#i know it’s because it would be impossible to animate with the models

[inbabylontheywept]

by tradition, the first day of the camp was spent pranking the group next to us. our prank was ziptying the zippers on their sleeping bags together. we figured one of them would sleep with a knife, because we all slept with knives, because we were dangerous maniacs and half the danger of a dangerous maniac is that they tend to think that they are Actually Normal. so. obviously that didn't pan out, and instead they got stuck in their sleeping bags for like half an hour and because their scoutmaster slept in their car and couldn't hear them yelling, they actually only got out when one of them went full caged animal and chewed through the plastic. which meant they had time to make it to the axe throwing station, but they did miss breakfast.

the scale of our victory was impossible to understate. it was an epic prank. unrivaled. the best in years. we knew they were going to retaliate, and we both feared and craved it. maybe i'm still a maniac, but that feels like a common thing, right? do well adjusted people that are not maniacs crave Judgement?

(serious answers only please, from people who would never spoon a knife.)

anyway, the next day we got back to our camp, and the neighors had skipped dinner to just come back and fill all our tents with pinecones. which was like, a decent prank, i guess, but it probably took them an hour to fill all the tents up, and it took us like 15 minutes to tip the tents out, and as a return volley to the ziptie prank it was incredibly underwhelming. we felt a little cheated.

so our scouting group held a council, and we agreed, unanimously, that our prank was 100% better and theirs sucked and that there would be no escalating tensions because we were the clear victors. they'd had their chance to retaliate, and they failed, and so the war was over. that was it.

we agreed on this. we swore. but madness is a relative thing, and in our group of maniacs, we still had J. i have many, many J stories. too many. i biked up to school with him from 4th grade to 8th, and i saw him get hit by cars thrice. he'd just swerve into the road sometimes. one time on a rainy day in 4th grade, a car splashed me, and before i could even consider my response J yelled I GOT THIS and then he blitzed off after the car. i didn't see him the rest of the day. i was so anxious i barely slept that night. i saw him the next morning and he told me that he'd chased the car until it got to a gated community and then he'd climbed over the fence and looked in peoples garages until he found the one with the car, and then he'd ripped the hood ornament off and broke their window. then he gave me a hood ornament to a different brand of car from the one that splashed me and i didnt tell him because i didnt want him missing more school. i want you to mentally adjust your mental model of the things a 9 year old is capable of doing to include chasing a car for five miles, hopping a fence, breaking into a garage, and vandalizing a randos car.

and that's just the tip of my J stories iceberg.

the point of all this is just to say that J was so crazy that he made us knife spooners look like accountanting enthusiasts.

so we agreed the war was done, and we shook on it, and then J, in the name of friendship, in the name of honor, in the name of avenging our pinecone filled tents, snuck over to their camp that evening and fornicated with a watermelon that they'd been saving in their cooler.

i want to emphasize, again, that this was not the consensus of the group. that is not a prank. like i know it seems like we dont know what pranks are because of the whole ziptie thing, but even we knew that fucking someones food is not a prank, it is a crime, and a sin, the kind of weapon that had only been ethically used once in history by Horus in his battle against Set and none of us dumb assholes had owl heads.

so.

the next day went pretty well. we threw some more axes again, which is a valuable and important skill for children to learn i guess, and we learned how to tie knots, which is a skill that turned out to be far sexier than i ever expected, and i learned how to light fires with a magnifying glass, which was great. i'm looking back at this, and i am actually just now beginning to realize that the clear and obvious point of scouting is turning child sociopaths into apex predators.

and then the day ended, and we went back to our camps, except for our leaders, who had a sort of Scout Leader Meeting they were going to have for a few hours at least. it was built into the camp, that day was supposed to be our day to chill as a group, and make peach cobbler, and just be buddies.

except, as it turned out, our neighboring group's alternative to making peach cobbler was eating their watermelon. so at some point they opened their watermelon, and woo boy. oh man. you think catholics hated seedless watermelons? you should see how much mormons hate seeded ones.

so we were chilling by the fire, and then we heard screaming from the camp over, but we didn't pay much mind to that because there are many reasonable explanations for a group of 10ish children to scream simulanteoulsy, such as wasps, which are abundant in arizona, and then the screaming got closer, which did not bother us because there were many reasons for a group 10ish children to scream and run towards us, for example, wasps, which are abundant in arizona, and then we noticed they had large sticks on them, which we figured were perhaps being used to drive away the wasps, which are abundant in arizona, and then they arrived and they started beating the shit out of us, abundantly, in arizona.

so we ran into the woods.

now, at this point, we had no idea what was up. we knew that the camp next to us was out for blood, which was crazy, because we'd actually locked them in fartproof bags for 30 minutes and they'd barely done anything back, and were trying to figure out what could possibly have happened that could drive them to Terrible Violence when we realized that J was cackling like a witch that had learned how to order children off of ebay.

so we politely asked J what the hell he had done, and he politely explained that had "done" their watermelon, and we politely beat him with large sticks because life is nothing but endless cycles of violence.

we were still being chased by the other camp btw. so it was them, chasing us, chasing J, and then they got tired and went back to their camp, and we chased J a little longer because we were mad we'd all been walloped with sticks, and J did not care because he was a supernatural entity whose only weaknesses were Needles and Fire, and then we got tired and went back and J kept running, and we just kind of figured he would come back eventually.

he did not.

we went back to our tents, and we waited, and J did not come back. we stayed up all night, peering into the forest, worrying. our leader came back, and we did our best to hide our battlewounds, and he either genuinely did not notice or simply accepted this as part of Boyhood. then he went to bed, and we waited, and waited, and waited. And Waited. and did not sleep.

eventually, we convened again, and we agreed that if J was not back by after breakfast, we would have to tell the scoutleader about what exactly had transpired. and we really did not want to do that, because it would have meant that everyone would have gotten in a very large amount of trouble.

morning came around, and J still was not back. we went to breakfast, and we ate very, very slowly. we were afraid the other camp was going to continue their war with us, but they actually looked fairly frightened. one of them actually came to us and asked for a truce, and we agreed because we truly felt bad for them. like, yes, they did beat us with sticks, but J fucked their watermelon. we werent complicit in the watermelonfuckening but they didnt know that, and it was definitely the kind of crime that left one outside the bounds of the social contract.

and then when we could eat no more bits, when breakfast was almost done, right when i was getting pushed to go and tell the scoutleader that we needed to find J, he arrived. he was sleep deprived, and noticeably scraped and bloody, and tied to his belt was a blood squirrel tail.

and i asked him, J, where did you get that? and he said, don't worry man, it was already dead, which did not answer by question and gave me several more.

the camp ended that day, and the other groups avoided us like the plague, and it was not until some weeks later that we were able to piece together what happened.

J, in his sojourn through the forest, managed to find (or, possibly, make) a dead squirrel. he then cut off the tail to keep on his belt, because he was a weird little freak like that. he also took the dead squirrel, and he skinned it, then he tied it to a little crucifix made of wood, and he left it in the other scouting group's camp. which is why they were so scared of us.

it was such an unhinged thing to do it actually sobered us up for a while. scouting became a scary thing for us. we'd found something dark and primal there, in the place where no adult could see, and our appreciation of J as a wild ride kind of changed into seeing him as something truly dangerous. we had a sense wherever he went, something terrible would follow, and the only way to escape it was to not be there when it arrived. and so piece by piece, the scout group dissolved. it wasnt until he moved out of that ward that the rest of us started daring to go back to scouts.

and for the final epilogue of the tale:

i have a little brother who was friends with a younger cousin of J's, and the two would go to parties together in highschool. and sometimes J, who was in his early 20's at that point, would show up at the parties, and it was unsettling in such a way that it just became a known risk at parties with the cousin. and at one party, they were playing truth or dare, and J wasn't even in the room, but someone asked him the Truth of how he always knew how to find the cousin, and J said the cousin's mom had mentioned she was worried about him and the parties so he'd put a tracker in his car. and when he saw that the cousin was out of the house on weekends, he'd made a visit by, just to make sure he was safe.

then he left. and every single person at that party went over that poor kid's car. they searched the wheel-wells, checked underneath it, the works, until they found the tracker. then because they were clever, they didnt break it, or throw it away, or anything that would've given away what they'd done. they just gave the tracker to the cousin, who put it in his glovebox. and on schooldays, he'd take it with him, so J could see him in the parking lot. and on weekends, he could leave it in the garage, so he could go to parties with out Hell coming with him. because everyone that met J - every single person - knew that the only way to be safe from him was to be far, far away.

[dandelionsresilience]

whether the internet becomes an intolerable surveillance state, ubiquitous subscription model, or unusably ad- or AI-ridden shithole, I think we need to remember

how to do things offline

either on your personal hard drive (just because it’s an app doesn’t mean the information is stored in your device) or on paper. I’m not saying the collapse of the internet is imminent, and I’m not suggesting we do everything completely without technology, or even stop using it until we have to. (to be clear, I also don’t think the internet will just blink out of existence, suddenly stop being a thing at all; rather I think it might continue to lose its usefulness to the point where it’s impossible to get anything done. anyway) but some people may have forgotten how we got by before the internet (I almost have!), and the younger generation might not have experienced it at all.

I figure most people probably use the internet mainly for communication with friends and family, entertainment and creation (eg. writing), and looking up how to do things, so here’s how to do those things offline:

First and most importantly, download everything important to you onto at least one hard drive and at least one flashdrive! files can get corrupted and hardware can get damaged or lost, but as long as you keep backup copies, you have much-closer-to-guaranteed access versus hoping a business doesn’t decide to paywall, purge, or otherwise revoke your access. I would recommend getting irreplaceable photos printed as well

download and/or print/write down:

anything important to you - photos/videos, journals, certificates, college transcripts

contact info - phone numbers and/or addresses of friends/family (know how to contact them if you can’t use your favourite messaging app), doctors (open hours would be good too), veterinarians if you have pets, and work

how-to’s - recipes (one, two), emergency preparedness (what do I do if… eg. I smell gas)

other things you might google: cleaning chemicals to NOT mix, what laundry tag symbols mean, people food dogs and cats can and can’t eat, plant toxicity to pets

and know offline ways to find things out - local radio station, newspaper, a nearby highway rest area might have a region map, public libraries usually have a bunch of resources

also, those of you who get periods should strongly consider not using period tracking apps! here’s how to track your period manually

free printable period tracker templates (no printer? public libraries usually charge a few cents per page, or you can recreate it by hand)

moving on to entertainment, you can still get most media for free! it’s completely legal to download your favourite movies to your own personal hard drive, you just can’t sell or distribute copies (not legal advice)

movies: wcostream.tv (right click the player) - the url changes every once in a while but usually redirects; I recently noticed that it’s hiding a lot of movies behind “premium,” so it may or may not work anymore | download youtube videos

music: how to get music without streaming it | legal free downloads

games: steamunlocked.net - doesn’t have every game and can be slow to update, but very reliable

books: free online libraries | legal free downloads

otherwise passing time:

active outdoor games

for road trips (social verbal games)

for when power’s out

for sheltering in place (not all offline, but good ideas)

board games (often found at thrift stores)

ad-free customisable games collection (mobile)

read, write, draw, or whatever your craft is, sing, dance, clean, reorganise, take a bath

go outside - excuses include napping (if safe), eating, reading, finding cool plants/animals/rocks, playing with the dog

places to go include:

zoos and museums can be surprisingly cheap

parks and nature preserves

library, mall, or game shop

and a few miscellaneous things for good measure:

time budgeting | household management

how to use a planner | I’ve had success with visually blocked-out schedules like these

please add on if you have any other offline alternatives to common uses of the internet!

