#the animations and sfx are very nice.

[mercless]

🗡 i have forgiven splendor opus talon

[deviousdiesel]

.

[illym]

Justice, my wife Justice ♡ I would marry her no matter how her dress looked.

Translation assistance: @masked-and-doomed + @solradguy

If you post these elsewhere, keep the credits. The people helping me and I work hard on these.

ID in alt.

Cleaned and original comics below the cut.

Specific assistance:

@.masked-and-doomed: transcribed what ocr couldn't pick up.

@.solradguy: gave a lot of assistance with understanding what the comic was saying.

Suuuuch a good comic. Great Justice. Incredible Justice. My crops are watered, my house dusted, and my wrists healed.

Lotta fun with the copy stamp this time. I think it all came out quite nicely.

Radguy helped out a lot this time. Apparently there was quite a bit of slang and dialect-specific text in this one. It was very fun learning about all that.

And the wedding bell sfx! The Jaded Network didn't have it, and neither did the usual translation places, so I looked up the sfx and found this site that had a lot of anime sfx. I searched the page for it, listened to the audio sample, and immediately identified it as wedding bells, haha. Such a fun search.

Bonus half cleaned panel 3 (keep the credits in, it was quite difficult to clean):

[red-might-be-dead]

hello hi here to force strange thoughts into your brain once again, this time about jrwi (wow who could’ve guessed)

been thinking about this for a little but it’s basically what i think some campaigns would be if not podcasts, i haven’t listened to some of the older ones so i’m sorry they’re not on here :(( if you have any ideas feel free to add them btw :DD

RIPTIDE!!!!! - really long animated series

not an anime though, no matter how much grizzly wants it, it would be an animation style where the characters could have very clearly different nose, face and body shapes, really pushing my riptide nose agenda here sorry, each episode would be like 20-40 minutes long and instead of coming out in seasons there would be massive gaps in between episodes, from 2-6 months long, to leave time for writers and animators to get stuff done (massive team of animators btw, i feel like it would be pretty successful)

PRIME DEFENDERS!! - comics

literally nothing else they could be, just really well made, well performing comics (i’ve already talked about this before you can stalk my talk tag if you really want to find it lmao), the comic company making them would be keeping well away from movies n shit btw

APOTHEOSIS!!! - i wasn’t really sure about this one to be honest

i had to ask my friend and she said anime which i don’t agree with but i can see it, i think maybe a short book series where each book is 150 - 300 pages and is about a different god they have to kill/a different episode, i think that works but if anyone has any better ideas please tell me :D!!

BLOOD IN THE BAYOU!!! - i hate to say it, i really do…

bitb would be a really long really good 80s horror book with strong homoerotic undertones, a satisfied fanbase and lots of active members in the community making fan comics, films, writing, theories and art ect… until well after the book came out……….. and then it would be made into the most egregious and awful live action movie you have ever seen, the most awful casting (like chris pratt as officer dudes….. throws up) and even worse sfx, oh yeah and the characters would be ruined and the story would become so butchered it wouldn’t make sense, they would do some shit like cut out becky so kian just kisses some random lady (removing both a really good and well written character and a layer of kian’s character that i think is super important) and make rolan really be an evil bug spy the whole time so rand has to kill him to save the town also add in a whole new sub plot that never existed like the rand family is secretly a long line of bug alien hunters or something fucking stupid like that and the entire fanbase would murder whoever thought re-writing the story was a good idea (ahaha can you tell ive been through something like this before ahahaha, character morals and motives being removed and whatnot ahahahhahahaha.)

anyways………

THE SUCKENING!!! - live action series

it would be well made though, unlike the bitb movie it would be its own original thing, have great makeup and effects also be well casted and well shot, well written, ect ect, it would bloody and gory and not suitable for people who can’t handle showing bones and organs all over everywhere, lots of shitty rip off merch would be made though and the fandom would be 99% gay little freaks (normal suckening enjoyers) and 1% homophobic straight white men who get mad whenever they see soda and emizel having gay sex on screen or whatever fag shit that biting thing was

again feel free to add your thoughts and ideas and shit in the reblogs it would be nice to read them :DD!!

[piko-rose]

idk what to post so here's me getting excited over an animated hedgehog lol

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 so far is VISUALLY STUNNING. The lighting, the animation and SFX, just, BEAUTIFUL ON SO MANY LEVELS.

Everything about the trailer blew my mind, but I will do a post about my thoughts and theories on it later on. For now I wanna talk about the Blueberry Muffin himself.

Sonic in the movie looked GREAT. He got a small upgrade compared to how he looked in both Movie 1 and 2. (Especially Movie 1)

But he's still the goofy, heroic dork he is, and I'm SUPER EXCITED to see my boy again!! 💕

I don't know what else to post, so I'm just gonna gush over some of my favorite (which I'll admit, are almost every shot of Sonic in the trailer. Just wanna admit that, right now XD) shots of the Blue Devil.

I will do another version of this but with Shadow, but that'll be in the future. Shadow looks INSANE in the movie, so of COURSE I will lose my mind over his design once the post comes out lol

But right out of the gate, we got a really cool shot of Sonic running through a log, I think? Absolutely love the blue glow emitting the entire dark interior. And it gave Sonic a nice glow, too.

I love how determined he looks here, too. There were some scenes in the trailer where it looked like Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were racing each other. I think it's really adorable that the Wachowski Bros. spend time together by just racing through the woods outside of their own house.

This shot looks like Sonic might be in the lead.

Tom: "It hasn't always been easy, but it can't change who you are *points to Sonic's heart* in here."

Sonic: "Yeah. In my lungs."

The pure innocence from this hedgehog is killing me 😭

This is probably after the race? Idk when this is taking place, after all, all we got is a trailer. But I'm just spitballing here, but this is definitely another scene in the series where Tom gives Sonic some profound words for him to remember by.

But anyways, I love this shot of Sonic. You can already tell there is some slight differences with how he looked in the first film and the second film, which I kind of already freaked out over on this post here lol.

His expression complete with his line is just the perfect mixture for this shot. It describes Sonic to me. He's got a heart of gold, but at times he can be just a little confuse but still got the spirit.

He's just a child 😭

Here we got Sonic casually breaking the laws of physics just to grind on a tree branch, because he's just that cool.

Now this shot here? PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITES.

Sonic is up in the air, twirling around with a huge smile on his face 🥺

He is having the TIME of his life. He is just so happy AAAAAAAAA-

Also, I love that Sonic's body, mainly his chest, has become a bit more puffy (since the Knuckles show anyway), but he still has that bean shape in certain shots lmao (Got a bit of Classic Sonic in there since day one XDDD)

I mean, come on. Look at his cheeks and tell me he don't have any baby fat anymore? He's still small! He's still squishy!! 🥺

Anyways badass Blueberry. EPIC callback to the beginning of SA2, only this time Tails and Knuckles are along for the ride. (also love Tails' expression as he jumps off the helicopter.)

I love this particular shot a lot for some reason XD

Knuckles really wants to fight Shadow despite Sonic not wanting to. He wanted to handle Shadow just by talking things out (clearly he has not met the dude) and Knuckles is over here ready to throw hands.

Sonic looks very annoyed here 🤣

I'm just so happy to see Sonic and Knuckles together on screen again after the Knuckles show. I fell in love with their dynamic ever since. Sonic and Tails' bond is truly special to me, but it's Sonic and Knuckles' bond that means SO MUCH to me, and I SERIOUSLY need to write more about these dorks.

