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wangxianficfinder · 7 months

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In the mood for...

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1. Hello lovely mods! Itmf fics where there is an OC or just another mdzs character with a crush on WWX or lwj. Someone jealous of their significant other or just plain trying to flirt with one of them. But the pairing should be strict wwx/lwj throughout ofcourse. Thank you!

Su She Eats his Heart Out by KizuKatana (T, 16k, wangxian, modern, Guest-starring the belated but incendiary sexual awakening of LWJ, 3rd person pov, SS is hyperfixated on LWJ, LWJ does his best to pretend SS doesn't exist, WWX isn't even pretending he really doesn't notice SS exists, MM exists and is awesome, implied offscreen wangxian sex)

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2. Hello! Thank you for all the work you do in finding and recommending fics!! Presently, I am in the mood for Twin Prides of Yunmeng fics (although specifically ones where Jiang Yanli is still alive, so I suppose I should say Yunmeng Trio to be more accurate) protecting each other and being siblings, or fics that pertain to JC, JY, and WWX trying to protect and support each other from Jiang Fengmian and Yi Ziyuan’s A+ Parenting. Once again thank you so much and I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Lynchpin by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 103k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, Fix-It, Lynchpin [PODFIC] by Opalsong, [PODFIC] Lynchpin by Gwogobo)

The worth of a life with no regrets by SnowdropsAndDreams (Not Rated, 21k, WIP, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Self-Indulgent, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Feels, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Dynamics, Yúnmèng Siblings Feels, JC & WWX Reconciliation, Post-Canon Fix-It)

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3. good morning and hope you're having a kickass sunday.i was wondering if you bestowe upon this lowly one your magic of "Rec-Finding". A) any type of meaningful apology to Wèi Yīng, after the truth comes out. like something substantial. especially (if not exclusively) w LXC. he victim plamed WWX and im not satisfied w the novel on that part (yay fanfics). I jus don't want to be immediate forgiveness. like i want a time skip that LXC is still being given a cold shoulder. tbc

hi again (rorro im verbose). B) do you have any recs Lan Zhan is more vocal to others, a public scolding of sorts, about Wèi Yīng's sacrifices and plight. but non of out of context self deprivation attitude that does more harm than anyway. ty for your patience. @masticateme

拨云见日 by RoseThorne (G, 1k, WangXian, Justice, Anger, Sect Leader Yáo Bashing, Cultivation Discussion Conferences, Restitution, Self-Indulgent, POV Third Person, POV WWX, Post-Canon) might count

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4. itmf fics where jzx and jyl are alive! I just want things with lots of family feels, like jl getting the support he needs from his parents and wwx and jc having their sis. or maybe fics where jzx actually gets to be the jin sect leader and can make these good changes to the sect. thanks in advance!

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5. could i ask for people's fave wangxian/gen cold read podfics? i adore and appreciate edited podfics obviously, but i was introduced to danmei through a twitch streamer's read-alongs where him stopping and laughing and discussing were a FEATURE ❤️ (also it kinda makes me feel better about having to redo sentences agshdjf) im fine with explicit podfics (but i do prefer canon dynamics if so) many thanks ❤️❤️ oh just to add to the cold read itmf- ive gone through a lot of kisahawklin's lovely work, which occasionally feature one of my fave things (not being able to finish a sentence due to losing it laughing)

[Podfic] Clarity (cold read) by flamingwell (G, 1-1.5 H, wangxian, Canon Divergence, past/present time switches occur throughout the fic, Podfic, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming)

I rec the podficer Dangercupcake! Specifically her podfics of Love, in fire and blood, and Please don't let me be misunderstood! She also does metas and linguistic podcasts/fics that are pretty cool!

podfic of "love, in fire and blood" by cicer by dangercupcake (M, 20h+, WangXian, Audio Format: Streaming, Audio Format: MP3, Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Arranged Marriage, Politics, trans reader (podfic), cold read (podfic), no editing (podfic))

Podfic of "please don't let me be misunderstood" by sysrae by dangercupcake (Not Rated, 20-30M, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Past Child Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Car Accidents, Audio Format: Streaming, Audio Format: MP3, cold read (podfic))

[Podfic] Cold read of "a light hidden and singing" by occultings (microcomets) by KeriArentikai (E, 5-6h, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, Canon Era, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, brief family abuse, mentions of wangxian's canonical kinks, Misunderstandings, Blood and Injury, Rimming, Outdoor Sex, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, First Time, Miscommunication, Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, cold read podfic, unedited podfic, Getting Together) I haven't listened yet but enjoyed the fic

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6. Hiii I'm itmf a fic where wwx is reincarnated as a female plz

The Housewife's Guide to Causing Chaos by dvasva (M, 123k, wangxian, QS & WWX, NHS & WWX, WWX & LSZ & LWJ, canon divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Functionally Trans Character, Mild Sexual Content, Domestic Fluff, Love Confessions, Transphobia, Good Parents LWJ & WWX, Pining, WWX is a Tease, Grief/Mourning, Body Dysphoria, Fake Marriage, Canonical Character Death, Misunderstandings, Doting LWJ, Arranged Marriage, lying to your family about your demonic boyfriend taking over your wifes body for fun and pleasure, WWX is not in Mo Xuanyu's body, Misgendering, Mild Angst, Assumptions, Comedic Elements, non-sexual nudity, Blood, Discussion of Various Bodily Functions, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, 4 years of mourning instead of 13, The Juniors start a conspiracy board, POV Multiple, Corporal Punishment, Trans WWX, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, pregnancy mention, Warning: JGS, Sexual Harassment, Threats, WIP)

patching the road with vague intentions by loosingletters (T, 18k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Humor, Developing Friendships, WWX Resurrected By Others, Trans WWX, Case Fic, POV WWX, POV LQR, Family, Good Uncle LQR, Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core Reveal, Slow Burn, Canon-Typical Violence, MXY Lives)

Plans fly out the window by English is my death (Lena013) (T, <1k, JGY/QS, JGY/WWX, LWJ & WWX, JC & WWX, reincarnation, canon divergence, QS does the ritual, YLLZ WWX, impersonation)

To Deserve So Much More by renysen (T, 19k, wangxian, getting together, one big happy family, no angst, getting engaged, family feels, female bodied WWX)

So You Want to Start a War by JaenysBloodcourt (T, 41k, WIP, MY/QS, MY/WWX, WangXian, Reincarnation, Half-Sibling Incest Mention!, QS does the ritual instead of MXY, WWX as a woman, MY Is His Own Warning, Canon Divergence, Impersonation, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Please check the notes before reading a chapter, Timeline What Timeline, WWX Has PTSD)

❤️ Beauty and the Boot by PTchan (T, 44k, wangxian, summoned by f!oc, Canon Divergence, Romantic Comedy, Genderbending, Denial, Fem!WWX, WangXian kids, Crack-ish, WIP)

Femme Fatale by coffeepie (E, 59k, WIP, WWX/WC, WWX/WZ, WWX/WRH, WWX/JGS, Porn, Smut, Possession, Crack Treated Seriously, Humor, Time Travel Fix-It, Penis In Vagina Sex, Anal Sex, Masturbation, Aphrodisiacs, Rough Sex, Minor WangXian, Canon Divergence, Oral Sex, Pre-Sunshot Campaign, Strangulation, Object Insertion, Exhibitionism, Voyeurism, Blood and Injury)

No Matter What You Are by LilyFaraday (M, 77k, WIP, WangXian, Female WWX, Genderbending, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Marriage of Convenience)

In Sickness and In Health (And In Strange and Unexpected Times Too) by purplemonster (E, 28k, WangXian, Fem! WWX, Mpreg, well technically not mpreg since he's a woman, Fluff and Smut)

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7. Hi for the next in the mood for are there any good dark Wei Wuxian fics?? I always see dark LWJ but dark WWX seems so cool too @iyo-luv

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8. Hello. I hope y’all are well. Thank you for what you do. 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 i was wonderinf if you can recommend fics where The Untamed Wei Ying and Lan Zhan meet MDZS Lan Zhan and Wei Ying. Please and thank you.

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9. Hello ! Do you know any fics where the swords manifest as real people?

Intervention of Spirits by Vrishchika (T, 4k, WangXian, Pre-Relationship, Canon Divergence, Golden Core Reveal, WWX Has a New Golden Core)

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10. Hi I'm itmf angst, can you please recommend fics where wwx just breaks / snaps and people are there to see it/ react to it ? ( could be characters watching memories , and it has that scene) thxx

Enough! by Jeeny271196 (Not Rated, 12k, WangXian, Gūsū Lán Sect Bashing, Jiāng Family Bashing, JC Bashing, LXC Bashing, BAMF WWX, Cultivation Sect Politics)

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11. Hi, I have been reading this completely amazing fics that are inspired by The Great British Bake Off, like "on your marks, get set, bake!" by BlackWiresOnHerHead and "don't threaten me with a good time" by livinginaworldofnoise, they are so fun and entertaining!! I wonder if there are more stories that deal with baking and cooking competitions. I have read the ones in the Reality TV compilation so anything else will be totally welcomed!! Thank you!! Be well!! :) @monicaop21

The Great Chinese Cook-Off by aubreyli, cafecliche, etymologyplayground, mme_anxious (G, 20k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, The Great British Bake Off Fusion, sort of; it's more of a cooking show, because most Chinese people use their ovens for pot/pan storage, Collaboration, Screenplay/Script Format, Humor, Baking, Cooking, Stress)

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12. ITMF Wei Wuxian best uncle to Jin Ling? Anything we get to see their relationship. It can be of any kind but it'd be nice to give it extra attention if JL doesn't agree with JC's treatment towards WWX! But anything goes really. You're doing amazing work, thank you!

hills and rivers by LtLJ (T, 56k, wangxian, Post-Canon, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Canon-Typical Violence, the family that hunts demons together stays together, and doesn't murder each other, Case Fic, BAMF WWX, Mojo's post)

Rotten Work by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 63k, WangXian, WWX & JL, Post-Canon, Protective WWX, Protective JL, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, Reluctant Matchmaker JL)

component parts by perfectlyrose (G, 1k, JL & WWX, minor wangxian, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Really it's angst but make it healing, Minor JYL/JZX, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, A couple of orphans figuring out family, and the legacy of parents)

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13. Hi, For the next itmf -any good fics where everything as in classic timeframe, Sects exist, pining exists, cultivation ethics problems exist, but no Jiangs in the picture. At all

Thank you! @best-before-end

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14. ITMF: A) serenity. I want fics that give serene atmosphere or feelings. Like

(ID: gif of waves gently moving on a beach)

B) fics which have beach in canon era. Or wx / wwx traveling to Ocean/beach place @whateverweilanlovechild

14A)

Of Winter Coats and Snowball Fights by Iggysassou (T, 2k, WangXian, Mentioned WN, Post-Canon, Married Couple, Fluff)

it's your soul by syriala (G, 3k, WangXian, Misunderstandings, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Getting Together, Fluff)

suddenly knowing you’re home by RavenclawLoki (T, 1k, WangXian, Fluff, head empty, no thoughts, only wangxian being married, Sleepy Cuddles, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, No Plot/Plotless, Post-Canon, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts)

14B)

Linger by the Door (I've Always Been Yours) by piecrust (T, 78k, wangxian, canon compliant, slow burn)

Judge Softly by Chrononautical (E, 32k, wangxian, LSZ & WWX, LXC & LWJ, LQR & LXC, LQR & WWX, Various OCs, Accidental Voyeurism, Masturbation, Non-Consensual Mind Reading, Oblivious WWX, WWX Has Self-Worth Issues, BAMF Wwx, Genius WWX, sex makes WWX stupid, LQR Tries, It may be more accurate to say LQR learns to try, Suffering LQR, Post-Canon Fix-It, Ghosts, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gūsū Lán Forehead Ribbon, Teacher LQR, Mutual Pining, Longing, Playful Sex, Use Your Words, Canon-Typical Violence, Switching, Virgin WWX, Love Confessions)

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15. For ITMF, are there any fics where LSZ's time in the Burial Mounds had some effect on him, whether he remembers his time there or not? Whether it's supernatural abilities (like in LSZ Sees Dead People), or being good at 'inventing' things (cause he saw them on WWX's worktable), or random healing knowledge from overhearing WQ lecturing WWX, even if he no longer remembers where he picked up any of that stuff. @thispatternismine

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16. Thank you for all your work!

Itmf fics which actively calls into question Lan Qiren's bias and lax adherence to the lan rules. I want a confrontation or am active argument not just a character thinking about it or speaking about it to someone else. Basically, Lan Qiren gets called out fic. Extra kudos if it's during the cloud recess study arc. Love

Going on charmingly by scribbet (T, 21k, WangXian, Teenage LWJ, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, WWX is BSSR's Disciple, Genius WWX, Petty LWJ, Meddling LXC, Canon Divergence, JFM Doesn't Adopt WWX, Technically pre-relationship, POV LWJ)

Admonishment by bookwyrmling (T, 6k, LQR & WWX, Canon Divergence, Fix-It of Sorts, Teacher LQR, Student WWX, POV LQR, Mixed Canon, Gūsū Lán Sect Positive, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Golden Core Reveal)

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17. Hey, thanks for your work as always! I'm sure it has been done before but I couldn't find it and ITMF political intrigue fics! Extra points for fake relationships, scheming bastard coalitions, crossdressing your way to love and happiness or any of those things ☺️.

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If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #wangxianficfinder #mdzs #the untamed #long post #i'm in the mood for a fic #wangxian fic search

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see-arcane · 7 months

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Everything is happening so much in today's entry and while the Bloofer Lady bloofing all over the place is meant to be the co-star of the show, alongside the Great Document Exchange of Vampire Lore between Mina and Van Helsing--or, specifically, Mina entrusting Van Helsing with her husband's private diary and a desperate hope that she can trust this man with this and her own turmoil over the subject and that of Lucy--listening to the @re-dracula version kind of veered my focus off track. Hearing the dialogue in action will do that.

And now I'm left fitfully, unhappily re-chewing on some of Van Helsing's least sparkling attributes in the novel. Not the worst! Those are coming, and all of them still very much well-meaning! But the well-meaning does not take away from the fact that a lot of his commentary has and will continue to make me want to grind my teeth into dust.

Now, does the narrative manage to take all his benign sexism/secret keeping from those who need info is best! bullshit in its very sharp teeth and ragdoll it mercilessly with The Consequences of Acting Like This are Very High, Actually repercussions? Yes.

Do I hope with every fiber of my being that, when Certain Events happen, and Van Helsing has to contend with--

SPOILERS BELOW

Jonathan going full ice cold Fuck You, Fuck This, Fuck God for letting this happen and then burning her for it, come October 3rd,

and Mina being the one to take the brain reins of the operation out of his hands,

and Jonathan Blowing Right the Fuck Up at the old man for saying Mina has to come along with him to Castle fucking Dracula, with zero explanation, assuming everyone will just go along with this decision sans explanation, complete with Jonathan cementing himself as Not One of Van Helsing's Ducklings if he, like God, does not start pulling some sound logic and results out of his ass right this fucking second,

--that the Re: Dracula audio hammers home that VH is not only a flawed character rather than the Mega Genius Does-No-Wrong Scholar Vampire Hunter Hero, but has to reconcile with the Harkers existing outside the mold that we'll have come to find the Suitor Squad locking into (and that the Harkers themselves very very grudgingly squeezed into for a time, grating against every minute of it) because the Harkers do in fact have equal or greater intel/ability on their side than he does.

I don't say any of this to crap on the character of Van Helsing. He's honestly a great vessel for all the pluses and minuses of the Elder Generation That Means Well, But Fumbles Details. The man is genuinely self-sacrificing and earnest in all his efforts to help these young people he barely knows, and then works with the tools and people he has on hand to try and root out an unthinkable supernatural peril before it can start drinking the whole country into the grave. We'll see in much later chapters how down he is to throw himself and his life on the line to give someone else better odds. And even if it's only by (still period-accurate sexist) inches, he does learn a little better eventually.

...But god damn, does his quirky sexist/secret keeper/Follow My Orders No Questions Asked, Silly Incapable-of-Understanding Children mannerisms need their fucking teeth kicked in. I sincerely pray that Isabel Young and Ben Galpin get to deliver on flipping the table in audio drama format with all the thematic tune bells and whistles they deserve when the time comes.

#ranting raving rambling #dracula spoilers #but no really I NEED Re: Dracula to deliver on this #please please please #abraham van helsing #mina harker #jonathan harker #dracula #spoilers #re: dracula #dracula daily

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copperbadge · 9 months

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We recently got into a discussion of producing audiobooks for small press, indy, and/or selfpub authors on another post, but we had strayed pretty far from the original post, and @genedoucette very kindly gave permission for me to slice his comment off the end of that post and put it into a new one.

genedoucette

I have been very, very lucky when it comes to audiobooks, so I'm hesitant to offer advice without adding a huge YMMV caveat at the top. For most of my self-published novels, I used ACX and paid a narrator out-of-pocket (rather than 50-50 proceeds split), which just means I'm paying an agreed-upon X dollars per finished hour, prior to making any money off f the audio editon. Every book I did this with paid for itself, sometimes within the first two or three months, sometimes longer. (YMMV: I did a lot of this during what I would call the audiobook bubble, when demand was higher than supply.) I had another novel series--Tandemstar--that I brought to an audiobook company, who brought it to their distributor, who agreed to pay for the production costs of the book and to pay me a (small) advance. To date, the royalties from that series have not made up the cost of the advance, but the good news was that none of the production costs came from my pocket and the advance meant I did make something out of the deal. The rule-of-thumb I always heard was, don't expect books that haven't sold well to sell any better as audiobooks. But my experience, with ACX/Audible, is this: about 50% of my monthly earning come from audio sales. How long is the book in question (word count), and what is the genre? Because it is absolutely possible to get a not-terrible narrator at a not-terrible cost on ACX. If it's a low word count book with a decent sales record, I'd 100% do it. If it's a high word count book with few sales, maybe not.

Thanks so much for this! I am admittedly always suspicious of Amazon writ large, but it's not like I've never partnered with them before, and often for indy authors they're one of a very few games in town.

50% of sales via audio impresses me a lot -- I'm not really in the industry so my sense of scale may be off but my eyebrows went up at that. And looking at ACX, a split-profits model would be appealing. I'm more interested in providing the reader with more options than I am with making royalties, so I don't mind low payout, but I also don't want to exploit a narrator if I can avoid it.

I doubt I'm selling near the level you are, but it's pretty consistent, at least -- for the last literary novel I published in 2021, and for the four genre romances published in the past year-and-change, it's generally 200-250 copies (epub and paperback) in the first 6 months, and about 40 per year after that. None of them are over 100K words -- the first of the romance novels, the one I'd be most likely to have done as an audiobook to trial, is around 50K, and the other books are all between 60K and 90K or so.

There's some fine print I'm not nuts about -- exclusivity to Amazon/Audible/iTunes for example -- but I can see why it's a necessary business model for them. There's not a ton of clarity on cost per hour for a book, but it looks like for a flat fee it starts around $250 per finished hour? So I'd probably be looking at minimum $1K out of pocket, which is probably roughly (I haven't done the math) royalties per book for a full year. It could be fun to give it a swing regardless, although reading the ACX site made me realize I'd actually have to give notes and feedback to a reader which sounds nervewracking.

It looks like the readers for ACX are repped by SAG-AFTRA, which means that for now I have time to consider while the strike is going on. (Obviously not all of them are union but if it's an entertainment format where the union is involved, I don't want to cross the picket.) And the ACX site is pretty comprehensive in terms of figuring out how it all works, so if I did want to source a narrator elsewhere and perhaps not distribute exclusively through ACX, I now have a grounding from which to research other options too.

Sorry, a lot of this is just me thinking aloud, but I truly do appreciate the info and also something to bounce off of in terms of considering it. And I appreciate the opportunity to share it with my readership too, thank you!

#genedoucette #shivadhverse #independent publishing #selfpub #audiobooks

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starshipqstar · 2 months

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On a supportive queer fandom, community, and making our first ever animation

Making the Starship Q Star animation has largely been wonderful - we got to make a show we love and learnt a LOT. As two writers new to producing the format (Lauren had only written for kids animation) - it was a huge learning curve. A learning cliff if you will. Whilst we had to cut a lot out for time and budget, we're really proud of how they turned out within the constraints. And by the end? Lauren and I coloured most of the final episode and I did all the compositing and VFX myself (all in Toon Boom Harmony - a program neither of us had used a few months before).

Animation is also still a bit of a boys club - so we committed to finding a design and animation team that was diverse as possible, and reflected what the project was about. I'm proud to say that we managed that (out of our cast & crew of 24, only 3 were cis-men - and most were queer). We also gave opportunities to diverse creatives who hadn't had jobs in the industry before - and have since seen some of them use the experience to get more paid work. You simply love to see it! All of the cast and crew are incredibly special and brought amazing things to the show - an absolute dream team.

It hasn't been easy at all - animation is a LOT of work, and the budget didn't allow for all the support we probably needed, so it was months of unpaid work for the two if us, and a number of weeks working 15-20 hour days to get it done. But we bloody well did it!

But since the show has been out, it's been a bit of a... reality check? Having been immersed in the audio drama community with Starship thus far - we perhaps got a little too used to how incredible supportive (and perhaps queer?) everyone is.

Another animation project is part of the same initiative as we are, and it was one of the first projects released. The creator is a really lovely and talented guy who has made a special show we really enjoyed. His show went kind of viral - which is AWESOME! It's great! However due to his experience on certain other projects... some of the fans of his show... aren't necessarily our audience? And the nature of the initiative means only some projects get chosen to make more.

The first comment on YouTube a few minutes after the Ep 1 of Starship Q Star was published was "make more [the other show]". Then our socials started getting homophobic and really negative comments (and trust me I have spent a long time curating that tiktok algorithm lol). At first I thought it was weird or maybe it was just because we were being shared by a third party so the wrong audience were finding us - but then they also included comments like "[the other show] is better".

I honestly find it odd that some fans take it upon themselves to do stuff like this. Making art is hard! And liking one thing better than something else doesn't mean you have to actively hate that something else! There's room for us all to succeed (well, once we take care of that pesky thing called capitalism). And maybe remember that when it's an indie project the people who made the thing are usually the ones running the socials lol.

We are so grateful to have had so many incredible people love and champion the show in both audio and animated format. And we feel so lucky to be a part of both the queer and audio drama community (yes I know that venn diagram is a circle) - it truly is such a special supportive environment that lifts one other up.

Anyway, I'll probably delete this (way too earnest - eww) but thanks to all the lovely ones out there. We really love and appreciate all of you and all the nice comments and messages and shares. Means the world!

