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Finally woke up and decided to work on animatic. Obligatory announcement post + essay commentary of this one below. Major book spoilers are abound.

Watch it here

Anyways

Proceed with your own discretion. But don't blame me if your reading experience is ruined because you decided oh this sounds interesting I'm going to read it even though you haven't finished the book.

Watching the video won't spoil you. No worries ^^ No guarantees either :P

Don't worry about it. Don't think about things too deeply.

Some things about Hate Me

Okay, I've really really wanted to talk about this even when I was in the middle of working on it because hoooo. Not only is this (I think) one of the more densely packed animatics that came out of my mind lately, it's also one that has a really good chunk of WIP lore in it because this is a year old.

THIS HAS BEEN STUCK IN MY MIND FOR A YEAR

And it's not even the whole thing :3

Anyways why this song? What is "Hate Me" anyways?

First listen, thinking about the lyrics, it's a song about liberation. Basically liberating yourself from a toxic relationship, finally saying good riddance to the one that basically ruined your life. It's also kind of why the song sounds so peppy.

Like the best animatics I've had, I got this idea while stuck in one of my long hour commutes. And basically it stems off of this one youtube short about the song's creation and it's a vid of someone getting their tattoo removed.

But my idea at the time was oh this would make a really fun animatic of MR turning evil under the influence of the Long Hatred Flower. And I think the flower's name and effect also has a hand in the creation of the idea.

And initially, I just went off of vibes and just made concept gifs on CSP because that's the only thing I can do at the moment.

Most of which got in, but some didn't. And at the time I was just fresh off of being mentally rewired after seeing Lonely Man's Lazarus' The Mind Electric animation so my mind then was like oh transitions which is suuuuper evident in the final product.

Pretty rich coming from someone who rarely even makes animations but yeah.

Like how the flower distorts MR's perspective. The song's message also becomes distorted. Instead of liberation, MR slowly becomes trapped deeper and deeper into the headspace that the flower cultivates. And my intention was to convey that as a good thing and something to be hyped about.

TXJ's rise to power is supposed to be rejoiced about here. Honestly don't know why people are crying in the comments section lmao.

People in the know would be hit hard. People not in the know are supposed to just go "oh cool symbolism". And speaking of...

Let's talk about the symbolism!

The flower

It's one of the mainstay and most obvious symbols littered up to the 2nd chorus. In hindsight maybe the animatic itself does have explicit major spoilers at the start ;P considering this is the first thing we see until it fades into MR's chest. It's also one of the things I heavily emphasized...

...anyways I'm just gonna pray people would be confused at most. 😄👍

We follow it from being a bud, to slowly and literally swallowing MR whole as a progress of MR's descent into evil and it literally culminates to MR burning Rufeng sect and CWN facing him off.

The flower itself is modeled after a lotus flower. Quite obvious as the name is a direct reference to the eight sufferings in Buddhism. (2ha actually has major Buddhism inspiration but that's for some out of pocket essay I made for my friends).

Narratively, it's described to be "那花朵含苞待放，还未打开，黑色的瓣叶，边沿闪动银光。" (A flower bud, still yet to bloom, its black petals and leaves fringed with a flickering silver light.) which isn't a lot, but other things also add to my headcanon that it's a black lotus, one of which is simply the term itself.

The first time I've encountered the term was in Scum Villain's Self-Saving, wherein it's used to describe Luo Binghe after the timeskip where Shen Yuan perceived him to have turned evil. While there's only a few discussions about what the term itself means, personally I agree with the interpretation of the white lotus being corrupted thus making it black.

Which is really really apt for MR's story. For 15 years of his life, he's stuck to the values of being kind and forgiving others, but it's only when he succumbs to the flower that he lets the intrusive thoughts win.

It also serves as a counterpart to CWN's association with the red lotus.

Chinese Chess Pieces

Zhenlong is one of the main ways that MR used in his rise to power. So naturally it would make sense to include it.

Contrary to what Westerners would think, the pieces themselves are Chinese chess pieces which are round pebbles that are colored black and white. It's main goal is capturing territory, and there can be a lot of board combinations which makes it a complex game to play.

In a way, MR slowly deciphering the technique is a sort of balancing mind game he and CWN played. (Although CWN has no idea about it). MR acknowledges that CWN is powerful enough to stop him in his journey to grow stronger, thus he has to make sure to go around CWN in order to win, slowly turning the tides to his favor.

It's kind of being pieced together as I typed this, but in a way the scene I attached above shows the start of the game. With MR has set the stage and is starting to gather his territories. It's not necessarily wrong for a scene, because black typically goes first in this game.

Puppet Mo Ran

It's such a small thing, but it's an intentional inclusion. For those who are up to date with my animatics, Puppet!MR is a direct reference to Please Don't Leave Me! Something I'm very happy to include because this means I'm so far into the 2ha animatic brainrot that I can start making references to my own work.

Specifically for the sequence before Puppet!MR appears, it's a reference to chapter 140. Where a flashback from CWN's previous life is introduced. Without going into details, it's one of the scenes wherein MR who's already deep into learning Zhenlong and into the clutches of the flowers temporarily gets out of the curse just because CWN got injured.

Something that shouldn't be shown for someone deep into the curse.

MR turning into a puppet, is partially me headcanoning that he might get an inclination that something's off with how he's acting towards CWN, and so tries to break away. What follows is his descent deeper into the flowers.

Burning Memories

Another sequence (not really a symbolism, but more of a reference) that I want to call to attention is the sequence before the first chorus which basically shows the flower's bloom and MR's good memories fading away.

Yes. It's Duanxun.

IT'S NOT COZ I'M BIASED TO THEM THOUGH!!! It's literally because of this small passage in chapter 278 and it's basically the moment before MR falls unconscious after taking the flower.

One of the flower's effects is the loss of good memories. And to a 15 year old MR, the people closely attached to the memories he holds dear are Duan Yihan, Xun Fengruo, and Chu Wanning.

While they don't appear in the same order, I specifically chose to use a burning paper effect to show memories fading away. Partially because MR is closely attached to fire. Not only will he burn Rufeng sect to the ground, but it's also because he burned down Xiangtan manor—a place that's closely related to the two people he could call family.

The scenes I referenced in the burning clips are also in the book, namely near the end of chapter 258 and somewhere in the middle of chapter 259.

The only scene that doesn't burn away is CWN's. Partially because there's not enough space in the song, and mainly because I wanted to transition to the triggering event for MR which is Shi Mei's death.

About the Work Process

I did mention it was a year old before. But it was mostly because I was going off on vibes when I started. Aside from what I've done with the concept animations (which isn't a lot), what I managed to create at the very beginning when I decided to finally sit down and work on this, is a prologue that finally sets the scene as well as the first verse.

(hint hint, check the last 2 seconds of the youtube video)

For a reason that can be summed up as "I don't want to spoil people too hard", I've decided to split it into two animatics. The second of which I'll post at a later date. Only you, dear reader, and my close fandom friends get to know this knowledge and this preview.

As for the rest of the animatic, I was stumped. I knew I had to include some scenes from the concept animations, and also some scenes, but to connect them...? I was lost.

Some parts solidified as time passed namely the memories burning away sequence and the last chorus. But how to execute the 1st chorus and the 2nd chorus? It took me a year to finally come around to forming it.

Mostly because of an 11 hour bus ride I took for vacation. (Man I really do take long commutes).

After that it was smooth sailing. I prioritized getting a rough draft down before cleaning it up and piecing things together and it went well.

It's really just getting over perfectionism and just getting things done. I'll prolly edit this when the prologue is out.

I think that's most of what I wanted to say. Thanks for getting this far and checking out my stuff, as well as the constant support!

See ya :3

Ok last: Bonus unintentional easter eggs

Because I draw too much 2ha, it's inevitable for some frames to be similar.

(Counting this one because of this unfinished frame i didn't commit to)

I draw too many CWN sideviews, but I distinctly remember referencing this while drawing the one on the left.

Summary

Overall, Hate Me is a very insightful animatic to work with. I ended up making frequent observations and ponderings while working on this too. A good example would be the Long Hatred Flower is a black lotus, and (the most out of pocket 2ha analysis) CWN and Buddha parallelism to name a few.

It could be better of course. Especially the razing of Rufeng sect sequence could've been executed better if I did it with after effects. And I've grown pretty particular with how I rewatch this.

Would this be the last? No, of course not.

It's an animatic that's part of my exploration into Mo Ran's character. Which is, in turn, part of an informal series diving into the theme. Heirloom is part of the series, there's another one that might be too 🗿 for yt and I've never bothered expanding on too.

I might end up posting some Duanxun animatics though (part of the Duanxun agenda more people need to acknowledge Xun Fengruo), or some non 2ha WIPs if I bother finishing them. Imagine 2ha AU animatic 😔 but that's for the very vague future.

Stay tuned for part 2 😘

#2ha #erha #danmei #dumb husky and his white cat shizun #animatic #evil mo ran arc animatic #yessir #Youtube

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happy birthday, Mo Ran!

#2ha #erha #his birthday art is a family photo #the family he has in my fix it modern au-- #mo ran

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Small tidbits about my Still Into You 2ha animatic

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

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

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

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

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

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

(spoilers!!) The Actual Discussion

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

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

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

Anyways the discussion:

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

Order at which I made each part.

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

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

Oh, oh! And another fun fact:

Still Into You Part 2 (Rough Draft)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meanwhile 2.0 appears here:

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

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

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

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

Something about the second verse + chorus of the song

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

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

The confession scene

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

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

(Insert obligatory CWN running at a tree meme here)

My Favorite 2ha Moment

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

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

“It has always been you."

That one frame before the chorus

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

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

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

Other Bonus stuff

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

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

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

3. I forgot to animate the butterflies

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

5. Fuck ow

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

7. You and I

anyways go watch it

#2ha #erha #ranwan #danmei

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colored sketches for march 2024 (some are part of my request promo from twt)

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Blessing tumblr with this one too. Enjoy!

#2ha #erha #danmei #dumb husky and his white cat shizun #Taxian-jun can't stop

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Another Duanxun art for your souls

(I needed a new wallpaper)

#2ha #duanxun #erha #duan yihan #xun fengruo #it's 2024 school's starting and i still haven't changed my wallpaper so i'm changing it now #yes my wallpaper is animated and it looks especially good under the classUp widget showing my schedule :) #dumb husky and his white cat shizun

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Mo Ran's two moms

It's not a lot of content but chapters 257 to 259 has sold me into this ship even before Violets on the Breeze. Also they don't have a lot of content and I said I'll draw them more so I am drawing them more.

I also put them in Heirloom, in the very last frames.

Here's some passages in book 3 (Book 3 spoilers in past the line break)

Rivals to very very close girlfriends

I stan XFR giving DYH all that she could so DYH can be happy. Also last line 🥺🙏

DYH explaining XFR to a baby MR

Y'all child ranwan fics can be set up with this lawd i just want DYH recognition. Yes I'm pushing my agenda

#2ha #erha #danmei #duanxun #who tf is duanxun #anyway it's about time i push the 5 year old Mo Ran's two mom's agenda #Mo Ran has two moms I will die on this hill #dumb husky and his white cat shizun

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Week late spooky post

#2ha #erha #chu wanning #horror #mystery #idk how to tag for this but imagine it's a fic idea

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Blooming under the moonlight

#2ha #erha #dumb husky and his white cat shizun #chu wanning #danmei #hanahaki #aren't flowers nice? #do you guys like flowers?

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New 2ha Animatic? New 2ha animatic. Watch it here.

Helping out in Violets on the Breeze put me in the Duanxun brainrot, but I've always had a soft spot for MR's mom.

#erha #2ha #dumb husky and his white cat shizun #animatic #danmei #mo ran #二哈和他的白猫师尊 #二哈

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A long time before Mo Ran found his way to Chu Wanning, Xun Fengruo found her path to Duan Yihan. If only their paths didn’t diverge.

---

Violets on the Breeze is now out on AO3! Read it here

🌹10k | Rated M | 2HA fic 🌹Art by yours truly, in collaboration with junemys27 🌹Pairing: Duanxun (Duan Yihan / Xun Fengruo) 🌹⚠ Book 3 spoilers!!! Also, see tags. ⚠ 🌹Written for Erha Reverse Bang (@2ha-events)

Context:

This is a retelling of chapters 257-259 in Xun Fengruo's perspective. As for their identity, they are closely related to Mo Ran's childhood which gets delved on in those chapters.

Due to some unfortunate and fortunate turn of events involving a programming homework and some venting, I met moons/junemys27 on Erha Reverse Bangand collabed to produce (dare I say) the first Duan Yihan/Xun Fengruo fanfic on Ao3.

#2ha #erha #2ha angst #book 3 spoilers #not volume 3 i meant book 3 (chapters 211 onwards) #dumb husky and his white can shizun #fanfic #erha he ta de bai mao shizun #二哈和他的白猫师尊 #reverse bang #fic rec

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We are excited to share our fic for Erha Reverse Bang (@2ha-events)

“The Long Light After Time”

🌸 Written by this_vulnerable_one 🌸 Art by yours truly 🌸Pairing: Ranwan 🌸You can now read it here! (Link to the fic) 🌸You can now see the illustrations below!

till soul can loose its hold of self and both are free and can return to vastness and dissolve in light, the long light after time. ~ excerpt from “How It Seems To Me” by Ursula K. Le Guin

When wizard apprentice Mo Ran unwittingly releases an ancient and powerful shadow into the world, his master Chu Wanning is swept away with it. As a result, Mo Ran is left with two choices: face what he fears or have it destroy what he loves most in the world.

Can Mo Ran trust his inner light to guide him through his darkness?

Posting this in this_vulnerable_one's (my partner) stead because they don't really have a tumblr set up but yeah, here's our baby!

#2ha #erha #erhareversebang #二哈和他的白猫师尊 #ranwan #danmei but it's western fantasy #fanfic #reverse bang #fic rec #my fic

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Still another sketch

Did you know that MDZS's JP audio drama season 3 is out and I had a moment when I learned of it? I love the audio drama's intro and have been waiting for a JP ver since i learned of it

#wangxian #mdzs #danmei

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i didn't get to draw until now, enjoy ranwan but cool

#2ha #digital art #erha #ranwan #danmei #chu wanning #mo ran #just me messing around with paintool sai #ranwan but cool #coz i love drawing cool

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Alone at the edge of the universe humming a tune

(old art for today I remember trying to practice how to draw curls in this one. It's a Dream Sweet in Sea Major inspired piece)

#tales of #ange serena #old art #digital art #my art #dream sweet in sea major #inspired art? idk how to tag this #oh well

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Mo Ran's god

#2ha #erha #chu wanning #nyanning #danmei #cat

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Let me do it for you

#2ha #erha #ranwan #dumb husky and his white cat shizun #danmei #chu wanning #let me do it for you #let me do it for you shizun #borzoi