#really i just wanted to draw the same character in contrasting body language u know how it is

[u3pxx]

you must be aware that all of the things i draw are very self-indulgent and for me only

[spockandawe]

Hi.....if you don't mind me asking, what are your top 10 favorite books? And why? Sorry if you've answered this question before....

This is an interesting question, and a difficult one! Which is why I let it steep for a few days while I was in a bookbinding fugue, haha XD

I’m not sure I’ll be able to answer it, because my level of fondness is highly dependent on how recently I read a book/how many times I’ve reread it, with an optional nostalgia modifier if something made a huge impression in my youth. And when I’m picking favorites, as the number of potential [thing] expands, the more I end up dithering and fretting that I’m forgetting something HUGE as I choose. So rather than a selection of top ten, I’ll just run down through some of my favorites! I’ll split it as five cnovels (recent reads, current genre hyperfixation) and five more conventional english-language novel (realistically, probably more like series, unless a standalone book occurs to me), and I’m not going to rank the conventional novels.

SO. Regular novels first. There’s a heavy recently-read/frequently-reread element going on in here. 

The Imperial Radch trilogy, by Ann Leckie. Okay, I am a sucker for a nonhuman protagonist, which is going to pop up in at least two other entries. And I’m also a sucker for themes of what can be perceived about a person externally versus their internal world, and Breq delivers like WHOA. She has SO MUCH going on in her head, and even though we’re in there with her, she still hides lots of her emotions from us. And characters like Seivarden hit me in character development buttons that I’m a sucker for, and the whole idea of consciousness being split across multiple bodies is DELICIOUS to me. Also... love me a sentient spaceship. ‘The Ship Who X’ series by Anne McCaffrey isn’t going to make this list, but I also love it a lot. (also, a universe of ‘she’s made me realized how STARVED i was for that degree of representation in certain genres that i love a lot, but don’t often see myself in as often as i might like)

The Murderbot series, by Martha Wells. Another nonhuman, sometimes-human-passing protagonist! Another one processing MASSIVE trauma of a sort that I, the human reader, have to slow down a lot and try to comprehend from an extremely different life experience! I like that a lot, it really forces me to LINGER on the nature of what a character is feeling. And oh my god, Murderbot’s voice is one of my favorite pov voices of all time. And watching it work (or go hogwild on its own asdfdgd) is absolutely delightful. I love literally everything about this series, except what happened with Miki. Other than that? Flawless.

The Books Of The Raksura, by Martha Wells. Martha Wells is a DELIGHT, y’all. Also! Another heavily-traumatized, nonhuman protagonist! And this time, like... It’s a fantasy world with huge amounts of sentient species, and the protagonist grew up away from his people, who are basically a bunch of feral homesteaders (LOVE THAT), and is trying to figure out how to reintegrate into their societal structures as an adult. That desperate desire to belong and feeling of discomfort and not-fitting-in, and the connections he makes and the way he DOES find a way to fit... like if u crey every time. Also, as far as we’re shown, it’s a cheerfully bisexual, polyamorous society, and *grabby hands*

Discworld, by Terry Pratchett. God, what do I even say about this series. It was a PARADIGM SHIFT. It’s bitingly funny, and also just plain biting, and full of huge varieties of interesting stories, set in a fascinating world, with a series of protagonists who I love too much for words. Vimes! The witches! Moist!!! They’re all so WONDERFUL. I still haven’t read the last book in the series yet, because then it will be Over Forever, and I can’t deal. This one is heavily nostalgia-tinted, but also, I stand by it.

The Belgariad/Mallorean, by David Eddings. Okay. Also very nostalgia, and the choice I can justify the least. But these books CLICKED with me. I’m afraid to reread them, because I’ve been wallowing in queer fiction for so long I’m worried about what the compulsory heterosexuality will feel like, and I know both series are very... episodic, in a way that isn’t necessarily great literature. But I dunno! Feels good, man. It’s high fantasy with a magical system I like, segmented worldbuilding of a sort that isn’t necessarily WELL-MADE, but it’s like... comfortable and easy. And something about the style and the character voices just clicks with me. I have no idea how well these hold up in the present day, but I do love them, and I’ve been planning to reread at least The Redemption Of Althalus by the same author as a standalone before I commit to a 12-book rereading of this universe, but.... I like em XD

--

Cnovels! I think I can rank these, so let’s go for it.

Fifth favorite: The Disabled Tyrant’s Pet Palm Fish :B Look, it’s ridiculous. It’s a transmigration story where the lead enters this fictional universe in the body of a fish, where he is adopted by a prince who eventually falls in love with him, and YES IT IS TAGGED MPREG, BUT HOLD ON A MOMENT-- I don’t know! I came here to point and laugh, but I’m honestly having such a good time right now. It’s really cute! And sweet! The main character is delightful, and the love interest is that particular flavor of semi-socialized upper-class young man, where like, can he do court politics? yes. can he politely express his affections for the main character? uh....... less so. It’s a really fun read, and I felt very sincere emotions about this prince who is passionately, deeply in love with his pet fish!

Fourth favorite: Mmmmmm, Mo Dao Zu Shi, I think. I struggle here, because it is NOT an easy book to read or show to watch, but having consumed the story, I love it to PIECES. I know a big draw for me is the protagonist, specifically, and his relationships to the people around him. And the more I cared about him, the more I wound up caring about the people around him, who I’d kind of neglected before, if that makes sense? It’s a story that really rewards some good old pondering. I didn’t care that much about Lan Xichen, but then I started thinking about how Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji relate to Lan Xichen, and then oh no, I care SO MUCH about his emotions, and now I’m thinking more deeply about how Lan Xichen relates to Jin Guangyao and Nie Mingjue-- It does lose points in this ranking because it IS hard to get into, and I would struggle to keep everyone straight even more if I didn’t have the show visuals to lean on, but it is still story I enjoyed VERY much.

