#so i was wanting to make an animatic to this song earlier in the year

[hiphopcherrrypop]

1

i was surprised this was at #1 😭

[kadextra]

so on a whim I started reading omniscient reader’s viewpoint manhwa

..and got hooked on the story so hard that I easily blasted through all available eps in less than a week. istg they put dr*gs in this thing it’s so good???? 😭

[SPOILER WARNING! big ramble ahead. if you’ve never read it, leave this post. consider checking it out you won’t be able to put it down]

lets get this out of the way first.

RAHHHHHH KIM DOKJA….. KIM DOKJA I LOVE YOU

GUYSSSSS 🥺 LISTEN. HE’S SUCH A GOOD PROTAGONIST. MY TRAUMA BOY. MY DUDE WITH THE POWER TO INFODUMP PEOPLE TO DEATH. YOU SELF-SACRIFICING IDIOT. his cunning intelligence makes him super attractive what can I say, I LOVE smart mcs with ambiguous morality and self sacrificial nature

here’s a big ✨shut your mouth✨ to every character who’s said he’s ugly- get your eyes checked, get a job get away from him (I know it’s because of the fourth wall’s filter it’s not their fault I’m just being silly)

the fourth wall is such a cool power to have. the complexity of how it acts based on his perception of fiction vs reality as the reader …. that’s very interesting and well thought out!!! how it lowkey has a consciousness too and it’s so tied into his mental state makes me want to psychoanalyze this guy even more. probably one of the most unique powers I’ve seen created and explored in a story tbh

I think the entire system of how the world works is really well done in general. constellations watching the apocalyptic bloodbath via livestream and sending donos to their favorite little guys shouldn’t work as well as it does and cracks me up so much 😭 (uriel is the best). I enjoy learning about all the irl different fables, history & mythologies too. plus doing my own research is fun! I did a deep dive through the web to learn about dokkaebi folklore lol I’m having a good time

I also related hard to how dokja read TWSA throughout his life, the story was a companion for him. got choked up bc I reflected on how much my own favorite companion stories for years mean to me. there’s been situations I’ve thought “what would (character) do?” dokja saying stuff like “what would joonghyuk do?” felt like I got called out <3 I’d probably be the same as him if my favorite characters suddenly came to life

anyways yeah I caught up with the manhwa looked online and discovered it comes from an already completed novel with over 500 chapters and the manhwa is barely a third into adapting it though it’s been releasing every week for 4 years. and that it’ll take like 10 more years to finish. I then planted my face in my hands and screamed with despair

I’ll shrivel up waiting to see what happens……………heyyy woahhhh.. whats this light of salvation ? the novel file just completed download on my phone ? that’s crazyy wow I opened it ? im scrolling it right now ? omg I’m telling myself in the mirror “pace yourself, try to space your reading out do NOT read too fast” ?

jokes aside im excited, first I’ll take some time to read back through the earlier chapters for extra context of scenes! >:D after I finish doing that…. pls pray for my self-control to try stretching this for as long as possible. I’m pumped to see what happens next with this demon king part so maybe I’ll read along with the manhwa unless I get too impatient heh

to conclude- I had no idea the fandom of orv was so passionate. while closing my eyes to spoilers, I was looking at beautiful fanart and animatics (watched this one and ascended that’s one of my fav rin songs). I can tell how much you guys love the story, there’s always going to be people like me who get interested so keep it up :D if the fandom does end up reading this, ummm *knocks on the door* hi im new

I will likely talk about it more in the future!! tagging under “#kade reads orv” ! might draw fanart on my art blog too bc brainworms <3 happy reading everyone

[beltransadie]

Small tidbits about my Still Into You 2ha animatic

Coz it's April, exactly one year from now was when I started completing it and I'm in the mood now. + I don't think I made a proper one + it won the twitter poll

Check it out if you're interested... or not! I just want to dump my thoughts and fun facts that I thought of while making this.

To preface this, check them out if you haven't seen it yet: (Still Into You & Please Don't Leave Me)

If you've been hanging around my blog for a while, it's kinda evident that I did post a promo post for Still Into You back in January 2023. And that first part does have an in-depth explanation about what it covers (which is from the start to the first chorus).

If you're wondering why: TL;DR I can't work on An Act of Kindness coz I was back home from school for vacation and I thought of the idea during a trip.

Anyway, I ramble. Time to get to the actual discussion.

(spoilers!!) The Actual Discussion

Making the rest of Still Into You, unlike Mo Ran's feelings for CWN, was actually just straightforward. I already knew that it'd cover the rest of the book, given that I intentionally focused heavily on book 1 while making part 1.

Like part 1, part 2 was that type of animatic that just naturally flowed during the storyboarding and rough sketch process. The whole animatic is divided into three phases which covers the following: Book 1, Book 2 and 3, and lastly the Epilogue.

Book 1 I've already discussed in an earlier post here but I did find this interesting tidbit I wrote to my cousin:

Anyways the discussion:

Yeah I really wish I have a funny image to put here. I'm really enjoying looking back at my stuff and seeing my initial plans though.

Order at which I made each part.

One thing of note (and actually a common oversight I experience while doing storyboards coz I don't do timings) was that I storyboarded the frames when the vocals started and forgot the timings in between.

So I kinda had to fill the parts between part 1 and 2 last-ish? (don't really remember the proper timings).

Oh, oh! And another fun fact:

Still Into You Part 2 (Rough Draft)

Part 2 was initially done on my tablet in CSP so there's a whole different and rougher version of it. (pls lower the volume if you're wearing earphones)

Funnily enough, this took me like one sitting to finish and a whole lot of sessions to clean up. I do like this process though given that, around the time I drew this, I started leaning heavily into animation and prioritizing getting my thoughts across without care for cleanliness. (Something I felt held me back too much while making Please Don't Leave Me).

In fact, there are some obvious frames that I didn't really bother polishing up (mostly because they're too hard for me or they just flash by quickly). A glaring example is this frame from the third part:

Another fun fact about the scene where TXJ shows CWN the plant he's been raising is it's actually inspired off of a doodle I made for someone in the Two Lifetimes CSE back in April 16 2023.

I just really think that it's super adorable for them. Mo Ran in the the epilogue section alternates between TXJ and 2.0.

Aside from the plant, TXJ also appears in this frame which is inspired from one of the extras. Another silly intentional decision I did is to have him pour alcohol onto a cup and drink from the bottle.

Meanwhile 2.0 appears here:

The one on the left is also from (you guessed it) an extra! It's based from an offhand mention that CWN makes in one of them. (Let me know what your guesses are haha)

I kinda just jumped into the 3rd half of the song, huh? I hope my ramblings aren't too much! I just wanna let it flow naturally.

Returning to the topic of the storyboard, I really only had a rough idea of what I wanted for the 3rd half. The references to the extras and even Goutou's appearance just came when I was already putting it into frame. Like, this was what I initially had in mind for the 2nd chorus to the end.

I think one of the notable differences is that I initially planned on doing the half MR half CWN screen transition the same way i did with chorus 1 and 2 but decided against it. In retrospect, I think it fits a lot because both aren't divided anymore.

Something about the second verse + chorus of the song

Like in chorus 1 and chorus 3, this section of the song takes on a darker tone since it covers book 2 going into book 3. It's a lot to talk about so I'm gonna select a couple that I personally like that's worth mentioning and leave the rest to the viewers to guess.