[foodfightnovelization]

ROTTEN: Behind The Foodfight

Holy chips! It's an exciting time to be a Foodfight! fan, because ROTTEN: Behind The Foodfight is finally out! This really is THE definitive documentary on the insanity behind the movie, and it finally answers the question of just what was going on behind the scenes during production. Since I helped out with research (and I even get a short line of dialogue at 45:19) I've already seen everything that was shown off, but had to keep quiet until all the interviews were conducted and the documentary was finished. But now it's out and everything has been made public, the cat's out of the bag (the Fat Cat Burglar?) and I can talk about all the production material that's been shared.

Before I get into any of that though, I'd highly recommend you watch the documentary for yourself. It's insanely well researched and put together, and having worked together with Ziggy Cashmere (the documentary's creator) I know how hard he dedicated himself towards making this all possible. If it weren't for him, the most interesting Foodfight! discovery would've been finding the novelization, and we would have never gotten any real insight into how this movie came to be. It's also a documentary that really speaks for itself- I don't want to say too much about what it reveals since it's all expressed far better through its narrative and the interviews with people who actually worked on the project. My favorite is the interview with texture artist Mona Weiss- she tells such horrifying stories about how she was treated by Larry and other crewmembers, yet does it all with a sense of humor that makes it clear she's enjoying getting to talk about her crazy experiences. It's clear Foodfight! was an unmitigated disaster from start to finish, and there's nobody to blame for that but Larry Kasanoff himself. The movie was rotten from the top down and despite the countless talented animators and artists working on it, nothing could fix the fact that it was fundamentally mismanaged in the worst way possible. I think the quote from producer George Johnsen summarizes it best: "Foodfight! was a good idea that unfortunately lost its way during production. The technology, the art, and the direction were not in sync. Many very talented people gave their all to make the picture, but more understanding of process from the top was needed for it to succeed."

But if you saw the documentary, you already know all that, right? So instead, let's talk about the behind-the-scenes material that's finally been shared! You can find everything I'll talking about HERE on archive.org-

It's worth following the link and checking it out for yourself- there's so much it'd impossible to discuss everything. Artwork, storyboards, bloopers, models, a nude render of Lady X, an interview with Larry Kasanoff, the list goes on and it's still being updated! Despite the documentary already being out, people who worked on the movie are continuing to share new material! It's pretty incredible- for the past year I've ran this blog all I've really had to discuss are two tie-in books, and now there's so much Foodfight! material I can't even keep up with it.

I mean LOOK at all this, isn't it fantastic? The character art by Jim George showing off just how much better these designs originally were, the countless environments showing off just how stunning Marketropolis could've looked as well as the strength of the core idea "what if a supermarket came to life at night", and insanely detailed storyboards for a 7-minute pitch reel that was used to sell the movie to investors. Normally, I'd be ALL OVER this because it's all just incredible, but there's something far, FAR more fascinating than any of it.

There are even multiple drafts of the script (one from 2005 and one from 2007 respectively) and normally I'd be insanely fascinated by those too, making extremely detailed posts explaining the differences between the drafts and how they compare to the novelization, but there's something else that was found that blows ALL of this out of the water and is easily one of the most monumental lost media discoveries of ALL TIME.

That's right, a rough cut of the ENTIRE movie from 2005 has been found, containing nearly ALL the completed animation from earlier on in production. I mean, that's mindblowing right? We first got sent this around a month ago, a little while before the documentary came out, and I literally stopped everything I was doing at work to just sit and watch this. This is the closest we're ever going to get to the "original" version of Foodfight! after all- only 7 minutes of footage was ever actually made before they switched to mocap, made solely for the aforementioned pitch reel, and this workprint contains practically all of it! On top of that there are some great storyboards in here, as well as some truly hilarious ones cobbled together from 3D renders, and the plot is far better than what we ended up with, a lot of the more inappropriate jokes being absent. This rough cut is actually pretty similar to the novelization in that regard, and it also contains scenes that we'd previously only read about in there.

For example, in the novelization there's a snowmobile chase through the mountains, with Brand X soldiers on snowmobiles and a heavy avalanche close behind. This scene was completely left out of the movie itself, but in this workprint it's here! ALL the previously novelization-exclusive scenes are included, and this rough cut is seemingly based on an even earlier draft of the script than that- here Brand X are still defeated by a flood, whereas by the time of the novelization it'd been changed to a lightning storm. There are SO many exciting differences in this workprint, the snippets of original animation we get to see are SO good, and it's SO much better than the movie itself that I think it by far deserves the crown as the DEFINITIVE version of Foodfight! There's so much in it I want to discuss, that there's no way I can fit it all into this one post...so stay tuned, because in the next few days I'll be doing a FULL analysis of the 2005 workprint, pointing out all the extra brand mascots not in the finished film, and generally just gushing about how amazing it is.

I mean, this is it. Just take it all in for a second- the original footage was considered lost media for over a decade, and now it's practically been found in its entirety, embedded in an early cut of the whole movie...isn't that just phenomenal? All the mysteries have been unraveled, all the questions have been answered, and now we can relax, take a deep breath, and watch Foodfight!...the REAL Foodfight! Make sure to enjoy it, and join me next time for my analysis!

[kathegoose]

the compane i think

lineup of every (at least somewhat) biological entity (aside from earth leviathan) in lethal company!!!

again, non-VHS version under cut with some wacko headcanons and allat!

WOOHOO!!!!!!! so here are my extra headcanons and other minor changes because i am allowed to ramble about my art if i want to👍👍 (Those without any HC dumps here are pretty much as they are already, nothing to talk about them!)

Tiny bugs: the locust, bee and wasp are made to faintly resemble their real life counterparts aside from the reused fly model as in the game.

Manticoil: i will get either praised or executed for this but i made the extra wings.... leg wings. like a microraptor. but it does come with a reason, yes! it is practically impossible to evolve a new pair of limbs, it's either remove or change existing parts when it comes to evolution, and the manticoils are just evolved corvids in canon!

Hoarding bug: made to resemble hymenoptera more, as they are - again - canonically in this order of real life animal :]

Spore lizard: back scutes and more toes added to, you guessed it; resemble their earth relatives (in this case alligators) more.

Bunker spider: spider pitter patter feet :D

Thumper: more earth-relative (chondrichthyes) resemblance, especially the mouth is more shark-like.

Baboon hawk: earth thing again and also made the 'wings' the brightest, since i believe they pose no other purpose than social display.

Bracken: i've been WAITING to talk about my brackens' symmetrical, two-thumbed hands. PERFECT (i think?) for grabbing a victim's head to do a little snappin'. also the claws are just on the hands to really make sure they have a firm grip, and not on the padded, almost mitten-like feet for silent sneaking! (even though they are usually quadrupedal)

Eyeless dog: okay fellas but... that's no actual mammal (as we know) i think. the in-game head shape is too ridiculous to have evolved from anything and the class saeptivus doesn't even exist! what i think is a re-evolving of mammals at play, say.. synapsida 2.0 perhaps. so i took creative liberties and made the dog a taaaad bit more fish-like with a line of sensory pits on their sides kinda like a fish's lateral line. suits the blind critter :]

Nutcracker: some little paint job changes and added some hinge doohickeys to accentuate the mechanical properties of the nutcracker itself that the meaty-eye-hermit-thing is operating.

Jester: i am simply here to say that i would like to bite a chunk off of the jester's meat gluppo.

Forest keeper: ok so there is the cool octopus-style beak yeah and i gave it tiiiiny little silly pinky-thumbs as they're probably canonically related to the brackens but MY GOD!!!!!!! I HATED COLOURING THAT THING!!! what colour is it even if I HAD TO FNAF 3 BLAST IT. that's how you know that i didn't like doing it sorry giant enjoyers i didn't enjoy colouring large jonathan (my fan name for them) :[

[giulliadella]

Speculative Biology of Euclydians (and Bill Cipher) part 2

Part 1

Part 3

So this part is what you've all been waiting for, it took so long, but you'll quickly understand why. This part is:

The Biology of Bill Cipher

As always, this analysis is based on two assumptions:

Before Bill Cipher became a demigod, he was a biological, living organism and so were the rest of his species.

Even after Bill Cipher became a demigod, he still retained some physical characteristics of his biological form.

And a fair content warning: This contains anatomy illustrations. This isn't anything gory, but there are people who are squeamish, so you've been warned.

Click on the images to get better quality!

And without further ado, let's begin.

External structures

Euclydians are animals with a very specific shape. They have a shell in a form of a geometric shape and four limbs. Bill is an equilateral triangle, so my analysis will be just on triangular Euclydeans.

They have bilateral symmetry. This type of symmetry is characterized by having a left and a right side placed like mirror images of each other. Humans and majority of Earth’s animals also have this feature.

Bilaterally symmetrical organisms usually have a distinct head region, because of a process known as cephalization. This process moves the animal’s brain and sensory organs towards one end of the body – the head. Euclydians have a head. It’s the “tip of the pyramid” on Bill and that’s where the eye and other sensory organs and brain are located.

Finally, Euclydeans are segmented. Their segments are clearly visible as those weird brick lines on their body. Bill also often separates his body into three segments. This is a part of his god powers, but it tells us that Euclydeans have three major body segments, I’ll call them the tip, the middle and the base. Each segment contains specific organs.

Euclydeans are invertebrates. And yes, I know this image exists, but this is just Bill’s trolling. He’s making fun of human classrooms where we often find skeleton models. That skeleton wouldn’t even be functional, because it doesn’t have any joints in arms and legs, so it wouldn’t be able to move. And it has a hole where the brain would be, so you know, the fucking brain would fall out.