Third favorite: Erha, but I feel REALLY, REALLY BAD that I can’t fit Yuwu on this list too, and I just want to loop them together. It’s time travel fixit fic, but it’s the book! Yes????? I love this. I love the striking character growth we get to see, and the changing perception of the world as the main character relives through events he already experienced and sees things in a new light, and I adore how Mo Ran’s growing guilt goes hand in hand with his growing love. And Meatbun in general... like, my god. I haven’t read another author who’s able to yank me through emotional whiplash so hard and fast. She makes me hoot with laughter one moment and then burst into tears the next. It’s absolutely wild. I love mxtx, and I think svsss/tgcf are gentler entry points into the genre and deal with lighter themes, but meatbun is seriously an UNBELIEVABLE writer if you can deal with the darker topics she covers.

Second favorite: The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System :V Look, I love it. I just love it. I love, again, characters dealing with the aftereffects of old trauma, plus I do also love seeing NEW trauma piled on top of it. I love having a main character with emotional dysregulation issues who doesn’t necessarily make good decisions, but doesn’t just leave me thinking ‘jfc what an asshole’, and I think that’s a really hard balance for an author to strike, especially without us getting direct pov. I love themes of being wanted and insecurity about being wanted, which is Luo Binghe’s major, major damage. And this is my first transmigration story I ever read, and the contrast between a main character who read the novel telling us about what’s totally going to happen versus the ground shifting under his feet is INCREDIBLY delightful to me. I’ve read other transmigration stories I enjoyed, but none that got my attention quite as much as this one.

First favorite: Tian Guan Ci Fu ;u; It’s so good. It’s so well-made! It’s so LONG, and it meanders, but also, I would scream if anyone tried to trim anything out of it. I am here a lot for the ship, honestly, but I also find the plot themes VERY interesting. I am very much here for reading about characters trying to process old trauma that’s been dredged up by new events, and also very here for the themes about how characters either pass their traumas along to the next generation, or try to shield the next generation from taking the same kind of damage (see: mdzs). And I’m also very much into tempering stories about pain with like... memories of kindness, and small acts of kindness repaid with an outpouring of devotion (see: svsss). But the craftsmanship in this book is just... DIVINE. I’m always reluctant to start rereading this one, because I have a terrible time stopping. There’s nothing about this book that I don’t like.

[sanstropfremir]

the hotly anticipated kingdom episode 7 review is here!!

this episode was a lot less spectacle-y than the last one (the last episode with stages, i mean), and i think that was a good choice for all the groups on the whole to tone it down on the run up to the finale, because at the rate everyone was headed there would be no room to go any higher. i'm very glad that there was actually a collab stage and not just a song swap, especially because it gives a chance for the boys to work together and make friends when they otherwise arent going to be able to interact much. love love love to see them making friends and having fun doing these stages!

i'm not really sure why mnet didnt put the vocal stage this episode, because what on earth else are they going to put in the next episode with it??? i know it's a content stretch but still, it seems like a weird choice to me. anyways, there’s four stages for me to talk about this time and i'm going to try to not ramble out of control, but we’ll see. i did enjoy watching all of these, but we’ve all got favourites and i'm going to rank by which group i liked better out of the two for each stage, and then i put a few conclusions at the end. strap in folks this is another long one.

rap stages

skz + btob + atz

i was actually really surprised at how much i liked this stage. i would not classify myself as a rap fan and believe it or not i actually do not place a lot of importance on lyrics when enjoying music. although i have very high lyric retention and comprehension, i focus more on the sound than the literal words, so a fair amount of rap is swing-and-a-miss in my personal listening. plus when you add a language barrier on top of that, a lot of the nuance and technical skill of it just flies over my head. so i really dont have much to say about the sonic elements this time around, sorry. also.....i know i joked that nobody from the kingdom staff is reading my reviews.....but is someone from the kingdom staff reading my reviews????? i specifically mentioned that i think skz should do an art themed stage and then we got one????? i know i manifested the punk ateez stage but did i manifest this also??? am i just that powerful???

costume

obviously these are pretty basic rap/hiphop stage looks, but the white was a really good choice for visibility’s sake, and also thematically: it reflects the colours in the lighting really well.

i am DYING to know who the designer of minhyuks jacket is. if somebody knows please tell me i love it so much. it looks like some of the recent belted jackets that dior was putting out, but the drawing on the front armscythe piece reminds me of the superm/kim junggi collab for tiger inside. say whatever you want about superm, but you cannot deny that that is not some of the coolest merch on the kpop scene.

loved the traditional korean elements that came through in addition to the western references: the screens, hongjoong’s fan, minhyuk’s big fuckoff brush, the masks, and the sleeves on the dancers at minhyuk’s bit. those are a costume feature from a style of korean traditional masked dance called bongsan talchum. the masks themselves are versions of hahoetal masks, which are used in a very specific archetypal ritual dance in andong. i think these are imae masks, who is the servant/fool archetype that mocks the nobleman and the scholar. i suspect that was a deliberate choice, but i can only speculate.

another point about the masks which is not relevant but maybe a fun fact for people who don’t know. i actually thought at first that they were western theatre half masks, which are a very old style of mask that, like with hahoetal masks, represent a number of archetypes/stock characters. maskwork is a very common training practice in theatre schools, because it teaches body language and control, because half your face is covered and you cannot speak in your own voice (sometimes you cannot speak at all, this is one of the rules of full mask). the tradition of usings masks to portray emotion goes all the way back to the ancient greek chorus, but more commonly people in the west sometimes know it from the italian commedia dell’arte, of which you will have definitely seen some of the character archetypes before. i just find it neat that the same types of art pop up in different places seemingly independently of each other. humans are cool.

set

not much to say here, it's pretty bare with just some propwork. thought the screen use was fun and they used it smartly in a couple of transitions. 

thought changbin’s bit of ‘interrupting’ the artists was cute and fun. there’s obviously a picasso reference there, and the four technicolour paintings are a reference to andy warhol’s pop art silkscreen portraits, most famously of marilyn monroe, but he also did many other celebrities in the 70s and 80s.

lighting

i LOVED this lighting. super bright and fun, lots of use of colour, obviously. the projections were there to enhance the visuals and weren’t distracting in any way. i thought the transition to black and white/ink with minhyuk was smart and had good contrast, it gave a strong rhythm to build back up to for the climax.