#audio drama #fiction podcast #lgbtqia+#animation #queer #queer community #lgbtq community #audio fiction

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sirfrogsworth · 10 months

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Just got back from the movie. The theater was in the middle of this hipster village type deal. Trendy shops and a wine bar.

I walked into the Alamo Drafthouse and the people at the front just kinda looked at me as I walked by. I had my ticket ready on my phone, but no one scanned it or looked at it. I don't know if it is always like that, but maybe next time I should try not buying a ticket and see what happens.

The large format fancy theater was as far away from the entrance as possible. I should have brought my cane. But I made it okay. It was indeed large and fancy. The seats were very comfortable and had electric reclining. There was also a button to summon a waiter which felt very high tech. And he would duck down super low as he walked in front of everyone. He looked like a penguin scurrying along. I ordered a pizza and it showed up just in time for the movie. It was pretty tasty.

The video quality was fine. I honestly didn't see a huge difference with the 4K laser projector, but the large screen was nice. I might be spoiled by my fancy HDR, 2000 nit TV. Projection just can't do that.

The front audio was much better than the last theater. Very clear voices. But the bass was a little boomy. Unfortunately I think they calibrate the audio for when there are more people there. 100+ humans in a space add a lot of absorption and diffusion. But there were maybe 8 people total and there wasn't anything to suck up the bass.

The Atmos was not even noticeable except in one or two scenes. That was disappointing. Atmos was one of the main reasons I chose that theater. I don't know if they skipped getting a Dolby calibrator or something. The side speakers were audible, but the ceiling speakers never made themselves known. Not even in the thunderstorm scene.

The ceilings were extremely high, so I'm wondering if the speakers were just too far away. Inverse square law would dictate they would need a lot of power and volume to cover that distance. This is probably why Dolby officially certifies theaters and this wasn't one of them.

This is what a front speaker in a theater looks like. There are usually at least 3 of them. Bigger spaces might do an array of 6--all behind the screen.

That is 7 feet tall, 200 pounds, and takes 3000 watts of power.

And you'll usually have 3 of these dual 18" subwoofers.

These beasts require 4000 watts of power and are also 200 pounds.

A typical theater Atmos speaker is like this.

About 30 inches tall and handles 350 watts.

All of those speakers have to cover about the same distance. Meaning the ceiling speakers were at a major size and power disadvantage.

So I think the theater was too big and too tall for Atmos to work effectively. You probably have to trade off a big screen or good sound. I'm going to try an official Dolby theater next time to see the difference.

The movie itself was okay. Maybe a 6 out of 10. A few good laughs, some fun action, but the humor was very hit and miss.

Now, I'm not just saying this because they are a creep, but Ezra is just... a lot. They do their funny jokey thing and it gets old very fast. It was okay when they were a side character, but when they are leading a movie, it fizzles. And then there is a second Ezra in the movie and they do the funny jokey thing turned up to 11.

Way too much Ezra.

But then Michael Keaton enters and he's just fantastic. I got such a rush of nostalgia from the 1989 Batman. That was probably my favorite movie for a good 3 years. 8 year old me was so happy to see my first Batman again. They even forced him to do some super cringe fanservice lines--and he nailed them.

He was like, "I'm going to take this bullshit line and make it awesome. Because I'm the goddamn Batman."

And Sasha Calle as Supergirl was also excellent. Though she was very underutilized. But if they can keep her, I think she could be a fan favorite.

The big complaint about The Flash has been the CGI. And I would say 75% of the CGI was great. There was a reveal of the Batwing that looked stunning. Supergirl flying was great. The vehicles were great. All of the invisible effects like backgrounds and set extensions were flawless. There was a big car chase that looked decent. There were plenty of top notch VFX in this movie. And I think the artists should be proud of those.

The stuff that didn't work was mostly just because the situations were unrealistic or the art direction was poorly done or they just didn't spend enough time polishing the effect.

When they animated Micheal Keaton doing jumpy flippy ninja moves, it didn't sell perfectly. And the speed and power of the Kryptonions was not nearly as well done as in Man of Steel.

But I know why people said the CGI was terrible. Though I don't actually think it was the CGI that was bad. I'm pretty sure they just made a poor aesthetic choice. Flash goes into the Speedforce and they cleary wanted to make it trippy and otherworldly. I don't think they were going for photorealism. I think they intentionally wanted everything to be in the uncanny valley. Unfortunately the style they chose looked more like a video game.

They were trying to do a Dr. Strange type effect and it just didn't work. It ended up being more... Lawnmower Man.

The only truly terrible effects were CG renders of people they couldn't get to do proper cameos because they were fired or were dead. Usually you need a 3D scan to do a CG double and it's hard to do that on dead people. The best was Admiral Tarkin in Rogue One, but they spent months and months on that.

CG Henry Cavill was probably the worst effect in the entire film and I'm guessing that really pissed people off.

The Flash running also looked bad, but that was 100% because Ezra Miller runs like a goof.

I have no idea why they run like that, but it looks so dumb and ruins the speed effect. Like, if you took them out and put someone running normally into the effect, it would have looked super neat.

And the only other VFX that didn't quite work was these slow motion falling babies. They looked photorealistic, but something about animating a falling baby in slow motion did not look right. Again, I don't think this was bad CGI. I think it was just a visual that was impossible to make realistic.

I know that sounds like a lot of bad effects, but that was every bad effect out of 2000+ total. Maybe 15 shots out of those 2000 were memorably bad. But the bad shots are always the most memorable and I guess that is why you don't hear folks talking about all of the flawless ones.

If you do see this movie and you haven't heard Kevin Smith's Superman story, you definitely should watch that first. Because the best gag in the movie will go over your head otherwise.

Sooooo, yeah... that was my night at the movies. On the drive there I got to see the Arch and downtown and it was beautiful. And on the drive home, Google decided to take me through every spooky ass neighborhood in St. Louis at midnight.

FUN!

#long post

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xoxo-ren-xoxo · 2 months

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What the Hell is Comms AU?!

Well first of all, Comms AU is a Hermitcraft fic I am writing. If you want to go into it blind, then the link is here!

[also, hey, if you like it, perhaps consider reblogging this post ;) ]

But if you'd like to know a little more before diving into it, I've decided to compile a fun little resource introducing the fic, its format, some of the most basic pieces of lore (so very mild spoilers, but it is stuff you would pick up on by chapter 3 or 4, honestly!) and a few tidbits about the characters. BELOW!

What the hell is Comms AU (For real this time)

I started Comms AU (full name INCOMING MESSAGE - COMM RECORDS) back in the middle of 2023, after reading some really great fics like the From The Archives series. It is a multiverse drama first and foremost, with elements of horror, betrayal, personal agency, and some religious themes [though the latter is mostly aesthetic]. There are also some comedic moments, and some sad moments. There's a lot of moments.

Comms AU follows five versions (universes) of Hermitcraft as they are all just kind of subjected to The Horrors. It is formatted as a series of transcripts recorded from different characters' communicator devices (or comms) which I imagine as sort of like sci-fi wrist watches with touchscreens and buttons. Though each universe could have slightly different models!

Formatting

As I mentioned, the fic is set out like a series of audio transcripts (though I kind of bend the rules to be honest, it can be read as if it is being played back as a recording), so the writing style is more like a script or screenplay than a standard prose piece. Your average chapter may look like this:

GRIAN: I'm saying a line now. SCAR: I'm also saying a line. [square brackets and italics to indicate a non-dialogue sound] GRIAN: Dang what was that?!

I also play around with writing out the communicator's 'screen' prompts such as its logging out message, 'call incoming' functions, etc. These I try to keep consistent between chapters, but I'm pretty sure I lost that consistency in a couple of places. Oops.

