#massive bombastic side eye at myself

[jhoons]

kcon jungwon with the pretty and short ver. of his scylla hair <3

[drdemonprince]

Can u talk about the process of replacing your desire for unhealthy relationship dynamics that were sexually exciting with desire for explicitly negotiated kinky sex? or do I just need to wait for the essay lol

It's not actually in the piece but now that you mention it, it could make for a really strong narrative turning point.

It started by me cheating on my abusive partner with kinky people! I realized at some point during a two-year relationship in graduate school that was extremely toxic that I was so addicted to my partner because I was getting off on the control he exerted over my body and life. I wanted to get away from him, but I felt utterly dependent on how he made me feel, and he was already cheating on me...so I hopped onto OK Cupid and started flirting with some people.

It made me feel good, it made me feel like I could live on without him and build a new life for myself. I had a few fairly vanilla hookups with people at first, and it didn't do much for me, but one of those casual partners became a lifelong friend. Then a sexy, bombastic stand-up comedian who was just coming up in the local scene slid into my inbox, allured by the fact I described myself as shy. He was pushy and hyperconfident, which I liked. And when he asked me what kinks turned me on in bed, the truth came spilling out: Dom-sub.

(I wish I'd had the gall to tell him hypnosis, which had been a lifelong fetish of mine. This guy would prove to be fascinated by rare and niche kinks, but I was too ashamed of my hypnosis thing to tell anyone at that point).

The stand up comedian started domming me after that. He'd make me pay for his cab, throw me over a chair, finger me, and fuck me in the ass hard while biting my back and leaving massive welts. The sex was incredible. But he was also an egotistical 21-year-old with an active heroin addiction (he swore up and down to me that the drug 'wasn't a big deal'), and he started fucking me without a condom without my consent, which was traumatic and to this day is the reason I rarely receive anal sex. Ultimately he became controlling and jealous of my other (abusive) primary partner, and he left me, and then died of a heroin overdose after sending me a few more stray messages recounting good old times.

It was a mess. But I learned a lot about myself through this encounter, and practiced articulating what I wanted for the very first time. I was mistreated, but I also had incredibly hot sex that I still revisit in my mind's eye. I know for a fact that this stand-up comedian reviewed our own chat messages shortly before he died, and that he remembered those times fondly too. I feel bad that he died so young, and was so lost and confused, and I wish that he could have survived long enough to get better and make amends.

After that experience (and after escaping my primary abusive relationship), I got into a very safe, vanilla relationship for many years. I was too traumatized for anything else, and the gentle, passive boyfriend that I found was very healing to be with. But eventually I did get bored with the sex, and his lack of emotional availability, and became profoundly depressed. It was around this time that I started taking Sam-E , an over-the-counter anti-depressant supplement whose side effects include increased libido and a kind of dreamy headspace. On impulse, I started searching for erotic hypnosis play websites one day.

I met several hypo-kinky partners on the site I found, a now-defunct chat site called Sleepychat that would pair hypnotists with hypno-bottoms. One of them was a truly skillful, communicative, and caring partner who built a whole complex hypnotic architecture and series of safeties and triggers in my mind. We are still friends. I had lots of play with lots of people, and started attending a hypno kink convention that just so happens to occur in the Chicago suburbs. I became gradually more comfortable acknowledging my kinks to people, and made lots of hypno-kinky audio files and stories. I had other Doms and owners, and had lots of wild sex here and there. Still, my serious, long-term vanilla relationship limited me.

I only really started searching out formally kinky relationships in earnest in 2021, after ending that vanilla relationship. I've been pretty firmly embedded within a variety of kink scenes since. My taste for hypnosis led me to regular D/s, and to leather and bondage, and to pup play and furry stuff. I've really come alive in the last handful of years. I've learned so much about myself and the many scenes, met so many people, had so much great sex and so much mid sex and been in all kinds of wonderful and toxic and off putting and funny dynamics. This aspect of my life only keeps getting better, and I'm excited for lots of new experiences this year!

damn i just about gave you a full essay right here

[cursedalthoughts]

PR6 - Flandre

MNF Flandre, the steal and steam version.

I've been thinking on how to word this to not seem annoying or like I'm dismissing people's complains are not real complains or whatever, because I've seen some very vocal hatred of Flandre's design.

And, like. Yeah! I wanted her to be intimidating and fierce, just like she is in WoWs. A Flandre rushing you if you're lower tier and you are alone without support is Scary. She's fast, she hits hard and has very fast-shooting secondaries that might not penetrate your armor, but will burn you alive. Playing Flandre in Operations (WoWs' best PvE mode) is super fun. I just did a game where I sunk 9 enemy ships all by myself and did more than 220k damage.

This is insane even for Operation standards.

My point is, I understand the complaints a lot because I do not really like Flandre's visual design.

But also, it's not the end of the world.

First of all: The game has more than 500 ships. That's more characters than in some entire mythologies of huge cultures with thousands of years of history (although don't quote me on this). Some should be hits and some should be misses. Optimistically, from a capitalistic point of view, they should all be massive hits so every girl gets a lot of hype, but y'all know that's not how the real world works.

Second of all: I think people expect that when a faction like the Iris goes a long time without major attention (even if that's not entirely true for them, Implacable may have had a RN event but the Iris played a MAJOR role in that event) they expect their eventual re-introduction to be bombastic, huge, epic, extremely memorable, etc. But without looking it up, I struggle to remember which shipgirls were in Vanguard's event. Indomitable and? idk, others. And people also cried rivers of salt when Vanguard was announced, she "didn't look UR worthy". Implacable looked "too Iris" to some; and we all know the HMS simps were extremely vocal about how their beloved faction had gone around 2 years without an event.

My major point is: if you expect wholeheartedly that the first new Iris ships are going to be massive hits, you're gonna be disappointed.

I have a very definitive headcannon for how Kearsarge might look (pic related, a description of that look I gave to a friend)

she has 4 turrets. her rigging would be split in two, with 2 turrets in each side. she would wear a blue uniform kinda resembling Union generals from the american civil war, with a naval officer cap (also blue). on top of her 2 sides of the rigging there would be a mini runway with 3 planes in one and 2 in the other. she is holding a flag, planting it in the ground, it's the flag of the eagle unionshe's looking to the right, her right leg in a higer elevation because she's standing in some rocks. she has striking blue eyes, a serious yet beautiful face, and long, brown hairand is thicc too. not taihou thicc, but thicc nonetheless

And I am 100% ready to be disappointed if Kearsarge is in PR6, because I know for certain she will NOT look anything like this. But HEY. AT LEAST I'LL HAVE KEARSARGE.

y'know?

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

thanks for the tag @w3ndytheraccoon!

um...heh...first thoughts:

VERY accurate! I don't use a planner much, but I would fistfight for it if someone took it XD

I am a bit of a rule-follower lol But if the rule's dumb then I give it a massive stink-eye, which, haha, is the majority of my cosmic ingredients XD

...maybe I AM secretly chaotic. and in denial about it. 0_0

"Getting things done at the speed of light" how did you know ;-;

Strengths: Very organized, a role model, & loyal

If chaotically organized counts, then yes. i am organized :3 and I guess I am sorta a role model??? in some ways??? idk i just usually do what i gotta do during the day. and fuck yeah I rarely spill the beans about my friends :3

Weaknesses: Resistant to change, Emotions? What's that?, and B...bossy.

Worldly change? no. personal change? ...maybe. I am Stubborn heh.

I can accurately depict wretched emotions in writing but the MOMENT it's in front of me i'm like 'help' so yes. accurate.

...and yes. i can admit to being bossy ;-; though i think it comes from a 'ohmygoshihavesomanythoughts' way rather than 'i MUST be in control' way. cuz i do interrupt people with my Thoughts. ADHD trait.

Bombastic side-eye? Yes. I have been told I have one Mean Glare. i actually scared a couple boys in 7th grade with just a Look (i heard them whispering about stealing my phone. they looked terrified when I turned on them hehe)

when I saw Walk the walk the first thing that popped into my head was Lady Gaga haha

Secret niche interests? Oh 100% Absolutely do you know how much I deep-dive solely because of fanfics? It's A Lot lmao

wow i just analyzed myself lol

Tags: @worlds-oldest-teenager @ferodactyl @please-help-this-little-lesbian @hukat7 @xxzephyrbreezexx @solahflare

Find your cosmo persona!

Got tagged by the lovely @tamburins

It's 99% accurate 🤣 only two things it got wrong: I respond immediately the second I see the message (otherwise I'll forget it)

And I'd never say "I might be wrong tho" 🤣 my deadly sin is Pride... that's not a sentence I'd say 😅

ANYWAY!!! Let me tag @sanjoongie @moccahobi @limjaeseven @potatomountain @arafilez

[rookie-critic]

Con Air (1997, dir. Simon West) - review by Rookie-Critic

What an absolutely wild time the late '90s must have been that this was a big blockbuster production. 1997 alone was absolutely wild, with this, Event Horizon, Contact, Face/Off, and so many others dropping all within the same cycle around the sun. Studios were really just throwing absolutely anything at the wall to see what stuck, and sometimes it really paid off (Strarship Troopers), and other times it didn't (Speed 2: Cruise Control), and sometimes I think it landed right in the middle, somewhere between good and awful, where it's really riding that line, but is just self-aware enough to be incredibly entertaining, and that's where Con Air lives. You have Nic Cage there to bring the zaniness, to give us brilliant moments like the classic "put the bunny back in the box" scene, and the absolutely asinine premise completely backs him up and gives him as much room to play around in this bananas space as he wants. There are some side characters that also help the zaniness move itself right along (I'm lookin' at you, Danny Trejo and Dave Chappelle). The one-liners range from eye-roll inducing to exceedingly clever, and the action set pieces are big and bombastic and generally just a crazy, explosive good time. All of this is fun. It doesn't hold together in the slightest, but it is fun. However, you then have Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, and John Malkovich delivering absolutely great performances that aren't Cage's brand of "good by humorous proxy," they're actually just really good. I found myself slack-jawed from the whiplash between bonkers scenes of Cage using the body of a dead con to send a message to ground level (something that I really don't think would have actually worked, which is indicative of a lot of the stuff in this film), and these amazing scenes where Malkovich or Buscemi just get to interact with their environment or even just give a line read that is way above and beyond the quality of the line itself. I know that Malkovich, at this point in his career, has almost become a bit of a meme (possibly in part due to the general goofiness of his name, probably in part due to the 1999 cult classic film Being John Malkovich, which I don't think he ever really was able to reclaim himself from fully), but damn, he's just an amazing actor, and this is someone saying this in reference to his performance in Con Air, of all things!

I don't want to just rant my bias for goofy self-aware action films on this one, though. For one, I already did that recently with Plane (which Con Air is vastly more ridiculous than), and two, there are quite a few problematic things in this film [TW AHEAD: mentions of rape]. I think firstly is Danny Trejo's character in general, who is a con doing time for raping 23 women, possibly more. His entire arc as a character is that there is one female guard that is a hostage onboard the plane, and Trejo wants nothing more than to... well, you get the idea. Granted, everyone else in the film, even the other criminally insane convicts, try to prevent him from accomplishing this, and the film is not so depraved as to ever actually let him get away with it, but it was something that was massively uncomfortable anytime it was given attention, and something that was, at the time, probably seen as "edgy" or "envelope pushing," but really was just incredibly problematic. The film is also just kind of vaguely racist any time a white character is referring to a nonwhite character, especially at the beginning. There's also a character, referred to in the end credits of the film as "Sally-Can't-Dance," (I have looked it up and the character's name is actually Ramon Martinez, which I think they're maybe only referred to as once in passing) that is a... problematic(?) portrayal of a character that is trans (again, while watching the film I wasn't entirely sure they were being presented as trans, but every article and piece of writing I've looked at refers to them as trans, so I'm going with that). I put a question mark next to problematic in the last sentence because, while Ramon never does or says anything that is inherently problematic or questionable, the way that everything surrounding them presents is like the butt of a joke, like we as the audience are meant to be laughing at "how ridiculous this character is." Maybe that's an incorrect read, but regardless it didn't sit right with me. It also has that classic, cheesy as all get out opening and closing with an incredibly sappy song that has no business being in a movie that is even remotely like Con Air. In this case, the song is the Dianne Warren-penned, Trisha Yearwood-performed "How Do I Live," which I had no idea was actually written for the film and was even nominated for an Oscar at that years' Academy Awards, where Con Air was also nominated for Best Sound. Granted, those are two fitting categories I guess, but the fact that this film was nominated for not one, but two Oscars is absolutely baffling. Getting back on track, it follows in the steps of songs like Top Gun's "Take My Breath Away" and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' "Everything I Do (I Do It for You)" as songs that clash in every possible way with the films they were written for, and it's an aspect of action films from that era that I am so, so happy has not carried over to the present. Despite all of these many faults, I can't lie and say that I didn't have a lot of fun with Con Air. I'm not sure I can recommend it in good faith, but if you're a fan of dumb, bananas action movies like I am, then Con Air basically fits the bill.

Score: 6/10

Currently unavailable to stream unless you have the Live TV add-on on Hulu. It is available to rent/purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.) and on Blu-ray & DVD through Disney/Buena Vista.

[allmightyneed]

Villain!All Might (Smite)x reader. part 1/20

I wanted villain Might as a Dominant so I wrote it. More to follow

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god.”

This night is a fateful one. Not that you knew it yet. It’s the same as any other: routine. The edges of your life are narrow and sharp and easy to find. You do everything the same, day after day. Take the same steps down the same streets at the same time. All so familiar you could do it in the dark, feeling it out by touch.

Street lamps flicker overhead, the yellow light they give off too dim and unreliable to be much help. The asphalt is wet from recent rain. Mist hangs in the air, dampening the normal sounds of city life. All in all, it’s not the most comforting area.

You square your shoulders as you round the corner and head down an alley. 

Straighten out that backbone. Nothing to fear. Easy day. 

Inane mantras play on a loop in your head. You don’t know why this alley still weirds you out. You’ve taken this shortcut countless times before to be able to get to the metro quick enough to catch a train a couple minutes earlier. Hardly saves any time, but in your mind it makes a difference. 

Work today had been… fine. It always was. Reasonably engaging, not too exciting. Being an employee at a quirk analysis firm usually garners questions about what such a job is like, but you find them hard to answer. It can be difficult to characterize. Plus, being a foreigner in Japan, you’re always careful not to say anything that might be taken as an offense to the culture. No matter how long you live here, no matter how comfortable you feel, you are a guest.

Your eyes adjust to the darkness and you shove your hands in your pockets after hitching your purse strap higher on your shoulder. Dinner tonight would be… hmm. You don’t know. You’d bought makings for a salad a few days ago, in a fit of healthy optimism, but that didn’t sound as appealing as a bowl of ramen from the little shop in the bottom floor of your apartment building. It’s cold enough to convince yourself that heavy comfort food is justified, but no… you’ve spent enough eating out this month already, between office lunches and Kiko dragging you to every restaurant grand opening in Musutafu-- 

A booming laugh interrupts your thoughts. The shock of it nearly makes your heart stop. You whirl around, looking for the source, but you already know who it is. Anyone would recognize that laugh. You turn and behold a towering monolith of a figure, not twenty feet away, hands on his hips, stance wide. Even silhouetted dramatically in shadow, you can tell. 

All Might. 

The number one villain.

You freeze. Maybe he hasn’t noticed you yet?

“You there! Girl!” 

Crap. 

He takes a step forward and you struggle to steel your nerve. It’s public knowledge, essentially, what he can do. Not what his Quirk is, but his basic abilities. He’ll be fast if he wants to be. Inhumanly strong. Ruthless.

He laughs again, sinister and mirthless, sending a shiver of revulsion through you. You remember what he did to that tour group at Mt. Fuji. And there had been that attack on Best Jeanist’s satellite office. Over five hundred casualties. He’d leveled the building, for god’s sake, and then shouted at the late arriving news crews that they were all lucky he was holding back. 

Yes, you remembered that day all too well, having watched the coverage live on TV from your own office, only a few miles away.

What could he do if he didn’t restraint himself? A whole block? A neighborhood? You had looked away from the TV when the building came down, too horrified to watch the spectacle, only to realize that the previously clear sky had glutted with rain clouds. The scale of his power had made your heart drop on that day. Sure, it had been the most exciting thing to happen to you, and a great story. But it was still terrifying.

And now here he is, standing in front of you. This is just your unlucky day. Is it bad that you’re a little disappointed not to hear his infamous catchphrase?

I am here. Such a bold threat. 

It’s times like this you wish you had a better quirk. Granted, you’re very rarely in mortal danger; there really aren’t very many times like this. Strike that-- there are never times like this, not in the cautious, unadventurous existence you’ve curated for yourself. There is nothing in your experience that has prepared you for this. 

You gawp at the spectacle that is him. He’d made a scene once again on the news today, tearing through a rival quirk analysis firm’s downtown complex until the number one hero Endeavor had shown up to stop him. As imposing as All Might looks on TV, it hadn’t prepared you for what he’s like in person. 

Seven feet tall and change, muscled like a beast, blond hair swept back down his neck save for two unruly tufts that stuck up like rabbit ears. Nothing about him is timid, though. Utter confidence in his own power radiates off of him. 

“Yes, you!” He strolls towards you. His voice is muffled, metallic sounding underneath his iconic metal gas mask. Light glints off of the two orange glass pieces covering his eyes as he passes out of a shadow. No one has ever seen his face before, as far as you know. He’s never shown it in public, and who the hell knows who he associates with in his personal life. All Might having a personal life. What a bizarre concept. 