It was outright stated that Bill has an exoskeleton. Having both external and internal skeleton would be a big waste because you have two systems that do the same thing. Besides, the way Bill's limbs move is much more similar to an invertebrate. His shell is also somewhat bendable which would not be possible if it was made of bone. And the eye-mouth complex that Bill uses to eat would also be completely impossible with a set of vertebrate jaws.

Euclydean shell (or exoskeleton) is nothing like anything here on Earth. It’s most likely made out of silica combined with proteins. I say this because Bill turned to stone when he died and he also likes to eat glass, which is pure silica.

The exoskeleton is made out of several parts. It has a front (ventral) and back (dorsal) part. Both the front and the back part of the exoskeleton are made out of head region (the tip) and three layers of “bricks” which are just segments of the exoskeleton.

The front tip is probably made of more protein and elastic tissue than the back, because Bill has a very expressive “face”. This means that he also has quite complex facial muscles. The back of the head is probably the hardest part of the exoskeleton because it protects the brain. Bricks are in the middle since they have a very important role in speaking and breathing, but also allow the shell to bend.

Can Euclydeans change color, or is it just Bill Cipher using his god powers? Well, since he changes his color on instinct, I think they could! Bill can change color to black, yellow, red and blue. This means that he has a complex system of chromatophores – cells that contain little sacs full of pigment. When the sacs inflate, the body appears to be the color of the largest sac, whilst those deflated are invisible. Color changes depending on the pigments contained in inflated sacs. In Bill, the pigments are red, blue and yellow. Yellow is the standard color, it signifies neutral or content emotional state. He turns red when he's angry or wants to look intimidating and blue might signify fear, despair and cry for help. Black is the color of Euclydean’s skin, so when they look black, it’s because all pigment sacs have deflated and the transparent shell allows us to see the skin underneath.

And yes, Euclydeans have black skin. I know some people say that Bill wears thigh high boots and long gloves, but to me, that doesn’t make any sense. Like, that image of him in Theraprism is showing him with clothes over his supposed gloves and boots. Why would they make him wear sneakers over boots? And why baby Bill has yellow hands? Well, that’s something I’ll tell you in the next part where I’ll talk about babies.

Anyways, the skin is black, but we have no idea what it feels like. Seriously, so many people shook hands with Bill and nobody wrote down how his skin feels like! But we know that he has fingerprints. That means that he has very sensitive fingertips and that those little paws were made for grabbing things. Also, Bill doesn’t have any growths on his skin: no nails, hairs, scales etc. I know a lot of people love to draw Bill with claws, but he doesn’t have claws, not even in his most eldritch form. His fingers always remain small and soft. The legs have no fingers and the skin of the sole of their feet is probably thick.

Internal Structures

Coelom

Coelom is one of the most important organs, that you probably don’t know you even have! It’s a fluid filled cavity whose role is to separate internal organs from the muscles of the body wall. This allows organs to move and grow independently of your muscles and it also protects and cushions them against impact. In humans coelom is complex and it’s made out of pericardial cavity (around the heart – allows heart to pump blood), pleural cavity (around lungs – allows lungs to expand while breathing) and peritoneal cavity (around digestive system – allows for expansion and movement of digestive organs).

I believe that Euclydeans also have some form of a coelom. Coelom is even more important in invertebrates, as that’s where their immune system is and it can also serve as a supportive hydroskeleton. Since Euclydeans have a hard shell, they need the protection around their organs. Every shelled animal on Earth has coelom for that reason. They also need room for the food they eat, since the shell can’t expand and their limbs can enter the shell, so they need room for that too.

2. Nervous system

Euclydeans have a vast range of emotions, capability to communicate using speech, body language and even color shifting. They are as intelligent, or more intelligent than humans. They have a highly developed eye and other senses and all of this requires a nervous system. We saw Bill’s optic nerve when his eye got pulled out during Weirdmageddon, so he does have a nervous system, but I can't tell you how exactly it looks like.

There’s one part of Bill that I bet is similar to human - it’s his brain. Bill claims that he can take control over any being a long as they have neurons. This is his god like power, but then, why just beings with neurons? Well, most likely, because he has neurons too and kind of understands how they work. Maybe his brain even produces similar neurotransmitters as ours, so we’re easy to control with them. The brain is in the tip of the pyramid, slightly above eye and it likely has a lot of neurons and a very complex structure. I can’t tell you how exactly is his brain organized, but since he's bilaterally symmetrical, it’s very likely that it has hemispheres. He likely also has two neural cords, like most invertebrates, and those run down the dorsal (back) side of his body

3. Senses

Euclydeans have camera lens type eyes. Now here I can only speak of Bill, since we haven’t seen any other Euclydian. Bill’s eye is large, placed in the center of his “face”. It has eyelids with “eyelashes” (more on them later) and produces tears (Bill cries after his break up with Ford). The pupil is slit and vertical and there is no iris. However, there are muscles that can change the shape and dilation of the pupil. The eye looks similar enough to human that I can confidently say that he has cornea, lens and sclera. The eye is filled with refractory fluid and has some form of retina in the back. Bill’s eye changing color and being used as a projector or to shoot lasers are all parts of his god powers, however, it is possible that his species has a tapetum lucidum, a reflective layer of cells which help animals see in low light conditions and also makes the eye glow in the dark. Bill has color vision and he claims that he can see every part of the electromagnetic spectrum, but I think that's a part of his god powers. However, Euclydeans definitely could see in color, since their alphabet was basically a color code and they also use colors to express emotion.

Since Bill has fingerprints, we can confidently say that his fingers are the most sensitive part of his skin. Bill can feel through his shell too, just like every shelled organism ever (that's why he used Ford as a backscratcher). Tactile senses are very primitive, so Eucliydeans could feel cold, heat, pain, pressure, vibration and everything else just like we do.

Bill has a sense of smell and he even says which scents he finds attractive. This could mean that sense of smell plays a big role in reproduction of Euclydeans, but where is it located? Well, on the eyelashes. Except, those are not eyelashes, they are antennae. Bill has total eight of these antennae, 4 on lower and 4 on upper eyelid. They are very soft and sensitive, so he can retract them inside the eyelid. He does that when he feels threatened, so it’s probably a fight or flight response. His lashes get longer and he flutters his eyelid more near Ford, probably because he enjoys his smell. They are also located close to the mouth, so that’s how he samples the scents of the food.

Euclydeans have great hearing. They communicate vocally, sing, Bill can play the piano, so obviously, they hear. But I have no idea what they use to hear. It could be the bow tie, since it does look vaguely ear shaped, but it's possible that the bow tie isn't actually an organ. In that case, they could have an unknown structure inside them or they could just use their thin exoskeleton to catch sound vibrations.

They taste using their long tongue.

4. Muscles and movement

We have seen Bill’s muscles and they are striated skeletal muscles like mammals and insects have.

As the shell is kind of bendy, there is a lot of muscles underneath it. Those are the muscles of the body, they also move the face and bricks while speaking. The limbs have muscles too and two kinds at that.

When Ford shoots through Bill’s hat (which also a part of him) it is shown that inside of it are strange bone-like structures. These are not bones, since they aren’t articulated, but muscles do connect to them. They kind of remind me of echinoderm ossicles, but they don’t really look like them. This is another fully alien structure and I’ll call them anchors.

You know how Bill’s limbs can both bend just like human arms and legs, like he has elbows, wrists, knees and ankles, but they also bend like goofy rubber-hose cartoon anatomy? Well, that’s because there are two types of muscles in them. There are muscles attached to the anchor points and subcutaneous muscles.

Anchor points are located in the same places as joints in humans. Muscles that attach to them are long and strong and they are used for regulated, precise movement. The subcutaneous muscles (the one we see in his Weirdmageddon image) are used to bend the limbs in every other manner. They are not attached to anchors, but to the skin, so they resemble muscles of octopus arms. They are shorter and less strong, but when they act together they move the limbs in coils. These muscles are also responsible for squishing the limbs inside the shell when they are hidden.

Bill has incredible control and dexterity of his muscles, especially in arms and fingers. Even though his paws are soft and small, he can use them pretty much as efficiently as humans use their hands.

Possibly the strongest muscles in Bill's body are his jaw muscles, so let's talk about those jaws.

5. Eye-mouth complex and the digestive system

Having your eye used for feeding seems wild to us, but this adaptation is seemingly common in fictional geometric shaped people, as it has convergently evolved in Flatland’s inhabitants as well. And, speak what you like, but Euclydeans can’t choke on their food, so they have it better than humans.

I don’t know what Flatlanders eat, but Euclydeans are definitely predators. Now, I know that Bill sometimes depicts himself with human like teeth. The guy has a thing for teeth, especially molars, but he doesn’t have mammalian teeth. In every image where he opens his mouth that was not made by him, we see that he has cone shaped sharp teeth, like a predator. These teeth are great for biting and subduing prey, but they suck at chewing. Euclydeans can’t chew, so they they feed by swallowing chunks that they bite off, or swallowing their food whole if it’s small enough.

Here I depicted how this “eye-mouth complex” functions:

Euclydeans have a stomach in the middle of their body, but I have no idea what goes after it. My best guess is that they have a branching intestine. Our flattest organisms (flatworms, sea stars and brittle stars) all have this type of intestine. It basically means that, instead of just going like a tube, the intestine branches into different parts of the body. I also have no idea whether they have an anus and if it’s just one. This is just something I can’t tell you.

Since Euclydeans are capable of eating a lot of various things, I expect that they have accessory digestive glands (that’s liver and pancreas in humans). Strangely, despite the fact that his anatomy indicates a predator, Bill likes eating starch (pasta, empanadas, sandwiches etc). Most carnivores are unable to digest starch, so I went with god powers, but he ate sandwiches when he was a kid and had no god powers. So, we have two options. Either Euclydeans are omnivores (which, with those teeth, I doubt) or the animals on their planet store their excess calories as starch, not fat, so predators evolved the ability to digest it. If the second one is true, then Bill eating pasta is like your cat eating pure butter. It’s probably not healthy for him, but I don’t think he’s a guy who would give a single crap about that.

6. Breathing and speaking

In The Book of Bill, Bill says that “dumb trapezoids and rhombuses were sucking up his rightful oxygen”. This means that Euclydeans are aerobic organisms – they breathe oxygen. Their skin is dry, so they don't use it for breathing and they also speak, laugh and sing. All of this tells me that they have lungs.

I believe that their lungs are located near the base where the bricks are. The gaps between bricks have little tracheae that lead to the lungs. Bill most likely breathes in from his back side and breathes out from the front. The air is probably forced to travel through small crevices inside the lungs so that it can exchange the oxygen with blood. We don’t know whether Euclydeans exhale carbon dioxide, but they probably do, since they can eat our food, so they probably have similar metabolism to us Earthlings.

Since Euclydeans can speak and laugh, they probably have some kind of a diaphragm. In fact, I think they have two! Their voice has an echo, which means that, most likely, their lungs don’t always expel air at the same time. Air expelling causes the bricks to vibrate which produces sound. That’s why Bill seems to glow when he speaks – he’s actually vibrating. This action is also controlled by muscles. Depending on which row of bricks is vibrating and how many of them are involved, Bill changes the pitch and tone of his voice.

And the growling noise? Well, when Bill uses his demonic voice, he is doing one of two things. He is either using his god like powers to modify his voice, or that’s just how Euclydian vocal fry sounds. If you don’t know what vocal fry is, it’s produced when the vocal chords are vibrating slowly and they become out of sync. This produces a very specific sound and that sound can be made voluntarily. That’s how Mongolian throat singing works. Similarly, Euclydeans could slow down the rate at which their bricks vibrate and make them out of sync to produce that menacing “demon voice” as a threat display.

7. Circulatory system

We know how Euclydean blood looks like. It’s silvery and kind of seems like it glitches. It also contain chemicals that can make humans sick. This means that Euclydeans have much different blood from animals on Earth, but it certainly serves the same function. It’s used to transport nutrients and oxygen through their body.

Since the agents from The Book of Bill were able to draw his blood, it’s clear that Bill has a circulatory system and a closed one at that. The closed circulatory system means that blood vessels end in capillary nets and don’t open inside the body cavity like they do in molluscs and insects. If the agents used syringe to pull Bill’s blood and he had an open circulatory system, they could actually collapse the entire thing as they would pull his organs as well. That’s why I believe that he has a closed circulatory system.

Closed circulatory system requires a heart and I believe that Bill’s heart is located between his lungs, like ours. I have no proof that his heart looked anything like in the illustration, but I looove cardiology, so I did all this just because I wanted to draw a weird heart. I don’t think Euclydeans have a super complex four chambered heart like we do, they most likely have two or three chambered heart. The heart separates lung and body circulation and regulates their blood pressure.

The capillary nets are all located in important places: lungs where they exchange oxygen, intestines where they absorb nutrients and brain where they feed the neurons. Euclydeans have a rather large brain, so it probably uses most of their calories and oxygen.

8. Other systems

I can’t tell you anything abut Euclydean excretory system. I don’t know whether they produce urine or not, if they have kidneys, nephrocytes or something completely different. I genuinely have no idea.

They have to have an immune system because they are multicellular. Every single multicellular organism including sponges and plants has some form of an immune system. I believe Euclydeans have something similar to coelomocytes - a very common type of immune cells in invertebrates which reside in coelomatic cavity.

I'll talk about reproductive system in Part 3!

Are Euclydeans warm or cold-blooded?

This was a very tough one, because they could be both, but I am leaning more towards cold-blooded. They have very little muscle mass and heat is produced within the muscles via trembling or metabolic heat (heat released in various chemical reactions in the body). When an animal has very little muscle it isn’t used for that. Even mammals like sloths who have significantly reduced muscle mass become dependent on the surrounding temperature. Also, Euclydean flat shape can easily distribute heat they absorb, so they wouldn’t need to waste energy making their own. On top of that, Euclydeans don’t wear clothes, which can be a cultural thing, sure, but they could also not wear clothes because they need their skin exposed so that it could absorb heat.

Here's how Bill Cipher's complete inner anatomy looks like:

There, I hope you enjoyed this! I'll see you hopefully next week to tell you about Euclydean reproduction and development.

Thank you @ok1237 @unoriginal-starwalker and @chrystalitar for your support :D

(Also, I hid Ford Pines in one of the anatomy illustrations. Can you find him? Click on the images for better quality!)

[zoomzooml]

Concept doodles I did specifically for redesign of The Nine Realms Night Lights but could actually work for Light Furies too (I mean colors)

They are very late, but Bubblehorn's existence was reminded to me and I found that I could try to do a redesign for it, but I got distracted and ended up with Night Lights lol

Kinda inspired by @/sparrowlucero's idea of Night Furies colors working like those of wolves so they aren't all black.

These Night Lights are just ideas and there probably would be possible different versions of each patterns but idk. Just ideas

And Thunder's design diss lmao

Now I think his tail fins should be bigger but I'm too lazy to come back to it now so let's agree it's bigger. Mostly longer.

Text from pic + some notes under the cut

For all we know Toothless was the last Night Fury, so it's theoretically impossible that after so many years his descendants would continue to have black coloration, especially that much of it (unless they are heavily inbreed what after looking at those models is possible-)

To distinguish our main dragon (because apparently the saddle is not enough???) from other representatives of the specie as well as dragons from the background, I thought it would be an interesting option to give the Light Furies (whose genes should now predominate, if not completely supplant those of the Night Fury) and Night Lights a naturally varied color scheme.

Since the popular interpretation is that Light Furies are a semi-aquatic variety of Furies I thought aquatic animals would be the best inspiration. There I have only dolphins but probably some other could be used too (like sharks??)

Thunder is, of course, inspired by the Killer Whale. Mainly because I didn't want to change his design very much.

Notes:

All tail fins are shaped more like those of Light Fury but are ragged like those of Night Fury. I didn't write it on the doodle but wings are more like NF (they are kinda bat-like and dragons were living uderground.)

The wings have a much larger connection to his flank, giving a surface area that gives him the actual ability to fly

The legs are somewhere between NL and LF. Bulkier than LF, slimmier than NF

I kept his big ears. They are funky

Plus I made his body longer and neck thicker

[kikithedreamerwriter]

Y/N x Bayverse!Turtles

let me know if you want to be a part of my taglist!

🗣️ taglist: @sharpwindow @pheradream-15

Imagines #1: Baby Fever

I recently started watching Sweeth Tooth on Netflix (seasons 1 was 🔥) and this what if has been at the back of my time for MONTHS.

I know that it may be physiologically impossible for mutant turtles to produce with humans BUT HEAR ME OUT.

What if? There was this worldwide pandemic that only affected females. For months, women would not have their period, their temperature would always be at the high 30’s, they would have constant chills, fatigue, and pain in their uterus. Then one day, everyone affected by the disease just suddenly got better as if nothing ever happened. When these women got pregnant, ninths months later, their babies weren’t just normal humans with normal round faces and small hands and feet. NO. But humans with animal features. Like Sweet Tooth!

So when Y/N, months after contracting the mysterious disease and who has been in a stable relationship with (name your turtle), began experiencing morning sickness, mood swings, weird cravings, and no period, she takes a pregnancy test and to her surprise… it’s positive. Maybe the disease somehow changes the physiology of the human female reproductive system? (Insert your own theory/imagine here!)

What do you guys think? 👀

I’d imagine the offspring to still look quite human with a human face, scales from their of their neck to the tops of their shoulders, the would have a turtle shell with unique patterns, iridescent scales fading from their hands up to their arms and their feet to their legs, they would still have five fingers and toes but their hands and feet would be quite large in proportion to their body, colorful eyes, and a “premature” or “faint” plastron on the front of their chests.

HCs for how the brothers will dad!

Leo

Imagine having twin boys with opposite personalities that bicker at one another 24/7. 👦👦

Talk about karma. Splinter had to deal with him and Raph.

He’s a stern dad, but a fair dad.

Will definitely channel his boys’ energy into training.

I imagine each twin having a favorite uncle. One for Uncle Raph, one for Uncle Donnie, but everyone LOVES Uncle Mikey!

Leo will feel insecure at times because his boys always choose you over him, but he needs to be reminded that that his sons IDOLIZE him and are in absolute awe of him whenever Leo spars with his brothers. They’re always on the sidelines cheering for their daddy. 🥺

Leo will want to be a role model to his boys just as Splinter was to him. 💙

Raph

Definitely a girl dad. 👧

Thinks he can say no to those puppy eyes, but Big Red is WEAK for his baby girl (you too, but he’s going to simp HARDER for your little one).

Definitely dreads the day when she begins to likes boys 💀

Raph DADS when he dads. Baby needs a diaper change? He’s got it. Baby having a fit? Raph’s already got her on his plastron, soothing her to sleep. Baby wants to play? He looks good in pink anyways. ���️

Raphs’s the knight, baby is the princess, and Uncle Mikey is the dragon during playtime.

Expect ALOT of knitted blankets, stuffed animals, and wooden toys.

Daddy Red is PROTECTIVE. Not even a single scratch is allowed on his precious baby.

Donnie

I can see this technical genius with a little helper of his own 👦👧

Boy or girl, rest assured your baby will be just as loved by their daddy and just smart as their daddy.

I can imagine Donnie just curating a library for his little one and he would change the selections yearly. His baby would have their own little library card 🥺 So will all the cousins!

Would LOVE to answer all those annoying “what’s that?” and “why?” questions of your baby whenever they visit him at his lab.

His kid would have his own step stool, lab coat, and protective eyewear in a bin beside his 💜

Funnily enough, they would share a similar love for poptarts 😅

Mikey

Out of all his brothers, Mikey remembers most what it’s like to be a kid, so having one of his one is simply a blessing and an opportunity to provide his own a good childhood like Splinter did for him and his brothers 🥺

You’ll have to do most of the discipline, but he’ll be your cheerleader and “emotional support” when you do that. Like Raph, he can never get mad at his babies.

Yes more than one. One is NOT enough.

Expect alot of sleepovers, Mario Kart game nights, and skate board rink sessions with not only his kids but ALL the cousins ✨

His children will 100% inherit his suave and personality.

He’s the FUN DAD period. Even when his kids are fully grown and have done things that may disappoint him, he will still love them just the same as the first time he saw their adorable little faces 🧡

Like these imagines? What head cannons should I make next? Please reblog and like you enjoyed this 💕✨ Yes you! 👀

[karniss-bg3]

I would like to hear your thoughts about Larian giving Kar’niss female pedipalps?

Personally I feel like it was just another f you from Lolth

Alright so, this is a complicated and detail-heavy topic. For that reason I’ll be splitting this theory into two sections: Technical Aspects & Lore. There will be a TL;DR at the bottom.

Technical Aspects

Kar’niss is a complex model and I imagine the rigging on him was wild. To my understanding his walking animation was done by hand which makes sense. His torso could be motion captured but the arachnid portions needed to be moved in engine. The best time to witness the separation is if you play music for him as a bard. His torso will bob and sway the same as the rest of the NPCs but his legs stay perfectly stationary. I do get a kick out of the idea of the Larian devs trying to put a tiny motion capture suit on a spider but alas.

I bring this up because the pedipalps add an extra layer of complication that the devs didn’t really need. In fact the concept art for driders doesn’t include them at all which suggests they weren’t part of the original design. A lot changed from concept art to the final version it seems. He used to have extra arms, his legs were longer, and his facial features were more twisted. His skin was also darker but it was either changed because he is a Szarkai or because his skin tone blended too heavily with the color of the chitin.

