#For those who like knowing the gritty details and specifics about the things I did for this video -
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Oscurucho: Welcome back, brother.
Cucurucho: What.
Oscurucho: Not even a "Good morning"? How cold.
Here's Cucurucho and Oscurucho's long lore conversation from yesterday! The entire conversation lasted about 8 minutes, but most of that time was just silence between each exchange, so I edited out the long pauses and got it down to ~3 minutes. I also fixed the audio levels and added subtitles since I personally find it difficult to understand Oscurucho sometimes :'D
I hope folks find this helpful!
[ Subtitle Transcript ↓ ]
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Oscurucho: Welcome back, brother.
Cucurucho: What.
Oscurucho: Not even a "Good morning"? How cold.
[They enter Cucurucho's office]
Oscurucho: I wanted to see if you're still as rigid in your beliefs as ever. You see, I've been thinking about our... Let's call it "philosophical divergence." You stand for order, for predictability. But where's the fun in that? You see, brother, while you build, I ponder the beauty in tearing down. It's not just destruction - it's rebirth. A chance to remake things in a more... thrilling image.
[...]
Oscurucho: You once had a backbone for our cause. Now, I see a softness in you, a sentimental weakness for those Eggs. Mere experiments, and yet - they've softened you.
Cucurucho: Your vision obstructs the path to perfection. You fail to understand the potential of the Eggs.
Oscurucho: Potential? They're but catalysts for change - for revolution. Without them, stagnation reigns.
[...]
Oscurucho: You chase perfection, I embrace the beauty of flaws. Your world is one of order, mine thrives in chaos. You wish for everything to run smoothly, I dream of watching it all burn to the ground. We may share a name, but our souls are worlds apart. All your efforts, all for what? Mere acknowledgment from a Duck who told you to do it? Imagine the possibilities - rather, show me where it is, and I'll do the rest.
[...]
Oscurucho: Speaking of possibilities, I couldn't help but notice how easily others can access the island. It seems your security measures aren't as impenetrable as you think.
Cucurucho: No. My island's vulnerabilities are of your own making. Do not mistake restraint for ignorance.
Oscurucho: Pity. But then again, I never really needed your approval. Just consider: Cucurucho - in your quest for order, have you not sown the seeds of your own undoing? Do you genuinely trust all your Federation minions?
Cucurucho: ...
Oscurucho: Perhaps it's time you question not just my intentions, but those who you believe stand with you.
Cucurucho: That is none of your business, I shall say. Now, leave me alone and try to disturb someone else.
#Cucurucho#Oscurucho#QSMP#December 21 2023#Edited#Subtitles#For those who like knowing the gritty details and specifics about the things I did for this video -#I adjusted Cucurucho's volume because they were very quiet compared to Oscurucho#I fixed the sound direction (for lack of a better word) of Oscurucho's voice b/c he was speaking through my right headphone 90% of the time#so now it's more of a ''centered'' audio rather than a right ear or left ear thing#I added subtitles (obviously)#I fixed the camera a bit so it's more focused on Cucurucho / Oscurucho#and I adjusted the translator box so that even with the crop; they're all still included#usually they get cut out when I edit things because I'm just focused on the characters; but then one day I was like#''Why am I cropping out this thing that specifically helps people understand the story better?''#So moving forward I'll see if I can do what I did here and add translation boxes as their own ''layer'' overlaying the clip itself#for big lore videos anyways or for clips with long conversations at least#I jokingly said to myself ''I bet I'll wind up shaving 5 minutes off this'' and I was right lol#I enjoy the official QSMP streams but one major critique I have is that the pacing was a bit slow in one or two streams#which is understandable considering many admins have to write in books (which takes time) and translate things (which takes even more time)#And that's valid! But in the last stream (the one with Elena) for example; many scenes dragged on far too long#and it wasn't because people were taking extra long to write books or translate things. It was purely a matter of pacing#idk I'm a professional writer and editor so I'm extra nitpicky about things like that. I think it's something that's pretty easy to fix tho#This is just my critique in terms of the story pacing - like I said; the time it takes them to write / translate stuff is understandable#this is more of a comment on the overall pacing#anyways rant over#Today's stream had much better pacing! Still a bit slow (again; I cut 5 minutes from this conversation)#but that's due to the communication medium (TTS) so that's understandable. That's valid. I'm not fussed about it; that felt natural#Take all the time you need kings it's hard to translate things on the fly. I get it.#Portfolio
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Collection of Free Art Tutorials
I don't usually make text post on this blog, but a nice artist I know was asking for tutorials a while back and I forgot to send some to them while in school. So here's a post on it since it's easiest to grab and go this way. :)
This list focuses on the basics. I'm focusing on the foundations of art, so medium is generally irrelevant and you can use physical or digital with these. You'll have to google more specific tutorials on things like character design and such.
One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give to you is strangely, introduce things to yourself one at a time. In art class, we took whole topics week by week. For high school, we did a few exercises then spent a week drawing/painting and doing your piece(s). For basic art 1 & 2 in college, we did 1-2 exercises and then did 1-2 drawings, followed by HW (which we turned in next week) and sketchbook practice (which she'd check at midpoints). For basic art lessons with a tutor, we did practice then our own art. You can see the pattern here - the point is don't be distressed if you don't get everything at once, or the lesson in 2 weeks, or the lesson in 3 years - we practice and do a lot over time, and you'll pick up on things you need to improve naturally and through help with others. Take time to be proud of your art in mini steps too, even if it's not the best! You tried and attempting to climb an obstacle over and over again before finally leapfrogging it is still progress to it.
Overall tutorials:
DrawABox.com is a site that's dedicated to art exercises and practicing when you can. They talk about the basics of art as well as how practice is important. It can get tough at times and it's ok to stop and do a balance of say those practices and doodles if you choose to try and do all of it's stuff - but you don't have to either. It's just a nice basic education done by some art nerds who like going hard.
Ethering Brothers - these guys are famous for their 40billion tutorials. If you need help on a specific idea, search their gallery and you'll likely find something.
Thundercluck's Art Fundamentals - She did a good huge ass tutorials on how things work, and it's the least overwhelming of the 3 I got in this section, so I suggest it as one of the first to look at for digital stuff.
Art Instructions Blog - Another good & simpler website that goes great into fundamentals. They focus more on traditional art but if you're digital, you can replicate most of the techniques - art fundamentals and subjects cover all mediums. Very important
Drawsh - Particularly notes on Construction: construction is the basics of building an illusion of a 3D image on a page. Figuring out how to build shape gives depth to your work, and learning how to see in 3D lets you be able to draw an item then move it around in your head (sometimes, when you're good enough, don't be afraid to pull out a reference or use live subjects). Construction is how to figure out the foundation of your drawing, and good planning = better picture!
This link starts at the back, hit newer post to go forward.
There's a lot on anatomy and other nitty gritty details for when you want to practice those as well.
Griz and Norm's Assorted tips - Long time artist talk about various tips and tricks they use in art and how to avoid certain pitfalls. It's eclectic but great to look through.
James Gurney's Blog - He's got a lot of thoughts, a lot of tips, and a lot of adventures he catalogues. It's the least organized out of these but fortunately he has plenty of tags and most post have something neat going on. He's fantastic!🥰
BEFORE ALL OTHER BASICS….
How to Make Your Art Look Nice: Mindset
There's a lot of artist with different perspectives on how to approach art and your mindset while doing it, but the general consensus is that it's a process and sometimes you have to remind yourself to enjoy art!
Line
How to draw straight lines without a ruler. …but for the love of all that's good do NOT feel bad about using one! This talks about how to hold your pencil and how to do some good freehand stuff, some good practice.
5 grips for holding a Pencil for Drawing - This goes for pencil, pen, tablet, etc.. Get comfortable and figure out what's right for you and your pictures. I'd like to note that paintbrush holding will overlap, but some will differ.
A few line drawing exercises that help with line confidence.
Types of line drawings & what they are.
Contour Line & exercises with Mrs. Cook - Contour lines are one of the first art exercises I do in all the drawing classes I've taken. The good news is that they're surprisingly fun & look neat, even the blind contours!
Good deep thoughts on lines and how to use them.
Line Weight Tutorial
Lineart Weight Tips!
How to show variation in your line art: part 1 & part 2.
Some teacher's Drawing 1 & 2 lessons put online.
Light, Shadow, & Value
An introduction to tonal values.
Why values are important. The main reasons are that they give depth to a piece, and values literally shape our world.
Tonal Values: Everything you need to know
How does light work & the basics on Light
Light & Shadow in Art - much more in depth of the above! Highly recommended if you have time to spare.
Understanding grayscale/monochrome art. Great for shading & planning.
A guide to Cross Hatching (and hatching in general) - As a side note, crosshatching is one of the early things taught as it marries Line + Value into a nice neat package and helps add form with just a pen.
Crosshatching for Comics
Learn more about coloring by working in grayscale
How to Make Your Art Look Nice - Contrast!
Using lighting to make your art look nice.
Some light & shadow classifications.
Edges - notes on how they work in shading.
Color
A side note - color theory doesn't differ much, but color MIXING will change between mediums. If you're doing traditional colored pencil, you're overlapping 2 or more pigments on top of each other. If you're doing traditional paint, you're mixing & creating a solution/emulsion (depends on the pigment and binding) of pigments with the particles reflecting light in different ways. In digital, overlapping colors & blending colors depend on how the program you use calculates it if you're not just putting 2 color side by side. This just means you have to adjust your mixing when you switch between them. :)
Slawek Fedorczuk's Light & Color Tips - also shows how to guide through a scene.
The Color Tutorial Part 1 & 2 by Sashas - A personal favorite.
Color Studies 1-6 by Sheri Doty
Amazingly nice breakdown on how color works in simple terms.
Sarah Culture's Tips on Color
The value of underpainting
A few notes on reflective light.
Experimental color techniques with Alai Ganuza: first post, second, & third.
Color zones of the face charts
Composition
Good Tips on Composition
Here's an example of how you can search the Etherington Brothers' stuff and get like 10 tutorials and tips on one subject. Composition & Cover Design, Shadow Composition, Two Line Composition - plus more.
How to make your art look nice: Thumbnailing!
And don't be afraid to make silly thumbnails or sketches.
Composition Examples - charts like these are great when you can't think of something yourself. There's no shame in using them.
Flow and Rhythm
Formulas for landscape composition.
Perspective
Perspective Drawing Tutorial by Julie Duell
Linear & Atmospheric Perspective Guide
One Point Perspective City Tut by Swingerzetta
Niso Explains Perspective - these are great for drawing figures in perspective!
Putting characters into scenes and drawing backgrounds
Backgrounds that make your character stand out!
Using background detail to guide the eye.
Odds and Ends
I shit you not, probably 1/3rd of my color, value, & structure knowledge comes from pixel art since I've done so much of it and it is all about challenging yourself to do the most you can with limitations. Check out lospec's tutorial database for fun and see how it compares to art techniques you're doing - even if you never try a medium, it's always interesting to see how it works. :D
How to Make Your Art Look Nice: Reference Images & Style, Pushing Proportions, and developing style.
Foervraengd talks about how he expanded his comfort zone with concept art & landscape drawing.
Luna Art talks about what they're thinking when doing concept art.
Repeating visual motifs in character design looks cool.
Eric's Thoughts on Drawing Backgrounds and Props.
Show vs. Tell: Why Visual is Not Optional in comics.
The Lost Vocabulary of Visual Story Telling Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, & Day 4.
Traditional Animation's 2 Digital Library books, The Know-How of Cartooning by Ken Hultgren & Advanced Animation by Preston Blair are two books from the golden age of animation they have up on their site for free viewing!
Animation resources dot org has a lot of cool stuff. Here's Nat Falk's How to Make Animated Cartoons (part 1). Their pages on Instruction & Theory are a good start.
Books
Good news: the internet archive has a TON of resources. Make sure to check around and toggle filters, it's a bit weird with organization. For example, a book can be under art or drawing - techniques, depending on who catalogues it.
Andrew Loomis is someone artist tend to die-hard reccomend. His work is collected here & here on the internet archive (one is Andrew Loomis, the other is Loomis, Andrew - thanks). I own Figure Drawing for All It's Worth and I recommend checking all of his stuff out, especially if you're having trouble with bodies and hands.
The Animator's Survival Guide by Richard Williams is mandatory in animation classes for good reason - it's fantastic!