“Wh-what do you want?” You lift your chin, trying to sound defiant even though your voice betrays you. In a lull between the waves of fear, you realize you’re staring at his chest, his stomach, his legs. It’s a physique worth staring at. 

He shrugs, a strange gesture with his massive shoulders, then lifts a hand to his face, working at the fastenings of his mask. “I get asked that a lot.” He lowers the mask, lets it drop clattering to the ground, and you can’t believe what you’re seeing: All Might, face uncovered, and oh no he’s good looking. How is it fair that he’s attractive? Everyone speculated that he work the mask to hide a bad injury, or just because he’s ugly, but no. His features are handsome, symmetrical like a sculpture, with gleaming blue eyes and a wide, menacing smile that twists your fear into some other emotion you don’t quite recognize. “Entertainment, I guess.” 

Your pulse thuds in your ears. He couldn’t mean-- 

He reads your confusion. “Oh, don’t flatter yourself,” he sneers dismissively. “You think I have to resort to forcing myself on women? I have--” he gives you a pointed look up and down “--standards.”

That stings. “I’m not your entertainment!” You burst out, indignant. “And I would never do… that with- with someone like you.”

“Someone like me?” He prompts, all joviality gone. He’s still smiling, but it seems dangerous now. 

“A villain,” you spit. It’s hard to stop yourself from shaking. “You’re-- you’re evil and cruel and careless and--” you cut yourself short, realizing how foolish you’re being. 

He tilts his head, clearly amused by your attempt at bravery. “Let’s try again. Who are you? Tell me your quirk.” Without his mask, his voice is deep and enticing. Almost reassuring. He can sound normal when he wants, not like the cheesy, bombastic public persona. You have no idea what to make of him. Should you be running away? Or should you acknowledge the part of yourself that is inexplicably intrigued?

His unwavering attention on you is an unexpectedly heady feeling. Not that you aren’t scared-- you are-- but some strange part of you thrills at being the very center of his focus. His eyes do not leave you, even as you glance away, flustered and nervous.

He snaps his fingers in front of your face. “Are you dumb, girl?” He winces suddenly, breaking off to clutch a huge hand to his left side, though he quickly covers it.  “What’s your quirk?”

“W-why?” Prying about quirks is rude, but All Might does what he wants and fuck everyone else.

“Most people want to see if they can get in a hit or two on me. I figure I’d head off the time wasting and tell you if your quirk has any chance.”

Your quirk. You can’t tell him. You absolutely can’t tell him. If he knew… “I’m quirkless.” Your tongue feels thick on the lie, your voice raspy.  

“Pathetic,” he chuckles, breaking into a cough. “You’re one of those. Useless.” 

“I’m not useless!” You insist hotly. You don’t want him to look away and dismiss you. He was right, though, it kind of was, but making value statements about others’ quirks or lack thereof is just as rude as prying. 

“Then again,” he muses, as if you hadn’t spoken, “your quirk isn’t you… and you are not your quirk. Maybe you have some worth after all.” 

Frustratingly, your heart lifts at the slightest hint of his approval. How ridiculous. He’s nothing to you. And yet… you’d been talking to him, and he talked back. There had been more than the persona. You let the silence sit, and it’s enough space to realize that you’re rather star struck. Figures. The first big time supe you meet is the number one villain, and he’s both better and worse than you expected. Meaning— he didn’t murder you on the spot, but he’s a total dick. 

“So, quirkless girl. Got a name?”

It feels like a bad bet telling him, but you do anyway and he repeats it before asking you slyly, “what about a hero name?”

Clever. He’s much smarter than the media gives him credit for. You almost replied with the name of your quirk, but manage to sound embarrassed about not having one: “please don’t rub it in.” 

He rolls his eyes and sighs in annoyance. There comes more wet coughing, and he pulls at his side again, the same spot. Mentioning it seems both stupid and futile. You still have no idea why he’s actually here, other than coincidence, and what he wants with you. You’re happy being nobody special and yet, the imperious way he’s looked at you in these brief few minutes— or has it been longer? Shorter? For some reason you don’t want him to stop paying attention to you. 

Then, to your utter shock, he starts coughing up blood. He puts his fist to his mouth and it comes away smeared red.

“Are you okay?” The question is a reflex. He ignores it. 

Tendrils of steam rise from him, like he’s a kettle at the boil. Before your eyes, All Might is replaced by someone else. It’s a bit much to comprehend, but your logical mind makes the connection quickly. Blood at the mouth, blond hair, and of course they’re wearing the same clothes. Though, the drab olive green pants, navy shirt, harness and spiked pauldrons hang off of his body like they would off of clothes hangers. Your analyst’s sense spins into overdrive. So many questions answered. If you brought proof of this back to work you’d get put in charge of the division. Hell, you could quit Masuda & Matsuo and start your own company with this information. And yet you can’t help but ask, and really mean it this time—

“Are you okay?” 

The gaunt man glares at you. “Fuck off.”

“You’re bleeding.”

“You’re irritating me.” His tone is pure acid. And still, you feel slightly bad for him. He wants none of your soft hearted platitudes. He coughs more, swiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. 

You dig in your purse for a packet of tissues, and hold it out to him when you find it. “Here.”

His expression is all that’s needed for you to retract the offered tissues. You stay perfectly still watching him. He’s maybe half a foot shorter, and has terrible hunched posture, but it’s the same person, you’re sure. Which is the real All Might? Is there a real All Might? The number one villain’s identity, background, and quirk are the biggest unanswered questions of the past two decades. No one could say who he really was, or even if he looked like that all the time. 

Evidently not...

“... is it a transformation quirk?” You ask, willing your voice to be low and even, talking like you would to a scared, wounded animal.

Predictably, he lashes out, though you can’t help flinching. “You will not tell anyone about this. No one.” His eyes are unnaturally blue, almost glowing from deep set sockets. “Not your coworkers, not your friends when you go out drinking, not your fling, not your great aunt on her deathbed. No one.”

You find yourself agreeing. “No one. I promise. No one. But is it—“

“Be silent!” He snarls, getting right in your face before his tone takes on a silken quality. “Pathetic thing. You want to prove your worth, be silent. Stand where you are and do not speak.” He wipes blood away from his mouth with the back of his hand, letting his eyes drop, taking in your figure. He smirks. “Who knows. Maybe you’ll impress me. If I see any hint of this in the news, or online, I’ll know who to hunt down.” He repeats your name venomously. 

He turns and walks away. You do nothing. Say nothing. Don’t even twitch your fingers. 

That was All Might. The shock of the entire exchange floats and gradually settles, like silt in water. You don’t move, not even a step; your breath and heartbeat become calm once more. He had ordered you, after all, and he had, inexplicably, trusted you with a monumental secret. 

Had it really been him? Would the real All Might have done such a thing? You turn the thought over in your mind, fiddling with each piece of what you know. He’d certainly had the presence of villain. Deranged and volatile... and all too intriguing. His eyes are so blue.

You mentally scold yourself. Focus. Focus on what you actually know. You’d seen All Might on TV earlier in the day, trading blows with the flame hero Endeavor. What exactly had happened? All Might had been the aggressor, attacking Bando-Arata-Horikawa— your firm’s direct competition. You know people who work there, decent, average people. There hadn’t been any news about casualties, thank god. Endeavor had appeared shortly after the initial assault, slamming into All Might with a huge burst of power. The cameras on scene had caught it all, tracking the spectacle in real time, though it had been hard to follow. All Might was particularly enraged, turning his fury on Endeavor, and withstanding the huge gouts of flame like they were nothing more than a light breeze. 

Had he been breathing heavily then? Coughing blood? He hides injuries too well. The tussle with Endeavor earlier is hardly the first time All Might has taken some heavy punches. 

Shit, it’s cold out here. How long will you be standing here? All night? Your rational self asks the right questions. You should leave. Why the hell are you obeying him anyway? Likely he limped off, he won’t chase you. That was the real deal, you realize. Somewhere in the space of… how long?... you’d decided. He is. 

The uncomfortable press against your bladder grows heavier, even as you slip into an uneasy sleep where you stand, swaying slightly. That had been All Might, and you had not wanted him to send you away or discard you so thoughtlessly. 

Why hadn’t he touched you? This is a man who takes whatever he wants, does whatever he wants. He could have defiled you, or snapped your neck but he didn’t. The logical conclusion being that he doesn’t want you. You have nothing he wants. Why hadn’t he touched you? It’s an embarrassing sort of neediness that worms its way into your head as you’re standing there in the cold. Not good enough.  He really was right to call you pathetic. 

Stand where you are, do not speak. You yearn to prove him wrong. 

Hours later, he returns for the mask he’d left. His sudden arrival jolts you awake and still, you do not move. Only raise your nodding head, eyes bleary. He’s in the muscle form again.

“Still here?” He stops short when he notices you, a little incredulous. 

In a daze you regard him. 

“Tch. Run along home, little girl. The streets aren’t safe at night.” Do not color outside the lines. Remember, the edges are sharp. Too close and you’ll drop off. For the second time that night he turns away from you and you want to plead to him, to the number one villain, not to go.

link to part 2

[gegenji]

A Minute Movement of Masks and Monsters

There was a bit of a sickening crick as Tsunene finally got up from her work and forcibly popped the stiffness out of her back. A sound that echoed a bit over-loud in the chamber she had been toiling in. A chamber that - while a few degrees less cramped than the musty cell she had been in not all that long ago - still felt a bit like a prison.

The reasoning for that was a bit complicated, of course, since it was technically different from those prior arrangements. She was... relatively free to come and go as she pleased, though she always had the strange suspicion whenever she did depart that some manner of eyes were on her at all times. And, as was promised, the facilities were decently well stocked for her purposes. Purposes that were at the behest of her strange benefactor, rather than her own desired goals.

And that was honestly the rub of the whole situation: she had wanted to make super-soldiers off of this strange and potentially profitable discovery she had all but been handed as an act of providence. She had planned to amass wealth and fame and power with her alchemical genius in deciphering the mystery and replicating its results. Not be stuck in relative obscurity, limited to trying to create the next big gimmick for the brutes of the Bloodsands to throw themselves at.

Though, to be fair, she argued with herself as she idly cracked each finger joint individually, this was still technically better than the alternatives. The idea of having a wealthy patron to fund her experiments and developments was not something she could so easily dismiss out of hand. And even being stuck doing this sort of... alchemical grunt-work was infinitely preferable to withering away in a Flames jail cell. Or, worse, having to fight it out on the Bloodsands like her former assistant D'lilac.

D'lilac who - thanks to Tsunene's gift, of course - was doing quite well on that front. An up-and-coming rising star of the gladiatorial world with a "special technique" that was "surprising, entertaining, and enticingly powerful." Or, at least, that's what all the posters about her liked to proclaim. Posters likely manufactured by that selfsame patron and benefactor.

While the alchemical genius herself was stuck huddling over beakers. Seeking to replicate some variation of the formula from sheer memory and experimentation to meet with the ever-rising standards her one successful test subject was setting. Which was certainly moving faster than Tsunene's progress. The lady Plainsfolk had managed some interesting results on the test beasts that had been provided to her, but given all the positive buzz the 'Legendary Leozaru' or whatever was getting... they didn't seem quite good enough.

It figured, Tsunene noted with an irritated sigh, that her troublesome assistant continued to make things more difficult for the lady Plainsfolk even in her successes.

All of this added up to just one thing: that it was definitely time to step away from the alchemical table and get some fresh air. Clear her head and indulge in what little freedoms she did have, comparatively. And perhaps in some of those delectable pastries from down in the markets. If she was going to be observed while out and about, she might as well be observed enjoying something sweet.

... Or that had been the plan, anyway. Tsunene had only made it halfway up the staircase that went from her alchemical workshop to the door when the latter creaked open and her way was figuratively and quite literally blocked by the hulking form of Swyrkhan. The Roegadyn wearing one of his apparently massive collection of similar-looking pinstripe vests. This one having the audacity of being a bright yellow - as if mocking the lady Lalafell with the color of the sunlight she was being denied at the moment.

And it got only more problematic from there, because the big lug wasn't alone. Moving in a dramatically sharp movement that Tsunene thought - or perhaps hoped - would've sent the lumbering behemoth tumbling over the railing to the floor below, Swyrkhan sidestepped to give way to the lady Lalafell's second guest.

None other than her ‘illustrious’ patron himself: "Master Hohoyahu."

As the name suggested, the man in question was a Lalafell like herself - Dunesfolk rather than Plainsfolk - and to stick to more... polite adjectives in order to describe him, Tsunene would likely go with "eccentric." After all, a man whose only constant was the black-and-white jester's mask on his face while everything else from clothing to hair to even eye color seemed to change at whim every time she saw him could hardly be considered "normal." And that was before one got caught in conversation with him. Something that Tsunene had a sinking feeling was an inevitability now.

"Ah, there's my masterful alchemist!" the masked Dunesfolk announced in a voice that somehow seemed to be even more bombastic than Swyrkhan's. And the Roe already seemed to speak as if he were on a stage rather than in a normal conversation. Hohoyahu paused only long enough for the echo in the chambers to begin to fade before he continued right on. "I do hope this sun has been most agreeable for your research!"

"'Twould be far more fortuitous if I was free to fetch myself some food," Tsunene grumbled quietly, deigning to not reveal that this was for sweets. And quietly hoping that presenting the need to eat in a more vague sense would allow her to escape. A hope that was quickly dashed.

"Now now now, sustenance can wait for just a minute or two, can it not?" Hohoyahu countered, waggling his finger - an action Swyrkhan mimicked, which only made the motion all the more irritating to Tsunene. They were like some sort of deranged buddy act. "After all, I have so graciously come to see what progress you have made for me! With D'lilac making such wonderful waves, the audience is ready and willing to see what else we can bring!"

"Progress plods, as per what I have perpetually presented in those superfluous reports I pen for you," the alchemist stated flatly. "Seeking to synthesize the solution from scratch without source material - let alone make modifications for your 'marketable monsters'  - is not an act I can accomplish with any sort of alacrity."

"Now now now!" came the counter, in the exact same cadence and pitch as before. "We both know you have quite the mind in there." He was in front of Tsunene in a quick flourish of a step that her eyes could only barely follow and... actively knocked on her head as if it was made of wood. "I'm sure you must have something to show for your work thus far!"

Tsunene stumbled back a couple steps, rubbing at the bruise she was absolutely sure was forming where her erratic patron had rapped on her skull. "I can present the potion I have prepared thus far, sussed using sanguine samples from your supposed celebrity," she relented, motioning stiffly back down the stairs. "But I offer no promises as to its potency. Instead, it has proved... problematic."

"Intriguing!" Hohoyahu stated with a sharp clap of his hands before motioning for her to proceed on ahead of him. "Let us go and take a look then, shall we? I'm absolutely certain that together we can solve whatever problems you're having!"

“... Delightful.”

“Indeed!”

A forcefully swallowed sigh, and Tsunene started her slow trek back down the stairs - her dreams of pastries on hold until she had sufficiently placated her patron. To hurry that process, she began her explanation once she heard Hohoyahu and his manservant following behind. Which wasn't too difficult, given the sharp clack of their shoes on the stone of the staircase. She wouldn'tve been surprised if they were wearing tap shoes or something - they seemed the sort.

"Given my former fellow's... feline features, I figured that the first flagship should be of similar stock," she explained matter-of-factually as she descended. "Her tincture turned her towards that... more primal state. So it stood that solutions sourced from her should show similar results..."

"And that's why you requested the couerl kitten!" Hohoyahu chimed in with another clap of his hands that neatly interrupted Tsunene's train of thought. "I knew there was a reason for that one."

"Impeccably deduced, sir. And lo, we provided as we said we would," Swyrkhan added with a grand spread of his hands. Or as much as he could without bashing one of them into the wall. "And many suns ago besides. So, Sunshine-" Tsunene frowned at the nickname. "-whatever happened to that illustrious little test subject?"

"Suns spent ensuring the subject wouldn't simply... succumb to an untested solution!" the lady Plainsfolk snapped, pausing on the bottom-most step and whirling around on the Roegadyn. She paused to collect herself - not willing to give either of them the satisfaction of seeing her flustered - and adjusted her glasses. "I am a professional, not a poisoner."

“So! No... catdavers, then,” Hohoyahu interjected, forcing Tsunene to swallow a groan this time as her patron made a dramatic bow for his horrendous wordplay.

“No... sir...” The sarcasm dripped despite her best attempts to restrain it, and she moved to a holding cell set in the wall. Well away from everything else, for good reason. “Not as such.”

A click, and Tsunene pulled open the door and motioned inside. Inviting them in. “She has a...” She groaned a little before continuing. “Stormy disposition. So step lightly.”

“There we go, Sunshine!” Swyrkhan applauded. “By the Twelve, we might even see a smile from you at some point!”

“Unlikely.”

Hohoyahu merely laughed behind his mask, and strode through the door without nary a care in the world. And then there was a brilliant flash as a bolt of lightning crackled out from the darkness of the cell, striking where the bombastic Lalafell stood.

Or where he had been standing. There was a blackened mark where he had been, but the Dunesfolk himself was mere ilms off to one side. And, for some inexplicable reason, in a pose.

Tsunene wasn’t quite sure which part of it assaulted her sensibilities more.

“My!” Hohoyahu gasped dramatically. “You certainly...”

Another bolt of lightning sidestepped, complete with new pose.

“Weren’t...”

And a third, with similar results as Hohoyahu twirled into a flourish on the third dodge.

“Kidding!”

As the eccentric Dunesfolk pressed further onward, Tsunene could only gape in disbelief before turning to the Roegadyn manservant who seemed completely unfazed by such antics. And only one word managed to escape her lips: “How?”

“Ah, but a true performer never reveals their secrets!” Swyrkhan countered, in a cadence that instantly identified the quote as something from Hohoyahu himself. Then, with a chuckle, the Roegadyn surprised her further by obliging with an actual answer. Of sorts. “Master Hohoyahu has always claimed to be able to see a couple steps ahead in the dance.”

“And such foresight somehow allows him to sidestep being struck by lightning!?”

“You created Miqo’te able to shapeshift into a beast,” Hohoyahu responded from a couple steps behind Tsunene, startling her with the suddenness. Whirling about gave her an even more audacious sight: a striped puffball was floating lazily and purring mere ilms above the masked Lalafell’s head. The static of the cloud-couerl kitten causing his hair to stand on end.

“I would’ve thought that brought with it a far more open mind,” he sighed grandly and shook his head, the action allowing some strands of hair to escape the static pull and drift back down into place. “Nevertheless, I rather like this one. Does she have a name?”

“... Subject C-1.”

“No no no!“ Hohoyahu countered with another waggle of his finger as the kitten made lazy circles around his head. “That will not do!“

He immediately pointed to Swyrkhan. “Dear, dear Swyr, you always seem to have a knack for names. If you would, please? Show her how it’s done.”

The Roegadyn folded his arms over his chest and let out a long, thoughtful sound. As if he were observing a grand painting in a museum. Stout fingers stroked a chiseled chin time and time again as the Sea Wolf pondered. And then, as if inspired by an aesthetically appropriate bolt from the blue...

“Mjeowlnir.”

“There we go!” Hohoyahu laughed with a clap of his hands, startling the newly named kitten - who sent out little sparks of lightning all over the place in her alarm. None of which hit the masked Lalafell, of course, but also fortunately did not travel far enough to strike the other two. Though Tsunene scampered back - and behind Swyrkhan to use him as a human shield - just in case.

“Well done, Swyr. A master of words, as always,” Hohoyahu continued, reaching up to scoop the floating fluffball into his arms. “Well, I think this delightful little prize is proof enough that you still have merit. I do look forward to what else you will create.” He started his way back up the stairs before pausing a couple steps up. “Preferably a little more monstrous next time, if you please.”

And then he continued his ascent, running his fingers through the frizzy floof of Mjeowlnir.

“Do make sure to take the Master’s suggestions to heart,” Swyrkhan added in an overly dramatic stage whisper, a hand over his mouth as if to direct the words only to Tsunene. “It is... in your best interests.”

With that enigmatic warning, the Sea Wolf followed after his patron - taking the steps three at a time to catch up to the smaller man - and leaving Tsunene still wondering what all had just happened. Though the few moments of almost deafening silence that followed after that bombastic duo had left didn’t help clear that question up any. Instead, it left the lady Lalafell wishing she was just dealing with D’lilac’s eccentricities again.

... and with a desire for something to drink to go along with that pastry.

[scrawnydutchman]

Coco Movie Review

Note: this review contains spoilers highlighted by bold letters for readers convenience. If you have not seen the film yet skip the bold sections and come back to read them once you HAVE seen it.

So I just came back from the theater after seeing Pixar’s Coco with a friend. An adventurous little romp about a Mexican boys’ supernatural journey to find his destiny, Coco is a spectacularly colorful, visually stimulating, heartfelt and clever little masterpiece that shows that in spite of recent worries many people have been having (myself included) Pixar isn’t losing their touch in creating marvelously original animated pieces. Granted this film borrows a lot of stylistic choices from Disney Animation Studios as well as other animated films (cough *BOOK OF LIFE* cough) but it also arguably takes those choices and makes them better. I’ll delve into more detail about that in a bit, but let’s tackle this film one section at a time, starting with story.

Story:

Synopsis: Miguel is a young boy who is part of a large family in Mexico and has aspirations to become a great musician. But music is banned in his family due to an ancestor of his leaving his wife and child behind to selfishly pursue a career in it. This doesn’t stop Miguel from striving for greatness though as he feels it’s in his blood to play music. One thing leads to another and Miguel ends up transporting himself to the realm of the dead where he decides to learn more about his families past to find out just what happened all those years ago. But it’s a race against the clock as Miguel finds out if he doesn’t leave the realm of the dead fast enough he will end up staying there forever. Will he be able to find his destiny and discover the truth about his family in time?

This is a pretty typical Disney plot setup. Young protagonist wants to achieve something greater than what his family has planned for him, goes on big misadventure to discover his true destiny, his family learns an important lesson about letting their kid follow their heart. If you’ve seen a Disney movie you know the ropes. But while this storyline is undeniably common among Disney films, Coco actually has a unique take on the subject matter that I haven’t seen previous entries ever do before. The lesson of the family letting Miguel follow his dreams is still present, but this time around it isn’t as clear cut and dry as, say, Pixar’s Ratatouille, which also had an ongoing theme of passion vs. family. While in Ratatouille the family pretty much has to concede to Remy as the film demonstrates he was right all along, Coco has the angle that Miguel is also at fault for a lot of his actions and has to know the importance of family as well. The film also has a great plot twist that makes the point that there IS such a thing as going too far for your dream. Truth be told it’s probably the most refreshing take on the subject matter I’ve ever seen either Disney or Pixar do.

The plot twist in this film is arguably the most effective twist I’ve ever seen either a Disney or Pixar film pull off. Matter of fact it’s very similar to the plot twist in Disney’s Frozen, but I would argue Coco succeeded where Frozen failed. In Frozen the true bad guy is hidden through a cheat in the narrative. The prince acts all starry eyed and innocent even when in the context of the scene nobody is around him, and so it’s a bit of a cheat to have it be executed in this fashion. With Coco, the bad guy is shrouded in mystery for the majority of the film. Ernesto de la cruz plays a very similar role to Gusteau in Ratatouille, where he’s a role model the protagonist never really interacts with outside of watching films and pretending to be there with him. At least that’s what it is for the majority of the movie. But when we DO finally meet him and learn his dark terrible secret, and that he cheated and murdered his way to his success, it’s not unbelievable, because just like the main character we as the audience only saw what he wanted us to see. We only ever saw his on screen persona and heard other people talk about him, whereas again, in Frozen the context implies the prince is virtuous even behind closed doors. It doesn’t feel out of nowhere because the narrative doesn’t progress in a way where betrayal was ruled out. And this twist is beyond clever because, again, it takes the moral we all see coming and puts a completely different spin on it. There IS such a thing as going too far for your dream, and there IS a certain extent where you have to put your family before your aspirations. It’s a much more profound look than kids are used to.

Beyond the compelling plot twist and the clever spin on an otherwise overdone message, it’s a pretty cookie cutter Disney movie. There’s a comedic foil, an adorable sidekick, an ambitious young protagonist, and this time around more than a few tear jerker moments. But hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. And man, when it comes to the tear jerkers, this film comes from the realest place since Pixar’s Up. The last 30 minutes are especially gut wrenching, which I for one think is a welcome compensation after Moana was pretty lacking in the sad stuff (though I will admit as a result this movie is lacking in the more comedic side). Also there’s a more than healthy dosage of Mexican culture to really break up the monotony of the story we’ve heard millions of times.

Animation/Art Design:

This. Film. Is. GORGEOUS!!! Absolutely colorful, inventive backgrounds, great use of contrasting blue with orange, dripping with Mexican atmosphere, and it really showcases some of the most impressive and inventive visuals I’ve ever seen in a Pixar movie. For one, this movie is not afraid to zoom in on all the intricate guitar playing, and for good reason. You can see every detail, every plucked string, every held note in the guitar playing. You might think this is a minor point, but take it from an animator; animating guitar or piano playing is EXTREMELY difficult especially if you want to make a point on being as accurate as possible. There’s a reason why in most animated media they zoom out, zoom in to the face or depict the playing from the other side of the piano to hide the fact that they probably aren’t hitting the right notes. Also, the way the skeletons move is wonderfully creative and interesting. So much thought went into how they walk, how they interact with their environment, how they rebuild themselves after splitting into several pieces. I especially love the squash and stretch the skeletons have; it makes them look appealingly jagged and really sells how lightweight they are without all that flesh and meat. This films is dripping with inventive visuals from beginning to end. The use of colous are on point, the lighting is great, the Textures are the best Pixar has pulled thus far. It’s a visual marvel. The character designs are great too, especially Dante the very derpy looking dog. The way his eyes and tongue look make for an effective comedic foil as well as the way his lanky scrawny body moves. In fact, the animal creatures in this movie are all very appealing in different ways. Many people including myself were skeptical about the designs of the skeletons, particularly with the big expressive Disney-esque eyes. While I’ll admit at first I thought they looked a little too odd they grew on me over time.

Also this movie is great at using it’s visuals to better progress the story, like how Miguel’s body is becoming more of a skeleton to sell the passage of time without verbally pointing it out too often.

There is just one very VERY minor issue I have with the visuals. I’m not 100% certain on this as I’ve only seen the film once thus far so it’s possible there’s just something wrong with my sight or some other reason, but I think the film uses motion blur to it’s disadvantage at times. There are scrolling shots in this movie that are supposed to showcase how massive an environment is and how many people are present in a location, but the use of motion blur makes it too fuzzy to really take in and I honestly think they laid it on too thick at times for how fast the camera actually moves. It got to a point where trying to follow the movement actually strained my eyes a little bit. It would have benefited the film more if they just left it out in certain points to make the image pop as clear as day. All well, it’s a minor knitpick that for all I know might not actually be a problem, but for the time being i’m docking a wee bit from the overall score. Besides that, it’s an undeniably beautiful flick.

Acting:

Pretty standard Disney and Pixar quality here. Every voice actor and actress in this movie does a stellar job. The cast is authentically Mexican and it shows (lncluding a Gabriel Iglesias cameo), making for greater immersion into the scenery. No performance seemed out of place, everybody got the proper emotions across. Not a whole lot else to say really.

Sound Design:

Again, pretty standard Disney and Pixar quality. Being that this movie has a heavy music theme in it, the soundtrack is beautiful and, again, authentically Mexican. The recurring song “Remember Me” is especially beautiful. This is one of those movies where the music is actually so good that I ended up getting the soundtrack on Spotify. Also, though it’s a minor addition, the mariachi cover of the music for the opening Disney logo is a nice touch. The sound effects were effective as always.

EDIT: I forgot to mention this the first time around. Not only is the music stellar but it actually plays into the plot as well in a way that’s very effective in retrospect. The song “Remember Me” has 2 versions; the opening bombastic one done by the villain of the movie and the softer, more sentimental version done by the real musician. This is actually brilliant foreshadowing to the types of characters each of them are. de la Cruz is a self absorbed, entitled asshole, and so his version of the song reflects that by being a big over the top dance number. The phrase “Remember Me” in this case is more about him telling his audience about how important he is. In contrast, the lullaby version is soft, sentimental and genuine. It isn’t superficial and it’s beautifully simple. This is a reflection of the writer. He didn’t write it to become a star. He didn’t write it because he wanted attention or glory. He wanted to make a connection with his daughter before he left. A touch like this is brilliantly subtle.

Conclusion:

Coco is tightly written with a clever and refreshing take on a recurring Disney trope. It’s visually stunning, very inventive, dripping with Mexican atmosphere and culture, and showcases some of the most heartfelt visuals and audibles I’ve seen come out of Pixar in a very long time. Really, my only problem with it was the use of motion blur at times, and that’s me REALLY stretching for something bad to say about it that I’m not even entirely sure I can back up. It’s a great film to take your kids to or to see for yourself if you’re an animation fan.

Story: 2/2

Animation/Art Design: 3.9/4

Acting: 2/2

Sound Design: 2/2

Final verdict; 9.9/10 - DAMN close to perfect.

[kitsoa]

Lyric Comic Q&A

So it turns out when you work on a project for half a year, you get a lot of Thoughts and want to express them whether people are actually curious or not. Without further ado, your un-requested Birdmen Lyric Comic Q&A

(Warning: I’m long winded)

*Why a Lyric Comic?

Dude, lyric comics are cool. I’ve always been fascinated by the beautiful, multifaceted artistic experience they provide, because of my love for music and art. Furthermore, I am often plagued by cinematic trapped in my head, spurred by the movement and lyrics of my favorite songs. Since I have no means or experience in the animation category (which would free these phantoms from my head) the lyric comic was a godsend of a medium for this inspired idea of mine. Kiki-kit of the Gravity Falls fandom and Tides-miraculous’ lyric comic in the Miraculous Ladybug are my main inspirations, I’ve adored their sense of motion and emotional savviness. It’s quite the powerful medium.

It’s also a good medium for me personally. I am a ‘looper’ with my music, allowing me to listen to something over and over without tiring. This is useful in the drafting stages! I loved the challenge (though I definitely didn’t anticipate it’d take this long).

*Why this song?

“Out of Mind” was one of those songs that spoke to me, in an overly cathartic, heart-yearning-- almost funnily sardonic ways. Birdmen being on the brain, I started to easily see how much the singers voice reflected that bombastic frustration our Eishi is so known for. The Pre-Chorus “Are you kidding me?” speaks to me the most, reminding me of his cry of frustration during his first blackout, screaming against his fate as he fell from the sky (this exact image did not make the final cut in the end, but I certainly vied for it until other themes overtook it-- let’s face it, there are many screaming Eishi’s to choose from).

This period of time between Takayama’s disappearance and the inevitable reunion is super intriguing to me. Eishi’s in the role of the heartbroken singer, hopelessly betrayed and unable to get over the good thing they had.

*Breakdown the story:

The progression goes like this:

Eishi’s loneliness consumes the first verse, Takayama’s empty seat, Eishi standing alone… all the while peppered with Takayama’s broken promise, which culminates with Eishi’s defiant Death Tweet. The Refrain then serves as these hallmark moments that define them. This is what they had. Every rescue, every proclamation or venomous defying of fate-- it’s what made them. And you’d have to be out of your mind to think that these moments could be forgotten.

Verse 2 is all about that shift in Eishi to follow him. Wistful memories drive Eishi as he chooses to leave and depart from everything he knows, just to get him back. Meanwhile, that opinion of Takayama is still weighed down by that grating irritation (like hell he’s in touch reality, how could he do this?) culminating to his call for him in the Himalayas. The Refrain fires again with the same point as the last but this time I tried to go for a more fervent angle, some of the scenes actually focus on Takayama’s feelings for Eishi and ultimately the pull they have towards each other.

The Bridge is where things get desperate. The moments in the manga where Eishi is in physical pain because of the Whiteout shake me so much. It reminds me of a straight up panic attack. I let this crescendo with the music, making the black void swallow the chaos in a quick snap. Building to the final chorus.

The whiteout is special because Eishi both yearns after this figment emotionally (his friendship with Takayama) and intellectually (what the hell is it and what does it mean?). It represents his unique position in the realm of the story being able to see it, but it ultimately captures the almost divine force behind the relationship of Eishi and Takayama. The outro then brings us back to Eishi failed call at the Himalaya’s, the whiteout ripping him up and forcing Takayama to save him. All the while calling back to that first interaction between them. A mysterious moment that obviously held more weight than any world shaking rescue. And I cap it off with a warmer depiction of their reunion.

*Are you shipping in this comic?

Despite the romantic song, my affections for the pairing, and any other subtext I’ve provided, I went in with the project with a platonic angle. Like I’m not lying. I’m on the ace spectrum or whatever so I kind of interpret every strong bond in the same realm. So that means, if you think it’s a romantic interpretation-- then you’re right. If you think it’s not, you’re also right. Love comes in many forms. Have fun kids.

*What was your process?

Storyboarding

Listen over and over and figure out where to phrase the panels. I then divided the lyrics up accordingly in a draft and reviewed the pacing over and over again. Does it flow? How many words would comfortably fit with each panel?

Determined the thematic arc. At this point I already had a few anchoring moments so I wrote a description of the panel in the draft. I went with the formula of Verses= move the ideas, Refrain= emotional accents, and the Bridge is like… the climax with an epilogue of an outro. This was tricky step. I debated a lot of ideas and some lyrics didn’t feel like a good fit until I really sat on it for a while.

Fill in the draft. This is where I sketch the general shape of panels. This is also where I look at the gestalt of the thing and make sure the composition is easy on the eyes. I tried to make it dynamic and zig-zaggy so as not to be boring. This is the step where one gets really excited about the project. Cause it’s no longer trapped in your head.

Sketching

Gathered references. Surfed the web, made some myself.

Made time to sketch, I did a lot of them at my summer job, made sure to draw about 2 or 3 a day. I had the time then because it was before I took on my day job. I was very surprised to find that I rarely went back to edit a picture or dispose of a draft. I went through with the mantra that I was going to finish the picture no matter what.

Stayed disciplined with said time. I would not let myself take a break from drawing because half the success came from the fact that I was on a roll.

When I finished them I then went through the process of scanning them (my scanner broke between the first 20 panels so RIP)

Coloring Stage

...Good lord. This is where I probably went the most wrong. Make sure you have a good process in place before starting out this stage.  I was not one to digital art much as of late so my familiarity with my program was lackluster (and it also is literally the worst program  in the world), and my laptop couldn’t handle more than 10 panels. So hurray for a very desperate fix. I did everything from my brothers computer, in his room. Sometimes at terrible hours because that's the only time I’m home.

Color planning. I rushed this process but I pulled up the textures and color pallets and reference images from internet searches and stock piled them. While planning I approximated the overall ‘tone’ of each pane; (is it a dark shade, a light shade, blue, or red in hue…) and then I adjusted that so the colors didn’t repeat or blend unless the panels where connected in the same scene. There was a lot of problem solving in the actual coloring so some of this was not as smooth and I paid for it later.

Sketch Editing. I was able to go back in, move around things and edit certain aspects of the sketch without compromising the entire work. This was a life saver.

Actually coloring. Because I color sketches it’s actually a painstaking process where I can’t use a wand or a fill. I’m not familiar with certain masking and coloring methods that would have sped the process up and I wanted to be consistent. This would take 3 to 5 hours a panel which I would do in small bursts.

Type-setting

Deciding font. I was hunting around for a good font for ages until I just decided… to use my own handwriting. This meant that I had to makes sure my tablet pressure specs were up to date and I had to practice my style. It’s not perfect but its cool.

Apply font to panel. There were moments when I literally said ‘screw it’ and left my handwriting a little more sloppy than standard.

Consultation. I worked with my graphic designer friend on improving the placement of text and the color choices. This was an interesting step she is a saint.

Finalize

Every single panel is extremely large. I had to resize each one. Before this I had many tests in the drafts to see how certain sizes would load or format.

*Will you make another?

Probably. Like, there is nothing more satisfying than getting something stuck in your head out of it. I have a lot of tunes I am fond of but barely any qualify for lyric comics (need to have a good pace, easy to latch on musical phrases, thematic content that works etc.) The fandom is important too. Now that I think about it I have storyboards for an old DCMK ‘lyric comic’ idea to Imogen Heap’s “A-ha” (it was like some hidden dark side!au shit I still come back to it). I can’t let my interest wan or it straight up dies. Birdmen is a really unique series for me because its held on for a remarkable amount of time and strongly at that.

Fun Facts:

I colored a total 77 panels, 11 of which were scraped versions of the core 66 because perfectionist tendencies.

It took me 3 months to sketch all the panels out, sometimes drawing 3 a day. I would often cradle my sleeping kitten while I drew.

Panel 54-- the final chorus, whiteout splash page-- took three days to draw. At first it was two pages taped together, then it was three. I had my friend mend the images together into a massive pic for me to color, then break it apart for blog distribution. The full version is used in her video edit of the lyric comic.

I didn’t use pressure sensitivity on my tablet until I got to the last chunk. RIP

It usually took me over a day to do one picture.

I do not have a computer in my room that utilizes the art program I need. I literally did every panel after #10 in my brothers room. Sometimes hella late at night too. Props to my generous brother, he tells me he likes the company.

I took a few notable breaks. All of Inktober was used on the art challenge. The weeks leading up to Birdmen Week. And at least half of the Christmas season was spent on coloring hiatus.

I like adding a ring around the pupils of the seraph eyes. This is not canon, but an error that I really liked. You can see it as a sort of glow.

I am having my friend edit the panels into a video for your convenience. I have no idea how long it will take but I’m tired.

[enviromancomic]

The Gardner

It was a beautiful sunny morning and the gardner took a deep breath of fresh air as he knelt down to do a bit of weeding and tidying up.  Pluck, pluck, pull and pull he proceeded.  It was a day to do so as it had been raining lately and the ground was nice and soft.  A big grin on his face was evident as progress was moving like a knife through butter.  Reaching a little deeper into the bed as our plant man grabbed for another bunch of unwanted growth he looked up quickly with an unsure expression. That expression turned quickly towards the realization that he had been hit. Fuck! Mother Fucker! AHHHHH!!! He screamed as he bolted down the back forty and up to the garage holding his arm. SON of  A Bitch! I haven’t been stung for a long time, he said as he paraded and bombasted his way up and down the driveway holding the throbbing appendage.  Jesus that effen hurts worse than fat free ice cream! The gardner blurted out as he started to recover a bit from the temporary insanity that had been inflicted by what must have been one massive bee.  He figured it had to have been the size of a small school bus to cause this much distress.  Afterall he was a tough and rugged outdoorsman (oh wait….outdoors person.  Must keep the garden gender neutral).

The holding of the arm now more of a soothing rub the gardner tentatively made his way back to the sight of the attack.  The pace of the anger fueled walk slowed as he rounded the bend and came ever so close to where the calm of the morning began.  Strewn weeds lay discarded on the lawn, he looked.  The wind blew and a  gnat circled his ear which almost sent him right back down the driveway.  Once you are hit with a bee sting you think everything that moves is coming for you. Peeking a little closer there was one wasp patrolling the area.  The winged creature with dangling legs spotted the intruder and turned towards him readying for act two.  Our gardner stepped back dropping a few more f bombs to make himself seem tough even though he was prepared for the 40 yard dash if needed.  Deciding to retreat the gardner made his way to the kitchen for some ice and anti itch cream.

The next day our gardener walked back to the area of the scene of the crime and looked around to see if there might be some sort of nest.  Yellow caution tape would have been appropriate , but there was enough wasp inflicted fear still lingering in his mind. Huh?  He said. I don’t see anything coming from anywhere. It must have just been a one off coincidence.  Continuing on to look to see if the daylilies by the back fence had started to bloom he passed.  Through the gate and around. Nope. Prob still a few days off he said as he made his way back through the gate. Walking past the sting site once again our gardner definitely felt a little more tentative than usual and picked up the pace as he swatted at the breeze brushing up against his ear. Running down the driveway when the wind blows is chapter 2 in the tough guy manual.   A few days had gone by now and our plant guy was out in his domain once again.  He felt pretty good today and his memory of the insect invasion had all but left his mind.  Rounding the corner he stood point blank in front of the scene.  Nice! The Cosmo that I transplanted last week looks pretty happy.  He said with confidence and a hint of cockiness. From the corner of his eye he saw a winged creature entering his air space. He was back to normal  as he was an outdoors person and real gardener and nature’s creatures were ok with him.  His confidence was back.  He wasn’t gonna budge. In what seemed like slow motion he watched the insect come in and make a graceful landing on his arm. Before he thought “OH NO!” he was hit for the second time and running down the driveway yet again! Son of a Bitch! I can’t effen believe it! Twice in one week! What the fuck! The gardner now turned runner expelled as he bolted down the usual driveway grabbing his upper arm this time. Now doing circles in front of the garage our tough guy bit his lip in an effort to numb the shooting pain that was enveloping his arm. A bit more used to the reaction this time he screamed one more obscenity before launching into a somewhat sanity lacking laugh.  Haha….doesn’t hurt this time you long legged bastard. He blurted out in an ill fated attempt to protect his manhood.  There must be a nest! There has to be.  There is no way. Twice in one week in the same area.  There has to be. He thought.  Making his way back to the rough part of the garden he crossed the proverbial other side of Tiger Lillies. Now deep in wasp part of town he gazed left right and around. Not a flying creature in sight. Oh come on.  There has to be a nest. He said. Huh? Beats me.  He said as he went inside to ice up his second wound.

The following week our gardner rounded the bend past the Tiger Lillies to the other part of the garden once again. Just a tad of reluctance, he surveyed the area. Looks pretty good. Things are growing nicely. He said as he continued his morning rounds. Damn. That friggin dragonfly garden stake has tipped again. It always does that he said  as he reached in to straighten it for the millionth time this season. With a firm pull he righted the garden stake and then pushed down in an attempt to keep this ornament in place.  A burning sensation was now coursing through his wrist as our genius gardner had been stung for the third time. As the venom coursed an F bomb followed with the throwing of said garden stake and an exit to you guessed it the driveway where recovering sting victims go to lament how a bug could bring  them to their knees.  This time he retreated right to the kitchen for the ice pack.  Ice pack gracing the third sting site he said, “There is no way there is not a nest there! There fucking has to be!! I must figure this out. I must make the garden great again! MGGA! 

His adrenaline flowing he marched back out there towards the scene of the repeated ego dissipation. Past the Tiger Lillies he went. The gardener looked with a bit more anger than he previously had. The MGGA rally had fueled his garden rage. He looked left, he looked right.  Nothing. Huh? He said with some disgust. In his disgust he looked down at the garden stake laying on the ground. It had landed about 8 feet away.  It lay upside down. Its face planted within the grass. He chuckled a bit at the humor of the whole situation. Mid laugh he happened to see a wasp fly out of the back of the head of the garden stake. No shit! They were in the garden stake the whole time. No wonder they kept hooking me up!  I was literally knocking their house around. He said with a bit of relief because at least he had figured out the mystery.  He continued to look in the direction of the stake as he could not just leave it in the middle of the lawn. What would he do?  Should he nuke them?  After all they stung him three times! He thought about it for sure , but decided that they are nature’s creatures and belonged in the garden especially given the recent decline in bee population. Ok. I must put the stake back somehow. How would I do that? he said. He pondered a few minutes as he walked towards the driveway of retreat. Ohhh….how about I take the mosquito net from my bed? I could wrap myself in it and then I will be safe from getting stung. 

He marched himself upstairs with zest. He was determined. He removed the net from the bed and proceeded outside.  He placed the net over himself and pulled it tight. Securing it with zip ties he felt confident. It was cinched quite tightly around his legs.  This made walking more like a comical waddle. He waddled over to the stake and gingerly picked it up. He moved over to the area where it belonged and ever so carefully placed it back in the ground. Before he could finish  the wasps began to show themselves. He continued nervously as the wasps swarmed a bit. Just as he finished he felt the all to familiar pain.  He was hit! But how? The net! He attempted to run but the net was too tight.  He waddled with an erratic speed around to the good side of the garden. He was hit again! Ahhhh! He screamed. He waddled faster to the driveway of retreat.  His legs rotating in an erratic shuffle in an attempt to get away. His arms flailing inside the net. Smacking himself in the face he yelled, How did they get in! They have infiltrated the system. He screamed again. His erratic shuffle had come to a crashing halt as he fell to the black top. A group of kids had gathered and were of course now filming. Look at this loser he overheard them say. We are so going to upload this they continued. We are going viral with this moron. He had fallen in what was now labeled the driveway of shame. He was a Youtube star for all the wrong reasons.

Tommy Mic

[rockrevoltmagazine]

MGT INTERVIEW WITH MARK THWAITE AND ASHTON NYTE

  A gothic rock lover’s dream- the impressive project MGT has an upcoming release that will make even the darkest of hearts swoon at the beautiful singing of Ashton Nyte and brilliant melodies from the mind of Mark Thwaite. “Gemini Nyte” is a collaborative effort between two musicians that need no introduction, merging their musical experiences together to create this new album. Having played significant roles in other projects such as The Mission, Tricky, Peter Murphy, The Awakening, and so much more- it is clear to hear how years of fostering talent with skill has paid off. Senior Journalist Anabel DFlux had the wondrous opportunity to pick the brains of Mark and Ashton on “Gemini Nyte”.

  RockRevolt: Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. How are you?

  Mark: Feeling dandy!

Ashton: Suitably splendid, thank you.

  RR: Let’s jump right into it and chat about your upcoming release “Gemini Nyte”. How was this album conceptualized? What was the music and lyricism writing progression like?

  Mark: It was a fairly organic process, as we had already collaborated on a few songs on the last MGT ‘Volumes’ album in 2015, we just kept on writing and before we knew it we had a whole albums worth of material… songs like ‘The Reaping’ and ‘Jesamine’ on the last album set the template sound for ‘Gemini Nyte’, and I decided to keep the whole album in that broad spectrum of the gothic hard rock genre, of course we branched out a bit here and there..

  Ashton: Yes, our initial collaboration on Volumes was a great foundation to build from. We actually wrote so well and so quickly together that the bulk of this album was written and demoed before Volumes was even released.

  RR: What about the recording and production process?

  Mark: Most of it starts in my home studio in Los Angeles California, I’ll record some guitar riffs and chord progressions and lay down some basic drum programming and bass guitar, maybe some synths and then send a sketch arrangement to Ashton, who then applies his lyrics and vocal melodies, sometimes suggesting arrangement tweaks etc… once I hear the vocal I then flesh out the instrumentation and guitars with more defined parts and sometimes add some lead lines..

  RR: Do you each have a song that has the most sentimental value on the upcoming album?

  Mark: I used to play along to ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’ back in the early to mid-80s, making up my own guitar riffs to the song, which ultimately lead me to recording this bombastic rock version on the new album, so I guess it certainly has sentimental value to myself, taking me back to my youth and to finally see my vision for the song realised over 30 years later..

  Ashton: As huge fan of Scott Weiland and STP, I was very moved by his passing. I reached out to Mark to do a version of my favourite STP song, “Atlanta”. Singing that song remains a very special moment for me on the album. Mark’s arrangement allowed us to stay true to the original, whilst bringing our collective spirit to the song. It is an album highlight for me.

  RR: Tell me about “Every Little Dream”. Why did you choose to release this song as a single?

  Ashton: “Every Little Dream” was actually a song I had written and demoed before meeting Mark. When we were assembling the album, I sent him a few demos and that one stood out for him. Mark re-recorded the guitars and added a new solo, among other things, which made it sit very well on the Gemini Nyte album. I think it ended being a single because both Mark and the label liked the song and it seemed to go down rather well at the shows we did last year.

  RR: Can you tell me about the official video? I love the overlaid live footage! Do you feel that your impressive previous musical experiences influenced aspects of this project?

  Mark: We played some festivals in Europe last summer, including Wave Gotik Treffen in Germany and Camden Rocks Festival in London, and we hired some camera guys to capture some live footage, I was thinking this would be handy for selling MGT as a live act to promoters and booking agents, but we also found it a source of imagery for the ‘Every Little Dream’ video… we passed all of the footage (including iphone footage) to our dear friend Mont Sherar who did a fantastic job of editing the Reaping video back in 2016, and he once again did an amazing job..

  Ashton: Yes, Mont worked miracles on the video, as always. I think the 80’s flavour reflects the 80’s undercurrent of the song itself. What can I say, I’m a child of the 80’s.

  RR: What is your fondest musical memory?

  Mark: Listening to Pink Floyd on vinyl for the first time at a friend’s house party when I was around 14 or 15.. I recall it was the Animals album, the vinyl would jump at the same point of the same song and to this day I can’t hear that song without hearing the ‘scratch’ or jump in my memory… music is a wonderful thing. If we are talking about performing music… probably the farewell shows by my old band The Mission back in 2008, they were fantastic and magical shows.

  Ashton: Hearing “Rock ’n Roll Suicide: by David Bowie for the first time. I knew then that I had my work cut out for me.

  RR: What image do you feel that your music conveys?

  Ashton: Lyrically I’m coming from a relatively introspective place. I like music to challenge the listener, whilst not being negative or oppressive. I think our songs are ultimately uplifting in the face of adversity and the other awful things life tends to throw at us.

  RR: What drew you into the gothic rock genre that you play?

  Mark: Funnily enough with my massive goth rock track record, what with playing guitar for everybody from The Mission to Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, Spear of Destiny, Theatre of Hate and working with members of Sex Gang Children and Killing Joke, my earliest influences were actually more punk rock and metal of the late 70s, such as The Skids, Generation X, The Pistols, Motorhead, AC/DC etc. But I started branching out into bands such as Bauhaus, Siouxsie in the early 80s and then The Cult and Killing Joke and enjoyed the atmosphere and drama to the music. I definitely find myself leaning more towards melancholic minor key chord sequences.

  Ashton: For me it evolved out of my love for Bowie and the more theatrical side of art. My natural voice is rather deep and a tad dramatic and my lyrics tend to meander through the realms of melancholy introspection – not always the best fit for pop music.

  RR: I hear you have an upcoming tour in the States with Jyrki69! Can you tell me about it?

  Mark: Both Jyrki and MGT are labelmates on Cleopatra, so we were aware of each other of course… also Ville Juurikkakala -the video director I used for my ABBA cover of ‘Knowing Me Knowing You’ with Ville Valo -had also shot videos for Jyrki’s band The 69 Eyes, so it was fate that Cleopatra brought us together for this tour to promote our new albums.. The 69 Eyes are a great band, and Jyrki’s new solo album is fab.

  Ashton: Yeah, and Jyrki is a lovely person, which is supremely important when hitting the road with someone for a few weeks.

  RR: How would you describe your show visually? What can fans expect?

  Mark: Lots of smoke and mirrors…

  Ashton: I keep asking Mark to leave those mirrors at home, they do make me self-conscious.

  RR: Any music video plans we can be privy to knowing about?

  Mark: Not really, that’s up to our label Cleopatra to suggest we shoot a new one! We are releasing another single just before the album comes out in February, it’s a alternate version we recorded of ‘The Assembly Line’ and features original and classic Cure members Lol Tolhurst on keyboards and Pearl (aka Porl) Thompson on guitar… sounds fantastic and I’d love to see a video for it!

  RR: How would you define the word “success”? 

  Mark: Waking up each morning with all my limbs and food in the fridge, and to be with my loved ones around me.

  Ashton: Finding joy in everyday life and sharing it with those you love and who love you.

  RR: Any words for your fans before we conclude this interview?

  Mark: we look forward to everyone hearing the new album and coming to see us on tour! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

  Ashton: Thank you for caring about what we do, it is certainly a blessing.

  RR: Thank you!

  CONNECT WITH MGT HERE

OFFICIAL WEBSITE FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM TWITTER

  Be sure to catch MGT on tour in the United States at the below dates:

  Mar 9 – Mesa, AZ – Club Red

Mar 10 – Fullerton, CA – Slide Bar

Mar 11 – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge

Mar 13 – Portland, OR – Analog Lounge

Mar 15 – Seattle, WA – Studio Seven

Mar 17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Liquid Joe’s

Mar 18 – Las Vegas, NV – Beauty Bar

Mar 21 – West Hollywood, CA – Whisky A Go Go

MGT INTERVIEW WITH MARK THWAITE AND ASHTON NYTE was originally published on RockRevolt Mag