This would align with a lot of the concept art from D&D. There are many examples of driders without pedipalps, both male and female.

All that said, when it comes to the technical aspects, I have a theory as to why the original and final designs were so vastly different: Time. Kar’niss is one of the more detailed models in the game and even the final version didn’t turn out perfect. If you look closely at where his torso attaches to the spider body you can see some model tearing when he turns at certain angels, as well as what I refer to as “tubing”. I’ve seen this in a few games and it’s where limbs or portions of a body thin out to an impossible degree and they look like a squeezed out tube of toothpaste. This could be due to improper skeleton models, broken seams or rigging but as I don’t work in the industry those are my best guesses.

When you have a strict budget and time limit sometimes a development team has to cut some fat. They didn’t have the time to add in the extra arms, super long limbs or highly detailed face model. Perhaps they looked at the final design and weren’t satisfied with the lack of monster features. Thus, the pedipalps were introduced. But since drider are canonically sexless they designed the palps in such a way that they were made for battle; hence the sharp barb present at the tip of each. They are located face level for most races which make them perfect eye gougers or maybe they use them to subdue prey. Palps are also used to “taste” in most spider species and he could likely use them to discern if prey is edible or not.

“Pedipalps contain sensitive chemical detectors and function as taste and smell organs, supplementing those on the legs”

As for why they are female in design the simplest answer I have is that it was an oversight. If they were already scrambling to finish the model then they were likely going for the path of least resistance. Male pedipalps would’ve required a bit more work and either they didn’t think that much about it or chose the easiest design to model. I know about the Kar’niss is trans theory and I’ll be touching on that in the next section.

Lore

Anyone who has followed me for a while knows I’ve discussed drider lore a lot here so I’ll try to be a bit more brief in this section. Drider are meant to be sexless as Lolth didn’t wish for them to reproduce and rise up against Her. If Larian’s design of the palps were with intent then I believe we’re looking at Jurassic Park situation here. Maybe Lolth’s manner of birth control was to make all spider bodies female regardless of the gender of the drow who is changed. It would also align with the Matriarchal society drow come from as well as Lolth choosing to make driders in “Her image”. So yes, a “fuck you” from Lolth would be accurate in this case. The issue I run into is that Kar’niss is the only drider model in-game and so I have nothing to compare him to. I don’t know if all driders in this universe look the same or if there would’ve been a difference between females and males. It leaves it all up to pure speculation, sad to say.

There is a theory that’s been around for a while now that Kar’niss is transgender. While I think it’s a perfectly fine theory I don’t necessarily agree with it. It’s not because I’d be against him being trans, it’s more that I can’t find enough evidence to support it. For starters if he is trans, is he a trans man or a trans woman? We’ve learned that Kar’niss is a female name according to drow naming conventions and of course his palps suggest a female body. The name can be explained as an act of defiance as it is stated that if a man takes on a womans name they are considered troublemakers. If he is a trans woman, why would he ever allow himself to be misgendered?

There are several NPCs that refer to him as “he” and Kar’niss never once barks at them. It’s not as if he’s shy and in fact he’s proven to have quite the temper. He no longer follows nor worships Lolth and he’s under the protection of the Absolute, a cult that allegedly loves and accepts him. Why hide himself as a trans woman under these conditions? Especially in a game that is very progressive in terms of character creation and pronoun usage.

If he is a trans man then the spider body becomes a moot point. Did he transition before the drider transformation or did Lolth change his sex but slap on the female spider body as a way to mock him? Is that why he was changed? I imagine in a drow society where being a woman is a big deal having one that wanted to become a male, a lesser, would be the talk of the Underdark. I’m sure it’s worse for men who want to be women as that could be seen as “rising above their station”. It’s hard to say as modern day gender identity isn’t really addressed in drow lore.

There is a trans woman in Baldur's Gate 3 that the player meets during Shadowheart’s storyline. It can be easy to miss as her past isn’t revealed unless Shadowheart consumes the noblestalk Tav picks up in the Underdark. This is an excerpt from Nocturne’s journal.

“I am Nocturne. I think as her. I see her when I look in the mirror. I can't remember the last time someone called me by the wrong name - Shadowheart has been swift to gently correct slips of the tongue, and even swifter in challenging those who'd use my forsworn name in malice. I'm lucky to have her as a friend. “

While it seems she had trouble in the beginning, those under Shar came to accept her in time as far as I can tell. With this we can at least say that Larian has no issues adding in trans characters but Kar’niss doesn’t receive this treatment. Another thing to note is that Nocturne is voiced by a trans woman, Abigail Thorn. Where as Kar’niss is voiced by, what I assume to be, a cisgender male. In my mind if Larian would take that much time and care for accuracy wouldn’t they do the same for Kar’niss?

With all of that said if people have the headcanon that Kar’niss is trans that is a-okay, I have no issues with that or any other character! It’s simply a theory I don’t personally subscribe to because the elements don’t line up well enough for me. But hey if they ever expand on his story and he is trans that’d be cool. I don’t know if there is a trans man elsewhere in-game so it’d be nice to see that representation there.

Phew, that was far longer than I anticipated but I hope I covered the topic well enough as it has been debated quite a bit in the fandom. Once again I want to express that I believe folks are allowed to write and draw these characters how they see fit. It’s fantasy fun folks, go wild and enjoy your faves as you desire.

TL;DR: I think the female pedipalps are a technical oversight and were only added in to give Kar’niss a more monstrous appearance or to round out his design. I don’t believe he is trans due to the lack of evidence to support the theory. If Lolth had any bearing on the spider body it was likely to prevent reproduction or in an effort to make driders in her image. Overall, the pedipalps are more up to interpretation than hard evidence.

[rareunofficial]

Don Weaso's real eyes

Im not so sure if this was discovered before not even Cutting Room Floor or Conkerguru ever talks about it because likely they didn't know this yet?! :o

Im currently ripping all the models from the game to prepare for a big upcoming project. While Im doing this, I got curious about it and when I deleted the glasses on Blender this shows!

Throughout the cutscenes, he always wear glasses and never takes it off besides smoking and talking animations. This should be considered unseen but not unused because the textures for his eyes are still intact within the game but covered by his glasses making it nearly impossible to see it!

It seems the reason he was wearing them is to hide the texture for his eyes if Rare didn't have enough time to animate his eyes while he speaks or they didn't bother to because the makers knew the player won't see it and the glasses would fit well with his "gangsta' personality" to match the old time mafia themes with Don. So there would be no need for his eyes to be animated properly with the glasses on but why would they include his eyes from the beginning? Perhaps to add realism for the visuals in the game? unless Rare originally planned not to give him glasses until they start rushing with making the game but then again it looks like the glasses was just there to make up the character and not for hiding his eye textures since his eyes look a bit out of place unless he supposed to look angry to make him tough? similar case with Sonic and Mega Man characters.

Im posting this here if nobody seen this before! Let me know what you think!

[galaxyostars]

The de Rolo kids are public schooled.

Preface

So I've been thinking. I don't believe Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo the Third would (at least immediately) allow someone other than him, Vex, and perhaps the rest of Vox Machina, to privately tutor his kids. I'm using a combination of CR and TLOVM here, as the main campaign playthrough doesn't really linger much on Percy's relationship with Anders as the animation does, but the overall gist is that Anders betrayed the de Rolo family in favour of working for the Briarwoods (and in CR's case, Vecna).

You're the face I saw when murder entered my heart.

^ Percy, to his teacher, Professor Anders.

Home-tutoring

Is it impossible for Percy and Vex to teach their kids? Absolutely not. Is it impossible for them to teach their five kids, whilst also maintaining their own hobbies (and lives)? Eh... it's doable, but doing a Master's degree in Education myself, I cannot imagine the level of Percy's intended teaching and their kids' learning after Gwendolyn was born being left to just Percy and Vex as being remotely comfortable for them.

But then you have to consider what type of learning these kids are maintaining. I think Percy was initially within a factory model of education (based on what we saw in TLOVM) but broke out of it when he was on his own and started tinkering. I'm not well-versed with Vex's formal education -- I imagine she has one outside of her learned practical skills given she was in Syngorn for an amount of time with Syldor, but I imagine her idea of education is probably a little more "free" than Percy's. I like to think they had a conversation about what their kids' education would look like. Vex is not like Caleb and Beau in the Mighty Nein who constantly go to the library for additional information about anything and everything they don't know, but is instead already knowledgable, can deduce using logical reasoning, or goes and asks someone else (not to say Caleb and Beau can't do this either, but regardless). I think that indicates she's probably a little more world-wise than she is interested in classroom etiquette.

(Note: Taliesen Jaffe has joked that Percy probably took hits of pot now and then, delivered by Keyleth/Vax!Crow, to get through the day with his children around ("Do you see how many kids that is? Oh my god."))

I should also point out the interaction with Gwendolyn indicates she's at least accustomed to Percy's office/library where there are rules in place and it sounds like he might've said "Leave the book" because his kids have been taking them and not putting them back (which probably mortified him upon first incident).

Public Education

There is, however, an alternative I do like very much: this generation of de Rolo kids may actually be "public-schooled" (or at least, the Whitestone version of that).

Again, speaking as an Aussie pre-service teacher, it's a lot harder to be a good teacher while also planning to overthrow your government/be a cult leader at the same time when you've got a class of 20+ kids to look after and educate. Doable, but rather unlikely. Vex might've actually thought it safer and more to Percy's liking to put their kids' education into the system they have a direct gubernatorial say over, rather than allowing an educator direct access to his home, his family.

This would not only benefit the de Rolos, but also other lower/middle-class families in Whitestone, as there's no doubt they'd pump that education system with as much coin as would benefit their kids' learning.

Additionally, mentioning the pot joke again, it gets said five kids out of the home giving these parents some peace and quiet.

Obviously there'd be nobility etiquette teaching they'd have to undergo, but it's probably much, much easier to do that in-house than it is the entirety of their education.

I put it to you, fellow Critters: At what point, if any, would Percy relinquish the education of his kids to someone outside of Vox Machina? And, would that be in a regular school classroom with other kids?

[gvfgal]

11. In Death We Give

Barbarian. Biker!Jake

18+ series. Minors DNI.

A/n: I’ll save all the blabbering this chapter 😂 All I have to say is feel free to leave your questions and comments wherever you see fit, and as always, enjoy. 🖤

Content Warnings: Gambling, drinking, smoking, negative thoughts of parenting, explicit sexual content, mentions of turbulent childhood.

Word Count: 3.7K

The Barbarians were scattered around Bobby’s bustling casino, deciding to partake in some leisure time since they’d already been there tending to business. It was a Saturday evening, and the place was packed, more so than Jake had ever seen.