You may be wondering how you know which universe a certain scene is taking place in. It's quite simple, really! Each scene starts with a line of text like this:

[COMM RECORD: P#003]

The letter indicates the character whose comm we are listening/reading through (i.e., the perspective) while the number indicates what universe we are in [or what universe that character comes from, anyway...]. So the above example would be Pearl from universe three!

Lore?!

Okay this isn't really 'lore' as that would be total spoilers, but I want to talk about what kind of themes and things come up a lot in the fic - especially in terms of who is 'what'. For example, I've written Xisuma as a voidwalker, a type of end-hybrid which breathes better in thinner oxygen environments.

Scar and Cub are generally vexes, though there are differences between universes that become important later. Grian (at least, the times we see him) is a Watcher, and EvoSMP is canon [to some universes] but I try to explain everything within the fic itself so there shouldn't be too much confusion if you don't know much about all that.

Themes-wise, the fic revolves a lot around conversations and relationships between the characters, obviously. Words are very important, while actions must be left mostly implied through the audio medium. Characters aren't always reliable, and neither is sound. The fic takes a bit of digging and theorising to truly enjoy, but I am slowly revealing more and more as I write, so things will mostly get cleared up!

Also this fic mostly takes place in season 9, and there are references to season 9. There's some reference to season 8 too!

Characters

This is the important bit! I can't write all the hermits, obviously, as that would be too much to manage, so instead lets focus on the names that come up the most often:

Grian, Scar, Cub, Pearl, Xisuma, and Mumbo are probably the most 'recurring' characters, though Etho, Bdubs, and Cleo show up quite a bit especially towards the start.

[I am a Grian girlie and this is obvious from... everything about this fic, but I wouldn't say it is entirely about him! He does show up in most chapters though haha]

Relationships get a little complicated, due to the multiverse stuff, but I will say that there is mumscarian endgame because I love them. The actual 'romantic' side of things aren't that important, though, and most of the other relationships can be read kind of ambiguously. Just check the tags for more info!

It's still gay as hell but the multiverse horrors are more important, to be honest.

Or are they... ?!

YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO READ TO FIND OUT!

[psst, I also did some art, you can find it in my #comms au tag on my blog]

[psst psst, if you ever wanna message me, send an ask, or even make art (!!!!!!) to support this fic PLEASE feel free to do so. I love every comment, every ask, and all the bits of creative work people have made. REBLOG, COMMENT, GO CRAZY, ILY!!!!!]

#ben chats shit on the internet #comms au #hermitcraft #hermitblr #hermitshipping #hermitcraft fanfic #hermitcraft fic #hermitcraft s9

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maestriovermind · 6 months

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As someone who has Adhd I must say I found your post interesting. I’ve definitely had experience where some really definitely worked and some didn’t, and I guess because of the lacking similarity what I’d heard about for others I got demotivated.

Sometimes it was loosing focus in the middle of an audio file. Sometimes it was just the format of the intended induction too but. Some of them obviously worked, don’t get me wrong, I just could never get the same thing others talked about. By that I mean things you see in hypno related media, think triggers and being easily dropped in a matter of seconds for example.

For an example your post on the fractionation by attempted biting, something which appeals very much to me as people very much call me puppy, feels like an impossible thing to achieve. And despite this it’s something I very much wish I was able to do.

As someone who absolutely adores being hypnotized and has unmedicated ADHD, I can say that a lot of it for me personally is expectations and my perception of things. I used to think that I would never be able to be hypnotized very quickly, much less drop myself. And yet today, sometimes I can be hypnotized simply by somebody telling me that "you're just going to drop for me now, aren't you?" or something similar. This is because I better understand the context of the situation- not because I'm magically better at being hypnotized for any arbitrary reason.

When it comes to being hypnotized "effectively," you have to remember some foundational things (below). If I repeat things, it's probably because there's a lot of overlap, and also some things are just that important.

It can be hard to find out why hypnosis might not be working for you without help. You have to consider all the factors in play- What I mean to say is you have to consider all the things that may be affecting your trance, even things you may not realize are affecting your ability to be hypnotized. Second opinions are useful! (I am more than happy to help, hit me up)

Hypnosis is experienced differently for everyone. If it's not going the way you thought it might, consider how there really isn't a wrong way to be hypnotized, per se. The only "wrong" way to experience hypnosis is by giving up and deciding not to try anymore.

The more you know about the hypnotic process, the more effective it will be. That said, a lot of information on hypnosis is usually on the harder side to read. If you're finding it difficult to parse large amounts of academic information, I'm more than happy to parse some of that info down for you into more digestible chunks- or visit learnhypnokink.com! It's a very good resource for hypnotists AND subjects alike.

Hypnosis is all about your personal perception of things. If you believe something should go a certain way when being hypnotized, it could cause certain outcomes-depending on context. In this specific context, believing that you are "ADHD, and thus difficult to hypnotize," is likely something that is holding you back from experiencing full trance.

Hypnosis is best experienced in an intimate environment. Sure, some people practice tying themselves up with rope, but isn't it more fun and engaging when someone else is doing it? And wouldn't you want that person to be someone you love and trust? Hypnosis is exactly the same way, AND it's more effective if you are able to let go and trust your partner, like any other bdsm.

Practice, practice, practice. Feel it out and find out what works, and what doesn't. Why doesn't that thing work, then? Find out why. Experiment. I cannot stress enough that doing this with a partner is not only great for bonding with them and getting to know them better, but also the best possible way to practice as a subject or a hypnotist.

These are very important, but they don't cover absolutely everything. I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing as much as possible, and that you should always be asking questions to find out more. With hypnosis, you cannot always accept people at face value, as there are always so many misconceptions. Even if someone is 100% believable, always cross reference if possible!

Yes, this includes me! You should probably review the information I'm giving you here and consider its legitimacy- this comes from about 4-5 years of experience as both a subject and a hypnotist, and there's plenty of people out there who probably know more than me.

That said, there's probably a lot of conflicting information out there, considering that so much of hypnosis is done based on the subject, and subjects tend to be different in a variety of ways. So remember! Consider all the facts, all the information, all the things you know. And make your best guess! Gather data and infer what you can.

Closing / TL;DR

If you skipped that whole thing because of how long it was (mood), then I would ask that you go back and read the pink text, at least. I highlighted some of the main points with pink text, but I will give you a brief recap of some of the major main points.

There is no wrong way to be hypnotized

Learn all that you can about hypnosis

Hypnosis is about perception, not focus

Trusting your hypnotist (like actual trust) goes a long way

Practice and experiment and find what works best for you

There are a lot of misconceptions in hypnosis- some less commonly known than others

Additional points I did not cover in full:

Audio files are good for practicing, but only if you already have a good handle on how to be hypnotized. Otherwise, they can be a little bit discouraging.

Cut and paste inductions are inferior to a hypnotist who can react to you in real time. They observe what you do, and will apply what they know to hypnotizing you further.

Hypnosis doesn't require relaxation. While relaxing helps, a lot of people can enter trance states that feel more like excitement or hyperfixation rather than what would be considered to be the usual hypnotic state.

You will never stop thinking- but you can think about only one thing, which is very close to not thinking.

Please visit learnhypnokink.com!!! It's a very good resource and will not take you too long to read, and it can also link you to longer resources that go more in depth.

Remember that there's always more to learn- thanks for reading my long ass ask response, I hope it helped. And here, have a gold star!

⭐

#ask response #cw hypnosis #hypnosis #hypnok1nk

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fablepaint · 8 months

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hey! i don't know if you "do" asks, but they're open, so i thought i'd throw one in! You definitely don't have to respond, but you're the first person that comes to mind in regards to this question.

whether independent or not, i've always had a passion and love for animation, and i've just recently stumbled upon a story idea in my brain that i think would work best in an animated format.

however... i am a writer, and definitely NOT an artist. i've been trying to improve in that area, but all the showrunners i've seen are artists primarily and writers secondarily, or equally skilled in both disciplines. what would you recommend in this situation?

of course, don't feel pressured to answer at all, i just needed to dump my thoughts somewhere. thank you!

I don't think "artist" and "writer" are necessarily two separate disciplines. A lot of times what I as a sequential artist will do is initially write my script, then create the visuals around that script. If I'm making an animation, I may write the script, then board, then break down what needs to be done based on those boards and go from there. Other times the "writing" is more the editing. My Game Grumps Animated shorts were "written" by editing audio together until I felt like I could better visualize what I had in mind, then proceeded from there.

What you need are communication tools. If you're translating one aspect of your craft to another, then you need to communicate how that's done. You can't adequately do that as a writer if you don't have some understanding of how to translate the page to the screen. That doesn't mean you have to be an incredible artist, but it pays to pick up a pen and "write" with pictures. Then you know what it's like for the next person down the chain.

Your ability to render a flower as if it's a photograph is not necessary to the job of screenwriter, but if you don't know how to describe that flower so the visual artist can render it, you're going to have a hard time getting what's in your head into someone else's. In a sense, it's similar to the challenge of any writer speaking to their audience. But the imagination is made literal.

Study screenwriting. Study boards. Study the production process in general. Do you have an opportunity to do a small thing yourself, however humble? Maybe a comic with simple doodles? Do you have enough to afford a stipend to an artist to help you through some tougher spots, maybe teach you a few things along the way so you can assist them? You can jump into the deep end AND dip your toes at the same time. Nobody said you had to stop studying in order to make stuff. But you'll want to figure out how to communicate. No aspect of either craft (visual, literary, or otherwise) is divorced from that.

#question #answer

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annakie · 2 months

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My gaming friends, please give me 5% of the effort I'm giving you.

Hey, just needed someplace to rant about TTRPG stuff outside of a place where those people are likely to find it.

Feeling very frustrated that the last couple of months with two of my groups of friends I have begged, pleaded and quite frankly, nagged at them to please communicate with me and to give me 5% of the effort I have given to them to ensure that the endeavors we're undertaking are successful, especially when I am already very happy to do most of the work, I just need them to communicate with me and to please do the bare minimum.

Every year 2 of my friends and I go to a local gaming con and we run games constantly throughout the weekend. There is a ton of stuff to cooridinate and experience tells us that planning it ahead of time ensures that it goes smoothly. Every year I have to nag and plead with one of them, the one who runs most of the games, to please communicate with me and talk about what games we're running, and planning other things like what materials we're bringing and who from the con that we enjoy playing with are we planning games around etc. I also tell him multiple times every year that I am available to do a lot of heavy lifting in helping him plan his games with things like making character sheets, picking out maps, the last 2 years planning audio accompaniments to enhance the games, etc. I sent him a long message last year begging him to communicate with me and telling him how frustrating it is to have to do most of the planning, which again I'm HAPPY to do, but not hear from him on all the things I NEED TO KNOW to do the planning. He promised to be better. This year I have repeatedly posted the same 10 questions and a few suggestions and reminders that I'm happy to help do MORE in our Discord and one day he answered 4 of the questions vaguely and hasn't responded since. I have reminded him in person twice to please communicate with us more in the Discord so I can plan. Game submissions opened today and I still have not heard one word from him and I am going fucking crazy about it. For the last two years we've had to bug the organizer of the con to please specially set up our games because he waited until the last second to get me any info (and then went behind my back to talk directly to the organizer and gave him some wrong info so I had to go back to him to correct it.)

I love this person a lot and he is a dear friend and this con weekend is one of the things I look forward to most every year but planning this is SO FRUSTRATING. It needs to be planned. I am so happy to do most of the work. But I can't. Posted a message in Discord today trying to gently call out the lack of participation from both my friends (but mostly one) and have no idea how it's going to go over.

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

Second thing is that my Sunday night D&D group are starting a brand new campaign.

We've known we're running this campaign since like, late November? I very early posted the campaign guide and said it was mandatory reading. I also said they should be picking out character classes and coming up with general backstories. We took time out of finishing our last campaign and had a session or two just dedicated to character planning.

I sent them several resources in different media formats (video and text) on just the very basics on learning how to play Pathfinder 2e and they promised to help learn the basics and the differences between D&D5e and pf2e. I am almost positive none of them (maybe one, who is the same one as not-the-problem in the Con issue above) have touched any of that. Late December/Early January we did get general character creation done. We started playing the Beginner's Box and every week I remind them that they need to read and absorb the official player's guide for the campaign. Also I posted a pretty general backstory template, some of which they needed the campaign guide for. Also I told them that in their backstories most of not all of them would have been born and raised in this town. So far all of them have submitted "I came here recently" stories except one who came here awhile ago. (convenient, so that way they don't need to really know anyone in town, right? When I have told them repeatedly that having close ties to people in the town is IMPORTANT in this story!) The 5th hasn't submitted his backstory yet. We will finish with the beginner's box next week most likely and start the campaign the week afterwards. Almost positive none of the rest of them have fully read the campaign guide like I asked, except the bare minimum of what they needed to to fill out their backstory sheets.

To be fair, they did put some good thought into their backstories, the 4 that submitted. But only one has really integrated any NPCs into their stories like I asked. I don't want to nag about it, I don't want to force them to rewrite their backstories, it's THEIR characters, but I am very frustrated about it.

I wrote a "Campaign Guide Quiz"of about 20 questions they should be able to answer (things that will be important for them to know during the campaign) and told them there would be a quiz. Posted it late December. Have not gotten any feedback or response on it. I think at this point I'm going to offer them 25gp if they fill it out and send it to me in DMs before the start of the campaign in two weeks. I love these guys, we are all friends from outside the game, all of whom I've known for between 12 and 27 years. When we game, they are FULLY present, they do their best, they LOVE the game and it's SO much fun. Except for asking them to spend time outside the game (except leveling their characters, they'll do that between sessions) it's hard to get them to do things outside of the session, but I really truly don't ask anything besides what I absolutely need them to do to enjoy the game. Again, as the DM I am happy to take on 95% of the work keeping this campaign going, but it's really frustrating when I don't really feel I'm getting that 5% extra effort I need. They're all working adults with children, but right now I need them to just do a thing that will take one hour, and have given them 3 months to do so, and it hasn't happened.

#personal post tag thingy #hey please do not reblog thank you very much

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lethedwarddavidsonworld-blog · 2 months

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Signalis Doom - 5

Not much today either, it was mostly a mix of overcoming issues with 3d models in doom and figuring out some workflows.

3d models are still considered sprites, so to get models to display properly, it involves a degree of pointing the engine to look at invisible dummy sprites and then swapping those with the model. Odd stuff. There's better formats than this one and i'm going to look into those. That being said, i'm unsure how much i'm gonna commit to 3d, right now it's just experimentation. what I'll prob end up doing is spending a day banging out a buncha mockup sprites to approximate some chars and start mapping. Just enough to get the idea. tbh i could be doing way more mapping to establish a level language than i am, i'm kinda putting it off to play with textures and i gotta diversify.

I'm considering commissioning some artists for some spritework, either on specific characters or UI elements or such. I know i'll want something done for the opening splash. Most of my time today, and the next few days, is going to be spent reacquainting myself with a host of tools. I've been doing gamedev for years, i went to school for 3d animation, and i've spent a great deal of time in alot of art tools. However, i tend to forget how they work very easily. I realized i'm not gonna get anything done unless i take the time to remember how the following tools work; 1. Maya for core animation(could be a problem, iqm is the newest doom format and the community pipeline is best setup for blender, but we'll see how it goes) 2,. Blender for import/export/better compability with some aspects of gzdoom 3. Photoshop for photo manipulation of the existing textures and as a means of either creating new textures, or givng more nuance to ones i create elsewhere. 4. Aesperite for core pixel art. Signalis is a mix of low rez painted works and pixel art, and knowing when to deploy each is a good idea. 5. I'll need to get a proper toolkit up for the model to 2d pipeline, i have options but they need to be tested. 6. FL studio for audio manipulation. 7. and imma be real i don't know how spreadsheets work and i'm gonna need a hell of a spritesheet to organize what assets i'll need to recreate. That sounds like a lot but i've used them all before, and i'd need to more or less do the same thing for any real production anyway.

On the plus side, i think i've figured out how to do the floors. i'll just take elements of the original textures, and build a larger one out of them with built-in variation for tiles and color variation. I'll add more variation as needed in-editor.

I'm realizing i'm spending alot of time in odd spots. To be honest, i've never done a fan project like this before, much less one working with OG textures. I'm having a tough time getting my head around not only the unique nature of doom modding (releasing contnet packs taht can slot into any game) with full game production (Og maps, mechanics, story with bespoke stuff) ontop of fanworks (fanfiction, recontexualization of original assets). part of me wonders if my focus on getting og textures working is a mistake, as it's putting me in a mindset that's not the most useful for my project. But we'll see, I'll get my priorities straightned out, this ain't getting done overnight either way.

#signalis #doom #gamedev

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mischief-lies-and-stories · 9 months

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Loki Season 2 Wishlist

I've been creating a wishlist for what I want to see in Loki season 2, which premieres October 6.... [pause for long-suffering sigh because I’m so tired] I’m very annoyed that it’s not coming out until October (if it’s genuinely because of the strike(s), I’m not annoyed with the writers/actors but with the studios for not meeting demands so we can move on with our lives, but I’m pretty damn sure the strike is a scapegoat). I’m not surprised they keep moving it back, because they also kept pushing back season one! (I wish this format was audio so you could hear my indignation, haha.) But I wish it was still coming out in the summer like it was supposed to. Anyway, let’s jump into it. (Fair warning, a little bit of ranting incoming.)

First things first, Lokius: This ship has grown on me. I was resisting for a very long time, and I think it took until about episode four or five before I was like, “Okay, fine, you can date Owen Wilson.” And then I was all on board, and at this point I’ve written I think three Lokius fics on AO3 (link in the blog description). So, yeah. @ MCU, if you need some ideas, agree to the writers’ and actors’ demands and then hire me. I’m a lot of things but I’m not a scab. Okay, anyway.

Genderfluid Loki: I’m genderfluid myself, and the “representation” included in the show was nonexistent. First of all, fluid is not a sex. Sex is assigned to you at birth, on Earth, and it corresponds to your genitalia. You are usually assigned male or female. There may be some places now where you can get Intersex put onto your birth certificate, if that qualifies, but until very recently, most intersex babies ended up undergoing surgery to change their bodies to fit better with one sex assignment or the other. Therefore, fluid cannot be considered a sex, at least in terms of on Earth. Perhaps it could be on other planets, but the people watching this show (as Twitter has been so helpfully pointing out recently) are on Earth, so no, wrong, Loki’s genderfluidity is gender-based not sex-based. I don’t know why they didn’t just put gender on the file, they should have. And that was the only time they included it, and I think that they put it there (aside from being like “ooh look at us we’re so progressive!”) as foreshadowing that Sylvie was going to be a girl. Which is bullshit, because that’s not what genderfluid means, either! Genderfluid means that you, yourself, change genders. And we never, in the show or the MCU in general, see Loki explicitly present or identify himself as anything other than a man. And furthermore, Sylvie isn’t genderfluid either, because she never states that she’s anything other than a woman. Nor do either of them ever request people refer to them using any other pronouns. On top of that, Sylvie is a trans woman, you cannot convince me otherwise, and you will pry that conviction out of my cold, dead, genderfluid hands. (I’m very incensed about this entire thing, I apologize. This is why I inserted the read more and the warning above.) So I’d like to see more of genderfluid Loki (not Sylvie; she’s made it clear that she is a (trans) woman, and I’m respecting that she’s got one gender). I don’t necessarily need to see him shapeshift into a woman, like into a different actor or Tom Hiddleston in make-up or something, because as much as I would love to shapeshift, I can’t, and I don’t think he needs to shapeshift to be his most authentic, genderfluid self (because then what does that say about irl genderfluid people? rant for another time, though, sorry). So I just want a little more justice to be paid to that, and maybe let him change up his pronouns sometimes. All right, moving on, before I get really worked up.

Verity: I love Loki: Agent of Asgard. Al Ewing is my favorite comic writer for this reason (and not because he’s also bi; I just found that out 24 hours ago). Agent of Asgard is, in my opinion, the best version of Loki ever to hit the comics. It is the best version of genderfluid Loki, the best version of redemption arc Loki, the best version of Loki as a character in general. And his best friend is Verity Willis, ace icon Verity Willis. (I don’t make the rules, she’s ace; have you seen her character design? Have you heard her say that she’s not interested in romance? She’s ace!) I want her, some how, some way, in Loki. This is a little bit more of a stretch, because I don’t know how she can be put in, so this is a little bit more of a pipe-dream of a wish. But I want. her. in. Loki. So bad.

Theo Bell: I also really like Mackenzi Lee’s Loki: Where Mischief Lies. (It’s a great book; you should definitely read it if you haven’t.) In it, Theo is Loki’s love interest-slash-coworkerish-slash-partner in crime. This story is set in Victorian England. Theo Bell is gay and walks with a cane. It’s been awhile since I read it so I may be taking this theory from a fanfic I wrote, but I’m pretty sure it’s canon that he became disabled as a result of a homophobic attack. (So trigger warning for that, but if it’s canon it’s only mentioned) He’s a great character; he’s funny, he’s snarky, he doesn’t put up with any of Loki’s shit, and he can also (and this might also be me adding to the character but I’m pretty sure I’m right) see through Loki’s lies pretty quickly at some points. So I would really like to see Theo in the MCU. I also have some theories about Theo versus Mobius (shameless plug for one of my fics, Choose Me, which utilizes my theory about them), so I would like for Theo to show up in the way that proves my theory right.

Agent of Asgard Loki: At the very least, I just really want that coat, that coat is so cool. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, google Loki: Agent of Asgard. The coat that he wears throughout the comic is kick-ass.) I want that coat somewhere in the show, I do not care who’s wearing it. That being said, I really want Agent of Asgard Loki to make an appearance in the MCU at some point. Somehow. I already have some theories about where I think we can go with AoA Loki in the MCU (which I’ll probably post about later). Like I said, I really love that version of Loki, I really love that comic arc, and I want him somehow paid tribute to somewhere in the show. Actually, though, I did just reread the entire comic run, and I noticed that towards the end in the final climax of his redemption arc, there’s a lot of similarities between that and the last couple episodes of season one. So they already seem to be drawing on AoA, so maybe they won’t be able to include the actual characterization of Loki from AoA. But it’s still on my list.