Also sorry not sorry for those who got spoiled by the animatic lmao.

The confession scene

Another fun fact: The confession scene in Still Into You and Please Don't Leave Me are intentionally connected through the color palette.

It's just that Still Into You takes a dump at how it treats it. Yes, the stick figures are intentional. It adds to the funny and tbh Still Into You really is just a feel good animatic. The comedy also serves as a whiplash to the angst hell that is the chorus 🥰.

(Insert obligatory CWN running at a tree meme here)

My Favorite 2ha Moment

Gotta insert my favorite chapter here (ch 184) which I think is one of 2ha's peaks because it resolves CWN's doubts about MR's feelings all this times.

And I'm just soo glad I could incorporate it in an animatic because it's so important to me. AND Like, 'yknow, I think it echoes the song very well because guess what MR tells CWN then?

“It has always been you."

That one frame before the chorus

There's like this moment before the second chorus starts where MR tells CWN something. I wanted it to echo ch 207 where MR felt the pressure of having to reveal that he actually is reborn and has memories of his past life.

If this were animated I'd have had MR match the song and tell CWN "I'm still into you".

Anyways, here's the frame before it zooms in. Physically it's still at ch 207, but I wanted the shadows to imply what happens next which is the chorus.

Other Bonus stuff

Ran out of stuff I wanna gush about so Imma talk about cut content.

XM and the MHX twins are supposed to have more frames (I didn't include it because it felt like it had too much energy)

2. Ling'er and the village ranwan visits during farm arc is also supposed to make an appearance

3. I forgot to animate the butterflies

4. I was supposed to polish the sequence at 2:41 - 2:51 at one point.

5. Fuck ow

6. CWN was supposed to glomp MR at the reunion scene

7. You and I

anyways go watch it

[tittysuckersworld]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEAAAASE!!!!! tell me about your huhhhhh fem skk au .... actor dazai.. band chuuya. idk where the post went i think it was you, i beg, on my hands and knees i love them. plzplzplz (agree with ur tags btw me2:(( )

I AMMM THE PERSON WITH AUU THANK YOU FOR ENABLING MEEEEEE- ehem hi hallo i am yes hi sudhsudjs okay ya uhhhhh hm im not sure where to start from where left off- rant got long so under cut is more :>

but pretty much soukoku as an idol group til the photographer/aspireing writer oda somehow gets in a scandle and has his parental rights to his kids taken away. before was shared custody but now is.. not.

at this point dazai was already very ready to quit being an idol. so to try and cover up the oda scandal she leaks some pictures of her kissing some people earlier in her career and some mysterious ginger lady....... she also sets up a bomb under one of the agencys cars to really blow everything over.

chuuya is not happy with this. very not happy with this.

but, now she has the freedom to do whatever she wants with her music. so she gose full pop-punk rock<3<3<3<3 and also this is where stupid animatic make their way into my plan. remember the song black sheep cover by lady in schot pilgram, this is one song chuuya makes when she hits it off on her own. she also gets really popular when she moves to pop punk rock

okay dont actually have much else planned with this- just that 2-3 years later dazai publishes a book and its a crazy best seller. talking about the inner workings of the industry and is working on her next books. mabey publishes another in like a year. i am not fully sure timeline-

the dazai leaving the agensy and car bomb really give off breaking up vibes to chuuya til a hose soaked dazai is in front of her door. not even fake rain just blondie(kunikida) got mad at her plan and desided to try soaking the prick. i dont think they immediately start dating again, but they do at some point. and is secret dating ya.

dazai just shows up to some of chuuyas shows? its a running gag that dazai will somehow get on stage and fuck with chuuya. or mess with the lights. or just anything to make a lil ruckus. the media has no clue how dazai keeps ending up at them at the right place and right time.

so! one time 4-5-6 years after dazai leaves the company and a few years of them dating again, dazai sorta.. stops coming to the shows for a little? like seems to be super busy with new book or smth.

animatic timee

then on anniversary chuuya desides to sing one of her old songs. and dazai is sitting in the croud. and is so so much. at the end the light moves over to dazai in the croud as she walks tword the stage. then the lights shut off when shes on the stage. just those two, heres their dialog have thought up, will be little janky not best but im trying. pls change if want.

Ch: "oh so right here-"

D: "Chuuya Nakahara. that first day i met you. that was begrudgingly one of the best days of my life. you were one of the best things in my life. you are one of the best things in my sorry life."

*the sprinklers to the concert all go off*

Ch: "DAZAI?!!?!"

D:"Remember that first arcade date? it was raining so hard we got instantly soaked. got sick for a week with our managers yelling at us. i hated it, but i hated it with you."

D:"or how we snuck out durring that one stop in paris? i was able to get that shitty corner store wine and a day old baguette and you smiled so wide. it was like the sun opened up in front of me."

D:"Mabey instead you could think of that one time, after that accident at that one fan meet. where you slowly unwound and rewound my bandages. kissing each little thing. had to drag you off before you tryed kissing every molecule of my arms."

Ch, wispering: "Osamu.."

D:"Chuuya Nakahara. i am sick of telling lies to the world. im sick of hiding how my eyes can light up hearing your snorts. im sick of hiding the butterflys in my stomach whenever we brush hands on the sidewalk. im sick of not being able to say and shout to the world im yours. so today, no more hiding."

by this point any audience people that stayed are using the flash on their cameras to take pictures, and dazai had bent down to one knee.

D:"Insted, how about we be Chuuya Nakahara-Dazai and Osamu Dazai-Nakahara? from today to death do us part, will you marry me?"

and yada yada ruegfuejhrbe okay yup not sure thats any good- half tempted to have chuuya take the knee here but i think she dose her own cute more private proposal for her engagement back. but yee thats all i got planned!! thank you so much for enabling me and pls pls pls if wanna talk more about this me dms are so so so so open and so is my ask box please begging

[mgfanfilm]

Welcome!

Welcome to the official Tumblr blog for the Mean Girls fanfilm!

"What is this?"

MEAN GIRLS is a fan-made film adaptation of the Broadway musical by Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond, and Nell Benjamin, based on the 2004 film by Tina Fey.

"Why?

The people behind this project are huge fans of the MEAN GIRLS musical, and we wanted to pay tribute to the show that we love.

"Wait, wasn't there already a MEAN GIRLS musical movie? It released just this year."

Yes, and that's currently my fourth favorite movie of all time. That being said, however, it does make a lot of changes from the musical it's based on, so we wanted to make a version that's a bit closer to the stage musical. This includes restoring songs like 'Stupid With Love' and 'I See Stars' to their original musical versions, as well as bringing back cut songs like 'Where Do You Belong?' and 'More Is Better'.

"So you think you can do better than the 2024 movie?"

Oh, absolutely not, and we're not really trying to. This fanfilm isn't meant to replace the 2024 film or discredit the magnificent work done by everyone involved in its creation. As I mentioned earlier, I absolutely adore that movie. We just wanted to see what a version that resembled the stage musical a bit more could look like. I think the two can co-exist as two different takes on the same source material (with one being a big-budget Hollywood picture and the other being a fan film by a bunch of students).