This is the face of a hedgehog who was NOT prepared for the horrors that is Shadow the Hedgehog and maybe bisexuality. XD

Pissed off Blueberry.

Sonic is one of those characters where they rarely get upset or angry, but when they, it's badass and genuinely terrifying. I am NOT ready to see Sonic get so upset in this movie.

I know shit is about to go down in this movie, and I know Sonic is probably gonna go feral when it does. And it won't be pretty.

He is NOT happy at all. But at least here he looks kind of pouty.

It's kind of funny XD

"Here. Take my stupid strand of magic hair, just make sure you clean it when you're done. >:("

"What did you do?"

Yeah, no, he's furious. It's actually scary seeing Sonic like this. I have seen pictures of Sonic in rage mode in the comics and yeah, you can say that Sonic's about to reach his limit, if you know what I'm saying. (btw best moment in the Archie comics hands down)

Okay, one last image, I PROMISE-

THIS ONE, is my favorite out of all of them. Everything about this shot is just... I... don't even know how to explain how much I love this.

The lighting. The intensity of this whole scene. Sonic's anger. His powers going up to 100.

Yeah, this movie is gonna drive a little crazy. :)

Of course I'm just getting started on my Movie 3 hype rambles lol. Don't want this post to be too long or annoying-

I'm just so happy to see my comfort character back in action. I'm so happy that EVERYBODY'S back! I CAN'T WAIT DUDE!!!

[barbatusart]

Music Commissions Are Open

hi everybody, i seem to have found myself in a bit of a financial pickle (my job is nice but you wouldnt believe how much i lose to taxes & unfortunately A Situation has arisen); therefore i am now opening commissions for music. pricing is as follows:

Preexisting Tracks - $50 if you want to use a track ive already done ( barbatus.bandcamp.com ) for your game, animation, animatic, etc., please contact me & let me know the track in question! the track title will be altered to include appearance in your work, & i will send you the file in whatever format you need (im able to get you .wav and .flac as easy as .mp3 so no problem there)

Original Compositions - $100 this is the pricing for a completely ground-up track from scratch. let me know what it's for - game, visual, or just your own personal enjoyment - and we can go over details. if there are any SFX or leitmotifs youd like appearing, im open to building around that. (ive had a few inquiries on if id be up for remixing preexisting game tracks too, & im fine with that! it would fall under this tier)

Entire Albums - ??? if you're looking to have a whole album made, im open to discussion - timeframe's gonna be significantly longer & im not sure on pricing as thats going to depends on number of tracks, but it's something im open to talking about

please email me at sexultraviolencesnuff at gmail dot com to discuss. thank you very much for your interest!

[tactical-mode]

remember to turn on closed-captioning for the dialogue!

Happy to be done with the first mission and to continue with the story! Getting the reactor explosion FMV without the score in the background took some patience - in Remake the SFX for the FMVs are baked into the music track, so turning off music mutes everything! Finding a way to force it to play SFX without music wasn’t too much of a challenge.

7R adds an extra scene here which I filmed and cut around.

[Chapter 02] Scenes 01-03 - Escape Tunnel and Splitting Up

Choosing the Barret shots was hard because he's so handsome and has so many almost-useful poses! Cloud and Barret's exhange at the end here is clumsily cross-faded by me. I couldn't make it work any other way, but it's not my favorite compromise.

Scenes 04-09 - Sector 8 Aftermath

Then, we get a bunch of scenery porn to one of my favorite all-time music tracks: Anxious Hearts. The melody during the last four bars (which we’ve heard before, in Mako Reactors) is a minor variation on the Prelude and appears all over FFVII’s score during times of conflict (including both Shinra and Sephiroth’s themes!). Genius, right? We're using the EC version here.

I quite loved this walking tour of destruction that 7R gives us here. 7R also gives us a lovely scene where Cloud sees fire and is reminded of his past - it’s quite a nice sequence. I’ve uploaded that scene and another Uematsu-inspired score among the other "B-Rolls," which you can find on the YouTube channel.

Eagle-eyed viewers may notice an original animation near the end of this episode. This is based on a poster the player can interact with in OG, and I think it contrasts the point of view of AVALANCHE with that of their victims, and I find that a very profound part of FFVII.

Animating it required sources some freeware brick and paper textures, and keyframing some lights to flicker and simulate fire, as well as some simple shapes running back and forth to create shadows on the wall. As an episode button, I’m quite proud of it.

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoy the episode! Of course, I’m sure some of you are really waiting for the next episode! Will I pull it off? You be the judge.

[lu-is-not-ok]

Here's the promised yapfest!

The Yurodiviye showing up again in T corp was a suprise, though given both how it seems to be themed after the Victorian era and ots famously horrible working conditions, it does make sense in context. Though I don't think we'll be getting another peak at Sonia anytime soon - or at least anywhere in the main portion of the event.

The first and third cantos both set up major players in what's to come, namely Hermann ans Demian. I believe that Sonia fits in with this theme as well given the implication that he has a mark of cain and how he obviously has unfinished buisness with the company, or Rodya at the very least.

In the background, theres a sound of a clock ticking in a lot of the music. Obviously in reference to T corp's whole thing regarding it - but it does seem different from Dante's slowest ticking sfx. It does aldo remind me of how T corp's collectors were said to signal their arrival with the ticking of a clock, and we see several of them during the trailer.

For the skills, it seems Hong Lu has a gloom skill 1? and Ryōshū has a sloth guard and a possibly two coin lust skill.

Looking back at the teaser, it seems as if the reason for fighting both the Yurodiviye and T corp goons seems to be that 'Special Investigator badge' mentioned there, as we are looking for 'time killers', we may end up uncovering a traior in one of those two organisations.

Ons of the NPCs - second I believe - seems to be wearing a kind of Vivtorian bobby's uniform [I clocked it only cause some cops still wear 'em here] so there may be a police questioning as part of the investigation.

As to the time killing part specifically - given how in the modern day what we mean by the phrase may have some overlap with Victorian ideas of idleness, which was frowned upon quite heavily, I do wonder how exactly this time would be 'killed'. Though I doubt it has anything to do with Dante's abilities - neither the sapling of light or rewinding - as neither truely 'take time out of circulation'. Plus, Faust may have some sort of way to extract time from Mephi's food, that possibly being what allows for the Sinners to rewind in the first place.

It may end up as part of the aftermath of Catherine getting 404'ed, as its clear from the Sinners having fuzzy memories that the erasure process was imperfect, it leaving more resuduals behind makes sense I think.

As for Faust's E.G.O., it may connect with the Fauncil theory in quite a fun way. In her corrosion animation, we see a bunch of clocks all turning at the same time, each slightly different in their presentation - with the central one seemingly inspired by the Doomsday Clock justt like Dante's head. This one I believe represents our Faust, while all the others represent her mirror world selves, all slightly different yet doing the same thing.

It is particularly interetsing as the doomsday clock counts down to human made catastrophe - usually nuclear war - but here it may represent how she will become her own downfall, or how something she makes may doom many others in her stead.

Glitch effects were previously seen in both the BL event when Dante starts overheating and in canto 6 when Carmen gives Heathcliff a lil talk. Im sure there's others but those are what I remembered. 

And I believe that was all I wished to say, good day to you!

o7 These are all nice little things to note down.

[thefakehedgehogaroundhere]

[SONIC PRIME SPOILERS]

i just wanna say they're so clearly upping the ante for sonic prime s2. the animation quality went UP.

not to say it was bad before! it was good from the start of the show!! flawed yes, don't think we didn't see a plant appear in the jungle just to get ripped away a second later. but was it bad? no!!

the quality of some shots in the first season was just incredible. like look at these three for example

the fire on the robots? that's almost photorealistic (kind of like the fire in the cinematic bits of sonic 06, nice touch that it looks like a sonic video game lol)!!

the background and lighting? that's BEAUTIFUL. the motion blur and the grey-purple tint from the sky just fjdj so pretty

and every time i watch thorn drag the shard behind her in her hammer just firing trees up at sonic while he spin dashes to dodge?? that lighting??? HELLO???

s2e1 had a very limited amount of backgrounds: leaning against a portal, the shatterspace, and only one universe which is basically just a greyer version of green hill and missing the prism. and somehow with so little traveled compared to s1 eps, the premiere of s2 manages to have the most breathtaking animation and lighting i've seen out of a sonic show.

these two shots?!! hello?!! maybe it's just seeing it from shadows perspective instead of sonics, but this feels UNREAL compared to the several other times they saw each other like this in s1. especially with how the characters are actually both visible to the viewer rather than garbled glitching and silhouettes. and the lighting on them both is phenomenal.

also, the way every background in this part of the ep managed to look so faded. like somehow even the bubbles which are reflecting light and don't actually have color feel like ghosts. how was this done bro

AND THE SHATTERSPACE BACKGROUNDS. THE LIGHTING IS PHENOMENAL IN ANY SHATTERSPACE SCENE IM SO MAD IT WAS BARELY SHOWN IN S1 IM HAPPY WE CAN FINALLY SEE IT IN FULL

backgrounds aside the animation was incredible too, every frame was full of emotion

this facial expression shadow has here? this only exists for a bit and then he goes back to just being motion blur and glow absolutely seamlessly. same goes for sonics movement. to transition between individual frames and motion blur with sfx having it feel real to these characters?? that's impressive.

every fight scene between the two is so well done. balancing speed and strength is hard to do in animation, especially when the characters are even or close to even in one or both of those. shadow knocking sonic off a cliff felt like a tackle and not a push. sonic trying to get up from underwater as shadow pins him down? that seemed real as the pose felt like he was pinning him down and didn't just have his hand there..

and finally the game pov-styled shot here. i have no words.

every bit of animation in this episode just blew me off the face of the earth

[lyss-butterscotch]

Hey— you!

I noticed the interests in your thing, what other series you didn’t mention there yet you like?

Oooh okay okay so im just gonna mention the medias i like / that stuck with me for long / have good knowledge of

Games :

Rain World - love the lore, the procedural animation, detailed bg and ecosystem

Hollow Knight - my first ever computer game, 112% full achievement it 3 times (twice pirated, once in steam), love the art style, mechanics, and lore

Ultrakill - Fulfilled the aggression i got from HK's godhome but 100x over. I love the simplicity over everything and the smooth rewarding combat mechanics. Also The OST

Genshin Impact - Mild interest in the lore, but i love the character, environment designs, and the OST, one of my 'go to for design ideas' media

Celeste - EVERYTHING ABOUT IT, the story the artstyle the music and THE MECHANICS, i love going nyoom and i love being able to conquer difficult things in games that is purely skill based

A Hat in Time - Very cute feels good games. Its old timey but in a good way. Love the characters, artstyle, and the BANGER OST

Inscryption - Aesthetics goals. I love the atmosphere, the sfx design, the story. I just really like how snappy and satisfying every move is

Stardew valley - comfort game :)

Project Moon Games (Lob Corp / Library of Ruina / Limbus Company) - I love Lob Corp in particular because of the monster designs and the batshit mechanics and lore, I love the other two because the lore is onpar with whatever homestuck got going on but like... it actually makes sense. TLDR its SCP but worse /pos

Resident Evil (Specifically RE7 above) - I like the horror vibes, character and environment designs inspos

OFF - Weirdcore but in a nice way. I love the sketchy artstyle

Oneshot - 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Funamusea Games (The Gray Garden / Wadanohara / Mogeko Castle) - Funny lil stories, mostly love it for the character designs since the artist makes alot of OCs

Animes :

Madoka Magica - AMAZING WRITING ANIMATION CHARACTER DEPTH OST EVERYTHING, What i strive for when writing characters, the collage facked up witches is also such an inspo

Ghibli Movies (HOWLS MOVING CASTLE, Spirited Away, The Cat Returns, Princess Mononoke) - Animation, Artstyle, Background art, Story inspirations. Theyre so feel good while also being illegally pretty and heartfelt

Kill la Kill - really fackin brash but i love the OST and the fluid lively animation, just a fun watch

Houseki No Kuni / Land of the Lustrous - Its really pretty, it has AMAZING WRITING, the 3d anime for it was SO GOOD, the manga broke me, aesthetics of all time

Saiki K - No reason in particular, the dude's just a constant mood

Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun - I just really like the aesthetics and the artstyle its so pretty, aesthetic goals

Other medias :

Homestuck - I was there when [S] ACT 7 dropped. I know its like shitpost 70% of the time but it inspires me to see how it started and how it ended

Epithet Erased - I really like the art style and the simple yet lively tweening, the rare animations are really good too. I love the character designs alot

Wakfu - Animation, artstyle, and aesthetics goal. I never finished it and the story is a lil wonky but the artstyle stood out alot to me

The Owl House - The animation and characters and environment designs are so good. The story is really nice too they got to end it well despite being cut short.

Alien Stage - I love the art style. I LOVEEE THE MUSIC ITS SO GOOD AND I LOVE THE CHARACTERS, THE STORY IS WRITTEN THROUGH SHORT SONGS BUT DAMN DO THEY HIT

Analogue Horror (Backrooms, Mandela Catalogue, Local 58, Gemini Home Entertainment) - I love the vibes and creative story telling. World building inspos

[cartoon-buffoon]

Random thought that's probably unoriginal but hay it's 4 AM and I've been thinking about this for awhile. Ever find it funny the comparison between Oswald's and Mickey's relationship with Walt Disney's and Ub Iwerks'? It's a funny parallel that doesn't get talked about much largely because people seem to forget Ub Iwerks (ironic). WARNING: RANT!

Wanna note this rant is by a person who hasn't properly played Epic Mickey 1, 2, and 2.5 (power of illusion) so sorry if I get some stuff wrong yet I know the premise and key story points. Anyways:

For those who don't know Ub Iwerks was longtime friend of Walt Disney and basically the man who would lead the Walt Disney Studios into being what it is today Ub's technical influence on the animations shouldn't be dismissed at all. The man is responsible for some of the most iconic stuff in Disney history like the colors of Dumbo's "Pink Elephants" musical number, a photography technique for the rain in Bambi, creation of a specialized Xerox machine allowing for drawings to go directly onto cels for 101 dalmatians, and he himself earned an Oscar for his efforts in bringing the mix of 2D and live action together in Mary Poppins. He even directed and worked on while going went uncredited for his creation of the wartime shorts that saved Disney Studios during WW2. From there Ub went back to working on SFX after the war and was responsible for a lot of technical magicry behind Disneyland. Oh he also was responsible for some technical stuff behind Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" where he won another Oscar. So ya know the man had clear innovative talent. Despite this work Ub was a humble man and the only real reason why we know of most of his influence and his history with Walt is because of his grand daughter's own creation of a documentary involving him. Arguably Ub is the real creator of Mickey Mouse although that debate isn't what I wanna talk about and I'm neutral on the subject regarding it. What I wanna talk about is how Ub was always there from the very beginning, he and Walt were together way before Disney was the thing it is today and to get it there they bankrupted 3 different companies before finally making it big. Despite this Ub is mostly forgotten, his input on the legacy of Disney Studios being treated as nothing more than a footnote despite his feats. Ub stayed in the background being the hard working man and animator while Walt was a director and charismatic face. Ub did win two Oscars yet now and days he's severely undercutted and even forgotten despite making most of the original cartoons (dude made Plane Crazy aka Mickey's first cartoon in garage on a nothing budget FFS) and being one of the major catalyst for animation as we know it today.

One person gets all the credit and is the face of a company while the other who helped create it is usually left forgotten and only really known by a certain group of people who are more invested in history. Sound familiar? Of course Oswald isn't as important to Disney as Ub was (sorry Ozzie) yet I still find the parallel really cool and thematically fitting. In Epic Mickey there is a statue that parodies the famous one of Mickey and Walt holding hands, yet Oswald made it about himself instead with him replacing Mickey. This no doubt shows bitterness and resentment and the plot of Epic Mickey features the two eventually making up after it all. Not after ya know after Oswald gets mad and releases the blot and all that after rightfully getting pissed knowing his world was put in danger and his wife was basically killed by Mickey. Everything works out in the end thankfully and in the second game the two are on much better terms of course, in the first game Oswald also does make an attempt to be nice to Mickey because it's what Ortensia would of wanted.

Despite them reconnecting and acting as brothers I still feel like Oswald would hold some sorta grudge. If not for the fame stealing thing at least for the whole "you ruined my world and turned my wife to stone" thing. Oswald is petty enough to make faces at Mickey behind his back, no way is the rabbit THAT mature to forgive Mickey 100% for everything. Still, I feel like the only real way Oswald could ever get over the fact that Mickey took his spot as the mascot and face of Disney is by learning about Ub and his input. This is a neat little head canon I have that Oswald would embrace Ub as his creator instead of Walt. There would be something so fitting if Oswald learned he had two dads and his creation was a joint effort and actively learning about Ub and his contributions to Disney. I feel like instead of yearning for the attention his brother has he'd take a page out of Ub's book, he'd sit in the background and let the fame and popularity go to another despite the fact that there would be no popularity without him.

I made this rant because I was too lazy to draw this but: the idea of Oswald making a statue featuring him holding Ub Iwerks' hand as opposed to Walt's is such a cool and cute idea to me. It would not only show Oswald's acceptance of not being in the spotlight yet it would also honor the legacy of another who was "forgotten".

Anyways rant over, I'm excited for Epic Mickey rebrushed and can't wait to experience it and I probably need to sleep for classes i got later.

[zombeebunnie]

Game development Trembling Essence update:

Hello guys and welcome new followers, I am here with another update towards the game's progress! This update will be a bit short because I was gone until recently and I'm still re-adjusting to working on the game again! :]

In my last update post, I talked about looking into one of the endings you could get in Day 3 and I came up with another idea for how it should end. Here's a sneak peek!

It's been a while since I've drawn outdoor CG's so I'm a little rusty right now. I thought this ending would be a long one but this one lasts a few minutes. I like how it turned out since it fits a lot better with the theme I'm trying to go for! I even attempted a little animation for it which came out nicely! Now that it's finished, everything leading up to the part where things start to branch off within the cabin is completed! :]

Onto other things, I checked through a different route and found out where I had left off from last week-ish+ so I'm still fixing glitches/quality of life changes I didn't get the chance to completely adjust there. This also includes the SFX/Music since I finally found out how to make them stack! In even greater news, I came across a time consuming bug that was giving me issues and I finally fixed! >:,]

Sadly, I did hit a rough patch that took up a lot of time. I was having a difficult time trying to come up with one or two CG's for a section of a path you can go through that didn't have anything. It took a while before I finally could come up with something for it but it's still up in the air since it might require some perspective angles and I'm still trying to practice that. :[

I'm hoping by the next update post all of them will be finished! :,]

Anyway, I think that's everything I have to report right now! Thank you for being patient and understanding! I really appreciate the continued support even though my update posts have been very scattered since spooky month. :,]

[calamitaswrath]

Cal Lucia plays Fire Emblem Path of Radiance: Chapter 29

Once again, all written down from memory cause I was streaming this for a friend (and had a wonderful time doing it!)

Really not a whole lot of chapter intro, eh? Well, I suppose at this point, there isn't a whole lot of prep work left to do. We can just move right into it.

Base conversations! Not really too much going on there, I have to admit. The conversations between the Laguz are nice, and it was funny to see Nealuchi invoke Reyson and Leanne to Naesala to get him to fight - and it works out, too!

It's nice to see Elincia give her speech to the troops before departing, but the presentation of it all was. . . a bit underwhelming. No CG, and the cheer sfx was just really short. I would've liked more for her.

Pffft, Ike gets an actual choice whether or not he wants to give a speech. . . given his obvious 'tism, I kinda wanted to not have him give it, but in the end I was just too curious. And - hold on, he gets a proper CG and everything?? Rude.

Ashnard killed his father? Shocking! . . .Well, not really. Interesting to see though that he knows he is a dead man walking.

. . .Bryce's personal weapon is called Sehnsucht not only in German, but the original Japanese as well? Pfft, okay.

Soo, upon my friend's suggestion, I went with Tibarn as reinforcement. But to be entirely honest, for me it was only between him or Naesala. I barely even remembered Giffca - with my month long break before chapter. . . I think it was 17? Anyway, with that break, I don't even remember him all that well.

Not much to note about the actual gameplay of the map - Titania still managed to get an amazing last-minute level-up, I didn't manage to get Mist to sword rank A so that she could use the Runeblade she got from Bertram, and Nephenee fucked shit up.

Actual fight against Ashnard was a lot of chipping away at him, because Ike didn't activate Aether. . . until the very last hit. The Aether luck really isn't on my side.

After the battle - ahhh, there it is. The king's wyvern isn't a wyvern at all, but rather a dragon laguz. Guess I half remembered that correct.

Heartwarming little scene between Ena and Rajaion - and then after the chapter, my friend also informed me that he just. Dies between games and isn't brought up again. Okay??? What???

And then the epilogue! Everybody gets to say a final little line, which was nice, if a bit long. Mist hands over the medallion to Reyson and Leanne, and Sephiran gets to say some ominous things that certainly aren't hinting towards any sequels. And an animated cutscene with Ike and Elincia! . . .Yeah, if the game is trying to push them as a pairing, then it really isn't doing it well. Not with Soren and Ranulf there.

Really is rather unusual that characters don't get personal endings in this game, I have to say. But with a sequel likely already planned at that point, there wasn't much of a. . . well, point.

I'll probably also write down some closing thoughts on Path of Radiance later, but these'll just be my initial thoughts on the final chapter. I also already started Radiant Dawn - was still streaming it for that friend - and I was in The Zone, anyway. Those thoughts I'll also write down retroactively then. For now, here's my number one for this playthrough:

[maguro13-2]

The Secret of Krillin's Ex Revealed

Android 17 : Nice Kid of yours, That's Maron alright. You know, sis. I gotta admit it. Being a uncle and park ranger is great. But I do believe that he named his daughter after his long-lost Ex from the fillers.

Android 18 : You are definitely right. He did named after a blued-haired b--I mean, blue-haired lady that he used to be his girlfriend. So I wonder what's so secret that I didn't even met his ex.

Krillin's Ex (Maron) : *walking by* Hi, people I never seen before in Krillin's.

17 & 18 : Hi, Maron from the filler saga of Dragon Ball Z.

*One Piece SFX : Funny Sound Effect*

Android 17 : Uhh, sis?

Android 18 : Yeah?

Android 17 : Was that the guy's ex that she walked by us?

Android 18 : Uh-huh.

Android 17 : We didn't even met her.

Android 18 : Well it's not wonder that we named our daughter his Ex. I feel something is very suspicious to that woman that we never seen before in our lives.

Android 17 : Let's go find out.

(scene flips)

Android 17 : Alright Krillin's EX. I know you're in there and I demand that you tell us that you were the one who gave my niece her name, and you a slender young woman who is curvaceous and hot in a golden swimsuit, let's just agree that you're still just a--

*reveals a lab full of copies of Krillin's Ex Maron*

Android 17 : CLONES!?!

Android 18 : What the f***

Android 17 : Oh God! This is where Krillin's Ex came from?

Android 18 : Who in the world would put a lab full of Maron Clones?

Dr. Briefs : That's because Krillin's girlfriend was actually a clone of my daughter.

Android 17 : You! You did this!

Android 18 : You're the one who created Maron!

Android 17 : You're sick, man! You're sick!

Dr. Briefs : I know this had been a long time til someone managed to learn the truth that it was I who created a clone of Bulma and it became a popular for Toei Animation and in turned it become known as Krillin's Ex Girlfriend.

Android 18 : Wait a second. You took the DNA from your own daughter to make it look like Krillin's bruja girlfriend? I bet you're the one that is trying to make Goku's wife jealous.

Dr. Briefs : Not jealously! Retribution. I've known my own daughter had been lost when I felt that she was gonna be killed by the copy of that Bulma. And now you underestimated the secret.

Android 18 : You mean you were producing copies of the orignal bulma to make another Maron? Is that what you've been doing all along.

??? : Not just any copies of the original Bulma, but an android created to bring world domination that I built.

Android 17 : Old man Gero! You're working with him!? But I killed you for good riddance!

Dr. Gero : Thanks to my brilliant plans of making another copy of me, I will achieve my plans to dominating the world by unleashing my army of Maron copies that rid of all the women in the world!

Dr. Briefs : So when two geniues working together, we put our efforts to show jealousy and Envy to all what it means to make fans jealous over Chi-Chi.

Android 18 : Oh God!

Android 17 : That's it, Old man! You're dead! You're gonna be toast for sure! I'm gonna lay a pounding on ya with my fists!

Dr. Gero : I wouldn't be so sure about that. Maron! Take out those pitiful Androids I created, they are no longer in use for me.

Maron : Yes, Master.

Android 17 : You think that I am gonna lay a finger on a slender and curvaceous woman to think she's Bulma? Yeah, right. Hey, sis help me and--*gets blasted by Maron's finger laser* GAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Android 18 : Bro! No! You mad man! I will never forgive you for this!

Dr. Gero : This is truly quite the end of you 18, and you will never save everyone, neither can save yourself from this terror that we have unleashed. Now my Marons, destroy that pitiful 18 once and for all...FOR LIFE!

Marons : [robotic-tone] *chanting Kill 18*

Android 18 : No! Stay back! I'm warning you! You aren't Krillin's girlfriend anymore and you're just a copy of the orignal Bulma! I'm a good housewife and a loving mother! You can't do this! No! No! No! NOOOOOOOO!!!

Android 17 : Hey, sis! Wake up!

*18 wakes up from Dream*

Android 18 : Huh? Wha-?

Android 17 : Quit daydreaming! You're missing out on all of the fun from this party.

Android 18 : It was nuts I tell ya, there was Krillin's Ex Maron, finding out that Maron was a copy or an android of the original Bulma that died, the old man Gero was secretly working with his father for the Red Ribbon Army we used to work at and Maron tried to kill us!

Android 17 : What you're talking about sis? You're just having one of them fantasies again. Krillin's Ex just died in an accident. Who cares if his girlfriend was a copy of the Bulma we know, at least we're still living in the dream.

Android 18 : Yeah, living in the dream. Guess our kid Marron is Maron after all, who says anything about Krillin's Ex been long since the Garlic Jr Saga was only filler at the time.

Krillin's Ex Maron : Excuse me guys, but is this the party that I am in time?

Android 17 : Eh? Who are you supposed to be?

Krillin's Ex Maron : Well, I'm Maron, Krillin's Ex. We used to meet each other at the start of the Garlic Jr. Saga, it was our fun time here at the beach. So I was wondering if I could meet Krillin once again or even meet his best friend who died in a serious fight with his brother or even exploded in space. Who cares if anyone thinks that I am a copy of the original Bulma Briefs when you least have me for a special reunion.

Android 18 : Hey, Bro. You thinking what I'm thinking? Should we keep this as a secret?

Android 17 : Oh, shucks. Here we go again.

[iris out]

[COURSE CLEAR (NSMB VER.) - kOJI KONDO]

"AND NOW YOU KNOW!"

Mario : That's-a So nice!

*DBZ SFX : Energy Blast+Explosion*

Mario : *coughs*

Android 18 : [To 17] I told him that would shut him up.

[felikatze]

in other news i just watched the mario movie (german dub) and it was pretty nice. it was very Illumination Adventure Movie so i didn't expect much but what it set out to do it did pretty well. there were some parts where i kinda cringe cuz illumination humor and i think nobody really liked the existentialist luma

as an adventure movie it did a great job of being entertaining throughout. not a movie where i really Laughed at any point but it got plenty of smiles out of me

i know peach's portrayal sparked conservative outrage which is stupid. i liked giving her a more sassy character while still being Nice and Girly. since that's also what she tends to be in games with actual dialogue in them.

damseling luigi instead of peach is also just a great decision for a) storytelling and b) marketing.

a) because they went with the old cartoon isekai approach to the lore here. this means mario doesn't really Know peach at all so if she got kidnapped he wouldn't have an emotional tie to her as he does luigi, so having luigi kidnapped instead is just higher stakes

b) because having one cool Guy character and one cool Girl character each means this isn't a "boys' movie" but just a "kids' movie (gender neutral)". makes for a greater market. mario isnt a very masculine series to begin with. it's just the right move to get more kids watching it if peach is also cool.

i really liked the animation and sound design. i dont think those are really under critique anywhere. the sometimes over the top sometimes subtle inclusion of classic mario leitmotifs really sold the whole atmosphere, and the use of video game sfx was charming as all get out, even if sometimes using the original game voice clips clashed with the voice acting.

the voice actors obviously tried to emulate the og voices at specific points but (again, german dub) didn't quite match the mark. really more of a "go big or go home" kind of thing. since even in the german versions of the games, the voices are in english, the characters used english phrases occasionally as well, which tracks for guys from brooklyn but feels odd on a woman who hasn't been to earth in 20 years.

the one who hit the og voice best was luigi's VA i think. turns out his german va also did like, every single prince/ken in all of the barbie movies. every single german VA is roles georg. "average VA has 400+ roles" no german VA georg, who has been voice acting since 1980--

the german VAs for mario and luigi dropped the accent as well but i think mario's VA is still better than chris pratt. turns out the guy just always voices any given chris pratt role in any movie for dubs, which is pretty common practice, as far as i can tell (to have a specific VA always dub over a specific actor)

the story i haven't said much on cuz like. what is there to say. it's an adventure movie silly shenigans happen. it was fun. didn't really need to be more. i did like that mario/peach was more hinted at than actually focusing on any romance. like you can tell that's the angle but it's not a big deal ykno? especially with peach so fervently rejecting bowser. they have post credits sequel bait in this so it wouldn't surprise me if it got developed in any future sort of mario movie. if we're adapting mama luigi can we please get daisy. no this isn't because i had a crush on daisy as a child. it's not. i just love her-- ah goddammit.

anyway. yeah. good animation servicable story neat references scattered throughout. it's a good kids adventure movie what else can i say.

[lux-et-astra]

The Sink Session One Transcript

Session One: Wet Ham Slice

#INTRO

[MUSIC]

NARRATOR: Every night is the same. You finish your day, finish all your goals, and lie down in your area. Pluff up the duvet. Close your eyes, and try to escape. It used to be simple, didn’t it? As easy as plopping a stone in a hat. But not anymore. Your dreams are odd, aren’t they? Bad, dark animals. Stuck in the back. Something’s – rotting. There’s a bad smell in your brain. Your dreams are trying to tell you something. But what? Somewhere, in the strange pictures and your legs going hot, there’s the answer. But you can’t do it alone. No way Josie. You can’t rinse out a brain with your ears in the way. Welcome to The Sink!

[MUSIC INTENSIFIES]

NARRATOR: Using the very latest in nanomesh sleep technology, we’re going to reach inside you and download the dreams you had last night. We’re going to scrub your dreams out of your head, flood out all those shadowy Susans, and hold them up to the light. We’ll play your bad dreams back to you, so that you can rinse them off and finally sleep clean.

[SFX: GONG/BELL RINGING]

NARRATOR: Breathe in. Stretch out your arms, nice and stretch. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in. Shh. That’s good, nice and quiet now. Don’t scare it. Let’s see what we’ve got. I’ll count down. Three, two, one.

[SFX: SOMETHING DROPPING INTO WATER]

NARRATOR: Go.

[MUSIC]

VOICE OVER: The Sink, by Natasha Hodgson. Session one.

[MUSIC]

#SCENE ONE

[SFX: FOREST SOUNDS]

MAN: (FAINT) Help! Help! Can you take your ‘eadphones –

EMILY: What – what?

MAN: (FAINT) Do you mind?

EMILY: Oh my gosh, I –

MAN: Oh, thank God! Thank Christ, I, I, I didn’t think you could ‘ear.

EMILY: What – what’s happened?

MAN: My foot – 

EMILY: Why are you, why are you –

MAN: My boot is stuck, my, my red boot.

EMILY: Jesus – that looks – is that – is that broken?

MAN: And my ‘ands, I can’t get my ‘ands out of the, uh –

EMILY: Christ, I –

MAN: Can’t make a fist. They’re both just stuck in a – a thumbs up position. It’s, it’s the character.

EMILY: Okay, hang on, hang on, I can just um –

MAN: ‘e wears red boots!

EMILY: I’ll try to – do you mind if I grab – what, which part should I grab?

MAN: Oh, anything uh – the spines or something?

EMILY: Yeah – yeah.

MAN: I thought – God, I thought no one would come.

EMILY: What are you doing, here?

MAN: It was a fun run! A fun run through the woods, I didn’t – I can’t really see through the eyes, the big eyes, I, I, so I fell.

EMILY: No, but what are you – dressed, as?

MAN: Oh, I’m just a character, I’m just a character for the fun run. Everyone was, it’s Sonic, I’m, I’m Sonic the Hog.

EMILY: S – Sonic the –

MAN: ‘e’s got red boots, uh – I don’t really know what, my grandson –

EMILY: Oh God you’re too heavy –

MAN: Just loves Sonic, he, he loves how quick he is –

[SFX: BREAKING]

EMILY: Oh my God, Roy? Roy, Roy – 

MAN: He’s quick in his boots!

EMILY: Hi –

MAN: Just what he –

ROY: Are you okay?

EMILY: Yeah, um – 

ROY: What’s going on?

EMILY: I’m fine. I was just about to set up, but then I – I found this, this –

ROY: What’s – is – is this what you brought?

EMILY: What? No! What –

ROY: It’s a picnic, Emily, a crisis picnic, so we can talk about us, I said bring some Lunchables.

EMILY: I did, I did bring the Lunchables.

ROY: We need to share a ham slice and some cheese.

EMILY: I know.

ROY: Get back to the good times.

MAN: I told them all to go on, I, I thought I’d be alright. My lad, he’s quick –

EMILY: We need to get him some help.

ROY: What is he?

MAN: I’m Sonic the Hog.

ROY: Sonic – sorry, d’you mean Sonic the Hedge –?

EMILY: We need to – we need to get someone to help lift him!

ROY: I can lift him!

EMILY: He’s – he’s trapped, Roy.

ROY: What?

EMILY: I’m just saying, that you –

ROY: Oh, now I’m weak?

EMILY: Oh –

ROY: No, that’s fine.

EMILY: Oh, don’t, I didn’t, I, don’t be like this.

MAN: I’m interrupting! I’m sorry! Ignore me!

ROY: It’s always something –

EMILY: Roy, come on –

MAN: You go on, I’ll be fine. The forest will sustain me!

EMILY: We’re not just gonna leave you – Roy, can you just go please?

MAN: It’ll rain! That’s water.

ROY: You’re always pushing me away!

MAN: And, and fruit! It’ll drop naturally from the trees!

EMILY: This is not about us!

ROY: It never is! You know what, take your Lunchables.

EMILY: Ugh – does – does it feel swollen?

ROY: Choke on a wet ham slice!

EMILY: (SHOUTED) Roy! Help him!

ROY: (SHOUTED) I’m going, alright! Weak Roy is off with his weak little legs! I’m doing it, as usual!

MAN: (FAINT) I can survive on, on barks, and reeds!

EMILY: (FAINT) Where is your grandson?

[SFX: HEAVY BREATHING]

MAN: (FAINT) Honestly, he’s so fast –

[SFX: HEAVY BREATHING]

ROY: (QUIET) Weak… I’ll give you weak…

NARRATOR: Just let us go…

[SFX: CAR HORNS]

NARRATOR: It’s okay! Your brain wants to take you. Trust your brain. We’re just going to stay inside, nice and in. Nice and cold, cold and brain.

[SFX: HEAVY BREATHING, DOORS OPENING]

NARRATOR: It’s alright, it’s just a dream. It can’t hurt you. Just… let us go.

#SCENE TWO

[SFX: HEAVY BREATHING, APPLAUSE]

WOMAN: Welcome back to the show! We’re here with a fantastic author, about to release his second book.

MAN: Sorry – hello – I need some help.

WOMAN: Please give him a very warm welcome.

MAN: Please –

WOMAN: Thank you so much for coming on the show! It’s lovely to have you.

[SFX: APPLAUSE FADES OUT]

MAN: Yes, well, uh, well, it’s lovely to be here.

WOMAN: So, this is your second novel?

MAN: Uh – yes.

WOMAN: So, same genre, different time frame, is that fair?

MAN: Uh, uh, yes, I, I think so. Just, uh, trying to build on the, uh, the success –

WOMAN: Great success!

MAN: (LAUGHS) Thank you, of – of the first book, of the, first –

WOMAN: Absolutely, now – when you wrote the book, did you have any idea just how – just how big the pages would be?

MAN: (SIGHS) Absolutely not, no.

WOMAN: And this is something the reviews have picked up on, as well, isn’t it? MAN: Yes.

WOMAN: Too big, that’s the Times.

MAN: Yes, but I think it –

WOMAN: Far, far too big to read. That’s the Guardian.

MAN: Well, yes, but the –

WOMAN: Couldn’t put it down, couldn’t pick it up! The FT.

MAN: It wasn’t my decision!

WOMAN: Was that the publisher, or PR, or…

MAN: It was just a mistake.

WOMAN: Upsetting to hold, and far, far too big, that’s the Telegraph.

MAN: Someone put the wrong numbers in at some point, I don’t – I don’t know, I tried to say at the time, but no one replied to my emails –

WOMAN: (OVERLAPPING) And just to remind everyone, the book is published tomorrow. And where can people buy it?

MAN: (SIGHS) I mean, 26 Common Lane, Middlesex, that’s my house. They’d have to go there.

WOMAN: Right.

MAN: We only got one copy in the end.

WOMAN: Becau– because it was just –

BOTH: Too big.

MAN: Too big, it’s monstrous. It’s expensive. It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever seen.

WOMAN: Hmm.

MAN: We’ve lost the house, obviously.

WOMAN: Obviously.

MAN: Because of the payments on it. But luckily, because it’s so big –

WOMAN: Well, yeah. It’s big.

MAN: Absolutely huge, so we put all our stuff in storage – that’s expensive, that’s –

WOMAN: (OVERLAPPING) Lovely.

MAN: We had to move into the book.

WOMAN: That’s very bold.

MAN: Yes, so’s the font. Another error. My wife’s furious, she won’t come out of the epilogue.

WOMAN: (LAUGHING) Ah yes, I should think so.

MAN: Didn’t need an epilogue, to be fair.

WOMAN: Yes.

MAN: Indulgent. Massive.

[SFX: LAUGHING]

WOMAN OVERLAPPING WITH NARRATOR: Well, that’s all we have time for here –

[SFX: KNOCKING]

MAN: Sorry, is that – is that knocking, do we –?

WOMAN: We don’t need to worry about that.

MAN: Sorry, no, I just –

[SFX: LAUGHING]

MAN: I think there was something I was worrying about, before.

WOMAN: Oh! Okay. No, that’s alright, I can –

MAN: I think I need some help.

WOMAN: I’ll get rid of it, one second –

MAN: Red boot?

WOMAN: Hang on, don’t you worry, we’ll sort this out!

[SFX: STATIC, KNOCKING]

NARRATOR: Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in. Shh!

#SCENE THREE

[SFX: KNOCKING]

WOMAN: Hello? Hello?

[SFX: KNOCKING]

WOMAN: Anyone there?

[SFX: DOOR CREAKS OPEN]

MAN: Welcome, my child, welcome.

WOMAN: Hi!

MAN: Hello. Lovely to see you, on this beautiful day.

WOMAN: Yeah, thank you. Um, I don’t have a lot of time, this is – uh, you do cleaning, is that?

MAN: (OVERLAPPING) Oh my Lord… look at you!

WOMAN: It’s quite a small… sort of… stain.

MAN: It’s… quite large.

WOMAN: Yeah, uh, that’s…

MAN: And red.

WOMAN: Yeah. Uh, that’s what you do, cleaning? Sort of? Cleaning everything up?

MAN: Hmm. Well, yes, I mean, as a church, we are involved in the cleansing of souls, and the people who come through this – are you alright?

WOMAN: Yes! Yep, very happy, best day of my life, hah. Just – bit pressed. That’s all. Bit pressed, today. Uh – people on the way. So –

MAN: It’s everywhere.

WOMAN: Yeah, just – sauce.

MAN: Sauce?

WOMAN: Yeah. Yeah. Sauce.

MAN: What kind of sauce?

WOMAN: Um –

MAN: My child.

WOMAN: Uh, tins?

MAN: Tins of what?

WOMAN: Just – uh, just some tins of red, uh… uh, sort of beans. And sauce.

MAN: How?

WOMAN: Yes, uh, silly mix up, I, I thought it should be dirty. The dress. But, um, it, it actually needs to be very, very clean now.

MAN: It’s showing up quite brightly against your, uh –

WOMAN: It’s starting, soon, so –

MAN: Yes, I think the guests are gathering.

WOMAN: Just a rough sponge?

MAN: I’m ready to, to begin the ceremony, as soon as –

WOMAN: The beans, and sauce –

MAN: There’s kind of a – bean cascade, isn’t there? In the veil?

WOMAN: Yeah, yes. Um – he’s organised almost the whole, of, the ceremony, and, and the crunchy buffet, I just – do you have any suds and soaps?

MAN: No.

WOMAN: I, I need soaps.

MAN: The smell is quite pungent.

WOMAN: Auntie – Auntie Grace has done a crunchy buffet! 

[SFX: WEDDING MUSIC]

WOMAN: Oh, God, that’s – is, is that –

MAN: I think it might be.

WOMAN: I need – I need suds and soaps.

MAN: My child, nothing is beyond salvation here, you know –

WOMAN: (TEARY) I know, you just – he thinks I, I’m so… and, and I’m not, I’m a – a saucy, beany hag!

MAN: (STERN) Pull yourself together!

WOMAN: Sorry.

MAN: The most important thing in all of this, above everything, is?

WOMAN: Love?

MAN: No! No. The most important thing is that you tell him.

WOMAN: I can’t.

MAN: Tell him what happened. Tell him.

WOMAN: Just a rough sponge?

MAN: Tell them all. Tell them what you did.

[SFX: WEDDING MUSIC, LOUDER]

NARRATOR: Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. They can’t hurt you, remember? None of these beans are real. None of this has happened. None of this is coming for you. It’s just dreams. Just dreams. You’re not scared of dreams, are you? No.

#SCENE FOUR

JOHN: Jim, I been thinking. 

JIM: Two G&Ts, on the way?

JOHN: Yeah, thanks.

JIM: My treat.

JOHN: Thanks.

JIM: They got limes and everything! Like a hotel!

JOHN: Thanks, Jim. I been thinking –

JIM: And the glasses are proper glass!

JOHN: Jim. When you were younger, did your school – did your school have a Birdman?

JIM: A what?

JOHN: Yeah, did – did a Birdman come one day to school, with like, photos of peregrine falcons, and hummingbirds, and birds, and did he show them to you in assembly?

JIM: (SLOWLY) Bloody hell, I haven’t thought about that in –

JOHN: It’s weird, isn’t it? I was just reminded of it the other day.

JIM: The man who came to school, yeah, they did like – an assembly!

JOHN: Exactly!

JIM: With all different pictures of ducks!

JOHN: Dead close up!

JIM: Yes, and – birds!

JOHN: And you could buy the photos of the birds –

JIM: Yeah!

JOHN: The photos from his bag!

JIM: Yes!

JOHN: At the end of assembly, he brought out the bag, and all the parents were like, all like laughing, like – why d’you want this? It’s a photo of a hummingbird!

JIM: Yeah, but – you did!

JOHN: Yeah, absolutely, you ‘ad to!

JIM: God, that’s so weird to think about, yeah! The Birdman assembly, yeah!

JOHN: We loved it.

JIM: We did!

JOHN: And d’you remember afterwards, that night…

JIM: Yeah?

JOHN: You’d dream about the Birdman, wouldn’t ya?

JIM: Yeah! That night! The dreams!

JOHN: ‘orrible, weren’t they?

JIM: Yeah.

JOHN: Not that we were – scared.

JIM: Yeah, you can’t be scared of dreams, can ya?

JOHN: No.

JIM: But, uh…

[SFX: BIRDS TWITTERING]

JOHN: But you’d see what was on his face.

JIM: Yes.

JOHN: Cause at the time, you thought –

JIM: You thought it was a man!

JOHN: Exactly.

JIM: You thought a man had come to school to do an assembly.

JOHN: Yeah, and it was only, only when you went to sleep that you realised –

JIM: Yeah! He was a bird, wasn’t he!

[SFX: BIRDS TWITTERING]

JOHN: Yeah! Big duck!

JIM: Yeah!

JOHN: With black eyes! And a big black tail!

JIM: Yeah! And he was just a big duck! And it was weird, that no one –

JOHN: Yeah, at the time, even the teachers –

[SFX: BIRD CHEEPS]

JIM: That is so weird.

JOHN: And he’d be in the dream with your photo, wouldn’t he, with the photo you’d bought.

JIM: After you were asleep, after the assembly.

JOHN: Yeah, except it wasn’t a photo of a swan, or a –

JIM: Kestrels, sometimes.

JOHN: Yeah, yeah, kestrels are lovely, but it was a photo of you now, wasn’t it?

JIM: Yeah!

JOHN: Close up.

JIM: Top quality!

JOHN: Oh, absolutely, couldn’t fault him on that, could you.

JIM: Yeah, they were.

JOHN: Exactly.

JIM: So you’d just… ‘ave to go with him, into the bag.

JOHN: Into his bag! So cold!

JIM: Yes, very cold, cold from his bag!

JOHN: When you woke up, you weren’t there, you were just –

JIM: Just a bird instead, weren’t you?

[SFX: BIRDS CAWING]

JOHN: Yeah.

JIM: Bit weird, really.

JOHN: And no one could see!

JIM: (LAUGHING) Yeah, no one realised!

JOHN: Mad!

JIM: It is mad, isn’t it!

[SFX: BIRDS CAWING LOUDLY]

JOHN: What’re you, Jim?

JIM: I’m… I’m just a robin.

JOHN: Yeah. Yeah, course, yeah. It’s good, it’s…

JIM: And what’re you, John?

JOHN: An owl. I’m a bad owl.

[SFX: BIRDS CAWING]

JOHN: I talk t’you about the Birdman every year, Jim.

JIM: Do you?

JOHN: Yeah. You never remember.

JIM: Don’t I?

JOHN: All just gets confused.

JIM: Hmm. Right.

JOHN: And the thing is, we have to try and hang on to it, because… because…

JIM: It was – it was just dreams though, wasn’t it?

JOHN: Yeah, but there was something, I don’t know, was it –

JIM: You – you can’t be scared of –

JOHN: Yeah, no, I s’pose not.

JIM: Wait. Wait, hang on. Which was the dream, was it that –

[SFX: SLAMMING]

JIM: Or is this –

[SFX: RUSTLING]

JOHN: Bloody hell!

[SFX: THUMP]

JIM: Are you alright? What’s happened, are you –

[SFX: WET PLOP]

NARRATOR: Oh dear, it’s gone, that’s okay, don’t try and squeeze that bit out right now. Let it go, let it drip off. Here’s a secret for you. The important ones come back!

[MUSIC]

NARRATOR: You’re tired now. Your eyes are hot, your cheeks are sick of it all. You’ve done so well. One more. One more for today, and you’ll be drained dry.

[MUSIC]

#SCENE FIVE

VOICEMAIL: You’re through to the Bolton Bugle, home of Bolton’s smallest journalist! If you have a story, or clarification, please leave a message and your details, and one of our editorial team will get back to you.

[SFX: BEEP]

WOMAN: Hello, um, I’ve got a story. I’d like to, um, I’m ringing with a correction, to a story published last week about, uh, James Tuft. So you – you said, in, you said he was born in Great Walley, in, um, 1989, when – actually – he, that can’t, he can’t have been, cause he was in my class, with me, um, aged, Year 10 to 12, and I was – I was born in 1991, so. Now, he – J – you know, James is someone who, he appreciates the small details like that, you can tell, from all the women. The detail’s, actually, quite important to him. Um, s– you – you also state that he was known for being a “troublemaker”, which I can tell you – is can…tegorically not, non true. When we were at school, he only – he bunked off once. And that was because he wanted to scatter his cat’s ashes at Blackpool Illuminations, on the Crazy Mouse Rollercoaster, because she always loved mice. He wasn’t even gonna do it, because he couldn’t afford the train, and his car had been in that fire. Now, I… y’know, my gran’s moped could, y’know, could only seat two, but I could… you know, if he wanted. And  he wasn’t sure about it at first, cause… I mean, we weren’t friends, really, he didn’t even notice who I… you know, why would he? But, but, he wanted to go, and I wanted to take him.

[MUSIC & SINGING]

WOMAN: So, um. I got, I got to his house at nine, thirty, um, with a pint of milk, in case he wanted to… Just in case. Um, and he got on the back, um, and put his hands around my waist, and said, “is this alright”, and I said yeah, and then… It was all windy in my hair, and the Blackpool pleasure lights were zooming past, and we just laughed and laughed. We drove all the way there, and I knew we were gonna have to drive all the way back, just me and him. And my lips were all chapped and there was just us. He tipped the cat ashes in the rollercoaster levers, and I asked him about the cat, and he said he didn’t mean to do it. Then we got some candyfloss.

[MUSIC & SINGING]

WOMAN: We watched the carousel going round and round and, spinning around, and all fuzzy, till… my chin was all sticky, from the sugar. They had to close the rollercoaster, because of some… problems with something in the levers. And we got back on the moped, and his arms were a bit closer on the way back. He was very warm. It was perfect. And I’ll never forget that night, as long as I live. I would’ve done anything. Some people, you know, they just… they have that way about them. You can’t help it. You also wrote that he, uh, did the Mason girls with a hacksaw, when he only did two with a hacksaw, the rest he did with a spade. So… just, do your job, would you. Have some respect.

[MUSIC & SINGING]

NARRATOR: Doesn’t it feel cleaner, your head all light and wispy, all rubbed dry, we’re rinsing it down, we’re dumping off all the mud, and we’re getting to the problem. It’s not all clear yet, all these strange things, all these dreams, all at once. But it will be. Just close your eyes, collect your dreams for us, and next time, on The Sink, we’ll keep fishing it out. Because you’re going to have to tell us in the end, aren’t you? Why has it all gone bad inside you?

[MUSIC INTENSIFIES]

NARRATOR: Sleep.

[MUSIC ENDS]

#POST SESSION

VOICE OVER: On Session Two of The Sink.

NARRATOR: Feel the breath… like wind into your mouth, isn’t it. Lovely bit of windy business.

MAN 1: Scarecrows aren’t for scaring people, madam.

NARRATOR: Breathe in, lovely…

MAN 1: They’re for scaring birds.

NARRATOR: Breathe out, windy business.

MAN 2: I like your little… hooves.

MAN 1: To clarify, there is no dog in illness in this hotel.

NARRATOR: Swimming into focus is the truth.

WOMAN: Dad tried to hose down the garden last week, and it came out brown, like a wet rope.

NARRATOR: We’ll find it.

VOICE OVER: The Sink is written by Natasha Hodgson, and produced by Andy Goddard. It stars Alice Lowe as the Narrator, with Jason Forbes, Celeste Dring, David Elms, and Natasha Hodgson. The music was written by David Cumming. The executive producer was Victoria Lloyd. It was a BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds.