#i for sure have more thoughts about These Many Episodes but like that's all i can think of for now

[lgbtyrus]

Andi Mack Reunion Live Stream Mini Recap:

-Tyrus is still endgame and had the most perfect wedding ever

-Ambi is canon

-Kippen siblings is canon

-Luke did the rap apology that TJ sang to Buffy and still knew 95% of it

-They said there was basically an entire episode that got deleted where Bex went on a date with someone and Andi was NOT okay with it.

-They all said they'd return for a reunion- Asher the first to say yes.

-They watched a Lemon Boy edit together and Asher said it was a "beautiful edit" and Trent said it was made by a genius and he teared up

-Emily said "Amber loves lesbians"

-The cast sang the theme song acapella 🥺❣️

-Asher had originally said "no" to playing Jonah because he wouldn't play frisbee and they auditioned many more guys until they were like "fuck it let's teach him frisbee"

-Emily had auditioned for Andi but since they had locked in on giving Peyton the role of Andi, they wrote in Amber for Emily specifically 😭 It was because her agent called the producers to say, "We know she messed up the audition, but she'd really like to try again." And after this, Terri knew they had to write in Amber for her.

-They also wrote Iris for Molly

-Terri Minski said Luke's hair was a character in itself. They had told Terri that Luke was an Evangelist Christian, so she took Luke and his parents to lunch to talk about it because she was stressed out because TJ was going to be gay. She had told Luke and his parents what was happening and they cried, and she was so nervous, and they told her that they were so honored. Luke said he thought he was going to get fired because he only shot one episode and didn't understand why he was being taken to lunch.

-The guy whose audition video played before Trent's got the part for 20 seconds before Terri saw Trent's audition

-Terri said Lilan wore the weirdest audition outfit ever, and it was her good luck outfit.

-Terri called them "lighting in a bottle" because she's not sure she'll ever get someone as special as this cast together again

-Tyrus was NOT supposed to be canon, but they shot the scenes anyways. They had said, "We gave you one gay character, we're not going to give you TWO." But they fought hard for it, and they found allies that allowed it to happen.

-Disney is still saying that they are looking for the "new Andi Mack" and Terri is adamant that they already have it, and she would love more than anything to bring the cast back together again for a spin off

-Terri had wanted Andi to repeat the cycle LMAO. AKA, teen pregnancy. Disney said, "NO WAY!"

Here is a pic of the stream before Josh and Trent had to leave! Terri left after a few more questions, too.

DJ Fruity Live Performance

-Younger fans would see Emily and scream "Amber alert!" and run

-Luke uses an Andi Mack journal as his personal diary

-Bi Bex Canon. Lilan said something along the lines of: Did you not see the clothes she'd wear? Of course she's bi.

-They played a behind the scenes clip of the Tyrus bench scene. I screen recorded, but THERE IS LAG. I'm sure there is a better video out there, but here is this for now.

-Luke and Josh wrote an episode of Andi Mack where a blackout happens in Shadyside and nobody can use their phone. Everyone is forced to go outside. But they were too scared to pitch it so nothing ever came of it. They also wrote an outline for an Andi Mack movie.

It was an extremely long live stream, and they were entertaining and funny the entire time. They were able to raise $20k for the families affected by the LA fires, and you can still donate here if you'd like it's live for another week as of now, 1/26/25. I missed them and the Andi Mack magic so much. I hope they do this again in the future.

[massy2ly]

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thinks Fadel and Style would make such FIRE switches.

*Whatever intimate dynamic they have is gorgeous. I just think this could also work for them and would be nice to see*

I remember reading a Tumblr post once that nailed it about Style—he’s such an interesting character because he totally challenges gender boundaries. In real life, sure, it wouldn’t matter AT ALL to know if and how he could be top, bottom or switch, but in BLs, we know they love to mold characters around that intimate dynamic. And honestly? I love how unique Style is because he’s kinda ethereal—it’s hard to slap a label on him. Yeah, he’s sensual, soft, cute, quirky, and definitely a BRAT, but he’s also got this undeniable dominant side. We’ve seen it since episode 1—he’s never backed down from it. I genuinely thought he was gonna be the top in episode 5. Low-key disappointed when I heard he wasn’t in that morning scene (that face Fadel was making, ughhh. I’d let Style do anything to me in that position). To me, Style’s got switch vibes, and his dynamic with Fadel is so balanced that you can’t just pin him as a straight-up bottom. Yes, he likes being manhandled and enjoys Fadel’s strength and roughness but we’ve seen in many scenes that they’re both layered and versatile.

Then you’ve got Fadel—this guy who can’t breathe unless he’s in control, who loves to act all tough and rough, take the lead, and “apparently” pursue his love interests. Style completely wrecked that from day one. He’s been peeling back layers of Fadel, showing him parts of himself he didn’t even know existed or was too scared to embrace. The way Style pursued him, pushed him to his limits, kept flustering him and shaking up his world—he matched Fadel’s roughness with his own sexy, unhinged and bold energy. Style takes all the first moves, is shameless about what he wants, and openly shares his feelings. He forced Fadel to see that, yeah, he DOES like being pursued. He enjoys being charmed, seduced, played with, and made the center of someone’s world. Not just anyone, but a guy as confident, fearless, sexy, and straight-up magnetic as Style. Watching Fadel get vulnerable around him, sometimes even looking small in comparison, is beautiful and terrifying—it’s a whole new world for him, but it’s also a safe space where he can just breathe, relax, and let himself be loved and cherished.

So yeah, I’m all in on them being switches. Fadel would eat it up, letting go in Style’s hands like that? Ugh, too good. He needs it, I’m telling you. And Style would totally nail it, every part of it. (Honestly, I think I’d be more into Style than Fadel just because his whole vibe—his aura, that sex appeal—is just sooo hot. Everyone knows it.)

[ninadove]

And because I now have fancy new tags to put to good use…

Thoughts on Miraculous S6 E2: The Illustrhater 🎨

Please note that this is a salt-free space. I do not want to see even a grain of salt in my notes. You will be blocked on sight. Cool? Cool. (And even if it’s not cool with you… well… blocked on sight… so…)

First things first: the new animation style is actually really cute and works really well in context! Chat in particular looks great, contrary to what that first promotional poster made us fear. Adrien as a civilian might be the one who suffered most, probably because of the hairstyle change… It will need some getting used to, but overall, I like what I’ve seen so far. So much love and care was put into the smallest details, like the sparkles on Mari’s tights!

Special mention:

SHE HAS SPIKES????? LITTLE HAIR SPIKES????? IN HER HAIR????? AND DRAGON SCALES????? AND SLIT PUPILS????? AND HER SUIT LAYS EVEN MORE INTO THE ASYMETRIC VIBE, HIGHLIGHTING HOW MUCH INDEPENDENCE SHE GAINED AND HOW COMFORTABLE SHE IS WITHOUT THE PRESSURE OF BEING PERFECT ALL THE TIME????? AND SHE LOOKS SO HAPPY????? LIKE SHE’S HAVING SO MUCH FUN????? LIKE SOMEONE IN HER LIFE HAS BEEN A GOOD INFLUENCE MAYBE????? 🥺🥺🥺🥺

… Apologies, I seem to have lost the plot for a minute. Where was I?

Oh, yeah. If one thing is clear from this first look at S6, it’s that Marinette’s secrets will catch up to her at some point. The writers lay it on thick in both Alyanette scenes and with the “Even as superheroes, they share everything” DJWiFi/Love Square contrast! It’s not exactly a surprise, but with how many people claimed we would never hear a single word about the Agreste plotline again, I feel somewhat… vindicated.

Marinette not knowing how to act around Adrien actually makes a lot of sense to me? She’s had to be his rock through his grieving process, meaning she has functionally not left Ladybug Mode since the end of S5. Of course when she gets a chance to chill and actually do regular couple things, she gets terribly scared! Seeing her trying to imitate other couples was so funny and cute… Did you know I love her… And Adrien was such a wet cold lost kitten through it all… Did you know I love him…

That being said, this felt like an Alyanette episode first and an OT4 episode second. I loved seeing these four work as a group again! Nino was simply too precious and I loved Adrinette “““covering up””” for Renapace. Rena grabbed Ladybug’s hand for their little manoeuvre like it was second nature to her, which is very reminiscent of Bumbleby from RWBY, aka the Sapphic Battle Couple!

(And that Chekov’s gun… I’m sure we’ve all seen Chekov’s gun…… We shall not mention it yet……… It’s there and we know where it’s headed…………)

But of course. Of course. The character who shone the brightest in this episode? Was Lila.

It’s clear from the get-go how different she is from Monarch!!! Smarter, more manipulative, but perhaps also… more compassionate, in a twisted way…? She gives her victims the illusion of choice (“Only if you agree, of course” // “And what shall I call you?”), making herself small when she first approaches them only to reveal her full size when the magic takes over.

AND YET it seems to me she must know pain intimately to leverage it so well… Really makes you ponder the Manon theory, especially when comparing Illustrhater and Puppeteer’s costumes…

Another key difference with Gabriel is that she is on the field, constantly observing and taking notes, which is extremely scary but also exposes her to more risks. I’m very curious to learn more about this chameleon magic of hers and what she means by “you’ll know nothing about me, about us, bout them”… She seems to think of herself as the center of a web, a spider rather than a butterfly, if you will!

(Also, the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the Diabolo menthe reference was intentional!)

[drama-glob]

As I mentioned last week, I was going to do an anniversary post for episode 5 and 6 of "Hazbin Hotel" airing, so here you go! ^_^ This is when we officially got introduced to Lucifer and many of us instantly related to his "Take that, depression!" line. ;) I thought it was adorable though seeing him be sweet with KeeKee as well as briefly go dad-mode on Razzle and Dazzle. ;) XD Lucifer and Alastor's rivalry cracked me up and I can't wait to see it continue in Season 2. ;) XD We also got treated to some amazing songs in these two episodes like "Hell's Greatest Dad," "More Than Anything" and "You Didn't Know;" I know I listen to the first one at least once a week. ;) Yikes though to seeing Alastor remind us all how beneath his charming persona, he's still a manipulative, scary and violent Sinner who refuses to be seen as weak. O_O

Getting to see Lucifer and Charlie's relationship start to heal after years of barely seeing or even talking with each other melted my heart, and I'm so glad Lucifer is going to do what he can to support his daughter now so he's not like the angels before him that crushed his ideas. <3<3<3

The club scene had me mainly distracted by Sir Pentious being adorable and trying to get with Cherri, but Angel Dust standing up to Valentino was awesome! ^_^<3<3<3 I'm also glad Niffty got some of Valentino's neck fluff as a bit of retribution, and he better watch out so that she doesn't come for more. O_O ;) It was nice to see Husk look out for Angel Dust too and for Angel in turn to look out for Niffty when she got drunk. ^_^<3<3<3

I'm excited to explore more of Heaven in Season 2, even though I'm with Vaggie here that the place seems really bright and I know seeing Heaven benefit from humans being given free will so they could be able to have ideas and discover stuff leaves a bad taste in my mouth. :/ Also, I know most of us already assume Vaggie was an ex-exorcist, but to see how she was viscerally maimed and left behind for showing mercy was intense. O_O Meeting Emily was delightful in my opinion too and for sure Charlie is going to need all the allies she can get with Sera, Adam, Lute, and any others that think the Extermination is justifiable/necessary despite the hypocrisy it means for Heaven to allow it. :/ Her joining Charlie at the end of "You Didn't Know" was great and the court (but especially Sera) needed to hear it, even if Sera still refused to really hear them out about redemption. Adam was definitely being a petty asshole though for revealing Vaggie's secret like this. >:(

I'll do the anniversary post for episodes 7 and 8 next week, so stay tuned as Alastor would say. ;)

[soo-won]

Za Hana to Yume Fantasy 2025 : Akatsuki no Yona / Shishidou Akari X Kusanagi Mizuho Q&A

Everything the Vtuber Shishidou Akari is curious about in Akatsuki no Yona!

The story is in the middle of its final arc! Akatsuki no Yona keeps getting more and more exciting. Shishidou Akari, an avid Akatsuki no Yona reader who is part of the group of virtual streamers “Nijisanji”, is now asking all she’s curious about in the story! What are the scenes that left an impact on Kusanagi-sensei? What are her tricks when she feels blocked with her work…?! A must-read for all fans ☆ Plus, Shishidou Akari also shares with us her favorite parts and scenes in Akatsuki no Yona ♪

The story of the fan Shishidou Akari! The best points of Akatsuki no Yona.

The meeting with Akatsuki no Yona:

Shishidou: I learned about Akatsuki no Yona from my recommendations on an anime streaming site. At first I wasn’t sure if it was a battle anime, but I thought I would give the first episode a try. So I thought, but before I realized I was at the final episode, I had bought all the manga volumes and it had already become my favorite series! It’s only been a couple of years so I’m still a novice, but I’m so happy I got to know such a great story!!

The best points of Akatsuki no Yona:

Shishidou: The characters! The story! The art! Everything is the best! My favorite characters are Yona, Hak and Yoon. I love Yona’s continuous growth, how Hak is so unwavering and reassuring, and how Yoon is always so reliable despite being cute, but I think everyone is amazing and that every character  has their own individual charm! There are 45 volumes now, and I keep wondering how can such a long series be so thoroughly enjoyable?! Everytime I add a volume to my pile, my heart swings between impatiently waiting for what will happen next and really not wanting it to end…! I’m really looking forward to this campaign as well!

My favorite scenes in Akatsuki no Yona: 

Shishidou: This is at the very beginning, but I love the scene when Yona is captured by Soo-won and his followers and Hak rescues her. (Yona has other allies but,) watching Hak fight countless enemies and protect Yona to cling to life as her only ally really shoots me right in the heart. I have so many scenes I love that I could never write about all of them here, but I’m very happy that in a story full of battles and about reuniting new friends, there are also regular scenes between Hak and Yona that get me so many butterflies in my stomach. I think it’s amazing that both women and men can enjoy it! I will keep watching over Yona and Hak!

Shishidou Akari x Kusanagi Mizuho 

Q&A about everything Shishidou Akari wants to know!

Kusanagi-sensei replied to the 9 questions Shishidou-san asked her! Now sharing it in the form of a conversation.

Shishidou: My favorite character is Hak, but do you have favorites and characters you particularly like too? I wonder if creating characters you love can become an obstacle for the manga…? Is there anything like this for you? 

Kusanagi: I don’t have any favorite characters, but I really like to draw characters that don’t often appear in the story like Tae-woo and Hen-dae, or Algira&co. When it comes to Yona’s group and Soo-won, it’s more like I’m fighting alongside them. The characters I love in other stories are a different thing from my own characters.

Shishidou: Akatsuki no Yona has been adored for many years, but what are the scenes that left an impression on you in particular? 

Kusanagi: If we go back several years in the past, chapter 91 “He was a very precious friend”, chapter 120 “Reach” and chapter 152 “I care about many things” come to mind.

In the present, I’d say chapter 197 “Shaky handwriting” from Yonhi’s memoirs arc. It’s the episode where Il addresses a letter to the departed Yonhi. I don’t often have the occasion to portray the emotions of characters like him so I’m glad I could draw it.

Shishidou: Is there any scene that makes you like “Ah! This one has a deeper meaning, you know!”? If so, please tell us which ones!

Kusanagi: I’m not sure if this counts, but when Zeno transformed into a dragon in chapter 259, he swept Hak and Yona away in the direction of Hiryuu’s coffin with his dragon’s hand. He actually did this on purpose so they wouldn’t be crushed by the debris of the collapsing palace. (Zeno knew that no debris would fall on the coffin because of the Dragon Gods’ protection.)

Shishidou: If you could change into any of your characters, which one would you like to be? I’d want to be Jae-ha so I could fly!

Kusanagi: I feel this! I’d like to be Jaeha too so I could jump around anywhere like in parkour. I’d like to have a healthy body with good motor skills.

Shishidou: If you could become a citizen of any of the five tribes, which tribe would you choose?

Kusanagi: Of course, the wind tribe is the first that comes to mind. You probably can live freely and at your own leisure without any pressure from above, there. But public order has been restored in all the tribes, and they have improved in many ways, so any of them might be pretty nice now.

Shishidou: How do you get back on track when you feel blocked and can’t advance on your work? 

Kusanagi: Generally the root of the block is that I’m sleep deprived, so lately I’ve been trying to stop pushing myself more than strictly needed to get some sleep. When I absolutely don’t have the time to sleep, I shake myself like “It’s bad!! It’s very bad!!” to get things done. Eating makes me sleepy so I’m also holding off eating a little in those cases. 

Shishidou: In the story, the characters are wearing Chinese garments, but what would Yona and the others wear if they were living in the real world of today? 

Kusanagi: I’d like to make Yona wear boyish clothes. Otherwise it’s pretty basic, but I’d give tall characters like Hak and Jae-ha a long coat with a mature look.

Shishidou: What kind of cooking is Yoon skilled at? I want to eat it.

Kusanagi: He’s good at hot pot cooking and any recipes that mix rice with various ingredients. But it’s not like he could get any fancy ingredients when he was living with Ik-soo or when he traveled, so his culinary repertoire is actually not that big.

Shishidou: What kind of person is Kye-sook…? I wonder if he’s nothing more than an advisor…? Who is he really? 

Kusanagi: Since he was a central figure with Soo-won that planned out the usurpation of the throne, he probably has a lot of discretion for a simple advisor. As he said himself, he “was born with no status to speak of”. He was a commoner, joined the general troops of the sky tribe army when he was a young boy, and after being gravely injured and picked up by Yuhon, he received an education and studied the art of war together with Soo-won and Min-soo in Yu-hon’s mansion. (Min-soo’s major study was medecine)

Speaking of Soo-won’s childhood friends, there are of course Yona and Hak, but Kye-sook and Min-soo were his childhood friends as well. Since he was living in the same place as Soo-won day to day, it means that Kye-sook even spent more time by Soo-won’s side than YonaHak did. He worshiped Yu-hon and deeply despised Il, so he used every means necessary to make Soo-won the King, and he was very wary of Hak that (seemed to) threaten Soo-won’s life.

[ninthprime]

severance 2x02 thoughts (spoilers)

you all seemed to enjoy my thoughts last time. so. let’s keep doing this

not only did i accurately predict most of this episode in my last post (they let the others back because they need mark, dylan is back because he needs to support his family, etc) but i also used the phrase “occam’s razor” and devon uses the exact same term this episode. feeling like a real severance understander over here

fellow fans of the “outie irving used to have milchick’s job” theory- do we think his scene with milchick this episode disproves it? there’s nothing specific about the scene that would completely throw it away, but i doubt they’d fire irving so easily if they knew he had unsevered knowledge of the severed floor. maybe he was severed when he had the position, and they had to re-sever him/implant a new chip/whatever that would entail? and whatever went wrong there led to managers like milchick and cobel being required to be unsevered? we pretty much know that irving worked at lumon before being a severed member of MDR (he has an early ID number but has only been in MDR for three years), so it’s a matter of connecting the dots. maybe the wrongful assumption we’re making is that he’s painting the testing floor elevator from his own memories, rather than, say, a description from someone else (reintegrated petey?).

i agree with many that there’s a reason we didn’t see the immediate aftermath of the season 1 finale for irving and burt, but i’m not sure if it’s the reason a lot of people are predicting (that they know each other outside of being severed). i feel like it may be something stranger and more lore-heavy. kind of wondering if burt is reintegrated in some way or otherwise has knowledge of irving that irving wouldn’t know about. one of my questions about season 1 that i’ve never really seen anyone else ask is “why does optics & design need to be severed?” with MDR we now know it’s because their work contributes to some sort of strange experiment with testing floor subjects (ie. miss casey), which lumon would want to keep secret, but we don’t know why O&D’s work is also hidden. my inclination is that burt knows more than he’s saying.

that said if we’re supposed to get an old gay spies vibe from outie irving/burt then i think it should have the tone of chris fleming’s description of the film heat

similarly, i think they’re keeping gretchen hidden from us not because she’s someone we already know but to make us question things when dylan gets to go to that “visitation suite.” that way they can have a big reveal that the “wife” dylan gets to meet there is fake or, maybe even more interesting, that she’s in fact his wife with no tricks involved.

and one last thing that this episode purposefully keeps from us: miss huang being assigned to milchick’s old position! that’s hiding something.

i don’t think it’s important or anything but i would love to have elaboration on the lumon chain of command and on helena and milchick’s relationship. she’s his boss but he’s also the boss of her severed self? he has to answer to her outside of the severed floor but down there he can break room torment her as needed for the sake of lumon? fucking wild. really shows how much the lumon higher-ups have driven any idea that the innies are people out of their minds- milchick can do it with the heir to the company.

thought about why i’m generally enjoying mark/helly (and gemma/mark/helly) when it’s usually not what i’d be into and this episode led me to realize it’s because of how completely fucked up it could get. yeah, let’s get the outies in here, let’s make this even more potentially cursed. we ask if love can transcend severance. if that’s true, is it always a good thing? is it the way things should be? i’m excited for the answers to feel like a hammer blow.

one thing i haven’t seen people mention about the confirmation that lumon needs mark for The Miss Casey Experiment aka Cold Harbor is that it implicitly gives a time limit for this season. if mark finishes the cold harbor file and the experiment is a success, can they just fire him and the rest of the team at that point? would they feel the need to silence any of them further as outies? hell, devon tells milchick she spoke to innie mark in this episode- does that put devon and her family under threat? i imagine this may end up being the climax of the season, along with revealing whatever cold harbor is.

my loudest reaction while watching this one was a barking laugh at the first image of milchick with the pineapple on mark’s porch. incredible

“i ate your shitty fucking cookies” is an all-time adam scott line read. and it’s good to once again be reminded why david lynch’s nickname for patricia arquette was “solid gold”

[pommunist]

finally feel like i’ve watched enough povs to be able to rank each life series seasons so here’s me yapping about it

1)Limited Life : Felt like it was carefully created in a lab to appeal to me I love everything about it. The time theme, all the alliances are so good and have such fun dynamics with each other and within themselves, my favorite finale, the high number of lives made it possible for many fun kills and cool pvp moments, i love you limited life my perfect baby girl. i have many more thoughts about it but the general idea is that i love her <3333

2)Third Life : [GUNSHOT] [CAR CRASH] [VINE BOOM] [PEOPLE SCREAMING] [SIRENS] [GLASS BREAKS] [DISTANT YELLING] [EXPLOSION] yeah :)

3)Double Life aka Tragic Irony : the romcom !!! The best narrative wise with third life for sure… I could make an entire different post about all the accidental foreshadowings, symbolisms, parallels and tchekov’s guns moments that are in it it makes me so insane. One for the girlies who love putting on their tinfoil hats and look for patterns. also it’s such a funny comedic season ???? until it’s not 😀

4)Secret Life : she’s like the weird filler episode in which everyone is doing weird activities and acting ooc to me. a very fun time + the alliances are all very cool but once the red tasks started i feel like it lost some of its fun and whimsy :( i do love the winner’s arc in it tho

5) Wild Life : feels like watching cocomelon while overdosing on caffeine. what is going one i swear i watched many pics and still couldn’t tell you who is allied with who ??? everyone is too busy with the wildcards to do anything else which is fun to watch but i prefer when it’s more focused on the interpersonal dynamics side of things. perfect winner for it tho (which is true for all seasons btw i could also talk about each winner’s relation to their respective season in great lengths)

6)Last Life : thank you for giving us the boogey curse sadly i will forever dislike the « reds have to cut ties with previous allies » rule…. why… made everything flow weirdly and it got confusing + made alliances a bit meaningless.

bonus : real life im sure you’re very fun but im sensible to motion sickness so i will never know for sure 👍

[egophiliac]

I was wanting to try doing an art piece in the style of the signature spell poster art pieces you create. But I’m not really the best at coming up with a composition for such a thing.

Do you have a process for how you come up with the compositions for them?

oh, awesome! it is an INCREDIBLY enjoyable style to work in; I hope you have fun with it! :D

I'm not great at putting my thought/art process into words, so my apologies if this doesn't make a lot of sense, but I'll try! my first step is always to do a LOT of thumbnails to figure out both the idea and how I want to show it; not trying to do a real sketch or anything, just little doodles to figure out what exactly I'm trying to portray. (I also call these "garbage passes" because they're not meant to be any good, they're just there to throw things out. aha. ha. ...anyway.) I think it's important during that first stage to really focus on the idea and the layout and not to get too bogged down in the actual drawing yet!

I tend to save my final thumbnails, so I'll use 'em as examples (I posted the ones up through episode 5 here if you're interested!) (and, uhhh, spoilers through episode 5 also in this post, hopefully that won't be an issue!)

the main thing I try to think about in composition is balance -- not necessarily in terms of symmetry, but in where each element is placed and how much space it's taking up. remember, empty space is still space! it's also really important to think about the parts that don't have anything in them, as much as the parts that do!

personally, I like to divide things up roughly by both halves and by thirds -- there's a lot more in-depth info out there on why the "rule of thirds" in particular works well visually, but in short, our brains tend to focus on things that are placed closer to imaginary division lines, instead of in the exact center of an image. so even when I'm doing something that is very centered and symmetrical, I try to keep that in mind and generally aim around those for landmarks like faces/eyes (or...where they would be, anyway) and other focal points.

it's not a formula of "the character's face should be in this division of this grid" or anything, more like "our minds like to focus on these areas, let's think about how to use that", if that makes sense! and of course rules are made to be broken, art is lawless anarchy, and so on. but it can be a good starting place for deciding where you want to put things!

(blue - thirds, red - half)

and against the finished versions, because they do usually end up changing a lot (including the empty space of the border):

(...these actually lined up a lot better than I thought they would. :') it makes me look like I do things way more intentionally than I do.)

other stuff I just try to keep in mind is that our eyes like following arcs and paths, which can be a good way to guide the eye:

and frame and control the focus:

honestly, composition is one of those things I feel like I struggle with a lot, so I'm not sure how much of this is helpful or actually makes sense outside of my head. but hopefully it helps a little! it's all just stuff to think about while drawing and not anything hard-and-fast, so don't, like, stress out about making sure things are lining up exactly on the thirds or anything. again, it's more "our brains think these are the dopest parts of the rectangle" than anything else! take advantage of the cool parts of the rectangle!

NOW GO HAVE FUN DRAWING seriously though, it is always super cool that other people like this idea and style enough to want to do it themselves and for other/their own characters! thank you! ❤️❤️❤️

[thevegetablewhichnoonedaresname]

I'm starting Mission to Zyxx Season 5 now, and I have feelings about that.

First, it generally scares me when people hype anything up at all because there is no guarantee that anyone values the exact same thing I do to the same degree. Even if I trust the creators of a thing to value something and try to do right by it, that doesn't always necessarily mean it will be successful, especially if that involves doing something wildly different than what made it good in the first place (I have been burned this way before). I guess I'm just hoping they continue the format of goofy improv shenanigans for the majority of it with something more planned and emotional in the finale if they want, like they've been doing all along. I'd think they would, and I've heard nothing bad about the ending, but I guess it still makes me nervous because I'm so close to the end and I want it so badly to stick the landing. I'm setting my expectations on the floor so I can be surprised instead of disappointed, but honestly, I don't need it to be better, I just need it to be on par with the rest.

Second, and more briefly, I'm happy it's (hopefully) ending before it has a chance to decline. I am so on board with that philosophy. But on the other hand, finishing a thing that I really, really like and knowing there's not another one out there gives me a special kind of heartache. Like, I know there will be other good media, and stuff that's good and unique in other ways, but I know for a fact that there are no other podcasts out there that have the same mix of a balance of off-the-wall improv and structured narrative, quality comedy, fantastical sci-fi setting and loveable characters, and high quality production. There are other things out there with many of those qualities, but nothing that checks every one of those boxes. It's a lightning-in-a-bottle thing that very much feels like the right people had to be in the right place at the right time to do it. Attempts to do it again would feel hollow because it had to be born out of necessity and passion and the talents of the people involved, so if you switch out the people it loses the reasons it's great, and if the same people tried to do it again it'd feel tired. That makes me so, so grateful it exists, but also so, so sad that it doesn't, and I'm 80% of the way done. When it's over, it's over.

Anyway. Now that that's all out there, I'm just gonna finish listening and have fun. Wish me luck.

[rpfofficial]

character wrapped 2023 💥

tagged by @davidtennantpussytulpa ^-^ i didn't know how many to do so i copied tara and did top 10. i know the severance guys are Four Of Them but i can't separate them theyre all equally important to me

will graham (hannibal), em haywood (nope), aziraphale (good omens), mark & dylan & helly & irving (severance), hawkeye pierce (mash), martha jones (doctor who), ivan karamazov (the brothers karamazov), kim kitsuragi (disco elysium), stewy hosseini (succession), ruescott melshi (andor/rogue one)

i will tag... @fagician @britomart @libraryfag @roadwhores @majorbaby @globuspolski @hadleyfraserfaggot @tenderscience if u want to ^-^

[amelikos]

Sango being a loudmouth who goes at her own pace and often questions orders, yet cowers at any sign of an authority figure intimidating her is such an intriguing contrast in her character.

She quickly complied and behaved when Hamber asked her and Onyx if they were protesting his orders in HZ024. Kaede glaring at her and scolding her after she made a mess of the cooking competition in HZ047 actually worked, and Sango felt cornered enough that she decided to leave. Kihada explaining the battle rules to her in HZ055 and Aoki telling her that her personal rules don't apply in society got her frustrated and upset enough that she just ended up leaving the battlefield.

There are just many recurring instances of Sango reacting in similar ways towards authority figures. They don't necessarily have to raise their voice at her, yet Sango feels easily intimidated and overwhelmed by implied threats and criticism.

[autism-disco]

the unending cosmic horrors of the universe versus A Song

[aq2003]

almost forgot. ten's run episode ranking (nine ranking here)

some stray thoughts and opinions under the cut

my overall ranking for the series so far would be 4 > 1 >= 3 > 2. donna sweep babygirl

"i have brain damage" tier would've been called "the qpr meth has gotten to me" but then i remembered how absolutely glued to the screen i was for sound of drums <3 all of the other episodes there are either donna episodes or episodes where ten goes through horrors specifically bc donna isn't there and sound of drums is the exception lmao

by default i think simm!master is the best main villain in ten's run. he is still very goofy like the cybermen and the daleks (and 98% of the villains in this show really) but simm!master has that toxic doomed yaoi backing him and that means everything in the world. rtd drop your simm!master spotify playlist

it is SO CRAZY how an episode called "planet of the ood" can make me cry. but it did. and i love it for it. i love the ood so much. they are my little guys

stolen earth/journey's end was my least favorite arc in main series 4 - which is just a testament to how much i loved the rest of it lmao. like i still rly liked the finale, and the scene of davros pointing out that ten turned their friends into soldiers and how it was framed almost like they were being put on trial. Was so fucking juicy. but it felt overall like the story was doing that "trying to include everyone" thing and the pacing felt off as a result. like i rly needed the donna mind wipe scene to be longer it was goin so fast i couldn't process it

42 goes so crazy and i love it so much bc to me it is the defining tenmartha episode. you have that showcase of deep inherent trust, of swearing to save each other, of being the person the other needs bc is there anyone else. but you also have ten screaming at her to kill him so that he won't hurt anyone and then at the end, deflecting and refusing to talk w her about it. "burn with me martha" is like that previously-unspoken-now-brought-to-front undercurrent to their whole relationship and ten says it while being possessed by a rageful vindictive sun. waow

i really dislike the temporary companions (astrid and christina in voyage of the damned and planet of the dead respectively). not the characters themselves but the timing and role they have in the story and how they're framed. i do understand that part of ten's character is that he gets attached very easily and can't stand being on his own, but also for astrid this was directly post-martha where ten's realized he's been fucking up her life by acting the way he did. and for christina this was post-donna and pre-time-lord-victorious. forming a friendship that ends w/ tragedy or ten pushing them away i can see, but romantic tension is pushing it HARD. which leads me to my next deranged point

ten is aroace to me i'm so sorry society he clocked the aroace meter the minute the story decided to introduce donna and then in series 4 make them the soulmates of all time while there isnt a HINT of romantic tension between them. and there is something so narratively aspec about ten being created by and for love but sometimes his love isn't enough/isn't the right kind and everyone will leave or find someone else. being an alien can be a metaphor for being aroace if i'm crazy enough about it (and also if their humanity is a constant theme to their arc that is hammered in time and time again)

i forgot i was supposed to talk about the episodes hold on a second

one of the most out of body experiences i had was watching love and monsters, really quite liking it (despite finding the ending weird) because it's a grounded and solid episode w strong characterization and really great jackie and rose moments, only to find out this episode is nearly universally despised by the dr who fanbase. help girl

the human ten arc probably has the most underrated villains in the show. i just really love that concept of monsters that need to eat timelords in order to survive, and ten giving them one chance to be spared of his rage and die peacefully by turning himself into a human for a hot minute. it's just really neat idk.

time lord victorious my babygirl. like oh my god i was wondering for the entire time how the fuck does ten go from "vain/overconfident but at heart always driven by his love for others" to "god complex" and the answer to this question is "you take away everyone he cares about and make him watch more and more people die in front of him until he just fucking snaps". at the end of waters of mars i was almost expecting him to knock 4 times on the tardis door himself and was so glad it didnt happen. etc etc. i'm also really glad that it doesn't last for more than 5 minutes. what he does essentially haunts him for the rest of his (short) life and that's so so important

end of time part 2 doesn't get a ranking. it is simultaneously the best episode and worst episode. it made me cry my eyes out three separate times. like it's not even an episode anymore it's like an experience. specifically one akin to watching a good friend you made over the course of 16 days die in front of you. i felt my soul being sucked out and i wont ever feel anything again (until the 60th anniversary specials fix me). god fucking bless

but pairing up martha and mickey out of nowhere was so so fucking bad and i need to actually murder whoever made that decision

[jeo9n]

INSTAGRAM

you’ve been texting jungkook on instagram non stop ever since he opened his account as a joke. but what you didn’t expect was for him to actually text you back.

౨ৎ

pairing: jeon jungkook x reader

genre: fluff, slow burn, friends to lovers, future smut

warnings: none

wordcount: 2k

you get woken up by your alarm at exactly 6am. like everyday, you open your eyes and the first thing you do is check your phone. catching up with everything that happened while you were asleep. texting your friends back that live in a different time zone than you.

you’re tired but you get out of bed anyway. you have to get ready for work. even if your body is screaming for you to stay in bed.

the first thing you do is make your bed so it prevents from laying back down. you already took a shower yesterday night, which you thank yourself as it saves you time this morning. so all you have to do is brush your teeth and wash your face.

when you’re done with that you make yourself a coffee and start to get dressed. you keep your outfit simple with some baggy jeans and a black long sleeve top because you’d rather be comfortable than fashionable. you always make sure to never leave the house without spraying perfume everywhere on your body. you forgot to but some on one day as you were running late, only noticing when you were already at work and someone might say it’s stupid but you didn’t feel good that day, you didn’t feel like yourself without your sweet perfume. you love to smell good, you love getting compliments on your scent, you love people smelling you before they even see you.

ever since that you never forgot to put perfume on again, but carrying around a travel size bottle of your favorite perfume in your bag just in case.

you pet your cats goodbye one last time before you leave your apartment. you hate leaving them home alone but thankfully they have each other so they are not really "alone" but it still hurts you.

you’re already on the way to the small coffee shop that you work at , as you remember you haven’t texted your boyfriend (jungkook) a good morning text yet. so you pull your phone at your pocket and text him right away. the chat is filled with hundreds of your messages texting him random stuff about how your day was and occasionally sending him some memes and reels you thought were funny.

y/n: good morning jungkoookkk!!

y/n: i’m on my way to work.

y/n: you’re probably asleep but have a good day.

you smile to yourself as you double text him. your not texting him in hopes to get a text back, cause that would be crazy. i mean, that guys is crazy famous of course he’s not going to text me back. you just think it’s funny, although sometimes you think it’s actually kinda weird and you should probably stop, but you never actually do.

as you open the door to your workplace you’re instantly greeted with the delicious smell of coffee, which reminds you, you still have your empty cup of coffee in your hands which you forgot to throw away. your coworker greets you good morning as she looks up from behind the counter.

"good morning. leslie." you greet back as you throw your coffee away. "ugh i really don’t feel like working today." you tell her, while taking of your jacket. she laughs and agrees with you.

"girl, i literally stayed up all night binge watching true crime documentaries." she tells me. "look at my eye bags! i can’t even cover them up with makeup." she says as she lifts up her hand to show me her dark eye bags. "but i guess it’s my own fault. i knew i should’ve turned the tv off after the first episode." she says in frustration and it makes me laugh. i can totally relate to her. you tell yourself one more episode and suddenly the sun comes up and you finished the whole show, wondering where the time went.

happened to me one too many times.

"yea…" you say, tying your apron at you back. "been there, done that." and she smiles softly in response. "should i make you a coffee? cause you really look like you need one." you tell her as you point to your eye bags, mocking her.

she laughs and kicks you jokingly "yes please! make it extra strong."

"will do." you say in a laugh, already on your way to the coffee machine. it’s definitely gonna be a long day for leslie today.

you put the coffee down carefully, not trying to spill the hot coffee all over the counter. "here you go, extra strong for you, your highness. " you bow to her jokingly while laughing like an idiot.

"you’re so stupid." she laughs with you, bringing the coffee up to her lips, trying to take a sip.

you worked a little longer today as usual since it was busy. but you don’t mind. working extra hours means extra money and you would never complain about that.

you take you shoes off and wash your hands as soon as you get home. after that you change into more comfy close just some sweatpants and hoodie and you already feel way better. you walk to your kitchen to feed your cats, who are acting like you leave them out to starve and never feed them. after your done with that you wash your hands again and make yourself something to eat since you only had breakfast today. you decide for pizza today as it doesn’t take long to be ready. you shove it into the oven and while you wait you brows through your phone. you lean against the counter and watch some tiktok’s to make to the time go by faster.

the pizza is done in under 20 times. thankfully. you cannot wait longer or else your stomach is gonna start eating itself. you sit down on your couch with your pizza on your lap. you try to take a bite but it’s still too hot so start browsing through netflix instead to find something to watch while your eating. when you find something your pizza has cooled down already so you start eating.

after your done, you get up and do the dishes right away so you don’t have to worry about it later. after that you decide to take a bath since you haven’t done that in a while and after that hectic day today you really need it.

the warm water hugs your body as you lay down in your bathtub. you feel your body start to relax enjoying the temperature of the water. your eyes are closed as you hear the notification sound from your phone, but you ignore it. you feel so comfortable right now you don’t want to move. so you stay put, enjoying this bath maybe a little too much.

after like twenty minutes you start to get bored and the water has gone cold, so you decide it’s time to get out. you quickly wash your body and get out. you do you skincare and brush your teeth while your body dries, after that you put some vanilla bodylotion on, quickly change into your pyjamas and head to bed, your cats joining you seconds after. one sleeps on top the pillow next to you while the one sleeps between your legs.

you go to grab your phone from your nightstand, checking it one last time before you go to sleep. your just scrolling trough your notifications not thinking anything by it. you stop at one particular notification and your hearts starts to beat faster. sitting straight in your bed, rubbing your eyes to make sure your seeing correctly. you cannot believe what you’re seeing.

jeon jungkook has fucking texted you back.

not only once. he double texted you back.

is this really happening right now?

abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz: woww! how long have you been texting me for ? there are like a thousand messages lol

abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz: i hope you had good day at work! i just woke up.

abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz: i saw your message and there are so many. i felt bad so i texted back. looked like your were talking to yourself haha.

wait. i cannot believes this. am i dreaming?

your hands shake and you’re not sure what to text back. should i even text back? would he text back again?

i take a deep breath. my head is going crazy right now.

after you collected yourself , you text back.

y/n: lol this is awkward.

y/n: i wasn’t thinking you would actually text back.🫣

y/n: i hope my message weren’t bothering you or anything.

you struggle sending the message back cause your hands won’t stop shaking. but can you blame me? the love of my life just texting me back and my stupid ass ignored it because of that stupid bath i took.

i bite on my nails nervously, my heart is beating so fast it might jump out of my chest at any minute.

i wait for an answer back, which is stupid, i know.

just because he texted me back one time doesn’t mean he’s going to do it again.

you know he won’t. but still, you wait.

you wait for like an hour until you realize he’s actually not responding anymore so you decide to go sleep. or try to go to sleep i should say, since your mind won’t stop thinking about what had just happened.

after a while you eventually fall asleep after what felt like hours.

the next morning you get woken up again by your alarm. this time you grab your phone a little faster than usual. scrolling through your notifications with tired but curious eyes.

you eyes widen as you find his notification again.

abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz: haha no, you don’t bother me. i read through your messages last night.

abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz: you’re funny haha.

abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz: judging by the time i usually get the first message from you, i should get a message soon right?

you read the last text and it says sent an hour ago.

okay wait. he texted again? and he thinks i’m funny?

im definitely dreaming because there is no way that this is fucking happening.

your thumbs moves fast as you reply to him.

y/n: no way!!!

y/n: am i dreaming?? please tell me im not

y/n: is this really jungkook?

y/n: no, it can’t be

y/n: is someone playing with me?

someone definitely must be playing with you. because what do you mean jeon jungkook texted me back not one, but twice?

you actually cannot believe it yourself. this is crazy.

you wait a little bit to see if he’ll respond again. but nothing comes so you start getting ready for work.

how am i going get through work today, when all i can think about is him. you think to yourself.

~~~~

i hope you enjoy this chapter because im definitely excited about this fanficton ahhh

[annabelle--cane]

"the magnus protocol had a whole ARG beforehand? what?"

yes! it did!

"oh so I need to have participated in this whole big thing to actually understand the podcast?"

not at all! from the official post-mortem put out by RQ, "while the ARG was not something that was necessary to participate in to understand the magnus protocol, it was designed to contain a wealth of background story and context that would enrich any player's listening experience."

"a wealth of background context that would enrich my listening experience 👀👀👀 how can I learn about this?"

SO glad you asked. sadly, many of the materials made for the arg have been taken down since the game ended 😔 (ex., the official OIAR, magnus institute, and bonzoland websites. (edit ii: I found partial wayback machine captures! see below) though @strangehauntsuk is still up!), so we're a bit low on primary sources, but in terms of learning about what happened:

for a starting point, I would really recommend this video by @pinkelotjeart

it's super accessible, it was made in real time as the game progressed and follows the solving and revelation of clues as they happened, it hits all the major points of the mystery and moments of community insanity while eliding some of the nitty gritty puzzle grinding, 10/10 would recommend.

here's the official summary put out by RQ, and I'd recommend reading through this once you've already gotten a basic handle on the flow of the story and the basic connections between major clues and events. it's got some fun behind-the-scenes info and lays out the thought process behind the puzzles in simple terms

here's the full masterdoc of all puzzles and resolutions put together in the statement remains discord server. masterdoc my absolute BELOVED, masterdoc my bethrothed, masterdoc my soul mate. I'd recommend this as a second port of call after the above video as it either contains all details about the puzzles or links to other expanded docs that do.

here's the narrative summary doc that lays out all the plot and lore discovered in three pages of plain prose. if you just want to get to the good bits as fast as you can and get blasted directly in the face by contextless lore bombs, this is the doc for you. if you don't want to start with the video, I'd say this is another good entry point.

once you've got the lay of the land, some of the game materials that I found particularly interesting include:

the in-universe east germany expat usenet forum, with all content translated into english. most of it is irrelevant space filler with occasional extremely sus lore, but I still found it fun to read through. love to soak in some fictional forum drama.

chdb.xlsx, the spreadsheet of the names of all the children the protocol 'verse magnus institute was studying/experimenting on. EDIT: here is a version of the sheet without any annotations and with all of the names in their original order, kudos to @theboombutton for catching that the commonly shared copy had the order swapped around.

klaus.xls, a (very corrupted) spreadsheet with what looks like the classifications of a bunch of old OIAR cases.

EDIT: have a few more saved materials from the game that I forgot to include.

an in-universe audio ad to apply to the OIAR that ran before archives episodes and kicked off the whole game.

an in-universe video ad to apply to the OIAR, this one is an official upload that's still up from the game itself. you can subscribe to the OIAR's official youtube channel today, if you so chose.

the robo-voicemail greeting from the OIAR's phone line.

EDIT II:

here is a wayback machine capture of the OIAR's official website.

here is a wayback machine capture of the bonzoland website.

(pretty sure both of the above captures just archived the home pages, though I haven't tried clicking all of the links. I'd say they're still worth looking at, the home pages give a good window into the vibes.)

once you start poking around in these documents, you'll find a bunch of links to others with further information, the materials I've included here just contain what I feel to be the most relevant details to getting a broad feel for the whole game. once again, huge shout out to the statement remains server, I was barely in there as the ARG was in progress and only ducked my head in every so often to find links like these. true mvps of the fandom.

[agatharkn3ss]

Nicky's Rio son too.

I feel there were so many lines that imply this and the finale is starting to make more sense - especially because the dandelion in the trial!

Jen explains that Green Craft™ is about the cycle of all living things - growth and decay in constant flow. So it's not just about dying but being born too.

So it would track that Rio's love for Agatha was so strong that it actually created life - Nicky. However, there would be consequences to this because proper balance had to be maintained somehow. Rio probably even warned Agatha about it, but Agatha always believes she is above the rules so in her head she probably thought she had every right to Nicky (maybe even her "prize" that she alludes to in their final confrontation). This would really add to Rio's hurt - Nicky was her son too. She thought she was giving Agatha a gift of life, but instead Agatha sees her as this cruel "evil" that "gave her nothing". To her Rio is the one who just "took."

It feels like it is also implied by Rio at the start of the episode when she says "This walk with another woman's son on a road that doesn't...". She could be referring to Nicky being her son.

But I think Agatha finally accepts her truth during the final trial when she sees the dandelion seed in her cameo. She even says "Out of Death - life" as she grows it because she finally understands the literal implications of that phrase.

That Dandelion is representation of Nicky. And sure enough, as soon as the flower grows and blossoms, it quickly enters the final stage - when it turns into the seeds that can be scattered by the wind again and continue the cycle of life. Because guess what, "dandelions produce seeds asexually by apomixis, where the seeds are produced without pollination, resulting in offspring that are genetically identical to the parent plant".

When Nicky is born, we could probably assume it was indeed asexual reproduction - Agatha says she didn't use a spell or incantation, but instead he was made from scratch (obviously a clever nod to his name). On one hand it could be read like Agatha is astonished how something this magical could happen without actually using any witchcraft. However, this also feels like a suggestion that maybe she is just amazed at how he could possibly exist. Kathryn Hahn in her recent interview alluded to how the witches didn't need men, babies were just born. So it was Rio's "dandelion seed" that made it happen.

It is the second characteristic of dandelion species is what seals the deal for me - "the offspring being genetically identical to the parent plant". Nicky as the offspring of Death needs bodies to survive in this realm. During his birth Rio says she can offer only time, because she can maintain the balance, as long as Nicky gets his bodies.

That's why she hates Rio and calls her evil - not because of Rio herself, but because of what her "genetics" did to Nicky. Agatha would rather have people believe that she is this evil witch killer that traded her child for the Darkhold, than anyone to know the awful truth that it was Nicky who was the cause of the killings.

In the flashbacks, there are those remarks about how they haven't "eaten for days" and that whenever Nicky was poorly he said he was hungry. Agatha said she couldn't create the food for him (and protect him from what's coming). She could've cooked that goat they had with them if they were really that hungry (btw, I still believe that goat is Senor Scratchy), but that wasn't the "food" that Nicky meant.

And just like Billy, Rio couldn't just take Nicky. He had to "turn himself in". It was his choice not to kill any more witches. On the day Nicky dies, he says "My mother needs me home". I think he is talking about Rio here, since he usually calls Agatha "Mama". This is the moment the decides for himself and goes home to Death.

I feel like this opens the possibility that we will indeed see Nicholas Scratch in the future (and have a role similar to the one in the comics). That maybe even he might not have "died" because he is an offspring of death, so he just exists in some Underworld realm, where he no longer needs bodies to survive. Maybe Agatha might have hoped that by killing more and more witches, she will bring Nicky back to life/this realm?

And the Ballad really was a protection spell she made for him too?

This would also be a more plausible explanation why Agatha went to kiss Rio when Billy asked "Is this how Nicky died?". I feel this was more of an apology to Rio for hating her for Nicky's treatment, because she finally understood why she had to do it?