sound

bang chan’s ‘spelling colour with a u’ bit had me SCREAMING with laughter. we spell colour with a u normally bang chan, the americans are the ones that are wrong. 

staging

i don’t really have a whole lot to say here, it was pretty straightforward and fun. like i’ve said in previous reviews, i wish they were more conscious of the steadicam direction and would stop showing extended bits of the production crew. at least everyone was wearing full blacks this time.

fun use of the upward angle combined with the groundwork/leg choreo during hongjoong’s verse, that was a highlight for me.

sf9 + tbz + ikon

nothing against this stage, the other one just hit harder for me. bobby is the best rapper on the show and he really carried this stage with his charisma. he’s a fun performer to watch and he knows how to command a space. i'm sure there’s technical notes that people have about the raps themselves, but i'm here looking at visuals as a priority, which i'm sure you’ve all grasped at this point.

costume

these were clearly extensions of these idol’s personal styles, with is a perfectly fine choice, especially for a rap stage where the emphasis is more on authorship. LOVED bobby’s 11yro girl at recess look.

amusing that both rap stages involved paint in some way? loved the backup dancers shooting supersoakers filled with paint at them, but i wish i knew the reason for it? i'm glad i saw this stage first because i would have been underwhelmed by the paint throwing if i had seen this after rainbow bonanza.

set

almost no set at all here, just a few props. i'm not judging as harshly on lack of set this round because these stages are meant to be more about skill than anything else. 

lighting

i loved the projections, i thought they were unobtrusive and i admit, i LOVE outer space themed anything.

i liked that they did more concert lighting and had no projections in the first half to put more focus on the performers, it really highlighted the fact that this stage was about them, and not about anything extraneous.

sound

it was indeed a song.

staging

i do wish there had been a bit more control of the space, because it did look very empty at some parts and they could have staved that off by keeping tighter camera shots. this stage is so fucking big, holy shit.

they really brought their onstage chemistry and they looked like they were having a blast, which FINALLY!! 

i actually really liked hwiyoung’s opening, i think there was a lot of potential there for some sharp contrast work that i wish had been played through a little more, especially with the cool white light overtop the black costumes. it actually reminded me a bit of the intro in the music video from a rapper i do actually listen to, bewhy’s gottasadae.

glad to see some more use of camera effects with the black and white, but why did they do it over the paint throwing? it just made the trajectory of the paint invisible because there was no colour contrast.

performance stages

sf9 + tbz + ikon

ok obviously im gonna have a lot more to say about the performance stages, nobody is surprised there. this one was the better constructed of the two and my personal pick for better stage, but i actually liked watching the both of them equally.

costume

king shit, literally. we love contemporary hanbok in this house. there was good colour and style distinction between the three of them without clashing. 

costume change was fun and neatly blocked, it's pretty common to see backup dancers and chorus hiding quickchanges but i liked how this was a more unusual formation.

taeyang rocking the organza skirt and the big purple eyeshadow, thank you for keeping it cunty as always.

i really liked juyeon’s underlayer look. finally we get a good tbz costume look thats thematically relevant!

set

like all the stages this round, pretty minimal. the setting was almost entirely established through the costumes and the projections, which is some really good designwork. it's pretty much just the litters (the lifted chairs they entered on), and some smaller props. they managed to not make the stage feel empty because there was a lot of projection visuals to compensate, which is difficult to do without being overbearing, but i think they mostly pulled it off.

i originally thought it was gonna be weird to try and mesh the traditional korean architectural aesthetic with the weird mnet deco, but i ended up not noticing it as much as i thought i would.

lighting

like i just said, projections very well done and do a fantastic job of conveying setting without being overly distracting. like with the atz/skz/btob rap stage there’s a really broad range of colour use here that they offset by brightening and properly fill lighting the faces so you can actually see what’s happening.

the use of the strobing lasers and more concert style lighting fit really well with the change in the music from traditional instrument sounds to electronica and the more hiphop/isolated movements.

sound

i liked it well enough! i think it had a good arc that we can see echoed through the rest of the piece, like previously stated in the lighting and movement style. 

staging

like i mentioned with the quickchange, there was some really interesting formations using the backup dancers here, especially as a lead toward/away from the camera

having the three of them enter on litters; again, literal king shit, love to see it.

this has a pretty clear narrative that doesnt really need an external explanation, which is good. i have to assume that the burning of the paper with 妃 (concubine) is intended to be a gesture of ‘burning’ the love out of their hearts, but that was the only thing i'm still confused on. this may very well turn out to be a reference to a specific story that i just have no idea what it is, but we’ll see once the subs are out!

i loved juyeons solo bit with the alcohol drinking and the table flip, that was the choreographic highlight for me. i just really wish he would use the other muscles in his face more often. we know youre pretty, you dont have to blue steel your way through all your performances!! take a page out of donghyuk’s book and make some ugly faces, it's good for you!!

i though taeyang’s swordwork was fine, but since i do actually have a decade of sword training i'm very judgemental. it's not bad, he obviously has practiced with the weapon and he knows how to control it, but he doesn’t have the same understanding as someone who has trained with a sword as a weapon and not just as a prop. if we hadn’t seen another stage with swordwork in it i probably wouldn’t have brought this up (that's a lie, i still would have brought it up, i have a third dan), but you can really see the difference between how minhyuk moves with his sword and how taeyang moves. a lot of this has to do with the proper weighting of the blade, which i mention briefly in my second episode review in btob’s section (and also this ask here, where i talk about properly weighted weapons in relation to the gun choreo in sf9’s and ateez’s previous stages); minhyuk is likely using a ‘real’ sword (it’s blunted but still made using proper methods and materials), and taeyang is using a cheaper-made replica (unless you’re doing full contact striking a LOT there’s no way a properly made blade breaks like that. also you would never tape it together hello??? respect the blade). if you know what you’re looking for, you can tell from the movements themselves when someone has training. minhyuk did a load of real training for a film where he was a swordsman, and you can tell; the sword is an extension of his arm, all the movements lead with the tip of the blade first, because that’s your first, your fastest, and your most dangerous point. you do 90% of your cutting with the first eight inches of blade, but it takes a lot of specific training to get your hands and arms to a place where that kind of movement is possible. taeyang’s movements are driven from his hands, which is unsurprising, because that’s where he’s used to his extensions stopping. the tip follows rather than leads. wow this got insanely sidetracked i hope you liked this crash course on swordwork.

this is pretty much what i expected to see from this unit. these three groups all have standout soloists, so i wasn’t surprised to see these three boys as the picks. juyeon and taeyang especially, theyre both from groups that are more likely to do experimental stages and choreography that highlights them as soloists and skilled dancers.

skz + btob + atz

this was a letdown from ateez’s last two stages, because they knocked those out of the park, but it's only fair that they have a bit of a fall. that being said, i did really enjoy watching this for its sheer ridiculousness; i’m forgiving the wolf concept this time because well, it’s wolf. you can't cover wolf and not do a wolf concept, that’s against the law. also, like i’ve said before, i'm all for dark concepts IF you give them thematic weight. is it on the nose? yes. is it thematically relevant? also yes. is it dumb? also also yes, but that’s never stopped a single kpop group in the history of ever.

costume

friendship restored with ateez stylists, rivalry started with skz stylists. the fur shoulder fluffs??? stupid and i love them. perfect in every way. however i keep seeing the same fucking costumes on the skz boys and i will come directly for the stylists at jype if they dont get their shit together. be! more! creative!!!

i really really wish they had gone more 2013 kpop with it, we need more of that ugly ridiculous styling. peniel was actually pretty close, with the overly long tunic and those yellow lenses. very vixx on and on (yes i know they were vampires from outer space, let me live)

i actually thought the wolf gloves were fun? the small bits of uv paint actually worked instead of looking out of place, and i'm glad they put them on wooyoung because the uglier an outfit, the better he pulls it off. 

set

same dice, just the long table and the camo net at the beginning, which i thought was unnecessary. the table was useful for levels though, so happy to see they utilized that.

lighting

there is so much happening all the time. lots of lasers. it's definitely aiming for camp territory, and i dont actually hate it as much as i did on my first watch. it actually wasn’t as dark as i thought either, because its mostly lit with blue and amber. but it doesn’t really have that great of an arc and its not really that good on the whole.

the projections are a bit much for me, but that’s only when i'm actually looking at them. true to form, i didn’t even notice the excess of red slashes until like my fourth rewatch because i was too busy watching the performers.

sound

rookie exo my beloved. the original wolf goes so hard for absolutely no reason, so i’m not knocking this stage for being ridiculous. in fact it should have been more ridiculous. i think they did a fine job updating the song for a.....less 2013 sound. 

i like that they didn’t bother to live sing the stage even though they recorded vocals for it, it gave them all a chance to actually focus on just the dance.

that being said, i am kind of missing all the adlibs from the original. but even though there’s some strong vocalists in this unit, they aren’t made of the same stuff as baekhyun, luhan, chen, AND d.o.

i literally just realized that peniel had already debuted when this song came out AND is technically exo’s senior because btob debuted like two weeks before exo officially did.....oh no

staging

choreographically this feels a lot more like the skz stages that we’ve seen rather than the ateez ones, so i'm curious as to who the choreographer was. 

the tricking was definitely more ridiculous in this one, but i can't really say any of it was there for no reason because it all had elements of fighting in it. the scale of the tricks was quite large though and not very well blended with the rest of the choreo, which ending up making them look awkward. i thought it was a nice detail that they shone a green toplight on the dancers that made up the cliff wooyoung climbed up so that it looked like there was grass on it. cute.

the blocking is lacking a lot of fluidity, and i think that’s partially the scale of the tricking and also the editing, because this editing is TERRIBLE. there’s so much cutting, why is there so much cutting!! haven’t we already learned that longtakes are the best for this???

there’s a lot of stuff here that had good potential but could have been pushed a little farther. i feel like i say this for every mediocre stage, but what can i say, i'm good at constructive criticism. 

they should have given more showcase to the tree and the scratching arms; it's the most iconic move!! i also wish they had kept some kind of iteration of the different unit ‘leaping’ in over the exiting one, i always thought that part of the original choreo was really fun and did a lot for establishing them as wolves. 

i LOVED peniel entering with all those backup dancers in chains, thats some fucking iconic shit. very ‘im the alpha wolf,’ which is valid because he’s like at LEAST five years older than everyone else on the stage. i wish that instead of being the backup dancers it was the actual members, because THAT would have been an image. theyre all wearing harnesses and collars anyways, just clip em in! he’d be like one of those dogwalkers!

me last week: specifically talking about how krump is an uncommon style in kpop and it's very hard to get right kingdom, throwing the manifesting dodgeball at me for the third time: here would you like a KRUMP SOLO?

if you didnt believe me before that krump is hard to get right, i sure hope you do now. peniel did fine, but you can see how easily you can veer off into looking ridiculous.

some conclusions

i mentioned this really briefly in an ask i got earlier today, but i do think it's important to establish that the two performance units are doing two different types of performances. i can understand why people are underwhelmed by the atz/skz/btob stage and wanted it to be less of a traditional kpop dance stage and more like the experimental stages we’ve been seeing for the last few weeks. and i agree! i think they could have done more with it. but i also think that this kind of stage was a good choice for this particular subunit. unlike with the sf9/tbz/ikon unit, there are not really any standout technical soloists in ateez or skz. ateez has, in my opinion, the highest ratio of dancers with actual stage presence of any of the 4th gen groups ive seen. they’re at a solid 75% for any given performance, and occasionally they can bump that higher depending on the stage. that high of a stat is rare. it's extremely rare for a group to have all its members have good stage presence (i can think of like, maybe two or three?), and to get over 50% is pretty damn impressive. but ateez’s strength isn’t in how good they individually are as dancers, but it's in how well they work together. there’s a reason why they put FIVE of them in the performance unit. one of the first things i said about ateez to hanya is ‘i love wooyoung but he doesn’t stand out when he's not centre.’ which is for good reason!! he’s not supposed to! they all willingly give up centre and take it back when they need to, because they have that charisma. there’s a very cohesive push and pull to watching ateez that speaks to their strengths as performers. dancing in a group where you are all meant to be equal is a very different skill than just being a talented soloist. you have to understand what to prioritize in a different way. taemin dances differently with shinee that he does in his solo career, especially since they’ve been back. he understands when to step back; more often than not i find key to be the standout dancer in shinee choreo.

this is a very long winded way of saying that wolf was a good choice for them even though the stage didn’t turn out as well as it could have. also the fact that they made a cohesive performance at all, with a week of rehearsal and while working with essentially strangers is a feat and speaks to all of their skill at their job. performing in a group is a huge part of kpop, and they did call this the performance stage, and not the dance stage.

i'm not entirely sure on what the breakdown is on why each of the subunits were formed. i know the team sizes are extremely uneven, with sf9/tbz/ikon clocking in at 26 people and atz/skz/btob clocking in at 17 (i'm not counting changsub because he's not there and probably has a scheduling conflict), which is like, a whole extra group of difference. but atz/skz/btob utilizing their whole groups for each of the units (5/3/1 for performance, 1/3/1 for rap, and 1/1/1 for vocal, for 7/7/3 total), verses sf9/tbz/ikon only bringing out six people for these two stages and then six for the vocal stage is......weird? that's over half of their group number that’s not performing. i do think the groups brought out their standout performers and made smart choices with the stages but the balance still strikes me as odd. i do wish tbz had actually done some group choreo because they are very strong group performers and it would have been fun to watch.

ateez really played the long game here, good job boys. teaming up with the group who gets the highest fan votes AND the group with the strongest technical skills? i see you.

i think this is probably too wild of an assumption and is only based on circumstantial evidence but.....i think hongjoong might actually have a lot more creative sway than i previously thought. all the stages he’s been a part of have been very well designed, and i know he provided suggestions for the two ateez stages prior to this... i’m probably thinking too much. 

ok you know what i know there were some other points in my brain somewhere but this is already 4000 words so i’m going to stop. if i remember anything else its probably gonna end up in the answer to some of the asks i’m inevitably going to get because i think my opinions on these ones are a little bit more controversial, whoops!

not entirely sure if ill do an extensive review for next week’s stage, because i'm not really a ballad fan and i dont really do vocal reviews, but i could do a quick one. i guess it also depends on what else they put in the episode. we’ll see!!

[cozylittleartblog]

Hey hey, your transformers art is amazing and I love how cute and expressive everything is! I'd love to see how you go about making them!! (U don't have to I just wanted to say your stuff is neat!!)

hey hey, thank you so much for enjoying them and letting me know too!!

i’m not suuuper good at explaining, especially with broad topics, but i’ll do my best for you! i don’t have one process for everything, it depends on what type of drawing i’m doing. a lot of my stuff starts out as thumbnails though, which are REALLY FAST little drawings that only give the Bare Minimum of information and are usually drawn real sloppy like. here’s some examples, they’re p much the best i have on hand rn lol (i linked the finished comics after them so you can compare if you want)

finished comic ^

finished comic ^

they’re basically stick figures with just enough detail to tell which characters which, and almost no-effort aside from thought going into poses/body language, and especially facial expressions - the best expressions come from just Drawing Some Crazy Exaggerated Bullshit and running with it. i like to draw what the emotion feels like, not so much what it looks like, y’know? they dont even have to be perfect representations of what the finished things gonna look like, stuff can change in the actual sketch and lineart and Later In General(tm), i just try to get the Vibes down.

sometimes i do my lineart directly off my thumbnails, sometimes i dont, depends on how good the thumb actually is. doing that is good for getting really fluid expressive stuff though, or at least i think it is. i don’t really do it for Print/Commission Quality stuff xD after linearts done i do colors, and i try to use soft, muted colors. lots of saturation hurts your eyes, but when things are more toned down they blend together better and look cute! honestly i cant explain my understanding of colors too well since its really subconscious but just pick what looks cute together honestly. it helps to not use raw colors - my reds actually have a touch of pink in them, my yellows have a touch of orange in them, most of my blues actually have a little green or purple in them, etc. and after colors are done... that’s it, really! if there’s shading it’s probably a soft color on its own layer set to multiply, it helps unify everything. some subtle gradients here and there can make something look slightly deeper than it actually is and there’s something about going a little overboard on the glitter and shiny effects that just Enhances The Cute Factor. same thing for subtle color overlays and tinting your lineart (using a color that isn’t just Straight Black, like really dark pink or really dark blue. theme it to the character, be aware of contrast and complimentary colors, stuff like that)

... genuinely no idea if i answered your question at all but I hope you got something out of my ~ * ~ rambling ~ * ~, ill leave you on a progress gif because Why Not

[lightningflash55]

I’m reading through this part again cause apparently I hate myself, but I just love, I just looove how Demizu Posuka fleshes out the kids in her illustrations so well

If you haven’t read up to chapter 30 in The Promised Neverland, spoilers under the cut

Ahh, this scene. Everyone’s favorite :/ The first page is mostly just here for context:

I noticed the first time around, and I noticed again, how Emma kept watching Norman speak, but Ray immediately put his head down in his hand. I love this just as much as it kills me, just cause it’s such a quiet but strong reaction? 

I was trying to break down the differences between the two here and then I realized all these wonderful details that all contribute to their personalities SO. PERFECTLY. There’s so much in Ray’s reaction itself alone. My initial feeling is that he’s just.done. He’s so overwhelmed the more Norman speaks, the more he realizes everything’s suddenly spiraling out of control, the more frustrated he gets at realizing everything he planned for ISN’T going as he planned. In that moment, there are so many things he’s feeling that he can’t even process them, so what does he do but make this sort of hopeless gesture? I also sort of think that Ray, being Ray and not one to show his feelings nearly as much as Emma or Norman, probably doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want the other two to see his face in that moment. He definitely bottles up a lot of his feelings and when you’re used to that, I think it’s hard to know how to respond around other people? 

But also, being Ray, you know that’s not it. As much as he’s feeling in that moment, you also know he’s going to immediately wrack his brain for any, any possible solution to turn around the present situation. He’s not only overwhelmed, but needs a moment to work things out. That being said, his posture somehow simultaneously conveys (perhaps it’s the amount that Norman is talking with no response from Ray) that this one is a REALLY impossible scenario and that he knows it. He’s thinking because of course he’s going to try, you know he’s good at connecting the dots fast and it doesn’t take him long to just give up(I think he’s actually logical to a fault, for it leads him to giving up super quickly when the situation is impossible, unlike Emma). 

Emma, on the other hand, is still standing and still listening to Norman speaking. The gravity of the situation hasn’t seemed to hit her yet, but cause she hasn’t let it? It’s not that she’s not hearing what Norman’s saying or doesn’t realize what it implies, I just don’t think she’s accepting it, nor is she analyzing the situation in depth like Ray and coming to an impossible outcome. Cause that’s not how Emma works. Her first instinct is to always find some glimmer of hope in the situation and hold onto it, even if it’s purely generated from her own faith in the world and not grounded in reason or logic. I swear there’s a “But...” coming after the bottom panel with Emma on this page. Further, her posture and expression just don’t have the same weight that Ray’s do, and that supports all of this.

Ugh, how does one little page say so much?

This page GETS me, cause just look at their posture?? Ray’s not even holding onto anything, he looks so lost and he’s only not falling down because Norman’s holding onto him. He was pulled into the hug but he’s completely lost all his strength to return it. I wonder if he feels slightly betrayed too, cause like Norman mentions on a later page I believe, Ray’s always so logical but he seemed to really believe that Norman was going to follow through with the hiding plan. His curled fingers still show weak frustration but also suggest that he’s trying to hold onto something but there’s nothing to hold onto?? Someone please save him, everything about his body language here makes me cry. 

And Emma’s feeling the weight of the situation just a little bit more - Norman just finished and is pulling them into a meaningful hug and Ray hasn’t spoken up yet, what are they going to do? She just looks a bit...sad. Like she doesn’t know how they suddenly got to that point and also why Norman didn’t follow through. It’s clicked a little bit more, and that this hug is real, and she’s probably going “what happened?” She’s still able to stand though, and is returning the hug more than Ray is. Her dropping her crutch seems to indicate a bit of shock though, too?

Most of the commentary I wanted to include was on these first two pages because the next just further support and expand on their reactions? 

The horror is finally striking Emma here, but she STILL, even in her dread is able to think there’s some hope left. I love that she takes so long to accept his words and that she goes right into hoping even if it’s weak, cause that’s what makes her Emma. Please don’t ever stop being your hopeful self (I love her agh).

And Ray’s getting more of a physical grip on the situation again but he’s at a loss cause nothing he’s thought of would possibly fix this scenario.

Oh yeah, this is the page I was referring to:

And in these last couple pages here, Ray has just given up because it’s the logical thing to do. He’s almost going back and forth between trying to think beyond this situation now and wondering how it got this hopeless in the first place. 

It’s interesting how they contrast, actually, because Emma won’t give up even though it’s useless and even dangerous to try and stop Norman from leaving now, and Ray is actually urging her to get over it. I think they’ve now both come to the same hopeless conclusion but even so, their reactions still reflect the biggest parts of their personalities?? Emma is an undying optimist at her core and Ray is ever focused on reason and moving forward.

Thank you for reading! I hope you get something out of this little character analysis aside from being sad :u Ugh, as always, the subtlety and detail in the art get me cause they contribute SO MUCH and it’s part of why this story is so heckin’ good. Every bit is always so, so on point and it takes skill to be able to pull that off when drawing such complicated emotions.  

Please feel free to comment/discuss, it’s always welcome! 

[tdrcharmschool4]

Charm School Test #4: There’s more to (lipsyncing for your) life than this - Critiques

Our girls aren't lipsyncing for their lives, but they are lipsyncing for their grades... Let's see what the deans thought!

Kushboo

My concept  is classy hooker - based on Gaga's song ' Government Hooker'. I wanted to recreate the shades-and-glumness look albeit the drag version. The mug is therefore rouged and sensuous , and she wears shades to hide her tears and lack of sleep. Her clothes are also posh looking but underneath her blue chiffon dress she wears the same old pant she wore every episode previously because she's as poor as a doormouse. Witness her waiting by the roadside for trade in classic hooker pose.when she's done earning dough, she performs at the local drag club with best friend Kandy Ho.

Analyse: HIEEEE, Kushboo! These pants look familiar ;) I'm not mad that you've recycled a part of your audition look, especially since they are so cool and they fit the look. I think you had one of the more interesting videos out of the bunch and there were some of those Alaska mannerisms that you were able to work into the performance. I did have a problem with the 30 seconds of dead time at the beginning of the video. I would just edit that out entirely. I thought the dildo was funny (because that's the type of humor I have), but I think you held onto it a little too long and it became kind of awkward, not in a like a dirty-awkward way, but like "why does she still have that?" way. Just be mindful of how you incorporate props, and that getting rid of them is just as important as how/when you pick them up. All in all, I really enjoyed this video! Good job, and I can't wait for your next video!

Dotte: Greetings Kushboo! Such a classic song choice! I love the multi-referential description you have going on! I have a few things I noticed during your video that I’d like to bring up. Something you can stand to improve on is utilizing your body language more. There were a lot of moments where you just had your arms to your side/were swaying side to side. A simple hand on the hip can help deliver the sass and attitude you want to deliver when doing such an iconic song. Be careful when you’re bringing objects into and out of the frame. It breaks the illusion we see you obviously place the phone onto the table in front of you. Lastly, I think that this specific lipsync could benefit by pretending that you’re addressing a huge crowd. Focusing on making eye contact with just one person sort of goes against what the “intention” of the song is. So interacting with imaginary people who aren’t directly behind the camera would only make sense. Thanks for having us! Can’t wait to see your acting skills!

Marcella: Hello Kushboo! Now there were a few small issues with this sync, and I’m going to address them first (I’ll ignore that you didn’t trim the beginning). Firstly, you know the lighting isn’t brilliant. It’s very important to get yourself lit so you’re not just a blur of midtones, especially when doing a green-screen. That said, we can see you just fine. The other point I want to make is expression – Alaska is very blasé sure, but there were one or two moments that just begged for a huge reaction or change in expression. You went for it on the ‘Hieeee’ though, and a few other parts, I’d have just liked a couple more for variety and to match the contours of the song (‘Tell me. I look. G o r g e o u s’ needed some real intensity). Now let’s get to the good: points for trying green screen, it’s a good trick to have up your sleeve and it wasn’t executed badly. It didn’t add a great deal to the song, but it was definitely better than just having your room in the background. You knew the words, only dropping one or two lyrics, but that’s not unforgivable. What I really enjoyed was your use and timing of props and reveals. They were all perfectly relevant, perfectly executed (the wig reveal I did not see coming and you did it so swiftly and jadedly) and lasted just the right amount of time. Ultimately, these are what made this such an enjoyable video to watch, they gave you a story and a context, and in that regard you’ve completely succeeded. Let’s talk about the look: Makeup reads nicely from a distance, still needs work up close, but it’s mostly just in need of refinement that will come with practise. Be careful of glossy lips if you’re overdrawing, the shine will highlight your real lips underneath. The look was nothing to write home about, but it didn’t bother me either. Something more showy might have been cute, but I appreciate that this dress doesn’t take anything away from us focusing on your face and your mouth. Overall, I think this was a really strong effort, you listened well to the advice we gave and it paid off :]

Luna

I choose to do Cabaret from Cabaret cause Sally speaks to me. The show encompasses her raw human emotions of rejection and trying to fit in and be loved. I relate to her life so portraying her gave me a type of feeling of not being alone.  The make up is 20's inspired with my own twist on Sally. Cabaret is very much about lingerie and sexy dancers so I chose to go with a black white and red theme. I am wearing an undergarment skirt as a top, ballet slippers and a pencil skirt, I accessorized it with a boa, chocker and feathers.Here is what it reveals into! I made the top fringe by fringe. If you have any questions go ahead and keep it to yourself, cliff. If I wanted you to know something, I would tell you.

Analyse: Willkommen, Luna! Just looking at the pictures, I'm like "yes, bitch! It's a look." There are a couple things to fix up on it; I would love a heel, and when you have that real harsh line on the hips (either from control top tights or shaper shorts or something like that), it draws attention to that and ruins the illusion a bit. For me, your theatre background really comes through here, but my BIG issue with your submission is your connection in the video. You're doing all this emoting and acting, but directing it away from the camera, and when you're doing a video like this for an online format, your audience lives behind that camera lens. It's a problem that I had (and sometimes still have) as well, because as people who have that theatre background, we can play to a house full of people all day long, but something about the physical disconnect of directing that performance towards a camera can just be very off-putting for some people. Make sure in future videos that you keep that in mind, because honestly, it's just a thing you have to consciously fight against until you begin to move past it. Also (and this is just a technical note), your video is WAY too loud to the extent that you both *lose* audio quality and I had to turn my volume almost all the way down to get it to a tolerable point. Just be careful of that when you're editing! All in all, you gave us a cute concept and a fun lipsync. I Can't wait to see what you give us going forward!

Dotte: As soon as your video started, I was soooooo ready! That was a really smart idea having that intro because it helped set the tone for all of it. You have really great emotion oh my gosh you can really channel some energy! The outfit is super kyute and really helps sell the fantasy you’re giving us! I wish you played with that boa a little bit more before your threw it away. It would have just been neat in my opinion and sometimes, playing with those big costume pieces can help entertain an audience. The filters at the end....I’m not sure what their purpose was. Same thing for whatever it was you pulled out of your bra but maybe I just wasn’t paying attention properly. I’m not too keen on makeup but i will say the beauty mark was a nice touch. Either way this was enjoyable to watch. Tchüss! 

Marcella: Luna, this was another good entry from you! Firstly, I loved the scene setting with the record, and I love a good filter if it’s appropriate, which it certainly was. It was a smart choice to vary the filter too, though I don’t know if you picked the best point to switch to colour (earlier might have been better, before the melancholy part). The outfit worked for me (ballet slippers aside). The way you moved was engaging and suited the song, the song itself was a good choice, I can tell you enjoyed every second of performing. I do have a couple of issues though – firstly, lighting/location could have been considered better, your face was a bit washed out. Similarly, I feel your make-up was a step backwards, I needed some of the contrast you usually bring – I couldn’t see your eyes or your mouth very clearly. My biggest issue is unfortunately the lipsyncing itself. I applaud the variety of expressions you brought, and the nuance you performed them with, but the words were frequently completely off. It’s not that the overlay was off, and it’s not that you didn’t know the words… I felt like either you know the song so well that you weren’t listening properly, or the audio you were recording to was too quiet to hear. It’s so important to not only know the words, but to lipsync them how the singer sings them. Breathe when they do, and enunciate as they do. At times, your mouth made shapes didn’t match the vowels. This is really key to think about in the future, but otherwise I enjoyed it and appreciated the amount of thought you put into your performance.

Marina

For this challenge, my inspiration was my love for creating little stories and meanings behind things. My lipsync song is pretty nihilistic and sarcastic, but I tried to create a concept out of it regardless. My character in this is a vampire who has a desire to be mortal again. She feeds off of excess blood because it makes her feel more human.It sounds pretty dark but she has a good sense of humor about it, hence the writing on her face. I hope you enjoy my concept and submission for this week's challenge!

Analyse: Hello, Marina! I think this is a really pretty eye makeup, and I like the sfx blood going on. It definitely helps to sell what is otherwise a pretty plain look as a conceptualized character. If you're going to have writing or something that you want to show off, make sure it's fully visible in at least one picture, because the writing is cut off, and I'm not sure what it all says. What I'd like to see from you going forward is to really up the game and give us over-the-top draggy. No more natural hair unless you can REALLY justify it in the concept. The lipsync was fun and cute, and I think if you just fully let go and had fun with it, that energy would read more on camera. Final note, make sure when we ask for a head-to-toe picture, we get head to toe, and not cut off at the ankle. Good luck going into acting week and then the FINAL EXAM!

Dotte: Marina, heya! So let’s see...the biggest distraction for me ist the writing on the face because I can’t really tell what it’s supposed to be. If it’s blood, then it’s too neat. If its a tattoo, it’s too messy. And the asymmetry of it kinda takes away from the rest of your face. I would edit it down to one word and maybe just put it on your forehead or even incorporate it into your makeup. Your head is moving alot during the performance so we can’t read alot of words like that. I can give you a few examples one on one if you want. The outfit is very plain and can stand to use a belt or a necklace or spiderwebs to help it say vampire more. Right now, its very little black dress. We told you about syncing the performance to the music previously and this time around, its even more off. It’s definitely better video quality though. I’m not sure how I feel about the song choice but that might be more of a personal choice. It’s like this, if you went a bit more over the top with the dark vampire look then it would read more as a strong juxtaposition. Mkay that it for now. Let’s talk more and see what you bring for acting week!

Marcella: Hi Marina! I’m glad you were able to get this to us, but it was VERY late tsk tsk. Let’s get to the lipsync. Technically speaking, I think this was a step up from your homework - you clearly planned out your performance and thought about what you were going to do for each element. Lighting was ok, we could see you reasonably well. The overlay is unfortunately about a third of a second out of sync, which is very distracting. It’s always worth spending that extra moment getting it perfect, as it’ll ruin a sync if it’s off. I can’t tell if the background was just what was there, or if you specifically picked out that part of your house for the video, so I can’t really critique that either way. Your outfit worked ok, but I couldn’t properly see the details in the make-up from the distance. And although I know some of your make-up corresponded to the lyrics, which shows attention to detail and a level of consideration, I can’t help but feel your make-up is not necessarily improving. You can be as draggy or as fish as you wanna be, but right now you’re not really reading ‘drag’ to me as much as real girl putting on a performance. I don’t mean this rudely, I just don’t feel like you’re embracing the experience as much as you could. I think your expressions were varied and the energy was right, and in that sense you did what the challenge asked for. But the elements you missed, as well as the severe lateness, have really let the good parts of your submission down, I’m afraid (also, I’ll ignore that you didn’t trim the end off the video.)

Ophelia

For my music video lipsync, I want to take the song 'Angel' by Sarah McLachlan, most commonly associated nowadays with its use in ASPCA commercials (for reference if you haven't seen one!:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gspElv1yvc) so I wanted take that idea and turn it into a parody for donating money to busted, broke-down drag queens! I used text overlay that parodies the voiceover that Sarah McLachlan does in said commercials and did my makeup in a kind of facepaint/white face dogface with spots on my eye, forehead and chin area to really drive the parody comparison home! I really hope this doesn't ruin your day!

Analyse: Hey, Ophelia! I think you really let your creativity lead you through this challenge, which is always a great thing to have, but one of the important skills to develop is to come in with an editing eye and say "ok, is this the best way to get the desired effect that I want." Again, you've given us a very simple makeup and you're not showing us that you can push yourself. I really don't mean this to come across as harsh, and if it does, I'm sorry, but this dog makeup reads very elementary school birthday party face paint. I think this is a situation where you could've asked "is this the best way to get what I want out of this look," and I think you may have gotten the "parody" idea across better if you had *been* the busted drag queen the video was about (like, smeared lipstick, wonky lash, all that jazz). There's also a disconnect here between the costuming and what you're trying to get across, and I think the makeup further muddles the concept. I like the direction it was headed, but I think that some of the ideas and execution kind of caused you to get in your own way with this video. I look forward to seeing where your creativity leads you in the next couple of weeks!

Dotte: Hey there you female dog you!  I think one of my biggest Nina Bonina peeves were when she did a face but didn’t pay attention to the rest of the body. If you had something that was long sleeve and hid your skin, it would create a different type of experience for the viewer. I was honestly entertained for a smooth ten seconds but....you know people usually change the channel when they see these commercials right? I’m not really used to hearing more than the lines “In the arms of an angel” and then its usually cut off by then. Entertainment-wise, it kinda got old quick. I don’t really have much to say about performance because you were on the ground for most of it. Which was kind of strange to see because I thought we mentioned how monotonous your homework was when it came to movement. Feel free to run concepts by us because we’re here for ya, kitty girl! Onto the acting!

Marcella: Ophelia, this video looks… familiar? :p Well, regardless, I think there are some strong elements to this. Emotionally, you had this DOWN. Perfectly empty to start with, just the right amount of soul. Never too much or too little. B&W filter made sense, especially when the text kicked in. This was a nice touch, the juxtaposition both added unexpected but welcome humour and reinforced the other decisions you made. I liked that it was a little ‘why the f does she have a dog face?’ until then. Speaking of the dog face… I see why you went that way, but I can’t say I liked it a whole lot. I wish it was more of a drag dog, this was like, kid’s party literal facepaint dog. I’ve noticed that your paint is very heavy, I think you need to go a bit easier on the clown white especially, as it comes off as a mask. We know Covergirl don’t cover boy, but I think if you can learn to paint with a lightness of touch, it’ll benefit your aesthetic. Which I realise you’re still trying to pinpoint, but I think going easier on the makeup will help you do that. The outfit was ok, similarly to Kush’s, it didn’t add or detract from your performance. I liked the gloves to match the dog concept. You gotta wear some tights girl though, if you’re not gonna shave your legs. There’s no quicker way to ruin the female illusion than hairy legs. Also, I do feel like this video was a little bit plain. It’s the risk of picking a slow song, but it wasn’t quite as engaging as I’d have hoped. Overall, I think your make-up let you down, but the performance was decent.