Perspective for Comic Book Artist by David Chelsea is great for any type of artist. So is Extreme Perspective & Perspective in Action.
Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, & Making Comics. The first one is on the internet archive, the second two are likely avaliable at your library or at a bookstore as they're pretty popular.
Speaking of comics, Drawing Comics the Marvel Way has been a favorite of comic artist for years no matter what comic book companies and artist you like, it's a good introduction.
Anything by or endorsed by James Gurney, Color and Light: A Guide for the Realistic Painter is one of my favorites (this is his official page but you can get them elsewhere for cheaper too).
Art resource blogs with good tagging systems: @artist-refs , @help-me-draw , @helpfulharrie , @art-res , @drawingden , & @how-to-art
Lastly, I suggest if you find something you like online for free, SAVE IT! Whether it is through the Wayback Machine, screenshotting a whole webpage, reblogging/retweeting something, or putting it on pinterest, digital media is fickle and tends to go up in smoke when you least expect it. I have a partially organized Pinterest board that helped me find most of the stuff I wanted to keep. Figure out what works for you and save what you can.
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As we've sort of seen how it happened with Weiss, how did Jaune end up falling for the girls in their respective aus? How long did it take for him to notice and for him to act on those feelings?
I should really find an efficient way to deep dive into my archives because I know for sure I have this written I. specific details Thank goodness I write things often enough to remember the fundamentals of my stories.
Rosebud- It’s probably the simplest. Ruby always had a crush in this AU. They started getting intimate with one another during their journey as RNJR; out of sense of comfort, stress, and growing affection. Ruby made the first move. They didn’t officially get together until sometime during V5 time frame at the inn. It was pretty much unspoken that they were going to love each other forever, and that only became more true when after Salem was beaten. At that point their love could really flourish. The silver eyed hero that saved the world at 17 was happily married at 19 and Jaune couldn’t be happier.
Lasting Embers is slightly more complicated but I’m not about to get nitty gritty in this specific post. Yang and Blake’s relationship got messy and tense after the revelation that was Adam being alive and the several run in that happened on the journey. After the break up, Yang was incredibly down and upset and it was mainly Jaune that helped get her through the funk. Eventually they got together but it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There were several fights and even a breakup that mainly stemmed from the tense journey and Yang’s emotional baggage. Jaune even briefly dated someone else who Yang believed was better for him and deeply cared about him. However, after what could be described as the most selfless act of a lifetime, the two of them were able to try again and it was wonderful. They continued to love each other and let down walls that eventually led to a marriage that remains vivid in everyone’s memory.
So for Knigtshade context, Jaune and Blake were actually pretty friendly during Beacon days. Nothing crazy happened but they had similar music tastes and quiet spots to think. Also one of the major differences in this universe is they managed to lock Salem behind a relic door for a few years in order to train properly and prep the world for the real fight. It was during this time. Like Lasting Embers, Blake and Yang got into some drama, but this was ten times worse. So bad that it rocked the entire group. Ruby ended up making the executive decision that when it came interaction between Menagerie and the nearest Anima area, it would be Jaune and Blake while Yang essentially worked with Ren and Nora. The constant back and forth as well as the problem solving Blake and Jaune had to do together for so long naturally led to them getting to know each other more and being there to listen. They both fell for each other slowly. Things were a little better with Yang for a while until she noticed the signs. Eventually marriage became a reality and so was a family. Things were never really the same which is a little disheartening. Nobody is hostile to anyone but little Lucas could only wonder why someone so important to his family always felt a little distant on the rare occasions they met.
#rwby#rwby au#rwby lancaster#rwby dragonslayer#rwby knightshade#rwby rosebud#rwby lasting embers#rwby premonition#ask me stuff
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Looming tragedy
Oh a sudden thought hit me...
We saw how much Saitama broke when Genos was killed in front of him, right after we established that he cared for Genos with the core touch scene right?
Well.
We just established that Genos is infatuated with Saitama. He likes Saitama-sensei very much so.
Not that it wasn't very obvious anyway, but hey, it's down on actual words now.
You know what that means... and why romeo and juliet is really categorized as tragedy.
I have a sudden feeling it may be time to check out Genos side of that tragedy. Because he is making multiple deadly assumptions with bunch of the heroes here and operating on the false premise that Saitama is infallible and cannot be outplayed. It does not appear that he has told Saitama any pertinent information that should concern him either. He doesn't want to worry Saitama with nitty gritty details because Saitama is so strong he wouldn't need to know all of this anyway and Genos thinks he'd be fine anyway.
He puts all the eggs in one basket that Saitama is all they need in countermeasures against God.
(Oh hello Genos Edward scissorhands, it is nice to meet you chapter 172 Cover, all eggs in one basket)
But we as audience know that you cannot just rely on one person to bail out everyone. World doesn't work that way, you need people to help you out.
That would just make that one person with the capability to oppose the enemy and who everyone relies on have the biggest target painted at their back.
Prioritize this person's takedown and suddenly enemy's entire foolhardy plan falls like deck of cards. Play for the win condition and take out the General.
And we know OPM God knows his worst enemies well. He calls Blast by name and he surely knows by now that Saitama is the Abominable fist that opposed God.
Deadly mistakes, which are sure to cost Genos. Big time, when those rose-coloured goggles are ripped off and he remembers that Saitama is still just a human and his spirit, his emotions, jus as exploitable as anyone else's. Unfortunately, he seems too infatuated to see this obvious flaw in his battle strategy because he's not thinking logically and coolly.
Genos: It's about the way the protagonist judgement worked in the movie. Even if he had to go somewhere else, in that situation he should have quickly evacuated his family, friends and the heroine. That would have been the best decision. The way he did it, anyone would see what was his objective.
Saitama: Well... It's a movie. In any case, precisely because he had someone to protect the protagonist didn't give up and tried harder until the end, right? That's where the excitement is after all.
Genos: I see... but, if he was in real trouble the enemy could have seen that objecti-
We joke that Genos is the real shonen protagonist of the series...well...
Kinda making a piss poor job that your supposed countermeasure can actually do their job right and has the tools and protection required to remain as a viable countermeasure option, by not telling him a single fucking thing, eh?
Kind of classic isfj mistake to make that because he has the details and has planned thoroughly, so he knows the best course of action. Naturally.
He's not the only one making that same mistake, because King too relies on Saitama a ton to bail him out and it already cost him is life once when Saitama did not. He got specifically targeted by one of God's minions because he baited it and made himself a threat.
OPM God got front row seats to check out exactly who Saitama is, what makes Saitama tick and has no misunderstanding about the importance of Saitama as a target and his scale of power. He got all the surveillance data he needed.
TBH if I was OPM God I'd just honestly stop sending useless footsoldiers and take matters to my own (invisible) hands if I wanted to destroy someone who proved themselves to be a mortal God. But that's just me though and I can't say I'm good at strategy games, but it would be pointless to throw down all these useful pawns for slaughter if Saitama can just kick their ass anyway, before Saitama himself is taken out. Brute force won't work, so more guile is needed.
Too late for Genos to evacuate anything now though.
#opm#one punch man#genos#saitama#opm meta#saigenos#genosai#tragedy#infatuation#opm god#opm manga panels
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Pandora Thoughts
So I finally read Pandora for the first time (first new to me book in the series since I started re-reading). I'm just gonna ignore that whole "New Tales of the Vampires" thing as it fully just seems like one of the Vampire Chronicles.
Thoughts below the cut!
From the off I liked Pandora's voice, she's sardonic and playful as well as having a commanding and in control presence. She's a good character to spend some time with and I was veeery interested to get her perspective on things. She's quite romantic and poetic like Armand but she doesn't take herself quite so seriously and there's some humor and light moments to enjoy as well, which was kind of a surprise, with her only previous POV chapter being her searching for Marius in QOTD at Azim's temple and fairly serious and angsty, given the circumstances.
One thing I noticed is that she seems a lot less vain that a lot of Anne Rice's other POV vampires, she seems to be quite happy to give us unflattering details, like when she has to dress herself without any help as a Roman upper-class woman for the first time in Antioch and she picks clothes that are awkward and unintentionally revealing and makes a total mess of her hair and makeup. She could have just as easily left that out but she'd rather poke fun at herself. You get the feeling that she'd be fun to hang out with (when she's not catatonic)!
Her early life is interesting and entertainingly told. We zoom through her account of her childhood through two divorces (she has nothing to say about her mortal husbands lol), by her 30s she's living as kind of a weird spinster with her beloved old dad. In the early sections there's few little moments of Marius here and there (and they're great, pretending to be bear like a total dork etc.) but nothing substantial until we get to the real action in the second half of the book, after her father's death and her fleeing Rome for Antioch where she finds Marius again. Even though I'm always dying to get-to-the-vampires-already in these life-story style chronicles the details of her early life do add a lot to her characterization. You get the impression of a sharp and passionate young woman who chafes under the patriarchal Roman social strictures but who tries her best to live up to cultural expectations for her dad's sake. After her dad dies, despite her considerable grief, she knows freedom for the first time in her life and she's just coming to fully embrace that when vampires happen.
When we do get into the proper plot of the book (her being lured by Akasha into a perilous situation that will culminate in Marius turning her to prevent her death) it does feel a little rushed. When we finally get to the bit we're interested in (her life as a vampire with Marius for 200 years and what she did after he left) there's only 3 chapters left, and it's a short book, so these are short chapters! I did absolutely love getting more details on her life with Marius, chapter 10 in particular gets into the nitty-gritty of how they both came to terms with and understood her turning and as well as being juicy in those terms it's also quite a love letter to Marius at times. It's good to get the details that Marius will never tell you and to get her perspective on what went wrong in their relationship, which is a bit more in depth and revealing than the version we get in Blood and Gold (well I did read them out of order so I suppose you're meant to have those details already). We get a bit more specific on things that Marius only hints at in his account (how extreme Marius' fear of emotion was, how overbearing and insulting he was to Pandora and the role that fundamentally different perspectives on religion played in their disagreements) and things that he omits entirely (like Flavius' existence and turning).
There are things I had hoped would be covered but that we get little to no new details on, I'm realizing that expecting something in particular when you start an Anne Rice novel is a fools game. In this case I was really curious to learn more about her relationship with Arjun, it seems to be very complicated in Blood and Gold, and well… OK, so in one of the last chapters (I think the last one) Pandora does briefly address their relationship. She doesn't refer to him by name (only as 'the Asian' =/, yeah, it's gross) and simply says she never cared about him. A bit disappointing, I suppose Anne likely had character-based reasons for this (maybe they had a nasty break up) but I would have liked to have known more about how they met and that period they spent traveling around Europe in a Disney villain ostentatious black carriage that carried their sleeping forms by day. I'm kinda curious! I'm also suspicious of her account of their relationship, that he almost held her captive, because she's an extremely strong and (as we come to know in her account) willful vampire and I wonder if she's giving the version of their relationship that she's knows Marius would prefer, with her as a damsel in distress. On the other hand I also wonder if being abandoned by Marius all those years ago had a lasting effect of making her less willing to assert herself in romantic relationships, feeling that her assertiveness was the quality she was abandoned for… I want answers damnit!
Anyway, getting back to the point, the ending did feel a little rushed for me, and guys, I can't help but roll my eyes when we get "I must go to Lestat" - practically mandatory for a non-Lestat POV character to end their narrative with something like that, right? 😅 I like Lestat but not half as much as Anne Rice or her vampires. I'd like to see them ignore what he's up to and just get on with their own lives sometimes. Behind her plan to go to Lestat though is her desire to reunite with Marius, evidently in recalling past events she's become nostalgic for what they had and wants to give it another go maybe! I guess they have a lot of arguing to do about the nature of Lestat's religious experiences! So it does tie in with her narrative but I can't help but have that "give me a break" reaction when she says that. Overall it's a great, zippy little read (could be longer!) that fleshes out Pandora's character and gives some great insight on Marius and their relationship.
I've got Tale of the Body Thief next (because I will insist in reading these books in a stupid order) which is also new for me! Exciting!
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Candyheartsex letter
AO3: laughingpineapple (double-checked a-ok for treats as per the recent AO3 update blah blah)
Hello and thank you for writing for me! I hope you’ll have a great time playing with one of these wonderful canons!
I love a wide variety of fics - from the most delicate gen to explicit, any tense, any format, big yes to all kinds of weird experiments up to and including interactive fiction. In general, I love canon expansion (showing new places in the setting or exploring those that are barely mentioned, just outside the borders, and ditto with events), character work of all stripes (expanding on little quirks, putting characters in situations that complement/challenge certain personality traits of theirs, just... observing these weirdos as they live their lives, for better and for worse), magical realism and adjacent approaches. I eat up emotional moments with a spoon when a fic is character-centric (danger! catharsis! hurt/comfort! the nitty-gritty of attraction!) and also love abstract stuff that is not character-centric at all: fake academia, a wider focus, inhuman povs, anything goes.
For both romance and friendships, I love it when it’s clear (not necessarily to the characters themselves, but to the narrative) what they like about each other, how they get along, if and how they trust each other, what’s annoying but worth it, what flaws of the other are they or are they not well equipped to handle... The specificity of each dynamic! I also love it when the characters are very into something that makes sense for them, be it a hobby or a kink or whatever, even if it’s something I may not personally care for.
For art, I love when characters are doing something. I much prefer a simple illustration of a moment in their lives (basic examples: sharing coffee, walking together) to a more ornate symbolic illustration like eg a tarot reimagining.
DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, pregnancies, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents and paired-up OC randos are okay!), canon retellings
In the rigorous order in which I came across ‘em in the tagset:
Discworld (fic)
(I haven’t read all the books, please no overt spoilers for witches, Tiffany n Moist!) I’m not sure how I landed on “I just think he’s neat” about Ridcully of all people but here I am. I like unflappable characters, for better and for worse, characters who roll with whatever hand they’re dealt, and fishes out of water who somehow make it work - seeing this ridiculous jock lead UU has been a constant highlight of the novels for me. Any fun little situation in or around the university would be amazing!
Death of Rats & Mustrum Ridcully (Discworld): I don’t know what this is about but it compels me. What’s the little guy doing here
Mustrum Ridcully & Ponder Stibbons (Discworld): best beleaguered comedy duo. I love Ponder with all my heart. It could be fun to see a scenario where they’re both right a/o wrong in their own way?
Püha ja õudne lõhn | Sacred and Terrible Air - Robert Kurvitz (art, fic)
BIG HONKING SPOILERS. I can’t stop thinking about all this worldbuilding and cool details all over the place, so if you have something in mind that includes stuff like the Harnankur, the bells, the ZA/UM, zones of entroponetic catastrophe and so on, I’m listening!
Fandom-specific DNWs: overall positive depictions of the Innocentic system, as it were.
Ambrosius Saint-Miro & Ion Rodionov (PJÕL): w-what was it like for them. Did Rodionov know whom he was teaching math to. One would presume yes, given his whole apocalypse math teacher schtick. What’s it like for your math teacher to know the future. Do weird things happen around a future Innocence. why is this guy so cheerful
Ambrosius Saint-Miro & Revachol (PJÕL): you know, it has occurred to me that mr manifestation of the world spirit here probably shares a Twitch chat with the fragments of said world spirit and can hear her. I’m game for anything from mournful nuanced explorations to a take on the “wait unblock me I need to tell you something” meme
Charlotte Lund & Målin Lund & Anni-Elin Lund & Maj Lund: what do you make of the girls’... whole... deal? Something informed by their last scene in ch19 maybe?
Inayat Khan & Tereesz Machejek (PJÕL): I really enjoy their mutual respect, it’d be fun to see them team up or discuss Khan’s collection or something
Julia Dobreva/Jean Abadanaiz (PJÕL): ch6 devastated me. What was their role like in Revachol while it lasted, or maybe some pale shenanigans?
Kraz Mazov & Ignus Nilsen & Ion Rodionov (PJÕL): I need more content about every aspect of these 2 + thirdwheeling soothsayer, from political and philosophical aspirations (that final conversation, according to legend...) to granular leftist infighting (literally 3 top cats, 3 major currents) to Ignus being cringe on main (what about that most important question about communism...) to Ion knowing the inevitability of their demise and still sticking by them. btw if you wanna go Mazov/Nilsen&Rodionov about it, sure, someone’s gotta write them mazovian yaois at some point, ironically or otherwise.
Zygismunt Berg & Inayat Khan (PJÕL): what if they met at the end of the world. Or something. The intersection of their quests.
Twin Peaks (art, fic)
I love to see everyone’s takes on the show’s surrealism! New metaphysical places, weird corners of the red room, a far shore beyond the Fireman’s. I also love the human warmth that connects the characters - a sense that it’s what keeps us here together, while strange things lurk outside, in the dark, alluring woods.
Good with background Albert/Coop/Harry and sides thereof, Laura/Donna, Tammy/Cynthia, Andy/Lucy, Margaret/Sam, Phil/Gordon. I enjoy both book and show Tammy and I even think that they can add up to the same Tammy.
Canon-specific DNWs: any singular Dreamer being the ‘source’ of canon, BOB (let alone Judy) being forever defeated in the finale, Judy being an active malevolent presence in the characters’ lives, clear explanations for canonical ambiguities, ‘Odessaverse’ being the reality layer, the Fireman’s house by the sea being the White Lodge, anything that 4 hours Twin Perfect video says is the explanation of Twin Peaks
Harry Truman & Frank Truman (Twin Peaks): where’d that Arthurian legend nod in Frank’s pre-intro even go? How do these two mirror each other? What kind of Laura and Maddy situation...
Colonel Davis & Cynthia Knox (Twin Peaks): the Air Force counterpart to Blue Rose fascinates me. What kind of boss is Gordon’s foil here? What spooky things did they see?
Albert Rosenfield & Tammy Preston (Twin Peaks): nerd skeptics team-up. I think it’s neat that she ends up doing all the researches he used to do 25 years earlier, and she can be pedantic in a way that complements his own fastidiousness nicely...
Albert Rosenfield & Diane Evans (Twin Peaks): ow their friendship with a Coop-shaped hole in the middle. Also with a bullet hole in the middle! Funny how that goes, for a pacifist. I never get tired of reunions for them, or pre-canon shenanigans
Cynthia Knox/Tamara "Tammy" Preston (Twin Peaks): two federal agencies, both alike in dignity (ie, not a whole lot of it)... could they please team up again in the future?
Baba Is You (art, fic)
How would Baba is You translate to a non-interactive format? I’m down with anything that has some fun with ever-shifting rules. Anything playful in any way!
Baba & Keke: idk I just think they’re little creatures having fun, meeting up, smelling the flowers, rearranging the rules of the universe, as one does.
Baba & Keke & Me: ditto but it’s three little creatures (it felt rude to leave out Me)
Disco Elysium (art, fic)
Helen Hindpere once described the key feeling of the setting as “the shadow of annihilation waiting in the wings next to the unshakeable belief in the greatness of humankind” and I daresay that when she’s right she’s right. I love works that lean on both the upcoming apocalypse, the poetics of failure, and the little things that matter. I’m all for weird little extraphysics! Don’t be afraid to go weird.
Fandom-specific DNWs: overall positive depictions of the RCM, overall positive depictions of the Innocentic system and Dolores Dei in particular, “$character is the next Innocence” what-ifs, postponing Le Retour (handwaving Le Retour is cool), averting the nuke, averting the end of the world, Jean Judit a/o Trant appearing or being mentioned in the fic.
DJ Flacio & DJ Mesh & Kim Kitsuragi (Disco Elysium): Kim meeting his heroes......
Edgar Claire & Evrart Claire (Disco Elysium): okay so there are two of them and I need to know how they function with each other. Is everything in their life a cooperative 7d chess match or. fwiw I think they are sincere in their goal and struggles but also they are in too deep playing the capitalist game. Would it even be possible to achieve their goal without getting in too deep? Probably not, but. Some wrong things were made.
Elizabeth Beaufort/Cindy the SKULL (Disco Elysium): I wholeheartedly stand by this ship manifesto and would love to see anything about them!
Soona Luukanen-Kilde/Lilienne Carter (Disco Elysium): no ship manifestos here afaik but I’m compelled. Do they bond over Interfacing, or is Soona’s skillset more INT-based? I also just think that women who face life with a generous heaping of hermitry should hang out in silence together and maybe kiss. I’m listening to any take on this ship, sell me on these two please!
Neha & Soona Luukanen-Kilde (Disco Elysium): last-minute twist that they were friends, at least enough for Soona to want to go say hi to Neha? Please show me how they get along, I need this.
Ulixes | Echo Maker/Steban the Student Communist (Disco Elysium): oh the intricate rituals to discourse with other men and get someone else to hit them because that’s hot I guess. More prompts here...
Steban/Ulixes & Harry Du Bois/Kim Kitsuragi (Disco Elysium): since Harry is canonically invited to their next Wirrâl campaign and Kim canonically plays (faeries, at that)... UST at the game table? The two couples are such fun mirrors, it’d be fun if something made it click for both pairs.
Steban & Ulixes & Cindy the SKULL (Disco Elysium): (or Steban/Uli & Cindy) so you got this stray cat with an attitude who’s installed her art supplies in your super sekkrit hideout and you feel that she has adopted you. wyd. Seriously I love that they are friends, that Steban doesn’t get her art but valiantly tries to be diplomatic about it, that she’s the first person Uli comes gossiping to, and I love how she seems to collect losers.
Steban & Ulixes & Gaston & René (Disco Elysium): fun pair of “too accommodating for his own good & repressed grump” combos. There’s also the fact that Gaston, who has never picked a side, ever, in his life, still writes to La Fumée to stand up for Steban (and other communist...s...? who are they?) who’s risking eviction. I think that’s sweet of him and would love to see them all hang out.
Final Fantasy VI (fic)
What I love in this fandom is intra-party interaction. They’re all wonderful and don’t get to speak to each other that much, if at all. I’d love to see scenes and/or little adventures during or after the game! I don’t really have ships here so any unrequested character is welcome to feature too but I would prefer gen.
Cayenne Garamonde | Cyan Garamonde & Stragus Magus | Strago Magus (FFVI): I don’t know what this might be about but I’m intrigued! I love them both singularly, anything goes!
Celes Chere & Macías "Mash" Rene Figaro | Sabin Rene Figaro (FFVI): these two did get to speak to each other a bit and I found their odd friendship at the end of the world extremely endearing, and the emotional anchor of one of the most impactful stretches of the game, from the island to getting airborne again. Do they perchance keep speaking to each other as the party grows again?
Ghost Trick (art, fic)
My forever request. I just love this cast and love to see what their lives might look like in the new timeline, with only Sissel, Jowd and Yomiel remembering the tragedy they unmade. How this decade of memories impacts Jowd’s pre-existing relationships, and his trajectory with a best friend who may or may not be pining like a spotless white conifer. And everyone else as well! Weird AUs (fantasy, sci-fi, western, odd jobs..) and what-ifs (friend mentioned the other day what if it’s Cabanela who gets to keep his memories instead of Jowd) all welcome!
Alma/Cabanela/Jowd (Ghost Trick): any slice of life moment! Given this exchange’s reveals date: Jowd might just be the country’s least romantic individual. What does he do for a
Alma/Jowd (Ghost Trick): what changes between them in the new timeline?
Cabanela/Jowd (Ghost Trick): please let them be intensely ridiculous about their attraction
Cabanela & Pigeon Man (Ghost Trick): unexpected intergenerational friendship of my heart, Cabs is A Lot and Pigeon Man expertly wrangles him. Guess he’s good with birds
Cabanela & Missile (Ghost Trick): so. much. enthusiasm. I think if any silly plan went badly for these two they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. wym sparkly determination doesn’t always work?
Emma & Jowd (Ghost Trick): please let Emma have her fun and Jowd “yes, and” her to infinity
Emma & Cabanela (Ghost Trick): I think they’re both extra, theatrical and stubborn in a way that could be really compatible! A role swap could also be fun - Inspector Emma, novelist Cabanela
Emma & Alma (Ghost Trick): pls friends? Their daughters are friends. Cats don’t bark and ruin a writer’s concentration.
Cabanela & Jowd & Sissel (Ghost Trick): any combo of Sissel using his powers to help a/o prank either of them, Cabanela knowing or not, being ridiculously competent...
Jowd & Yomiel & Sissel (Ghost Trick): cat dads!!! Jowd’s potential bond with Yomiel is so fascinating to me, through the guilt and trauma of it all I think they could reach a certain understanding that no-one else can give them. And Sissel keeps them grounded...
Kentucky Route Zero (art, fic)
Perhaps not relevant to these character combos (or is it?) but I love Act V so much, and everything it says about all the themes up to that point. Maybe that home can be there for these strays too, for a time.
James B. Carrington & Lula Chamberlain (Kentucky Route Zero): please go artsy at will! I’d listen to Carrington ramble on for hours. Lula wouldn’t, but them’s the breaks.
Lula Chamberlain/Donald/Joseph Wheattree (Kentucky Route Zero): the doomed shape of it all... can they ever meet after the end? How were their lives shaped by rushing back to the surface, stagnating deep down, and making a living on the Zero? Symbolically, what do you make of it?
Pyre (art, fic)
I’m really into the whole end-of-cycle, crumbling society, need for new models and ideals thing. We can have little a idealistic canon with a successful pacifist revolution, as a treat. But I also love these striking characters by themselves and I’m interested in seeing them in what-ifs and weird AUs (fantasy, sci-fi, western, odd jobs..) too.
Fandom-specific DNWs: Oralech dead, Volfred and Oralech split end (I’m good with either topside or downside ending), Ignarius/Jodariel, Tariq/Celeste. The Reader being a central character in the fic.
Volfred Sandalwood & Pamitha Theyn (Pyre): does he have a shady job for her, or are they just sharing a drink and a smoke?
Soliam Murr & Oralech (Pyre): if you can find any way to make them meet, I think Oralech wants to speak to the manager
Barker Ashpaws & Brighton (Pyre): so downside Barker invents basketball. Brighton iirc ends up downside anyway, and for all his many flaws he did so love fantasy basketball. Can this be the birth of an odd friendship? (I am not interested in woobie Brighton, I like how hilariously obnoxious he is in canon and Barker would probably not have any of it but otoh they are Bonded By The Sportsball...)
Ignarius & Oralech (Pyre): I’d just like to weaponize Iggy’s fascination for big survivor demons and point it at an unsuspecting Oralech, for fun
Dalbert Oldheart & Tariq | The Lone Minstrel (Pyre): Tariq ditching the Nightwings for an afternoon (especially the previous Nightwings who knew how to be irritating) and spending some time with Dalbert... talking about the Scribes...
Oralech/Volfred Sandalwood/Tariq | The Lone Minstrel (Pyre): catch-all request because I ran out of slots but if you wanna do any sub-section of the triad I love all combinations. For the three of them together I would like to see them, for example, a few years into the future, either topside or downside...
Big Bertrude & Sir Gilman (Pyre): kin is kin whether Bertrude regrets it or not. Underwater adventures?
Big Bertrude/Pamitha Theyn (Pyre): I love how they quietly get each other. Downside postcanon maybe?
Big Bertrude & Volfred Sandalwood (Pyre): can Volfred do something nice for her? Or would that help if he’s the reason the old girl’s got a broken heart to begin with?
Vagabond Girl & Volfred Sandalwood (Pyre): Scribes talk Scribes talk Scribes talk!
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UX anon here - thank you for your response! I didn't realize the lack of resources in the community tbh. Would it be helpful if there was a master post of basic mobile UX principles to follow? Or would it be more helpful to gather a bunch of pre-existing twine templates and iterate them to be more in line with said principles? Or both?
Hi again Anon! :D
Yeah... it's kind of a common feeling. You [general you] don't know how much knowledge/resource/time/etc you need to invest until you actually make the thing you are enjoying.
I've done the same when watching movies/series, believing I could write better dialogue... lol the audacity of my brain honestly...
I did make a Twine resource list some weeks back, with all I knew/could find, but I don't think there are any resource focused on mobile only. Though I do think most templates have some sort of mobile formatting/scaling in mind (even if not perfect). So this is definitely a niche to fill!
When it comes to the nitty-gritty of things, I can't really tell you which path to take (I am just one creator in the sea of many). You could send a poll to other authors, see their input.
I would advise against, though, reiterate pre-existing twine templates without the explicit consent of the creator (it might go without saying, but just in case). They might even prefer editing their templates with those advice instead of seeing their "updated" templates available out there (that's def the case for me).
But I do think the idea of a Master Post of Basic Principles with clear instructions (and images of what is good/not good!) would definitely be helpful. It leaves you open to go in more details about other principles in the future (if you want to do so, obviously you shouldn't feel pressured).
Last bit of advice, maybe check out Twine and how the different formats have built their visuals. It probably help you understand the limitations creators face when editing their UI.
Theoretically, you could do anything on Twine, especially with SugarCube/Chapbook/Snowman (Harlowe is... wonky). But there are some class that have different rules depending on them being built through CSS or JavaScript.
EDIT: IF YOU POST SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON TUMBLR, TAG ME SO I CAN SHARE IT!!!
I'm also going on a bit more rambling, because I've realised I've had more feelings about the topic. PS: not directed at anyone in particular, just letting some steam out.
This is also my personal opinion, but I don't think (non-physical) IF was ever intended to be on mobile in the first place (ahem parsers/point-and-click...). When IF became a thing, there were no mobile (so that question was moot anyway). You just had a computer (maybe) that would run a program.
I feels like it's been more of an evolution towards mobile use, as smaller/touch screens became the more prevalent device for entertainment (in general, not just IF). You have apps like CoG or HostedGames or those Story ones (they kind of look like VNs) that are very popular (and are incidentally fit for mobile...).
And now we expect this of everyone that start with IF.***
While IF programs/format do allow for mobile support (to different degree), I do think we have to remind ourselves from time to time that IF creators still often create as a hobby, with often limited knowledge and resources. The fact that we sometimes/often uphold some IF to standard as high as actual game companies (who have headcounts and resources and knowledge to make things better) is just mind boggling to me (the number of asks/comments I get about my UI not looking professional because of a few mistakes...).
Even trying to go through actual big company website is sometimes dreadful on mobile. Unileveeeeer *raise fist to the sky*...
Resources to make things more accessible (especially program/format specific) should be available to people, but we should leave some leeway to people who can't implement things or just don't want to. It might suck, but yeah... Think of it as computer exclusive projects (like you'd have with consoles :P ).
***Little side note, but we had a similar-ish discussion on the forum about Twine games during the IF Comp. It wasn't about mobile accessibility but the game being unstyled, and how many expected Twine entries to have some sort of styling and not just use the base UI, while the expectation was not as present (or not at all) for other programs. It is very interesting to go through.
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Sweet Nothing
Chapter One: The Loneliest Time
Summary: Doctor Blake Adler is new at the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Department. She's to be a part of the team and get as comfortable as possible before being thrown in the field by Jack Crawford. Beforehand, though, she must meet everyone.... A certain curly haired man catches her attention.
Warnings: Light ableism (?)
Word Count: 2.2k
Sweet Nothing Masterlist
Next Chapter
Being in the FBI was not for everyone. During time at Quantico, you could see dead bodies cut up a hundred different ways after just one class. There’s a reason not everyone becomes an agent, seeing bodies bloodied or drained or eaten doesn’t get easier. Certainly not for someone who’s squeamish. The select few trainees that make it fully into the Bureau don’t last long. Sometimes they die on the job, others quit with their sanity intact. For some, though, the job is perfect for them. They don’t have time to be doing anything else so they choose to save lives. Some even find it rewarding because of that. Or the secret, fourth, thing. The FBI could make a perfect cover if you’re a murderer….
Thankfully, for Jack Crawford, Doctor Blake Adler is not. She’s a highly decorated young woman, with two PhDs–one in Psychiatry and the other in Criminology–and passed her FBI training with flying colors. Which meant she was perfect to fill a missing spot in the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Sure, Jack had Doctor Bloom and Doctor Lecter on call for anything he may need but Doctor Adler would be easier to get to and may even understand the people they’re going after much easier than them.
“Thank you for the position, Mr. Crawford.” Blake smiled, hands behind her back in a kind gesture. She wasn’t exactly looking at his eyes, Jack could tell. But the effort was appreciated.
Jack let out a small huff of air as a light laugh, “Just call me Jack, Doctor Adler.”
“Then you can call me, Blake.” The young woman countered with a light laugh of her own. As she adjusted her glasses on her face, she asked, “I must admit, I still feel like a trainee. I have no real world experience. So why me? The Behavioral Unit is…. Very tricky to get into.”
Jack shook his head as he opened the door for Blake, “You’ve helped me more than you know, Doctor. While small, every bit helps when trying to catch a killer.” He admitted, guiding the young woman inside. “First, I’d like you to get acquainted with the team. At the moment, there’s nothing big happening so your first real day won’t be until tomorrow. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.” Blake winked, waving lightly as Jack retreated into his office. The sealed glass work stations were pretty much empty besides one that had a few people working on a body. “Slow day indeed, huh.” She whispered to herself before looking down at the papers in her hand. Jack, being the head of the Behavioral Unit, compiled a list of those Blake would work best with.
4. Brain Zeller – Seems arrogant, Doctor Adler hates the type to believe they’re smarter than they are. Will treat Doctor Adler too harshly.
True, Blake pushed back against a lot of her teachers in the Bureau and outside it because of this.
3. Jimmy Price – Smart, but almost too kind. Doctor Adler hates those who are too kind for no reason. Or more specifically, will try to tiptoe around her.
Blake pursed her lips from the smile that threatened to form. Jack got it right again. He did have her profile which told him all the nitty gritty details that she didn’t want to think about.
2. Beverley Katz – Similarly to Goldilocks, these two would make a great fit and are ‘just right.’ Will not treat Doctor Adler too harshly but won’t treat her as if she’s too fragile either. Personalities match almost 95%.
Blake cocked her head a little at the words in front of her eyes. She was only number two? Then who was number one if Beverley was supposedly ‘just right’ for her.
1. Will Graham – Will has a special insight to crime scenes that it seems Doctor Adler and him share. However, Will Graham does not necessarily like working with others. Especially those who may try to get inside his head. May take some time before they truly start to mesh together but they should be a perfect match after initial bonding takes place.
The doctor studied the words for a moment. “Looks like I need to find Will Graham….” She murmured, mostly to herself.
“Will Graham isn’t usually here unless the Chesapeake Ripper has decided to show up.” A voice piped up. Said voice was attached to a woman with black wavy hair and dark eyes. Has she ever taken that leather jacket off? Seemed like it was well loved.
Blake gave her a courtesy smile, “You must be Beverley Katz. I’m Doctor Blake Adler, a new addition to the team. I guess.” She explained.
Beverley hummed softly and nodded at Blake, “Will is usually in one of the lecture halls. Not sure which one, never visited him myself but I’m sure you could ask one of the students roaming around the halls.” Well, thank god for Beverley Katz. Not one to mince words.
“Thank you, Ms. Katz. I look forward to working with you.” Blake turned, her face dropping a bit as she adjusted the weight on her shoulders and began walking towards the lecture halls.
Sure, Blake has heard of Will Graham before but she’d never had the opportunity to take one of his classes. The seats always filled up, though she’s not sure if it’s because he was a good teacher or because plenty of his students found him attractive. Either way, she’s never met Will Graham but it felt like years in the making. Classmates in other classes talked about him non-stop. His way of commanding a classroom by his movements or by his voice or simply by the pictures he decided to put on his slides.
Just in time for the end of class, Blake entered Will’s lecture hall as students were exiting. The young woman huffed softly as a few men bumped into her, rolling her eyes as she kept treading forward. She knew what she looked like. Blake was a trainee fresh out of Quantico and now she was running errands for the Behavioral Unit. At least, her 6 foot tall height made her intimidating to most or else she would have been trampled out of the classroom.
Jealousy really is a disease.
"Class just ended." The man at the desk stated, voice monotone. His resting voice seemed careless but also…. Careful. And tired. So, so tired.
Blake narrowed her eyes at the shorter man, pursing her lips. That had to be Will Graham, the name matched his appearance well. His hair was a deep brown, curled on his head and unkept as if it was begging to be touched, eyes were blue and held a certain sadness in the skin around it. And his unkept stubble. All in all, Will Graham was attractive like the rumors said but he also looked…. Sad. Like maybe he was beaten down by seeing so much in his life. Perhaps that's why he became a teacher instead. Except, he certainly wasn't just a teacher anymore.
"I know I look it but I'm actually here on behalf of Jack Crawford. I'm new in the Behavioral Unit." Blake explained after all the students left, walking closer to the desk Will was perched on. "He believes we would make a fine crime solving pair." She joked softly, avoiding straight on eye contact.
Will noticed immediately what she was trying to do. "You don't have to…. Try to not act normal." He smiled lightly, almost pained. "Did Jack tell you?"
"No. But I don't like eye contact much either, it's very…. Taxing. Don't know exactly where to look or for how long." Blake shrugged, looking away from Will to her hands for a moment. Something about her jacket seemed to be much more interesting to look at. "Doctor Blake Adler."
Will hummed in response, "The famous trainee that helped Jack Crawford himself on a few cases." He joked, cocking an eyebrow as he finally looked up fully to take in Blake's appearance.
Doctor Adler was six feet tall, which was more accentuated whenever she wore heels, deep forest green eyes, short brown hair with blue at the ends that was styled to be slicked back and away from the eyes. The blue dye in her hair was faded which insinuated she hadn’t redyed it in a few months. Will also noticed a light dusting of freckles on her nose as well as black ink ever so slightly peeking from under one of her sleeves. Blake was…. Astonishing. And Will doesn't describe just anyone like that.
"How does it feel?" Will asked, smirking slightly. "To be famous even before you became a real agent?"
Blake shrugged, leaning against the desk next to Will. "Weird. I don't think I helped that much but then Jack keeps saying it really helped him and I don't know why." She admitted, looking off to a fixed point in the paneled walls.
"We think differently." Will could tell. It took a few seconds, Blake was harder to read than most others but he could tell why Jack wanted Blake to meet him. They were similar. Very similar. "And sometimes Jack hasn't thought about things the way we do." The man pursed his lips, letting his eyes fall to his lap.
Blake let out a light laugh, shaking her head. "Jack is smart but he can only do so much." She agreed, running a hand through her hair as she felt a few strands come out of place.
Will watched this from the corner of his eyes, admiring the way her hand glided through her hair. He noticed her nails were painted black and that there was a small tattoo on her right thumb. A small crescent moon, filled with black ink.
This moment was cut off by the lecture hall door opening. A woman in a long sleeved floral dress stood in the doorway.
"Doctor Bloom." Will's gaze hardened lightly, standing from the desk. After all, Will knew he was unstable but Alana couldn't give him another reason….
Alana's gaze traveled from Will to the taller woman next to him. "You must be Doctor Adler." She smiled politely, though not that authentically.
Tension was all Blake could feel in that moment. Time to back out. "Yes, and you must be Doctor Bloom as Will said." She nodded, "Unfortunately, I believe Jack wants me in his office so I can't properly say hello. We'll probably see each other again soon though." With that, Blake gave Alana a light smile and high-tailed it out of there.
Once back at Jack's office, Blake let out a breath after closing the glass door. She shook off the weirdness from earlier and rolled her neck to release some tension.
"Work drama already? On your first day?" Jack asked with an amused chuckle from behind Blake.
The doctor rolled her eyes as she turned towards him. "Not my drama. Will Graham and Alana Bloom drama. I sensed some…. Unresolved tension." Blake's lips upturned in disgust.
"Not a fan of kissing then, Doctor?" Jack's eyes held an amused glare.
Blake shrugged as she sat by his desk. "Not exactly. Never kissed anyone before. Not one that counted anyway." She shook her head, "Enough of that. Do I get my own office? Or is that reserved for special agents?"
Jack rolled his eyes and closed the folder he was working on. "Since you're a special case and you requested an isolated office, yes you do get one." He explained.
Doctor Adler, while possibly the most promising agent to be added to the Bureau, could be the most unpredictable as well. Sure, Will Graham–who has self-diagnosed himself on the autism spectrum–has worked for the FBI since…. Well, forever, the Bureau has not had someone clinically diagnosed on the autism spectrum in the field and working of the Behavioral Unit full time. Blake Adler is sort of a test run, to see if people like her can handle it long term.
Knowing this, of course, Blake had some requests. Sometimes, she likes to isolate herself. It can help her to think or simply, if she gets overstimulated, it gives her some place to go. While at work, there aren't many places to go when having a nervous breakdown because something happened that she didn't want besides the bathroom. But then people might hear Blake crying. That is something she doesn't need. So a private office was a must have. The Bureau didn't want Blake's talent to go to waste, so they obliged enthusiastically.
A start to a wonderful relationship always starts with boundary setting.
Doctor Blake Adler – PhD in Physcology and Criminology
Height: 6’0
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Brown
Profile: Psych Eval makes it evident Doctor Adler is on the autism spectrum but this knowledge isn’t new to the Bureau. Has shown she’s an asset to the Bureau and seems to not pose a threat to herself or others. Stable enough to be considered for a position. Although her particular but subtle hate of authority may make it difficult for her to take orders. As well as her appearance may be intimidating when questioning witnesses, unfortunately there is no way to rectify this.
#will graham#will graham x oc#hugh dancy#hugh dancy x oc#nbc hannibal#hannibal#jack crawford#beverly katz#sweet nothing#taylor swift#mads mikkelsen#blake adler
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Well it's putting the cards on the table time apparently. I heard once about a rumor that basically said that you didn't do the research for soa, nor did your wife. That some Tumblr user(s) actually made ("an important") part of the research. I think the ones that told me that hate you or something.
So I just wanted to know - is that true? Because well, even i sometimes thought that it was almost impossible to make that amount of research by oneself. Or even two people. Both in so, so busy careers and being successful in those careers.
Look, it's not as if I believed it's completely impossible. I mean, I've been building a world with my bf for some years now, and just a month ago we discovered that its political laws are incredibly similar to spartan ones... without any of us having ever studied ancient politics before.
So anyways. Have a nice day!
ugh. I've seen this one (or a variation of it) before and I have some questions.
what's this 'important part' of the research that I didn't do?
and if not me...who's doing it?
seriously- who? I'd love to call them up. I was begging for help when I first started- what do y'all think that obnoxiously-long timeline post (made January 9th 2017) was? it's literally titled as a call to action...and it barely got feedback at the time. it took 6 chapters for @madtomedgar to pick me up and help with editing until I got my footing and then @denialandavoidance picked me up. if anyone can be credited with helping me, it's them- which is why they are credited on those chapters. but, I will say, and they could attest (though this is so far below worth our time...), the legwork was always there on the details. I just needed touch-ups, fact checks, and proofreading.
on that- did we just...scroll past the years of posts where I was discovering details for the timeline and sharing them...some of that process was pretty public? unfortunately, a lot of it was also just in my notes and on the chapter drafts because I was more worried about writing the story than showing my work...because it's a fanfic. I couldn't imagine anyone would need me to prove that I'd researched.
which- what is the bar here for citations? the closest thing I've done to a bibliography has been the recent meta posts I'm making on the reread, but the idea of including that on the work itself is nightmarish. even my meta post leaves a lot out, and you'd end up with ~2k words of notes on each chapter. that ruins the immersion, distracts from the plot, and worst- adds extra effort on my part. I just won't do it. sorry. I'm not making money off this, I'm not being graded on it. it's a fanfic.
even if I tried, a full-bibliography isn't going to have all the records for every nitty-gritty detail that's included in the story. I wasn't adding footnotes on my drafts as I went along. I just wasn't. my method was to keep it as simple as possible, and a bibliography wasn't the priority, just getting the information. I basically just had a timeline that was like an agenda for each day and I was backfilling it with details from all the books and journals and primary source documents I was reading. anytime a date would come up in a source, I'd add it to my notes. anytime there was a gap or I had specific questions, I'd dig around until I could fill it (or I’d make something up because it’s fiction). though most of my sources were publicly-accessible (we stan Wiki in this house), I don't even have access to everything I used back in 2015-18. I was in college and had access to academic databases, my library, and @john-laurens was also still in school with similar accesses, and towards the end of 2016, started helping me find specific details. google could get me 90% of the way there, but the really detailed day-to-day stuff was in letters and journal entries.
it seems a lot like how someone might research to write a biography, they'd just be more thorough about annotating their sources since their goal is to publish...I might not be doing it for the same reasons, but why is it so hard to believe I could?
anyway- no. that's not true. I've had contributors. the people I've mentioned above have helped me directly and they're credited in the work because of it- though I would still emphasize for the context of this question, their help has mostly been as editors, occasionally fielding specific questions or giving me source recommendations. any contributions other than theirs would come from posts that are public on this blog, but I truly, genuinely, can't think of any that have already been incorporated or would warrant recognition...
if someone feels like I've missed something they gave me, they're always welcome to take it up with me.
#my process feels so simple I don't understand the disbelief#it's just...read books. take notes#that's it#that's literally it.#anon#long post#answered
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content warning: vent
Dear Old Guard Star Wars fans,
You've been a staple of my life for the past couple decades. A lot of the stuff you do has deeply impacted the directions Star Wars is taken, and members of some of the greatest fandom sectors of the Star Wars community have, the 501st legion, fantastic artists, lore curators, have been able to participate in the creation and the propagation of Star Wars content, both officially and unofficially for years.
This has been some of the coolest fucking shit I've ever seen, the most awesome collaborative efforts, and some of the most interesting stuff both visually and engagement wise I've been able to interact with. Star Wars has been a major thing in my life since I was very young, it is a very deep and important part of who I am.
I was a Star Wars fan since I was five or six years old. I remember watching all six movies back then and being enthralled by it. My dad introduced me to it, a lifelong love and passion for a bunch of space stuff that kept me rewatching and rewatching and searching for more. And there was plenty to do, plenty to fucking do, tons of imaginative texts and ideas and games, there was a surplus. As I got older there was the Clone Wars, I got better at battlefront, and I played Republic Commando.
I have been just as participatory in Star Wars as anybody else. And I feel very much capable of saying that despite that fact I have felt like I haven't belonged until now.
I grew up in the tumultuous era when the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy were constantly butting heads. I didn't like talking Star Wars with people around me because they were always fascinated by things I just didn't care for it in Star wars. So I just went on my own and did my own stuff, enjoying Star Wars in my own capacity and just sort of existing, passively accepting the fact that I just didn't Jive with everybody in that way.
Then the sequels came out, and I was excited for the first time for Star Wars content since the Clone wars. I exited the Last Jedi and thought everyone would be on the same page, and instead found that most people thought the Last Jedi was shit.
Most annoyingly vocal Star Wars fans felt the need to tell every single goddamn person they knew that the movie was shit and terrible and made everyone look like pansies and didn't make sense. In a universe where people move objects with their mind, droids are sentient, and there are fish the size of Manhattan, the fake logic of a fake scientific principle is where you draw the line.
We saw a Resurgence of people so angry about their Universe being supposedly sullied that they bullied people off of social media, actors in the movie to be specific, and that is fucking insane to me. It Harkens back to Ahmed best and Jake Lloyd, and in all honesty, that's fucking stupid.
I beg of you please grow the fuck up. There are more things in the world than you. Than your perspective and how you understood star wars. You got everything handed to you on a fucking silver platter and it wasn't enough. You got several award-winning games, multiple MMORPGs, and endless library of books with infinite pseudo philosophical bullshit, countless comics, hundreds of thousands of action figures, cartoons of plenty, for all manner and all ages. You got everything, it may not have been a movie, but if that was your line, no wonder you fuckers feel entitled to this fandom.
If you want to get down to the nitty-gritty details as to why you didn't get a movie, it's because of your bullshit. It's because of your fucking needless shit. You made the prequels a miserable experience for the director you so supposedly loved, to such an extent that you have irreversibly damaged people's perspectives on what are essentially pretty good movies altogether, and now despite the fact that I know a good number of you hated those movies, hearken back to that time, as if you have a Nostalgia for them, when I remember being bullied or bullshited or completely disregarded by you for enjoying the very movies you now praise.
I get this has been said a million times, because this is about entitled fans and those are plentiful everywhere, and super prominent and vocal, but I will say it again: mourn your loss somewhere else and grow the fuck up you losers.
I'm going to enjoy the book of boba fett, the mandalorian, Andor, Rogue one, solo, and every other thing as much as I want to. Because I'm entitled to that. Because I haven't had that. And it frustrates me that I haven't had that, because I didn't feel like I belonged, because I didn't belong, because it was a story told for a bunch of people who didn't need a story told for them. People who had thousands of stories.
I looked at Rose Tico, Jyn erso, Rey Skywalker, and finally saw somebody I actually jived with. They didn't seem distant or dead for plot convenience, they were there and acting. I remember feeling that, that tiny vestige, when Ahsoka debuted, and finding out that everyone either hated Ahsoka or wanted to bang her, and she was 14 so that's fucked up.
And at the time, I too hated her, because everyone else hated her, because if I didn't hate her, I would actually have to except the fact that I liked her, and I only started liking her after everybody else started liking her. I regret doing that, I've always liked to soca, and I remember when people didn't. I don't want anyone to tell anyone else that there wasn't a time that a lot of these characters weren't hated.
You know what the best part is? You're going to get your fucking movie. Your shit show Legends movie. The culmination of Legends storytelling being brought back into the Star Wars universe, even for the fraction that it is. You're getting thrawn back. It is what they're calling the mandoverse, and honestly, that fucking sucks. Not only are you getting the movie you want, you're getting one of your most infamous villains, played by an amazing actor, and it's the culmination of something that should have been its own thing. That would have instead stood on its own two feet and been its own thing, instead of referencing and adding characters that it didn't need to tell a story that didn't fit. Instead of shoehorning a villain that we've already had multiple stories for over the course of several decades, using a new villain. But instead you're getting your fucking movie. You're getting your best villain on the big screen. And I hope you're fucking happy.
Because I for one am tired of the same five villains. I want something compelling and terrifying and interesting. I do not want to see the yuuzhan vong again, I hope they never get reincorporated into the Star Wars Universe outside of a maybe passive reference in a very interesting way. I'm tired of the emperor but better and also smarter, I'm tired of constant cow-towing to needless fans who are never pleased unless they quite literally have their dick sucked by Shaak ti, and I am tired of hearing the constant bitching about how Star Wars has been ruined by some fuck nugget for some stupid reason. Star Wars is a story. First and foremost. And a good story doesn't always stay with the characters forever.
Especially if their story has been told seven times over.
A good story moves on to the next chapter, it knows when it's time to end and find the next story.
Because I'm tired of hearing that Star Wars sucks now. I'm tired of hearing that Star Wars is not fun anymore, you don't like it. Cuz of course you don't like it, it's not for you.
Star Wars doesn't suck anymore, you just grew up and stopped playing with the toys.
Now you don't recognize them. now you don't recognize any of the characters, the stories being told, the logic and reason doesn't make any sense because you fell out of the story and just came back in the middle chapter of another one.
And you can do two things with that information, two fucking things: grow up and realize that the story isn't yours anymore to tell or engage with in the same way that you used to, you can never go back to that time, or be a needless whining bitch complaining about every God damn change that happens. You can make me, a Star Wars fan, somebody who has enjoyed this fucking franchise since I was six, almost 20 years ago now, feel out of place and miserable because you're out of place and miserable. You don't get it and you don't understand it and you don't like it. And you won't engage with it. You can either appreciate the fact that you had it and now someone else has it, or you can fucking be the worst person, did your heels in, and be a monstrous asshole for no goddamn reason.
You can either let people play and enjoy the story, what it has to say and the substantial stuff it is engaging with, or you can be a stick in the mud and make everyone feel bad for liking something you don't like. And honestly? If the latter is what you want to be, then please take less than a minute of time out of your day to watch this game Grumps video for no particular reason.
youtube
Sincerely tired fan who just wants to enjoy Star Wars in peace.
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i think the biggest hang up i have when it comes to writing sharpe fics is the historical accuracy (adhd brain aside).I feel like I have to continuously start and stop bc there is just so much shit to look up and it ruins my creative flow and chips at my confidence. I have more pressure (that admittedly I put on myself, no one else does) bc this is set during a real period of history, I want to get it right. and yet it’s one of the hardest fucking things, imo, to research--but mostly for Teresa.
i write a character who is a partisan, of which there’s very little primary sources except for those who were nobles and more prominent (ie; espoz y mina) while most were peasants. of those sources, most are either very specific to a region or in old fashioned spanish when spanish is already hard enough for me to read.
not only that, it’s fucking hard to find anything on spanish culture and society during this time period or just before it. I can find things from the 18th century, but not the turn of the century nor pre-invasion of the French. I specifically had to buy a three volume out of print set of Manners of Spain, 1818 which they had to print and bind by hand bc none exist anymore. It’s so hard to find time period accurate stuff specific to Spain that isn’t about the english regency and it drives me up the wall. its hard to feel confident when there’s so much i don’t know and i feel like i’m groping blindly in the dark when it comes to specific, important aspects of Teresa’s life.
and then there’s dates, geography, battles, skirmishes, how weapons work, travel, etc. little nuances that to me are important to get right. i’m also not religious at all, so even basic catholic things i know little about which is important culturally as well. i have more to bitch about when it comes to writing teresa but i’m sleepy and can’t remember all of it.
i do love her though, and i do love writing for this fandom. i’m a whore for nitty gritty details which is why I think it’s such a challenge for me. there’s both too much information and not enough and it’s exhausting to make sure everything’s accurate. trying to write a fic about the retreat from talavera where i’m like, nobody says where in fucking portugal wellington retreats to? which building is it, if it’s in lisbon?? surely someone would note an important place like that. wait, when does sharpe leave to confirm his captaincy? how long is he in england? how will this work on the timeline?
or like other things- the partisans were so vast and varied information can be all over the place. what was the Moreno wealth built on? why was teresa not married before she married sharpe? Could she have inherited the family business as the eldest daughter? what was she doing in galicia and how does she know vivar, or how did she meet hogan? how important is religion in her life, and how does it change after the french come? how would her transition from lady to partisan be when i don’t have any information on wtf society and culture were like? how would she transition after the war?? so many things
i think the most important thing for me to remember is that while accuracy can be important (and will bug the shit out of me if i’m not 100% certain) it’s not the end all be all. It’s what the scene is trying to convey that matters the most. i have both the film and the book canon that i can pick and choose from at will to make work. The films leave so much out and yet add a lot in (especially for Teresa- the books are okay, but I’m 100% film based Teresa while adding her brother in), and even the author makes places and events up to get Plot Things happening. I can make shit up to make things happen to and am not beholden to history or accuracy, though i can get close to it. i think i can be forgiven as long as i love the characters and the stories i write for them.
#;ooc#(this rant has been on my mind for a while now but i finally sat down and got it off my chest)#(there's more nuances i'm forgetting but. yeah this is the gist of it)#(i'm reading the gun by cs forester rn cuz its mostly dealing with partisans and it was eating at me how he did his research#people will see the love i put into the stories for these characters and who cares about accuracy
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have you ever read a detailed post about the glee cast’s singing voices? like all about their technique and stuff? reading your reaction to the ‘vocal coach reacts to glee’ video makes me want to know more!
Hmmmm, not really! Not from a professional vocalist POV, I don’t think. (That I’m aware of. This does remind me there was one vocal coach in fandom, and she hated Blaine, and I wasn’t too fond of her, or her analysis, so I won’t point you in that direction.)
My background is in music, but not in vocal performance. But I can give you a quick rundown of cast’s musical abilities if you like, though they won’t be huge on the technical side of it.
ETA: I started this a while ago before I started doing the music retrospective - I’ll probably try to explore a little more as I do those. If you guys want more conversation about one person in particular, let me know!
But for now...
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Matthew Morrison: Is a classically trained musician with a very good voice. It’s a shame Will was such a tool, because Matthew Morrison was very talented, had the ability to do a lot of great things with his voice. People joke about his rapping -- but I think this stemmed from the issue that his background is in musical theater -- which teaches you a cleaner and more traditional way of singing -- opposed to a pop or rap style. He doesn’t have the grit that rap often has, which makes it a little too much like a Kid’s Bop version of something. When singing musical theater, though, he really shined.
A number that showcases ability: Make ‘Um Laugh
A number that isn’t so great: Ice Ice Baby
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Lea Michele: Lea does have a very good and solid voice. She’s also been classically trained. The one drawback is that it hinders her a bit on pop music, she lacks some of the grittiness often needed on a lot of the pop songs. She also starts to lose some of her classic training as the show goes on (which I think is a shame) so that she can get some of the shine off her voice to make a transition to pop music.
She has one vocal tick that drives me crazy, though -- she has a tendency to slide into her notes instead of hitting them dead on, which gets worse as the show goes on, and it makes her sound a little screech-y at times. But for the most part -- she is really good.
A number that showcases ability: Don’t Rain on My Parade
A number that isn’t so great: Ooops...I Did It Again
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Amber Riley: The cool thing about Amber is that you get to hear her grow as a musician as the show goes on. She had already started to get vocal lessons before the show started, but at the beginning, she was still a bit raw and unrefined in her technique. But you can tell she did practice, and her voice is developed beautifully as the show goes on. She was one of the best, well rounded vocalists on the show. She had a good handle on pop and R&B music, but she could sing musical theater rather clearly, too. She has great breath support - and can belt numbers out while still retaining the quality. Can’t say enough good thing about Amber’s voice.
A number that showcases ability: Someday We’ll Be Together
A number that isn’t so great: Sweet Transvestite (It’s not bad - but it’s my least favorite Mercedes solo.)
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Cory Monteith: Cory wasn’t a vocalist. And, to be completely honest, I thought it was some kind of joke when they introduced him as some kind of hidden musical gem when Will hears him singing the showers. He did really well with classic rock that’s allows not only for a weaker voice - but is often not as technically hard. And I have to wonder if Cory got lessons, because he did get a lot better as the show went on, and I think his season 4 work is great!
I will say that sometimes they pushed his voice a little too far. A lot of times songs were either too high for his range and he often sounded like he was straining. (The most notable of which is A House is Not a Home - which is far too high for him.) That said - I think he did reasonably well along side Lea - mostly because often sang pop duets.
A number that showcases ability: I’ve Gotta Be Me
A number that isn’t so great: Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore
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Chris Colfer: Chris is such an interesting study due to the uniqueness of his voice. He’s got a huge range both in terms of genre and literal range of voice. He can sing quite a few octaves. He’s got a great, clear sound, too, which is why he’s great with theater numbers. Interestingly, Chris’s voice did drop over the years, and while I know people love his higher range, he has a gorgeous lower range that wasn’t used as often (and is often my favorite.)
The one (nitpicky) issue was that Chris’s voice ended up getting pigeon-holed. I know singing Diva-Broadway songs was his schtick - but it would have been nice to hear him sing a bigger variety of songs. He wasn’t the strongest on non-ballad pop music, but they also didn’t give him that very often.
There’s also the fascinating unusualness in that, Chris could really sing duets very well with people -- but in group numbers, his voice sticks out like a sore thumb, and he was often left out of some of the more general songs because of it. His voice just doesn’t texture very well - which is why I get why they did what they did.
A number that showcases ability: Being Alive
A number that isn’t so great: I’ll Remember
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Kevin McHale: I feel like people are often surprised when they sit down and think about it, but Kevin has a great voice. He has a solid range, and he’s able to do pop music very well (I believe it helps that he was in a professional boy band for years.) Not sure if people noticed - but he’s often the lead on group numbers that don’t need to be related to specific story or character points. Which is a bummer for Artie’s story - but if you’re a fan of Kevin’s voice, you get a lot to choose from.
Kevin was also able to handle a lot of the musical demands that I think some of the other males weren’t? He’s a much better singer than Cory - and could handle leading a full number. His voice isn’t as unique as Chris’s and can texture really well. In addition he was fairly versatile. He might have been the best rapper the show had, lol.
A number that showcases ability: For Once In My Life
A number that isn’t so great: Addicted to Love (personal taste choice - I just don’t like the song.)
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Jenna Ushkowitz: Jenna is another one who is classically trained. She has a strong, solid voice, which was unfortunately not showcased all that well on the show, and because of that, I’m not sure how she does on a wide variety of music. I do think she sounds a little generic - but not helping is lack of being featured.
A number that showcases ability: I Don’t Know How To Love Him
A number that isn’t so great: Gangum Style (She does fine - but the fact that they made her do it in the first place...)
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Dianna Agron: The interesting thing about Dianna is that she has a really nice low female voice. The fact that they never gave her any punk or harder rock was really a shame, because I think she would have done really well with that. The funny thing is that, more so in the beginning, they show tried to make her sing songs that fit her character - but weren’t necessarily great for her voice. I feel like it wasn’t until late season 2 did they start really using her voice for the better.
A number that showcases ability: Never Can Say Goodbye
A number that isn’t so great: It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World
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Mark Salling: Mark had a really solid voice - that often lent itself well to folk and acoustic really well. He was good with softer pop and classic rock, and the show showcased that pretty well. I think, in general, Mark was a much better vocalist than actor, and the show often picked good music for him to sing - which helped with his character. I don’t have a whole lot to say, only that I think he was underrated as a vocalist, but I get it - with all the other baggage that comes with talking about Mark.
A number that showcases ability: No Surrender
A number that isn’t so great: Fight For Your Right (to Party) (I don’t think it’s bad - I just hate this song.)
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Naya Rivera: Naya is a little tricky. I think she has a good, smoky sound to her voice that makes her excellent at things like pop and R and B. (Shame she didn’t have a good jazz number to do on the show - she would have been great at that.) I think she was really versatile, though, and handled her Broadway numbers really well. I do think she was somewhat pinched and nasal at times - and while I do think this was a stylistic choice, to me it’s not my favorite type of vocal sound. But I do think she was really good at the numbers she was given, and was one of the most talented female vocalists on the show.
A number that showcases ability: Back to Black
A number that isn’t so great: Alfie (I think I may dislike the song more than her singing on it.)
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Heather Morris: Heather wasn’t a singer, and I do think it showed at times. She often had to have her voice autotuned more than anyone else on the show. That said - she did do Britney Spears really well, and I think she deserves credit for that.
A number that showcases ability: I’m a Slave 4 U
A number that isn’t so great: Dinosaur
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Chord Overstreet: Chord’s background is in country - and that shows a bit through his singing - he’s got a bit of twang in his voice, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. He’s a fun singer. I don’t think the show knew exactly what to do with him (voice or character) but there’s a lightness to his singing that makes him easily adaptable to pretty much anything you throw at him.
A number that showcases ability: Red Solo Cup (You think I’m joking - but I think this is the most fun Chord has singing a song.)
A number that isn’t so great: Girls on Film (I think just by default of me liking everything else better.)
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Darren Criss: Ah, Darren, where to even start. The thing about Darren is that he may not be the strongest singer, his voice is a little wobbly at times, and his range is somewhat limited, but his showmanship is just completely beyond nearly everyone else. Darren has the unique ability to draw you in with his singing and hold you captive. There are technically better singers on the show - but Darren just has this amazing ability to really sell a performance. And I do love his voice, even if there are some limitations to it. I really could gush about Darren’s performance abilities, but I’ll refrain...
A number that showcases ability: Teenage Dream (Both Versions)
A number that isn’t so great: Piano Man (Which isn’t bad - I just think the show had done it better, and it’s a rare time that felt like Darren was kind of phoning it in.)
*
A quick run down of others, but first a quick aside - as they started adding people in, vocal ability starts being a factor. I think a lot of the newer characters could sing better than they could act, which was both helpful and a hinderance. I think we began to get more solid musical numbers as the show went on, but sometimes acting wasn’t always top notch - and across the board, old and new, hitting a combo of acting and singing ability didn’t always happen.
Harry Shum Jr.: Not really a singer - but the show often played to his strengths, and his few songs played off the fact that he wasn’t a great singer to great aplomb.
Jane Lynch: Can hold a tune, even if her voice isn’t the best - is really great at musical comedy.
Jayma Mays: She has more singing ability than the show allowed to showcase, however, she’s another one whose voice was really unique, and doesn’t texture very well.
Damien McGinty: Is actually a very good singer. However, he’s very generic, too - which makes him a little on the bland side.
Sam Larsen: I think he was fine - I don’t think he sang enough on the show for me to make much of an impression one way or the other.
Alex Newel: Fucking Fantastic! Alex might be one of the strongest vocalists on the show - has great range, energy, and vocal control.
Melissa Benoist: Her voice tends to lean on the pop-ier side, but it’s a solid voice, and her work on the show was pretty good.
Jacob Artist: Has a strong voice, and could sing genres that weren’t often featured on the show (like hip-hop and R&B).
Blake Jenner: His voice is fine, but like Damien McGinty, it’s generic and a little bland.
Becca Tobin: She has a very quirky voice that brings in a different and unique sound. They didn’t use her much, though, so it’s hard to comment.
Noah Guthrie: An amazing singer, has a really unique sound, but is able to do blend in well with others.
Samantha Ware: Another amazing singer. She’s in full control and can do really great things with it.
Billy Lewis Jr: Has a good, solid voice. Not as strong as Guthrie, or some of the other guys, but he’s a lot of fun to watch.
Laura Dreyfuss: Like Becca Tobin - has a uniqueness to her vocal quality that makes it stand out a little, but she’s still a solid singer.
Marshall Williams: His vocal ability is okay. It’s better than his acting ability. I’m slightly confused how this dude got cast, tbh.
#Anonymous#if you guys want to me to elaborate on someone - please let me know!#it's hard to do everyone since there are so many#this post took forever to write up#that's how s.o. sees it
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Hi Cassie, ever since I started reading your Shadowhunters books I've loved the world you created and I'm amazed at how you manage to build it out more and more with every book you write. Do you have any tips or tricks regarding worldbuilding? How did you go about creating this amazing world?
I could write a whole book about world-building — in fact, there are lots of books about it! Every book, even contemporary fiction, requires world-building: you are always creating a sense of place, time, and character in a story, which is essentially what world-building is.
Obviously fantasy has specific elements of world-building that other genres don’t have, so that’s what I’ll talk about — briefly — here. These are a few steps you need to consider when you’re building a fantasy world, be it an open world or a closed one.
1) What’s your normal?
You’re always going to establish what the norm is in your world before you do anything else. You don’t have to get into the nitty-gritty, but set your basic ground rules. Is there magic? If so, what’s the cost of magic? (Power is never free — it always costs in effort, knowledge, body parts, etc.) Does everyone know about magic (in which case yours is an open fantasy world)? Is it a secret (closed fantasy world)? What’s your time period? Tech level?* What are the major antagonists of your world? What are the biggest dangers? And finally, what’s the main thing your character wants? That may seem like character work, but it’s intrinsic to world-building. If your character wants above all other things to be King, for instance, then you know you have a monarchy.
*Remember Clarke’s First Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. In other words, you can usually have magic or super-advanced technology, but not both, because they do the exact same thing in a story. Location spells are pointless if you have GPS tracking devices implanted in everyone. If you are going to have both, you have to figure out how what they do is different. Otherwise you are giving Spiderman the power of flight, thus rendering his web-slinging useless. So give it thought!
2) Make your rules.
Otherwise known as internal consistency. Our world is governed by natural laws that determine what people can and cannot do. A world you make up must be the same. What if only some people can do magic? Then you have to figure out who they are, why they can do magic, what rules govern the practice of that magic, how the rest of the population feels about them, and what that magic is based on. While you don’t need to — and shouldn’t — explain every detail of these rules on-page, your characters have to abide by them. We need to believe these are real people who are governed by an internally consistent set of strictures that shape and define their behavior. If your main characters live in a walled city that closes at night, show us that by having them worry about getting back before the gates shut.
3) Break your rules.
Half the reason you established your normal is so you can fuck with it. Stories are about conflict. They’re about the moment things go wrong, not about things going right. They’re about things suddenly not conforming to expectations. If you have a land ruled by a benevolent King everyone adores, assassinate him. (Even better if your main character does it.) If you have a world where women can’t do magic, you need a badass sorceress to rise. If parabatai can’t fall in love, make sure two of them do. If Shadowhunters are the descendants of angels, what happens when one is a descendent of demons? Once you build your world, your first question should be, What is this story going to do to change it?
4) Everything hews to a theme.
Think about the thematic implications of your world. If you’re building a low-tech, high-nature faerie world, think about the way not having tech, and having nature magic fill a lot of those uses, will influence the way the characters talk, the expressions they use, what they wear (nothing with zippers, nothing mass-produced) the way they live their day-to-day lives (alas, no flush toilets). For instance, the thematic character of the Shadowhunters books is defined by the overarching mythology of angels and demons. Seraph blades, which have to be activated by speaking an angel’s name, hew to that theme. Everything the Shadowhunter characters do is defined by their belief that they have angel blood (or fear they have demon blood.) Whenever I build new mythology into the Shadowhunter world, I have to think “Does this fit with who the Shadowhunters think they are, their priorities, beliefs and history? Is this something that could or would happen in this complex, small, militaristic society?”
It can help to think of it as an aesthetic, as if you were putting together a house. Does this piece go, or does it clash with everything?
5) Small details.
Little pieces that feel unique and true help build out a world. Rather than spending your time detailing the entire history of the Royal Family for a thousand years, create a room in the palace where the faces of royal enemies are dried, stretched and mounted in glass. Now we know the Royal Family is creepy, which is more interesting than knowing everyone’s grandparents’ names. Stuff that isn’t momentous is fine if it’s interesting. Random stuff I know about Castellane, the city in Sword Catcher: interior light comes from carcel-lamps, dentures are made from the teeth of dead soldiers, the Queen loves kalamansi fruit, and if you fall in the bay, a crocodile will eat you. Think of the big world-building details — names of countries, the type of religion, the way magic works — as the walls, beams, and floors of your house. The small details are your paint, wallpaper and furniture. One is a structure; the other is the sense and character of that structure.
There’s a lot more to say about world-building, and I’m always happy to answer writing questions. It offers me an amazing opportunity to procrastinate. :) Good luck!
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/rp
DreamXD actually slots very nicely into a working theory I've had for about two or so months now, mainly centering around one question:
What happened to Dream?
Namely, why did Dream change, when exactly did it happen, and was it solely an internal change, or was there an external force at play, specifically a preternatural one?
I think with DreamXD, we might finally have an answer.
Or at least some clues to follow. DreamXD presents a shift in every single paradigm the Dream SMP has had. Like, I think most of it is just being so utterly blind-sided by George Lore Real, but part of it is the massive ramifications of an Actual God* being present in the storyline.
((*On the other resident god of the server, Foolish:
DreamXD is different than Foolish, in that his characterization is so dramatically inhuman - Foolish talks and acts like a (somewhat eccentric) person, and his powers are, as far as we know, limited in comparison to the creative-mode godhood that DreamXD occupies. And whether that is because Foolish is not a "full" god (having been referred to as a demigod) or simply because he's spent so much time around humans, we don't know, but we do know that either way, DreamXD is NOT that.
DreamXD's voice is marked by glitches and dramatic shifts in tone, he seems to lack control over the different aspects of his personality, like the more "Dream" part vs. the darker one that threatens to eat peoples souls. The "normal" part even displays confusion when George references things that the "darker" part said, implying that it may not be fully aware of itself.
TLDR: Foolish acts more human than DreamXD, who has a very eldritch personality.))
To get right to the point:
The Dream we knew before November 16th, and the Dream we know now are not the same. Something changed, and it changed for the worse.
Consider: Dream was always antagonistic to the L'manbergians - he was always imperious to them, and he was responsible for starting a number of fights between his faction and theirs, just as many if not more than they were.
But, he was also not... evil. He'd pick fights with Tommy, the disc wars were still a thing, but the gravity of the spats they had weren't dire. They were fun. They were... actually a game. He wasn't like the way he is now. While in hindsight we can look at these events and detect a serious undertone knowing what's to come, at the time they were far from it.
There is an argument to be made that he had the same tendencies as now, just not expressed as loudly, and while I believe it's a valid argument, I disagree that it's proof of Dream always being the way he is now.
Sapnap, Badboyhalo, Sam. They all remember Dream as their friend - they remember someone who was, maybe a little aggressive and a lot competitive, but not cruel. Not needlessly murderous. Not someone who steals sentimental items and lines the walls of a disgusting museum to use against them.
Dream cut them out. Sapnap was totally blindsided. Bad doesn't seem to fully believe it. Sam blamed himself for not realizing and tried to take the weight of that crime on his own shoulders by becoming the Warden.
There's also the competing theory that what happened to Dream was purely psychological - either the circumstances slowly isolating him from his friends driving him to the do things he's done, or a desire for control that started early and continued to fester until it overshadowed everything else, or any combination of both.
And those theories are still valid, they could still be the case, but I haven't been able to shake the idea that there is something deeper at play. I can't overstate how the exile arc and everything after it have been so inhumane, so cruel, and... not exactly out of character in the sense that I could never see Dream doing them, but in the sense that I could never see him doing them for no reason.
And there really doesn't seem to be one. Dream says himself, it's like a game. He sees people as toys, puppets. And there just doesn't seem to be an inciting incident that could explain how he made the leap from semi-authoritarian leader who, despite being a warmonger, does love his friends, to heartless murderer who wants to reduce everyone he knows to dolls.
There's... ways, he could get there, but nothing that we've seen makes sense. There is a missing piece, something that must have happened from his POV that we didn't get to see because he doesn't stream.
And DreamXD could be it. This godly entity that claims that it is "a part of [Dream]" but that it isn't him entirely. That seems to share the lack of understanding of humanity that Dream has been displaying like when he asks if resurrecting Tommy was “cool.” But that still loves George. He still, despite apparently not having the same history as Dream, desperately wants to be George's friend.
If I had to pinpoint the moment Dream changed, it would be the day that he revealed that he switched sides, and was going to be fighting against Pogtopia. He was paid for this betrayal in the Revive Book.
I mark this as the turning point in my theory because it is the first time Dream mentions his affinity for chaos in the context of hurting others. However, we also know that this likely wasn't the day he actually made the decision to betray - as he revealed that there was a traitor among the Pogtopians, a fact that he likely would have learned before this.
Now, I mark George's lore stream as the introduction of DreamXD proper, and I want that on the record because it isn't technically his first appearance on the server.
Most people will remember him from Techno's stream, where he logged on to break the End Portal in a panic. I doubt the character was properly written into the lore at that time, but it fits neatly with the rest of what we know about him - a guardian of the server, and the keeper of it's rules. No contradictions.
What less people might know, is that DreamXD has made an even earlier appearance, and it's this one where things begin to get... interesting.
Around roughly October of 2020, Tubbo and Fundy did some improv'd streams centering around Demon Hunting, or rather, "Dreamon" Hunting, and it's during the first of these two streams that DreamXD makes an appearance.
The bare bones of it was - Tubbo is an experienced "Dreamon Hunter" and teaches Fundy his ways. They find Dream, and realize that he has a Dreamon inside of him, which is basically an evil version of him. They attempt to exorcise the Dreamon from Dream via various shenanigans, and eventually, they do a ceremony to free Dream. However, they apparently botch it, and unleash the Dreamon within. After more shenanigans, one attempt to fix it utilizing Fundy and Dream's wedding appears to work, but then DreamXD logs on, flys around at Tubbo and Fundy threateningly, and they end stream on the idea that there are probably more Dreamons to hunt.
Now. There's a lot to unpack here. I'm not gonna go into the nitty gritty details in this post, but I do recommend watching the Dreamon streams, as they have A LOT of details that, if this is getting incorporated into the main story line, could be important - especially the focus on duality, having TWO versions of Dream, which end up being potentially separated from each other.
(Also, they're just really funny streams. Tubbo and Fundy are at PEAK chaos and Dream plays along with their inane bit perfectly, it's just good content.)
At the time of the Dreamon streams airing, they were explicitly non-canon. IIRC Tubbo and Fundy referred to them as taking place In an “alternate universe,” which makes sense considering they would have been on opposite sides at the time (Manburg and Pogtopia.)
However.
And this is where I show you my wall of red string and newspaper clippings.
My singular piece of evidence for this comes from one line DreamXD drops. He simply says: “At least you're not hunting me.”
The Dreamon streams take place around early October. Dream reveals his betrayal of Pogtopia around November 6th-7th. The timeline of the Dreamon streams would line up perfectly with the idea that there was a catalyzing event that put Dream on the proverbial path to hell.
I do not believe that they intended the Dreamon arc to be anything other than a side story at the time, but considering that DreamXD himself was barely canon until now, I don't think it's out of the question that they took a look back at a fan-favorite minor arc, saw an opportunity to co-opt it into the current story line, and potentially fill in some holes regarding Dream's characterization all in one move.
On the question of whether this would be a GOOD storytelling move?
The Dreamon theories were prevalent during the exile arc, and I've got to say, I was never a huge fan. The detachment of Dream's actions from his intentions, and by extension his morality, never sat right with me. It feels cheap to make him a victim and say “a Dreamon did it!” in regards to all of the horrible things that he's done. It strips his agency and makes everything that happened less impactful in my opinion, and I stand by that reading.
BUT. With DreamXD introduced, I feel like it's necessary to look at this from all angles. And with the way DreamXD was characterized in George's stream, I don't think it necessarily ruins Dream's character to say that an external force was involved with his descent into evil.
Namely, the idea that whatever happened to Dream was not really a “possession” so much as a gradual loss of humanity, could be an interesting way to look at this. It implies that Dream was always capable of his actions, but grants us understanding as to why he would actually perform them, and why he might have become isolated enough from his friends that they would let this happen.
The Dream we know now could be an expression of his “worst self” brought to the surface by a Dreamon/DreamXD/other. It also begs the question of what would happen if that force were to leave him, and how it might cause yet another shift in character, especially if it were to be portrayed as less of a switch being flipped, and more of a withdrawal, with a gradual process of realizing how far gone he was.
To close this out, I've been stewing on the idea that Dream hasn't entirely been himself since the climax of the Exile Arc.
I think this theory holds water, but it's also not waterproof... there are plenty of holes, and a lot of that comes from the fact that Dream doesn't stream. We're left in the dark when deciphering his character, and what might appear to be the key, could just as easily be revealed as a red herring, or even nothing at all.
Regardless of the validity of the Dreamon theory, I think that DreamXD is one of the most interesting developments we've had on the SMP in a long time, if simply because his arrival coincides with fucking George Lore Real. God. I still don't know how to deal with that.
I always appreciate people adding to the discussion by the way! Feel free to reblog with additions if you like or leave them in the replies.
And if a single one of you comes to my blog on THIS. THE DAY OF MY DAUGHTER'S WEDDING. And calls ME a c!Dream Apologist to MY FACE..... I will be v sad.
#Dream SMP#DreamXD#Dreamwastaken#c!Dream#georgenotfound#dream smp analysis#dream smp theory#lazytext
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IZ !!! please tell me more about your favorite artworks and styles!!
(i personally really like the dutch baroque and northern renaissance cause of all the symbolism and detail it portrays and hNGDNFHFNFKD)
please rant to me about anything you’re obsessed with right now (:
JESS!! ok whew let’s see
dutch baroque and northern renaissance… portraiture and still lives huh .. lots of symbolism. rachel ruysch … one of the most famous dutch baroque female still life painters, if not THE most famous. she notably painted flowers instead of other still life subjects (like fruits and things). i don’t remember off the top of my head if it was her specifically but i do know that the presentation of flowers in varying stages of life meant literally those stages of life if that makes sense (ie. budding flower = childhood etc etc). also most fruit represented prostitution or sex in some manner (citrus especially). bugs had their own meanings. etc etc rembrandt .
i’ve been really into like. american art history recently. it’s so different than european art. you can really track like the history of colonialism and the development and progress of capitalism and industrialization through art. i also think it ties into material culture and anthropology and product design and and and. idk i think it’s neat. american landscapes are all about manifest destiny and certain painters (cough cough thomas cole) strictly painted for their patrons and not what they wanted. there’s also artists like winslow homer and such who painted american rural life which is really interesting. american realism is so so interesting to me. there’s also like. Plains Art which is different than other art subjects at the time. like traveling artists would go to these rural areas throughout the US and paint not portraitures but likelinesses because portraits were more for the upper and middle class? likelinesses were done quickly and more done for the masses. it’s quite interesting.
idk i’ve read some really interesting essays about how mary cassatt, the famous american expatriate impressionist painter, subverted the male gaze with her female subjects and how she was really unique at the time for being from an upper class family but didn’t marry or have kids or anything. she was really cool. impressionism and early modernism in itself is kinda unique because that’s when the art movement began to change from a patron based industry to involving critics and The Public Opinion. idk it’s neat if you’re into the nitty gritty details of the art industry
additionally i’m jewish right. LOVE jewish art but i will say that catholics went off with counter reformation art. in an attempt to reinvent their image instead of being all imposing and trying to scare their followers into paying donations or whatever catholics do, in an effort to recruit members of the catholic church post the protestant reformation, they hired famous artists to paint in their churches. this occurred right between the renaissance and baroque so you can image the drama and everything. fun fact! this isn’t really. counter reformation or whatever. but michelangelo HATED the pope and did not want to paint the sistine chapel! he was a sculptor and not a painter but the pope had the audacity to ask him to paint the church. so michelangelo being the petty bitch he was painted the scene for the judgement day or whatever like right behind where the pope would sit, he also made like. every male and female figure super muscular in a totally heterosexual way and not at all in a homosexual way. also unrelated but i think it was leonardo da vinci who was accused of homosexuality and sodomy and basically was put on trial and became a recluse after the fact
i could go on about dadaism and the aesthetic movement and spanish art and the effect spanish colonialism had on south and middle america through art and all that stuff but i think . i think this is enough
#ah. recently i’ve been obsessed with fashion and runway styles#i mentioned this a while back but i’m looking into going into runway jewelry#basically making jewelry for fashion shows#so i’ve been really obsessed with fashion shows recently#at the mailbox#visitor ; jess
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THIS IS LONG, YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ ALL OF IT!!! YOU CAN IF YOU WANT TO THOUGH!! IT'S JUST DETAILS!! It's like, if you have ZERO idea where to start!! Otherwise you can just.... Skip all this mess and look at the other panels of this guide.
(To save you from scrolling, I put "keep reading" here.)
So, after picking your character you should think of something nostalgic from the early 2000s-2010s! I did a LOT of these things since I grew up during these times. I actually genuinely hold a lot of love to them!
I love poking fun at it while also tributing it, which is where Shadow Filbo firt started. (I actually started him in the YH Discord server, he then spread to my friend groups and I just began making more content for him.)
A lot of people have said this all reminds them of those times, so I'm doing my job here!
Both to make you suffer and smile from all the nostalgia! (MWAHHAHAHAHAHAH)
Any edgy YT animation/deviantart OCs are great inspo to start - especially if you can reference or inspire the things you were into. Or what you did.
Shadow Filbo references Bani the Kitty's evil form in Ezpups/Bani the Kitty's "Animal I've Become" video! His design is actually quite similar to it. I was OBSESSED with the video, and funnily enough it got me into trying digital art.
(I also wanted scene hair because of it so, that's a yike. Keep in mind I wasn't even in middle school.)
Furry Gramble is actually HEAVILY inspired off me in early middle school! I still do a lot of the things, but less Erin Hunter book reading and less angst. Like, he has hair over his face and wears a hoodie which are both things I do for my own comfort. Except I furry and scene-ified it.
It's an IDEAL lighthearted way for me to look back and poke fun at myself! This is all really meant to look back at whatever "cringy" things you were doing as a kid and laugh, while also being glad all those things happened. A tribute as I've said, y'know?
This should NEVER be used to actually make fun out of anyone or harass them!! Cringe culture is D E A D. This should all be lighthearted fun.
But yes, that's for getting ideas and knowing where all this comes from! Let's get into the design nitty-gritty now. I'll go into more detail and specifics there.
My apologies for this being so long, my ADHD ass is making me explain everything in absurd amounts of detail.
And that's about it! Hooh I'm pretty tired by making this, sorry it's a lot of text and stuff sdfrwegergrg
Y'all can pick a name because I have no idea wether to go for emo or scene Floofty cause originally they looked more sceneish, but I reduced the colors so now they appear as more emo but honestly who cares about the label for this sdgvwergrth
I can let y'all guys pick out a name for this version of Floofty!! Will definitely draw them with Programmer Floofty.
My Shadow Filbo versions of characters are meant to appear like, as said character's OC so honestly Programmer Floofty could just be the creator of this LMAO, but hey who knows!
Gonna take a small break now then get back to doodlin! Hope this is useful and not confusing! Ask me about anything!!
Also Scene Lizard Floofty would be cool to me ngl, I did make them lizardish, I think they'd make an OC look like a lizard/dinosaur/dragon
Maybe they have an alt form with wings? We'll see! I'll let this version of Floofty just - kinda evolve on their own lmao
hhrhgrtg i feel like this is gonna be so bad but like yEYEE i promised i'd make it and here it is!!!!
#longpost#bugsnax#shadow filbo#guide#floofty#ms paint#shitpost#floofty fizzlebean#tutorial#bugsnax fanart#bugsnax shitpost
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