"Is this just going to be an animated version of the Broadway script then?"

Also no. While the primary inspiration for this film is the Broadway show, we're also bringing in aspects of the original 2004 film, the 2024 film, the West End production, and a few original ideas of our own. This fanfilm is a love letter to every version of the story.

"Wait a minute, your artstyle feels a bit familiar. Aren't you the person behind Beetlejuice & Lydia?"

Yes I am. And don't worry, that fanfilm isn't going anywhere. I know there haven't been many updates lately, but we're working steadily behind the scenes. In fact, we're gearing up for the release of our first voiced animatic of a scene from that movie!

So don't worry, MEAN GIRLS isn't going to replace Beetlejuice & Lydia or anything. The two are gonna be worked on side by side.

"Are you seriously going to try juggling two fanfilms based on Broadway musicals at once?"

Yes and no. Beetlejuice & Lydia is a project I'm leading myself, as I wrote the screenplay and will be directing the movie myself. However, for MEAN GIRLS, partly due to the fact that I'm already taking on another fanfilm, this movie will be co-directed by a very good friend of mine, Cass! (@thetheatergremlin) She is one of the coolest people I know and the person who got me into Mean Girls in the first place, so there's no one else I'd be happier to share my directorial duties on this fanfilm with.

Beetlejuice & Lydia and MEAN GIRLS are both being developed by Showtime Studios, a group me, Cass, and two other friends of ours, Carrie (@hollowisthyname) and Alex (@ticklemewiggly), have formed to develop fanmade adaptations of beloved stage shows. There's so much more we want to do if our two current projects are received well, so we hope you'll stick around to see what we do next!

So with all that being said, I hope you're all looking forward to MEAN GIRLS! We already have a finished script and some cast members we're excited to announce soon, so I hope you'll stick around for more updates as we bring this wonderful story of Art Freaks and Plastics to you all!

Happy October 3rd!

[laughingsapphic-creates]

Inukag Week, day 2: Moonlight

Barely squeezed it out but by God I posted before midnight

Day 1 is, apparently, going to take me all week. Because it gave me motivation (coughanexcusecough) to try and make an animatic I've wanted to do for a long time. I've already had to temper my expectations to just the last minute or so of the song to get it done at all, so we'll see how that goes!

In the meantime, have an incredibly self-indulgent drag au

Still Into You cover by Natewantstobattle and Amalee

@inukag-week

~~~~~~

Why Don't You Do Right?

Kagome giggled to herself as she finished her makeup, taking a moment to admire herself. Her hair was pinned up and back, covered by a brown felted fedora decorated with fluffy cat ears to hide the mass of it. Her cream button down shirt and crisp green waistcoat were perfectly fitted, falling nicely over her flattened chest. The matching green slacks were tailored to her exact centimeter, with cream spats fitted over brown oxfords she'd spent a week breaking in for this night.

“You excited?” She asked, glancing over to her partner with makeup-sharpened eyes.

“... Yeah,” he admitted, sounding just a little shy as he examined himself in the neighboring vanity. Satisfied with her own work, she watched him brush his fringe around until it lay just so in front of the felt dog ears pinned into his hair. His normally thick, dark brows had been glued down and painted over, leaving them thin and arched. His jaw had been softened by an expertly applied contour pallet, and dramatic eyeliner and mascara lent extra intensity to his golden eyes as he met her gaze. He smirked at her. “You planin’ on sittin’ there staring at me all night?”

“Hang on,” she insisted, leaning back and crossing her arms as she looked him over with a grin. “You know I love taking the time to appreciate what a beautiful woman you are.”

Inuyasha couldn't hide how his face flushed brightly at her words, with his usual long curtain of frost-white hair pulled back out of the way and curled into a beautifully coiffed ponytail. The pieces framing his face were similarly curled, giving him the aura of a magical princess, or perhaps a bride.

Standing from her seat, Kagome took an easy step forward, hands finding the arms of his chair as she leaned down to give him a kiss. She felt callused fingers on her cheek, and smiled into his mouth.

“Gonna ruin my lipstick,” he muttered between kisses, though he made no move to pull away. Emboldened by his enthusiasm and the character she played, Kagome nipped at his lower lip, drawing a gasp from her lover.

“It's never stopped you, why should it stop me?” She teased, recalling how much he'd enjoyed messing up her lipstick when she was already late for work earlier that week. “Besides, the crowd’ll love seeing how much I adore my ‘wife’.”

Inuyasha blushed so pretty, she thought, reaching over to pick up the tube of lipstick so she could touch it up for him. His eyes fluttered shut at the contact, and she smiled as his false eyelashes brushed his cheeks. He already had quite long eyelashes, which had come in handy when they were just dressing up casually, but stage performance required stage makeup, according to the woman who'd been working with them on their routine. 

“What do you think the odds are that Kikyo and Koga’ll see us tonight?” He asked, flashing her a grin of his own as the tube left his lips.

“Infinitesimal. But it'd be funny; three years going on dates in crossdress to avoid them, and they finally ping us when we're on stage of all places?” she laughed, leaning back so she could see him properly.

For as much of a fuss as he made when she had first suggested it, there was a certain softness dressing up like this brought out in him that Kagome adored. Sure, he could be soft with her, when the two of them were alone. But under the make-up and pretty clothes, she found a different form of vulnerability he didn't portray when he wore the clothes of a man. And she hadn't been kidding - Inuyasha made for a beautiful woman.

The first time she had suggested dressing in drag, it was out of desperation for just one date to not get ruined by her stalker ex-coworker or his stalker ex-girlfriend. After a few tries, they didn't spot them anymore, but they figured they'd keep it up a bit longer “just to be safe”. Going to a drag show was just meant to be a fun date, relevant to how they'd been doing things; she hadn't expected to be so quickly welcomed into the community, or to get picked up by a professional drag queen who'd encouraged them to give the stage a shot. 

“Kat? Shii?” A voice called, drawing their eyes away from one another to one of the assistants working backstage. “You have some visitors.”

“Hey you two!” Miroku called, followed by Sango to the little corner they'd taken up for their costume changes. The backstage area was bustling with queens and kings, she was surprised that they'd been allowed, nevermind that they'd gotten a guide.

“What're you guys doing here?”

“Figured we'd come show a little moral support, that's all!” Sango assured, pulling a bouquet of flowers from behind her back with a smile. “Just wanted to sneak in quick before you got on stage.”

“Oh my goodness, thank you!” Kagome beamed, standing to accept the flowers.

“Think you're ready? Big crowd out there,” nudging Inuyasha's shoulder, Miroku gave him a teasing grin. He was having an awfully good time for someone who'd gotten his shit rocked after groping Inuyasha in full drag without knowing it. Inuyasha - Shibuya - had slapped him so hard he'd briefly started speaking Korean. 

Inuyasha rose to his feet, the stiletto heels he'd become expertly accustomed to putting him half a head taller than Miroku.

“Good. We've got a big show to put on,” he hummed, smiling when Kagome wrapped an arm around his slim waist, emphasized by the padding at his hips and backside. She knew she looked very much a manlet at his side, and there was a part of her that reveled in it - like Inuyasha became somewhat softer, Kagome became somewhat bolder when she was dressed for date night. She loved her skirts and dresses in day-to-day, but there was a wonderful feeling of power in fitted suits and nice men's shoes. She smiled up at him, and he returned the look, his hair turned into a glowing halo by an overhead light.

“Alright. We should get back out to the audience if we want to get drinks before you two go on,” Miroku smiled, taking Sango's hand in his. “Break a leg!”

“You're gonna do great!” Sango agreed, waving with her free hand. “And Kagome!”

She looked at her friend.

“You've got lipstick in your mustache,” she warned, giggling as she and Miroku disappeared back out front. Squeaking in surprise, Kagome turned to the mirror, ignoring Inuyasha's laughter as she snatched up a make-up wipe to carefully removed the red smudges without disturbing the thin mustache and whiskers she'd drawn on with eyeliner.

“Don't tell me you two are getting fans already? You haven't even gone on stage yet!”

Inuyasha turned back, grinning at Jakotsu.

“If friends count as fans, then sure,” he hummed as the older drag queen came into their little corner. He accepted Jakotsu’s hug graciously, surprisingly touchy when he was all dolled up.

“Well don't you look pretty as a peony! How's the dress, sweetheart? Good fit?”

“Great fit! Thanks for lending it to me.”

“You go ahead and keep it. It's totally your color, and it looks better on you than it ever looked on me,” she insisted, patting his cheek. Inuyasha looked like he wanted to argue, but Jakotsu was clearly having none of it. The red dress was flashier than anything he'd ever worn while crossdressing, with a high kimono-style collar and a short, ruffled skirt that showed off the strong shape of his already long legs. Kagome made a mental note to give Jakotsu an extra thank-you later - she would make sure Inuyasha got plenty of mileage out of that dress.

Kagome finally stood from fixing her face, turning to smile at Jakotsu and accept his hug with much more enthusiasm.

“Kagome darling, you look so good! I like the facial hair! Very macho,” he assured, gently brushing a thumb over the eyeliner-goatee.

“Thank you! I wasn't sure about it at first, but it felt right, y'know?” 

“It was a good choice, Tom cat!” he nodded, hands coming to rest on her shoulders. “Now, the crowd’s already wound up a bit, so you get to walk into good energy! Don't get nervous on me!”

“Oh, we've been in way more nerve-wracking situations. A little crowd work’ll be a walk in the park,” Inuyasha waved off the warning, confident as ever. Squealing in excitement, Jakotsu jumped around a little, stopping only when another assistant tapped his shoulder, reminding him that the current performer was almost done. “Okay! Okay okay okay! You guys ready?”

“Ready as we'll ever be.”

“One sec,” Kagome gasped, turning to the bouquet that she'd set on the table. Finding a red carnation, Kagome broke it at the second node, lifting the bloom and tucking it into Inuyasha's hair tie so it sat at the base of his ponytail. Taking another moment to stand in awe of him, she smiled brightly and took his hand in hers. “Okay. Ready.”

“Ooooh, I could just eat you two up!” Jakotsu squealed, moving behind them to push them forward. “Alright, your music’s queued up, Iono’s almost finished. Just wait for me to introduce you, and you can come do your thing!”

“You can count on us!” Kagome assured, her arm sliding back around Inuyasha's waist as Jakotsu left them to take to the stage.

“Everybody give it up one more time for Iono Montoya!”

The crowd renewed its roars, and a woman in a curly wig and bedazzled fencing foil passed them, squeezing their shoulders and flashing a smile.

“Remember, folks! The quickest way to a man's heart? Is between the fourth and fifth rib!" Jakotsu laughed brightly along with the crowd, flapping the loose collar of her robe as if to give herself some air. “Now then! Our next performers are my own discovery; new to the Camelia Club stage! Better to look and not touch, my dears, because these puppy-lovers are equal parts bark and bite! Get ready for canine claws and feline fangs, and please welcome to the stage, Shibuya Inuyamato, and Tom-Katsuki Nekomata!”

With deep breaths, Inuyasha and Kagome faded, and Shibuya and Katsuki stepped out into the spotlights to the roar of the crowd. Shibuya spotted Miroku and Sango at one of the tables off to the side, and squeezed Katsuki’s hand while the other waved to the crowd. Katsuki waved as well, but he couldn't help how his eyes kept being drawn to his partner. Shibuya's face had fully lit up at the warm reception from the crowd, her expression open and excited. Jakotsu winked as she passed them, pressing the microphone into Katsuki's hand. With a confident smirk and a nod of thanks, he took hold of it, turning to the audience.

"What an incredible greeting!" he began, getting a few extra cheers. He had gotten quite good at deepening his voice with Jakotsu’s vocal training, and hearing it back from the speakers, even he was a little impressed with himself. "I don't think I've felt this welcome anywhere but the arms of my beautiful wife! What do you think, Shii?"

Shibuya reached up to wrap her hand around Katsuki's on the mic, long red nails tracing the length of his fingers.

"I think you just like making me blush in front of strangers, Kat,” she shot back, sweet falsetto sending a shock of warmth down his spine.

"Guilty as charged. Can't help myself sweetheart, not my fault you look so damn good in red, wouldn't you agree folks?"

The crowd went wild again, and Katsuki saw Shibuya's face go even darker at the applause. 

"Careful, Kat! You keep laying it on that thick, we're all gonna choke on it."

"Give you something else to choke on later, pup.”

That got the crowd whooping, and Katsuki could distinctly make out Sango's familiar shriek of laughter. He gave her a wink, and Shibuya leaned down to laugh into his hair. Wrapping his arm firmly around Shibuya's waist, he let her take the mic and gestured to the audience.

"We're here to sing for these fine people! Try to hold off on the choking."

"Well! In that case we'd better get this rig rollin'," she hummed, twirling out of his arms to slide it into the mic stand. Their hands remained clasped, tethering them together, and when Shibuya turned to smirk at him, the guitar kicked in.

“Can't count the years on one hand that we've been together."

“I need the other one to hold you, make you feel, make you feel better.”

Katsuki found himself smiling even as he moved his mouth to the words.

The routine they had created for the song was an intricate one, allowing Kagome's attention to detail to guide Inuyasha's stronger, more physically adept body.

“It's not a walk in the park, to love each other.”

“But when our fingers interlock, can't deny, can't deny, you're worth it.”

"Cause after all this time," she sang, arms sliding around Katsuki's neck, "I'm still into you~”

Katsuki scooped her up into his arms.

"I should be over all the Butterflies!" they spun, confetti butterflies raining from the celling. "But I'm into you." "I'm into you!”

"And baby even on our worst nights! I'm into you!" 

"I'm into you!”

"Let 'em wonder how we got this far! Cause I don't really need to wonder at all! Yeah after all this time, I'm still, into you."

The pair moved together with an automatic ease. It had been there since before their relationship had turned romantic; dancing around each other almost from the moment they'd met. Where one went, the other followed. When one moved to strike, the other covered their blind spot. And this dance had been intentional, perfected by months of dedicated practice. Inuyasha and Kayome's natural synchronicity was only emphasized by Shibuya and Katsuki's flamboyant motions and unabashed need to be close to one another. They only separated briefly during the second verse and chorus to collect tips from excited viewers, but it was clear to everyone present how eager they were to return to each other's arms.

"Some things just, some things just make sense and one of those is you and I.”

Shibuya leaned back a little, so Katsuki had to look past her enhanced chest to meet her sultry gaze.

"Some things just, some things just make sense, and even after all this time. I'm into you~"

"Baby not a day goes by that I'm not not into you!"

Katsuki lifted one of Shibuya's legs to hitch it on his hip, supporting her weight with one hand on her back as he dipped her back, turning to display her for the audience.

"I should be over all the butterflies~!!"

"I'm into you!" "I'm into you!"

They leaned into each other in turn, spinning together to gain momentum. Kat turned his back to the crowd lifting his partner while she braced her hands on his shoulders.

"And baby even on our worst nights!”

"I'm into you!" "I'm into you!”

"Let 'em wonder how we got this far!" Her arms slid around his shoulders

"Cause I don't really need to wonder at all!" his hands found purchase on her hips.

"Yeah after all this time, I'm still into you,”

"I'm still into you," Kat turned, pulling Shibuya into another dip.

"I'm still, into-" Shii leaned up, ignoring the last lyric to pull Katsuki into a fierce kiss. Going willingly, the performers found themselves only vaguely aware that they were not alone. The applause died down as a figure passed them, but the pair only separated with an embarrassed gasp when someone tapped the mic.

"Wonderful show, you two!" Jakotsu cheered, turning to give them a cheeky smile. "And a wonderful opportunity to remind our audience; make certain to spay and neuter your pets."

Blushing brightly, the pair righted themselves, taking a final bow to the encouraging whoops whistles of the audience before absconding to the backstage area to pick up where they left off.

[miru667]

Hi, i watched the lorax for the first time since i was a kid like a week ago thanks to its recent tiktok fame with #ifithasascreentheloraxwillbeseen

as a kid i used to be obsessed with like behind the scenes dvd extras and cut content from movies and tv shows, so i always watched the extras menu stuff, and would look up them on the internet too, i still do that to this day,

after watching the lorax i decided to look and see if there was any cut scenes or maybe some finished unused animation, but instead i found a cut song called

Biggering (demo version)

i listened to it and noticed how similar it was to how bad can i be, so i dug more and more and learned all about it and the early version of the lorax

and by looking for more info on this movie because my autism brain decided to latch onto this movie, i found your page, so i have to ask, what else is there to know about biggering, and the early version of the lorax, as i still know very little about it, and since you are apparently a onceler og, what was your reaction to biggering and the story details that left with it when it was cut from the movie?

Welcome to the Once-ler fandom! 😊

Biggering is a mysterious song, no one who worked on The Lorax has said anything about it as far as I know, so we can only analyze it on our own. It's been around since the beginning of the fandom in 2012 and was popularized by Gloria's fan animatic back then: [link] which I'm sure you've already watched by now.

Here were my thoughts about the song when someone asked me a few years ago: [link] and I still stand by them. We've since learned that the animation team didn't want to make a dark movie: [link] They believed that animated movies should be bright and colourful, or at the very least they wanted to depict the fun tone of Dr Seuss's works, so I think that gives us a clue as to why they decided not to use Biggering.

We can only imagine what the film would've been like if it had a darker and more serious vibe. Fortunately, the fandom has provided many, many, many fanworks to make up for it. 😎 And we'll always have the perfection of the 1972 Lorax movie anyway; I hope you've seen it already too but just in case you haven't: [link]

To learn more about earlier Lorax concepts and things that were cut from the movie, you can browse this tag on my blog, which I have been building up meticulously for 11 years: https://miru667.tumblr.com/tagged/concept%20art

Thank you for sending me an ask! ;w; I'm on a two hour train ride currently so it was perfect timing haha

[fountainpenguin]

- Minor progress on "Kisses Full of Broken Glass"

- Spontaneous (and delightful) progress on the next Dog's Life buffer chapter ["Scatter By Sunset"], including changing a few plot points, so I'm intrigued by how it's going. Turns out when I was overwhelmed in October and needed that extra month for Chapter 42, that's because I actually needed 4-5 more chapters in between that and the plot point I was trying to hit :'D Dog's Life is not really what I expected when I started it, but it's my favorite and I like it.

- Sick all day (Visited relatives for two weeks, came home earlier today). Cold, tired, and hurting. Luckily I had nowhere to be except headed home (and when I got home, I was able to watch some YouTube videos and read a 'fic update I'd put off while at relatives'). I had a tasty grilled cheese.

-> I enjoyed Tango and Skizz joking about Skizz cheating on Tango (in his Hungry Hermit minigames team-ups) and in response to Tango getting in his face and yelling "Well, you cheated on me!" Skizz just casually replies things like "I know. It was so good" and Tango falls over laughing, choking out, "It wasn't even like 'No, no- Listen!' It was like, 'Oh baby, it was so worth it; I'd do it again'" and Skizz just falls to pieces, sldkfj... the juxtaposition. Silly. ["Back at Hungry Hermits with Skizz!"]

-> I hope TangoCam became dad to a new pet dog

-> He did not, but I see day-counter lamps

- Super rough outlines for some Neighborhood Watch AU 'fics I want to write (Yesterday, but still liking them today)

- Organized 44 downloaded 'fics today (All the ones from my FFN favorites). Making a collection of URLs next to download links because I prefer reading from webpages, but some of my favorite works have been deleted and I'm glad I can easily access their downloads from my same organizer sheet.

-> Not sure what it says about me that one of my most common filters is "Grief." Oh no.

-> Remembered how much I like some of these short story-driven favorites from my past (This is about SelenP's Fawful-centric pieces, like the one where Kamek and Fawful quest to revive Cackletta and shenanigans ensue, and multiple works of impeccable Kamek characterization... Kamek shouldering through the Koopalings' playroom door and yelling "Hey kids, I've got explosives!" lives rent-free in my head... I adore the Kamek-Kammy rivalry too.

-> Might make another sheet for my own 'fics (with download links) and post it for people to access in case FFN and AO3 go down unexpectedly someday, but not high priority right now (Thankfully)

- I'd like to do more self-indulgent one-shots this year, not binding myself so much to the 130 Prompts or my main AUs. I have a ton of things I didn't submit to Guess the Author that I'd like to finish, plus other one-offs. Mostly secret soulmates & Zombiewood, but. you know who I am.

- Listening to many songs for upcoming chapters, especially something that works for "Scatter By Sunset." Slow progress, nothing's hitting. Might be two too conflicting vibes for one song for this chapter, but at least it's low energy. I really do not want to split this chapter again.

- Mayhaps... song planned for something else could work better for "Scatter"?

-> It does not

- Funny to revisit some songs I'd used for Origin of the Pixies, considering them in a new light for Dog's Life. Don't think they work, but makes me go "Hm."

- So many animatics I itch to do, but it would be such a "small drop" of creation longevity (I presume) compared to what that time can give me for buffer-building chapters, and these 'fics are more important to me right now than drawing niche plot points. Might do some short clips for sillies (24-hour challenge or such)

-> There's a Total Drama scene I've wanted to animate Poof and Foop to for 8 YEARS, but I didn't have a good character to play the third part until Dev

-> "Other Side" is such a good song for the H.P. & Anti-Cosmo drama in Origin and Knots. I've have visions for ages...

-> Sorry for being who I am (Using break-up songs as inspo. for chapters about unrepentant kidnappers)

- Spent too long on this post and songs; tired. Feeling better than last night and hopefully better in the morning.

[pinkemo6]

I made my first real animatic to a lil part of Warrior Of The Mind and posted to YouTube. I got swept up in this musical still being developed to a full production called Epic the musical. It seemingly took a good chunk of the internet by storm earlier this year and I didn’t given into it then since I saw it was getting recommended to me a lot so I didn’t think I’d like the “newest popular trendy” thing being advertised to me. Boy do I regret that. These songs revived that musical/thespian spirit I had for Hamilton way back when.

Anyway I hope you like my rough storyboard/animatic. I must preface I made this with @pixilart and a mouse so it’s not my BEST best work but I did try to make it as best as I can.

I really just wanted to do this cause when I kept listening to that one part, I kept seeing an Anime opening scene in my artist’s vision so I had to make it. Obviously Jorge, the creator of Epic, has been very open about his inspirations, saying he loves anime and video games and wanted to make the songs feel like boss battles in a video game or some ~EPIC~ music for a dramatic scene and he really hit the nail on the head. He’s such a talent and I just wanted to be part of this project even if I’m not really. I’m still proud I got it in physical form and not just a prophetic vision in my head that would eventually faded away.

Might try my hand at another animatic from this musical so keep an eye out 🏝️

[solarflareanon]

I'm Done! I've wanted to try making an animatic for forever! It was just a matter of figuring out how to get music into csp and that turned out to be Easier Than I Thought. Was I planning on animating my beautiful girl Jan to carol of the bells as my first animatic? No. But it happened to be the holidays when i started this and i wanted to finish it while i had the motivation.

So we get this! Definitely a learning opportunity, and I think i got better as i went along? I certainly got faster at figuring out how to get mind images onto the canvas and i'm genuinely very happy with how quite a few of the shots came out!

Program used: Clip Studio Paint

Audio used: Carol of the Bells cover by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

(story under the cut)

Jan (phur in purple) is attending the annual Ice Dancing Festival in a small town by a lake as she tries to do every year. The day is lovely, phurs of all ages are skating on the frozen surface of the lake and gathering in anticipation of the later competitions. A growing glow is all the warning the phurs get before the lake is cracked open and a hydra-like elemental tears it's way from its seal beneath the lake. As the revelers scramble their way to shore across the shifting ice, Jan runs towards the hydra hoping to stop it before it makes it into town. As she throws her power at it, hoping to destroy it with sheer force, it only proves to make the situation worse and the onslaught of its many heads proves overwhelming. Thrown into the freezing lake and dazed, Jan is at first despairing over her inability to stop the hydra. She then takes a moment to realize she shouldn't try to destroy it so much as restrain and reseal it. She takes hold of the residual sealing magic of the lake and races to intercept the hydra before it can reach shore. With the full might of her magic bent towards pulling it towards the middle of the lake, the hydra proves easier to manage. It is still with no small effort that Jan is able to drag it under and reseal it under the ice, making it a problem for another day. Whether the festival will continue, or they'll call it off this year, remains to be seen.

This was mostly an excuse to animate the fight scene that plays in my head whenever this song comes on. It's more of a slice of life self-contained scene with no real effect on the overarching lore of the world. Jan is a long-time character of mine who acts as a sort of avatar of myself (she isn't a sona, more like a warlock/patron sort of vibe) and ends up living a very long time. This scene takes place on a day off earlier in her life when she's is still learning a lot of the lessons that shape her through the ages, this one being a simple: sometimes problems require a little more creative thinking and a little less brute force to solve.

[yuuana]

Music Monday #252: BE:FIRST x ATEEZ - Hush-Hush release: July 2024 genre: Jpop cw: flashing, cyberpunk surrealism

It may or may not even be Monday any more by the time you read this (probably not), it's been one of those days, but I am determined, dammit. XD Or maybe just exhausted. Or both? Could be both...

As is all too common in Jpop, we didn't get a whole lot of lead time on this release, though looking back, it's pretty obvious this was one of the things ATEEZ was working on earlier this year and why they seemed to be spending extra time in Japan during NOT OKAY promotions. I knew it was going to be something special, because ATEEZ always bring innovation to the stage, but I wasn't prepared to be completely blown away.

I feel like I should start with the caveat that a lot of collaborations coming out of Kpop right now tend to feel less like a cooperative project and more like someone doled out lines and even if there is an MV, there's very little interaction between collaborating groups. Combined with the trend starting in late 3rd gen of lines being treated like the sole property of one member at a time, and that ability to interact gets even smaller. It's never zero, there's always the chorus (in theory), and the Japanese idol system has its own expectations ... that I am, admittedly, not as current on for reasons, so I was coming to this with that Kpop experience and expectation.

In hindsight, that was a complete mistake because of course ATEEZ brought Edenary with them to this project to co-produce at every level alongside the BMSG team. From the first line, we get a genuinely collaborative vibe that flows through the whole song where the rapping sections are the majority of the solo lines, traded between the two groups equally. BE:FIRST and ATEEZ share such similar tone and range that until the video came out, other than the raps and Jongho's signature high notes, I spent a lot of time being very unsure who was singing what. And surprised and pleased at how often it was at least two voices blending together. And don't think I didn't catch that line about the underdog who now wears the crown. ;) The lyrics are pretty meta, actually, talking about working hard and not backing down but also not looking to fight about who's the best because they already know the answer and don't feel the need to argue it out with anyone.

Speaking of the music video... look, I stopped counting how many times I've watched this days ago and I'm still stunned and amazed and picking out little things. Obviously this was a whole lot of green screen ... which actually makes it even more impressive in some ways because any time you have to green screen in an element (or two or ten), the artist is acting against a blank. At best, they might have had some early animatics to give the artists some idea of what would be going on around them, but a lot of the video was filled in after the fact. And yet all fifteen of them sell it like they really are in grand sweeping spaces.

For obvious reasons, I'm not ticking this as lore, but if you told me it was, I would believe you. Between Z-team's history of cyberpunk aesthetics and A-team's history of dreaming... I could easily buy this as the start of an alliance - eight men can't save the world all on their own, after all.

2024 is definitely shaping up as the year ATEEZ takes on world domination with a vengeance. BE:FIRST are still relatively new to their career, having only debuted in November of 2021 (plus their youngest is an '06-liner, oh god, the babies are taking over) and are already dominating in Tokyo and see this as a first step onto the world stage. Which is both fair and wise. ;) This one-track single is available now for streaming and/or digital purchase on most of the major platforms, as is a remix by m-flo's Taku Takahashi.

Want to see Music Monday deep dives more often? Sponsor a song selection! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. With sponsors, I can stop skipping weeks and falling further and further behind in the releases! Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature! But seriously, if you've been enjoying my selections and analyses, we (me and the foster kittens) would love a KoFi in thanks. DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[thedogofchristmaspast]

trying to make my dsaf playlist but apple KILLED ALL OF MY NOTES THAT I’VE MADE THROUGHOUT THE PAST 3 YEARS and apple id login does not work so i can’t access the icloud. so the note where i kept all my animatic ideas vanished. and i can’t remember all of them so there Should be more here but my mind is drawing a blank. Anyway. here’s the ones i remember

it’s a general playlist, so it’s not about any one character or subject but multiple. i tried my best to group the ones about the same subject with each other though, and make the changes into a different subject feel organic. basically it’s:

puppet boy, freakshow, eighth wonder: general songs that fit the themes/multiple characters

red flags - i can’t decide: davesport :3 because it felt natural to go from several characters to two characters rather than one character. red flags first just cuz it’s Silly then for shipwrecked, can’t take my eyes off you, and perfect day it’s more of dave’s perspective. no children shifts more to jack, specifically in legacy routes! And speaking of that:

smile! no one cares how you feel: legacy jack :)

crows: blackjack! another jack!

dr gaster, when he died - henryyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

walking my gargoyle - also TECHNICALLY henry. but i think like. the song is about dave, from the perspective of other people. dave is the gargoyle. henry is the singer for the first few verses and then after “i found him on a church / he helps with my research” it would switch to jack being the singer. would Maybe fit earlier on? but i think the playlist flows better with this at the end

i really wish i could remember the other ones…if anyone wants to hear my thoughts in-depth on any songs let me know bc i have a Lot of them :3

[inaris-mage-of-storms]

was listening to evermore earlier when cowboy like me started playing and it reminded me of hide your heart, so i decided to say hi :) now i kind of want to make an animatic.....................i have an idea, but the issue is i have no motivation and suck at art lmao. anyways, love your fic <3 have a nice day :D

Hi! :D That's a good song for the story I think! I keep looking at the line "forever is the sweetest con" and thinking about a particular upcoming chapter 👀

If you did make an animatic I would LOVE to see it! I very much understand having no motivation or faith in your ability, I've struggled with that for years. But I believe that nothing made out of a desire to create is ever a waste, no matter how it turns out. And you never know where a project might take you by the end!

Thank you so much for the message and for reading my silly little story. 💙

[youremyboy]

a few people tagged me in this (like last week sorry rip im slow at these) but!! here it isssss!! @shatlass @gingerandcelery @whatthefuckisasweep thank you for the tags :D

3 ships: jamir obvi. and hardshine forever and ever they are everything to me. and uh. i wasn’t gonna do two naddpod ones but i really wanna say duck team polycule. OH or the miraculous lovesquare <3<3 i basically exclusively only like ships where if someone asks “do you ship x?” i have to respond with “uh. it’s complicated”

first ship: i honestly really dont know i don’t remember. probably some disney channel bullshit. i remember on tumblr before i was anything else i was an ace attorney blog so maybe wrightworth but i was like 13 which just feels like there must have been something earlier. OH WAIT ACTUALLY i was super super hype on house of anubis at like age 10 and i shipped amber and alfie. and also nina and fabian kinda but they were also kinda boring to me lmao. still feels like there’s probably something earlier but thats truly all ive got i think

last song: i saw a poll about animatic songs that had youre gonna go far kid on it and i was like oh man, i havent heard that song in forever, i fuckin love that song. so ive had that on repeat now for like two days lol

last movie: i got a dvd copy of die hard 4 from a charity shop for 75p and i watched that. I LOVE YOU DIE HARD 4💖💖💖💖

currently reading: im rereading ari and dante bcs of the movie lmao. its still good but also i read it when i was 17 and absolutely going through the worst period of my life and it changed my brain chemistry forever so it mostly just makes me think about being 17

currently watching: already started my fantasy high rewatch in preparation for junior year agshdjdjfjsjs. but also ive been working my way through ted lasso and have enjoyed it well enough. ALSO also im super obsessed with play it by ear right now show of all time EVER easily the best show on dropout right now and im including d20 in that. fight me about it. play it by ear season 2 has gotta be my favourite season of any show of all time it starts to strong and every single episode just gets better and better. this is my play it by ear pitch if you have dropout and you haven’t watched it WATCH IT IMMEDIATELY ITS SO FUCKING GOOD

currently consuming: i think this is supposed to be about food but because it didnt fit anywhere else im gonna say that im listening to the new naddpod episode rn. i love dungeon court :D its so good and so funny. but also im drinking a pepsi. yummy delicous pepsi max the beverage of ever. <3

currently craving: omg a pumpkin spice chai tea latte. it’s getting chilly now and my reservations about being basic go entirely out the window during pumpkin spice season. ive not had one yet this year i dont even know that theyre out yet it just feels right

tag 9 people: ill be honest i think all the people i would tag have either already done this or already been tagged lmao. if you see this consider yourself tagged?? unless you dont want to be. in which case dont. <3

9 people you would like to get to know better

tysm for the tag @alexmey-does-an-arts!

1. 3 ships; bowuigi, metadede, heavy/medic(I forget the name lol)

2. first ever ship; alphyne

3. last song; Ghost Cowboys by Louie Zong

4. last movie; Midsommar. That was…something

5. currently reading; Dante and Aristotle discover the secrets of the universe. Pretty fire

6. currently watching; JCS criminal psychology

7. currently consuming; nothing

8. currently craving; Iced Cream. About to go get it. I know there’s mind chip in my freezer (:

9 people to tag; @littlegreenwyvy, @garf-official, @d1nosaurpower, @tractor-inside-joke-fucker, @junkydoodlez, @seacrown, @neldu-nak, @darkcanid19, @stormyykat

[cri8ive-scrapbook]

Of animation and inspiration

A little (pffff - sorry, folks, my text blog entries are *lengthy*) update on what's going on on the drawing board, and a great book recommendation!

Alright, so... lately I've been dabbing on an old passion that I had forfeit for many years; playing around with video editing software to create animated "lyrics videos" of songs I like. I am very much a Flash baby - I learned to use Flash in the early 2000s and was instantly won over by the great ease with which I could create little animated trailers with my still artworks, or nifty intros for my websites. But being also AuDHD, when Flash was discontinued, I felt too intimidated to try other video editing softwares where I'd have to re-teach myself everything, and gave up on animations altogether. It wasn't until about last year that I was drawn back to it, at first just for some short commercial videos I was commissioned by a client, and discovered an easy enough program like Filmora that allowed me to get decent effects in a simple interface.

The more I used it for work, the more I felt pulled to again create animation from my own art. I made some shy attempts, and the results were encouraging, but I also became aware of Filmora's limits so I'm now using a bundle of it plus Sony Vegas Pro for carrying out something that is as close as possible to what my mind sees. Being an amateur, self-taught and with great lacks in my artistic abilities, fulll frame-by-frame animatics are beyond my scope (possibly forever); but I can get a satisfying result through the interpolation of still pictures, some sfx, and music score to suggest moods and storylines.

When I work on my little "animated" projects, I always feel compelled to re-read Wendy Pini's Law & Chaos book. Because her approach to the Michael Moorcock's Stormbringer movie she wanted to make in her days as an animation student rings so true to my own experience. What I do in digital nowadays is essentially what she did with painstakingly and lovingly crafted traditional art back in the days; tell a story through the use of key scenes visualized in detail, with the artistic rendition (the inks, the perspective, the colors) in charge of the emotional response and a little additional help from technology and background music.

But there's more to this. Because Law & Chaos reasonates with me to a much deeper, personal level. The earlier pages where Wendy explains how her artwork had always been projected toward animation, how she had always wanted her characters to move, is something I could say from the depth of my own soul. Already as a kid I was more interested in the "movement" than in the finishing (which, I suspect, is why I was such a reluctant learner of techniques or more "technical" drawing); I used speech balloons to show the interaction between characters. I remember my mother would occasionally try to discourage me pointing out that comics distracted from the drawing; my poor mother, I think, associated art more with "traditonal" paintings. Occasionally, she would complain that "it'd be better to put up your drawings if it was just the art, without the speech balloons" and sometimes, to amuse her, I tried, but it seeemd to me that the pictures were then "muted", that the stories and dynamics I saw behind them couldn't be expressed because the characters couldn't "speak".

I was always conscious of my limits. I had seen documentaries on the cartoons I loved, and I knew that a lot of work went behind those smooth animations, and a snide part of me already as a kid knew I'd never be able to pull off anything like that. I was (and am) heavy handed; I delete and redraw so often that in the time of traditional art I'd always tear down the paper and that'd work me into a crying fit because then I had to redraw *everything else* and, on second try, the result was always, for some reason, below par with the first permanently ruined attempt. I wasn't patient. I wasn't nimble-handed. I longed to tell stories with my art - but animation seemed a world out of my reach. So I made "mini-comics" instead. I was content. "The small truth" (to quote the character Strongbow in Wendy Pini's independent comic series, the long-running ElfQuest), was enough for me.

Then... around the time I was 8 or 9, something unexpected happened. Computers arrived in Italy too, and quickly became popular, and next thing I knew not only we had them in school but a lot of my class mates had their own computers at home, and *then* suddenly I was reading up on computers, and *then* I suddenly had my own, and a new world of opportunities suddenly opened before me. When everyone and their cousin was hyped about playing videogames (Internet woudln't be a thing until some years later, and ADSL/WiFi until MUCH later down the line), I could only think of two things; a computer would allow me to have my fiction stories actually look like books and it would allow me to animate my drawings. Have them move, finally tell the stories they were imbued with - and without the need for speech ballons or any filters.

Such "wild" dreams from a learning-challenged kid of under-10, back in the late 1990s, can only sound hilarious in hindsight. Scrambling with Paint, creating "pictures" that I find repulsive today, I felt like I was doing something grandiose and one step closer to my dream of seeing my pictures come alive and tell their stories. I was soon to find out it wasn't so easy and computers didn't "magically" animate things - but, with all my limits, I no longer felt like I was a spectator watching on a world that would forever be out of my reach. I was a beginner, a rookie, on the amateur track still. But I had broken past he wall that separated me from that world of fancies. It would take time, it would take patience, but I was en route and now the journey could only go on. And on.

There were pitfallls, as there always are, and moments when I'd just grow so frustrated or have so many hassles to draw me away from that world completely. This, too, I found in Wendy's recollections in the Law & Chaos book. But there were also moments when my heart soared. When Internet became a thing, and I learned about animated GIFs, and the first thing I did was download a gif animator software and sketch a silly doodle of one of my wolves and animate it. It was crude, nonsensical, poorly executed, and if I think back about it today, I wince; but back then I felt like I was yet one step closer to the dream, and I cheered, and I was ridiculously proud of myself and of what I had done. Then came Flash. Another step closer to the dream. Short snippets, little more than "trailers" of RPs or spooky scenettes for Halloween - but it was *happening*. The first breath of life was infused to my still drawings. I'm writing this now before I delve back into the inks of my latest, current project; a full lyrics video, the second I've made since 2022, after two smaller projects (a series of flashes and a partecipation in a MAP video with other friends). If the first was just a test run to see "if I could do it", now I'm more demanding, with myself and with my tools. I'm using two video editors, not one, because I want the "theater of the mind" (thanks, Wendy!) to look exactly as I know it should. I'm trying to put as much work in every still image as I'll be able to. I have made a screenplay, with the exact sequence of each scene set to match certain moments of the music score. I have made a test-run with the rough sketches and am jotting down notes on what aspects will need to be fine-tuned (a more well-timed fade in/fade out effect, a better placed transition, etc). And I'm weeping with joy and going over this gem of a book again just as I'd told a long time friend "Remember all our talks on animation? Well I'm doing it now, I'm there, I succeeded!"

Because I've taken the final step, and now the dream - my dream - is becoming true.

[gunterfan1992]

Andres Salaff Interview

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure to e-interview Andres Salaff, and I’d like to share that interview with you today! Andres worked on Adventure Time as one of the supervising directors from seasons 6–8, and he has also worked on shows like Regular Show, Big Mouth, Uncle Grandpa, and Close Enough! Read on for fascinating info about how Andres got his start in the biz, what his duties as director were, and what inspired Flame P and Neptr’s rap in “The Music Hole”:

What is your ‘artistic origin story’? And how did you come to work on Adventure Time?

Andres Salaff: I was living in Ohio and drawing mini comics for fun. While visiting California, someone saw them and told me about Calarts Character Animation. I visited the school and looked at the student's work. I knew instantly that it was what I wanted to pursue. I love it because it encompasses a lot of my interests. Drawing, acting, writing and storytelling. After graduating from Calarts, I was hired as a storyboard artist on Regular Show and after three years of doing that, I was asked to direct on AT.

As a supervising director, what were your many duties? Was it largely coordination, or were you drawing/boarding alongside the board artists, too?

AS: [The job was mostly about] weigh[ing] in on storyboard pitches and voice records. But mainly, my job was at the storyboard animatic stage. To make sure that everything was working at that stage of the process and to make sure, along with the art director, timers and designers that all of the necessary information was there for the overseas animation studio. It was very collaborative in that I got to work with the different supervisors in seeing it through the pre production phase up until it got shipped overseas.

What was the energy of the crew like?

AS: [There were] a lot of thinkers on the crew. At times even reserved, but their wit would always come out and surprise me.

Did you do much coordinating with the South Korean studios with regard to the animation? Or was that someone else’s job?

AS: My work was to provide the information necessary to ship. Once it came back, I didn't have a hand in it. Once or twice I did, but that was when Adam Muto, the EP, was on a hiatus.

One thing I'm interested in is the production of the show's miniseries. How did production differ from the 'norm' when it came time to do Stakes?

AS: Stakes was so fun to work on. There wasn't much of a difference on my end from the regular season other than helping to keep an eye on the overarching story and making sure things were tracking. It was so cool seeing the different parts being pitched and coming together. All of the boarders had such a unique voice and style, yet when assembled they somehow blended seamlessly.

One of my favorite episodes has to be "The Music Hole.” How did you come to work on that episode?

AS: Adam Muto had seen a pilot that I had done at the studio called Ridin' With Burgess. There is a lot of rapping in it. He must've liked it because he asked me to board on The Music Hole. The episode centered around a music festival and Flame Princess and Neptr had a rap group.

In a separate interview, Polly Guo waxed poetic about the rap you wrote, so I was wondering if you could speak about where those ideas came from?

AS: As a kid growing up in Ohio, I used to attend a yearly festival called Scribble Jam. I tried to make FP and Neptr's song/ performance as close to that as I could remember. It was really fun to work on that episode and to collaborate with Polly Guo!

A huge thanks to Andres for answering my questions! As always, here are some useful links:

Andres’s personal website: https://andressalaff.com/

Andres’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr_dres/

The Greatest Song Ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIILKyCUbLA