1: Synchronizing— How It Works and What It Tells Us About Ring

...As well as the world he lives in. Our buddy Ring may explain very little about himself, but he doesn’t need to if you’re paying—obsessive—attention to detail.

(Gameplay spoilers up to World 20 under the cut.)

For a mechanic that’s important enough to merit a cutscene, and then goes on to envelop every part of the game, “synchronizing” gets a handful of lines before it’s never explicitly brought up again.

So let’s go over this scene.

“Synchronizing” is, at first glance, a simple exchange of traits. That’s not entirely wrong. Trainee does physically take on characteristics specific to Ring, like the flaming hair, and Ring does gain access to her heartbeat reading, sort of like a living stethoscope.

But what syncing actually is, is a symbiotic relationship. It’s both participants “recalibrating” themselves to the other as best as each of them are able. For a flesh-and-blood partner that’s not built for syncing, this means physically changing to become something a little closer to Ring. (More on that later.) For Ring, a magical being designed with the extra sensory input in mind, it invisibly grants him access to the other’s most invaluable resource: their exercise energy.

Like synchronizing, “exercise energy” is another lovely concept that was mentioned once and then never again. So much so that I’ve been accidentally calling it “fitness energy” for weeks and am still trying to correct my reflexes.

But exercise energy is everything. If all it takes is a simple read of a heartbeat to jumpstart a sync bond, exercise energy is the glue that cements it together. Because Ring and Trainee don’t stop being synced whenever they’re not physically touching. They separate all the time. They can put a little distance between themselves and still be at the height of synchronization, even. But let’s take a step back for a moment, and talk about that “physically changing to become something a little closer to Ring” aspect.

Say that Trainee is doing a leg move at peak performance. Her hair is flaring up. Her legs are glowing that same yellowish hue—because they’re full of exercise energy. That’s what that is. That’s what it must be. It’s what Ring himself is partially made of, seeing as the same stuff flows through his veinlike tubes. Seriously. Look at this. It’s the same goddamn color.

I can’t understate how incredibly important exercise energy is. To synchronizing, to Ring, and to literally everything else. Exercise energy is a type of life energy. In the world of Ring Fit, it’s in everything, everywhere—in varying levels of purity and concentration. When Trainee is performing a fit skill, she almost seems to absorb a mystical...something... from the open air around her, as she charges up a skill. Thin lines of light streak towards her as she lights up, not away. See for yourself.

Trainee isn’t a normal inhabitant of “Planet Fitness.” She doesn’t know how to manipulate exercise energy very well on her own. It looks like being synced with Ring has made her somewhat biologically closer to being made of exercise energy herself, and with that? The slight ability to absorb it from the air around her. It’s a really small thing, likely just a tiny boost of power she’s drawing in from her surroundings (and returning right back after a move is complete). But it’s there. It’s visibly happening. With one exception, this doesn’t occur outside of a fit battle. And that makes sense. A fit skill taking more energy than an air blast is very reasonable. Those crates littering the place are a lot less hardy than...whatever you would classify Monsters as. 

I mentioned an exception. Here it is:

Victory posing is such an odd little tradition, isn’t it? It’s unskippable; Ring always insists on it. And at first glance, his instructions are weird. “Pull in energy from the ground” sounds a bit like nonsense...except in this shot, Trainee is actually standing on a glowing platform full of Exercise Energy. (Yes, that’s what that is.) The moment she’s done charging her squat power, thin lines of light streak upwards— some into Trainee. And when she raises her arms, she expels all that excess energy into the open air. You can watch the process here.

And that’s where most of the EXP from victory posing comes from—from the well of exercise energy humming beneath her feet.

Exercise energy is life energy in constant motion. It’s created (for a lack of a better word) constantly as the body moves and burns calories. It’s also expelled constantly, and this is most visible when Trainee works out. It is not, under any circumstances, meant to be trapped in the body forever. But the act of having possessed any of it at all gives Trainee EXP, a byproduct, which can be kept forever.

———

Ring says in the initial cutscene, “The more you exercise, the more synchronized we’ll be!” The more Trainee exercises, the more exercise energy her body holds at time. The more exercise energy she holds, the more alike she and Ring are in that very moment. The more alike they are—the more in sync they are.

———

The two way connection created by synchronizing is closer to a metaphysical fusion of both participants than a simple trade off. Ring’s powers are (almost but not quite) Trainee’s powers. Trainee’s body is (almost but not quite) Ring’s body. It’s both easy and hard to see where one’s work stops and the other’s begins. So let’s lay down some quick facts.

One! In terms of powers—everything Ring and Trainee can do together, Ring can do alone. It’ll be weaker. But he can do it. He’s got his own supply of exercise energy and he’s a master at manipulating it. Ring is not helpless; you are.

Two! The glowing limbs you fight with in a fit battle belong to Ring—not Trainee. Here are even some screen caps of Ring vaguely referring to them both. (It’s even in all-important blue text.)

Three! Ring is always actively contributing to your fit battles. He is never just counting reps or giving tips. As Trainee charges up a fit skill, Ring is constantly channeling the resulting energy into powering up his battle constructs. He is actively aiming said constructs for you, always.

In the case of specific fit skills, where Ring’s battle constructs immediately appear as buff as can be—it’s because Trainee is helping. A lot of what these instances have in common is the fact that the fit skills in question are less... involved?

Imagine being Trainee, and trying to keep a good aim on the enemy as you do the Mountain Climber move. (Or even squats. I do too many of those and I start disconnecting from reality.) The Ring Raise move, on the other hand, is gentler and gives Trainee a clear, unobstructed view of the enemy throughout the whole exercise. It gives her the wiggle room to try her hand at manipulating her own exercise energy directly.

With Ring and Trainee working together, the charge-up effect is therefore instantaneous.

Four! Canonically, despite the two of them being synced, Ring can shut off Trainee’s access to his powers at any time. That’s because, for them to work in the first place, Ring must be consciously activating them. In some animations at the start of a course, Trainee stretches by pulling on him at both ends. This should summon a suction vortex. But it doesn’t. Because Ring knows Trainee is just doing a pre-run stretch.

It explains why you can’t summon a Mega Ab Guard whenever you feel like it; only when Ring suggests it. Or why you can’t just suck up tokens in mini games like Dreadmill (Ring is too honest to help you cheat). Yes, it’s a game mechanic thing. But it’s a mechanic that Ring canonically controls. Trainee absolutely cannot use any of his abilities without his explicit consent. And that’s probably why she hasn’t accidentally killed somebody in combat yet—Ring is super careful. (He’s a professional, you know.)

———

Now that we have a better understanding of what exercise energy is and a better grasp on how Ring works—let’s circle back one more time to that “physically changing to become something a little closer to Ring” aspect. Because there’s one last insane thing we skipped over.

Trainee is initially the baseline in our understanding of what exercise energy looks like in a human being. Her yellow-orange flames are our constant companion—and therefore we get misled, because Trainee is an outlier. She is synced to Ring, and Ring is extraordinary. So she’s not a good example of the average person.

But in this case, despite being a literal master, Guru Andma is.

Guru Andma, “the balance master,” is the only other human character we see using attacks consisting of all three muscle groups. Her fight is a wealth of knowledge in of itself. When she flexes her arms, they fill with RED energy. When she flexes her abdomen, it fills with YELLOW energy. When she flexes her leg, it fills with BLUE energy. This is the standard for human beings. This is normal.

What this implies then, is that synchronizing with Ring has overwritten Trainee’s original energy signature. Ring’s energy is decidedly NOT human. It’s not even fit-skill yellow; it looks close, but it’s really something else entirely. Ring of course can convert Trainee’s energy into traditional reds, yellows, and blues for a fight. (Or at least, he can fake it if he doesn’t have his Color Coding ability. He once mimicked the flames of Dark Influence early on in the game; some superficial color editing is not above him.)

But yeah. Trainee’s energy is now definitely abnormal.

And yet the process didn’t seem to put her in any physical pain? I really doubt Ring would have sprung that on her if it did. (I mean, he still should have asked for permission first.) I’d wager the effects of syncing, as deep as are, aren’t permanent once the bond is dissolved. What Ring is doing—“synchronizing”—is somehow, simultaneously, extremely mystical and yet completely natural.

———

Last segment, before I let you go.

For a long time, I wondered: what are the prerequisites, that denote syncing potential? Not impressive muscles, I’m sure; it’s heavily implied Dragaux once synced with Ring, and he was infamously skinny. Could the general attitude of a person play a role, if Ring’s energy is pure positive exercise energy? Or could it be genetic? Maybe even entirely random?

I wasn’t sure until I fought the four masters, and especially after fighting Guru Andma.

I’ll bet you anything that there’s something inherently flexible about Trainee, for a human. Something more malleable, and therefore more amenable to undergoing the dramatic changes of a sync bond. And I’ll bet you further that it has something to do with the fact that Trainee had zero previous experience wielding exercise energy at the start of the game.

Because Ring tells Trainee she has potential right after identifying that she’s new.

(The less developed a person is initially, the easier it could be to sync with Ring. Whereas a person with more intensive training would be incompatible.)

And if you’re still convinced that Ring was just impressed with her muscles—please remember that Ring is not human, and does not experience life through the same lens. It’s implied he can “see” energy with more than just his eyes. It’s how you can drop him in a new temple in an unfamiliar land and he’ll still be able to tell Trainee when she’s close to the finish line. (He forgot what static stretching was that one time. He does not have these floor plans memorized.) To him, those glowing wells at the end are like straight up beacons.

He was absolutely examining her energy.

———

To Ring, syncing probably isn’t worth writing an entire essay about. It’s natural to him, instinctive. It’s Ring making a promise to watch over someone, and to have their back as they will have his. And I think that’s beautiful. Frustrating to my curiosity, but beautiful.

———

TLDR; Synchronizing is a metaphysical bond sustained through Exercise Energy, a substance mentioned once in World 1 that encompasses the whole game. It exists everywhere in everything, in different variations of intensity and purity. Ring especially is partially made of exercise energy. It’s the glowing stuff in his tubes. There’s more, but that’s the gist of it. DISCLAIMER: This is for fun! I just wanted to try my hand at explaining how the magical sentient Pilates ring works. I feel pretty strongly about my conclusions, but I’ll go back and edit this if/when/where applicable. Thank you for reading.

———

EDIT (June 20, 2021): Updated header image. Also added a link to Ring mimicking DI.

EDIT (August 12, 2021): Added links to part 2 and 3.

———

RING ANALYSIS

Part 1: Synchronizing— How it Works and What It Tells Us About Ring

Part 2: Ring’s Powers—And What They All Have In Common

Part 3: Ring’s Biology and Possible Origins

[entropy-game-dev]

Balancing (Part 1) - Overall considerations

In this blog, I’d like to share with you guys some rules of thumb/tips/methodology that I’ve picked up over the course of my first round of inputting robot/move/part data into my various databases. I’ve had this first pass finished for some time now, and I wanted to write up what I’ve found while it’s still somewhat fresh in my mind.

Just as a recap, here’s what I was looking at for each category:

Robots: Stats, elemental affinities, moves, part slots, rewards, recruit conditions

Moves: Element(s) Costs, damage, targeting, secondary effects, status effects

Parts: Stats, elemental affinities, moves, power cost

All these aspects needed to be balanced against one another, and as you can see, there are a lot of things to take into account! I initially found this task quite overwhelming, but began to tackle it one bit at a time.

Primarily, I wanted my robots, moves, and parts to be memorable! My favourite RPGs have really really strong enemy identities, primarily a function of their affinities (if hitting weaknesses was a big part of the battle system), and their moveset. When you have enemies that can seriously affect your action economy by absorbing, reflecting, or take double/triple damage from a particular attack, it really mixes up how you approach any one encounter.

Even parts and moves can be memorable! The Final Fantasy games (I’m thinking mainly of 9 and Tactics Advance here) where equipment grants skills always made it super fun to pick up new gear. Similarly, moves with varying ranges, costs, and conditional effects (such as in Dofus, Wakfu, and Super Robot Wars), made them feel really good to use! Nothing annoys me more than having multiple spells be just copy-pasted with differing elements attached (Final Fantasy and SMT/Persona suffer from this greatly).

Thematic integrity - absolutely no compromises!

I really strugged to come up with the right word here - organic, ludonarrative harmony, thematic, flavor were all considerations - but the exact word doesn't really matter. My main consideration when designing content was that it absolutely MUST make narrative and mechanical sense in-universe. At a basic level, robots built for attacking would have strong offensive stats, and sturdy robots would have strong defensive stats.

Moving deeper, I also wanted their elemental resistances to tell a story. The rubbery-looking robot would reflect kinetic attacks, and a robot with a large generator would be charged by electomagnetive waves. A primitive communications device might act as a vulnerability point that spreads data damage to allies, and a robot made of particularly volatile materials would be sensitive to temporal damage. The same goes for their moves, I mean, if you have a robot that has a move that folds space in on itself, it better have a good reason for doing so!

So when I say no compromise, I mean it! If it meant the robot would be overly hard or easy due to an odd distribution of strengths, weaknesses, or stats, that's just how things have to be. Of course, I made sure that each unit has at the very minimum, one element it was weak to. A physically sturdy unit might have outdated architecture, making it vulnerable to data attacks, or a precisely calibrated timekeeper might be heavily disrupted by precise particle damage.

So I've spoken about this "organic" design moving beyond the specified bounds of balance, but I haven't yet defined what those bounds should be! Let’s have a look at that graph at the top of the blog. There are two axes, with easy/hard on the vertical and variable/homogenized on the horizontal. This represents my two primary considerations when designing interesting and challenging content, and the two areas show off my target zone (purple area) and how willing I am to stray from this (the red area). Importantly, I don't want EVERY enemy to land in the center of this purple zone, but rather, the optimal is to fill the purple zone as much as possible with different, interesting units, some hard, some easy!

The easy-hard axis

The vertical axis is simple to understand - being an indicator of how easy or hard a player would find a particular enemy at the appropriate level, or how much brain power should go into using a particular part or move. Enemies are intuitively easy to understand - challenging amounts of stats, a good spread of resists, interesting moves... basically nothing that'll stop the enemy from appropriately challenging the player.

For parts/moves, “hard” in this case represents those that were difficult but rewarding to use. For example, moves generally have costs that make the prohibitive to spam, and targeting ranges that need to be maximized to get the most use out of them. Parts too followed the same logic, both having bonuses and detriments to stats and affinities + a power cost such that you can’t just equip everything you find without purpose.

I believe that enemies/moves/parts that are harder to fight against/use will most likely more memorable and make for an overall better experience, and this is reflected in my graph's shadings. This is because you'll have to think more carefully and change up your tactics when dealing with them. I feel like this is more reflective of a harsher and more dangerous universe. Especially for someone coming from the past, it wouldn't make sense that some human is easily able to subdue ultra-advanced war machines! That’s not to say that there won’t be easy robots to fight, because fighting only hard things eventually becomes a slog, but on average I aim to make encounters feel dangerous.

The variable-homogenized axis

This one’s a bit tougher to conceptualise, but to me, this represents how much variance something could have relative to the average. An extremely homogenized unit might have 5′s in all stats, and no affinities. Completely run-of-the-mill. On the other hand, a unit that would be considered highly variable would have all its stats at extremes (~1s and ~10s) and no neutral element affinities - you’d always be hitting a strength or weakness no matter what element was used.

Parts and moves are also subject to balancing on this axis. A more "variable" move would have more of it's databases boxes ticked - it might have hp, energy, AND ammo costs, AND do multiple elemental damage, AND have a weird targeting mechanic, AND have an extra effect attached to the move, AND also apply a status effect... that's a lot of "and"s! Same story for parts, parts would be giving bonuses/negatives to almost all stats and resistances, as well as enable usage of several moves. Here, part and move variability is tied somewhat to how easy/hard they are to use.

Overall I wanted content that does require some thought into their pros and cons both inside and outside of battle, but not so much that the player gets overloaded and burnt out due to taking minutes assessing every possible move/target. As a result, there'll naturally be some easier to use moves and parts as well, especially earlier on!

In summary

I didn't want enemies to have too much OR too little going on. They had to be in the realm of "oh no, not this thing - I have to remember it gets healed by chemical damage and can dish out some nasty aoe attacks! Good thing it's slow!" Parts and moves had to have some benefit to using them, and not have any strictly better counterpart. This blog is getting super long so I'm breaking into two parts, with part 2 focusing on some of the tips and tricks I used to help make sure things were kept within reasonable limits.

[just-fandomthings]

For the kiss writing prompt 💕 frostiron + 29. "...as a promise"

Read on AO3 (Post Avengers, 2012)

...as a promise. 

“During my invasion, why did you offer me a drink? You were trying to stall, I’m aware, but why was that the method you chose?”

Stark startles, dropping the gauntlet he’s working on. “What the hell, warn a guy before you appear like that, would you? I’ve got a heart condition.”

“Apologies,” Loki says honestly. “I would have thought you were expecting me; JARVIS told me you agreed I could come down.”

“Yeah, I said you could, but I wasn’t expecting you to be here thirty seconds later. Doesn't matter, I heard you say ‘drink’, are you here to finally collect on my offer?”

“Sir, Loki asked permission to join you ten minutes ago,” JARVIS inputs.

Stark blinks. “Oh. Guess I lost track of time. So, what was your question?”

Loki clears his throat. “I was wondering why you offered me a drink in your tower when you first came to threaten me.”

Stark gives him a strange look. “Well, I needed the bracelets behind the bar so I’d have a suit in case we fought- or, in your case, if you decided to throw me out a window.”

The words are said lightly but Loki still grimaces. “That doesn’t explain why you offered me the drink,” he points out after a moment.

“Why not? I needed to get my bracelets and was planning to pour myself a drink to keep you distracted, so I offered you one too. I’m not sure what answer you’re looking for here.”

“I was not your guest, you owed me nothing. I was your enemy who had just killed your friend- you should have left your armor on when you came inside, instead of selecting a new armor to don.”

“The other one was damaged,” Stark says. “Needed the upgrade- besides, do I have to remind you that was my tower you were using as home base? JARVIS had my back the entire time.”

“Indeed I did,” JARVIS agrees.

“Is this you trying to tell me I’m reckless?” Stark squints at him. “Trying to tell me not to take on an enemy in battle when I’m out of armor or something? Because I gotta tell you, out of everyone on this team except maybe Bruce, I was expecting you to understand that I am more than just-“

“No, that’s not it,” Loki interrupts quickly. “Well, I would rather you not die since you are the least annoying person on this team I’ve been forced on, but I know that you are more than well-equipped to handle any difficult situation with no more than the clothes you are wearing.”

“Thank you, I don’t know why people always assume I’m helpless outside of my armor. And right answer, by the way, I was gonna stick Dum-E on you with the fire extinguisher if you were trying to pull a Cap on me. So, what’s with the third degree, what’re you trying to figure out?”

“I suppose, I am trying to ask why you were polite to me,” Loki mutters. “You did cleverly insult my manhood not a mere minute later, but you saw me in your building, in your home, and your response was to offer me a drink. You certainly weren’t expecting me to accept and talk with you, so why offer it?”

“Uh, common courtesy? Because I wanted to?” Stark frowns at him. “Either of those, both of them really, have your pick. I really don’t see what the big deal is, you know. It‘s not like I had time to stop and think everything through beforehand, so I just did it. And either way, I was going to get a drink as a stalling tactic so I could get to my armor, so why not offer you one too? You haven’t even taken me up on it in the three months you’ve been here, by the way, what's up with that? I thought you would have, to be honest.”

Loki is quiet for a moment. “May I do so later this evening?”

“Seriously?” At Stark’s incredulous inflection, Loki bristles, about to take it back, insult him, and storm out, but Stark surprises him by agreeing, “About time you took me up on my offer! I’m game, but I need to finish this upgrade first. Is my penthouse at eight-thirty alright, maybe later?”

“It’s not as if I will be busy with nefarious plans at that hour,” Loki huffs. “Yes, that is fine.”

Stark grins. “It’s a date then.”

The first two minutes of their conversation is stilted and awkward, with neither of them apparently knowing what to say. It lasts until Stark glances at him, drains the rest of his glass of scotch and goes, “Oh what the hell, I’m going for it. Please don’t smite me for this, okay, because I know you’ve gotten defensive every time someone has asked, but I really want to know about your Seiðr. How you learned it- I’m assuming you were taught- what the scope of your abilities is, and mainly, how it works. From one genius to another, can you please give me some answers?”

Loki blinks, retort dying on his lips. “You truly wish to know?”

“Uh, why would I not? It's probably the most powerful and complex thing I’ve ever come across- which hurts to admit- and I know nothing about it, which sucks, by the way. I hate not knowing things, especially things that interest me.”

“And my Seiðr interests you?”

“Yeah, thought I’d made that pretty obvious by now. I mean, Cap told me off for practically drooling during that battle last week when you eviscerated those doombots. I would have paid good money to see Doom’s face when he saw you literally rip his bots apart with just a wave of your hand.”

“That is but a simple trick,” Loki murmurs. “You are truly fascinated by my Seiðr, aren’t you?”

Stark’s gaze is expressive and searching for a moment before he nods. “It’s probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, and I don’t say that lightly.”

Loki exhales slowly. He thinks Stark might just be genuine. “What do you want to know first?”

It takes only an hour of discussion for them to rearrange the furniture of the penthouse against the wall to give them an open floor space so Loki can show off his Seiðr. Stark keeps up with his conversations remarkably well for a mortal, far surpassing Loki’s expectations, and he finds himself relaxing, indulging in discussion of the more technical aspects of his Seiðr.

When they finally call it a night, hours into the morning, Loki is surprised when he finds himself wishing to stay longer and discuss his Seiðr further with Stark. So few have ever been kind in consideration of his Seiðr, even less have expressed an interest in it, and for Stark to have done both...

Loki doesn’t have words to describe it.

(Later, Loki will consider that evening as the dawn of their friendship.)

It is invigorating to engage in a battle of wits and intellect with Stark, Loki soon comes to find. Such was what had initially impressed him about Stark when he had been under the control of The Other, but with his presence in his mind gone, Loki finds himself naturally drawn to the inventor now. Their conversations are thrilling, and Loki finds himself leaping at the chance to flex his intellect with Stark.

They spend the following months spending an increasing amount of time together, even more so following the cease of Stark’s relationship with Pepper Potts. (Stark isolates for two weeks after that, before he emerges with an impressive performance of being fine.) They discuss in length his Seiðr, Stark’s technology, and other pieces of their lives that they both find interesting.

Stark’s technology, in particular, holds Loki’s attention, for while the designs that Stark has managed to come up with are far superior to anything else on Midgard, a select few are also unlike anything he has come across in his travels of the Realms. It’s an impressive feat, and Loki tells him so.

Loki is also especially fond of Stark’s creations, finding himself impressed by how his bots seem to have such curiosity and personality. (Dum-E and U both, he quickly realizes, are fiercely loyal of Stark.)

As their conversations of his Seiðr continue, it grows impossible to go without mentioning Frigga. Loki isn’t sure what he expects Stark’s reaction to be when he first mentions her, but Stark’s gentle smile and, “She sounds incredible, she must be proud of how talented you are,” far surpasses anything he had expected. The sentiment touches him, and something in their dynamic changes that night.

(Perhaps, it is because that is the night Stark changes to Tony.)

Despite this, they still do not engage in conversation easily about personal topics, both of them with too many difficult stories to wish to recall such information. Still, however, there are many nights where their respective nightmares leave them stripped of their shields, with only vulnerability left behind. It is on those nights that their bond is solidified; empathy and understanding found through sharing stories of past tortures and betrayals.

During one of those nights, Tony tells him of a man called Stane, sharing with him how Dum-E first, and then Pepper, had saved his life. His voice is broken, no more than a whisper, and his hand remains firmly on the device in his chest the entire time he speaks; a further testament to the pain of that betrayal.

Loki vows to him in that moment that he will never betray Tony, he swears it, for he would rather stab his own heart than cause his (only) friend pain in any way.

Tony just looks over at him, his expression sad and resigned all of a sudden. “I don’t think that’s a promise you want to make,” he says quietly. “Not when I’ll likely give you a reason to break it.”

“You know me; I say no less than what I mean,” Loki tells him. “And I can think of no reason that would ever make me want to hurt you or betray you.” He has betrayed others throughout his life, for reasons so little as for fun (stabbing Thor), but he knows he could never harm Tony.

Tony just shrugs. He doesn’t seem to believe him, but he provides no further argument. The blanket covering their laps as they sit together on the sofa suddenly feels stifling, but Loki resolutely ignores it. He understands that Tony’s skepticism is not personal, it is just a mere consequence of being betrayed time and time again by the people he cared about most. Loki knows he would hesitate to accept such a promise as well, even from Tony. Life has taught them both that it’s not safe to trust.

(Perhaps together, they can learn to trust again.)

The other members of the team remain wary of him, distrustful to the point that Loki is certain he will never be able to earn an ounce of trust with them. Outside of Tony, Thor seems to be the most accepting of the fact he is serving a ten year sentence for his attack on New York as a member of their team. Knowing he has Tony‘s friendship makes it easy, however, to disregard the fact that the others do not trust him, even on the field of battle. Never mind that his Seiðr has been limited to keep him in check, they clearly do not trust him to fight on their side. Loki pays this no mind; their belief in him or lack thereof is of no importance to him.

When he finally meets Pepper Potts, Col. James Rhodes, and a man named Happy Hogan, they all threaten him past the point of any return should he hurt Tony in any way. He believes them. The CEO of Tony’s company, his ex, however is the one whose threat genuinely gives him pause. He knows better than to anger her.

But for all their initial threats, the three of them all seem to accept him as Tony’s friend, therefore, as a part of their lives as well. It is awkward at times to be around Potts or Hogan, or even Rhodes when he is able to return home, but those moments of awkwardness, he finds, are worthwhile if it means he can remain at Tony’s side.

It’s a thought that should scare him, that he wants to be wherever Tony is, but he finds himself oddly at peace with that fact. They have grown close over the last five, almost six months since they first shared a drink in Tony’s penthouse, and Tony is incredible, a force of light wherever he goes; it is impossible not to be drawn to Tony, he thinks.

It’s a brisk day in mid-March when he and Tony crowd together on the sofa in his penthouse with a video feed in front of them to watch the fallout of their latest prank on Barton. Tony bursts out laughing at Barton’s indignation and leans against Loki as he praises their prank, saying they absolutely have to prank Cap next. Loki is overcome with joy realizing just how lucky and happy he is to have a friend who partakes and enjoys mischief just as much as he does.

That is also the moment Loki realizes he’s falling in love.

Tony has gone quiet as his side, eyes still sparkling with joy even as he asks, “You okay, Lokes?"

“I’m fine,” Loki reassures. “Just thinking of what to include in our next prank against Captain America himself.”

“I love the way you think,” Tony laughs, snuggling into his side the way he seems to do so frequently, now that Loki thinks about it. “Well, hit me with it. What’re you thinking?”

It’s easy enough to conjure a list of possible pranks at a moment’s notice, and from that moment onward, Loki’s feelings fall to the back of his mind, always quietly lingering in his every thought. Given enough time, he knows they will become a force he cannot hope to control, but that is a problem he can deal with in the future; the present includes planning a prank, and that comes first.

(Later, Loki will consider the moment he realized he was developing feelings for Tony as the day everything changed.)

“Can I join you?”

Loki startles minutely, so caught up in his reading, so relaxed, that he had not been paying attention to his surroundings in any capacity. But this is Tony who has come to his bedroom, and Loki knows he need not keep his guard up when the inventor is around. "Are you alright?" Loki asks, lowering his book to his lap.

"Fine," Tony says automatically. He looks uncertain. "I know you're reading and it's late, so if you want me to leave, don’t hesitate to say so.”

“Nonsense, I always enjoy your company,” Loki reassures absently, frowning at Tony’s haggard experience. He gestures to the space next to him on the bed, adding unnecessarily, “Please, sit.”

Tony hesitates for a moment and then sits down on the bed next to him, leaning back. His hands twist unnaturally together; a sign of his anxiety.

Loki marks his page and sets his book on the nightstand. “Do you wish to talk about what has you so tense?”

“Not really,” Tony mutters. “Not like there’s much to say anyway though. I fell asleep working on an upgraded set of arrows for Clint and woke up screaming. J said you were awake still, so I came up.” He pauses and then adds, "You've been reading all this time? Usually you call it a night at midnight."

"I got enthralled in an old journal on Seiðr and lost track of time. When I realized it was past two, I figured I would wait until I came to a natural stopping point before I retired for the night,” Loki admits ruefully. "I'll be tired in the morning, but it will be well worth it."

"I think I'm rubbing off on you," Tony says lightly. "Staying up until all hours of the night to finish something is my shtick, not yours."

"You have a point. You did, after all, initially encourage my pranks, then you took to assisting me with them, and now you have me staying up to all hours of the night," Loki points out, teasing, participating in the lighthearted atmosphere Tony seems to be trying to create. A distraction for his nightmare, perhaps, and Loki is happy to help. "You are a rather bad influence on me."

"Guilty as charged," Tony agrees, snorting. "Though I'm pretty sure everything prank-related is a result of you being a bad influence on me."

"A mere pleasant consequence of our friendship. You knew what you were getting yourself into when you first let me share a drink with you in your penthouse."

"I did knowingly sign up for all the mischief and chaos, you're right." Tony shrugs, looking pleased. "But as Rhodey will be more than happy to tell you, I caused plenty of trouble throughout my life, so you sadly don't get the privilege of claiming responsibility for all of my evil ways."

"I plan to ask about those stories, just so you know."

Tony laughs, looking lighter now than he had when he had first appeared in Loki's doorway. "Pretty sure you'll have to clear your schedule for the weekend when you do- but keep in mind, Rhodey did also participate in a lot of my plans. He was my partner in crime. So don't let his exasperated tone fool you, he's just as much a prankster as we are."

"In that case, we will have to include him in our plans to prank Thor whenever both your colonel and Thor are present in the Tower," Loki muses.

"Deal," Tony responds instantly. He goes quiet just a moment later, his expression darkening a little.

Loki frowns at the sudden shift in mood. "What's wrong?"

"I should probably go, let you finish the chapter you were reading so you can go to bed."

“I am more than happy to have you here," Loki says carefully, sensing that there is something else weighing on his mind. "But if you wish to go, that is your choice to make.”

“I don’t want to keep you up.”

“Then prepare for bed and lay with me,” Loki says without thinking. He pauses, realizing what he just said. Norns, he had not meant to offer that, but the offer has been extended and he is not one to take back his words. Still though, he clarifies quickly, “It’s an innocent offer, no more than the simple opportunity for you to not be alone tonight, if you don't want to be.”

Tony looks startled. “You want me to stay?”

“You are welcome to, if you want.”

“Why?”

“You are my friend,” Loki says simply. “We have fallen asleep watching movies together on the sofa before and that is fine, is it not?” At Tony’s nod he continues, “So too would your decision to stay here for the night. Nightmares are painful, and if I can offer some small comfort or reassurance of safety, I would happily do so.”

“You’re sure?”

“I mean every word I’ve shared,” Loki says gently.

Tony sighs and leans against him, his head on Loki’s shoulder. “Thanks,” he says softly. “For letting me stay and for not judging me.”

“You know how common my own night terrors are,” Loki points out. "I have nothing to judge."

Tony shrugs but doesn’t offer a response.

“Go, get ready for bed,” Loki says, nudging him with his elbow. “I have placed an additional toothbrush and nightwear for you in the bathroom.”

Tony nods silently and gets up, disappearing into the bathroom. Loki uses the privacy to lay down, trying to quell his racing thoughts and pounding heart. There is something charged and vulnerable between them; it feels like he is balancing precariously on a fraying line. What may happen if it snaps, he’s unsure.

When Tony exits the bathroom a few minutes later, he pauses at the side of the bed for a moment before he pulls back the covers. He doesn’t lay down, however, just says quietly, “You don’t seem as bothered anymore to be serving part of your sentence on the Avengers.”

“Is that a question?” Loki asks, never one to make things easy when he can help it.

“An observation, I think. Am I wrong?”

“No, you are not wrong,” Loki says. He takes a shuddering breath and admits, “I hated this team in the beginning. I was no more than a collection of broken pieces being held together by pure spite, and being placed on this team felt like a death sentence. I expected to hate every moment of my time here, for an abundance of reasons.” He swallows hard, suddenly certain he should not keep going, not when he has already stripped himself bare.

“But?”

As always with Tony, he is the exception to the expectations and restrictions Loki sets for himself. He finds himself staring up at the ceiling and admitting, “But I made a friend, someone who cares about me genuinely for all that I am. It took the work of months before I realized that all the reasons I expected to hate being on this team were insignificant in comparison to the friendship I had found. These last several months, I have found myself slowly recovering from the damage The Other inflicted on me- I am trying to at least- I am trying not to be the monster I was destined to be, and I somehow even find myself happy on occasion, something I thought I was only capable of when creating chaos.”

His bedroom is quiet for a moment. “Sounds like your friend is pretty special,” Tony quips.

“Special is not the most accurate term; short, on the other hand, or perhaps, talkative, or even-”

“You're an ass,” Tony interrupts him, laughing. His expression is pensive, however, as he lays down on his side and looks over at him. “Is that all we are though, just friends?”

Loki freezes. It takes a moment for him to remember to breathe, and then he exhales slowly, rolling over on his side to face Tony as well. “I’m not sure,” he admits, “Are we just friends, in your mind?”

“I asked you first,” Tony points out, smirking a little.

“I gave you a response, however vague, and then asked your thoughts. It’s your turn.”

“Uh huh, you want my thoughts on what exactly? You haven’t really specified what we’re discussing.”

Loki refrains from rolling his eyes despite the way his heart is threatening to pound out of his chest. “What are your thoughts on us,” he emphasizes. “That is what I wish to know.”

Tony’s eyes search him for a moment, perhaps trying to assess if this is part of a joke or if he is being genuine. “I think that you’re a royal pain in the ass a lot of the time, as well as dramatic and passionate, but I like that about you. You’re also mischievous and clever; you're a genius that speaks the same language as me. I also think you have feelings for me, just like I do for you. And I want to see if there can be an us...but maybe after I kiss you?”

“Is that a promise?”

“The romantic speech or the kissing part?”

“The part where you mentioned wanting to see if there can be an us, do you mean that?”

“Of course I mean it." Tony pouts at him.

It suddenly is so easy now to see what has been in front of him for months: their close proximity to each other, the way they are drawn to each other's side, their flirting; it has all been leading to this.

Loki leans over and kisses him. Tony gives a quiet sound of surprise and then relaxes, easing into the kiss with an approach that somehow already feels familiar.

“We need to do this more often,” Tony murmurs when they pull back. He's grinning.

Loki laughs, happy. “That is a promise I can easily keep,” he vows, and kisses him again to prove his point.

End.

[skvaderarts]

Devil May Cry OC Week Day 4!

I’m actually really excited for @dmc-oc-week day for because it gives me the opportunity to talk about Sirrus without delving into spoilers! Yay loopholes!

This contains slight spoilers, but nothing super important. Just keep that in mind. it won’t effect anything, but if you want to go in totally blind, tread carefully.

Dislikes:

Note: if your wondering why I did dislikes first, it’s because that’s just how Sirrus is lol! He’s not a downer, but he likes to think of himself as a realist, but he’s slightly closer to being a pragmatic nihilist, and that lack of optimism lingers in his day to day life because he’s naturally going to have his guard up at all times. He can’t be disappointed if his expectations are nonexistent. Big mood, Sirrus.

1. His father. As previously mentioned, Sirrus is not on good terms with his father. At all. In fact, he’s actively waiting for his father’s hubris to catch up to him along with some of the enemies he’s made along the way so that he himself doesn’t have to confront him and possible end him because he knows he has it coming, but he doesn’t have it in him to do it himself. He’s probably powerful enough, but he just doesn’t have the heart. Despite everything, he’s still got a small ounce of compassion in his heart towards his father that he can’t let go of, something that he loathes about himself. It’s pretty unhealthy.

2. People that abuse power, authority, or social standing. This is actually a large issue in his own immediate family, and that’s part of why his dislike for it is so powerful. He genuinely believes that you should positively contribute to the lives of others if you have the means to, and if nothing else, that you should not detract from them. As a result, he’s developed a dislike of a large portion of people in power because, I mean, fair enough. But his family does not escape this designation, and that’s a large part of why he does what he does. Not because he believes he has superior judgement or standing over others, but because he cannot solve a problem that he does not understand. So as a result, he has to go out into the field and learn from those his work effects. Assuming that he knows what’s best for everyone while simultaneously never having met those people is literally what he hates most about most people in positions of power, and he strives to not do the same. Being powerful doesn’t mean that your smart, and he knows that first hand. I feel like Sirrus would be into the “eat the rich” thing if it was a thing in the DMC universe. Very into it.

3. His mother. I feel like this one may come as a bit of a surprise to some of you who know more about him from the fic since he’s literally only mentioned her once, and doesn’t speak of her in any broad sense, but Sirrus isn’t on the best of terms with his mother, either. He doesn’t harbor any negativity towards them for splitting up when he was young. In fact, he considers it the best thing that either of them has probably ever done. But he has his reasons for not being on good terms with him mom. Day 6 will cover family and background, so I’ll get to go in depth on that day! For now, lets just put it under the broad but totally accurate category of “extremely toxic and codependent relationship” and go from there. Maybe I’ll make a family tree you you can see how messed up everything is! Yea, that would be fun! Would you like to see that?

4. Extreme heat and sun. In truth, while he does in fact become more powerful in bright sunlight, he still hates it. Why? Simple. It gives him migraines due to one of his existing (but not yet disclosed) abilities. And he just hates to be hot. He’s on the pale side (Ok, he almost makes V look like he has a tan.) so he gets sun burned. And because he’s used to a cooler climate, hot places drive him NUTS. I suppose you could say that “Discomfort” is a dislike of his, too.

5. Desk work. This one probably seems pretty random, but as an adjudicator, he actually has to occasionally file reports, and he ABSOLUTELY HATES EVERY SECOND OF IT. He’s good at what he does, no question there, but it’s kind of like being good at sending corporate emails when you hate the fake corporate politeness that you have to maintain, and you basically despise half of the company you work for. Why does he keep the job? Simple. Because no one can abuse the power of the position he’s in if he does it himself. And for him, that’s worth hating a large aspect of his job,

Likes:

1. V. Yup you read that right. Sirrus absolutely adores V, something that he himself is not used to. At this point, he’s not entirely sure what he feels towards him since they haven’t known one another for very long, but he does realize that he means quite a bit to him. After V saved his life in the fic, he really started to pay more attention to him. Before, they were friendly and he had to admit that he actually did find both V and Nero (and Nico, for that matter) really cute, but that was about it. And then as they started spending more time around one another, Sirrus realized that perhaps he liked being around V for a reason. He’s still working on understanding what he feels, but with everything going on in the fic, for now he’s just there to help and figure out what’s going on so that everything turns out alright. Then he can worry about everything else. But for now, he’s just working it out as he goes and trying to distract V from everything going on in the fic. He realizes that he’s got a lot going on, and he genuinely just wants him to be happy for a few damn minuets.

2. Being around equally strange people. Sirrus feels like an outcast most of the time, so as a general rule, he tries to associate with people as little as possible. That being said, the DMC crew makes him feel right at home, and the supreme otherness that he feels much of the time dissipates when he’s with them. It’s a welcome feeling to be sure.

3. Wine. Sirrus actually enjoys wine quite a bit! It’s something he likes the taste of, and due to his biological inability to drink, it’s something he can basically enjoy without consequence. That being said, his favorite wine is absolutely disgusting to basically everyone who’s ever tasted it (aside form V, much to his surprise) and that may be because of a certain added ingredient that was put into it for flavor. What can I say, he has unorthodox tastes!

4. Cooking good food. Sirrus doesn’t actually need to eat, but he does like to entertain those around him. If he likes you, he will cook for you. It’s that simple. It’s something from his own culture that’s been instilled in him; the idea of taking care of those that show kindness to you. And believe me, that doesn’t happen to him very often. He’s largely ostracized in most social interactions despite the fact that he says and does nothing to cause this. Its a key reason as to why he doesn't talk about what he is. It makes people... uncomfortable. And to add to that, he has a sort of aura to him that unnerves people. The way he tends to look at people at though he’s looking through them instead of at them doesn’t help.

5. Fine arts. Something that doesn’t come up much in the books is that Sirrus has hobbies. And a love for the fine arts. All of them. The more unorthodox, the better. Sirrus is that person who is dead inside and will stare at a piece of artwork for ridiculous amounts of time, pondering it’s meaning. Not in a pretensions way, but in a “what the hell am I doing with my life” sort of way. He’s a walking essential crisis, but he’s nothing if not self aware. But in regards to the arts, if it’s a form of expression, then he’s all for it. And he will probably ask you to teach it to him or become a financial patron to your work. He thinks that art and the people that make it are under appreciated, and the idea of art dying out genuinely scares him to death. He doesn’t think a world without art is worth living in. As an extension to this, he loves history. He considered much of it distasteful, but he recognizes it’s importance.

Bonus: Sirrus likes to send extravagant gifts. This is partially due to the fact that he has a very large sum of money and nothing to spend it on. It’s a regular occurrence that you will mention liking something in passing and then end up having it sent to your house out of nowhere. Sirrus did this to V with basically an entire house of furniture, and V is still trying to process it. But this isn’t the only time he’s going to do something like that. Not by a long shot.

Let me know if you have any questions! I love answering them :D And if you have any input, I’ve love to hear that, too!

[black-streak]

Little Pistol - Nothing Personal

Chapter 2

First Previous Next

It'll be a minute before Tim is actually introduced here, by the way. Mostly because I'm not 100% certain who exactly I want him to be affiliated with and how he'll operate yet.

Which reminds me, I'm opening that to a vote that I'll post tomorrow. It's open to all, but anyone tagged in this should expect to be tagged onto that as well. I would like your input, please.

LP Taglist

@zalladane @moonlightstar64 @amayakans @elmokingkong @queen-in-a-flower-crown @karategirl119 @dreamykitty25 @danielslilangel @melicmusicmagic @xahriia @sassakitty

Permanent list

@naoryllis @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @my-name-is-michell @maribat-is-lifeblood @dast218 @novicevoice @shizukiryuu @princess-of-fangirls @bigpicklebananatree @pirats-pizzacanninibles @abrx2002 @breemeister @darkthunder1589 @thestressmademedoit @severelyenchantedwonderland @isabellemasen @multi-fandom-freak0221 @fantasyloversblog @bzz75 @cloudiedraws @jardimazul @orbitsvt @gingerdaile @sotheresthatthought @kadmeread @novaloptr @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @crazylittlemunchkin @18-fandoms-unite-08 @tiny-goddess-of-chaos @ladybug-182 @toodaloo-kangaroo @the-alice-of-hearts

~---~

The next battle came as a stark contrast to the normal. Chat still flirted, still tried to get close, but he kept fighting, kept helping even when she ignored him. Then, the most amazing thing happened. She got hit after getting distracted by one of his comments and instead of yelling at him for it and being pushed off in turn, he turned to the akuma. Without a word from her, he stopped his comments and went after the cursed object with a single minded focus she'd never seen from him before. Within ten minutes with minimal help on her part, he was presenting her with the blackened hair tie of the victim. 

"A token, m'lady," he bowed, but kept his eyes downcast.

"Thank you, Chat," she managed to get out in her surprise, taking the item and working her magic on it and the city alike.

"I'm sorry," he murmured at her side, "I distracted you and got you hurt. That's my fault."

"It is," she agreed, not wanting to lie and say it wasn't, but also fighting back her urge to comfort him, "You'll do better next time," she stated.

"Much better," he promised, peeking up at her in hope of forgiveness. She swallowed back her instinct to grant it.

"Good," she nodded and took off back to school.

…

She spent most of the school day comparing his attitude this time to the last akuma attack, startled to realize what a difference a single conversation could make. She did that. She managed to make him change. Sure, she was injured, but only the once and he even said he was sorry! Took responsibility for his mistakes. That was unprecedented. She couldn't help but wonder how much pushing it would take to stop him completely. To incite obedience. Not that she planned to push it to that level, but it was a curious thing.

As she pondered on the logistics of such an act, just for the fun of it, she stepped out of the classroom, intending to head out for the day, she noticed Chloe shooing Sabrina off. Probably to act on some offhanded whim of the blonde. Marinette can't help the niggling thought of how she could change that as well. What words would it take to set Sabrina free? What made Chloe tick? 

As she passed Alya, the reporter talking to Nino, or rather, at Nino, she thought of how to switch the roles. How to encourage Nino to express himself more openly. To be comfortable in his own skin enough to confidently express it. 

Her grin grew as she planned out exactly how each encounter went down, coming up with on the spot ideas and improvising at a drop of a hat for whatever response they might have. It reminded her of the thrill of figuring out a particularly difficult lucky charm. Plus, it was perfectly harmless to consider right? As long as she didn't act on it. And even if she did, it would benefit them all, so really, it didn't hurt to consider.

And if the outcomes were as good as Chat's were, even better. If she went through with it, that is.

…

A week came and went and as did another attack.

Chat waited until the akuma was caught and purified to flirt, ensuring she never became distracted by him or anything else for that matter. He called out any incoming projectile, caught her attention anytime anything happened that she might've missed. Took another hit for her. That frustrated her, but the rest was a needed reprieve from the stress of akuma's past. And then he started flirting.

"Chat, what are you doing?"

"Well surely, I've proven my dedication to you, m'lady. I figure we might celebrate?"

"You've proven nothing of the sort," she stated, head tilted in confusion.

"I did to! I made sure you weren't harmed, I took the attack seriously, I even apologized and caught the akuma for you last time!"

"That isn't proof of love, Chat. That's basic human decency. I would do that for any hero or civilian for that matter. If that's a show of devotion to you, I'd hate to see how you treat people you're indifferent to," Ladybug countered, lips pursed and eyebrows pinching in.

"I'm perfectly nice to people I don't know," he defended himself quickly.

"Oh," her expression swiftly morphed, eyes widening into a look of taken aback surprise, "So you treat strangers well, but those you care about are lucky to hear an apology from you? Thank kwami I'm a ladybug then, I guess."

"That's not what I meant, of course I apologize when I'm in the wrong," he backtracked.

"So you think last time was the only time you messed up with me," she clarified.

"Well no…" Chat hedged, looking down again.

"You've barely proven that you don't hold malicious intent towards me. Don't push your luck, kitty. Black cats don't have any," she stated, taking off to leave him alone with his thoughts once more.

…

Arriving home, she dropped the transformation, collapsing on her chaise and shaking her head, "I can't believe I said that. Oh my gosh, I actually said that," she stared off into the distance.

"Neither can I. That was very harsh of you, Marinette, I'm disappointed in you," Tikki spoke up from her knee where she sat glaring with a pout on her face.

However, instead of immediately groveling as she normally did, Marinette's eyes sharpened as they snapped to the creature, sick of the treatment she'd received from the goddess since she first implemented this new tactic, "Was anything I said a lie?"

"No, but you could've said it in a nicer way," she insisted.

"When has carefully and nicely ever worked with him in the past?"

Tikki opened her mouth, but Marinette swiftly cut her off, "Never. It always ends with you chastising me and me apologizing for something that wasn't my fault. Nothing ever changed. But this, being direct with him, it works. He's changing, finally," she felt relief in letting this out, especially in the face of someone so hypocritical in her expectations on her compared to that of her so-called partner.

"Marinette, you can't just change people into who you want them to be!"

"I'm not changing him. I'm telling him what I see and how I feel and he is reacting to that information how he sees fit," she corrected, eager now at the prospect once more.

Tikki frowned, considering this point, "That's technically true… I still don't like it though."

"It's okay Tikki, you'll see soon enough," she reassured.

…

As day shifted to night, she pulled out her tablet, checking for any news on her new favorite hero.

Nothing to discover today, though she did start making a few sketches of his suit, looking at possible redesigns. Adjustments or details that could be made to improve the overall look or functionality. Granted, it looked very functional already. 

She was startled to discover that even she wouldn't change much in that aspect. It became blatantly clear that he designed the suit to accommodate him perfectly, playing up his strengths and drawing away from any potential weaknesses. It only further her admiration and assured her of her choices. 

…

The next attack came sooner than expected, Hawkmoth apparently deciding he had more free time than them. As though that hadn't been obvious from the beginning. Surely, they knew that from the start and didn't need this reminder. Didn't the man have a job or something? Could he get back to it, please?

Speaking of, Chat was doing a remarkable job of trying to follow a purified white butterfly off into the horizon, wanting to please her by taking the hunt for the villain to heart. As though she hadn't tried that already. 

You'd think he hadn't listened to a word she'd said before the way he retraced her own work over again. Rolling her eyes, she let him humor himself, waiting until he came back, tail tucked and ears flattened, to admit his failure.

Sitting down, she relaxed into her spot. This was going to take a while.

…

It was three am and she had pulled up the newest article on her Robin. She still hadn't found his official name, but she thrilled to see new pictures of him, though still shadowed and from such terrible angles. Apparently he had more recently been seen working alongside another. Something he hadn't done before as far as the city of Gotham knew, still so ignorant to him being their very own wonderful Robin. She couldn't really be bothered to look further into who he was seen working with, but something in the back of her mind twinged as her heart stuttered to know he was willing to fight alongside another.

Closing up the window and shutting down her tablet, she fell asleep with a smile.

[doctorfiction]

Hi! I have a character that is shot in the head by assassins and ends up permanently blind, but without any other brain damage. As currently is, the bullet goes through the optic nerves - but is this realistic? Is there enough room between the optic nerves and the frontal lobe for a bullet to pass through? Or would it make more sense for the bullet to go somewhere else, like the occipital lobe? Thanks!

Hi! I have a character that is shot in the head by assassins and ends up permanently blind, but without any other brain damage. As currently is, the bullet goes through the optic nerves-but is this realistic? Is there enough room between the optic nerves and the frontal lobes for a bullet to pass through? Or would it make more sense for the bullet to go somewhere else, like the occipital lobe? Thanks!

This is a fantastic question and shows a good basic grasp of neuroanatomy. While a gunshot to one of the optic nerves would result in partial blindness, it would also most probably result in death, or at the very least, a devastating loss of cognitive function. Rendering the victim totally blind would require a second assault on the other optic nerve. The sum total of these combined injuries would be death or at the least a persistent vegetative stage with no conscious brain function.  Occipital lobe injury is a more plausible scenario. Even so, it’s still a very densely populated building with some very sensitive neighbors.

We will approach this dilemma in our usual manner: a minimal number of needed terms, simplified anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology with a drawing to answer your question and a twist that you might find useful in your story.

PROBLEM:

An assassin’s bullet renders a character blind but otherwise sensate with minimal to nil collateral sequelae.

SOLUTION:

What you are looking for is cortical blindness. I am going to give you a plausible scheme for this and present a related condition called blindsight that you may find applicable to your protagonist.

TERMS:

Sight: The special sense by which the color, shape, position and form of objects is perceived when the light from those objects strike the retina.

Blind: Unable to see, lacking the sense of sight.

Cortical Blindness: Loss of vision with an undamaged eye due to injury to the Occipital Cortex.

Blindsight: The ability of individuals with blindness to detect and respond to visual stimuli despite lacking awareness of having seen anything.

Occipital Cortex: Paired region of the brain divided by a sulcus (a narrow tract separating organs). It is located in the posterior and inferior aspect of the brain and takes its name from the nearby occipital bone. It is the site of Visual 1.

ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, and PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

A brief (as humanly possible) explanation of vision as it applies to your scenario; Use this in conjunction with the Illustrations for a walkthrough of the pathways for sight and blindsight.

Retina: Located at the “back” of the eye, this structure creates 2D image and converts it into electrical impulses to be transmitted to Visual 1 in the Occipital Cortex for processing. The receptors include Rods for light-sensing and gray-scale imaging and Cones for the perception of color. This organ then compresses the data to allow transfer along the limited capacity of the Optic Nerve.

Optic Nerves: Known as Cranial Nerve II (CNII), they carry monocular (one -sided) input from the Retina of each eye to the Optic Chiasm where they are converted to binocular signals.

Superior Colliculus: Paired structures in the midbrain that receive input from the optic nerve. Loosely, they allow the cortically blind to perceive and react to movement even though they cannot “see” it in the conventional sense.

Optic Chiasm: The X-shaped area where the Optic Nerves cross and combine the images from both eyes allowing for binocular and stereoscopic vision.

Optic Tracts: These continuations of the Optic Nerves carry information from both left and right eyes from the Optic Chiasm to the LGN.

Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN): One of the nine nuclei the visual inputs pass through on their way to Visual 1; this nucleus is the major relay center for impulses to Visual 1.

Optical Radiations: The sorted fibers from the LGN represent the final transmission pathway to Visual 1.

Visual 1 (V1): Located along the Calcarine Fissure, this structure is the primary processing center for visual data associated with basic sight perception.

Calcarine Fissure: Narrow openings along the medial aspects of the paired Occipital Cortices where the Optical Radiations from the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus link to Visual 1.

SIGNIFICANCE:

So, the take home is this: To result in complete cortical blindness, an injury occurring prior to Visual 1 would need to be penetrating and duplicated on the contra lateral (opposite side.) Due to the other critical structures in this area, the result of the direct contact and “shock wave” of the penetrating missile (bullet) would be gross deformity, loss of cognitive and midbrain function and at best, survival on a respirator.

The only plausible scenario for a single insult resulting in bilateral cortical blindness without gross deformity and loss of cognitive and motor function would be a midline non-penetrating or minimally penetrating injury to the posterior occiput bone.

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY:

A gunshot anywhere along the described pathway will result in a visual defect, but only one spot will cause total Cortical Blindness while preserving the appearance of the eye and giving a chance to avoid catastrophic collateral damage or death.

Both Eyes: This would indeed result in total blindness but would grossly disfigure both eyes and  almost certainly be fatal.

Optic Nerve through the Optic Radiation: To cause total Cortical Blindness would require a shot on both sides and would pass through the Frontal and or Parietal Lobes. Damage would again be catastrophic with a near one-hundred percent certainty of death.

SOLUTION:

The only real possibility would be a single shot through the center of the Posterior Occiput. If the bullet were small bore (22/25 ACP) and round nose, (take a look at my previous post on the effects of different size bullets) there is the possibility that the bullet would not penetrate the occipital bone, but rather the shock wave would shatter the occiput and drive fragments through the narrow sulcus to the Calcarine Fissures bilaterally and result in total Cortical Blindness with little collateral damage.

This is a “long-shot” (excuse the pun,) but it is the most viable scenario and there are anecdotal accounts of precisely this mechanism and outcome.

Fictional Applications:

The fact that this injury leaves all of the “upstream” transmission, integration, and coding intact  allows for some interesting story applications:

Blindsight:

The protagonist is able to “see” things that others cannot:

The protagonist cannot see what’s in front of them …

 . . . but now has the ability to “see” events that are occurring elsewhere. These could be events happening now, events that are about to happen, or “cold case” events that have gone unsolved.

This provides a ready-made opportunity for introspection and character arc:

           Egocentric — Altruistic (Dr Strange)

           Bully — Protector (Pretty Woman))

           If you need a Superhero:

           Powerless — Powerful (Spiderman)

           Or if you need a Supervillain:

           Meek — Aggressor (Megamind)

 Consider the possibilities with a smashing title such as 2020 Blindsight, or Visual 1.

doctorfiction

The Doctor is In

“When to call me: you’ve been stabbed, shot, poisoned, separated from an appendage, knocked or beaten unconscious, run over by a tractor mower, or generally about to bleed to death. Otherwise, leave me alone.”  

— Aurelius Hogue MD, Doc Hollywood, 1991

Welcome. This blog belongs to a long time MD, a short time MFA. Doctor by profession, novelist by habit.

What I do on this blog: Every week, I’ll design infections, injuries, psychoses and neuroses for your fictional characters. You tell me the effect you want and I’ll tell you how they get there. Think of it as medical care in reverse.

What I don’t do on this blog: I do not diagnose or treat your real life infections, injuries, or psychiatric conditions. I do not help you undertake real-life nefarious pursuits. This advice is meant to be taken only in the spirit it is intended: helping bad things happen to good characters, fact meeting fiction.

Ground Rules: My ask box is always open, but the Doctor is only in once a week. Please keep your novel’s specifics out of your message. No character names, keep the scenarios general — we want it to be useful for more than one writer, if we can. Please do provide age and sex and any pertinent pre-existing conditions. I don’t need to see your character’s insurance card.

What is your chief complaint?

The Doctor is in.

— The Doctor

[grouph]

Introduction, Reading I Discourse and Authorship in Design Practice by Aleksandra Czupryna, 25 Sept 2021

I feel like graphic designers and the profession of a graphic designer (and especially those with academic education that stresses conceptual thought) are at a bit of a transformative, awkward, in-between stage of development. The minds of graphic designers that I know from my previous school and from Aalto rarely focus on making good posters or good websites, but rather everyone seems to be seeking first and foremost work that is meaningful to them, and work through which they can express their personal interests. Graphic design right now is clearly not what it used to be.

In his article, Michael Rock states that authored design, in contrast to design that facilitates and “merely” brings form implies a “higher, purer purpose.” I find his statement very compelling because it is truly how the state of things is in graphic design, but it is the first time that I see it stated so clearly by somebody. What I have been recently thinking quite a lot about is that many of us (by us I mean still studying graphic design and searching for a place for ourselves in the industry, trying to figure out what we are going to do in the future), are sort of like artists without a medium. The ideas of authored, self-initiated, speculative or investigative design all sound very compelling but they seem to overlook the simple fact that these research-like / expressive endeavours are not something that can provide income, especially for designers in the beginning of their carriers. Another aspect that also refers to what I wrote about in the previous paragraph, is that while the general public or society clearly perceives directors or authors of films, graphic designers are most often seen as a pair of hands that know how to draw, know some softwares, typography and can whip up a logo in a couple of hours. 

In the book by Andrew Bennett, his description of the medieval sense of authorships, with scribes and commentators adding their input into the final work reminds me of a Talmud layout and Talmudic scholarship. In the book the main text and its readings or interpretations exist side by side. I have pondered about this topic of spoken cultures and traditions before, and to me it seems much more natural and valuable that stories or texts would evolve over time, when passed on through generations. The only constant thing in universe is change and as scientific, social or political paradigms change and are overthrown every hundred years only for the new ones to come in and be overthrown in the future, with authors being blamed for their own lack of knowledge, it would be interesting to imagine what it would be like to have a different system - like the oral system before the introduction of writing was applied to our communication and knowledge creation now - something that would be flexible, facilitating change and evolution - and bringing multiple people’s voices together instead of singular “authors”. Here I am also reminded of a scene from Werner Herzog’s documentary “Lo and Behold,” from 2016, where he introduces Ted Nelson, an internet pioneer and thinker from the 1960s - times of “speculative concepts of a connected world” in the early days of the internet. Ted says that interconnection of everything in the universe has been at the centre of his work for years, focusing especially on the interconnectedness in writings. A system that he invented in the 60s assumed that every text published on the internet that had quotations from other texts, would have the links to the original source texts - in this way all the sources would exist and be readily available at hand at any moment. In his vision nothing would be published out of context. I think these sort of alternative ways to imagine how we function are very valuable, and I would be interested to hear if people know more of these in the class discussions. 

The photos attached are a screenshot from “My Typographies” by Paul Elliman, and a screenshot of Ted Nelsons system from “Lo and Behold” by Werner Herzog (the entire film is on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSbhsPNnVWo)