#when I'm trying to get a new character or trying to set a special mood I'm finding music that would set the atmosphere | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

suokumi · 27 days

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🎼 Your favorite music to draw to right now?

I'm listening to a lot of random stuff thanks to YouTube skjdicks

Recently have been having "Yeah Yeah Yeah" by Jack Conte on repeat for hours while focused on art projects tho

If I want something without words I go to Undertale remixes, mostly listening to SharaX Official or anything random that comes up

#suo shut up #there's also #a lot of hazbin hotel song both from cartoons and fan made #and when I'm moody I'm listening to nightcore covers hfgjffhhffhgxh #when I'm trying to get a new character or trying to set a special mood I'm finding music that would set the atmosphere

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vikkirosko · 2 months

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Hello! Can I request Angel Dust and Lucifer (and any other character if you want to) with fashion designer sinner S/o who is in love with their aesthetic and likes to make clothes for them. Reader likes making surprises for special days and they make some clothing peaces for them as a gift. + I can especially imagine Lucifer and reader together designing something with rubber ducks on it (I've wrote this request in the middle of the night so I'm sorry for any mistakes) Thank you!

Headcanons Designer

🕷 Angel Dust x sinner!Reader 💖

You met Angel when he was leaving the studio. You were dating Velvette that day and you had a big fight. However, all your bad mood evaporated when you saw him. You literally fell in love with his aesthetics and you came up with a huge number of designs that you could make inspired by his image. You immediately approached him and offered him a small job for a fee. Over time, your business relationship turned into a friendly one, and then into a romantic one

Angel was flattered that he was an inspiration to you. When you were working, he often kept you company. There was always soft music playing in your sewing workshop, it smelled nice, and no one came into your office without getting permission from you. Angel could relax, appreciate the sketch you showed him, or just spend time with you. He often hugged you from behind, watched your work with interest, and sometimes distracted you from work by kissing you and pulling you away from your desk

On special days, for example, when you successfully completed work on a collection of clothes, you gave Angel small gifts. It was a few pieces of clothing. It could have been a jacket, hat, gloves, shirt or something else. You always gave several items, trying to combine them in style and match the style that he liked. Angel liked your gifts and often wore them, especially when you invited him to the shows of your new collections

Angel liked you and he liked your relationship. You were passionate about your work, but you were kind, caring and attentive. You were genuinely worried about him and wanted to help him, but so far you haven't had that opportunity. But together you set out to come up with a plan to wrest his soul from the Valentino's clutches

🍎 Lucifer Morningstar x sinner!Reader 🐍

Lucifer rarely interacted with sinners, but you were, in a sense, an exception. Charlie introduced you to him. You were a fashion designer and his daughter liked the clothes you made. Lucifer, deciding to make a joke, said that he was also a designer of some kind and showed you a rubber duck that he had created. Charlie felt awkward, but to her surprise, you really liked the rubber duck, and moreover, you wanted to do something inspired by Lucifer and his creations

You really liked Lucifer's aesthetics, as you often told him. When you started dating, you often began to share with them the sketches that you did. Some of them were inspired by him and you were proud of how well they turned out. Lucifer was happy to help you by giving you honest feedback about your sketches

On one of your important dates, you said you had a surprise for him. This surprise turned out to be several pieces of clothing for him that you made yourself. You made them especially for Lucifer, and the main theme was the rubber ducks that he created. Lucifer was touched by your gift, and the cuter part of it was the little rubber duck costume

Lucifer enjoyed spending time with you. You were both creative people and shared with each other the different creations that you created. When he started living at the hotel, you were happy to offer your help, including making clothes for the hotel staff and maybe even starting to live there yourself. It was enough for Lucifer to just spend time with you, regardless of whether you were doing something for work or you were just relaxing together

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel headcanons #Angel Dust #Angel Dust x Reader #Lucifer Morningstar #Lucifer Morningstar x Reader

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ben-talks-art · 8 days

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Okay... This episode of Digital Circus almost made me cry... almost!

When I saw the first episode of this show I knew I was going to really like it, but I wasn't prepared for how much I was going to love it. This reminds me of when X-Men 97 premiered and even though we were only two episodes in I could already tell this was going to be something special.

I know it's super, super early to say this, but this might become one of my favorite shows. The way they handled this episode really worked for me in a way I haven't felt in a while.

From the very first scene things already start on a really strong note, with our main lead, Pomni, having nightmares about the worst-case scenario from the new situation she's in where she imagines herself being affected by the circus glitch and being abandoned by the rest of the cast.

This does a great job setting up her sense of isolation and how she thinks she's on her own even though they all should be on the same boat together.

This gets highlighted even more as another member of the circus, Ragatha, is seen constantly trying to show her support and getting Pomni to cheer up despite the dreadful situation they're in while Pomni herself just acts indifferent as if she had already given up on everything and everyone.

I found this characterization of hers so relatable because I also used to think for a while that my problems were mine and mine alone and that everyone trying to help me were doing that just out of obligation and not because they really cared.

For some reason it felt "safer" to just assume I couldn't count on anyone because then I wouldn't have to worry about being disappointed in anyone, after all, you can't get disappointed if you don't get your hopes up.

So imagine how hyped I got when I saw that they indirectly made Pomni realize why it's important to rely on people when they switched the roles and placed her on the position where she needed to be there for someone.

I wanted to jump and slam my desk while shouting "Perfect! Perfect! This is just perfect!!"

Everything that needed to be said was being said just in the right way, just at the right time, and with the right amount of emotion, just the right amount of seriousness and levity.

Cause here's the thing, the media often has this obnoxious tendency of portraying antisocial characters as people that need to just "Get over it."

A lot of writers enjoy lumping grumpy characters, and reserved characters, depressed characters, angry characters and all these stuff as people who just need someone to cheer them up and have them forget about their problems, as if they were babies that just need to grow up and learn to be less grumpy so they can join in with the fun alongside everyone else.

You notice that it's always a person in a bad mood + someone who's always cheerful, happy, and with a child-like joyful attitude to be their contrast or someone to call them out on their "grumpyness."

And that always bothers me because it makes it seem like they're downplaying someone's struggle or inner turmoil as if they were minor things that they latch onto to just because nobody has told them to let it go yet.

I like when stories showcase why people struggle so much to let go of this mindset, why they struggle to open up to others and find themselves cheering to their day-to-day lives again.

But I'm also aware that this is not an easy task cause it's basically asking to show someone being depressed for a good portion of your story, and if that goes on for too long or it starts diving into a too heavy of a territory, it can make it a challenge just to watch.

So yeah, I get it, it's hard to find the right balance.

To show why someone needs to overcome their personal demons, while also making it an enjoyable experience to go through.

You don't want a case like Legend Of Korra where Lin Beifong's issues were pretty much treated as a joke, but you also don't want something like the Beast Boy segments from Young Justice where every scene with him just felt the same thing for 5 or 6 episodes, even though they were realistic scenes depicting someone going through what he was dealing with and they all built up to an amazing conclusion with Black Canary... But it was still draining to go through that.

You need to find the right balance and I felt like this episode really succeeded in that. You get why Pomni feels the way she does and you get why Ragatha tries so hard to help her out and why it's important that she keeps trying even when it seems like there is no point.

I really like how Ragtha isn't just "Cheer up, Pomni! Let me show you the secret to enjoying life!", she's actually trying to be sensitive of her situation, giving her the space and time she needs, and being there for her but not forcing herself on her.

She validates Pomni's pain but also knows it's a pain that she needs to learn how to deal with, otherwise, she's just gonna miss out on her own life.

The final scene was the thing that really got me.

When Pomni finally realized that the same way she tried to help out that NPC when they were stuck, she also needs to let others help her out.

It took me so long to realize in life that I don't need to deal with everything on my own, that I had people there for me, that I'm allowed to be vulnerable and make mistakes and that the people around me who love and care about me would still be there for me.

It took way, way too long for me to realize all that, so to see that final shot of Pomni imagining herself falling just like in her dream, but this time she had trust that her friends would be there to catch her, it really hit me good.

youtube

I'm not sure how to explain it but for some reason I was really proud of her for learning such an important lesson so quickly that it took me so long to learn myself. Like, I know she's not real, she's a fictional character, but I felt an immense relief while thinking people would watch this, and learn from this, and not make the same mistakes I did.

I have no idea where this show is going, but I feel like I'm in safe hands and can't wait to see what else they're going to do and where they're going to go.

I'm very very hyped for this series!

Also, I know this makes me a monster, but this scene made me laugh. :)

#the amazing digital circus #digital circus #tadc pomni #pomni #tadc ragatha #pomni x ragatha #Youtube

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mirai-e-jump · 3 months

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TV Guide Dan Vol.50, January 2024 Issue ft. Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger Cast Members Sakai Taisei x Masato Yano Interview (translations below)

Publication: January 26, 2024

"Please introduce the character the other is playing in Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger."

Sakai: Yano-san plays Racules Husty, the big brother of Gira Husty, who I play. At first, we were led to believe that he was a bad guy who hurt his citizens, but unknown to Gira, he was carrying a huge burden on his shoulders, and was deliberately behaving in a way that made him look like that. Gira may have lost his childhood memories, but I think he respected Racules in those days, and even now is of great importance to Gira.

Yano: Gira is the younger brother of Racules, but at the same time, he's a mysterious being. Somehow, he can communicate with the Shugods…For the rest of the story, it felt like he was moving forward with innocence, but gradually, he gained leadership, moved the hearts of those around him, and became the driving force for the previously broken up Royal Sentai to become one. Furthermore, he's also been gaining more and more dignity as the new king, and now he and Racules have resolved their differences and are fighting together.

"Outside of your roles as brothers, what's the relationship between you two like?"

Yano: (with a solemn expression) We normally don't get along very well.

Sakai: (with a straight face) We fight alot.

Sakai & Yano: (laughs).

Yano: No, we're just joking. That's not the case at all.

Sakai: Yano-san takes very good care of me. He cares about me, asking, "Are you eating properly?," and also gives me advice on acting.

Yano: I'm not offering anything major. I just say, "Here's what I'm doing."

Sakai: For example, in running scenes, Yano-san breathes loudly with, "Haa, haa" to make the sound easier to pick up. Since Gira has many running scenes, I try to incorporate this in my own way.

Yano: I believe that each actor has their own way of creating emotion, so I often talk about the technical aspects. For example, it's better not to blink during important scenes, as it could distract the viewers. If there's no dialogue in a scene where you're close to a character's face, I'd suggest that you express your feelings by clenching your teeth or swallowing saliva.

Sakai: He teaches me these things in a way that's easy to understand. Furthermore, Yano-san has so many variations to his performance! He's always been a great help.

"Speaking of, what do you usually call each other?"

Sakai: I call him "Aniki."

Yano:…You've never called me that once though.

Sakai: Ahaha! Just now, I got scared~.

Yano: I immediately started thinking about the best way to respond to your joke.

Sakai: Actually, it's "Yano-san."

Yano: For me, it's "Sakai". Sometimes I call him "Taisei." Like when we go out to eat.

Sakai: It makes me happy to be called Taisei by Yano-san. From now on, I want you to call me Taisei!

Yano: You prefer Taisei?

Sakai: Yeah, but Sakai is fine too. I've been called that since I worked together with Yano-san in the drama "Shinyu wa Akujo."

Yano: Everyone called him Taisei, but I intentionally chose Sakai.

Sakai: Eh? Was it to make me feel special?! I'm so happy~!

Yano: Well…that's right! (laughs). What does Ikeda Masashi call you by?

Sakai: You mean by everyone?

Yano: Why'd you respond like that? (laughs). Sakai is like this, and sometimes I can't get through to him. The other day he asked, "What did you eat for dinner?" and when I answered, about 3 minutes later, he asked me the same question again.

Sakai: I wanted him to respond with, "How many times have you asked that?!" (*he wanted to do a bit with Yano)

Yano: Absolutely not. I could tell by your face. Sakai has a different kind of expression when he's like that.

Sakai: Eh? So you can understand such subtle changes! Yano-san is the mood maker on set. When he's on standby in front of the cameras for a monologue scene, he makes strange faces right up until the actual performance (laughs).

Yano: Hey, hey, that makes it seem like I don't take my job seriously! Well, it is true that I make strange faces (laughs).

"We've heard from your co stars that Yano-kun is lonely, and that he posts the most in the King-Ohger cast's group LINE…"

Yano: It's a misunderstanding. There's a reason for that. It's a common occurrence among actors, but even if you create a group LINE with your co stars, after filming begins or after some time passes, no one says anything. I don't like it, so I post frequently, but no one ever responds…

Sakai: I often have trouble speaking up because I'm too considerate of my seniors.

Yano: Sakai doesn't really say anything. Rather, he doesn't return private LINE messages.

Sakai: That's not true. I reply as soon as I see them!

Yano: You didn't reply the other day.

Sakai: I might've been working.

Yano: Let's just leave it at that (laughs).

"Since you play brothers in this work, we'd like to ask what kind of household chores you'd share if the two of you were to live together."

Sakai: Leave the toilet and bathtub cleaning to me!

Yano: Are you good at it?

Sakai: I'm the type of person who makes things beautiful when my "switch" is turned on. However, folding clothes and vacuuming…I don't feel like doing that.

Yano: Well then, guess I'll do it.

Sakai: Please also take care of the cooking!

Yano: How strange! (laughs). Because, Sakai, you have a rice cooker at your house, and yet you eat precooked rice packs, right?

Sakai: Cooking rice is a pain…

Yano: I really don't understand that feeling.

Sakai: Everything depends on my mood (laughs). If I feel like cooking rice, I'll cook it.

Yano: So, on days when Sakai feels like it and cooks rice for me, I'll have to say "Thank you~!" out of consideration. How annoying~ (laughs).

"(laughs). In the future, if you were to work together again as actors, what kind of production would you like to work on?"

Sakai: I'd like to play a yakuza role.

Yano: I see. Your role would be something like, "Even though his face is cute, his face is calm when he kills," does that sound good?

Sakai: That's good!

Yano: Well then, I'll play the role of the detective who hunts him down. There was a drama like that, right? It was…"Informa," featuring Morita Go-san and Kiritani Kenta-san!

Sakai: Ah!

Yano: Sakai would be in Kiritani-san's position in that drama. Or, I'll be in Kiritani-san's position and Sakai will be in Yokohama Ryusei-san's position.

Sakai: That's really good!

Yano: Personally, I'm looking forward to it. What kind of work will Sakai first appear in after he graduates from King-Ohger? I think it's really important to make that first step. What kind of production do you want to be in?

Sakai: I have almost no experience in acting, so I'd like to play any kind of role.

Yano: Then, if you had to choose between comedy, romance, or serious, which one would you prefer?

Sakai: Are they genres I can do? In that case, I'll do it.

Yano: No, don't just say "I'll do it." I just gave you choices.

Sakai: I see, my bad (laughs). If I had to pick, I'd like to do a serious one. Also, comedy.

Yano: You chose two (laughs). And they're completely opposite genres.

Sakai: I'm greedy (laughs).

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rileyclaw · 1 year

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Hii! First off i just want to I'm such a big fan of your art and animatics! Your art is just so expressive and unique its addicting to look at 💞💞

I was wondering if you could go over how your process or tutorial in making an animatic? Whenever I try to start to make one, I get jumbled up and end up ditching it lol

I'm sorry if you get this question a lot 😭

So sorry it took me so long to answer this- I was in a Busy time (diseaseridden with covid and being punched by finals) when I got the ask and wanted to answer it with some stuff Im using for my next TOH animatic!!

I'll say one thing first: I get jumbled up and ditch so many animatics. For every one animatic I release, there are three to five more I have that have NEVER seen the light of day (yet). And that's okay!! It's fun just to make them for me, and I hope it is for you too!! Animatics are scary because if you're working on it alone, it can be really hard to be your own cheerleader to keep up the mojo to keep going. So that makes it really special when there is that project that makes it to the finish line- cuz you can look at it and go "holy crap I made this. holy crap i MADE that look how SICK that is dude!! all that work and look at the turnout!!"

The following stuffh is just my personal process and is by no means representative of a professional animation pipeline, but this works for me as a Lonely Artist! It all begins with the idea - whether it's a song, or just a story you wanna tell. In the case of the one I'm gonna demo here with , I wanted to animate Hunter's first day as Del's apprentice!

The first thing I did was write a script. Not fancy or AO3-quality, but enough that I understand the pacing and the visuals of each shot. I usually just put this in a doc or put it in a script format, if I feel fancy.

Then, I take that script and find music that I think would fit for it- and remix it (if needed) to fit the pacing/mood/etc! This is what this new animatic looked like before I began ANY artwork- this is a me thing because I'm super inspired by audio as opposed to visuals first. But you might be different- this is just how I like working personally!

Then begins the research! I find references for characters, background layouts, and create a style guide for the animatic that tells me how thick lines will be for characters, backgrounds, if there'll be tons of value or no. I make a turnaround for each character so I can refer to them because Im gonna be drawing them over and over a LOT and want to be consistent! Luckily TOH has no shortage of references, so I based my work off them.

THEN, I can begin drawing. I'm a little,,, (a lot) ADHD and may not always do this process, but if you're new to animatics or daunted by the task at hand, make beat boards of the entire project.

This is just a page of rough thumbnails that get your visual idea down - look how rough and quick these are!! I try not to spend over a minute on each beat board if I dont have to, unless it's a particularly complex shot.

When it gets to the stage where you're ready to begin the actual scenes, I personally tend to do backgrounds first because I like to set characters into backgrounds - and for every animatic, I have the Awkward Blue Sketch Stage which is basically my beat boards timed out as an animatic.

I used Storyboard Pro for this (Toonboom, not free ): icky), but the process can be replicated across most art platforms in whichever way you feel most comfy with! This is so I can time the drawings before I devote time cleaning them up-- which can make for some Pretty Funny looking little guys but theyre important!! trust!!

Once a big sequence of shots is cleaned up (I usually do 40-60 second chunks at a time), I export the .mov and send it to my editing program (which in this case is still Premiere Pro) - and then repeat this process again and again until.. it's done??

Here's like a TL;DR list of basically everything I said summed up:

• Make a loose script or bulletin of the idea! Do your research!

• Depending on what kind of animatic you're making, time it to music!

• Make a beat board of very loose gestures for your shots, and time them - then move on to refinement & cleanup!

• Combine all shots, refine music cues and timings, add any last needed VFX, and export!

There's no secret recipe or anything, it's just learning a pipeline that best suits you, whether it is for something professional or something you want to make for fun because you just love to make!!

#riley talks #long post #SORRY ITS LONG but i couldnt just put a bulletin list like “this is the ONLY method that works” bc thats not true!!!#everyone works diferently especially artists #and this is just my specific method of working #im very fortunate to have programs that make animatic-making a little easier #so i hope whoever wishes to make one in the future finds something that works well for them!! i have a blast making storyboards/animatics!!#text post #ask #tutorial #idk how to tag this lol

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gurugirl · 10 months

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I love stepdad Harry! Always brings a smile to my face when i see youve posted (guilty pleasure yum). Thank you for the last one!

but i cannot get enough of stepmom reader. You’ve made that one into something really special. In fact I told someone about it last week and they were like ~ nope. Not into stepmom stuff or older yn. Nope ~

but then guess what? they wound up reading it and binged all three parts and admitted to me that they were wrong 😂 I’m like ‘yeah I know’

just wanted to share that with you! Your stepmom fic is so shockingly good (not shocking bc you’re not a good writer, shocking bc it’s a trope most of us were not interested in) that it’s quickly become my top 5 all time favorite.

i cannot wait for part 4! I adore them and you so much. Do you have any idea when part 4 will come out? Any sneaky???

ps.. sorry for the weird capitalization stuff going on there. My phone decided when to capitalize randomly and I’m too lazy to fix.

A Good Boy sneak peek under the cut below!

🥹 thank you so much, babe. Really glad you liked the stepdad!harry from yesterday! That was a quick little fun thing to write.

As for stepmom!reader - wow! I really love that you're liking it so much and talking about it with other people and that your friend changed their mind 😂 Seems to be the theme for that fic. So many of y'all didn't think you'd like it based on the trope alone but I'm surprised that you guys did enjoy it anyway! Makes me smile.

So, I'm almost done with part 4. I think I can have it out by Thursday? Maybe? I'm super busy today (well, busy for me LOL) and gonna try to write but I've also got something I'm working on that someone paid me to write so I'm prioritizing that. Thursday at the earliest I'll post part 4 but I'll let y'all know.

And the random capitalization? My phone does the same. 😂 The words can't, can, and don't often get capitalized in the middle of sentences and it's a crapshoot on when the beginning of a sentence will be capitalized or not. I need to turn it off so it just leaves everything lowercase. So no judgement from me!

Sneak peek below !! (just remember this is literally copied from the word doc I'm writing in and hasn't been proofread or edited so some changed may be made before I post part 4)

Y/n was wearing her newly altered peach silk dress. The alterations were simple. The straps and hem were adjusted and the back column was dropped down a bit to drape to her low back. Her strappy nude heels were well-worn but comfortable because she was just simply not in the mood to wear the stiff, new heels she’d just bought.

The estate of Rebecca Manera was impressive. Probably equally as impressive as Leonardo Styles’. Most of the guests had already arrived by the time the Styles’ walked through the front door a little late.

Leo scolded Y/n for taking so long to get ready and making them run behind but in all honesty, she didn’t give a fuck. They could be half an hour late. No one would care. Why rush to go to a party? It’s not like they needed to clock in and earn a paycheck.

“It’s rude, Y/n. That’s why it matters. You’re so goddamn rude sometimes. You only think about yourself.”

She turned sharply to look at her husband in shock. That was the first time he’d ever said such a thing to her. Normally he had no opinion on how she conducted herself. She was chronically late. Yes, she could admit that was a flaw in her character but she was on time when it really counted. But to get so worked up over a party? And to insult her on top of it?

That had set the whole mood for the night. And now she was even more suspicious about this Rebecca.

But when Rebecca did make her appearance and introduced herself to Y/n she was taken aback. The woman had to be in her 50s. She was pretty, sure, but not quite Leo’s type. If Y/n were any sort of indicator of a type.

Servers walked around with trays and served the couples in attendance. There were only ten couples there as well as Rebecca’s two daughters, Y/n learned. Quite the intimate affair really.

Leo brought a glass of wine to Y/n as she chatted with Mrs. Topman (she never learned her first name, as the woman literally introduced herself as Mrs. Topman).

“Here you are darling.” His green eyes shined down at her before searching the room casually. She was on to Leo. But she found it odd that the woman he was with in the Hamptons was Rebecca. She was intrigued.

She watched Rebecca mingle and sip wine and laugh and there was nothing there that made Y/n think Leo would be interested in her sexually. But maybe that was it, Y/n thought to herself as she cocked her head to the side watching the woman speak boisterously. Maybe it wasn’t sexual. Maybe it was a woman he felt a deeper connection with than he did with Y/n. Perhaps it hadn’t started sexual but led there.

The snack table was set up with decadent treats. Y/n picked up a toast smeared with something pink, topped with heart-shaped tomatoes on top as she scanned the room for Leo, wondering where he’d gone off to. It hadn’t been that long but knowing about Rebecca being with him made things feel like she was in some kind of true crime detective story and was trying to get to the bottom of a mystery. Though there was no crime being committed, she could entertain herself with that thought.

“Are you enjoying your time tonight?”

Y/n turned her sight to Rebecca who was next to her picking up the same toast with pink schmear.

“It’s amazing. Your home is so lovely, Mrs. Manera,” she smiled and noted the woman’s massive diamond ring in addition to her massive diamond wedding ring.

“Why thank you. Phineas has put in so much work to make this large shell into a lovely cozy home.”

Y/n nearly spat her bite out. The home was anything but cozy.

“It’s incredible. Where is Mr. Manera tonight?”

“Oh, just over there,” she pointed to a man in tweed with thick black-framed glasses, “You haven’t met yet?”

Rebecca led the way as Y/n walked in her wake to meet Mr. Manera. She had still not spotted her own husband.

“Phineas, dear, this is Mrs. Styles. Leonardo’s wife.”

The man held his hand out, “Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Styles.”

“Likewise. You can call me Y/n.”

“Well, Y/n. We’re happy to have you here. Where’s Leo anyway? Haven’t seen him.”

Turning around quickly to look over her shoulder she shrugged and faced the man and his wife again, “Not sure actually. I haven’t seen him in a bit myself,” she laughed. And before she could even think about what she was implying she spoke to Rebecca, “But I’m sure you’ve seen enough of him since you saw him in the Hampton’s this weekend.”

Rebecca and Phineas’ smiles dropped as they looked at one another and then back to Y/n, “I haven’t been to the Hamptons in over a decade. Are you sure you’re not mistaking me for Parker? Our daughter? She was just there all weekend with her girlfriends.”

A Good Boy Masterlist

A Good Boy tags: @becauseheartsgetbroken-hs @shishcabobsworld @daphnesutton @spinnerswife69 @holy-macncheese-balls @cookielovesbook-akie @lilfreakjez @itsgigikay @amateurduck

#harry styles #firstpost #ask #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles one shot #harry styles x reader #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fan fiction #sneak peek #harry styles x yn #harry styles x y/n #harry styles writing #stepmom!reader

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benkyoutobentou · 2 months

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31 Days of Productivity Reading: Day twenty five

Before: We are getting scarily close to the end of the month… I absolutely want to read ten volumes of manga because I know that it’s doable. I had one month last year where I just ended up reading a ton and read thirty one volumes in one month. I’ve definitely been focusing more on novel reading this month, and I feel like all things considered, I haven’t had as much time for reading this month as I usually do. Which kind of makes me want to do this again some time.

The current plans for today are watch the last episode of ゆびさきと恋々, go to the library to study, and finish ベルばら volume two. It’s not supposed to rain today, so the current plan is to walk to the library. I’m also thinking that I might choose and English audiobook to listen to on the walk, so I’ll have to scour my English shelves to find one I want to listen to.

After: That was such a good last episode! I really hope they get a season two because this show totally deserves it. I love seeing people’s reasons for learning languages and seeing an interest that’s so dear to me in a fictional character is really special, so of course I loved seeing Itsuomi’s backstory. I also pulled out my fancy gyokurocha for this last episode. カンパイ！

Today's trip to the library was also successful and productive. My hold came in and they miscategorized my name again, but at least I know where to look now. I did in fact start listening to Little Fires Everywhere on the walk there, and studied some Mandarin at the library. My only issue with walking to the library is that after walking there (and walking the dog beforehand) and studying a bit, I get really hungry. Oh, I also discovered that my library has 青のフラッグ！This is great news for me and terrible news for my tbr.

I've been thinking lately on how this challenge is shaping up to be a little bit of a failure, and I'm trying to figure out why. I might get through all of my goals and I might be reading an hour every day, but I feel like I'm not prioritizing reading in my schedule this month like I normally do. Usually when that happens, it's because I'm not enjoying what I'm reading, or I'm not in the mood for it, but I can say pretty certainly that that's not what's happening here. Honestly, my hypothesis is that the timing aspect is putting extra pressure on me and causing me to avoid reading. Instead of reading a page here and there, which then turns into a longer reading session, I think I'm searching for the mythical "perfect time" to read so that I don't have to stop and start my timer much, and then putting off reading until the last possible moment in the day. Other than this odd little setback, I've been enjoying this challenge (and I think it's good for me), so I think I might bring it back in a few months' time and try setting a page count goal for myself rather than a time goal.

On that note, I read 56 pages today over an hour and one minute with an average reading pace of 1.1 minutes per page. Finishing this volume is absolutely in the cards for tomorrow, and I'd like to make reading a higher priority as well. It feels rough taking three days to get through a volume of manga anymore when I know I can do it in a day, it's just that I'm not giving myself the proper reading time to do so. Which I need to fix.

#benkyou posting #langblr #studyblr #language learning #polyglot #30 days of productivity #booklr

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celestialsister0918 · 5 months

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Fic Writing Review 2023

Thanks for tagging me, @gammacousin!

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either. (Copied and pasted)

Words and Fics

Word Count:

142,081

Fic Count:

6 started. 5 completed

Most Productive Month: February by far, thanks to Kinkuary!

Top Five by Hits

The One He Needs Right Now: Jim Gordon's Kinkuary: 5941

What I'm Thinking About (Sirius x Ginny): 3600

A Window Not Missed (Bruce x Nat): 2107

A Window Closed (Bruce x Nat): 1101

In the Sepulcher by the Sea (Sirius x Severus): 684

Top Five by Kudos

A Window Not Missed (Bruce x Nat): 96

What I'm Thinking About (Sirius x Ginny): 61

A Window Closed (Bruce x Nat): 47

In the Sepulcher by the Sea (Sirius x Severus): 32

The One He Needs Right Now: Jim Gordon's Kinkuary: 24

Fandom events:

Two @trulymadlydeeplyfest fests! 1 in February and 1 in October. Both Harry Potter. I'm so bad at knowing where all the fests are so those are my only two.

Upcoming Plans:

To Complete:

Finish "A Window Closed" (Bruce x Nat)

Start "A Window Opened" (Bruce x Nat)

Start "A Special Election" (Jim Gordon x NEW OC) - I have one chapter written and some dialogue prompts for chapter 2. I'm soooo excited for this one.

Other Ideas:

Continue one-off Sirius and other Gary Oldman character one-shots on Tumblr.

Write a Jackson Lamb piece

Maybe write a Kate Bishop x Yelena Belova one-shot if the mood strikes

Write another Gary Oldman RPF (many dialogue prompts already written). Here's my first Gary RPF if interested... it was set during the Dracula filming. The new one will be set after his divorce from Alex but before Gisele.

Reflection

I took a couple long breaks from writing this year. After finishing "Submissioner Gordon" in December of 2022, I was at a pretty bad low from lack of interaction with that fic. My heart has NEVER been in something as much as it was that fic, so to have so many hits and so little interaction made me think everyone hated it. Yet I continued the story with the Kinkuary prompts, where I wrote a short fic every day for 28 days. Again, I feel like it bombed.

At the same time, I made what I thought would be my last hurrah in the Harry Potter fandom, and it didn't do so great either. I was in a BAD spot comparing myself to other writers, so I took a long hiatus.

During that break, I started watching the entire MCU with my son, start to finish. My brain grabbed onto Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff and would NOT let go. So in May, I began publishing the "Never Say Never" series, where I try to fix their story.

The feedback from the Marvel fandom and Brutasha readers/writers really warmed my heart and got me back in the groove. I am forever thankful to them, because it truly restored my confidence in writing.

I will always be thankful for my Wizarding World series and the Submissioner Gordon/Daddy Issues universe, and my brain loves to revisit those stories and characters. It's just bittersweet because it never really found its audience. However the feedback I got from my foray into the MCU fandom has built my confidence enough that I am able to write in HP and Dark Knight without really worrying what others think. I am just doing it for me and my love for the characters. I know my writing isn't bad--- it's just not a lot of people's cup of tea.

I also want to give a shoutout to the small but steadfast Gary Oldman fandom I have found on Tumblr and Instagram. They've become very dear to my heart, and I love that we can share random thirst posts together when so many others just don't get it.

If anyone is reading this, please share your 2023 stats and reflections as well! I love writers supporting writers. Happy 2024 to you all!

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denimbex1986 · 3 months

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'During a Zoom interview with Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, it's easy to feel like you're the annoying third party interrupting a couple's date.

Two are a couple, but three are one too many, and during the interview with Scott and Mescal I found myself struggling to get a word in edgewise - in the best way possible. The actors who star in the supernatural drama "All of Us Strangers," the new film from British director Andrew Haigh, finish each other's sentences, joke eagerly and go off on tangents. They finish their sentences in shared giggles.

The two actors - real-life internet boyfriends - have been exploiting that chemistry in recent months while promoting "All of Us Strangers."

“All of Us Strangers” – The Plot

The film, an adaptation of the spooky 1987 novel “Summer with Strangers” by Taichi Yamada, tells the story of Adam (Scott), a screenwriter who tries to work on a script about his parents, who he grew up with while embarking on an affair with an attractive, mysterious neighbor (Mescal).

“All of Us Strangers” can be a confusing film at first glance. Early reactions focused on the sizzling chemistry between Scott and Mescal in the film's opening scenes, as Scott and Mescal's characters find each other and begin a tender romance. But the film is much more complex than it first appears, and shape-shifts - into a ghost story, a horror film, a mumblecore romance, a time-travel adventure, an ode to the Pet Shop Boys. All of this throws him off balance, only to reveal himself as a monument to the power of love.

How Paul Mescal describes getting to know each other romantically

I asked her about filming the unusual meeting in “All of Us Strangers,” a scene that sets the special mood between the two on screen and at the same time foreshadows the outcome of the film. This leads to a discussion about what it means to meet.

“Would you call this a meet-cute?” Mescal asks me back.

“We meet and it’s cute,” chimes in Scott.

"Forget the creepy drunk man saying, 'Let me into your house!'" Mescal jokes.

“There's a vampire at my door... That's cute!” says Scott.

“Paul, some people like vampires and you shouldn’t shame them,” I reply.

“Oh God, I have absolutely no intention of shaming anyone,” Mescal says. “If you like guys like that coming to your door, go ahead!”

How the attraction between two men is portrayed in “All of Us Strangers.”

Crucial to the film's power is an early scene in which Scott's character Adam first meets Mescal's character Harry, who is standing drunk on his doorstep and offering a drink. And his body. The later parts of the film shed light on the duality happening in this scene - the ending (spoiler alert: there's a twist) wouldn't work without it. But when we first meet the two, all we see is the chemistry and sexual tension.

“That was probably one of the first scenes we shot together,” says Mescal, “The most important thing is that I get saved in that scene. When I stand at the door and say, 'I'm incredibly excited. You have to let me in', no one will let you in, a complete stranger. So I try to use sexuality as a tool. I'm trying to be saved. And I think it almost works.”

“It's one of the scenes that I would personally consider to be one of my favorite scenes that I've ever played,” says Scott. “I think there is a certain second level to the scene. As an actor, your job is to say, 'Well, this is what it is.' You play it like you would play anyone who walks in the door. But as a storyteller you have to know that it has some meaning... It's almost like you're playing the opposite of what's going to happen."

Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott on the sex scenes

“And in the context of the rest of the film, I actually find this scene quite disturbing,” Mescal adds, “because the desperation that you think has to do with sex is actually to do with a completely different thing . And the dialogue is just so good because it also has jokes. He says, 'I guess they don't want to jump out the window, that would be bad for business' - dark humor, but it's also really sexy."

Much of the initial enthusiasm for the film centered on the sex scenes between Mescal and Scott's characters. One of the most talked about moments in the film is when Mescal's character, Harry, licks the sperm off of Andrew Scott's character, Adam, during their first sex session.

“It was written the way it was in the script,” says director Andrew Haigh, “it kind of went over people's heads. They ask, 'Is it sweat? Is it something else?' And I say, 'No, it's sperm. But gay people are like, 'I know what's going on,' which I kind of love," he says, smiling.

“Intimacy is so important,” the British filmmaker continues, “and often you don't see that in sex scenes. You don't feel the connection. You don't feel the eye contact, you don't feel that they're both there enjoying each other's bodies, let's say, enjoying it."

In less capable hands, such a scene could go wrong. But Scott and Mescal say it was their knowledge of Haigh's work that made them feel like he was getting it right. He had already proven how good he was at writing intimate scenes with films like “Weekend” and “45 Years”.

“Sex is a form of communication, just like dialogue,” says Scott, “and we need to figure out how they would physically talk to each other.”

“It's also about keeping little secrets in a completely safe way,” says Mescal, “because if you say them, you can't surprise yourself in the scene.”

“I'm very interested in showing all the different facets of what sex means to people,” says Haigh: “There's this idea that queer people all do the same thing - they don't, there are lots of different variations on that , what people like and dislike and do and don't do. And that’s why I want to show all of that.”'

#Andrew Haigh #Andrew Scott #Paul Mescal #All of Us Strangers #Strangers #Taichi Yamada #Pet Shop Boys #Always on My Mind #Weekend #45 Years

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bobafett · 1 month

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stealing this because the boops made me realize how much i miss tag games.

How many works do you have on AO3? A grand total of 14. I am not a prolific writer.

What’s your total AO3 word count? 63,880. Please see above answer.

What fandoms do you write for? Batman and Star Wars. I have a little bit of Supernatural fic posted on an alt account, and I've been turning over an idea for an OW fic in my head for a while, but it takes me a long time to figure out how to write in a fandom in a way that still captures the "vibes" of the source material (which is always one of my goals). So I rarely branch out.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? New Cornerstone (suitless!Vader AU from a million years ago), Brothers in Arms (Jon starts to get an inkling that his best friend has perhaps not had a normal childhood), Setting the Bone (Selina Kyle: reluctant parental figure), In This Twilight (Damian and Jason brotherly bonding, first batfam fic I ever wrote), and Try to Sweep the Darkness Out (batfam Christmas special that I've almost orphaned 10 times because I hate the writing choices I made in it so much). None of the fics I'm actually proud of are on this list. Tragic.

Do you respond to comments? Irregularly and unpredictably! I will if I feel like I have something to say and it catches me in the right mood.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Uh, that would be High Water Mark since it starts with a scene of Cody contemplating suicide and ends with the instant right before Order 66 kicks in.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably Problem Solving since it's the only fic I've ever written where I was actually trying to be light hearted.

Do you get hate on fics? Never, thankfully.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? If I thought I could do it successfully, I would. But I'm not, so I don't.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Basically never. There is a Doctor Who/Sherlock fic buried on my old FF.net account. There's also a Super Smash Bros fic on there that I wrote in 2009, which I suppose also counts.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I can't imagine why anyone would.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, and I never would. I'm too much of a control freak about my writing. Writing, say, shared universe stuff might be fun, but actually co-authoring something would drive me nuts.

What’s your all time favorite ship? What a question. I come back to Jaime/Brienne a lot for reading, but I don't think I'd ever write it. I write a ton of BatCat, but rarely read it because I'm particular. I like Lois/Clark, but I almost never write OR read it. I'm honestly not very ship motivated. Most of the time I filter for a ship because I'm in the mood for its attendant tropes, and if the writing is good, you can sell me on just about anything.

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Hmngh. New Cornerstone again. There's 20k of an expanded version of it on my hard drive that I haven't added to since probably 2017. There's something very fun about suitless!Vader as a character because he's such a sparking, destructive livewire of a person, but also I'm experienced enough now to realize how difficult doing justice to that premise is. Also, I'd have to rewatch TCW to get Ahsoka's voice down, and I just don't got time for that shit.

What are your writing strengths? Description and sense of place. Also pretty good at dialogue.

What are your writing weaknesses? Fucking. Long fic. Plot in general. I'm horrifically bad at it.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I'm usually inclined to keep all my dialogue in English, but it would depend on the context and the effect I was going for.

First fandom you wrote for? Purposefully? Inuyasha. Without having any idea what fanfic was? I created an Artemis Fowl fairy OC and stuck her in Indiana Jones when I was 10 years old.

Favorite fic you’ve written? They Don't Sing Songs For Me. No contest. It's perfectly captures what I think is the ideal form of fanfic: two characters who have absolutely no business interacting with each other building a compelling relationship dynamic over the course of 9k words.

I will be tagging @panharmonium, @apostatefrog, @dead-ghost-walking, @ryehouses, @yellowocaballero, @lazuliquetzal. Also anyone else who wants to. I will bring back tag games by force of will, so help me God.

#nothing like looking at your own AO3 archive to make you realize how much you've grown as a writer since 2015 #from the beehive

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kyabetsuhime · 6 months

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Rinne Amagi 4☆ – Please, God☆

Writer: Yuumasu Characters: Kanata, Hiyori, Rinne, HiMERU, Kohaku, Niki Season: Autumn Translation: ksts Proofreading: mai (ENG)

Rinne: (So my next job is in an hour... I wanna play pachinko, but guess I'll only end up gettin’ there and comin' right back.) (And there's no point in goin' to Cinnamon either as Niki isn't there.) (Well, it seems I have no choice but to stay here and kill time. If only something could keep me from gettin' bored...) (...Oh.) Hey, Hiyori-chan♪ What a coincidence, nice to see you. For some reason, your mere presence is like a good omen. As if I'm gettin' an "fine weather" blessing...♪

Hiyori: Rinne-senpai, I know you're tearfully happy to see me, but now it's terrible weather…

Rinne: Hm? What's the matter? You don't look well. Did you caught a cold or somethin'?

Hiyori: I wanted to pick up some snacks for a light meal, but the quiche I was looking for was out of stock. Even though I was the one who wrote the letter asking them to add quiche to their repertoire, me not getting it in the end is simply unforgivable!

Rinne: Ehh, so your favorite food is tissues? Are you a goat eatin' paper?♪ Come on, Hiyori-chan, say maa maa...☆

Hiyori: I won't! And I'm not a goat! I'm not in the mood to be teased, why do you keep messing with me?

Rinne: But isn't it natural to greet acquaintances when you meet them in your free time? Why don't you get along with me since we're roommates? Gyahaha☆

Hiyori: Roommates, huh... Then you should ask Kanata-kun to keep you company. He'll bring you luck too, though not as much as me.

Rinne: What do you mean?

Hiyori: It's just a rumor. When I was still at Yumenosaki, I've heard that some people worship him, believing that he can make any wish come true for them.

Rinne: Any, huh? Gyahaha, that definitely isn’t true then. There's no way he could be a god, is there?

Hiyori: Fufun. Whether you believe me or not is up to you, Rinne-senpai.

<6 hours later>

Rinne: (Phew, all done. Good job, me~) (Now I'll drop my stuff off here and leave. My beloved gambling is waitin' for meee~♪) (There's a new pachinko machine, so should I try that first?~) (...Hm?)

Kanata: (Sleeping sounds)

Rinne: (So Kanacchi's back too. I didn't notice him at all.) (He looks so peaceful sleepin'. Is he havin' a good dream?) ... ("Make any wish come true", huh...) (I know it's just a baseless rumour, but... Guess it can’t hurt to try—) (In a low voice) May I win big! (Aight, I'm off now♪)

Niki: Thanks for waiting~ Here are your two daily special sets~

HiMERU: Thank you.

Kohaku: ...Hey, Niki-han. I wanna ask you somethin'.

HiMERU: Oukawa.

Kohaku: But HiMERU-han, you're curious too, right? If we can't get anywhere on our own, then let's bring in Niki-han. Look... See Rinne-han sittin' at the counter?

Rinne: ......... ...(Sigh)

Kohaku: He's been lost in thought like that for quite a long time now. Did somethin' happen? Maybe he ate somethin' strange?

Niki: Eh!? Please don't suspect our food! But it's really weird that he didn't try to pester me. Well, now that I think about it, he sure looks different from usual~

HiMERU: So in other words, you don't know anything either.

Kohaku: HiMERU-han, where are you goin'?

HiMERU: To ask him directly. Since we don't know the situation, our discussion is just a waste of time. Amagi, can I have a minute?

Rinne: ...Hey, Merumeru. Do you believe in God?

HiMERU: ...What.

Kohaku: Oh no, Rinne-han's snapped!

Niki: Uwah, it's quite troublesome. Who can fix him then? Little brother-san?

Rinne: Nah, I'm totally fine. I don't know how it works, but lately I've been winnin' big at pachinko every time I pray to my roommate, Kanacchi. I suspected it was just a dubious rumour, but turns out he might really be a god of gambling... I haveta cherish this bond♪ Gyahahaha!

Hiyori: I'm home! If there's anyone here, greet me with open arms!

Kanata: Welcome back, "Ohisama"-san.

Hiyori: Kanata-kun, what's the matter? Even though I'm back, you're in such a bad mood!

Kanata: No, I'm "fine". Just a little "bewildered". Lately, "Chief"-san has been "pampering" me so strangely often.

Hiyori: Pampering?

Kanata: Yes. Like giving me a "vinyl pool" or trying to take me to a "fish" restaurant. And now I'm stumped as I don't understand the "intention" behind it.

Hiyori: Ah, I think I might have an idea. Let me tell you.

Hiyori: ––So it looks like his gambling luck increases in proportion to how much attention he pays to you. And now he seems to be completely devoted to the "god of gambling".

Kanata: Uu... That's why he's been "cozying up" to me... I don't like to feel used at all…

Rinne: I'm home~...

Kanata: Oh, "Chief"-san. We need to talk. I'm not a "god of gambling", you know!

Rinne: Eh... Haha–– So you found out about my prayers? Wish I had known this sooner. I lost big just now. (Sigh)... It really was too good to be true after all…

Hiyori: No sighs in front of me! If not Kanata-kun, you can worship me! If you treat the one of "Eden", named after the paradise ruled by the omniscient and omnipotent God, respectfully enough, you will surely earn His favor!

Rinne: Oh nooo~ Are you imposin' a religion on me~? What should Rinne-kun dooo~♪

Hiyori: It's worth a try! You'll have a bronze statue of me, so you can worship me everyday!

Rinne: Hehe~ Hiyori-sama~☆

Hiyori: Hmph, I don't like the way you say it! Show me more seriousness, will you!

Rinne: Oh, this god is so demandin'. ★ directory ★

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mystery-moose · 8 months

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Someone in my life posed some interesting questions about stories recently! In considering them I figured I'd keep a record of my thoughts here on my tumblr web log, because what void should I holler into if not this one?

First, how I think about stories. I try to avoid thinking about them as morality plays or parables (mostly because this can keep me from engaging with challenging art) but I also don't like thinking about them purely as escapism. Each story has a reason it exists, whether that's entertainment, communication, or contemplation. They're designed to draw out our empathy, communicate a feeling, create a mood. Sometimes that's in service of something important to the author. Other times, it's something meant to distract. I don't judge a story based on its pretensions, or on its naked commercialism -- I try to judge based on its execution, how it's doing what it's doing, and how well it succeeds. There are great artists right now working solely with other people's licenses, doing work-for-hire gigs, and their skills are just as worthy of praise and appreciation as the latest semi-original high-concept novel hanging in the middle of the New York Times bestseller list.

Basically, I think about stories like stories! Or, if I absolutely have to be metaphorical, like buildings. Are the foundations strong? Is it doing anything special? Can I navigate it easily? How accessible is it? That last matters a lot to me, because it doesn't matter how cool the interior is if most people can't find their way inside.

Second, what do I need a story to do to recommend it to someone else? I'm gonna go with "accessibility" at the top, not in the disability sense but the populist one. Yeah, playing to the cheap seats can hurt a story a lot, and you obviously can't please everyone, but ignoring your audience doesn't make me appreciate your story much myself, let alone get me to recommend it to anyone else. You have to find a balance where what you're communicating isn't absolute nonsense to most of your audience. Not all! Just most. Effective communication of your thoughts, feelings, and ideas to a layman is something I think a lot of storytellers could stand to care about more when it comes to honing their craft, and that goes for folks outside of the arts especially. So if I find a story with a big concept, beautiful craft, intense emotion, and it's not too esoteric or inaccessibly written? That's great art in my book, and I'll tell everyone about it.

Next, what do I look for in stories? Now that is a tough one... I guess, beyond sheer execution (if your prose is good enough you can take me almost anywhere) I look for something that makes me care about its characters as it introduces me to their world, and does so without me feeling like I'm being told why I should care about the characters or what their world is like. This goes for everything from period pieces to stories set in places or communities I'm unfamiliar with, just as much as it goes for fantasy or science-fiction. I do generally have to care about the characters in a piece to really devote a significant amount of time to a story, though. If I don't, the other elements of the work (craft, originality, feeling) have to carry a whole lot more of the weight in order to get me to finish something.

What are red flags for me? Honestly, a big one is feeling either preached or condescended to. Even if it's politics or perspectives I agree with, if I feel like I'm being told what to think rather than thinking it on my own, or if I simply think the author doesn't trust me to understand what they're trying to say? I check out. Beyond that, when a story excuses terrible behavior in the interests of forcing me to sympathize with a character the author clearly favors, I also check out. There's other stuff too -- I don't much care for certain tropes when they feel obvious or sufficiently undisguised (at least try to put some kind of spin on it!) -- but those are the big ones I think. If I see those, my desire to continue drops real sharp.

A recent example of a story I really loved, because I try to stay positive: earlier this year I finished a book called A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, which almost instantly became one of my favorite stories. I had to sit with my feelings for days before I really settled on that, too! I worry about recency bias sometimes, that an impact will dull with time, but Empire has lived in my head since I read it. It's a well-told and compelling yarn that dips into a number of my favorite genres (science-fiction, murder-mystery, political intrigue, thriller) told from one of my favorite POVs (first-person) that also happens to dig into concepts that I find super cool and interesting! Things like history, how it's recorded, who makes it, what matters versus what historians only think matters. Things like the colonialism, cultural imperialism, and the politics of empire -- the pressure of being a small community being subsumed by a larger, more dominant one, the complicated nature of being a person from two worlds, whether by choice or by birth, and so on. It's got a lot of thoughts about that stuff, and it can't touch on all of them with the depth that they deserve, but it knows enough to know there's no easy answer for a lot of its questions, and it manages to make that feel like a natural conclusion rather than a copout. A great novel, and one I recommend to most everyone I know!

One I'm still in the middle of that I need to get back to: Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. That's a work that I think is a bit inaccessible, with characters that I don't necessarily love (the protagonist is a professional torturer, if that tells you anything) but the sheer craft on display... my god. There are whole sections I've read, passages that describe a feeling that I've had before but never put to words, and it expresses them so effectively and with such excellent language that it carries me forward on those passages even when I'm unsure what this person's quest is or whether or not I even like them. And that's to say nothing of the depth of the text itself -- Ursula K. Le Guin famously called Gene Wolfe genre fiction's Herman Melville, and that's been borne out in what I've read so far. I've been listening to the Shelved by Genre podcast as I've been reading the book, and their own insights and analysis illuminate whole sections of the text that I would never have noticed otherwise, or would have without knowing exactly why! Awesome stuff.

#moose blogs #on storytelling #i think about stories a lot #like i think about history a lot #that venn diagram is a circle in my mind #so when i find a story that thinks about the same stuff?#that's the best babyyy

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cimeret · 1 year

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I seem to have a thing for tragic "old soul" characters who end up trapped on desert planets in a binary star system, who are made for infinite sadness, and who are legendary fighters but would rather not fight. Also, there should be an evil brother figure and metal limbs, please!

Anyway, this is about Trigun Stampede. I'm so hyped for the new series. Time again for Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action!

Spoilers for the new and old anime under the cut.

I went in intending to like it, and I was not disappointed! The old anime has a special place in my heart. When I first watched it, I was at a really low point in my life, and I could so relate to the struggles of the characters who find themselves in these perceived hopeless and often unfair situations, having to decide what is the morally right thing to do. The new anime can't capture that (yet?), but it's only been four episodes, Wolfwood has just joined the squad, and Knives has been very effectively established as a threat. It feels like most of the characters are now on stage and the plot can truly unfold!

Even if it doesn't become the emotional spectacle I'm hoping for, this anime is worth watching for its visuals alone. I wasn't prepared to love the CGI so much. At the latest, Hōseki no Kuni convinced me that CGI can work well in anime. How I wish Disney would take inspiration from this regarding its computer-animated movies and try to recapture the traditional 2D look this way. Especially for the action scenes, the CGI feels perfect and creates pictures that are just jaw-droppingly stunning and beautiful to look at. The moment when Wolfwood whipped out his Punisher? Perfection. (Wolfwood in general is such a mood, he just adds so much to the series)

(Just look at this gorgeous gif made by genorium)

It took me a bit to get used to the new character designs. Looking at Vash and Meryl makes me feel so old, haha! But I like them. Vash's prosthetic arm looks beautiful. At first, I wished it wasn't so obvious because I felt it would make the gun reveal more of a surprise. But I think older viewers know the arm is a gun anyway, new viewers will still be surprised by the reveal, and anything along the lines of "omg, the shock, my arm is actually a prosthetic and not flesh and blood, isn't it tragic??" feels outdated these days. Don't need it.

Once again, however, I have a problem with the directing. It's not so much the overall pacing, it's more some small details or how certain scenes are set up. A lot of it just feels cold to me, a bit detached and stiff. It's hard to describe. Shots that linger too long or not long enough to really work. Music that swells or fades in the wrong places. Sometimes the characters don't react at all or react inappropriately to things that are happening. For example, in ep. 3, Meryl's and Roberto's reactions to the destruction of the city or to Tonis' injury. It's a lot better in ep. 4, so either it's a conscious part of the style and I'm getting used to it, or it's not as noticeable in this episode. The many discussions and banter between the characters also helped create a nice flow between scenes.

This is only partly related to the new series, but I adore Vash as a character so much. All the emotion and the softness and the big, pretty eyes, but he is also badass and guns and just so physical as a hero, and then there's his wackiness that is mostly portrayed as annoying rather than cute or endearing. It's a lovely combination and never feels forced. I don't mind that he's less goofy in the new series and that he doesn't chase women; especially the latter has always bugged me in the old series, but unfortunately, it's standard for many male anime heroes. As a result, Vash seems more serious and tragic in the new anime but the new dynamic that unfolds when Wolfwood joins in ep. 4 helps make him seem less melancholy. Compared to ep. 3 with the destruction of Jeneora Rock, the last one was less dark and even had a bit of humor, which is necessary and good. I want to see Knives try and break Vash, and for that to really have an impact on the viewer, we need to see all the beautiful moments and his connection with the humans he wants to protect.

(wearing shades in the club, yo!)

I like that they don't hold back on the weird and gory stuff. Severed limbs and spurting blood, yay! And everything about how they handled Knives so far is great! He's such a dramatic creep, I love it! Zazie, too! Their new design looks awesome and I can't wait to see more of them. The scenes in ep. 4 inside the worm were all great, the goo, the slight horror vibes, characters crawling around in dark, cramped spaces, Wolfwood eating bugs ... good stuff!

I'm slowly warming up to Roberto and his dynamic with Meryl. Although from a narrative point of view, I still don't understand why they swapped Milly for another character. What's the idea? Aside from liking Milly per se, I also found Meryl more interesting when she could play off of Milly and her contrasting sweet personality. The relationship between Meryl and Roberto feels so generic, and so far I don't think it offers much to the story. I'm also not completely on board with Meryl as a journalist. Hm. We'll have to see how things progress. In general, though, I'm quite optimistic about this series. I only hope they slow down the pace a bit in the coming episodes and leave room for some strong character moments. So far, the nostalgia factor and my fanfiction brain are helping me get over the fact that the series takes less time to develop the characters in favor of pushing the plot and creating mysteries. I still have no idea how many episodes there will be, so theoretically anything is possible.

#trigun #trigun stampede #stampede spoilers #vash the stampede #if nothing i'm just here for the pretty #and the nostalgia #just want to bawl my eyes out over these characters is that to much to ask?#love how unhinged everyone already is #wolfwood i'm counting on you #huh there's not as much trigun x star wars as i expected #feels so obvious to me #last year gave me old obi-wan and young dooku and now vash is back what's going on?#good times indeed

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clarktooncrossing · 5 months

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Giraffe's Eye View: Christmas Specials Special (2023) | Care Bears Nutcracker

Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost is nipping at your nose. Mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again. All the dogs in the neighborhood somehow learned to bark Jingle Bells in sync. Yet retail workers are still more annoyed with Mariah Carey. Snow is getting shoveled, tossed, and formed into sentient beings leading parades without permits. It makes for an excellent distraction as the Krampus abducts children for bad behavior. Fruitcake is exchanged only to find its permanent home in the garbage. Terrorists have hijacked the Holiday office party right before your boss can give you a Jelly of the Month Club membership as your bonus. And of course, the Turducken has returned to wreak its fiery vengeance upon an unsuspecting world! If all this doesn’t put you in the Christmas spirit, perhaps these following Holiday specials will!

Greetings people of today and robots of tomorrow! It is I, Santa Clark, your geeky giraffe friend with a deep love of Christmas! My obsession for the yuletide is rivaled only by Maleficent’s hatred for it, which is saying a lot considering she once teamed up with Mad Madam Mim to kidnap the literal Spirit of Christmas. Yes, that really happened. I know this due to my annual pilgrimage to the Island of Misfit Specials, home to obscure or nerdy festive media ranging from movies, TV episodes, and comics. It’s no easy journey. Constantly I find myself confronted by sinister snowmen, genocidal gingerbread men, and worst of all, crappy commercials. Getting stabbed in the foot by a candy-cane wielding cookie is one thing, but I swear I’ve seen that ad for Wilbur’s White Elephant Gift Emporium more times than I’ve seen Miracle on 34th Street! Sometimes at night I catch myself reciting that jingle. Wilbur’s White Elephant Gift Emporium: Where Christmas meets Convenience! Huh, maybe Maleficent had a point.

Nah, my deep-rooted appreciation for this time of year can weather even the most moronic marketing! It helps that most of the merry media I’ve seen have put me in the perfect Holiday mood! Examples include the time a Ninja Turtle found himself trapped in a truck full of stollen toys, a drunk department store Santa stumbling onto a wish-granting magic bag, Big Bird nearly becoming a popsicle, Gwenpool waking up in a world where Galactus took the place of jolly ol’ Saint Nicholas, a terrifying tree stump trying to slaughter some saps over a stupid ship war, and the year when Death gave the Little Match Girl the greatest gift of all. Needless to say, I thought I had seen it all. That is, until I took my friends on a trip to the Island, tasking them to find me new, strange, seasonal specials to review! Some of them were fair, finding me festive favorites as comforting as coco in front of the fireplace. Others were fiendish, wanting to feed off my misery like Gremlins after midnight. Regardless of how naughty or nice my companions were, I’ve compiled all of their suggestions into a makeshift advent calendar! So stay tuned everyday until Christmas to see how badly my buddies can shred what little sanity I have left.

On the second day of Christmas, my buddies gave to me...

For the record, it says something when nobody's even made a GIF for what I'm about to review.

Malicious as Molly was, she may have set the bar too high with Barbie. For along comes the fairy Claire (YourClairyGodmother), set on proving that the ‘all Canadians are friendly’ claim is a myth. Having recently reviewed a slew of their work herself, she saw fit to share her suffering with me by burdening me with a Care Bears Christmas caper of my choice. Oh how nice, my executioner allowed me to pick how I get to die! Mirroring Grumpy Bear’s dour attitude, I scoured the Care Bears Wiki to make my selection, all the while wondering how this franchise is still alive after all this time. Starting out in 1981 as greeting card characters, these bears became a beloved series of plush toys parents killed each other over at Black Friday’s. Not gonna lie, having Sinbad and Arnie fight over Funshine Bear would’ve made Jingle all the Way that much funnier. It’d certainly be more entertaining then what I ended up picking, that being Care Bears Nutcracker Suite. Dear Santa, I don’t remember asking for endless torment. At this rate getting my nuts cracked probably wouldn’t be as excruciating. Still, perhaps I’m being pessimistic. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and jump right in! After all, these bears beat out Black Cauldron at the box office. Surely they have something special to offer here.

Like terrible child voice actors. We’ve got those in spades here! Okay, I know it’s not nice to call out kids who are only here because of parental peer pressure, but A Charlie Brown Christmas set the bar so high two decades prior! Though to be fair, maybe this is like Hayden Christensen regaling Padme about sand. You can only do so much when the script serves you verbal fruitcake on a platter. Such as when one of the kids, tricked into portraying the Rat King in an elementary production of the ballet by his sister, rightfully laments how lame the show is. Seeing one of her students complaining, our blonde ballet instructor halts class in order to tell a self-insert fanfiction where she herself is Clara. Whoa, deja vuh.

For all of you fearful that this is going to get repetitive, put your worries at ease. The writers made no effort to make the narrative comprehensive here. Instead of a mysterious family member, our Young Clara stand-in Anna (Tara Strong) is visited by Funshine Bear (Susan Roman) and Grumpy (Bob Dermer). Right as they tumble down the chimney ready to help this privileged dork with whatever first world problem she has, a dimensional rift abruptly appears in her room, dropping out the titular Nutcracker (Michael Beattie) and an army of rats. Sadly this time they’re not led by Tim Curry and they’re even less intimidating than before. Whereas previously they at least had swords, now they rush forward into battle with nothing but the clothes on their back. As if that wasn’t idiotic enough, they’re easily frightened off by the two bears and Anna’s younger brother Peter (Stuart Stone) in a trench coat. Wow, I was wondering how they’d top the Mouse King getting taken out by a shrunken woman’s flimsy footwear. You fail at failing to disappoint, Care Bears. Good to know I don’t need to take any of the villains seriously. By chance is it too late to bring back that creepy book lady from the movie? She’d be a better foe than the Vizier (Don Francks), a Jafar wannabe decked out in purple that commands the cowardly vermin. He’s after the Nutcracker so he can, you guessed it, take over the world and ruin Christmas. How he’d ruin Christmas is never explained, though I doubt whatever logic they presented would’ve made sense anyway.

Regardless of the reason, our heroes elect to help Nutcracker in his quest to stop the Vizier, enlisting some Care Bears Cousins to help. Though really I assume it’s to expose kids to more toys they can buy, since Funshine and Grumpy managed to make an entire armada run away in fear. Why else bring in Brave Heart Lion (Dan Hennessey) or Lotsa Heart Elephant (Luba Goy) if not for promotional purposes? Remember kiddies, pester your parents into buying these new friends or else you’ll be a sad loser! Together with Baby Tugs (Melleny Brown) and Hugs (Tracey Moore), they leap into the dimensional portal to restore order to Toyland. Along the way they encounter a bunch of cranky citizens blaming the Vizier’s rise to power on a prince named Alan. Whoa, deja vuh times two. Before anybody asks, yes, once again the Nutcracker is clearly the missing monarch. The rest of our heroes only find out after battling more rodents on a runaway train, meeting a magical fairy that’s as useless as the owl, and getting turned into wood by the Vizier. Our story ends with the titular toy’s humanity easily being restored, the villains being beheaded for war crimes, and the ballet class from earlier never really putting on their pageant as their teacher Anna walks off with her boi toi. Whoa, deja vuh times three. All while the Care Bears watch on from the raptors, waiting to pick the kids off one by one for sport.

Do I even have to say it? Honestly, what point is there in me picking out the flaws? It’d be like stating how pretty Christmas lights are, there’s no purpose in proclaiming something so patent. For the sake of keeping you all from searching up this sugary-coated crap though, I’ll list off my reasons. The pacing was painfully slow, making this extended episode feel like the director’s cut of a Peter Jackson movie. Replacing the charismatic, complex characters of those works are cardboard cutouts who are criminally one-dimensional. Even Grumpy, who I maintain is the best character in this series, feels so one-note. Worst of all is the animation. Much as I dogged out Barbie Nutcracker, I can applaud the ambition on display. Somebody clearly put some effort into the final product. At no time did I feel the same could be said for this. This was some paycheck for an animator who clearly wanted nothing to do with these blasted bears. And if all the behind the scenes stories Claire told me are any indication, I might not be too far off. Needless to say, I did not care for this special. I also didn’t care for you suggesting it to me, Claire! So when Seerius dumps something rotten into your stocking, just know that’s from me! For now though, I need a better Holiday special featuring a character voiced by Tara Strong.

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scarlettatg · 2 years

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The Handmaid’s Tale

Episode 507 (The Flashback)

I’ve been an avid fan of this show for 5 years. I think it’s one of the best shows in TV. Even when I haven’t liked what I have seen I’m able to understand it in terms of the story line and the characters. This season has been the first time in 4 seasons some things make no sense. The flashback in this episode being it.

In the first episode we get to see the initial interaction between Serena and June. It isn’t friendly. Serena despises June and she threatens her as soon as she sees Fred interacting with her.

This is your second posting then? Good.

Our last one was brand new. It was like training a dog, only not a very smart one.

Get up. I want to see as little of you as possible.

If I get trouble, believe me, I will give trouble back.

Lovely right? As the season progresses we see that the first Offred killed herself and that Fred was having an affair with her. This is why from the get go Serena despises June. The mood was already set. For Serena, Handmaids were simply a means to an end. A sacrifice she’d be more than willing to endure so that she could get a baby. She still hated it and took it out on June every chance she got. June represents everything Serena doesn’t have (and that she gave away) and the little power that she has she used it to abuse her. This flashback would’ve made sense if the Waterfords would’ve been June’s first posting.

It also cannot be June’s first birth or her first birth with complications. She has been in Gilead for at least 2 years and it seemed this was the first time she had gone to a birth. Also it’s impossible Serena could’ve been making fun of the ridiculous birth ceremony when in the next episode (episode 102), she’s helping Naomi through her fake contractions. They do share a look but June is smirking at the ridiculousness of the situation and she looks down when she notices Serena had spotted her. Didn’t seem friendly at all, gave me the impression June felt she got caught doing something that was going to upset Serena.

In this episode we also get this interaction that also sets the tone of how Serena feels about June and what their relationship was like since the beginning.

What are you doing?

I'm just helping, Mrs. Waterford.

Well, leave it. Come with me. Offred, what's going on up there?

Would you like a cookie, dear? You shouldn't spoil them. Sugar is bad for them.Oh, surely one won't hurt. It is a special day.

Offred, would you like a cookie?

Yes, please. Thank you.

Here you are.

Oh, isn't she well behaved?

You can go.

Little whοres, all of them.

But still, you can't be choosy. You have to take what they hand out.

There is no logical explanation to this flashback other than the redemption of Serena Joy (more on that in another post). You want to make me believe that June and Serena could’ve been friends and that maybe Serena wasn’t that bad? Sorry but no, you did such an amazing job of creating these characters that one flashback isn’t going to change that. I understand the purpose of the birth complication presented in this flashback and how it ties to June’s decision and growth in this episode, but what was the point of adding these looks between June and Serena if not to try to soften Serena’s character and make the viewer think they could’ve been something they aren’t.

We see that Janine is pregnant in the flashback so her birth will be in a few weeks and June knew exactly how it worked. In fact knowing that births are so difficult and having experienced said flashback a few weeks before wouldn’t June be worried about Janine? June made a bond with the Handmaids before getting posted. We saw it in the flashbacks to the Red Center. We don’t really see that bond in the flashback either.

Also we know Serena and Naomi have been friends since the beginning. A few episodes ago we got a flashback between the both of them before they were assigned Handmaids (and when they still believed they’d have a choice) so aprox 2 years before what we see happened in the first episode. In the 507 flashback Serena isn’t bonding with Naomi or all over the ceremony/baby like she was in episode 102.

Another thing that makes no sense is that there is no way the Serena we saw in episode 101 gave a shit about a dead handmaid, especially because the first one had already killed herself and we saw exactly how she reacted. So that look they shared that showed June kind of saying to her see how they treat us and Serena seemingly sympathetic is bullshit.

We’re they sympathetic of each other at certain times? Yes of course. Were they genuine moments, maybe. They both needed each other and they both used each other; but Serena always reverted back to who she was and if she had to fuck June over she would. Even in this episode she’s not remorseful or truly humbled. She has no regrets and feels bad because she’s in an uncomfortable position and has no moves to play.

#the handmaid's tale #june osborne #gilead #the handmaids tale season 5

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lykegenia · 7 months

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Fic asks for you! :)

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with Like Glitter and Gold?

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

L: What’s the weirdest AU you’ve ever come up with?

Thank you for these asks, they've been a lot of fun to think about!

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with Like Glitter and Gold? Not specific playlist as such but there are definitely vibes. Like, Nate is entirely made up of Hozier sentiments. and since I headcanon Wayhaven to be somewhere up in the west of Scotland there are a lot of folk artists like Julie Fowlis and Heather Dale that helped me feel out the mood for the town. There is a song that fits Leah's general panic at the whole situation, and that is "I Think I'm In Love" by Taylor Acorn, it's all about the feeling of being knocked off your feet by the strength of new feelings, and wanting the other person to come closer but also being terrified of the vulnerability that creates.

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with? For one thing, who hasn't daydreamed about your character's vampire boyfriend being distraught at accidentally killing them because he just couldn't help his predatory nature? XD For TWC there's so much potential for angst even beyond that. My two favourites are

a) Leah gets cursed by a genie/has an argument with Rebecca and makes a wish that her mother wasn't the one to survive. She wakes up at the start of Book 1 in a world where Rook survived when Rebecca didn't and now she has to decide whether to suffer the trauma she knows Murphy is going to inflict on her, or act first and save Garrett Hayes in the knowledge that without the extra boost to her mutation Murphy's experiment gave her, UB likely won't have an excuse to hang around.

b) Some kind of psychic supernatural with a grudge traps Leah in a nightmare where she loses her mutation and what she initially thinks is a blessing is actually a curse as everyone slowly leaves. Nate stops being interested in her without the special blood, the Agency decides she's not worth the resources they're spending protecting the town, Tina gets a job in the big city and moves away... and meanwhile in the real world Nate has to watch her slowly wasting away without being able to do anything about it. (I'm just very cruel to Leah)

I do also have a detective I'm thinking about pairing with Adam, which is just an angsty idea in itself. Her name's Amanda, the most ironic name in the world because it means "she who must be loved" and nobody does, and she's just as stoic as Adam and doesn't reach out for help and really can't deal with the nightmares but doesn't let anyone know how much she's struggling. Adam finds out by accident but that just makes it worseand she closes up even more. Neither Tina nor Verda know about the supernatural, either, so she's extra alone. I likely won't ever write any of this down, but it's fun to indulge every now and then.

L: What’s the weirdest AU you’ve ever come up with? I've been trying to think about all my AUs and really... I wouldn't describe any of them as particularly weird. A lot of them just tweak things that are already in the story rather than pulling all of the charcters out into a different universe or making something happen that's completely off the rails. The closest I've gotten is the Victorian AU I came up with with @gingerbreton, but that's just Book 1 set in Edinburgh in 1886 with both of our detectives chafing under Victorian misogyny and well-meaning vampires

fanfic writer asks

#ask game

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