The machines lining the walls had every seat filled, and every table had players rolling dice and slinging cards in hopes of striking it big. Some patrons seemed uneasy with the Barbarian’s presence, especially given their rowdy behavior fueled by the free-flowing drinks. But no one dared to say a word or throw them out—they practically owned the place.

Jake, though present, was seated alone at the bar. His mind raced with thoughts of you and the baby, making it impossible to fully engage in the revelry surrounding him.

Ace was busy at the blackjack table, but when he took a break, he found Jake sitting alone, clearly not in the best spirits. Ace had noticed his quietness all day but had chalked it up to a lack of sleep.

Crossing the large game room, Ace took a seat beside Jake, signaling the bartender for another round of drinks.

“What’s going on, kid?” Ace’s gruff voice pulled Jake from his racing thoughts. “I’ve hardly heard a peep out of you all day. Now you’re sitting over here moping at the bar.”

Jake chuckled, though it was devoid of humor. “I’m not moping, Ace,” he paused, wondering if this was a conversation he wanted to venture into at the moment, “It’s Cherry.”

Ace’s face contorted with concern, wondering if he and the club would need to handle something on your behalf.

“She’s pregnant.”

Ace’s reaction was animated, though he did his best to mask his surprise, taking a swig from his freshly prepared drink. Damn kids, he thought to himself, as if they’d never heard of a condom. Though he knew you and Jake were far from children, in his eyes, you were.

“She keepin’ it?”

Jake’s glare immediately answered his question, and Ace threw his hands up in defense. “Just thought I’d ask. You still don’t seem too thrilled, though.”

Jake took a sip from his drink and sighed, dropping his head before looking back at Ace. “I’m terrified, man. What the hell do I know about being someone’s dad?”

“Being a father ain’t easy, especially your first time around,” Ace agreed. “Never had any of my own, but I’ve done enough work helping raise some of you knuckleheads to know that fatherhood is one of the toughest jobs of them all. Tougher than being a Barbarian.”

“Yeah, well, other than you, we all know I didn’t have the best role model when it came to being a parent,” Jake scoffed, shaking his head bitterly. “What if I end up being a crappy dad like he was? What if years down the line my kid ends up hating me like I did Rex because I didn’t live up to the father I was supposed to be?”

Ace understood all of Jake’s worries; it was only natural for someone in his position. However, he knew most of Jake's fears were unfounded.

“I don’t see that happening.” Jake was gazing down into his empty glass, but when he heard Ace’s words, he looked up.

“I think you’d run laps around Rex when it comes to the father department, because you know what it’s like to have been in that position. I don’t see you repeating history,” Ace said, shaking his head. “You’ve got too much in you for that.”

Ace’s words were comforting, but they addressed only part of Jake’s concern.

“And what about all this, Ace?”

“All of what?”

“This,” Jake gestured between himself and Ace, “being a Barbarian. What kind of quality of life will my kid have if I bring them up around all of this? We’re knee-deep with a homicidal drug cartel leader, and God knows what else lies ahead. I can’t subject my kid to that.”

Ace shrugged. “Barbarians have been doing it since the beginning of time. I don’t see why you can’t.”

“Yeah, well, we see how that ended up for a lot of them. Some die and leave kids behind. Some run them and their mothers off before they even get a chance to know them. And if that doesn’t happen, one way or another, the life always finds a way to trickle down.”

The flirty bartender came over to top off Jake’s drink, sending him a wink. He rolled his eyes and snatched the glass off the counter. “I don’t know how I’m gonna do it, but I have to. Cherry needs me.”

“Mhmm,” Ace agreed, “that’s right. And with that being said, I’m confident that you’ll figure it out, no matter how you decide to go about it. You’re a smart kid, Jake, always have been,” he patted his young friend on the back. “I don’t see you not being a good dad, and that’s the honest truth.”

Jake was thankful for Ace’s words, and though he could’ve kept going, he decided to leave the conversation as it was.

“Now,” Ace said, brightening up, “will you please stop sitting over here throwing yourself a pity party and come have some fun? You’ve always been a wiz at blackjack.”

Jake smirked. “Fine. One game, though. Then I need to head back.”

Ace nodded, understanding Jake’s new responsibilities. “One game will satisfy me.”

Jake finished his drink, feeling a bit lighter. The future was uncertain, but with Ace's support and the determination to be there for you and your baby, he felt ready to take on whatever came next.

You sat on the sofa as an old sitcom hummed through the dilapidated speakers, though your attention was elsewhere. You glanced at the clock every so often, wondering when Jake would return, if he returned at all.

You had plenty of faith in him, but the uncertainty of your situation made you fear he might decide to leave. Truth be told, if you could, you might have considered the same.

Just as your thoughts began to sour, you heard the front door squeak open. Jake shuffled in with a large bouquet of red roses in one hand, his helmet tucked under the other arm.

“Jake,” you shot up from the couch, “you’re back.” The surprise in your voice was evident, and it made him feel even more empathetic towards you. He’d been distant the past couple of days, not intentionally, but it was enough to make you feel deserted and uncared for. This small gesture was his way of reassuring you.

“Of course I’m back,” he grinned, feeling a pang of guilt at your surprise.

“Are those for me?” You blushed, making your way over to him.

“What, these?” He joked, setting his helmet down. “No, actually they were a gift to me, from Nicky, of all people.”

You laughed and gave him a playful shove. “Shut up.” He handed the bouquet to you, and you admired them before smiling up at him. “Thank you, Jake.”

Even though you were smiling, he could still see the fear in your eyes. When recognition flashed across his face, your expression faltered and you couldn’t help but fall into his chest with a silent cry.

He wrapped his arms around you, holding you tight and rubbing a soothing hand over your head. “I know, baby. It’s okay.”

“I’m so scared, Jake,” you admitted, though he already understood. He was scared too, but his priority was ensuring you and the life you were nurturing were okay.

He gently pulled you away to look into your glossy eyes, his gaze sending silent assurances before he leaned in to kiss you softly.

You kissed him back, finding comfort in his embrace when you needed it most.

The kiss lingered before he pulled away, setting the bouquet of roses on the kitchen table. He grabbed your hand and led you toward your bedroom, and you followed wordlessly, feeling a little more at ease with each step.

Once you made it past the threshold, you began pulling your shirt over your head in anxious anticipation, dying to feel his calloused hands on your bare skin. But before you could get it off, Jake stopped you with a hand around your wrist.

You looked at him in confusion, wondering if you’d misread his actions, but he gave you a reassuring smile.

“Let me, Cherry. I wanna do it differently this time.”

Slowly, you lowered your hand and allowed him to take over undressing you. He picked up where you left off with your shirt, dragging it up your torso and over your head. You weren’t wearing a bra, and when your chest was exposed to him, a satisfactory sigh ghosted past his lips. You stood on display for him and let him marvel at you before he was cupping your breasts in each of his hands. He lapped at the left one first, small spurts of his tongue against your nipple before switching to the other.

You threw your head back with a breathy moan and savored the feeling. His mouth began to travel lower, sprinkling kisses along your abdomen and leaving one lingering just above your bellybutton before he was tugging gently at your shorts and panties. His breath was warm against your already flushed skin, and you felt your need for him growing with each agonizing second.

But you didn’t want to rush it; the care he was showing you was something you wanted and needed desperately. Jake had never been this tender when it came to sex, both of you behaving like a couple of savages due to the electric charge of your relationship. But as he trailed gentle kisses down your legs, taking his time showing attention to as much of your body as he could, you found yourself growing quickly addicted to the feeling.

Once you were standing naked before him and he was satisfied with his affections, Jake rose to his feet with a drunken, lopsided grin. He nodded his head towards the bed, signaling for you to lie down, and you did just that. You propped yourself up on your elbows to watch as he began undressing himself as well.

First his leather vest, then his white t-shirt, revealing to you once again his tattoos and battle scars that you grew to love so much. Next he stepped out of his pants, making a show out of the way his cock was pressed against his boxers and already staining the fabric.

When he finally removed them and was standing before you in all his naked glory, your mouth fell open without making a sound. You’d seen him naked more times than you could count, but there was something about this moment that felt so much different than the rest. It felt like an offering to you, his way of letting you know that he was entirely yours.

The Barbarian Prince all to yourself.

Unable to resist any more temptation, you reach a hand out to him, and he came over and took it in his own, kissing over your knuckles before completely joining you on the bed. His knee rested between your thighs, purposefully nudging against your clit and causing you to jerk forward. From that touch alone, he knew you were ready, his knee drew back slick, and you’d have felt slightly embarrassed if it were anyone else.

Jake gripped his cock in his hands, lowering his lips onto yours as he pumped himself a few times and lined up with your entrance. In one fluid movement, he sunk into you with a groan, and you instantly wrapped your arms and legs around his body, needing to feel him as close as possible.

You stayed like that for a moment, enjoying the velvet feeling of being connected like this. Usually by now Jake had a fistful of your hair in his hand and was plowing into you, but this wasn’t the time for it. Instead, he began gliding in and out of you at a leisurely pace, capturing every spurt of air that left your lips into his mouth.

“God, Jake,” you purred when he finally freed you to speak, “oh god yes.” The slow pace he was keeping was electrifying to your body, allowing you to feel every bit of what he had to offer filling you up over and over again. His head fell into the crook of your neck as he cradled you close, his breathing coming out more like shuddering grunts as he continued to rock his hips into you.

“I love you, Cherry,” he whispered into your ear, causing you to momentarily freeze. That was the first time those words had ever left his lips, and you thought for a moment you’d misheard him in your state of bliss.

Sensing your apprehension, Jake lifted his head and stared you directly in your eyes, picking up his pace ever so slightly.

“I love you. I know I don’t ever say it,” he paused as another groan left his mouth at the way you constricted around him, “but I do. I love you.”

You wanted to blame the good sex for his words, but by the way he gazed at you adoringly, you knew he meant exactly what he said. You leaned forward and pressed your forehead against his, not deterred by the light sheen of sweat that was forming in his hairline. “I love you, Jake,” you cooed, feeling tears welling in your ducts, “I love you.”

“You know I’ll take care of you. Of us.”

You nodded with a dazed sigh, feeling your release approaching slowly but surely.

“I know.”

Not another word was spoken after that, only the sounds of your breathing and the occasional sound of your bodies coming together could be heard in the trailer.

Jake continued with you slowly and sweetly, stopping every once in a while to plant firm kisses against the corner of your mouth. When you finally succumbed to his coaxing of your orgasm, a shiver ran through your body and leapt over to Jake’s, the hairs on his arms standing at attention at the feeling of your soaking him.

He wasn’t far behind you, spilling into you with a final pointed thrust and a long drawn out groan that sounded like sweet music to your ears. He took a moment to calm his breathing before rolling off of you onto his back.

You both stared at the ceiling as you fought to come back to earth, and once the intensity settled, Jake turned to look at you.

“You know I meant what I said, Cherry? That wasn’t just the sex talking.”

You giggled, “I know Jake. But it’d be nice to hear you say it again now that you aren’t balls deep inside me.”

Jake shook his head with a laugh, then planted a firm kiss on your cheek. “I love you,” he reiterated. “And for as long as you’ll let me, I promise I’ll take care of us.”

He brought his hand to your stomach and began rubbing it, fully acknowledging for the first time the life growing inside of you.

You smiled at him and placed your hand over his, your eyes meeting in a moment of silent confirmation. No matter what happened from here on out, you were in it together.

Once you had fallen into a comfortable slumber, Jake dressed and stepped out front to light a cigarette. As he stood there, his mind raced with plans for the future, brainstorming ways to ensure both your safety and security. But his thoughts were interrupted by the haunting presence of Rex’s trailer across the street, dominating his view and his mind.

Unable to shake the pull, he stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette on the railing and found himself walking towards the empty trailer. He hadn’t been back since he trashed the place days after Rex’s funeral, but something compelled him now.

Fishing out the spare key he had buried in an empty planter, Jake unlocked the front door and stepped inside, shutting it quietly behind him. The power had been shut off about a month ago, so he used his phone’s flashlight to navigate the dark, stuffy interior. Everything was exactly as he had left it, untouched and filled with memories.

An idea sparked as he remembered the small coat closet off to the left, where Rex and Vicky had stored many photo albums over the years. He retrieved an old office supply box from the top shelf and carried it to the dusty couch. Sitting down, he pulled out the album on top and opened it to the middle, inspecting the photos tucked behind the thin plastic covering.

The first photo he noticed was one of him sitting in his mother’s lap on a lounge chair out back. Both were dressed in swimsuits, his mother in a skimpy bikini and a one-year-old Jake in a pair of flamed swim trunks that looked a size too big. The photo next to it showed him splashing in a small plastic kiddie pool, water droplets frozen in mid-air by his chubby hands.

Jake grinned, flipping a few pages over. This set of photos showed one of Rex’s birthday parties. In one photo, Rex, Vicky, and Jake all smiled at the camera, and in another, cake was smeared across Jake’s face as his parents threw their heads back in laughter.

He scanned through more of the album before setting it aside and grabbing the next one. The photos in this album were from when Jake was a little older, maybe four or five. The first several pages were void of Vicky, leading him to believe they were taken during a time when she wasn’t around.

Most of the pictures showed Jake by himself or with the Barbarians. One picture particularly stood out: Jake sitting on a shiny black Harley, surrounded by Ace, Steeljaw, Madcap, and a few other men, all beaming with pride at seeing a young Jake already embracing Barbarian culture.

More photos revealed Jake’s life amongst the club, showing faces of men he once loved who were no longer around, either dead or serving serious time. It was bittersweet to see those familiar faces, reminders of a past both cherished and mourned.

As Jake browsed the photos, he realized that these seemingly happy fragments of his childhood were misleading. Each photo, each memory, no matter how joyous they appeared, was intertwined with some form of gloom.

There was a photo from his tenth birthday, where he smiled holding his Harley-themed cake, but he remembered the day being ruined by a blowout argument between Rex and Vicky, leading to Ace hauling Rex away. Another photo showed an adolescent Jake among a sea of leather jackets, a tiny figure among men. It looked like a good time, but it was the day of Tex’s funeral, a member Jake had been close to who died in a gunfight.

These memories were tainted, and Jake thought of his child years down the line, looking back at pictures of their childhood. Would they feel the same melancholy he did? Would he inadvertently tarnish their joy the way his father and environment had for him? It was a scary thought, one he tried not to entertain, vowing to make things different for his child.

Jake continued to flip through the albums until he froze at a picture of him and Jaxon. There weren’t many photos of Jaxon in this album; Jake had kept most of those closer to him, likely still under his old bed. He couldn’t face those memories yet.

This photo, however, was special to Rex. It was from the day after Jake and Jaxon had officially sworn in as Barbarians. They had their arms around each other’s shoulders, sporting their new Barbarian jackets and a few black eyes and scrapes from the initiation. The youth in their faces, the pride in their smiles, Jaxon’s tight sandy curls, and Jake’s darker, much longer tasseled hair. Best friends. Brothers. Torn apart by the very thing they were so proud to be a part of in that photo.

Jake decided he’d had enough reminiscing. He shut the album and began stacking it with the rest back into the box. When he moved to get up from the couch, the wall behind it caved with a crumble.

"Shit," Jake murmured. Another hole in the wall to add to the collection of others. The place was falling apart, likely beyond salvaging.

Setting the box on the coffee table, he pulled the couch off the wall and squatted down to inspect the hole. The mismatched paint around it suggested Rex had patched this spot before.

Something was odd, though. The wall hadn’t completely caved. There was something solid behind the drywall, preventing it from collapsing entirely.

Jake pushed in the loose piece of wall and felt something pushing back. He peered into the gap, catching a glimpse of something he couldn’t quite identify. Setting his phone down, he used both hands to pull the broken piece away from the rest. His vision was suddenly flooded with piles of cash.

Just from a glance, it had to be at least half a million dollars stuffed into the opening, maybe closer to seven hundred fifty thousand.

"What the fuck?" Jake mumbled, reaching in to pull out one of the stacks. He inspected it, and then another, halfway expecting it to be counterfeit. It was real.

“What the fuck?”

Where had all this money come from, and how long had Rex been hiding it here?

Jake stared in disbelief, unsure of his next move. Clearly, no one else knew about this money. If they did, there was no way in hell it would still be here.

But still, what was the money for? Who was it for? Or, who was it from?

A noise outside startled Jake. He quickly stuffed the stacks he’d pulled out back into the wall, fixing the hanging piece as best as he could and sliding the couch back into position. His heart raced as he looked around anxiously. It was late, and there was nothing more he could do at the moment.

He decided to leave his discovery as it was, leaving the box of photo albums on the table. Jake double-checked that all the windows were secured, and when he stepped out and locked the door behind him, he made sure his hidden treasure stayed secure.

As he crossed back to your trailer, his mind raced. He needed a plan, but for now, all he could do was keep this secret close and figure out what Rex had been up to.

Taglist: @edgingthedarkness @earthgrlsreasy @wetkleenex-gvf @hollyco @dannys-dream @slut4lando @josh-iamyour-mama @gretasfallingsky @takenbythemadness @scoreofinfantryvines

[birdmenmanga]

you know it's always crazy that people have the patience to like. watch tutorials of things. like people are moved by the love for a medium rather than a specific vision. I've had multiple friends say "yeah I started watching tutorials on how to use blender" and clearly the thought process behind that is "I think it would be cool to know how to 3D model things" but unfortunately that is just not how my brain works. my brain goes "I NEED a fucking 3D model of eishi at the top of an impossibly long staircase reaching up towards whiteout takayama because I want the camera to rotate slowly around it and it seems faster to 3D model it than to animate it" and then I tear my way through it like a savage beast with zero foundations. this is how I've approached nearly everything in my life which means I have lived a life filled with frustrations but I cannot imagine living any other way

[ducktracy]

I'm really curious on what a layout artist is. Do you know?

layout’s a finicky thing to describe because it’s so all encompassing, and there are so many interpretations of it, especially nowadays in the current animation landscape where the definition seems to vary by production. i myself am even not 100% confident in my answer!

but, essentially, it’s a visual guide of a scene for the animators. this can be many things: clarifying how a pose is supposed to look, with the animator following/mimicking the art style of the layout artist to give the scene a coherent, consistent look (putting it “on model”, in layman’s terms. the layout artist’s drawing would be considered the model). that would be character layout. a layout artist can also establish the way the scene is supposed to be structured—how characters interact with the background environments, how the background environments frame the characters, what the background is even supposed to look like. that’s background layout. likewise, a layout artist also registers the camera field—indicating where the camera is supposed to be positioned and how much of the character(s) fits in the frame.

in-house layout departments are scarce in a lot of modern productions nowadays, and many productions will try to have their own version of a layout team lumped under the term “character design”. you’re not actually designing characters, but refining the poses drawn in the storyboards to bring it even further to the model of the show, so that the animators have a visual guide to follow. sometimes, a board artist will draw a particular drawing that the “character designer” needs to clarify so the animators know how to put it on model. these are usually called “special poses” which, again, is basically slang for layout. this is how we operate on SpongeBob now. it seems LTC did as well.

it’s a bit different in a golden age context though. the general point is still the same in that the layout artist will collaborate with the director and often dictate the general art style of the short. hell, sometimes the directors WERE their own layout artists. Chuck Jones and Bob McKimson were both their own character layout artists in the ‘50s—this is why it’s practically impossible for someone like me to be able to discern who the hell is animating what in a ‘50s Chuck Jones cartoon because they adhere SO STRICTLY to his style

whereas Bob McKimson—i’ve mentioned this before, but i just brought it up yesterday and it’s on my mind. here’s a character layout he did for Fool Coverage (which you should watch very good cartoon), and here’s Rod Scribner’s interpretation of it below…

obviously not very loyal. but Scribner’s interpretation is much FUNNIER and works way better in animation than McKimson’s; McKimson’s drawing is still a GREAT drawing and super solid on its on, but definitely a much more conservative approach. you can also see, though, how much of his personal style leeches into his own shorts as well

or this here: John Carey was Bob Clampett’s layout artists for a good portion of his time in the “Katz unit” (aka black and white cartoons), and also animated this very scene he laid out. the two drawings are practically indistinguishable, but there are definitely minor differences. he dictates how the scene is to look

i’ve mainly been talking about character layout, but here are some background layouts indicating where the characters are to fit in the shot as well. this is more all encompassing.

the credits on LT shorts are such a continuous melting pot of nonsense for many reasons, and one of it is because it took until… 1945? 1946? i think ‘45, for them to credit the layout artists… and background artists (who rendered and painted the BG layouts)... and Mel Blanc. and so this is sort of where my knowledge flounders a bit. we know that Maurice Noble was Chuck Jones’ BG layout guy in the ‘50s, and we know Chuck did all his own character layouts. that’s fine enough. but i have no idea, if, say, was John Carey doing background layouts as well in Clampett’s cartoons? was it his background painter, Dick Thomas? Clampett himself mentioned doing the layouts on A Tale of Two Kitties, and the staging of the short in that one definitely has some very warped and drastic angles not usually found elsewhere, so it’s safe to assume he was working on BG layouts in that. but where is the line drawn?? who is responsible for what?

thanks to Warner’s bunk credit system it’s been difficult to piece together. a lot of very talented artists that worked on these shorts never got their credits or dues. everyone knows “oh yeah, Chuck Jones’ shorts in the ‘40s are really stylized and flat.” but do they know the name John McGrew? Bernyce Polifka? Eugene Fleury? all of whom were a part of establishing this style, but also maintain independent subtleties to their own cartoons they worked on? how do Fleury’s paintings based off of McGrew’s layouts in The Case of the Missing Hare or The Aristo-Cat differ from Polifka’s paintings based off of McGrew’s layouts in Wackiki Wabbit and Tom Turk and Daffy?

i’m going off on a tangent, but my point stands in that it’s a very complicated, multifaceted aspect of the animation process that doesn’t have one meaning. it impacts so many different aspects and even how it impacts or WHAT it impacts differs. basically, it just sets the stage for how the scene looks in the final animation, whether it be where the characters and camera are positioned, how the characters look or how the backgrounds look. think of it as the cartoon’s blueprint.

[cherrytimemachine]

So I just realized something about the Pizzaplex location and its connection to the Pizzeria Simulator location.

Isn't it weird how there are now two large parts of the Sister Location building inside the underground area of the Pizzaplex?

Not only is the scooping room and the scooper itself down there, but we get to the claw machine we go through in PQ4, we are led by OMC to the Sister Location elevator, this time going up. So the elevator in SL is connected to the FFPS location, which we see the ruins of at the end of SB, in Ruin, and we literally play from there in HW2. You can tell by the matching show stages and the models for the chairs that it's the same as FFPS.

The scooping room seems to have been reorganized in a way, and the scooper looks like it can flip around and fold up to be stored on either side of the room if the matching walls are supposed to be the same spot. That would make the four doorways that you run through in Ruin to get to the scooping room part of Ballora Gallery if I remember correctly.

Here we can see two different perspectives of the elevator, whereas in SL we're up against the back wall looking through the doorway, and in PQ4 we're stepping in through the doors. The tubing on the wall even matches up with the original SL design, aside from the new poster decorations. Whether that was just an artistic choice or a hint that someone has been down there and felt the need to replace the decor that's somehow lore relevant, I don't know.

This means that Pizzaplex is built on top of where Henry's house would've been in the books, as Sister Location is directly connected to his house in the novels like it's theorized to be with the Afton house in the games. But below that is the Pizzeria Simulator location, which you would think would be the end of it, but no, there's a giant sinkhole in the FFPS location that you play in during HW2, and that's where the Mimic was locked away. And that's where I'm about to suggest something that might blow your mind.

What if not only was the FFPS location connected to the Pizzaplex, but below that was the Sister Location? What if I were to tell you that the Mimic had been trapped in an old area of the SL rental service and had potentially come from there to begin with, but was sealed back inside? The placement of the mascot costumes in the files of Ruin make more sense if we think about it as an older location, and specifically with SL, William had a hand in owning it, and potentially Henry as well.

People have already made the connection between Henry and Edwin Murray (who also happens to have a son that holds an animal plushie a lot of the time and who seems to be neglected by his father), so it wouldn't be impossible for Henry to have locked the Mimic down there in the games since it was basically a storage facility for bad robots that nobody wanted to think about anymore.

This changes an understanding we have of the lore in a new way. We know there was most likely a house built on top of the SL building, whether it was Henry's or William's in the games is up for debate and might never be confirmed or mentioned again, but these games are connecting the underground locations of SL and FFPS not in them being the same building, but them being connected, one on top of the other, with FFPS being above SL.

This could mean that the FFPS building was an old space that wasn't just built or some random location that was left to rot, that location could've been part of the SL storage facility, or just a specific upper floor dedicated to storing who knows what before it was turned into the trap to burn all the robots. It could even be that FFPS is where the Mimic had come from originally, and by the building being broken into with the new Pizzaplex construction, they unknowingly set the Mimic free. But now it makes sense why they couldn't escape the fire, because they were trapped underground in a building made to contain robots like them. But instead of it being Henry's more recent creation, it's either one he's had for a long time or it was made by William a long time ago, though because William was so intrigued by invitation to enter the facility, I wonder if he'd actually been involved with the place, or if Henry was actually the one who operated it and was using it to store evidence of William's twisted creations. We still don't have a definitive reason as to why William sent Michael down there instead of going himself anyway, and it would make sense if he did because the facility was underneath Henry's house, and it's heavily hinted by Candy Cadet's stories in FFPS that Henry was aware William had been the killer behind the MCI, and his awareness seems to be dating back to around the same time the murders were committed. He wouldn't want William on his property, despite his reluctance to turn him in for whatever reason.

Sorry for the long rant, I just had this realization while thinking about the ending of HW2, and all of a sudden, I had an epiphany. Anyway, I'd love to know what other people think of this and what it means for the upcoming games and lore. Safe to say I think I get why this game had an extra focus on SL, FFPS, and SB specifically, it's because all three locations are connected.

[bluelocksource]

Yukimiya Kenyū’s trivia (source: twt & Egoist Bible 1 & 2).

"Move aside, I don't have time!"

☆ Character's colour: Red orange.

☆ Weapons:

Dribbling and gyro shoot. (EB1) Dribbling, gyro shot, instant vertical strike. (EB2)

☆ Nickname: ‘1on1 Strongest Prince’.

☆ Birthday: 28th April.

☆ Current age: 18 (3rd year of high school)

☆ Zodiac: Taurus.

☆ Birthplace: Miyazaki Prefecture.

☆ Family: Mother. Father. Himself.

☆ Current height: 184 cm.

☆ Dominant foot: Right foot.

☆ Visual acuity: Not good, need glasses.

☆ Blood type: O.

☆ Starts playing football: At age 7 (suggested by his mother).

☆ Personal 50M run record: 5.91 seconds.

☆ Team before joining BLUE LOCK: Soranin / Kūnin High School Soccer Club.

☆ Motto: "Give your all in a single moment."

☆ Favorite food: Blueberries. “They’re good for your eyes.”

☆ Disliked food: Garlic. “I feel like my vision is turning yellow.”

☆ Favorite animal: Penguins. "I think it’s fascinating how they waddle cutely on land but extremely fast when they swim."

☆ Favorite season: Spring. ”Because I like cherry blossoms.”

☆ Favorite football player: Edgar Davids.

☆ Favorite music: ‘Phoenix’ by SEKAI NO OWARI.

☆ Favorite manga: Oyasumi Punpun.

☆ Favorite movie: Evangelion “The older version. Asuka’s sky burial was excellent, wasn’t it?”

☆ Favorite TV show: FOOTxBRAIN (TV Tokyo).

☆ Favorite celebrity: Yo Yoshida. “There’s something pleasant about a cool woman.”

☆ Favorite brand: Oakley (goggle brand).

☆ Ideal type: Someone who smiles a lot and watches over him.

☆ Hobby: Modelling.

☆ Mushroom shoots vs Bamboo shoots: Mushroom. “Because of its cute shape.”

☆ What goes best with rice : Shirasu. "Pickled egg and green onion shirasu rice are delicious. Why don’t you try it?"

☆ What makes him happy: Warm support.

☆ What makes him upset: “Someone beat me in 1on1.”

☆ What he thinks his strength is: The most competitive person in the world, and strict with himself.

☆ What he thinks his weakness is: “I am too strict with myself and not interested in other people’s business.”

☆ Favorite/Best subject: Science, Japanese, P.E.

☆ Dislike/weak subject: Art. “Drawing makes my eyes tired.”

☆ What made him cry recently: “I won’t tell you. It’s embarrassing.”

☆ Usual sleeping time: 8 hours.

☆ What he usually ends up buying from convenience store: Hot eye mask. “To warm my eyes.”

☆ Place he washes first when taking a bath: His forehead hairlines.

☆ Fixation: With ephemeral things like cherry blossoms, sparklers, etc.

☆ Number of chocolates received from previous Valentine: “I didn’t count. I only ate the ones that arrived at my agency, there’s lots of them.”

☆ At what age he experiences first love: At age 10. “With my friend’s 16-year-old sister.”

☆ The first time he got confessed to: “My friend’s older sister kissed me on the forehead. Got embarrassed and ran away.”

☆ What will he do if received 100 million yen: “I don't know. I’m not interested in money.”

☆ At what age he stops receiving presents from Santa: At age 12. “Santa seems to be excluding the middle school students.”

☆ What was his last wish from Santa: Running glasses.

☆ How he spent his holiday: Reading. “I like learning about the lives of famous people.”

☆ What will he do during his last day on Earth: “Thanking my parents for bringing me into this world.”

☆ Favorite historical figure: "Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He lived with glory and tragedy, a fighter."

☆ If he hadn't encountered soccer, what will he be doing:  "That’s impossible. God will definitely make me meet soccer."

☆ If he could only take one thing to a deserted island, what would it be: Glasses. "I can't see anything without them!"

☆ If he had a time machine, would he go to the past or the future: The future. "I want to know if medicine will be able to cure any disease."

Last updated: 1/11/2024

note: i want to apologize in advance for any mistake made in the translation!

[machine-saint]

strange rhetorical move i sometimes see about ai art is that "ai art wouldn't exist without the training data, therefore any positive/beautiful qualities found in ai art are attributable solely to the training data" (and hence "ai art is plagiarism") which feels like a bizarre slight of hand to me in two ways since 1. this argument seems like it would apply to any derivative art (vaporwave, YTPs, mashups, the general concept of remixing music) and 2. it somehow never works the other way around ("all the negative/ugly qualities in ai art are also attributable to the training data"). ie: the 'messed up hands' and impossible geometry are somehow not the result of the training data but instead reveal the intrinsic flaws in stable diffusion (and hence "ai art is all slop")

i think part of the thing is that these models don't work in a way analogous to anything in human experience, not even similar to other methods of generating images using the computer, and most people don't know how neural networks/machine learning work. so people assume it must be doing the collage thing, or that it must be "averaging" all the relevant works in some way, or whatever. and i think part of that is that if it was true it would give them more leverage; people are (justifiably) mad over the labor issues, but "my job got automated away" isn't a thing you have any protection against unless you're union.

i think there's also a lot of assumption that "type words, post the first result" is the sum total of what you do, because that's what most AI art is, because of sturgeon's law. and I think if you've spent a couple years learning to draw "good enough" that also exercises your discernment, your ability to go "hmm, the composition of this is bad" or "the lighting doesn't make sense". so AI art decouples "technical" skill (which it's quite good at) from composition type skills (which it isn't good at).

i really should mess around with these some more. i know some friends that have gotten very good anime results out of novelai, and i'm sure I can ask around to figure out what the hot stable diffusion models and techniques are