#The drawing struggled to be drawn so perspective may be off

[muppenthings]

Welp, I think the first question we ask ourself now is does menace seem to primarily eat meat or plants? Because if we need to feed him that amount of food every other day, we can start focusing on how to supplement it from outside foraging/hunting.

Don't worry, Merry. We can do this🫂 💜🐝

(Start) (Previously) (Next)

Merry perks up, feeling a little more reassured.

"Thank you," they smile.

"I'm not sure about his preference. Any mer that I've come across that's had their home raided by him has claimed that he's not very picky..."

They pause.

"I think it's best if I use my strenghts for this, and I'm really good at gathering! Hopefully he'll be content with sweet kelp..."

Merry begins to swim back home, grimacing slightly.

"But first I need to tell the Elders that I managed to divert the crisis without mentioning the deal. They wouldn't be happy about it... It's better for them to not know. Maybe I can convince the Menace to be nice...!"

#Ask #💜🐝 anon #Muppen doodles #oc Merry #All mers can eat meat and plants #it's jsut a matter of culture and/or personal preference! #Reef mers like Merry tend to be foragers or into aquaculture #Open ocean mers are more nomadic and hunters so they eat much less 'vegetables' :) #The drawing struggled to be drawn so perspective may be off #oh well xD #lazy seaweed is lazy :D #food mention #jsut in case

[bblovetarot]

{✧} What makes you beautiful?

ʚ ═══･୨ꕤ୧･═══ ɞ Pick a Pile ʚ ═══･୨ꕤ୧･═══ ɞ 

. ༄paid readings . ༄

。°⚠︎°。follow your intuition when choosing a pile. if you're drawn to more than one pile, that's okay! you may have messages in more than one.

。°⚠︎°。tarot readings are not 100% accurate, and do not dictate your future. please keep in mind that you have free will. these readings are also general and aren't specific to one person, so please take what resonates and leave what doesn't! 

Pile 1

Pile 1, you exude a captivating allure, often dressing up and turning heads wherever you go. There's a fiery attitude within you that refuses to let people play with you or diminish your presence. Despite this, there seems to be a hint of self-confidence issues, perhaps rooted in past experiences of hurtful words or actions from others. It's crucial to recognize that your beauty, both inside and out, is not determined by the opinions or projections of others. While some may have tried to bring you down in the past, their negativity reflects their own insecurities, not your worth. You are genuinely beautiful, and it's essential to shed the illusion of self-doubt. The journey to self-confidence takes time, but you deserve to see the beauty that others recognize in you. This pile seems to attract secret admirers who are genuinely obsessed with you. Your energy is alluring, drawing people in, though it also means you might encounter energy vampires. Your sensitivity and emotional nature contribute to the beauty of how you love and care for others. While you may be aware that you give to those who don't deserve it, it's crucial to find a balance that preserves your energy for those who truly appreciate you. You have a wild imagination and love daydreaming about your fantasies. This imaginative side of you, however, might have led to heartbreak or situations that made you want to suppress your loving and romantic nature. Embracing this free-spirited and fun-loving aspect of yourself is essential. Your passion, creativity, and the joy you find in the smallest things in life make you truly beautiful. Don't be ashamed of the part of you that loves adventure and new experiences—it's what sets your soul on fire. Embrace your inner child, run off to daydream, and don't dim the unique light that makes you who you are, Pile 1.

Pile 2

Pile 2, when it comes to love, you're deeply committed and possess an open heart that radiates healing energy to those fortunate enough to receive your love and light. Your strong moral convictions shape your beliefs about love, possibly rooted in ideas of soulmates or twin flames. While others might find it challenging to fully comprehend your spiritual perspective on love, they are intrigued by your unwavering commitment to your beliefs. Your beauty lies in your steadfast dedication to your principles, whether they stem from religion or spirituality. Your outlook on love is a beacon that makes people ponder their own choices, and your expression of these beliefs extends into your daily life, from the way you dress to the content you share. You exude a sense of knowing what you want in life and wear your heart on your sleeve, yet you maintain strong boundaries. Your fiery nature is apparent, making it clear to others that crossing those boundaries comes with consequences. Although you may grapple with indecision at times, possibly struggling to decipher your intuition and occasionally acting impulsively, it's evident that you're working on harnessing self-control and making more considered decisions. Your passion for fun and adventure lights up the worlds of those around you. You are generous, always ready to offer help and advice to others. However, this giving nature can be a double-edged sword, leaving you at risk of overextending yourself. The universe is urging you to take time for yourself, allowing others to nurture you as you do for them. Recognize your own worth and beauty, Pile 2. It may be challenging for you to receive rather than give, but understanding your value is crucial. Taking care of yourself is not a sign of weakness but a necessity for maintaining your well-being. Allow others to be in your corner and nurture you so that you can shine even brighter. You deserve the same care and attention that you so willingly give to others.

Pile 3

Pile 3, your beauty lies in your incredible resilience and determination, especially in the face of mental health struggles. Despite dealing with challenges, you refuse to let negativity and apathy take control of your life. Your strength is evident in your ability to quickly lift yourself out of low moments and not let your inner critic hinder your progress. You've encountered manipulative energies that sought to hold you back and hinder your opportunities, but you've maintained control and resisted stagnation. This resilience is a superpower, showcasing your ability to combat negative forces that try to confine you. Your refusal to succumb to self-sabotaging behaviors and your dedication to staying in control are truly admirable. It appears you've gone through a challenging healing journey, confronting toxic behaviors and striving to overcome them. While you may have experienced tough times recently, you're learning to be in full control of your life. It's essential to recognize that healing isn't a linear path, especially when dealing with mental health issues. You radiate beauty through your dedication and grounding in your own life, even amid hardships and internal battles. Despite projecting strength externally, you may feel chaotic inside, yet the universe wants you to acknowledge that you truly have things under control. Seeking help when needed is crucial, but your ability to navigate self-sabotaging habits and resist manipulation reveals your strength. You are creative at heart, with an inner child that is patient and curious. The universe encourages you to express yourself through art or any creative activity you enjoy. Whether you write, draw, sing, dance, or engage in any form of creative expression, doing what you love will reveal the beauty of your own mind. Embrace your resilience and perseverance, recognizing that it's not the need for motivation but your enduring spirit that propels you forward in life. You embody true strength, beauty, and a remarkable ability to overcome challenges.

#tarot pick a card #pick a card #intuitive reading #pick a card reading #pick a pile #tarot reading

[noose-lion]

Maybe it was just my childhood special interest in martial arts and combat, but the bsd fandom drives me absolutely crazy on how they talk about the characters.

Specifically in combat abilities, fighting 'stats', body builds, ect. ect.

I mostly blame the anime, because it made everyone into twigs, but still. Some of my fellow fans out there are sometimes outright drawing lines over a character in a manga panel and going 'Look at this snatched waist' all the while ignoring basic perspective and forshortening rules. Chuuya is victim to this a fuckton.

For a starting example I'll talk about Kunikida. (Because if I start with Dazai or Chuuya I'll get the "He's petite it's not a crime to call him that" hecklers again).

Because remember folks, no need to get heated about fictional characters that were made up to tell a story.

Kunikida is a martial artist. He has a strong center of gravity, and a great deal of muscle mass. He's shown, (even in the anime mind you), to be competent against opponents who have both the height and mass advantage (that one time he swapped with Dazai mid fight, doing the cool grappling hook switch thing). He's a tall guy and he's drawn in the main manga as very broad shouldered and thick limbed. He's your average combat driven male. Built like a boxer.

He's not really the main talking point I see though. He's usually never called petite or delicate or any of the, quite frankly, ridiculous descriptors for a man of his size and build. It's usually Chuuya and in extension Dazai.

First off, ripping the bandaid off quick and easy. Chuuya isn't petite. (Sure technically petite only means short, but ancient also technically only means old. It's about the connotation.)

Chuuya is also a martial artist. Unlike Kunikida, who relies heavily on grappling technique and using his opponents own momentum and mass against them (a defensive fighter) Chuuya is almost purely offensive (most defense being left to his ability). His center of gravity is less stagnate, more fluid. He's acts quickly, crushing his opponent with efficient and well calculated brute force. Chuuya's body build reflects this. He's got a strong torso and thick limbs, strong shoulders that are lined with cords of muscle that absorb the impact of his attacks. He uses his legs a lot, kicks and jumps, and there is muscle concentration in his thighs and calves as a result. In the main manga, he's drawn with a lean torso, broader shoulders and thicker thighs. He's got a baseball player or a mixed martial artist build. (Broad shoulders and large thighs paired with his choice of suit cut is what creates his 'hourglass figure' so many of yall are obsessed with.)

Second bandaid I'm ripping off. Dazai isn't weak or delicate or whatever, but he is not buff or a tank either. And against men built for combat like Kunikida and Chuuya he's at a fairly large disadvantage.

Most of the athletic ability we've seen Dazai exhibit is evasion based. In the main manga he's drawn broad shouldered and thin, usually cloaked by his coat. Dazai has lean, muscle concentration in his shoulders, upper back and core. He doesn't have the thicker limbs of a boxer or martial artist. He better resembles a swimmer, gymnast, or even rock climber. He's not a stick, as flat as he may be. He's also probably a good deal softer then his martial artist counterparts, not living the stricter healthy life style most martial artist adhere to. Dazai doesn't do well against large heavily muscled opponents, he just doesn't have the needed mass for it. If he doesn't get the upperhand quickly he will loose. Evident in how he struggled so much against that one guy he did the cool grappling hook swap thing with Kunikida.

All this to say, almost every individual in bsd is built for their combat filled life, specialized to fit their fighting styles. It's not a big deal, but I find such thinking and analysis fun.

#inkedmyheart's recent post had me once more thinking on this #bsd #my stuff #screaming into the void #and the void screams back #bungou stray dogs #bungou gay dogs #bsd kunikida #kunikida doppo #bsd chuuya #chuuya nakahara #dazai osamu #bsd dazai #soukoku #jester thinks #bsd meta #bsd analysis #bsd headcanon #bsd headcanons

[pgy4611fiu]

Final work by: Emily Rosario

title: Girlhood Core

My two main inspirations were the photographers Melissa Haugen, and Juuso Westerlund. I came across both of them on Pinterest. I was immediately drawn in by the way that they present movement in the photos. The photos capture a sense of animation and youthfulness that I would also like to present. I also appreciate how their images romanticize the ordinary life of kids as they go about their day.

One of my other sources for inspiration is the 2017 film, The Florida Project. This strong film follows the story of six-year-old Moonee and her fellow playmates. Living in a shoddy motel off the highway right next to Disney World, Moonee lives a rough low income life with her struggling single mother. Despite the harsh reality of her life, Moonee has no trouble living in her childlike world, where her worries are those of getting enough playtime while the sun is out.  This reminds me very much of my eight-year old sister who still maintains her bright and lively character even after our family has gone through traumatic events and difficulties. This theme of innocence and childlike naivety to the realities and sufferings that adult are forced to confront. 

Project Description:

"Girlhood Core" is meant to evoke nostalgia with my viewers that revolve around childhood memories that we may have forgotten with the passing of time. The main subject is my little sister who was my main source of inspiration. In a time where children are growing up faster than they need to, partly because of the internet and social media, I want to capture these moments where my sister is thriving in her vibrant, and imaginative world and emphasize the special and wholesome nature of what it means to be a kid. My photographs are meant to give a blurry or fuzzy effect, alluding to our hazy memory of childhood.  I wanted my photos to be primarily candids, which makes the context less artificial and therefore more easier to relate to. My angles are different in each photo in order to change the perspective of the viewer that helps engage them with the activity that is happening in the photo. I used low angle shots to add drama to the scene. I also purposely obscured my sisters face in some photos to draw attention to the activity she was doing, so that way the viewer can place or see themselves in her position. In each photo, I wanted to keep a dynamic composition so I made sure to move her around the frame and have her in different positions. I also wanted to keep the frame busy, since I wanted to capture the disorderly fun of childhood. Overall, my theme is the enchanting world of childhood that is a sadly fleeting thing. 

For this project, I used my Nikon D5100. I would incorporated techniques such as large depth of field, short depth of field, contrast, color balance and overall composition. I also experimented with different exposure times, depending on the time of day I am shooting at. To achieve the film filter effect of my images, I used both the Adobe Photoshop 2024 and the MacBook Air Photos gallery edit feature. On Adobe photoshop, added a layer of the photo filter Sepia, which is a warmish orange. I edited the Noise/Grain to about 50% to create the blur like effect. I also added a Curve Adjustment layer and made a reverse ‘S’ shape. On the Photos gallery, I lowered the contrast and added a vignette. I reduced the saturation to add the vintage look while bumping up the vibrance to retain the sharpness of the colors.

If I could continue this project, I would love to recreate scenes from famous movies that I watched as a kid. For example, The Parent Trap (1998), Cat in the Hat (2003), Bridge to Terabithia (2007), or Matilda (1996). I would also love to include more of my sister's friends or cousins, to have the atmosphere more lively and vibrant. 

[jaderimehardt]

👋🏻 So, I ended up not drawing anything for that character's birthday.

I did think of a pose about a day and a half ago but that isn't enough time for me to actually get anything drawn out and colored. I'm too slow and I set myself to too high of standards. Plus factor in irl things and my lack of motivation... 🫠 *shakes head*

If I feel bad about it, it's for a couple of mutuals who like him as much as I do, or more- even. I've kind of grown super attached to a certain B🔹L🔹E🔹A🔹C🔹H boi, to be completely honest with you (I'm bypassing the tagging system with the 🔹's).

They still draw him every year on his birthday, and one even bi-weekly almost. She has supported me every time I draw him by re-tweeting my artwork on Twitter. Probably the only person who acknowledges me like this on a regular basis. The other person supports me also on a bit of a lesser scale, and she draws him often too, but I think she struggles with confidence in her art like I do.

It's not an easy thing... "having confidence" in one's own art. And when you don't see likes or favorites on your art, that confidence drops tremendously. You feel like you've done something wrong. You try to figure out 'what' you did wrong, and when you can't find it- you just want to give up. It's a sinking feeling.

But inevitably most artists pick up the pen or pencil again and draw once more because it's something we love to do. The thing is, this time we're less likely to share it because of that lack of confidence. This is what has been happening to me slowly over the past couple of years (and to a couple friends of mine as well).

People don't seem to realize this.

"Where did all the fanart go?"

Well, you all got so picky with favoriting things, they lost motivation and stopped posting. What did you expect?

If and when I post things, I have a fear of tagging it. 💠 Well if you don't tag it, no one is going to see it- and then you really won't get likes/faves. ⚜️ Yeah no kidding. but then I have a logical reason for WHY no one likes it. Like Twitter, I get under 10-30 impressions on most my posts even with tags. At the very least if it's posted, it's on record/in my portfolio of sorts. It exists in my history somewhere.

I removed all of my stuff off of my DeviantArt a couple years ago. Now I'm sure when I post things people question if I'm genuine or not because they have no history to look at- no 'portfolio'. Though if they went to my Wordpress Blog, they'd see that I've been drawing and posting my stuff for a long time. But no one is going to go and look into me that far in-depth. "Guilty until proven innocent" means nothing when all they want to do is prove you guilty.

That makes me even more hesitant to post things- but I do have all my PSDs with individual layers, so I can always provide proof whenever necessary. And I know where my posts are, with timestamps and dates. I can defend myself. That's all that matters to me.

I made this blog to "be more creatively unhinged" and to "be ramble-y". That includes putting my thoughts out into the open, "having proof on paper", so to speak.

I also want to show people the path that I'm taking, so if they're interested in taking it- they can. But everyone learns differently. Everyone has a different style. I may absorb information one way and apply it in this manner, while someone else may learn it in a completely different way and apply it in a polar opposite format. It's all a matter of who you are, perspective and variables.

So... one day (or a string of days), I'll post a bunch of videos. I did this a few days ago actually, lol. These are learning tools. Other days I may make tutorials (I used to make a lot of these but then I deleted that blog). Some days I'll promote my Etsy shop (this might happen the most, tbh)- featuring a lot of my Resin things, and graphics I'm working on. And on rare occasion some fanart because I'm at the lowest of low with that atm.

If I do anything fanart I'm thinking my OC's... 🤷🏻‍♀️. People dislike OCs, I'm aware of that but it's not like many people (if any) like my stuff anyways. They say to draw for self-satisfaction. I think it's time to follow that.

And I 💓 H🔹I🔹T🔹S🔹U to death, but his hecking fluffy hair man 🫠. I did my best with his hair in my last fanart- spent hours perfecting the lineart... honestly I was so proud of it. But apparently it wasn't everyone's cup of tea 🤷🏻‍♀️. It is what it is. (I'm still happy with it. I love his hair, please never change it Kubo-san 💝)

I might doodle a lot of the Loomis Method heads cause I like drawing faces. Poses/bodies not so much. In time I'll work my way to the poses but I just want to mindlessly doodle. (I hate drawing hands 😒)

Btw here's another vid on that, and I like this one so much better.

I also want & need to do a full graphic image for a puzzle. My Mom and my Step Dad are really big into puzzles right now and they're just passing them around with all their friends. Like some puzzle group, lol 😅

I think it'd be cool to actually design one myself, buy it from my Partner- Printful, gift it to them, they can complete it and then they can pass it around.

Mother's Day and Father's Day isn't that far away. I just have no clue what to make the graphic, lol. All the things they like are copyright and I'm not crossing into those waters.

I need to find something generic 🤔💭

#jade.blog #Youtube

[mewmewkitten101]

32 Day Art Fight Challenge

I've had this idea floating in my head for awhile and while it's definitely too late to use this now it'll be handy for next year! Feel free to play with these prompts if you want, you don't have to follow them 100%!

This is a prompt list for artfighters that would like to challenge themselves. This was also inspired by Pencilcat's 30 day art challenge so check that out as well!

Let's start off easy! Draw a character(s) that would be in your comfort zone (Do you like drawing demons? Draw demons! Do you like to draw complicated characters? Draw complicated characters! That kinda thing.)

Go on Pinterest or wherever you have poses stored away, pick a reference and use that to pose a character(s) (or more!)

Draw character(s) in action. Fight scene, moving, whatever, just do it!

Try to draw parts of anatomy you struggle with using other people's characters!

Draw a ship or a few.

Go to your characters page. Pick a character, then choose one of the tags. Using that tag look for a character(s) to draw. Bonus points if you choose the first one(s) you see.

Draw a character(s) interacting with objects

Use the search for a random character. Choose one or a few characters you see. Bonus points if you choose the first one(s) you see.

Put a character(s) on a landscape. Bonus points for shading and lighting

Draw a character(s) in one point perspective. Try to make it detailed!

Draw a character(s) in two point perspective.

Draw a character(s) in three point perspective.

Go outside or by a window. Take a picture. Draw a character(s) in there. Bonus points for redrawing the photo yourself.

Draw characters in a worms or birds eye view background.

Draw some action scenes with backgrounds and all that!

Draw a short comic with a few characters! If you don't want to go crazy on writing anything, look for some memes like the who broke it scene from parks and rec and change it to fit your characters!

If you draw mostly human/humanoid characters, challenge yourself to draw an animal or furry! If you draw mostly furries/animals, challenge yourself to draw human(s)/humanoid(s). If you are proficient at both, challenge yourself to draw a species you've never drawn before, like a fairy or deer! Tags are your friend for this.

Draw a character(s) interacting with a car.

Draw what you hate most (not counting body parts)

Pick an object in your house. Use that to look through tags. See if you find anything that catches your eye. You may need to look a few times.

Draw something in monochromatic blacks, whites, and greys.

Draw something with hatching, crosshatching or pointillism.

Pick a color pallete and draw a character(s). Make sure the creators of the characters are alright with the colors being changed! If they aren't, use this pallete in the background.

Draw a character(s) lineless. If you draw without lines as a default, try doing lines!

Draw in a new style. It can be someone else's or it can be of another artist or something from another media.

Draw a character(s) in other emotions.

Draw a character in a different outfit.

Try to find characters from your favorite pieces of media. If you find any, draw them! If not, keep trying with other pieces of media until you get something.

Look for a "design me a character". Design a character for someone following whatever guidelines they have.

If you draw in a more cartoony style, try drawing a character(s) in a more realistic style! If you draw in a more realistic style, try drawing in a more cartoony style! If you can do both do both!

Redraw an old piece from a year ago, same characters and all.

Almost done! Draw a character in a shitty doodle.

#artfight #artfight 32 day art challenge

[rohitgurumith]

SOURCES AND SIGNIFICANCE - READERS

Baena, C. (2019). Top Five Things NOT to Do On Your Demo Reel. [online] Animation Arena. Available at: http://www.animationarena.com/demo-reel.html [Accessed 31 Dec. 2022].

The five things an animator SHOULD NEVER DO in their demo reel are covered in this article. I picked this as my reader since im on my own journey of becoming a sucessful animator. so i thought this would be a reliable source and help me. The first thing to remember is to keep our resumes tailored to the studio for which we are applying, and if the departments are specialised, we should choose one specialty and only include works that highlight that. The second tip is to avoid adding too much because it will become chaotic for those seeing your demoreel and they will quickly lose interest. The third recommendation is to make our reel's interior as unique and inventive as its exterior or cover. The fourth tip is to leave out anything that is overly distracting, especially the audio, as harsh sound design can quickly throw viewers off and undermine the reel's intended message. This article's last rule is to never include content that has been animated by others and credit any references taken.

Giesen, R. and Khan, A. (2017). Acting and Character Animation. [online] CRC Press, pp.99–101. Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9781315155036-20/heroes-antiheroes-villains-men-rolf-giesen-anna-khan?context=ubx [Accessed 25 Dec. 2022].

The portrayal of heroes, villains, antiheroes, and men in animation is covered in this chapter. I picked this since i majorly focus on the characters in my projects more than anything. This chapter makes the case that heroes from before World War 2 had significantly different attitudes from those from after. The old age antiheroes in the Greek tragedy are claimed to have had their fates decided by the pleasure of the olympian gods, whereas the new age antiheroes are said to have acquired their distinctive qualities by chance (like a God-given fate). We live in a world where people only focus on the negative, and this society has been labelled as excessively pessimistic by the media and press, therefore it is believed that people no longer believe in heroes after World War 2. Joseph Campbell, a well-known mythologist, had the view that heroes were those who sacrificed their lives for a greater good and that "Star Wars" represented the final stand of heroes.

Hernandez, E.A. (2012). Set the action! : creating backgrounds for compelling storytelling in animation, comics, and games. [online] New York: Focal Press, pp.5–15. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/14848218-set-the-action-creating-backgrounds-for-compelling-storytelling-in-anim [Accessed 27 Dec. 2022].

This chapter covered the value of perspective and the additional cinematography it may provide to a scene. This article teches me some new things and seems fairly reliable since im struggling to create dynamic backgrounds for my projects. The author tells us right away that we must learn how to set up a scene in order to plan the events that take place there. For this, perspective and layouts are the first few things we need to concentrate on because they will help design strong backgrounds, after which we will be able to achieve dramatic and energetic visuals. He gives us an illustration by displaying a scene that is drawn from a side view with absolutely no depth or perspective. He continues by displaying a second drawing of the same scenario from a different angle, demonstrating to us how it gives the scene a dramatic push and significantly increases the tension. He then discusses the One Point, Two Point, Three Point, and Four Point/Zero Point perspectives before wrapping up the chapter.

Katatikarn, J. and Tanzillo, M. (2016). Lighting for Animation. [online] CRC Press, pp.72–75. Available at: https://academyofanimatedart.com/lightingforanimationbook/ [Accessed 28 Dec. 2022].

The roles of several types of lights in animation are covered in this chapter. I really liked the part where the author emphasised that it's crucial to comprehend the tools at the lighter's disposal and how they will be used and positioned in a specific scenario to suit the artist's aesthetic.The key light is the main source of illumination for the scene. According to him, The key light's colour is crucial, and even the smallest mistake or misalignment will make the scene appear unappealing. He describes fill light as the type of light that just modifies the existing parameters of the existing lighting arrangement. The gentle light that emanates from below is referred to as bounce light. Rim/kick light refers to a light that virtually acts as an outline and distinguishes an object from its surroundings. He concludes by describing the The utility light, thats an additional light in a scene like cell phone screen, Sirens.

Landgraf, H. (2019). The Increasing Role of Character Animation in Games. [online] Animation Arena. Available at: http://www.animationarena.com/character-animation.html [Accessed 30 Dec. 2022].

The high standards and significance of a character animator are discussed in this article along with what makes a good game. The publisher describes how, in the past, players would get extremely pumped up and excited to play two-dimensional games that were merely sports simulations. However, as technology has advanced, players today prefer to play games with much higher graphics that provide a more immersive experience, and the game and animation industries are constantly working to meet these demands. A group of graduates of the Animation Mentor programme who had received character animation training responded that gamers become more invested in the game and get into the character by developing empathy for them and making them as believable and relatable as possible. She ends the post by stating that the game industry moves very quickly and that there is a growing need for character animators.

Meir, D. (2019). Acting and Animation. [online] Animation Arena. Available at: http://www.animationarena.com/acting-and-animation.html [Accessed 29 Dec. 2022].

The author of this article contrasts actors and animators and explains how acting is crucial to animation. In order to demonstrate that an animator is an actor as we're attempting to tell a tale with a character, he begins by quoting one of the oldest proverbs: "An Animator is an Actor with a Pencil ". He continues by pointing out that, despite his respect for the technological advancements in animation, he believes that the new characters in animated films are a step backward and inferior to the previous ones since they lack individuality. He proposes that instead of using a formula to elevate themselves, the characters should just be themselves. After that, he examines and breaks down what makes a good actor. He believes that characters should exhibit their thought processes, respond to circumstances in a reasonable manner, and have a consistent attitude that sets them apart from other characters.

Natcoll Design Technology (2019). Motion Capture Animation. [online] Animation Arena. Available at: http://www.animationarena.com/motion-capture-animation.html [Accessed 1 Jan. 2023].

The use of motion capture for 3D characters is debated in this article as to whether it falls under acting or animation. This idea was inspired by one of the most watched movies of all time, James Cameron's Avatar. Performance capture technology, which was similar to motion capture but for facial expressions, was employed in this movie. Every expression and reaction the actor makes is recorded and accurately replicated in the 3D character they are portraying. The actors will be able to complete each act entirely on their own because nothing will be added during preproduction. The distinctions between animation and conventional filmmaking have become more hazy as a result of this technological advancement.Cameron defended the technology and asserted that this performance was acting, and anyone who disagreed needed to be properly informed.

Thomas, F. and Johnston, O. (1995). The illusion of life : Disney animation. [online] New York: Hyperion, pp.393–395. Available at: https://books.disney.com/book/the-illusion-of-life/ [Accessed 26 Dec. 2022].

The technique by which Walt Disney creates characters is covered in this chapter. In contrast to writing the plot first and then adding the characters, it is believed that Walt prepares his characters before writing the story. Additionally, he recommended that before really creating these people, his character designers learn as much as possible about them. Since he believed that a character's charisma and personality were the most important aspects of good material, he would pay more attention to these aspects than to the character's goals or motivations or how they affected the plot. At times, he would become so engrossed in the characters that he would even play them out, losing all awareness of his surroundings. His coworkers would have the time of their lives watching it because of his contagious enthusiasm and confidence in these people, which spread wonderful energy throughout the office.

Weaver, T. (2013). Comics for Film, Games, and Animation: Using Comics to Construct your Transmedia Storyworld. [online] CRC Press LLC, Oxford, pp.99-100. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/herts/detail.action?docID=1092832 [Accessed 3 Jan. 2023].‌

This book's intermission talks about the five mantras for creating a comic strip. The first credo is to always keep in mind that comics and movies are two very different genres, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. The second credo is to always keep in mind that comics are nothing more than very private experiences. The third point is that we need to comprehend the specific guidelines and components of comic book storytelling. The fourth recommendation is to make use of the infinite storytelling potential while crafting a comic book story. Choose "the moment" that grabs everyone's attention and tells a lot of stories as the fifth and final catchphrase. a number of the chapters in this book drew my attention, therefore I think I might use it for my critical analysis.

Wheless, J. (2019). Become a Better Animator. [online] Animation Arena. Available at: http://www.animationarena.com/become-a-better-animator.html [Accessed 30 Dec. 2022].

The publisher of this article asserts that becoming a good animator requires far more than simply having the necessary technical skills; it also requires having a positive attitude and controlling our ego. This article highlights the attributes an animator should possess.According to the publisher, he has encountered numerous animators who lacked these characteristics and who ultimately ended up ending their own careers as a result. He believes that an animator needs to be able to work well with others and be receptive to ideas. Additionally, if he wants to finish it on time and realises that he won't be able to accomplish it on his own, he should be able to accept constructive criticism and request technical assistance from other animators without fear. He ends the post by stating his personal convictions, which are that having an 80% positive attitude and 20% talent will help us succeed in life.

#sources and significance #readers

[valmkt]

Are Penny Stocks in a Bear Market?

Are Penny Stocks in a Bear Market?

Stock market turmoil is here whether you've noticed it or not. The downturn of the entire stock market is happening for six months already, the professionals are well aware and the retail investing community is unfortunately learning the hard way. Are penny stocks in a bear market along with the rest of the market? I think the answer is obvious but some investors may not agree.

Identifying Penny Stocks

For the sake of argument, we will consider any security trading for less than five dollars per share a penny stock. Many times this is open for some discussion as some financiers consider stocks trading below ten dollars as a penny stock. Five hundred pennies is where I draw the line. Identifying penny stocks below this level will put this topic into perspective much better. As the entire market has trended down in recent months for various reasons, the penny stock world has been affected more than the remainder of the market.

Penny stocks entered a bear market as early as September of 2021. Some financiers refer to penny stocks as growth stocks. It provides a more general term for low priced securities not necessarily pinning them to their price per share. Well established, well seasoned, consistently profitable companies are the exact opposite of growth companies. So a penny stock company is in fact an unseasoned, not yet established, unprofitable company. This description makes it easier to understand why penny stocks are in a bear market.

Is It a Good Time to Invest?

Some people find a silver lining in current market conditions particularly in the realm of penny stocks or growth companies. The entire spectrum of low priced securities is down therefore making it a good time to invest if you can weather some downtime. The problem with investing in an unprofitable company during times of economic downturn is cash burn. Cash burn, or using shareholder funds to finance the company when it is unprofitable only adds to the risk with the penny stockers. This situation of using company cash resources is exaggerated when the surrounding economy is struggling.

In recent years, retail investors have pumped cash into low priced stockers thanks to a high energy economy and recent stimulus check being deposited in checking accounts across the country. The pandemic left many cash heavy, internet savvy citizens trying their luck in the stock market. New investors are always drawn to low cost securities first by default. This novelty seems to have worn off for now and created a penny stock bear market. As free cash dissipates from the market, the growth companies were the first to feel the pain. Combine the lack of fresh cash flow with an overall economic downturn and you have an elevated risk for sure.

The likelihood that penny stocks can pull out of this dilemma is not very good in the short term, however those that can withstand the risk and are also capable of exhibiting patience may be rewarded handsomely in the long run. You can ignore the penny stock bear market and try to capitalize on it, or not...

Learn more in our penny stock forum

#penny stock bear

[yurimother]

LGBTQ Game Review - A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986

Before diving into the meat of Oracle and Bone’s A Summer’s End, I want to talk about the women behind this game Tida Kietsungden, and Charissa So. So and Kietsungden have done nothing but impress me since the announcement of A Summer’s End. They have repeatedly demonstrated their immense effort and dedication to creating a beautiful and thoughtful experience. Through conversations with the studio and reading their blog entries, I gained a remarkable understanding of how this game is both a tribute to classic cinema and a love letter to the Yuri and LGBT community. Through careful research and thoughtful expression, the two women navigate and acknowledge complicated issues, including Asian LGBTQ history and Hong Kong’s delicate political situation with grace and maturity. I am in complete awe of both women and their work. However, regardless of my profound respect for these creators, I still endeavor to offer my unfiltered thoughts on the visual novel, giving praise and criticism where appropriate.

A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 is a Yuri visual novel set, as you may have figured out, in Hong Kong in the year 1986. The game follows a young office worker, Michelle (Fong Ha) Cheung, who has a chance encounter with a free-spirited woman named Sam (Ka Yan) Wong. Both women feel drawn to each other, and the game explores this mutual attraction and the budding relationship which emerges from it.

This plot follows the standard girl meets girl story that has permeated the Yuri genre for the past several decades. Like most Yuri stories, the older and more experienced woman, Sam, is rebellious and beautiful, with long dark hair and a dominating persona. Michelle, although far more naive in the ways of love, breaks the trend of this trope by being the more sullen of the two. I would have liked to see the game diverge a bit more from the standard story of the genre. Fortunately, A Summer’s End is a romance story between adults who do not work together, setting it apart from the norms. It even includes a coming out section that creates a more robust LGBT identity than any tale of temporary schoolgirl love.

The story is well put together and well presented. The story is told primarily from Michelle’s perspective. It mostly takes place over a few days, during which Michelle engages in a whirlwind romance with Sam. This story features the struggle between her feelings and passion and her devotion to tradition and her mother. The progression of her affection is unrealistically fast. The story feels a bit rushed, and many of the societal and personal quagmires the game stumbles upon are not sufficiently developed or confronted. Had the game indulged in a more prolonged and tumultuous struggle for Michelle, conclusions would have felt much sweeter, and the story would have gone from good to great.

Even with this massive missed opportunity, there are plenty of exemplary moments and aspects of the narrative. The game pulls no punches addressing Michelle’s slightly overbearing mother and the conflict between the two. It would have been incredibly simple to take the easy route on this one. Still, the developers stuck to their guns and manage to explore a challenging situation satisfyingly, all while keeping the characters realistic and sympathetic. In fact, every scene relating to LGBT rights and history is flawlessly executed.

There are also some fantastic chapters, including a thrilling but refreshing bike ride and a flashback scene that recontextualizes certain events from another perspective. The many references and allusions to classic cinema including some older lesbian films and plenty of Asian works, are particularly noteworthy. However, the best part of A Summer’s End by far is the setting.

The location and time period is intrinsic to Sam and Michelle’s tale, as it is shaped by and reflects contemporary culture and LGBTQ rights. Oracle and Bone create a vibrant and lively world, a jaw-dropping depiction of Hong Kong in the 1980s. Everything helps feed into the creation of this world, including a fantastic and retro UI, small touches such as a Cantonese subway announcement, and objects encountered like a disposable camera help convey a strong sense of the period. However, the soundtrack sells it more than any other element, save perhaps the artwork, transporting the player to the era. While a few tracks are the standard easy listening affairs one expects from visual novels, there are tons of excellent city pop and disco beats, complete with plenty of synths and confidence! Finally, a visual novel soundtrack that contributes more than just background noise!

Sadly, the game’s dialogue choice system and branching paths are far more of a hindrance than a help. I can honestly say that the game would play better and be way more enjoyable as a kinetic novel. Most choices feel inconsequential, changing nothing of the story and resulting in almost the exact same response from other characters yet, they have a hidden points system. If you do not earn enough points, parts of the optional adult content will be unplayable until one goes back to find the right choice. I spent several hours replaying, and eventually skipping through, the game to unlock all the scenes, and finally gave up with one CG left unseen. The only choice with any actual effect is painfully evident in its consequences. One option leads to the bad ending, which is well written, but no reasonable player would go down that path unless they just wanted to see the whole game. The second unveils the true good ending, which no player in their right mind would not pursue, as again, the choice is obvious and adds nothing to the game. There is no reason to put in an alternative ending or tedious dialogue choice.

The characters in A Summer’s End are well constructed. Sam is adventurous without being obnoxious and has a mature though appropriately unrefined demeanor. Michelle is extremely curt and somewhat distant, although she displays a sharp wit and more timid nature on occasion. Both women participate in engaging, deep, and thoughtful discussions, often with each other, although sometimes internally, and thus feel well developed and complex. Unfortunately, their chemistry, while not absent, is not enough to sell the whirlwind romance. There is insufficient expression of their feelings and attractions, both internally or through dialogue and actions, so their inevitable closeness feels unearned.

However, even in the short game, both characters change with each other, especially Michelle, as she becomes more affectionate, confident, and caring. She begins to embody some of Sam’s warmness while never losing herself. Some of my favorite dialogue and interaction came from her towards the end of the game, although I will not spoil it. Additionally, side characters have a strong presence thanks to their firmly established characteristics and a profound effect on the narrative. Each has their own sprite and mannerisms, helping cement them as fixtures in A Summer’s End rather than tacked on assets.

The visual novel contains optional adult content, which is installed in an extra patch and can be toggled on and off. I played through the game with and without it and can happily report that the story is just as fulfilling and complete without it. Although the unlockable nature of these scenes is aggravating, they are very well written and sensual without being exploitative. There were moments I did not care for as much, such as Sam getting carried away at one point, but it felt very realistic and incredibly sensual. The artwork in these sexual encounters is some of the best in the game, embracing darker colors and showcasing intense desire.

Speaking of the artwork, it is stupendous. The game is bright and striking, with amazing backgrounds complete with luminous neon signs, glaring televisions, and life and activity oozing from every corner. The backgrounds are so beautiful and detailed they could effectively serve in place of CG art, although there is plenty of that asides. The character models and designs are similarly excellent, with expressive poses and faces. The various outfits, of which the game has many, embody iconic 80’s fashion. Artist Tida Kietsungden draws both the characters and CGs with a distinctive hand-drawn style, which allows them to play well off each other and add to the beautiful presentation. The detail and care that went into the aesthetics are enormous and elevate the game at every moment. 

A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 is a vibrant and intimate experience. The fantastic setting and flawless artwork surround a compelling and thoughtful story about lesbian love and desire, societal expectations, and the bonds between family and lovers. It is rough around the edges, with a slightly rushed story that leaves little time to wallow in complexity and an awful dialogue system. However, it will win players over with its striking presentation and sophisticated subject matter. I look forward to more from this studio and highly recommend you check this game out!

Ratings: Story – 7 Characters – 6 Art – 10 Music – 8 LGBTQ – 8 Sexual Content – 3 (8 with patch) Final – 7

Purchase A Summer’s End on Steam and itch.io, available April 23

Consider supporting Yuri news, reviews, and content on the YuriMother Patreon

#Yuri #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtq+ #queer #gay #reivew #a summer's end #hong kong #girls love #gl #wlw #lesbian #visual novel #games #video games #gaming #manga #anime #reviews

[alexbraindump]

Night in the Woods & Optimistic Nihilism, Pt. 1: Constellations

“So I believe in a universe that doesn’t care and people who do.”

Night in the Woods manages to create one of the most realistic narratives I’ve ever seen crafted in a video game. And that’s a bold statement, one that shouldn’t be tossed around lightly. Yet I feel entirely concrete in saying it. It’s quite the diverse game, dealing with a range of topics so wide that it’d be hard to cover all of them in one single post. I hope to cover more of them someday, but today I’ll be narrowing in on one specific point that resonated especially well with me personally: finding purpose in an existence that is inherently devoid of it.

And it’s here that I’m going to say that, to anyone who hasn’t played NITW yet, stop reading this right now and go pick it up. It’s only $20 and with it comes an experience that remains consistently enjoyable and impactful throughout its entire runtime. I won’t be holding back from relevant spoilers for the rest of this post, so now’s your only chance. Go away. But come back once you’ve played the game. That’d be pretty cool I think.

~~~~~~~~~~~MILD SPOILER TERRITORY BELOW~~~~~~~~~~~

Now that the uninitiated are gone, it’s finally time to wrap back around to that quote at the beginning of this post. A universe that doesn’t care, and people who do. It perfectly aligns with the definition of optimistic nihilism, a term seemingly dubbed by a youtube channel in 2017. For those who are unaware, optimistic nihilism is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s the philosophy that the universe is inherently uncaring, that there’s no concrete meaning to life that we can grasp onto, yet we as human beings are uniquely capable of creating our own meaning without requiring some higher power or order to do it for us. We can choose to pursue what we wish for out of our lives, free to choose our own individualized path through the blank slate that is existence and draw whatever patterns we may choose from it.

As you read through that brief summary you may have already begun to understand exactly why I consider Night in the Woods to align particularly well with optimistic nihilism. The game is not exactly lacking in the theme of finding meaning within things that may be meaningless in the most literal sense. It’s been there since the very beginning, with NITW’s first supplemental game Longest Night. It’s a simple little game featuring Mae, Bea, Gregg and Angus identifying various constellations and making characteristically entertaining quips about each of them. Despite the game’s relative simplicity it acts as an early (over 3 years before NITW itself released!) establishment of NITW’s ever-present theme of establishing meaning in things that don’t have meaning by themselves by using one simple thing: constellations.

Constellations are a perfect medium to establish the philosophy of optimistic nihilism and it is evident that Infinite Fall were acutely aware of that from a very early point in the development of NITW. All constellations really are just patterns of stars we may see in the sky at night that people have assigned their own patterns and meanings to. Most stars sit so far away from the Earth that the human brain struggles to even comprehend how far away they truly are beyond a simple “Wow! That’s pretty far!” They’re balls of gas, unable to care about or even recognize whatever we humans see within them. Most of them have existed for longer than we have and will continue to persist long after we die. Yet the human race has taken it upon themselves to assign patterns to them and continue recognizing said patterns long after we’ve obtained knowledge about what the stars that form them truly are. In nature they hold no inherent meaning and have no rhyme nor reason to their locations relative to each other from our perspective, yet we have used our minds to instill meaning into them and draw patterns that can only be drawn from where we stand. The universe did not care about how it put them there nor how any living being may interpret them, but people cared enough to give them meaning.

Years after the release of Longest Night, Night in the Woods proper came out. And in it the usage of stars was far from ditched. Their function as being one of the elements perpetuating NITW’s optimistic nihilism was only expanded. Every two days in the game you are offered the opportunity to choose to hunt for dusk stars with a character named Mr. Chazokov. The interactions with him themselves don’t offer much in the ways of adding upon the pre-established theme of finding meaning within none, though their mere inclusion does help cement the theme as an important part of the game. The true point in which the theme is finally brought front and center is when the player can choose to go ghost hunting with Angus at Possum Jump. After some uneventful ghost hunting, Mae and Angus decide to rest at the top of a hill and do some stargazing. At this point the game essentially retraces (literally and figuratively) all the ground covered in Longest Night. Mae connects constellations together and Angus names them and gives a brief explanation for each of them. It’s a charming little moment that eventually evolves into Angus explaining the abuse he endured throughout his childhood to Mae. But what’s relevant to this specific analysis is Angus’s attitude throughout. He continually stays true to and loops back upon the fact that, while the stars themselves are very real and the stories given to them do very much exist, the stars really don’t mean anything by themselves. It all culminates with Angus explaining his tragic childhood to Mae. But what’s important to the overall narrative of this essay is Angus’s response when Mae asks him if he believes in anything.

It’s at this point that the game gives its most obvious addressal to its philosophy of optimistic nihilism. It’s like the pot finally boils over and it says “alright, time to finally talk about this.” As a response to being prompted about his beliefs, Angus explains his thoughts by using the constellations recently outlined as a convenient example. It’s here that the quote that spurred this whole essay on shows its head. “So I believe in a universe that doesn’t care and people who do,” is the final quote summarizing Angus’s philosophy on meaning in the universe. And if that isn’t the clearest possible representation of optimistic nihilism in NITW then I don’t know what is. It’s a simple little quote, yet it manages to single handedly encapsulate what optimistic nihilism is. Of course, it’s framed as the view of one character in the game, and a character thinking something doesn’t immediately mean that the entire work subscribes to that philosophy, but as you think about NITW and its various elements more and more it becomes increasingly apparent that it is indeed representative of the philosophy of optimistic nihilism.

And with that vague statement I’ll be leaving off the first part of this little mini-project for the time being. I do intend to come back to it at some point in the (hopefully near) future, as I feel that there’s a lot more that could be said about the themes of finding meaning in Night in the Woods. Currently I’m planning on writing about why I enjoy Mae Borowski as a character so much and see her as one of my favorite video game protagonists, so that’ll probably be done before any other parts to this essay come out. Keep an eye out if you enjoy what I’m posting and want to see more, and don’t be afraid to offer any feedback you may have. There’s a contact section on my profile if you’d like the most effective ways to get in touch.

#night in the woods #nitw #analysis #optimistic nihilism #writing #fiction #nitw angus #night in the wood angus #angus delaney #video games #games #indie game #longest night #nitw spoilers

[elizabethrobertajones]

Saw you've been sucked into the MMO life in the form of FFXIV and I was wondering if you had any input into the debate I've been having about what class archetypes tfw would play. I think Sam would be most likely to tank because it requires a reasonable amount of leadership and is also more of a quiet, backbone type role compared to dps. Dean seems more the type to be singularly focused on the big damage hits tbh. He also tends to take more of the charging in and fighting role in their normal life with Sam being the one reading up on everything more carefully and being his backup. Which leaves Cas as healer which may just be me projecting because I play healer/support at every opportunity but literal angel healing aside I think that sorta fits too, he cares a lot for them and tries to keep them safe and shield them as best he can in their adventures? Idk half formed thoughts please completely contradict me if you want I'm genuinely curious about other people's opinions here

Heyooo :D It is less sucked into and more like I’ve returned to the warm cushiony nest of MMOs lol

If you’d asked me back when I was a WoW player I’d have fully agreed because you could only have one class per character and these are definitely the snap decisions that the fam would make when on the character screen. Dean would grab the sexiest DPS, Sam the stoutest tank especially as he’s the one who has read into the classes and strats beforehand, and Cas would ask what to do and be given the healer role because the other two in this scenario would know better about the game and sort of lump it onto him like, oh, we need a healer and you can do this.

(In my own gaming journey, this is what my friends and brother did to me, as they needed a healer to round out their party... I took druid because it was spoopy, and discovered in WoW that while you can’t change classes you can pay gold to respec your character’s role within that class... Promptly re-specced to a melee dps/tank feral druid instead of the healer one, and had a lot more fun :D)  

In FFXIV you can take all the classes on your character (which I have done, natch) and it’s a much more interesting levelling approach, especially seeing how my friends playing the game have gone when it comes to taking classes as they level and why they claim to have tried and then rejected others. It’s an enormous personality test, even for peeps like me and my brother who have all the classes up at max level, which ones we prioritised and which ones we sort of struggled with or found a bit meh. 

Hm so in the scenario that Charlie comes bursting into the Bunker demanding that she needs some friends for dungeons and raids and they’re all sitting on their asses scrolling the internet between a case, they can bloody well play final fantasy with her for a bit, let’s go for some headcanons :D Long because FFXIV has become my current obsession and I have the same in-depth feels about it as I do about SPN but I just never get to write about them with anyone... 

First off, Sam of course has deep nerdery about it and will ask Charlie a ton of questions about what the right class to play is and do the same thing as we’ve already discussed and go for Paladin (which starts as gladiator), and also take all the crafting and gathering side classes because he’s a nerd and you learn nonsense lore while doing it. He’s also in the same starting zone as Thaumaturge which transitions to Black Mage and I BET he’d be tempted to have a little safe witch!Sam emotional release on the most un-Sam class. It’s the big unwieldy spell caster whose literal class quests and stuff make fun of how you’re small and squishy and will be standing in a very bad spot debating whether to finish a long-cast spell and get hit or stop DPS and run for safety. I think he could do with the perspective and learning to be selfish either way to blow off steam from tanking and also learn to prioritise himself IRL :’D Also the paladin quest is WEIRDLY pro-cop from 30 onwards for some reason until the writers saw sense and just. stopped. doing paladin stuff and went back to the Gladiator storyline for the class quests, so idk if he’d enjoy that or start to question other things. Whatever it is he’s getting challenged XD

At 60 he grabs Gunbreaker because it sounds more cool and is thankfully way less emotionally stressful tanking as it’s entirely about being a badass bodyguard and sick flips. This is far more aspirational for Sam, especially as he could just tie a knife to a sawn off shotgun and do these moves for real in his day job. He won’t, but like with black mage, the thought that he COULD is very emotionally satisfying to him.

He might also have decided to check out scholar to see how healing is but idk if he would be able to handle Dean teasing him for having a fairy follow him around so he’d only dabble with the nerd class on the side :P  

Now, Dean can’t take ninja until level 10 or machinist (gun shooty DPS class) until 50, so his start point as DPS would either be pugilist (eeeey brass knuckle class!) or the other DPS classes to start with are Thaumaturge/Black Mage, Arcanist/Summoner, Archer or Lancer. Now. He’d probably think the first two are sissy because magic is for girls/arcanists literally only have a book as a weapon. Archer becomes bard and I think is ultimately a place he’d be very happy as it is a very supportive class to the whole party and basically the mom friend class. But I would love if he went lancer/dragoon because the level 50 class weapon is (folklore inspired name) “Gae Bolg” and every time I equip it I can’t help giggling at the name even though I know it’s a real thing and I shouldn’t. But. Like. It’s the class about waving enormous lances around. It’s got Implications, and Dean is drawn to those. 

He’d probably, however, take rogue/ninja as soon as he could because stabbing things with knives, and the class trainer is the kinda guy who’d have wild gay tension with him while they both try to boast about women to each other, were they to meet irl. Ironically, the rogue trainer (a womanising charmer) and the ninja trainer (an intense, honourable guy bad at social cues even among his own people who ends up falling from grace and choosing to stay in the vicinity of said rogue trainer) are an interesting pair of NPCs to teach Dean about where to stick knives. :) 

He’d go back and power-level dragoon once he starts Heavensward though, because Aymeric is also super intense with messy dark hair and big blue eyes that see right through you. :D He’s getting that gae bolg for him, you know? 

If they’re going to bully Cas to be their healer, he’d probably get really dedicated to the discipline especially as he can stay up all night to play and doesn’t need to take breaks to pee so he’d probably level conjurer/white mage (nature healing) and scholar (ancient book lore with a class quest which mixes ancient curses on a whole people, family drama and a bit of interspeciesish love) and then also pick up astrologian, which is good because it’s spooky star and making your own fate magic. The storyline for that is garbage in the sense that it’s really weakly written, but my favourite character randomly picks up AST in the latest expansion, and has an absolutely fucking wild subtextual romance with another character, including SPN level adopting of a random child who matches Jack in many respects, with said character. And in many respects emotionally they’re Cas and Dean but without any of the personal baggage between them specifically so they really are just chill and married, whatever else they’re stressed about (I say, dreading the next patch is going to finally bring up some questions about what is going on with them as it’s getting weirdly conspicuous while still utterly unsaid). So I would hope if Cas started projecting onto an astrologian character it would be him :P 

Cas also would get into summoner as the other branch of scholar because honestly those two classes are about as close to the random sigil drawing and reading things from books etc analogy to his own occult magic, except you can summon cool dragons and elementals to fight for you. 

they’d buy Jack a boost to 60 and he’d pick up dark knight and white mage probably just to subtly fuck with Dean 

(I am still not over Dean trying to test him to see if he was evil or not by whether he chose devil or angel cake) 

#Asks #ffxiv #pfft #I'm sorry #I'm like #in the rabbit hole #I'm so in deep in the rabbit hole I've memorised all the lore #I did every quest #I am as forensic about it as I am about SPN but it's all just in my head!! #AAAH why is the fandom for this game small and uninterested in talking about subtext! #[edit to add: if you know where the fandom I'm seeking is and it's on reddit #I'm not going there and you can't pay me to for all the thancred headcanons in eorzea]

[oneboxofmatches]

This is a request I did for the amazing @strawberry-caffeine​ -- she’s been so kind to me and it was an absolute joy to do this request!

A few things: With the length of the request, while I still included friendship matchups, I decided not to write out descriptions/explanations along with them. To (hopefully) make up for that, I put the #1 friendship choice in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS with two other bonus characters I think you’d be good friends with in regular bold type (except for the Harry Potter: Marauders era because there aren’t many choices haha). I hope this is okay!!

Here we go!

--Supernatural--

I romantically pair you with…

JACK KLINE

You’re good at hyping your friends up? Please give this boy all the hype in the world -- he needs it.

Seriously though, one (out of many) of the reasons Jack loves you so, so much is how you’re able to talk him out of a slump. His constant doubts and insecurities regarding his identity plague him often, and the fact that you’re willing to both listen to him pour his heart out and still find a way to reassure him means the world.

Jack’s also still getting the hang of the whole “talking” thing, so you helping him along when a lull in the conversation arrives makes him feel supported.

Not only does your helpful nature benefit Jack, but it’s also one of his favorite traits of yours! He believes in a kind, just world and consistently seeing that from you never fails to bring a bright smile to his face.

Whenever you bottle up your feelings, however, Jack is admittedly at a loss at first. Though it would take patience, turning these moments into teaching opportunities will help him become more in tune with emotions over time.

During these moments, all he wants to do is help -- even before he really understands what’s going on. He’ll ask you what you need and rush to assist in any way he can. He hates seeing you hurt, it’s as simple as that.

Jack loves being around you because he learns so much, and you’re just as eager to teach him. Together, you learn to appreciate the little things in life because you both bring such different perspectives to the world.

Overall, the kindness you show Jack from the beginning is what drives your relationship, and he makes it his goal to make sure you know how loved and appreciated you are in return.

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

CASTIEL, Garth Fitzgerald IV, Charlie Bradbury

--Harry Potter--

In the Golden Trio era, I romantically pair you with…

NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM

Honestly, Neville’s insecurities may make him feel a little intimidated by you at first. Thoughts like, “How could someone as friendly, energetic, and spontaneous as her ever love me of all people?” are pretty common in the early stages of your relationship.

Of course, you help Neville understand fairly quickly that you aren’t going anywhere. Because you’re so good at reading and interpreting emotions, you’re able to assist him with addressing these doubts head-on. These personal conversations are what truly solidify your trust in one another and serve as the strong foundations of a powerful bond.

Also, Neville really appreciates your ability to keep a conversation going. He sometimes struggles with this himself, but he’s relieved he doesn’t have to worry about these shortcomings when it comes to you. Talking with you just comes naturally.

While his verbal communication can use some work, Neville is one of the best listeners to have on-hand when it comes to any problems that arise in your life. Someone’s pushing you to your limit? Neville has all the patience in the world to let you rant so you don’t have to bottle up your feelings. Need to talk through solutions to personal issues? He’ll give you his undivided attention while you work your way around to an answer, providing feedback if you ask for it. Feel the need to ramble? Neville will not only listen, but he’ll actually take a genuine interest in whatever it is you’re talking about.

While he otherwise second-guesses all his decisions, Neville surprisingly really enjoys venturing on unplanned, impulsive adventures with you. A favorite for the both of you is exploring areas on the grounds or in nature. You’re usually the one to charge ahead, excitedly talking while Neville hangs back a few steps. He takes in his surroundings, sure, but mostly he’s just watching you and simply feeling happy from the joy you radiate.

Speaking of things you love to do together, gardening is near the top of the list! One of Neville’s deepest passions is botany, and he doesn’t share his knowledge with just anyone. Seeing you take a true interest in your shared garden gives him all the warmest, fuzziest feelings imaginable.

Overall, you’re the one to bring Neville out of his shell, and he’s the one who takes time to listen to you. You bring out the best in each other, and your unbreakable bond makes the two of you fiercely loyal until the end.

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

LUNA LOVEGOOD, Nymphadora Tonks, Molly Weasley

In the Marauders era, I romantically pair you with…

REMUS LUPIN

You want to talk about one of the most understanding and patient individuals out there? It’s this one.

While Remus isn’t always keen on discussing his own emotions, he is very astute when it comes to sensing the well-being of others. Whether you’re burnt out, overwhelmed, on the verge of a breakdown or something bad just happened to happen to you that day, he knows.

Having people like James and Sirius as friends has taught him both how to tune in to the ramblings of a hyper person as well as how to utilize selective hearing. Remus realizes that he never wants to use that second skill with you. Unlike his friends (who he loves very much, mind you) he wants to take in everything you tell him.

It’s this active listening that makes Remus an excellent gift giver. A majority of the things he gives you are from offhand comments that you don’t think twice about making in the moment.

One of Remus’s absolute favorite things about you is the way your eyes light up when you talk about something you’re passionate about. He finds this trait so endearing, and it’s an easy way to make him smile.

Caring for you when your thoughts are traveling especially fast becomes second nature to Remus. Whenever he knows that he’ll see you, he always has at least one outlet (pen/paper, alcohol marker, etc.) for you. He’s also more than fine with you drawing something on his hand if you’d like -- he loves watching you work and he also gets to walk away with something that can remind him of you!

Remus also excels in history, reading, and writing, so I can definitely see many conversations between you two that revolve around these subjects. Also, after both of you complete your own essays, I believe proofreading and/or discussing each other’s work would become a habit of yours.

Overall, the shared ability to read and interpret emotions as well as the simple wish to care for one another draw you two together to form the sweetest couple around!

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

LILY EVANS

--Marvel Cinematic Universe--

I romantically pair you with…

PIETRO MAXIMOFF

Pietro was first drawn to how easily you can hold a conversation. He recognized immediately how easy it was to joke around with you once you warmed up (which didn’t take long -- Pietro’s somewhat gifted with the power of easy conversation himself). You both felt comfortable around each other relatively quickly.

Yes, Pietro’s known for his impossibly quick movements, but no one stops to think that this requires impossibly quick thinking. While Pietro has had some time to grab somewhat of a hold on his abilities, he still struggles with thoughts that just move too fast for him. You show him some of your tactics for dealing with this, and it literally changes his life.

Up until that point, your interactions had been mostly fun and rather lighthearted. But helping Pietro in such a thoughtful way and relating to him on a level that no one usually can made him see you in a different life. That’s how he knew he loved you.

This can be a chaotic relationship at times to say the least.

Many of your conversations can hardly be followed because you often build off of each other’s energy. While your quick minds are often on the same page, a third person might not be able to keep up.

Pietro does NOT hesitate when it comes to standing up for you. As soon as he learned about your people-pleasing habit, he took it upon himself to be on guard for anyone who could possibly take advantage of you. While you may find it hard to say no, Pietro has no problem stepping in and telling someone to back off.

You might feel as if he goes a little overboard with this sometimes, telling him that it “wasn’t right to be mean to that person.” He’ll just glance at you, shake his head and start up a lecture (albeit not a harsh one -- he really does care about you!) about asserting personal boundaries.

Pietro and his ego LOVE compliments, so you can expect a welcome reaction to each one you give him.

He’s also a big fan of going on spontaneous trips, discovering different parts of the world side by side.

But he’ll also settle for getting to hold you while you two talk about your day.

Overall, Pietro has no problem matching your energy, and you both want nothing more than to discover the adventures life has to offer together.

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

VISION, Thor, Tony Stark

--Hamilton--

I romantically pair you with…

JOHN LAURENS

John has a lot of respect for someone who manages to include everyone, so it’s no wonder you caught his eye.

First impressions already told him you were friendly and empathetic, but discovering the more energetic and spontaneous side of you? Yep, he was in love.

Both of you have always had a desire to help people, so being able to do that with someone who shares the same passion and energy feels special. You’re more than a couple; you’re a team.

Whenever John’s troubled by what’s going on in the world, it doesn’t take him long to turn to you. He’s one of the most stubborn people alive when it comes to admitting he needs help, but all he knows is that talking to you seems to relieve him of some of that load (please be patient with him!!).

Meanwhile, he knows you have your own ways of coping with racing thoughts so he feels comfortable giving you space when you need it. If what you need is a person to listen, however, he’s there in a heartbeat.

Serious topics aside, you two just know how to have fun! Between your friendly personalities that naturally draw others in and your impulsive natures that (most of the time) lead you to exciting experiences, you make so many mutual friends! Sharing a group of close friends -- surprise, surprise -- brings you and John even closer.

Overall, you and John can always be found by each other’s side when facing whatever comes your way, good or bad.

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

PHILIP HAMILTON, Marquis de Lafayette, Peggy Schuyler

#matchups #fandom matchups #supernatural matchup #supernatural #spn matchup #spn #harry potter matchup #harry potter #marvel matchup #marvel #mcu matchup #mcu #hamilton matchup #hamilton #jack kline #castiel #neville longbottom #luna lovegood #remus lupin #lily evans #pietro maximoff #vision #john laurens #philip hamilton

[mcrmadness]

Madness draws: Behind the Scenes of the latest Farin&Bela pencil drawing.

Aka the one that’s also my icon, even when that was a big risk to take because normally I start hating the photos I have once drawn, especially if I have failed miserably. This is how the drawing itself turned out:

ATTENTION: The original post about that drawing, with better image, behind this link.

This post is solely about the process itself with lots of pictures and also plenty of gifs, because I promised to do one if people would like to see that and I got some comments saying that they’re looking forward for that. So, here’s now that post!

For starters I have to apologize for the terrible quality that is the photos. I used my phone camera only and never thought about posting them, I just took them as a reference for myself and to show the progress to a friend and only after finishing the drawing I noticed that the angle of the camera causes a huge impact on the perspective of the drawing, so I sometimes might have done useless work when I thought some perspective was wrong when it was actually the photo that was wrong and not my work! I mean, take a look at these photos of the finished piece:

You see that? I realized this when I took maybe the second photo of the Farin sheet and looked at it and couldn’t believe my eyes because I didn’t remember drawing his torsto THAT small! And then I looked at the drawing and was like “wtf???” because it looked nothing like in the photo and then it hit me...

Also, another thing that I learn was that I might need to pay more attention to the perspective of the whole thing also because when I draw, I sit at the table so I am constantly seeing the drawing from my perspective instead of looking at it from above so that’s probably also going to affect the way I draw. I try to keep that in mind in the future so I can avoid redrawing things again and again just because my perspective is different than the reference photo’s.

Also the giant forehead of Farin’s in the photo on the right might have caused me to laugh a bit too much but anyway, let’s continue~ Or more like: let’s start for real this time.

Here’s the reference photo to y’all:

What I did in photoshop was to draw a line between them to see how I can divide the photo on two A4 papers. I had been thinking about this photo for some time already because it’s one of my favorites (but now I just feel cringy looking at it after I have drawn it... goddamnit!), and I got this idea that I could try drawing it on two papers in case I fuck up so I can start over or try again without having to do twice the work! Which was actually a good decision because this was the first version of Farin:

And it was awful. I also realized I had never drawn Farin’s face from he front. I have drawn him before from the side a few times but maybe once it came out actually good so that was why I decided to do the 2 paper method - because I knew it was not going to be an easy job! Bela is relatively easy to draw so I knew already that I would not have too many problems with that one.

I struggled with Farin’s eyes the most, at first.

It took me a while to figure out how to do that white line in his lower lid. Keep in mind that this was my first face portrait in over 10 years so I was very, very rusty and I just didn’t remember how to draw like anything anymore. (The photo is tilted because Bela’s face is a bit tilted and my hand can’t draw anything that is not straight [lol] so I have to rotate the photo in order to even draw the sketch of Bela’s eyes.)

So I took my sketchbook and tried to do some eyes...

I was still struggling so much here until I remembered about blending. And I didn’t have my hopes high but grabbed the eyeshadow applicators (my fave tool for blending) anyway, and switched to my other sketchbook in case the paper was the issue and:

Blending. It was all about blending! So with that in mind, I realized I can continue and I don’t need to do these in my old way, everything doesn’t have to have a lineart done but some of the job is done not with the pencils but with the eraser.

Anyhow, the previous Farin looked really bad and was too big as well so I just discarded that and started a new sheet because the old lines were not coming off properly anymore. I don’t remember if this is the old face or new but I think this might still be the old one:

Yes it definitely is the old because look at those lines! This is the new sheet:

And in the photo you can see one of my pencils - I use Derwent Graphic pencils, it’s a 12 pencil set with very soft pencils, starting with H, F and HB and ending to 9B. With this one I used F, HB, B, 2B, 5B, 7B and 9B. The white pencil is actually my new love aka the eraser pencil Koh-I-Noor Hardmuth. It’s amazing, I recommend! I just didn’t order 10 new ones this other day. I actually used about 1,5 full eraser pencils on this drawing alone so that’s why 10.

Here’s a “little” gif of the process on Farin:

I felt crazy when I went for the shirt, and I felt like I was going crazy MEANWHILE drawing it but in the end I did it and I’m super proud of it!

Below is the reference photo, it was pain in the ass to follow all those lines with my eyes and try to find what was I drawing and where was I but I think I did good. That was a fun challenge.

Okay so, when I was done with the new lineart, I decided to go for the shading and blending because that’s what really makes the drawings to pop. I started with the left (his right, my left) side of Farin’s face because I’m right-handed, and in the first photo I had done just the left (right) eye and mouth and nose, but in the second there’s also the other eye done already:

Keep in mind this was not the last time I drew the eyes. Not even close.

Something was off with the right (left) eye so I had to do that one again and I noticed that when you blend but haven’t erased and cleaned it yet, it looks like a black eye :DDD So here’s the before and after images of that cleaning. (Cleaning = I draw, blend, erase, draw and blend more when needed and then erase again, and repeat this as many times as I need until it starts to look ready to my eye.)

So here Farin was “finished” but if you still remember the final piece or compare it to it, you might notice it looks quite different. And you’re right. But more about that later, because at this point I started to work on Bela.

It actually started really well - I also had to do the whole lineart again because it did not match the size of “finished” Farin. I don’t remember if this is the first or second eye but when I had drawn his eye for the first time, I noticed it was not in line with Farin so I had to redraw it. A gif of the progress:

What’s that brown paper I’m using, you may ask? Well I noticed that people have some sort of paper on top of their art to keep it from smudging and I have no clue what that is so here’s my poor artist recommendation: baking paper! I tested it and it works (if you just remember to keep it under your hand, that is...) so that is, in fact, baking paper! :DD

I have drawn Bela’s face a few times before and he’s just so much easier to draw. In fact I used 4-5 days on Farin but I managed to start and finish (this version of) Bela just in one day. And that means that out of 12 hours (because I literally used the whole day for drawing) I used maybe like... 5h or something on Bela. That’s how much easier he really is to draw.

I don’t know wtf is wrong with Farin’s face but he’s extremely difficult to draw and I’m not the only one who has been saying this. I guess he just looks so regular but still unique enough to be difficult to draw. Bela then again has features that are very unique and very... caricature-like? I mean that just by drawing his nose or chin you can make a comic book Bela look exactly like himself, and with more realistic style his eyes already do a lot, but Farin’s really the opposite. My comic book version of Farin is literally the most basic version I can draw, it’s how I draw those characters and the only thing that makes him look himself is the hair, and his nose in a side profile. So I think that’s why it’s so difficult to draw him because he doesn’t look too regular but still regular enough to make is a very challenging task to do properly.

So yeah, the same day as I started working on Bela, I was also “finished” with the drawing:

Also look at how different it looks like from this perspective:

With the reference photo open in photoshop and I don’t understand how Bela looks more like himself in my drawing than in the photo. Also when I showed the WIP to my brother, he said that I somehow had succeeded at making Farin look more like Farin than what he does in the photo even. It’s weird.

But we were still far from finished. I was going to use the fixative on this soon but it just kept snowing the whole week so I couldn’t so every time I walked past the drawings, I stopped to fix this and that. For days I kept telling myself “I’m done, I can’t do more than this, I can’t do better than this.” and considered the drawing finished but still kept fixing things. Every time I was “done” with the other drawing, I saw something to fix in the other one and once that was done, I felt like the first one wasn’t as good and had to fix something from it too. And that led to a cycle where the other drawing was always better than the other and the worse one needed to be fixed. In the end I was hating the whole process and myself and my skills and I was already ready to abandon this whole thing and call it a day and never ever show it to anyone “because I cannot draw”. The photo above, here’s a list of things I redrew after that:

Bela’s eyes, the right (left) one at least twice.

Bela’s nose.

Bela’s mouth a couple of times.

Farin’s eyes x588045028520

And a list of things I kept fixing and fixing:

Bela’s chin.

Bela’s neck shadows.

Bela’s hairline.

Farin’s whole face was tilted so I tried to fix that.

Farin’s face was too wide, which meant also partially redrawing the ear.

Farin’s hair was too long and wide too.

Farin’s nose.

Farin’s mouth might be the only thing I drew only once and I’m actually still extremely proud of how it came to be. I did the lips solely with blending so that was super exciting to notice how I can use it for drawing and don’t need the pencils for everything!

During Bela’s eyes and nose and mouth especially I was hating myself so much and I felt like I was taking the risk of ruining the whole thing and a few times I was certain that was what I had just done too, until I somehow was able to save it again. But because of that, I wasn’t able to make Bela’s mouth any lighter anymore, the color wasn’t just coming off the paper so had to use what was there and make it look like it’s how it’s supposed to be, too.

Here’s a gif about those changes on Bela - the first one has the old eyes and nose, the others have minor changed on the nose and mouth:

(The blacks probably don’t get any blacker in reality, I did add more color to it all the time but mainly it’s just the lighting and my phone camera changing the brightness.)

I did the final details on his nose without even using the reference photo anymore. The photo didn’t seem to make any sense anymore at all so I was just using my mechanical pencil and the blending tool and eraser to make is look better. To my eye it looked more like a very flat nose with a big tip of the nose and he doesn’t have a flat nose and I tried to get rid of that illusion. I still feel like it makes him look bit weird but I’m not entirely sure how. Maybe it was because of my improvisation, idk...

So, Bela was then finally finished for the last time. In the Farin piece his left (right) eye had been bugging me the whole time and I didn’t want to touch it but still I felt like I have to do something about it because it was bugging me way too much. I then figured I could draw the eye line by line and take a photo of it each time to see if it looks right already or not, maybe I could then avoid doing all the phases before I was sure what to think about it. I mean, now the only way to see if it was correct was to draw e.g. an eye from start to finish, I couldn’t see from just the lineart or unblended eye if it was in the right spot etc. And here’s that progress on a gif:

The gif about only the eye would look so nice if Tumblr didn’t make the gifs so HUGE - this one is actually only 300px or 400px or something:

Apparently I also wasn’t happy with the other eye because:

But good thing is: I really enjoy drawing eyes. I love seeing them to “come alive”, my favorite part was to eraser a bit of the color on the iris to make them look like they are actually shiny! It feels like something so small to do and yet it makes a huge impact on the drawing!

And here’s yet another gif of the whole Farin sheet with all of the changes, including the last changes that made his head narrower, and less tilted and more in line. Look at the left side of his head especially to see that:

I can also see his nose changing between the first few photos. I keep forgetting about that but yeah, I also fixed that a little at some point.

And last but not least, the whole drawing in some sort of a timelapse gif:

Last two are the same but just a photo and the scan of the finished drawing. I still keep seeing things I would do differently but no can do, I already used fixative on it, also to keep myself from obsessing with it any more :D And to use it as a study of some sort. I have never been able to draw a perfect pencil drawing and this isn’t one either. I probably never can draw perfect drawings from references.

I do enjoy the whole shading and blending process, so much so that when I was editing these photos, I just wanted to start drawing something so bad but I also figured that I start to lose motivation when I get to the point where everything should be finished but I just can’t make it perfect. Like the current WIP I have, all I should do is to get the proportions and perspective and the lines of their faces correctly and I would be ready but it feels more like a superpower some people possess and I’m not one of those. I don’t know what is it but I just feel that I cannot see. I don’t know how to explain it, but I can’t see what I try to do and somehow keep drawing everything the wrong way. Just like in this post’s drawing too. There’s still things that are wrong and I know what it is but I don’t know how to solve it. My hands just don’t listen to me and they can’t do what I think they should. I also think the reason I cannot draw perfect copies of photos is because you can always see my “handprint” in them. If I copy a photo, it will look like a photo and not like a drawing made by me. So I believe that in my drawing there’s always a part of me visible and I’m not entirely sure if it’s a good thing or not. On bad days it’s not a good thing, obviously. On good days? Well I guess it’s good then because it just means I have my own style which I really should appreciate. But I wish I had my style only when I want it to be visible, but I can’t control it. Just like I cannot write text by hand that would look like it was written with a computer, so I guess I should just try to get used to it, no matter how much it’d bug me sometimes.

#mcrmadness draws #mcrmadness draws: behind the scenes #dä fanart #die ärzte

[wren-fell]

Stuck in Borderland

Chapter 9: His thoughts

My attempt at writing from Chishiya’s perspective on what happened during the Six of Spades game (my last chapter). Pragmatic cat boy struggles with involuntary emotional responses lol.

Warnings: language, blood, death, weapons

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chishiya didn’t think much of the six of spades game. Honestly, he didn’t think much of any of the games. None of them had been particularly challenging. The only part of it he enjoyed was analyzing the players, internally betting on who would win and who would die.

As the robotic voice outlined the rules Chishiya pushed himself off the wall and headed into the apartment complex. Kuina followed behind him.

“You didn’t want to ask Sayaka to come?” She asked as they climbed the stairs.

“No, frankly I never asked you to come,” he replied and she was silent. Traveling in a group was risky. The taggers would pick them off one by one. For right now he wanted to get the best vantage point, and think of a strategy from there. Whether or not Kuina and Sayaka came with him was none of his concern.

As they reached the fifth floor their phones chimed alerting that their head start was over, and the game had begun. Chishiya hummed as he leaned over the railing and watched the complex.

“How many do you think are going to make it out?” Kuina asked as she leaned against the wall behind him twirling her gummy cigarette.

“Hmm… Hard to say,” he replied he saw Sayaka throw one of her flip-flops over the railing of the courtyard before jumping after it and hiding in the tall grass. He nodded slowly and raising his eyebrows as he saw a tagger come into view heading in her direction, smart. Another player ran out of the center staircase and the shots rang throughout the complex echoing against the walls. The boy slumped forward over the wall right by Sayaka’s hiding spot.

Chishiya felt his eyebrows draw together as he watched the tagger pause by the body and Sayaka. The tagger ripped the flags off the boy’s belt and walked away not paying Sayaka any attention. He felt his body relax and he frowned. The relief he felt in his chest was unwarranted. Why would he care?

Chishiya and Kuina watched the game unfold. So far there were two taggers and 6 players alive with 35 minutes remaining. Honestly, the game was boring. With no objective other than avoid the taggers and stay alive there was nothing interesting happen. Nothing to figure out, no challenge, you just had to survive.

Sayaka ran into view again on the fourth floor on the west side. He watched her as she looked over the edge of the balcony railing. She took a step back as she surveyed the floors below her. He could see the hesitation in her face. Her fear of heights put her at a disadvantage in most games, but he had to admit her ability to push it aside and survive was impressive. She surveyed the floors below her before lifting her head to look at the fifth floor. Her eyes landed on him and she pouted. Leaning his head back Chishiya smirked and waved at her, I was wondering when you’d find us. She flipped him off, but took off running as more shots rang out.

“Think she’ll make it?” Kuina asked.

“Hmph,” Chishiya hesitated. The word “yes” was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t want to sound so affirmative. There was no knowing whether or not any of them would survive, but he couldn’t bring himself to say no either.

“You’d be upset if something happened to her, huh?”

Kuina’s words made him turn sharply to look at her.

“Admit it she’s become too interesting to you to just see her die,” Kuina smirked the cigarette angled upwards between her lips.

“She may be interesting, but if she dies it’s from her own stupid decisions,” he pointed out, “she makes enough of them…” he grumbled as he turned back around to look around the complex.

“Then why do you keep stepping in with the militants?”

“She’s useful until she dies. The militants throw a kink in that,” he replied.

“So, it’s all about the plan? And has nothing to do with Niragi? Or Sayaka?” She pressed, but Chishiya ignored the question.

Sayaka ran into view again on the third floor. She was heading for the far staircase, but when she tried to stop her feet slipped in the dust and she fell backwards. Chishiya’s hands tightened on the sleeve of his sweatshirt as the tagger rounded the corner. Sayaka flipped over herself as the tagger shot narrowly missing her. She did two more backflips before diving into a stairwell bullets whizzing past her. He loosened the grip on his sweatshirt and nodded slowly, impressive.

“She has a wide skillset I think she’d be a good asset,” Chishiya said as he watched the tagger chase after her in the stairwell.

Kuina chuckled, “sure. That’s all she is.”

 More and more gunshots sounded within the complex as the clock ticked down. But, Chishiya and Kuina had yet to see a tagger on the fifth floor. They had been preoccupied chasing the players around the lower levels, Sayaka included.

The sound of footsteps made Chishiya look towards the far stairwell as Sayaka ran out. She was breathing heavily, but as her eyes landed on them she smiled.

“Guess that’s our cue,” Kuina said as she waved to her and pushed herself off the wall.

“I suppose,” he agreed standing upright.

“Only five minutes remaining. I think we may be in the clear,” she added, but Chishiya only glanced at her. It was dangerous to be so sure of yourself.

They headed through the hallway and around the corner as Sayaka ran towards them. She was less than ten feet away from them when she passed the center stairwell. Chishiya frowned when he saw her eyes dart to something and she dove forward with a gasp landing on her hands, and flipped over herself as bullets whizzed past her. She landed and flipped the hair out her face as she turned to face the tagger.

The three of them all stood frozen as the tagger approached, the yellow smiley-face mask staring them down with soulless eyes. Chishiya frowned and put his hand into the pocket of his sweatshirt.

Shit… Of course the tagger had to come out now. They were cornered. If they ran they would just be shot. He wrapped his fingers around the makeshift taser in his pocket. He’d have to dodge all the bullets and get in close enough range to use it, but that was too risky. Regardless there was less than five minutes remaining. That was all they would have to last.

Sayaka looked over her shoulder at them her eyebrows drawn together as she frowned. He could see the fear on her face. She was having the same thoughts he was. They just had to make it through five minutes.

She turned back around and her right foot twisted into the ground to steady her stance, and she swung her other leg around kicking the tagger in the upper arm. He had to admit he was impressed with her guts. Most other players would have been screaming and begging for their life, but Sayaka was fighting for her own survival. Chishiya glanced over his shoulder as the stairwell Kuina and him had walked away from. They could make a run for it, while Sayaka was distracting the tagger, they could probably make it. But, why couldn’t he bring himself to move?  

The tagger raising his gun made Chishiya’s eyes snap back to him tensing his muscles and getting ready to dive out of the way. Sayaka sprang forward latching onto the tagger’s arm and slamming it into the balcony railing that leaned and cracked under their weight. The gun clattered to the ground and Sayaka clung to the tagger’s arm as they leaned over the railing. Her grip loosened enough for the tagger to shake her off and throw a punch at her, but she managed to block it and slam her knee into his chest. The tagger bent forward with a wheeze as the air left his lungs, and Sayaka turned around to look at Chishiya and Kuina, “RUN!”

Kuina turned to run, but Chishiya didn’t even bother. He watched with wide-eyes as the tagger straightened behind Sayaka and grabbed her head with a gloved hand. She didn’t even have time to scream as he slammed her head into the wall and she fell like a ragdoll. Her blood streaked the wall like a gruesome arrow pointing to where she was slumped with her lolling head sideways with dead weight.

Chishiya stared at her with wide-eyes as ice spread through his veins. She wasn’t moving, and from where he was standing he couldn’t see if she was breathing. The tagger stepping forward made him tear his eyes away from Sayaka’s battered body. Reaching down he picked up the gun and pointed it directly at Chishiya. His heart started to pound in his ears. This was it. He glanced over at Kuina who had her arms up in a meek fighting stance, but she looked horrified. I could use her as a shield, but at this close range the bullets would go right through us both. Looking back at the tagger he frowned. There was nowhere to go. The tagger’s finger tightened on the trigger, but the shots missed.

Sayaka moved with speed he knew wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the adrenaline pumping through her system. She swung her arms like a hammer into the back of the tagger’s knee and he fell backwards the bullets boring into the ceiling instead of their bodies. The tagger swung his head to look at her, but she was on her feet before he got the chance. Chishiya stared frozen as he watched the scene unfold. Sayaka tackled the tagger throwing all her weight into him as he slammed into the railing that bent with a loud crack. She kicked against the wall and pushed the tagger farther back.

“You’re coming with me!” She screamed as the railing gave way and they both tumbled over the edge of the balcony, and then there was nothing.

Chishiya and Kuina stood in stunned silence. Staring at the shattered railing and the blood smeared on the wall.

Kuina drew in a long shaky breath, and stepped toward the railing, “Sayaka…” She cautiously looked over the edge, “we have to go get her.”

Chishiya turned around and pulled the hood over his head, “why?”

“We need to go see if she’s…”

“Nobody could have survived a fall from this height. You know that Kuina,” he replied matter-of-factly as he tried to ignore the aching feeling in his chest.

“You act like you don’t care!” Kuina snapped rounding on him.

“I don’t.”

“You do! Just admit it!” She shouted waving her arms.

Chishiya turned to face her with a deep frown, “she made her choice.”

“She chose to protect us!”

“I never asked her to do that. She made a stupid decision and it got her killed. I’m not going to mourn her poor decision making,” he replied. Kuina stared at him her chest heaving as she drew in deep breaths. A chime rang out and Chishiya pulled the phone out of his pocket as the screen lit up.

“Congratulations. All surviving players have been issued a six day visa.”

Chishiya pocketed the phone and turned towards the stairwell, “we should go before we have to walk back to the Beach.”

“Fine…” Kuina mumbled, but followed him down the stairs.

The driver and the other player from the Beach were already leaning against the car waiting for them. Jutting his chin in their direction the driver snarled, “about time,” he raised an eyebrow,  “where’s the other girl?”

Kuina looked down, but didn’t say anything and the driver nodded knowingly, “shame.” He gestured towards the backseat as he walked around to the driver’s door, “let’s get going then.”

Chishiya climbed into the backseat burying his hands in his sweatshirt pockets as he bowed his head. The driver glanced over at Kuina as she opened the door, and he raised his eyebrows as his eyes focused on something behind her. Kuina looked at him confused before turning around and gasping. Raising his head Chishiya turned to see what they were all looking at and he felt his heart lurch in his chest.

Stumbling forward with one arm hanging at an unnatural angle and blood dripping down her face was Sayaka. She leaned her head up and gave them a weak smile, “got any room for one more?”

“Oh my god…” Kuina whispered as she stared at her in disbelief, “Sayaka!” She ran forward and engulfed her in a hug. Sayaka wrapped her one good arm around her and leaned into Kuina’s shoulder closing her eyes.

Chishiya watched as Kuina embraced Sayaka and her whole body seemed to relax leaning into Kuina’s form. How was she alive? Nobody should’ve been able to survive that fall. But Sayaka did. Kuina scooped Sayaka up into her arms carrying her towards the car as her limbs dangled with dead weight.

“Tch. She looks like shit we should just leave her she’ll be useless,” the driver muttered and Chishiya sharply turned his head toward him with a glare. The drive tensed and shrank back sitting in his seat, and placing his hands on the wheel without another word. Chishiya looked back as Kuina walked up and set Sayaka in the backseat by the window. He felt warmth spreading through his chest as he watched her shift to a more comfortable position resting her injured arm against her stomach. He was relieved…

A deep frown formed on his face and he turned away from her pulling the hood farther over his face. All of this was a distraction he didn’t need right now. Sayaka leaned her head against the window frame, and Chishiya glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she sighed. Another flutter in his chest made his frown deepen and he turned back to the window as the apartment complex lights turned off.

#stuck in borderland #alice in borderland #Alice in borderland oc #chishiya x oc #chishiyaxoc #Another short chapter but get ready for lots of good infirmary stuff next chapter #Not sure writing from his point of view went so well but worth a shot!

[charlottetomsfmp2]

Dave Mckean Comic Illustration:

Arkham Asylum - A Serious House on Serious Earth:

- What about the novel drew me in?

The novel follows batman and his interactions with his archenemies within the walls of Arkham Asylum. Keeping with the theme of insanity and mayhem, the art style of the graphic novel is quite hectic and all over the place. Some panels depict overexposed illustrations of the joker in a crazed poses and others show more detailed and gruesome scenes of the villains in action causing trouble. This effect drew me to the novel because of my fascination with gritty themes in comics and the creepy characters that go along with them. I find that this is a very clever tool in linking the illustration and story together by alluding to the  madness of the location, characters and their circumstances throughout the novel to keep the reader on their toes and expecting the unexpected.

Black Orchid:

- What about the novel drew me in?

There is a lot of contrast in the novel between the background and the characters. In an attempt to draw more attention to the characters and events in the novel the artist leaves less detail in the surrounding location and uses highly detailed features and bright colours across the characters face to emphasises the importance of pivotal moments in novel of important feelings the subject may have. Something about this technique is very effective and interests me as a possible concept for my final comic book draft. Personally, I think that the most important aspect of a graphic novel is the movement of the character and the  effectiveness of their emotions when portrayed on paper.

Sandman:

- What about the novel drew me in?

The panel layouts are very interesting and dynamic which is something I desperately need to work on in my own comic. However, I have an issue with the piece about, as I find it far too difficult to read which is the complete opposite point of the purpose of a graphic novel or comic book. Because they are intended for easy reading, I think that although the layout looks superb from an artistic perspective, the page as a whole is far too muddled and would be complex to read if tackled by someone with reading difficulty. After looking at the novel I have determined that although the artwork and panel layout looks lovely it is far too busy. This has helped me to understand what I look for in a graphic novel and how I may approach my own book after looking at Dave McKean’s artwork.

 Cages:

- What about the novel drew me in?

Cages is an interesting contrast to other illustration pieces by Dave McKean as it is drawn in black, grey and white, whereas his other comics have been in full colour. The comic follows characters living in the same apartment building and how their lives intertwine and effect one another's in unforeseeable ways. I think that this is a fun twist for McKean as he usually looks at semi-mystical themes in his graphic novels and so a more relatable story of ‘real people’ and their lives and how they mysteriously interlock and relate to the struggles of one another.

- Dave McKean art styles overall:

I found it very interesting to discover the array of art styles McKean uses in his various novels and how that are used with intention and purpose within each book. Cages is very rough and blocky because it is supposed to portray an unfiltered view into the lives of people, whereas Sandman is very detailed and mystical looking. Using dynamic panel layouts to contribute to the idea of riches, and how time interlocks with all things and his beyond any of our understanding. (the panels branch off like a wise tree, which is why I inferred the previous comments.

- How might I use this to further my work?

After looking at the outcomes of illustrator Dave McKean, I have identified elements of his artwork that I will not be including in my own comic. Dizzyingly busy panel layouts and blocky colour techniques. Looking at the illustrations made for Arkham Asylum and Black Orchid I have decided that I want for my artwork to be detailed and dynamic with small breadcrumb like clues that subtly imply elements of my characters personality and their backstory. Looking at if they are a traveler and how to hint at this without mentioning the word, are they a professional knife thrower? What elements of their costume hint at their backstory and why.

Website Links:

https://www.davemckean.com/

[eclecticash22]

🔮 Week Ahead Pick-A-Card 🔮

Take a moment and just take a few deep breaths. Look over each pile, and see which one draws your attention most. Follow your intuition and choose the pile that you're most drawn to.

Pile One - Bright Red | Pile Two - Yellow Green | Pile Three - Orange | Pile Four - Aqua Green

Pile One ❤

This week you're going to be feeling much more positive and much more creative. You're moving on from something you've been struggling with, and are now moving into a new beginning. This beginning will be exciting, fun, energizing, and it will be something you're passionate about. You'll be stepping into your inner strength and your inner power. Trust in yourself and your abilities this week, pile one! You have to make that decision for yourself so you can properly move forward into this wonderfulness headed your way.

Runes: Tap into your creative side. Follow inspiration to places you may not expect it to be, as you may just have a creative vision that leads you to something both unexpected and wonderful!

Shufflemancy Songs: 1- Language by Tori Kelly | 2- I Found by Amber Run | 3- Beautiful, Dirty, Rich by Lady Gaga | 4- Stupid Deep by Jon Bellion

Pile Two 💚

This week you're going to be feeling a bit anxious. For many of you, you're anxious about the unknown. "What's going to happen?" "What will I do?" But fear not. Luck is on your side this week! You're on the right path, make no mistake about that. Take your power back and try your best to not let that anxiety become too much. This anxiety may block something exciting, fun, and unexpected from coming into your life. Know that no matter what happens, you will be okay. Anxiety is a thief and a liar, so try to remain calm this week.

Runes: Take the lead of your own life. Be truthful and honest. Make wise decisions. Taking the lead in your own life may lead to you gaining some wisdom or learning some truth.

Shufflemancy Songs: 1- Where Have You Been by Rihanna | 2- Lost On You by Lewis Capaldi | 3- Hurricane by Bridgit Mendler | 4- Back To You by Selena Gomez

Pile Three 🧡

This week I see some change happening for you. I see you have previously felt stuck or trapped or unsure of how to get to a goal you've had. But this week you're finally coming out of that feeling. I see something in your life is changing. Possibly a relationship change, career change, or some change in perspective. But I do see you committing to this change. For many of you this is about a relationship or job. If this is relationship, I do see for some of you, this could be a breakup. For others, this could be a new relationship or engagement. Whatever this is, allow it to help you in a positive way. A wish is coming true, so make sure you're feeling positively about this change. A new beginning is happening for you, and it will feel as though it's a relief.

Runes: You may be gaining insight into something or recieving communication. This communication could be revealing something to you or giving you some news or an offer

Shufflemancy Songs: 1- Joanne by Lady Gaga | 2- Chariot by Gavin Degraw | 3- Potential Breakup Song by Aly & AJ | 4- Dear Daughter by Halestorm

Pile 4 💙

This week, I see you feeling a bit down. Maybe something has happened that didn't go the way you wanted it to or maybe you're just looking back at a hurtful past. Whatever this is, allow yourself the time to work through these negative feelings. Allow yourself to understand why you're feeling the way you do. Unburden yourself of these negative feelings and negative emotions that have brought you to a stagnant place. Then, once you've worked through this I see you feeling more powerful. More yourself. I see you taking charge and feeling great. You will be feeling more hopeful for the future and you're going to let go of those negative feelings. You have a gift coming your way, and maybe lots of them (if anybody has a birthday this week then HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) Even if it isn't a birthday, I see good things coming your way in an abundance.

Runes: Be open. Be vulnerable. Allow yourself insight into why you feel the way you feel, and gain that knowledge for yourself.

Shufflemancy Songs: 1- Heart Like Yours by Willamette Stone | 2- Where The story Ends by The Fray | 3- Brave by Sara Bareilles | 4- I Miss the Misery by Halestorm

***All Groups***

Thank you so much for your time! I hope this resonates and I hope you have a lovely day and a wonderful week ahead!

This is a collective reading. It may or may not resonate, and if it doesn't resonate, that's okay. Simply take what does resonate and/or pick another pile. This reading is for entertainment purposes. I am not responsible for any decisions made based off of a reading.

#pick-a-card #pick a card reading #pick a card #pick-a-card reading #week ahead reading #week ahead tarot reading #tarot #tarot cards #tarot reading #runes #shufflemancy