#chayos speaks
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for the art questions thing: what’s your process for shading? how do you come up with drawing / animation ideas? how do you sketch / how does a sketch differ from a complete piece for you?
Oh boy thank u for the questions! Uhh i ended up writing a lot w these so I'll throw this under a cut. I added pictures too. We'll call this a first draft for whatever I end up doing for my class assignment.
My process for shading changes pretty dramatically between if I'm doing my easy cel shading or my fancy soft shading. Lately, if I'm doing cel shading, I'll just come up with colors straight off the color wheel (colorpick and move it darker, more saturated, cooler/warmer depending on the material). OR, one trick I like, I'll draw where I want the shadows all on their own layer, THEN copy my color layer, mask n merge it on top the shading, and multiply that onto the actual layer. So it's the same colors for each exact section multiplied on top of itself? If that makes sense? Does nothing for the Atmosphere but it is Darker, and if I'm drawing them in a void anyways, it works fine. Sometimes I like to just slap a random tilted rectangle on it like its a garfield background.
My soft shading is much more trial and error; for those fancy Xiph pin-ups I've been doing, I'll have like 30 different layers going, all doing different shit. Multiply mostly for shading, then for highlights I'll just try overlay/screen/soft light/hard light until something Works. A fun thing I do on these too: To get that "painted" look without adding a bunch of random texture, I use my default lining pen sized WAY up with the opacity WAY down and just go ham. Close up of robot ass for reference.
For ideas: I'd say the majority of the art I put out is "inspired" from something else, like memes or songs or tiktok audios. Honestly, I'd say every piece of information I receive has to pass through a "could this be about my ocs" filter in my brain, and if the answer is even kind of yes, I Will Make It So. Everything is ocs to me <3 and sometimes I inflict those oc thoughts on everyone else :3
For actual Original stuff though? Most of my ideas come about as a natural result of trying to figure something out with my characters. How would they respond to this, how would they do that, how does that work? The whole reason I started doing art is cause I have such a hard time with words, and sometimes drawing it out is just the only way I can communicate a thought. Expressions, camera angles, visual gags, subtle details, timing, those are things I could never figure out in writing. So I make comics and animations!
Sketching, what can I say about sketching. My sketches are very messy because I try for a Zero Erasing method like I do in real life (<- enjoys drawing in pen). If I sit there overthinking every line of a sketch, I get too caught up in the details before I've figured out the full picture. Sketching is for blocking/framing/posing ONLY, clean up is for lineart. I do sketch in only black/grays if that's a thing people care about, but that's because I have very strong thoughts on color, again it's too distracting.
The main difference to me (that im sure no one else notices) is I let my sketches get fuzzy from resizing. I'm very particular about my art having NO anti-aliasing/transparent pixels. Crisp and clean, and VERY easy to color.
Sketches I have on hand for example. Lil preview of smthin im working on :3c
Actually, sometimes I don't do sketches at all ? Like I go straight to clean lines. Only for certain characters, like LEDD and the lab rats, and if it's not a crazy angle or something. I can just draw them on command at this point. Very handy.
Thank you again for questions ^^ I am. slowly figuring this assignment out.
#chayos speaks#im not gonna tag this oc talk cause Technically thats for Lore. I did mention ocs tho :]#ask#tumblr keeps wanting to move my read more. keep it where i put it Please
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☆welcome to my stim blog!☆
My name's Chayos, it's like Chaos but spelled funny. I'm 22, my pronouns are they/them.
My main blog is @sage3m5, so if you get notes from there, hi that's me! If you enjoy the lil icons I include in the boards, you can find more art on my art blog @cfrog. Most my boards include links to my toyhouse too, if you want the full lore.
PLEASE BE AWARE. Many of my ocs are horror-adjacent, and there will be lots of bugs, fish, medical stuff, and other imagery that might ick you out. I'll try to be on top of tagging, but if you need something tagged, just let me know!
I'm not including a DNI. If I don't want you interacting, I'll just block you. Be cool.
#I finally have a proper place to put my stimboards and reblog other stim content I enjoy :] yippee!#chayos speaks#click this one to view my original stimboards ->#my stimboards
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me and my grandma r watching daredevil (she loves it)
#g speaks#ABUELITA CHAYO IS AN AVID DAREDEVIL FAN#shes explaining it to my grandpa now#txt#daredevil#marvel
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Word-of-the-day writing challenge - 5/20/22
hootenanny. noun. an informal session at which folk singers and instrumentalists perform for their own enjoyment.
Kaitz had never actually been to a party. Not one that they could remember, at least. Derecho wasn’t exactly a socialite, and they never really went anywhere without her. Certainly not anywhere social.
The tavern they were in was a wash of noise. Music played brightly and fervently to be heard of the dozens of townsfolk crammed into the relatively small space of the barroom. In turn, those people had to speak louder to be heard over the music, so the musicians upped their volume to be heard over the speaking, the two forces cycling up and up and up.
The celebration had only been going for about an hour at this point, but the alcohol was flowing liberally. Kaitz could smell it with every pour, every breath of the people around them, and in combination with the noise, it was giving them a bit of a headache.
But the music was nice, at least, and the party was in their honor after the defeat of the huge beast that had been terrorizing the town for months, so even if Kaitz wasn’t really enjoying it, they would stay. They didn’t know if it was rude to leave, and it was best to err on the side of polite.
There was a crash that made Kaitz jump in their seat. Chayo had knocked over the small table she and a number of locals had been using for arm wrestling with the force of her push. From the sound of her cheer, Kaitz assumed she had won that round.
Their attention having been brought to their friends, they started scanning the crowd to see what the other two were doing. No matter how carefully they looked, though, they couldn’t spot Nith. She wasn’t particularly tall, but she had a way of drawing focus. There always seemed to be just a bit of extra space around her in a crowd, and her purple robes often served as a beacon. But she was nowhere to be seen.
“She went outside,” Heysel said from beside them, startling Kaitz once again. Heysel was almost the opposite of Nith in that regard. If he didn’t want to be seen in a crowd, he would never be found. He used this skill to great effect when on the hunt, but apparently he also used it to make it to the back of the party without being interrupted. “I’m thinking of joining her.”
“We can leave?” Kaitz asked, then immediately regretted it. “Not that this is bad--”
“I’m with you, kid,” Heysel said. “Too loud and too crowded for me.” He glanced over at where Chayo was now holding the arm wrestling table above her head, surrounded by screams of excitement and revelry. “At least someone is having fun.”
Kaitz’s mind eased a bit. Heysel and Nith were two of the smartest people they knew, and the most adept at handling complex situations. If they both decided it was okay to leave the party in the middle, then Kaitz was happy to follow.
“Can you help me get out?” they asked. They had ended up near the bar at the back of the house, and they did not know how to navigate a crowd like this.
Heysel put an arm around their shoulder. “Just stick by me.”
And before they could respond, they were being spirited out into the refreshing night air.
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Survived in the darkness of the tunnel
by Chabelita Alvarado
I woke up in the morning with the alarm clock. I quickly made a way in the hall to the bathroom. I did my usual routine in the morning and got ready to go to school.
I walked downstairs to eat a quick breakfast with mom and dad. Smiling to myself and munching on the last piece of bacon. I made a way down the sidewalk, the cold air stinging my cheeks, and towards the subway.
I was halfway through my walk to the subway station when my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I pulled out my phone, I saw a chat on messenger that came from my annoying best friend.
My best friend, Jane, just told me through chat that Wade Rivas was single. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. That's what she had to tell me?! As if I care.
Well, if there was one thing Jane would wake up this early for, it would be Wade Rivas. Tunasan High School's very own stereotypical badass who just happened to have every female in the school drooling at his feet, and unfortunately that included my best friend. I pity for Jane, poor thing.
I just chatted that "let's see each other at school and spill me the tea".
I slipped my phone back into my pocket smiling at my idiotic excuse for a best friend and looked up to see that I was at the subway station.
Sighing I found myself a seat towards the back as far away from everyone else as possible. I hated when I went out in public and the public was actually there.
It was only after I had sat down and was about to pull out my pair of headphones ready to expertly ignore everyone, that I realized who was sitting right across from me looking like someone had definitely had a bad day.
Sitting there, arms crossed, and dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, was none other than Wade Rivas.
I didn't realize I was staring at him that long until a pair of green eyes met mine, followed by the harshest glare I've received.
Embarrassed, I quickly averted my eyes and turned back to my phone and headphones. My embarrassment turned into curiosity though. Why was he riding the subway? The last time I checked he had a car.
I put my headphones in and played a song of All About You by Taeyeon. I tried to feed my wandering thoughts, and prepare for the thirty-minute ride.
I once glanced over at Wade. He was still staring at me. Although this time that confused expression was no longer on his face. Instead, it was replaced by an amused one.
I didn't buy to talk to him. We've been going to the same school for just about four years, and in all that Wade and I had never crossed paths.
To kill and waste some time, I approached him. "Why are you staring at me?"
"Weren't you just staring at me?" he said. Hmm. His voice, it made sense that many girls admire him.
"I'm not staring, I'm… just… not blinking." I protested.
He shook his head and fixed those eyes on me again.
"Then why were you 'not blinking' at me?
"Why do you care? You used to be girls staring at you." I said. Okay, I admitted that I am quite attractive to him.
"Of course I'm used to girls staring at me. I'm asking why you're staring at me. You don't even throw me a glance at school." Wade said.
That caught me off guard. I was an average girl in the school. So, he knew who I was? I had to remind myself that I didn't care whether he noticed me or not.
"I was just curious." I said bringing myself from my thoughts.
"About?" he prompted.
"Why are you here? Riding the subway I mean. Don't you have a car?"
"That's none of your business." He snapped as he turned to look in the other direction. Woah, a sudden change of his mood. I can't bear him, god.
Aha! He wasn't in a good mood because of his ex. Now I know. I decided to take pity on him. "I'm sorry, I just heard about your, uhm, break up?" I said with sympathy.
"What are you doing Chayo? Why are you trying to be nice?" he said.
Now that really shocked me. I wasn't pretending! It wasn't like I was a mean person. I was nice all the time. Or at least I thought I was. Second thing, I'm shocked he knew my name. We were not uttering a single word to each other through high school and this our first time to casually talk.
"What do you mean, why am I trying to be nice?" I asked, a little offended.
"I mean we haven't said so much as one word to each other throughout high school. Why are you talking to me now? Let alone trying to be nice to me? If I'm not wrong, I was under the impression that you couldn't stand me. If it's just cause you feel for me, don't." he said while completely facing me.
My mouth actually dropped open. What kind of reputation was going around about me?
"It's not that I can't stand you. It's just that I wasn't about to drool at your feet just so I could get a chance to talk to you". I said.
Wade was silent for a moment as he seemed to think this over.
"I don't know why I'm even telling you this, but as crazy as it sounds Amber was the first girl I was really serious about. I mean there was a girl before that but that had about a snowball's chance in hell of happening."
"What? There was a girl that The Wade Rivas didn't have a chance with? I need to meet her and shake her hand." I said, teasing him about that.
First time, we talked like a friend. We'd finally talked and on a subway of all places, kinda strange. However, we were comfortable with each other.
Our conversation interrupted when the subway train suddenly came to stop. The awkward and embarrassing filling caused my body sway to the left and body bumped into Wade's and seeing as my hands were currently shoved into my pockets, I couldn't brace myself for it. So, instead Wade ended up with his hands placed on my arms to keep me from toppling over face first into his lap.
My face heated up. It looked like a tomato.
My moment of embarrassment was changed in fear. Our light mood ended abruptly when the subway doors suddenly slid open and instead of passengers boarding, five masked and hooded figures made their way inside.
They were all wearing dark jeans and hoodies that concealed their faces. Each one carried a black duffle bag. Flirt out of the five figures silently made their way into the other cars leaving just one behind. The lone figure stood in the middle of the subway car and dropped the duffle bag with a loud thud, gaining the attention of all the other passengers.
Silently, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a black handgun.
Screams erupted all around me as everyone laid their eyes on the weapon. I sighed in fear, I couldn't believe that this was happening.
I felt the train begin to move again and I let my eyes wander to the left, trying to see through the window into the next car.
I observed all the passengers, they were all afraid. Screams were still ringing out around me and I had to suppress the urge to yell for everybody to shut up.
A gunshot rang throughout the small space causing me to almost jump out of my seat. My ears were ringing and when I looked up to the figure holding the gun in the air with their index finger wrapped around the trigger.
Everyone was silent now.
"Now that I have your attention I'd like to properly introduce myself." The figure pulled off the hood that had been covering their head and face, revealing a creepy flesh colored mask with holes cut out for the eyes and mouth and a shaggy mess of short greasy black hair on top of his head. When he spoke his voice was muffled by the mask but nonetheless I could still hear that it was deep and rough, like a smoker's voice.
"You can call me Rad." He continued.
I frowned at that. What kind of a criminal introduces themselves to their victims? I mean I doubted that if I made it out of this alive and went to the police that they'd have someone named Rad in the system, but still.
"Now first thing first, we need to get a few things straight. Any of you scream again, you die. Simple as that, understand?" He warned.
When no one answered, he shot the gun into the air again causing everyone to jump but no one screamed.
"I guess you all understand. This ride will go by a lot more smoothly if you all just cooperate." He added.
No one dared move suspicious. Wade and I kept our mouth to not say anything for our safety. Rad walked back and forth in the small confined space of the train car, switching the gun from his right hand, to his left, and then back again.
I wondered what he was doing exactly. If he was here to blow people's heads off then why wasn't he? I hated the fact that we were waiting here not knowing what would happen next. As if he could sense my impatience with him, Rad spun around and glared at me through his mask. Or at least I thought he was glaring at me, but I couldn't really tell with the mask on.
"You." Rad said pointing the gun at me.
I froze and clenched my hands into tight fists as I stared wide eyed, not at Rad, but at the barrel of the gun.
"What's your name?" Rad asked.
"Chayo." I said quietly.
"Chayo...Why don't you go ahead and stand up Chayo." Rad said kindly. I hated it when he say my name. I gave an involuntary shudder.
I was about to force myself to stand, even if it was against my better judgement, when I felt Wade grip my left hand, keeping me in my seat.
I glanced at Wade and gave him a questioning look.
"Why do you want her to stand?" Wade asked while narrowing his eyes.
I wanted to slap my hand over Wade's big mouth.
"I thought we already went through this. You don't speak… Unless. You're. Spoken. To." Rad ground out the last words slowly, and I doubted he would remind Wade.
"Wade please…" I begged quietly. I stood up even though I highly doubted it. "Obviously your girlfriend has more sense than you." Rad said while tilting his head to the side.
I almost opened my mouth to tell him that Wade was not my boyfriend, but I kept it shut. I wanted to live.
I slowly walked up to Rad and stood there, waiting.
Then I waited for more than two minutes. He said nothing, did nothing, just stood there staring at me. I couldn't keep my mouth shut anymore. He was making me anxious and when I became anxious I also got a really bad case of word vomit.
"Are we just going to stand here and stare at each other?"
After I regretted what I just said, my eyes instantly darted down to Rad's clenched fits and before I could look back at his masked face, I felt his hand connect with my jaw, hard.
The force of his punch made me bite down on my tongue as I stumbled back from the impact, my hand covering my jaw. The train car seemed like it was suddenly bathed in bright white lights, and I reached my free hand out to try and find something to steady myself. I could taste something metallic and salty which I knew had to be my own hold.
Wade approached me and gave an angered face to Rad.
"Well, aren't you two sweet? Trying to protect each other like that." Rad gave a dark chuckle before he jerked his head to the door leading into the next car.
"Move it, both of you, Now!" He ordered.
Still clutching the left side of my face I stumbled my way toward the door with Wade right behind me, one hand on my lower back and other on my arm, whether it was to keep me from falling flat on my face or just there to comfort me, I didn't know. All I was focused on was the pain which seemed to be everywhere in my face.
As Rad pushed us forward I wondered exactly what we'd gotten ourselves into. We'd continue to walk through the next two train cars.
Wade and I got shocked from what we witnessed in the next train car. The image of the knife swiping across the old man's neck and the gushing blood, was imprinted in my brain.
"Grandpa!" the little girl wailed and a chorus of horrified screams followed. She hopped out of her seat and ran to her grandpa before she sank to her knees next to him, his blood seeping into her white tights.
I stared, unable to move or breathe. I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth hard and bit down, trying to keep myself from throwing up.
I heard Rad chuckle darkly behind me before he began shoving at our backs again. When we had reached the front of the train where it was operated. Rad opened the door and I had to bite back a scream.
There on the floor was the conductor with a bullet bole i. the center of his head. I couldn't take much more of this.
Rad lifted the man up like he was nothing more than a rag doll and threw him out of the compartment where he landed with a loud thud, pointing the gun back at me and Wade.
"Get in." Rad ordered.
I walked inside slowly and my nose instantly wrinkled at the smell of blood. I looked ahead, out the front window of the train, as we sped past flickering light bulbs in the tunnel. I wondered where we were headed now.
Wade walked in behind me and I saw his face scrunch up as the smell of blood invaded his nose too.
"I'll be back to deal with you two later."
That was all Rad said before he closed us in and made his way back towards the back of the train.
As soon as the door closed, I pressed my back against the wall before I slid to the ground and pulled my knees to my chest.
This couldn't be happening.
Wade knelt down in front of me with his arms on his knees, and he stared at me intently.
"He just killed him." I whispered, shaking my head. "He didn't even flinch. He just slit his throat. Right in front of his granddaughter!" My voice rose and I think I was starting to hyperventilate. I was taking in quick shallow breaths and I started rocking back and front.
"Oh God, we're going to die. We're going to die." I was seriously starting to panic now. What would my parents do once they found out that I had been chopped up into a thousand little bite sized Chayo pieces? Then there was Jane. She'd probably take it worse.
Wade snapped his fingers in front of my face and broke me from my horrid thoughts.
He placed both of his hands on my knees and spoke very slowly, "We're not going to die. Okay?"
I looked back up at Wade and nodded slowly.
"Promise me then. Promise me that we won't die down here. Not like this." I said as I felt unexpected tears fill my eyes.
I didn't want to die. Not here. Not like this.
I watched him with a frown as he reached out and wiped a strat tear from my cheek before letting his warm hand rest there.
I didn't push his hand away like I told myself to. Instead, I welcome it, enjoying the brief comfort his touch brought me. I could use it right now.
"I promise." he said quietly.
I could only hope that he kept his promise.
I'm not sure how long I sat there. My imagination was running wild the longer we sat there. I imagined it might happen but my horrible thoughts scattered when the subway lurched and rumbled against the tracks.
"We're slowing down." Wade said.
The sound of the door sliding open behind us made me tear my gaze from the window and Rad who was standing in the doorway, his flesh colored mask and gaping black eye holes staring at me. A shiver ran down my spine.
Rad ordered us to follow him.
As we made our way through the subway cars I noticed that they were now all empty. I wanted to ask where everybody was but I was afraid of the answer I might get. So, I kept my mouth shut this time and kept moving.
We were on the last train car, Rad pushed us toward the exit doors which were already open.
We stepped out onto the old platform and my earlier question was instantly answered. All the people who had occupied the subway cars were now on the platform, all on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs with zip ties, set up in a line.
The one wearing a Jason Vorhees hockey mask stepped forward and tied our hands in our back. Jason Mask pushes us forward at the end of the line of subway passengers, where we got down on our knees and joined them.
"Now that you're all here, the real fun can!" Rad began with a clap.
A whimper and a sniffle came from my right and I glanced down the line of people and my eyes landed down on the same little girl from before. The little girl whose grandpa had been murdered right in front of her.
She was crying. I made myself a promise that I'll protect her.
I watched in silence as Rad and his band of masked began untying people and ushering them down onto the tracks of the
subway.
"Now this is how this is going to go," Rad began as he paced back and forth in front of the abandoned tracks. "The tracks from here on out are abandoned and farther down they break off into a bunch of unused subway tunnels. That's where you all are headed." He added.
"We're going to be playing a little game of hide and seek if you'd like to think of it that way. There's only one exit in one of these tunnels that leads up and out of the subway station but finding it will be like finding a needle in a haystack. If by some miracle though, you do happen to find this exit then you're home free... but if you don't," I could practically hear the smile in his voice. "And we get to you first then... well I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise now would I?"
Wade and I joined the group of passengers after the mask man untied the knots.
"You get two minutes, Two minutes and then the chase begins and you better hope like hell that we don't catch you" Rad warned everybody
"Why are you doing this?' A male voice demanded and that was Wade.
"I'm doing this to prove a point." Rad stated simply.
"What point?" Skater boy demanded.
"That I'm free to do whatever I please. You all live in this world thinking that you're safe, that you're protected. Well, you're not. Do you see anybody down here that'll give you as second glance if it means risking themselves?" Rad shook his head when the skater boy didn't respond.
"So, whoever is gonna survive through this game. Deliver the message to your pathetic police When they find all your dead bodies they'll see what a complete failure this entire system is." Rad added.
Rad glanced down at a watch that sat perched on his wrist.
"You have one minute and fifty-nine seconds" Rad said
As a cue, all the passengers started to run. I tried to scan the crowd for the little girl but people bumped into me and elbowed their way past trying to sprint ahead.
We kept running.
My legs were arching, my lungs were burning, and my head was spinning, all while I was running for my life.
As we continued running, my heart hammered furiously in my chest, and it felt like I was going to puke acid really soon.
I started slowing down and eventually I just stopped. I bent over with my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath.
Wade approached me and tried to motivate me to keep going. However, we heard an ear splitting scream echo down the tunnel. I turned to our back. I'm sure the group of masked men started to sue us.
Wade gently helped to keep half-running. I ignored the pain. We've reached the end of the track, we came to the tunnels that Rad had mentioned earlier. It was seven that all led off into different directions.
Wade and I agreed to pick the seventh tunnel. When we were inside, there were no lightbulbs, we couldn't see anything other than a pitch black.
We walked faster and carefully felt our tracks. My hands touched the wall of the tunnel and continued to walk.
Leading the track, Wade checked his phone but no signal to call police. However, we could use that as a flashlight.
Unluckily, the ground seemed to change, and I found myself free falling into the darkness. Wade yelled my name. My body smacked against the concrete. I cried out as bolts of searing hot pain jolted through every inch of my body. Tears filled my eyes instantly and spilled over as the pain took over. There was a horrible throbbing pain in the back of my head and an awful burning and ripping sensation in my side.
I heard the faint shuffling of footsteps and suddenly a bright light was shining in my water filled eyes.
"Shit!" I heard Wade's horrified whisper.
I couldn't even speak cause everything was hurt. Wade knelt down next to me. He sat his phone next to him letting the light create a small pool of illumination around us.
Wade said that he was going to help me. He began to lift the hem of my shirt. He slowly moved his hand upward until it rested just below my rib cage. And I felt an extreme amount of pressure on my ribs. There was an audible pop but I could barely hear it over the ear piercing scream that
was coming from my mouth. That was a great help, it had lessened considerably the pain before. A sheen of sweat covered my forehead as I breathed in and out rapidly.
Wade called my name with a worried and concerned face.
"I'm… still.. okay" I said through pants of breath. I blacked out.
I woke up cuddling with Wade. I'm literally surprised because I thought it was one of the psycho mask man. I could still feel the pain in my side. Wade told me that I was fell in manhole. One of my rib was dislocated.
"I'm grateful that you stuck around and helped me. It means a lot that you'd do that for me… and… and I'm sorry."
I jerked back a little when Wade whipped his head back so he could look at me, his eyes shining in the dim light of his cellphone.
I swallowed nervously and stared back at him, waiting for some kind of response. I froze when he reached up and pushed a damp piece of my hair behind my ear. My heart just about exploded when he let his hand linger on my face.
Didn't he know that there were people after us? Shouldn't we be running for our lives now?
I was ready to raise to slap his face when he got close enough to kiss me, but an ear splitting scream rang through the tunnel.
That scream scared me half to death in a panic, I jumped and slammed my head against Wade's.
I groaned in pain while rubbing my forehead and said to Wade that he had a hard head. Wade said that my head was exactly soft, teasing me.
"Did you hear that scream? Somebody could be in trouble." I said.
Wade just coughed and sounded like he was struggling to contain his laughter.
"Have you lost your mind? Those masked freaks could get to whoever that was and they could be headed this way right now." Wade explained.
I ignored his statement and tried to get up from sitting into his lap but he pushed me back to his.
"Please, Wade, I want to know who it was. Because it could be that little girl. She can't make it down here by herself. Hell, we can barely make it, so just imagine how she's doing. I have to find her Wade, so please don't try to stop me" I said.
Wade stared at me for seconds and stood up and then gently helped me to my feet. He grabbed my hand, shooking his head before he said "Let's go then, Wonder Woman."
Along our way, Wade and I talked nonsense. I've just realized that it was a mistake to find this little girl or who it was that did the screaming.
We've reached the end of the tunnel, but there was a large cavernous room. It was made of the same gray stone as the rest of the tunnels down here and jagged pieces of rock and pipe jutted up from the floor and hung from the ceiling. There were a few pale yellow flickering lanterns that cast an eerie glow across the large room, which meant someone had been here recently. Looking around, the room was empty.
"There's nobody here Chayo, we should head back and try and find our way out of here while we still can." Wade's voice rang out in an echo arout the vast room.
When I was to turn back to face Wade, the same shrill scream from earlier ran out behind me.
A black boots began to step forward, revealing black jeans and then a black hoodie before finally revealing a sheep masked figure.
"You two are just too easy." Sheep Mask drawled out, his voice slightly muffled by the mask.
I couldn't believe that we were fooled by this man. The scream that we heard was just recorded. The sheep mask currently holds the device where the scream came from and he pressed the button again to play the scream sound.
The Sheep Mask reached into the waistband of his dark jeans and pulled out a black handgun. The Sheep Mask pointed the gun to Wade but to my suprise, Wade was on top of him. Both of them struggled to gain control of the gun.
When the Sheep Mask started angling the gun towards Wade's chest, I rushed forward and brought my foot down as hard as I could on Sheep Mask's face.
Wade didn't wait for any second as the gun was on his hand. The Sheep Mask tried to scare them that we were going to die soon when Rad reached them. I faintly heard a loud crack and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Wade ram the butt of the gun into the side of Sheep Mask's face, then he shot the gun toward the head of the masked man.
Wade came to me and brought my head to his chest.
"We're not going to die here, Chayo. Do you understand? We're getting out of here," he promised. I hold on that promise.
I can't believe that we just killed the Sheep Mask man. I'm so mad to myself that we had to do that.
We've continued to search the exit. Wade leads the way, but his navigating skills sucks. When I led our way, it turns out that any navigating skills sucked a lot more than Wade's did. I ended up leading us right back to the spot where we started.
Apparently, Wade and I saw the same flurry of pink darts across the tunnel and into another one. I'm sure that was the little girl with the pink shirt that we tried to look for before.
We were not really sure but we decided to follow the girl from where the tunnel she ran through.
In turn of the event, someone grabbed me from the right. I saw Wade also dragged by another mask man. The piggy mask figure man that was covering my mouth by his hand, led me from somewhere. I was parted away from Wade. The last scene of him was fighting with the other mask man.
The Piggy Mask lifted his left foot and kicked open an old door that read "Employees Only".
The room looked like a place where electricians or repairmen would frequent with all the machinery inside.
The Piggy Mark man removed his mask as soon as he closed the door. It was Rad, the leader of the psycho mask group.
He grabbed my hair to go to another destination. There was a series of many lefts and rights before we finally came to his destination.
We went to another room. It was large and full of pipes in the ceiling. In the center of the room stood four, large, curved, gray pipes that jutted out from the floor and were pointed to the right wall.
There were three people handcuffed for those pipes. The strange man was handcuffed to the first one. The second one was the skater boy. The third one was the little girl that we've been looking for.
And for the fourth pipe, Rad cuffed me from the last pipe.
"W-why are you doing this?" I asked between my sobs.
"I already told you. The system already failed me once and now they're going to fail you. This is all to prove a point." Rad simply said. With that, he disappeared back down from the tunnel.
As soon as Rad was out of sight I slumped against the pipe before sliding to the ground. Anything I did was a failure to escape. I just dropped my head and think that this was how I'm going to die.
The first man in the pipe turned into red, burned, bloody and raw. The skin skin looked like it had been seared completely off and I could see the white of their bones poking out.
The skater boy started to scream, asking for help. The little girl started to cry and I had no idea what to do to comfort her.
I've heard a voice. "Chayo?!" Wade yelled out from somewhere. My head whipped up at the sound of his voice and directly look at his eyes.
He ran forward and bent down to hug her.
"How did you-,"
"You don't know how I fight that masked man but I'm relieved that I found you." Wade said.
"But I'm going to die here. The pipes. They shoot out hot steam and the man just got a face full of it." I explained.
Wade looked at the first pipe, his eyes widened and urged to fight to not throw up something.
Wade immediately pulled a trigger of his gum that pointed to her handcuffs but nothing happened.
Wade found two bobby pins into the hair of the little girl. He borrowed it from the girl and promised to help her.
I suggested to Wade to help first the skater boy and the little girl before me. Wade argued about it but he still did it. When Wade successfully unlocked the handcuffs to the skater boy, the skater boy moved forward to also help unlock the handcuffs on the little girl. Wade finished to get rid of the handcuffs to me before the steam of the pipes burned her.
We were successfully all safe, as of now.
The four of us continued to find the exit of this tunnel. Upon walking, we've talked in some conversations but stay alert. The skater boy named Dylan and the little girl named Rose.
Our conversation was long. Until Rose pointed ahead of her. She was pointing at the end of the tunnel and my blood ran cold.
Standing at the end of the tunnel, completely silent and staring at us, was the man in the Jason Mask.
Jason Mask aggressively started running towards us. As an instinct, Wade held my hands and we started to run to the tunnel on our right. Dylan and Rose followed us. There were a bunch of lefts and rights before we reached the two tunnels.
We agreed to part away in two groups. Dylan and Rose went to the left tunnel and Me and Wade ran through the right tunnel.
Me and Wade never stopped to run even though I've being clumsy for how many times I fall on my feet.
Wade stopped, he pushed me against the wall of the tunnel that didn't reach the dim light of the tunnel. I wondered what's going on in his mind but it made sense when I heard booming footsteps and a few seconds later I watched with wide eyes as Jason Mask went thundering past us and continued down the tunnel.
When I'm sure he was gone, I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
For a minute, we stayed there and had some rest. But I saw Rose had just come into view and even from here I could see red stained in her pink shirt.
Wade and I hurriedly approached Rose. I asked if she was hurt. But she said with tears that the blood stain came from Dylan.
Rose led the way where Dylan was. There was no way Rose should have been able to know the way back. She made way too many turns for her to have memorized it only going through it once. I stopped walking, Wade and I shared a look and thought the same thing.
With that, Rad suddenly came into view and Rose ran to him.
"Did I do good Daddy?" Rose asked.
"You did great sweetheart. Daddy is so proud of you." Rad said. Rose smiled proudly.
Rad pointed a gun on me. He ordered me to walk. We were now on one of the train car. Rad demanded Wade to hold out his hands. Rad handcuffed Wade's hands in one of the metal standing poles. Rad got the gun from Wade's pocket.
And by that, Rad left us after he locked the door of the train car.
I went to Rad's place.
"I'm sorry, I broke my promise to you," Wade said.
"You don't have to say sorry, maybe this is our fate." I said in my tears.
Wade asked to come closer with him. I went closer enough but he demanded to stand between his arms and the pole. I just didn't argue with that with the small place he was asking me to stand.
I stepped forward before ducking under one of his arms and I was now officially enclosed to him. I looked at him when he called my name with an intense expression.
"It was you. Even before Amber. I know this is not the right timing because we're almost likely dead anyway but I needed you to know."
I didn't know what response I should do, but I passionately kissed him. He kissed me back.
We stopped kissing when all of the sudden the doors that connected opened, I can see on the front train that the subway train was on fire. And the flames were quickly making their way towards us.
I could already smell the smoke. I ran back to the exit door and began pushing, pulling, and even banging on the door. Nothing worked.
Wade suggested kicking on the exit window. We kicked the window twice and it cracked. For the fifth time we kicked the window, it finally broke.
Wade told me that there was a left pin in his pocket. I get it used to get rid of the handcuff to his hands. It took more time and the smoke was already burning our lungs. Finally, the handcuff was unlocked. Wade took off his hoodie jacket and placed it around his left hand. He broke some left pieces of glass in the window.
He was the first one to climb out in the window before me. Wade helped me up. When I was on my feet I looked up at the burning subway train and watched as the flames of the fire completely engulfed it.
We saw Rad and his little girl at the top of the platform looking on the subway train to burn into ashes. Rad didn't see from where we were, I'm sure he thought that we were dead on that train.
So I made a plan to eliminate that freaking psycho.
__
I appeared from where Rad was standing.
"You bastard! You killed him!' I screamed as I slammed my body into Rad's and forced me to cry.
Rad was shocked that I was still alive. But he grabbed me roughly by my wrists and squeezed them tightly.
Okay, this was not part of my plan, I hope he didn't think to kill me now.
Turning back to my acting, I yelled to him like he really killed Wade. He just darkly chuckled about it.
As part of the plan, Rad never got to finish what he was about to say because a shard of glass was pushed straight into the center of his back.
Rad let me go. Rad was about again to speak but Wade stabbed again into his chest.
Rad had died. I hugged Wade as finally we are safe now. Wade took the kicking Rose and threw her into his shoulder. Wade and I slowly move forward to find the exit.
With the help of the light in Wade's cellphone, it was enough to see our way. As I was the one who's holding the cellphone, I saw in the darkness a set of stairs and swallowed hard before turning back to face Wade and nodded slowly.
We saw a light on the wood that was blocking our way. We kicked the light wood on how many times before we succeeded to pull off the wood.
Through the small hole, I could see the city lights that brought me into tears. The stars in the sky let me know that it was night.
We've carefully made a way through the hole. When I stood up and took a deep breath, it felt like it had been forever since I had breathed in fresh air.
There were a lot of old and abandoned buildings around that were boarded up just like the subway entrance had been.
We had planned to surrender and tell the police about Rose's case. She could still be changed with the help of DSWD.
Wade called an emergency call to 911. Wade and I shared a smile. I slowly kissed him.
We sat on the abandoned street and waited for the police to come and rescue us.
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Bangkok and Koh Samui
It is late on Wednesday, March 28 as I write this. We are sailing from George Town, Penang Island, Malaysia to Phuket, Thailand (also an island) where we will spend a short day tomorrow before heading to India. The last week has been very busy, with 2 days in Bangkok, one day in Koh Samui, Thailand, 2 days in Singapore, a day in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia and today in George Town. The fun never stops, and neither does the humidity. We are nearing the official beginning of the rainy season for some of our stops, and our day in KL was the first time in 106 days that we were rained on for an extended time. Amazing.
Although we will be at sea for 21/2 days on the way to India, I will try to catch up a little now so I don’t get farther behind. In India, Susan and I will leave the ship for a 6 day, 5 night overland journey to the interior, including New Delhi and the Taj Mahal. We will rejoin the ship in Goa and then sail to Mumbai before an extended sail to Oman. It is likely that I will not be reporting from India before we get back to the ship.
In Bangkok, we spent an overnight in the city at the Peninsula Hotel, a really great place. One of the best hotels we have ever stayed in. Bangkok is a 2 hour drive from the seaport which serves the city, so we wanted to avoid driving back and forth on consecutive days. Like everyone else, we would like to return here to spend more time. Bangkok is an exciting, vibrant and congested city of 8M and still growing. It has the same extremes of wealth and poverty as elsewhere, but is what Saigon strives to be, commercially. Maybe without the sex trade.
There are pictures of the former king, and the new king everywhere you look. References to the monarchy are equally obvious, probably to divert attention from the fact that the country is ruled under martial law by a military junta which suspended the constitution and seized control in 2014. By the way, it’s a crime to speak disrespectfully of the monarchy. It’s also illegal to have a tattoo of the Buddha.
Depending on your reference source, Thailand has between 32k and 40k Buddhist temples, and 400 of them are in Bangkok. The population is 95% Buddhist, and all men are required to spend 3 months’ service as a “monk” at age 18. Some serve longer if they wish. We saw 3 spectacular temple complexes. A representative sample of our many photos is attached. Unfortunately, our last stop, the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (it’s really jade and not very big- think Mona Lisa without the enigmatic smile) was on a day when the complex was closed in the morning, so all 30k daily visitors came in the afternoon. This obviously was a test to determine if we had truly found the way of the Buddha. It was like everyone coming to an NFL game entered the same gate at the same time in 90 degree heat and 95% humidity. And to make it even less comfortable, the many Chinese visitors are much more pushy in crowds than we Westerners (and the Thais) find acceptable. Comparable to drunk Steelers fans. However, the temple was worth the inconvenience, and is not to be missed.
We rode boats on the Chayo Phraya River which separates the original city from its newer sections (and our riverside hotel), and also used the city’s ubiquitous Tuk-Tuks (motorcycle rickshaws). A fun ride if you don’t scare easily. The Thais are very polite motorists, however. Rarely do you hear a horn honk despite dense traffic and aggressive driving. I think it’s because they’re Buddhists.
On the next day, we went to the beach on the island of Koh Samui, which was an overnight sail from Bangkok. The public beach was very nice and the water was clean and refreshing. Susan had a deep Thai massage at the open air beach-side “spa”. It was good to have a low-key day after the crowds and pressures of Bangkok. Some of our ship-mates couldn’t resist the offering at McDonalds. In addition to the usual fare, it serves a spicy pork burger to suit Thai tastes.
It’s hard to believe we have been away for more than 100 days and haven’t wished we were home. The only things we have missed other than family and friends are better Internet and TV news that is not the Fantasy Channel (Fox) or the Repetition Channel (MSNBC).
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Letters to Loved Ones: Santiago Letter 2
Dear Santiago,
It’s been nearly two and half years since my last letter to you. I wish we were still talking, so I could catch you up on what’s going on with my life, but for now this letter will have to suffice.
I am dating a Vietnamese American man now. He is a good person that I think you might approve for me. We are living together now after dating for year and three months. There are days that I want to murder him, but there are also days where I want to jump in his arms and kiss him nonstop. He’s different from the men I have dated before. He didn’t finish college. He is currently in the military and wants to serve his full 20 years. He wants to buy a house after the coronavirus situation goes away. He wants to introduce me to his family, and he is a horrible teacher in the Vietnamese language. He speaks it fluently, but I can’t keep up or remember what he says over half the time.
If you are wondering about whatever happened to the guy with the kid. I will be the first to tell you that he kept going back to the mother of his child. He cheated on her with multiple women. He now has a new infant daughter and a new girlfriend/wife. He is out of my life. I want nothing to do with him. He has caused me so much grief and anxiety that I am done.
I have been on a hiatus from learning Chinese and Korean. After we stopped talking, I felt like my heart was broken and there was no reason for me to continue. However, I have met people from Taiwan and South Korea through HelloTalk, and they are really kind to me. I have been motivated to learn again, but I feel like my new job is preventing me to dedicate myself to my studies.
I decided I want to become an attorney in international law so that I can help my friends from Taiwan and South Korea should they ever need an attorney. I have come to this decision because they are good people trying to help me learn, so if I can learn and become fluent then I want to be able to give back to them, especially my friend Rita from Taiwan.
My relationship with my father no longer exists. To make a long story short, he tried to give me an ultimatum decision twice. The first one was to disown the parents that raised me (my grandparents on my mother’s side) and to only accept his family or to be disowned and treated like a stranger. I never gave him an answer and ignored him for a week. He got the message that I would never disown my family. The second time he tried to give me an ultimatum was because he wanted to know the truth as to how I found my younger brother in Austin and how long we have been talking. His exact words were, “I don’t care if I have to disown you, Linda, your Tia Mari or your Tia Chayo. I don’t want liars in my life and if that’s what it takes, then so be it.” I think you might have been proud of me because I told him if he really was a man then he wouldn’t need to know how I found my brother. He just needs to be grateful that his son is back in his life, and if that is not enough, then we don’t need to associate anymore. Unfortunately this cost me the relationship with my dad’s family, but it’s okay because some of my dad’s family agrees with me and sided with me.
I have moved out of Arizona and moved to California. I realized the distance between myself and my family is what I needed to be feel free and start becoming the person I was meant to be. It is really hard having to start your life over at 28 years old, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Since we have last talked, I have been through hell and back. I have been lied to. I have chosen to be disowned. I have been able to heal my wounds. I have been able to breathe. I am also starting to work towards my goals without any excuses.
I will let you know that I still do think about you from time to time. I wonder if you have a girlfriend or wife yet. I wonder what would have happened had we still remained talking and I had gone to visit you in WeiHai. I miss you because you were an important person in my life. I randomly look up the places I wanted to visit while I was in WeiHai. I still want to see the Yangtze River. Maybe one day soon I can go there, and who knows maybe one day we will run into each other so I can give you a formal update on my life. I really do hope you are doing well. I hope that you still have your chance to go to Chile, but most of all, I hope your dreams of having a family will come true or have already started to become true. I miss you and hope this letter finds you well.
Love you always. Your Mexican American Friend.
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Family Studies
QUEST
Director: Jonathan Olshefski
Filmed with verite intimacy over the course of nearly a decade, Quest is the moving portrait of the Rainey family living in North Philadelphia. Beginning at the dawn of the Obama presidency, Quest Rainey and his wife Christine'a raise a family while nurturing a community of hip hop artists in their home music studio - a safe space where all are welcome. But this creative sanctuary can't always shield them from the strife that grips their neighborhood. Epic in scope, Quest is a vivid illumination of race and class in America, and a testament to love, healing and hope.
DVD / 2017 / 105 minutes
ONLY ME GENERATION - AN INTROSPECTIVE LOOK INTO CHINA'S ONE-CHILD POLICY
The one-child policy, a part of China's family planning policy, was a population planning policy of installed by the Chinese government. It was introduced in 1979 and began to be formally phased out in 2015
"Only Me Generation" is a documentary that explores the effects of the China's "One Child Policy" from the perspective of the policy's first generation point of view.
Almost 30 years ago, the Chinese government first introduced the "one child policy" to alleviate social, economic and environmental problems. Three decades later, they are now looking at a relaxation of the policy. The result is that the babies born under the current policy are a unique population set with issues and challenges that are different from those of other Chinese generations; most notably that they grew up as "only children".
This film provides a unique look into a unprecedented government policy that changed the rules of a society, impacted far more than a generation, and can now be studied on a variety of fronts. The film raises numerous questions and serves as a wonderful launching point for discussion and debate.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of "only children" in a generation of only "only children"?
What are the pressures that these children, the results of the policy, have lived under?
How have parental expectations changes due to family limits on the number of children permitted?
What are their social experiences now that these Only Me Generation children are now adults?
What are the ramifications, if any, of relaxing the policy now after so many years?
DVD (Color) / 2016 / 58 minutes
SIBERIAN LOVE
By Olga Delane
In rural Siberia, romantic expectations are traditional and practical. The man is the head of the household. The woman takes care of the housekeeping and the children. But filmmaker Olga Delane doesn't agree. While she was born in this small Siberian village, as a teenager she migrated to Berlin with her family, and 20 years of living in Germany has changed her expectations. SIBERIAN LOVE follows Delane home to her community of birth, where she interviews family and neighbors about their lives and relationships. Amusing and moving, this elegant film paints a picture of a world completely outside of technology, a hard-farming community where life is hard and marriage is sometimes unhappy - but where there are also unexpected paths to joy and family togetherness. Through clashing ideals of modern and traditional womanhood, SIBERIAN LOVE is a fascinating study of a country little known in the US and of a rural community that raises questions about domesticity, gender expectations, domestic abuse, childcare, and romance. Excellent for anthropology, women's studies, sociology, Russian and Eastern European Studies.
DVD (Color) / 2016 / 82 minutes
FROM THIS DAY FORWARD
Directed by Sharon Shattuck
Tells the story of a love, and family, that survived the most intimate of transformations.
With her own wedding just around the corner, filmmaker Sharon Shattuck returns home to examine the mystery at the heart of her upbringing: How her transgender father Trisha and her straight-identified mother Marcia stayed together against all odds. From This Day Forward is a moving portrayal of an American family coping with the most intimate of transformations.
As the film evolves into a conversation about love and acceptance in a modern American family, it raises questions relevant to all of us. As individuals how do we adapt to sustain long-term love and relationships? Where do sexuality and gender intersect? And how do families stay together, when external forces are pulling them apart?
DVD / 2015 / (Grades 6-12, College, Adults) / 76 minutes
WHAT OUR FATHERS DID: A NAZI LEGACY
Directed by David Evans
Two elderly men possess starkly contrasting attitudes towards their high-ranking Nazi fathers. A study of brutality, self-deception, guilt and the nature of justice.
A bracingly rigorous examination of inherited guilt and pain, WHAT OUR FATHERS DID explores the relationship between two men, each of whom are the children of very high-ranking Nazi officials but possess starkly contrasting attitudes toward their fathers.
The film was written and is hosted by eminent human rights lawyer Philippe Sands, who became fascinated by its central figures, Niklas Frank and Horst von Wachter, while researching the Nuremberg trials.
The film comes to a climax when they travel to Lviv in Ukraine, where it becomes clear that Frank and von Wachter's Nazi fathers were responsible for the annihilation of Sands' own Jewish grandfather's entire family. WHAT OUR FATHERS DID is a compelling examination of brutality, self-deception, guilt and the nature of justice.
"This is both an intensely personal story for me as well as one with contemporary and universal relevance as anti-Semitism spreads across Europe and the wounds created in Ukraine during WWII can still be felt today." - Philippe Sands
DVD / 2015 / (Grades 10-12, College, Adult) / 92 minutes
CAFE
By Hatuey Viveros Lavielle
Jorge is preparing to graduate from law school-the first person from the indigenous Mexican village of Quetzalan ever to do so. Chayo, his pregnant and unmarried teenaged sister, faces the most difficult decision of her life. Meanwhile their quiet and methodical mother, Tere, does her best to support them both, selling handmade napkin holders for 15 pesos (about $1) apiece. How will they cope in the year following the death of Antonio, the children's father?
CAFE is a beautifully observed, intimate film that documents the family during one crucial year. Director and cinematographer Hatuey Viveros Lavielle's brings a deliberate and poetic sensibility to ritualistic daily moments marking life in the mountain village: sorting coffee beans; roasting coffee in a dented pan; flipping tortillas over an open fire; feeding turkeys that will become a feast marking the first anniversary of Antonio's death.
Whether accompanying Jorge to one of his first cases as a lawyer-helping a woman who has been coerced into taking out a loan on behalf of her employer-or listening to Tere and Chayo discussing the possibility of seeking an abortion, CAFE (alternately known by the titles COFFEE: CHANTS OF SMOKE and CAFE: CANTOS DE HUMO), immerses viewers in the lives of its compelling protagonists as, in a year following personal tragedy, they struggle to find their futures.
DVD (Color) / 2014 / 80 minutes
FAMILY AND SOCIAL CHANGE: CHILDHOOD AND NEW TECHNOLOGY
This clip considers how new technologies are changing the way people relate to family members and questions if technology is liberating or controlling us.
DVD / 2014 / 7 minutes
FAMILY AND SOCIAL CHANGE: FAMILY DIVERSITY
By Steven Taylor This clip examines how the structure, organization, and culture of the family is changing in contemporary, late-modern families and discusses how sociology can explain these changes.
DVD / 2014 / 7 minutes
FAMILY AND SOCIAL CHANGE: LATE MODERNITY AND FAMILY CHANGE
By Steven Taylor
This clip links the fragmentation and the diversity of family life to wider sociological changes in the construction of gender, in consumerism and identity, and in cultural ambiguity.
DVD / 2014 / 9 minutes
FAMILY AND SOCIAL CHANGE: THE END OF CHILDHOOD
Presenting a brief case study of fashion and the claims of sexualization in children, this clip considers the meaning of childhood and why it is a social construction and asks if it is disappearing.
DVD / 2014 / 8 minutes
RED LEAVES
By Bazi Gete
"Red Leaves" examines the life of a man, Meseganio Tadela (Debebe Eshetu), a 74-year-old recent widower and Ethiopian immigrant. Following the death of his wife, Meseganio sells his apartment and plans on living the rest of his days alternately living with the families of his sons. However, once put into practice, he discovers that his hard-lined traditional values are challenged by family members.
Meseganio Tadela immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia 28 years ago with his family. He chose to zealously retain his culture, talks very little, and hardly speaks Hebrew. After losing his wife, Meseganio sets out on a journey that leads him through his children's homes. He comes to realize that he belongs to a rapidly disappearing class that believes in retaining Ethiopian culture. As this harsh reality begins to hit him, he struggles to survive according to his own rules.
DVD (Amharic with English Subtitles) / 2014 / 80 minutes
STRAY DOG
Directed by Debra Granik
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Debra Granik ("Winter's Bone") returns to SW Missouri for her first documentary, looking at the life of Vietnam vet, Ron "Stray Dog" Hall, and shattering some stereotypes.
Ron "Stray Dog" Hall lives in Southern Missouri where he owns and operates the At Ease RV Park. After years of living alone with his dogs, he is adjusting to life with his wife, Alicia, who is newly arrived from Mexico. Anchored by his small dogs and big bikes, Stray Dog seeks to strike a balance between his commitment to his family, neighbors, biker brotherhood, and fellow veterans. As part of the legacy of fighting in the Vietnam War, he wrestles with the everlasting puzzle of conscience, remorse, and forgiveness.
With Stray Dog as our guide, we experience the restlessness of ex-warriors as he tries to make peace with what he can't change and weathers the incomprehension of those who have never been to war. Stray Dog navigates the pressures of everyday life including the economic survival of his grandchildren and the increasing poverty of his community. The arrival of Alicia's twin sons from Mexico throws into harsh relief the current state of opportunity that newcomers seek and that America can or cannot offer.
Stray Dog continues to tally the cost of war, bearing witness to the soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan: both the dead and the living. The questions of contemporary American life loom larger and thornier, leaving us to wonder what is next for Stray Dog and his blended, multi-ethnic family.
DVD / 2014 / (Grades 8-12, College, Adults) / 102 minutes
KISMET
By Nina Maria Paschalidou
Wildly popular at home, Turkish soap operas have taken the world by storm with more than 300 million viewers in 80 countries across the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans, and Asia. With unprecedented access, KISMET delves into this phenomenon, weaving together excerpts from the major shows including interviews with their talent and the writers, producers and directors behind the scenes - primarily made up of women - and portraits of the everyday viewers in Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, and Greece.
Exploring how the serials captivate, inspire and empower women, the film reveals how the soaps impact and break down negative stereotypes and traditional taboos. The soaps openly discuss rape, sexual and domestic violence, child and arranged marriages, and honor killings while also sparking change in gender relationships, activism against sexual abuse, and a wave of divorce across the Middle East. Invaluable for studies in media and popular culture, KISMET discloses how profoundly Turkish soaps penetrate viewers' social and religious realities while empowering and helping women to transform their lives and strengthen the debate about women's rights across the region.
DVD (Turkish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Greek, Color) / 2013 / 57 minutes
LOVING SOMEONE WITH AN ADDICTION
Living with an addiction is both heartbreaking and exhausting. Family members are torn between how to help the addict and how to avoid supporting the addiction.
Through interviews with experts and with families who have experienced the addiction of a loved one, this video will offer hope-filled support in the form of practical information, advice from others who have been there, and the power of shared experiences.
Topics discussed include:
Understanding addiction
Addiction affects the whole family
Grieving the loss of the person you once knew
Pitfalls for families when dealing with addiction
Feelings of guilt/shame/stigma
Dealing with denial, fear, hopelessness and despair
Detaching with love
The importance of educating oneself about addiction
Suggestions for recovery and where families can turn for help
Featuring interviews with these experts:
Phillip Valentine, Executive Director Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) Dr. Domenic Ciraulo, MD Professor and Chairman, Division of Psychiatry and Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Boston Medical Center Terri Blackstock, NY Times best selling author
DVD / 2013 / 60 minutes
TWO DADS, TWO MOMS: GAY COUPLES AND THEIR FAMILIES
Profiling families in the U.S., France, and Spain, this program focuses on the children of gay couples and how their experiences resemble or differ from more conventional upbringings. Most of the film's participants are in their late teens or early adulthood and have acquired a broad-minded, philosophical perspective on what they and their parents have gone through-although childhood was hardly challenge-free for any of them. In Paris, Bastien reflects on his father's belated coming-out process, the divorce it caused, and how it shaped their current family. In Valencia, Sushila and Gauri-both born in developing countries-discuss what it means to be adopted into a new culture by a lesbian couple. And in a Boston suburb, brothers Zachary and Kyle behave like "typical" teenagers-flirting with Goth culture, indulging a favorite pet, playfully punching Dad in the arm during breakfast-even though a second Dad is also present, and even though both boys were born through surrogate motherhood. Fathers Cliff and John were the first same-sex couple in America to produce a family that way.
DVD / 2013 / 52 minutes
ENDING SILENCE, SHAME & STIGMA: HIV/AIDS IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY
Director: Kat Cheairs
ENDING SILENCE, SHAME & STIGMA: HIV/AIDS IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY explores the impact of HIV/AIDS on the Black community and addresses the complex social issues factoring into the high rate of infection among African Americans.
Topics addressed include women's studies; addiction; African American studies; family relationships; Christianity; sexuality and religion; sexual behavior in the African American community; judgement of those who have the disease; and the need for cross-gender dialogue in progressive churches and in the community.
DVD / 2012 / 30 minutes
FORGET ME NOT: LOSING MEMORY - FINDING LOVE
Directed by David Sieveking
An astonishingly candid, loving and revelatory chronicle of the changes his mother's Alzheimer's disease has on the filmmaker's family.
Leading documentary filmmaker David Sieveking (David Wants to Fly) weaves an astonishingly candid, loving and revelatory chronicle of the changes his mother's Alzheimer's has on his family.
Although dealing with his mother's disease is painful, caring for her does offer Sieveking a chance to reconnect with his family and immerses himself in the secrets and passions of his parents long and fascinating life. Some stories are heroic, while others have left a painful legacy in the couple's long marriage.
Throughout, Sieveking's delicate handling of these revelations moves the focus of the story away from his mother's irreversible mental decline to that of a loving tribute to his mother as a human being with a remarkable life story. What emerges is a poignant and rich study of family ties, the delicate nature of marriage, and the unexpected rewards that come from living life to the fullest.
DVD (German with English subtitles) / 2012 / (Grades 10-12) / 88 minutes
OTHER DAY, THE
By Ignacio Aguero
The home of acclaimed Chilean filmmaker Ignacio Aguero (AGUSTIN'S NEWSPAPER, 100 CHILDREN WAITING FOR A TRAIN) is filled with objects that speak to both his family's history and to the tumultuous history of his country.
Seeking to make a quiet, personal film centered on his home and his memories, it is fitting that THE OTHER DAY begins when a ray of sunlight shines on a photograph of his parents.
But Aguero's reveries are often interrupted by what seems like an unending stream of people knocking at his door: poor people asking for food, friends, neighbors, delivery men, young graduates looking for jobs.
Aguero turns the tables on his uninvited guests, and asks them if he may knock on their doors too. His spontaneous excursions into their neighborhoods and homes broaden the film's scope, bringing different aspects of contemporary Chilean society into the picture.
Interweaving these threads, collapsing past and present, interior and exterior, THE OTHER DAY is an elegant reflection on layers of history, and ways they are reflected in families and communities.
DVD (Color) / 2012 / 120 minutes
RETT: THERE IS HOPE - CASE STUDIES, FAMILY PORTRAITS, AND THE SEARCH FOR A CURE
Striking mostly girls under the age of 18 months, Rett syndrome is one of the most debilitating and frightening disorders on the autism spectrum. Its symptoms include seizures, recurrent infections, developmental delay, and absent to minimal speech. Its victims usually live into adulthood and require round-the-clock care. But increased attention to Rett has intensified research efforts as well as a greater sense of community and support among those affected by the disorder. This program focuses on families coping with Rett's daily realities-the constant stress of caregiving, the emotional impact on parents, and the perspectives on health and happiness that emerge when one realizes what a Rett patient must go through. The film also follows the work of scientists searching for the genetic key to a Rett cure. Interview subjects include Monica Coenraads, Executive Director of the Rett Syndrome Research Trust; Dr. Adrian Bird of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Cell Biology; and Dr. Huda Zoghbi of Baylor College of Medicine.
DVD / 2012 / 53 minutes
MAN NOBODY KNEW, THE: IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER CIA SPYMASTER WILLIAM COLBY
Director: Carl Colby A son's riveting look at a father whose life seemed straight out of a spy thriller, The Man Nobody Knew: In Search Of My Father, Cia Spymaster William Colby uncovers the secret world of a legendary CIA spymaster. Told by William Colby's son Carl, the story is at once a probing history of the CIA, a personal memoir of a family living in clandestine shadows, and an inquiry into the hard costs of a nation's most cloaked actions.
From the beginning of his career as an OSS officer parachuting into Nazi-occupied Europe, William Colby rose through the ranks of "The Company," and soon was involved in covert operations in hot spots around the globe. He swayed elections against the Communists in Italy, oversaw the coup against President Diem in Saigon, and ran the controversial Phoenix Program in Vietnam, which sparked today's legacy of counter-insurgency. But after decades of obediently taking on the White House's toughest and dirtiest assignments, and rising to become Director of CIA, Colby defied the President. Braving intense controversy, he opened up to Congress some of the agency's darkest, most tightly held secrets and extra-legal operations.
Now, his son asks a series of powerful and relevant questions about the father who was a ghost-like presence in the family home - and the intelligence officer who became a major force in American history, paving the way for today's provocative questions about security and secrecy vs. liberty and morality. The film forges a fascinating mix of rare archival footage, never-before-seen photos, and interviews with the "who's who" of American intelligence, including former National Security Advisers Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense and Director of CIA James Schlesinger, as well Pulitzer Prize journalists Bob Woodward, Seymour Hersh and Tim Weiner. Through it all, Carl Colby searches for an authentic portrait of the man who remained masked even to those who loved him most.
DVD-R / 2011 / 104 minutes
CIRCO
Director: Ross McElwee
Gorgeously filmed along the back roads of rural Mexico, Circo follows the Ponce family's hardscrabble circus as it struggles to stay together despite mounting debt, dwindling audiences, and a simmering family conflict. Tino, the ringmaster, is driven by his dream to lead his parents' circus to success and corrals the energy of his whole family, including his four young children, towards this singular goal. But his wife Ivonne is determined to make a change. Feeling exploited by her in-laws, she longs to return to her kids a childhood lost to laboring in the circus. Through this intricately woven story of a marriage in trouble and of a century-old family tradition that hangs in the balance, Circo opens the viewer to the luminous world of a traveling circus while examining the universal themes of family bonds, filial responsibility, and the weight of cultural inheritance.
DVD / 2010 / 75 minutes
IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY: HONOR KILLINGS IN NORTH AMERICA
By Shelley Saywell
Schoolgirl Aqsa Parvez, sisters Amina and Sarah Said, and college student Fauzia Muhammad were all North American teenagers - and victims of premeditated, murderous attacks by male family members. Only Muhammad survived. Emmy winner Shelley Saywell examines each case in depth in this riveting investigation of "honor killings" of girls in Muslim immigrant families. Not sanctioned by Islam, the brutalization and violence against young women for defying male authority derives from ancient tribal notions of honor and family shame.
As friends and relatives trace escalating tensions leading to the crimes, IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY explores community reactions to the tragic events. The film also delves into the dual, precarious existence of other young Muslim women struggling to bridge two worlds, along with Muslim women's efforts to help girls at special risk. With consummate documentary skills and a passion for human rights, Saywell puts a much needed human face on a subject that is all too often silenced or sensationalized in post-9/11 North America.
DVD (Color) / 2010 / 90 minutes
MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN
Director: Andrew Thompson & Lucy Bailey
Selected as one of the 15 feature documentaries on the short list for Oscar consideration, Mugabe and the White African is an intimate account of one family's astonishing bravery as they fight to protect their property, their livelihood and their country.
Family patriarch Mike Campbell is one of the few white farmers left in Zimbabwe since President Robert Mugabe began his violent land seizure program in 2000. Since then the country has descended into chaos, the economy brought to its knees by the reallocation of formerly white-owned farms to Mugabe cronies, who have no knowledge, experience or interest in farming. In 2008, after years of intimidation and threats to his family and farm, Campbell decides to take action. Unable to call upon the protection of any Zimbabwean authorities, he challenges Mugabe before an international court, charging him and his government with racial discrimination and human rights violations.
DVD (English and Shona with English Subtitles) / 2010 / 94 minutes
LITTLE GIRL (LA PIVELLINA)
Director: Tizza Covi & Rainer Frimmel
Steeped in the neorealist tradition of Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica, Little Girl is a captivating tale of people at the margins of society who open their hearts to a stranger.
In a run-down park on the outskirts of Rome, a two year-old girl is discovered and taken in by a family of hard-luck circus performers. A note in the child's pocket from a desperate mother reveals little about who she is or why she was left. As the bond grows between the girl and her surrogate family, this naturalistic drama becomes a revealing and soulful portrait of courage and discrimination, and of loss and togetherness.
DVD-R (Italian with English Subtitles) / 2009 / 100 minutes
CHINA NEW FACES 2: MARRYING INTO HER FAMILY
In a traditional marriage, a woman marries into the husband's family, and her children take on the family name of their father. However, in some rich cities in Zhejiang Province, things are changing.
The one-child policy has left some families with only one daughter. Feeling the need to carry on their family lineage, women now look for men who are willing to marry into their families so that their children could take up the mother?s surname. Meanwhile, men from other provinces are finding it hard to make ends meet in the cities, not to mention supporting a family. Because of this, some men are willing to do what it takes for a better life. With supply and demand in place, matchmaking agencies dedicated to this type of marriage are a thriving business.
This could be a win-win situation, but are things always as good as they seem?
DVD / 2008 / 30 minutes
COMING OUT: VOICES OF GAY AND LESBIAN TEENS AND THEIR FAMILIES
By Karin Heller, MSW
Thought provoking and accessible, this program is invaluable for all parents, teachers, and professionals working with teenagers.
For gay and lesbian teens, coming out can be a complicated and difficult process. They may be isolated, alienated from their family and peers, and feel the dangerous threat of homophobia in their community. In this program, you will watch real interviews with gay and lesbian teenagers and their parents as they share their experiences of coming out. You will also hear expert commentary by Dr. Wendy Rosen on the special issues these teenagers face at home and at school, as well as the different stages and processes they and their families go through in order to fully embrace their sexuality. In a call for acceptance and community, this program helps pave the way.
From watching this program, you will:
Learn about the different stages teens may go through in the coming out process including isolation, alienation, denial, and finally acceptance and finding community.
Become informed of the special needs of gay and lesbian youth including finding gay and lesbian role models, supportive peer groups, and acceptance from family.
Understand the pressures and difficulties, including implicit and explicit homophobia, that make coming out a challenging process for teenagers.
DVD / 2008 / 40 minutes
DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES AND THE SHAME CYCLE: HEALTHY FAMILIES, HEALTHY LIVES
By Jef Gazley, M.S., LMFT
Do you come from a dysfunctional family? Do you know what elements define a healthy family? This psychology DVD describes in detail the abuse and unhealthy abandonment that is caused by growing up in a dysfunctional family, and details the steps to recovery and the development of healthy relationships. This educational video focuses on the causes, symptoms, and treatment of this painful disorder. The cycle of shame can be broken, and this educational video is a great start.
The term dysfunctional family has become popular in the last several decades, but many people do not really know what the term means. A dysfunctional family is an abusive family. Some of these families are physically or sexually abusive, but most often they display varying degrees of emotional abuse. Most of the emotional abuse goes unnoticed and has become so institutionalized that it is seen as normal and healthy. Because of this the cycle of abuse, shame, and dysfunction gets handed down through families from generation to generation. The emotional abuse that is shown in a dysfunctional family takes the form of expecting family members to be perfect and in control at all times. They are rigid and stilted and often don't talk about feelings directly, but instead are run by shame and abandonment.
In this system people become stereotypes of themselves and lose their full potential. They are afraid to show who they are and therefore become isolated from each other. Instead of relating to each other in a spontaneous and flexible manner they hide from each other and only respond with what they think the other person wants to hear.
DVD / 2008 /
MOVING MIDWAY
Director: Godfrey Cheshire
Godfrey Cheshire's richly observed film about his family's Southern plantation - and the colossal feat of moving it to escape urban sprawl - is a thoughtful and witty look at the lingering remnants and still-powerful mythology of plantation culture and the antebellum South. An award-winning film critic turned film maker, Cheshire uses the relocation of his family's North Carolina plantation house to embark on a surprising and multi-layered journey. While observing the elaborate, arcane preparations for moving a centuries-old house over fields and a rock quarry, unexpected human drama - from both the living and the dead - emerges. And a chance encounter leads Cheshire and his cousins to discover a previously unknown African American branch of the family (who have their own take on Midway and its legacy).
Through the use of movies and music, and by turning the camera on himself and his family, Cheshire examines the Southern plantation in American history and culture, and how the racial legacy from the past continues into the present.
DVD (Color) / 2008 / 98 minutes
ALZHEIMER'S & AFRICAN AMERICANS: ECHOES FROM THE PAST
This 27-minute film looks at the high incidences of Alzheimer's in the African-American community as it documents the intimate, first-hand experiences of several families providing care for a loved one with Alzheimer's. The film intersperses information from health professionals throughout, making way for realistic discussion of the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's, genetic factors, financial concerns, and caregiver stress. Laced with candid, heart-felt emotion that other families will identify with, the film also shows how Alzheimer's can effect the interpersonal relationships between spouses and/or adult children who become caregivers. An excellent resource to inform and give hope to all caregivers as they adjust to the rewards and challenges of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's.
DVD / 2007 / 27 minutes
FOUR WIVES - ONE MAN
By Nahid Persson
From Nahid Persson, the filmmaker of the award-winning Prostitution Behind the Veil, comes an intimate portrait of a polygamist family in a rural Iranian village. Persson reveals the intricacies of the relationships between the four wives, their husband, their astoundingly free-spoken mother-in-law and their numerous children. Sometimes humorous and often heartbreaking, this film follows the daily lives of the wives whose situation has turned them into both bitter rivals and co-conspirators against their abusive husband.
Persson's camera unobtrusively and beautifully captures the range of the family's interactions - from peaceful, pastoral scenes of a family picnic, to the temporary chaos caused by a broken faucet in the kitchen, to a furtive, whispered conversation between two wives about the latest beating. The women's work - making bread, weaving carpets, milking and herding the sheep - provide the background to their frank conversations. Avoiding sensationalism and sentimentality, this film provides unique insights into the practice of polygamy and its effect on the women involved.
DVD (Persian, Color) / 2007 / 76 minutes
MOTHERHOOD MANIFESTO, THE
Looks at the obstacles facing working mothers and families and the employer and public policy changes needed to restore work-life balance.
Did you know that...
Only four countries in the world- Lesotho, Swaziland, Papua New Guinea and the United States-fail to provide paid maternity leave to all workers? Canada now guarantees a full year of paid parental leave and California recently became the first state in the U.S. to provide such paid leave? Businesses that create flexible work environments find that productivity goes up, they attract more talent, turnover is reduced and their bottom line is improved?
Moving personal stories combined with humorous animation, expert commentary and hilarious old film clips tell the tale of what happens to working mothers and their families in America. See how enlightened employers and public policy can make paid family leave, flexible working hours, part-time parity, universal healthcare, excellent childcare, after-school programs and realistic living wages a reality for American families.
The film is based on the book The Motherhood Manifesto by Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe- Finkbeiner.
DVD (Color, Closed Captioned, With Guide) / 2006 / (Grades 7-12, College, Adult) / 58 minutes
I FOR INDIA
By Sandhya Suri
I FOR INDIA is a chronicle of immigration in Britain, from the Sixties to the present day, as seen through the eyes of one Asian family and their movie camera.
In 1965 Yash Pal Suri, a young doctor, left India for the U.K. with hopes of improving his family's life. The first thing he did upon arriving in England was to buy two Super 8mm cameras, two projectors and two reel-to-reel tape recorders. He sent one of each to his family in India, and kept the others for himself.
Over the next forty years, through regular mailings of his filmed and taped thoughts and observations, he shared his new life abroad with family members back home, providing a unique record of the eccentricities-and occasional racism-of his new English hosts. Back in India, his relatives, in turn, responded with their own "cine-letters," sending tales of weddings, festivals and village life, along with impassioned pleas for his return.
In addition to home movies, I FOR INDIA, directed by one of Suri's three daughters, uses archival and contemporary footage and excerpts from BBC TV programs (including The Dark Million, The Immigrant Doctors, and The End of the Line), which chart the changing national mood about immigration over the decades, from bemusement at the strange customs of the South Asian newcomers, to fears of British culture being "swamped," to right-wing protests demanding the expulsion of "colored" immigrants.
By the end of the film, as Suri and his wife communicate today via webcam with a daughter who has relocated to Australia, I FOR INDIA becomes not only a bittersweet time capsule of cultural alienation, discovery, racism and belonging, but also a contemporary exploration of universal, emotionally compelling themes of family separation and the quest for personal happiness, wherever it may take you.
DVD (Color) / 2005 / 70 minutes
OXHIDE (NIU PI)
By LIU Jiayin
Daily life in an impossibly cramped Beijing apartment takes on epic proportions in this, intimate portrait, with unprecedented access, of a working-class Chinese family.
Boldly transforming documentary into fiction, Liu Jiayin cast her parents and herself as fictionalized versions of themselves. Her father, Liu Zaiping, sells leather bags but is slowly going bankrupt. He argues with his wife, Jia Huifen, and his daughter over methods to boost business in the shop. A cloud of anxiety follows them into sleepless nights shared in the same bed. But through the thousand daily travails of city life, a genuine and deeply moving picture of Chinese familial solidarity emerges from the screen.
With virtually no budget and boundless ingenuity, Liu Jiayin's eye-opening debut, shot when she was 23 years old, consists of twenty-three static, one-scene shots within her family's fifty square meter home. Liu keeps her small DV camera in claustrophobic closeness to her subjects, often showing only parts of their bodies as their voices dominate the soundtrack. OXHIDE takes the microscopic physical and emotional details of a family and magnifies them on a widescreen canvas.
DVD (Mandarin with English subtitles, Color) / 2005 / 110 minutes
SEVEN HOURS TO BURN
By Shanti Thakur
"A visually expressive personal documentary that explores a family's history. Filmmaker Thakur mixes richly abstract filmmaking with disturbing archival war footage to narrate the story of her Danish mother's and Indian father's experiences. Her mother survives Nazi-occupied Denmark while her father experiences the devastating civil war in India between Hindus and Muslims. Both emigres to Canada, they meet and marry, linking two parallel wars. Their daughter lyrically turns these two separate histories into a visually rich poem linking past and present in a new singular identity." Doubletake Documentary Film Festival Catalogue
DVD (Color, Black & White) / 1999 / 9 minutes
DREAMING RIVERS
A Sankofa film directed by Martine Attille
From Sankofa Film and Video comes this bittersweet and nostalgic short drama illustrating the spirit of modern families touched by the experience of migration. Miss T., from the Caribbean, lives alone in her one-room apartment, her children and husband having left her to pursue new dreams. When she dies her family and friends gather at her wake. The tapestry of words that interweave the drama convey the fragments of a life lived, but only partly remembered.
DVD (Color) / 1988 / 30 minutes
http://www.learningemall.com/News/Family_Studies_1806.html
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you can get visited by many ghosts this christmas by checking out my OC-pedia. basic info for The Sages and ghosts in general have now been added 👍
#chayos speaks#my ocs#neocities#not as much as id like it to have but im gonna be traveling the rest of the month so 😴 probly wont be updating again soon
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I think for Valentines Season I would like to make. goofy OC valentines. I currently have 0 (zero) actual ideas for this, but I will think on it. Pls give suggestions.
Edit: ya i failed to come up with anything. oh well! Maybe next year.
#chayos speaks#what do people do for valentines messages again.#i drew custom valentines things Once and it was all animal puns (easy). i want like that but with My Guys.#romance? cannot do. puns? hell yeah.#the aromanticism strikes again 😔
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Im over here checking references to add my furries to the oc wiki and i never finished references for ShimSham??? I never even sketched them?? Shimmy honey im so sorry how could i forget you
#working on this immediately.#chayos speaks#<- finally starting a talking tag.#my shimsham#these furries specifically
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how did xiphoid
their design. Is so. If I had an action figure of them I would chew on the tail. How did you make them.
also where did the idea for ledd come from he’s such a silly little guy
(Hopefully these are like. What you were looking for my brain is shot
Very good questions! I love character design questions :]
I'm p sure you're asking about Doctor, Xiphoid's cyborg design (the one w the very chewable tail), which did get designed after Xiph's main design. So mostly the thought process was trying to translate my goofy robot into something hot and cyberpunk! So stuff like their build, their hands, their eyes, those are all straight from normal Xiph. Beyond that, I really wanted to take inspiration from like. 90s-2000s tech, for some reason that's what I associate with Xiph. Hence that epic clear plastic. Well, and cause I think exposed bones and wires are hot.
In-universe, "Doc" is canon Xiphoid's hot mary sue self insert :3c so a big part of their design is also "what would Xiphoid want to look like as a hot human" and the answer is feminine person with small tits and long legs. A direct copy of canon Xiph would be wearing that white lab coat, but they only wear that coat cause it's the only thing they have! Robots locked in company buildings can't exact go on shopping sprees. So cyborg Xiph gets whatever cute outfits they want :3
If you want more proper character design process, I can talk about robot Xiph's design too ^^
LEDD is a very fun story! I got the idea for the name from misreading a box for LED lightbulbs and for some reason getting very fixated on what the extra D would stand for. Then, when I needed an evil AI for my Portal ripoff D&D campaign, I figured that'd make a good acronym. Most of his design is also very ripped from Portal, or more accurately, from fanon designs of Wheatley. A proper lab-controlling AI needs a fancy suit and tie.
LEDD's meant to feel like a cute, unassuming mascot, so I took inspiration from like: mickey mouse, the fallout guy, the monopoly man, uhh pillsbury dough boy? And also puppets in general. LEDD's round and simple and marketable and so non-threatening! He's even got those retro oval-shaped eyes, except a liiiittle off cause he's got. Pupils. All the better for watching you with :)
Thank u for asking about my blue robots :]
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probably a Wild Ask, but do any of yall have questions about like. How I made a specific art/animation/character design, or my Process in general? I have to write a thing for class and I have NO idea where to start >< what do people want to hear me talk about?
#NOT lore questions (right now) this is about The Art Itself#ill answer the questions for yall too of course. just not as academically as im gonna spin it for class#chayos speaks#i hate these assignments tbh. cant do this open-ended shit.
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sometimes i forget im getting a professional art degree. how did i get here. i literally just want to make art for furries and freaks, who let me in here with the painting and sculpture majors. put me back in cartoon class.
#having to take a professional art business class rn where im learning about like portfolios and artist statements and stuff.#and all the examples and readings are: 'how to get your art sold to a museum for 2000 dollars' which. Not Helpful for Me Personally.#literally todays reading was like: 'i know youre gonna wanna price your art at like a million dollars' and im like.#buddy i struggle to ask for 20 bucks. your experiences are Not Universal. where are the art selling guides for people with low confidence.#chayos speaks#hopefully i graduate next semester and i can be done with all this 🤞HOPEFULLY.#this post matches nicely with my immediate previous post of funny fursona dance i did instead of homework. my priorities.
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Added some things to the idea list on my neocities this week :] Specifically: "Hymn for a Scarecrow" Pat backstory, and fully finished LEDDlabs Jeopardy thing.
#a beautiful tragic dnd backstory and. ledd says fuck a lot.#someday ill actually animate some of leddlabs jeopardy i swear it. someday. it fits So well.#chayos speaks#neocities#my ocs#pat the scarecrow#leddlabs#idk if ive properly advertised The Idea List at all. its all the animatics i WOULD make if i had the time and the focus to draw all that.
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Hiii first post wow! I have the queue set up to rb all the stimboards i made on my art blog. After that, maybe i'll fix up a proper info post to pin. We'll see!
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