Let Loki do more magic, goddammit!: He does very little magic in season one. Although he’s not able to do magic in the TVA (which was very annoying for the fic I was trying to write the other day), but as far as I can tell, he only does magic like four or five times in the rest of the show. Classic Loki literally says (and I looked up the exact quote because I’m a NERD, can you tell?) “Blades are worthless in the face of a Loki’s sorcery.” And then Loki proceeds to do NO MAGIC for most of the show! So I want him to do more magic, especially shapeshifting. And at one point I think he mentions that he likes doing his duplicity thing, so I think he should do more of that, too. (Which I think based on the only trailer-like thing we’ve gotten so far, it seems like he’s going to do. And maybe I’m stealing this from that trailer, but I think it would be really funny if he did the duplicity thing and then Mobius automatically knows which one is the real Loki, which is hilarious, because Thor doesn’t usually know.)

Give my girl Sylvie a girlfriend: While I do like the idea of her with B-15, I feel like the reason why we’re shipping her with B-15 for the most part is because there are basically no other girls in this show. C-20 is dead, Renslayer is a dick, and we just really don’t want her to be with Loki (you saw my first entry on this list, you know where I stand). I’m counting Loki on this list since he’s genderfluid even though it’s not being portrayed very well. So her with B-15 is fine, I do kind of like it, but I don’t know enough about B-15, I don’t know enough about their relationship. I don’t think they even have enough of a relationship yet for me to really feel like I super ship it. But I just want somebody for her, preferably a girlfriend, because I think that’d be cute. I’m genderfluid, personally, but I’m available. ;-)

Thor: I! Want! Thor! I know we got Frog Thor, but I want actual Thor! I want Thor to give all of the Lokis a hug, in particular Kid Loki (and I have some theories about why he killed Thor, or why he said he killed Thor), Classic Loki, Sylvie, and also our regular Loki. Because I think they need a hug from their big brother (I know they were raised as twins, but I like saying he’s their big brother, I don’t care).

Classic Loki in Valhalla: Pretty straight forward (and you can read After on AO3, because I wrote this). I need Classic Loki to see Thor and I need Classic Loki to be in Valhalla, because I think he deserves it. (If he’s actually dead.)

Mobius’s backstory: I want to know where Mobius came from; I want to know how he got to the TVA. I want to know if he had a jet ski or if my theory is correct (per Choose Me).

Why Sylvie was taken by the TVA: There are some great theories about why Sylvie was taken by the TVA, one of which I subscribe to the most as of late (as included in Nothing Matters at the End of the World. I’m pretty sure this is my last plug on this post, I’m so sorry). But I am not convinced that she was taken in because she’s a girl. I think that’s transphobic and misogynistic and nonsense. And I say transphobic because Sylvie’s a transwoman, and I will not be taking criticism on this. I don’t care that that line “born the goddess of mischief” was probably meant to discourage trans headcanons, and I encourage the writers to respectfully get their heads out of their asses and consider that “born this way” is not just a Lady Gaga song (but the song is also relevant in this case). So I think it’s pretty damn transphobic to say that she isn’t allowed to exist because she’s a woman. And it’s misogynist and transmisogynist to claim that the rest of what the timeline demands of her cannot be accomplished if she isn’t a cis man or genderfluid or whatever a “right” Loki is. So I want to know why she was actually taken in. There are a lot of theories online about why she was arrested, and I like a lot of them. And on top of that, she doesn’t know! She told Loki that it’s because she’s a girl, but then when she gets in front of Renslayer, she’s like, “What was my nexus event?” Which implies that she does not actually know. And maybe it’s just bad writing or a plot hole, and that’s very possible. It’s the MCU, and writers make mistakes (I know I sure do, though I don’t have a team of people checking my work). But I’m choosing to go with she doesn’t actually know. She was like six years old, she was a kid, she assumed something. And why would you assume that, if you’re six? Unless you’ve been told something else your whole life. So there are two possibilities for why she assumed this. Either, yes, she’s a cis woman, and spent her entire life until that point being told-- presumably by Odin--that because she’s a girl she’s not gonna rule. Which would suck, but checks out for Odin, because he’s a dick. Or she spent most of her life being told she’s a boy and having to tell everybody that she’s a girl. And even if she isn’t faced with any transphobia on Asgard (as Where Mischief Lies would have us believe), that’s hard for a six year old, and when she’s told that she’s in trouble for doing nothing, she’s gonna make some assumptions, and maybe she landed on that. But I don’t think she actually knows why and I want to know why. And I think she deserves to know why.

Reunite Sylvie with Thor: I either want Sylvie to reunite with her Thor or be sibling-adopted by Loki’s Thor (bonus points if Loki gets jealous and Thor has to be like “Give me a break. I love you, too, idiot.”). I want Sylvie to somehow get her brother back, whether it’s the one she lost or the Thor we know. I think she needs somebody, and I think Thor is a great person for that. Because I think Thor will immediately be like “You’re great. I love you. You’re wonderful, just because you’re my sister, and you’re the best.” Even after just meeting her, because Thor is such a wonderful little golden retriever puppy, and also, he loves Loki so much. And he continues to, even after everything that happened in the MCU! And that’s lovely, and I think Sylvie deserves someone like that.

And finally, I need Loki, somehow, in some way, to be able to lift Mjolnir by the end of season 2: I think he’s moving, very swiftly, towards being worthy of lifting Mjolnir, and I want him to be able to do that. I think that will show him, personally, that he is better and has changed. And I think he needs that physical validation and confirmation that he’s changed. I think that people (Mobius) can tell him until they’re blue in the face that he’s a good person, that he can be good, and that he can do what’s right and be a hero, but until he can lift Mjolnir (the way his brother can, because he’s been told by everyone his whole life that his brother is the best), I don’t think that he’ll believe that he is worthy of anything. And I want Thor and Mobius to see it, and I want them to lose their goddamn minds. Because I certainly will.

#Loki #loki tv show #loki season 2 #loki spoilers #loki season one #loki season 1 spoilers #sylvie laufeydottir #mobius m mobius #lokius #references to loki agent of asgard #loki agent of asgard #verity willis #references to loki where mischief lies #loki where mischief lies #theo bell #did this make any sense at all? i'm scribing it from a recording i did on my phone eight hours ago lol #not all posts on this blog will be this damn long i promise

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thelador-s-mclargehuge · 5 months

Text

Episode 1 Behind The Scenes!

youtube

Welcome to Amateur Hour! I mean this whole series is amateur hour, but stating out was REALLY amateur hour. So most of the way our videos worked is we would do a weekly video (Either podcast or Over The Shoulder game review). And I’d release a Funny Joke Video every two weeks. I was given Carte Blanch over my videos and basically just kinda did them on my own. So everything I did was suuuper rudimentary My scripts weren’t formated very well, there were tons of spelling errors, stuff I’d cut out I’d leave in the document and just remember I cut it out. But all this worked just fine because I was the only one looking at them.

And the way I’d send people their lines was I would *send* people their lines over discord and have them send me back an audio file that they’d recorded. I didn’t even really do any audio directing aside from a couple of notes. I might have directed Dalsson and TheDragonLover (heretofore referred to as Dergo), but that was it.

For anyone who might want to make a narrative series, uh… don’t do this with your main cast. If you have a guest star who knows what their doing and might not be comfortable being directed in a discord call with a stranger, that’s fine. But for everyone else you’ll just end up playing phone tag for a a couple of VA lines that won’t be nearly as good if you just set the people down in a call and told them what kinda performance you want them to give. A thing that, And I cannot stress this enough, they will be fine with you doing and in fact would much prefer this to the alternative.

And if you sit multiple people down in the call and do their voice lines in one day, that’s just way better! Your actors will be more comfortable with more friends around, and after the session is over, you have multiple scenes worth of voice lines to work with! It’s one of those “We do this thing like this for a reason.” kinda deals.

But ultimately a lot of the What Worked for those videos I’d put out every two weeks, and the video essays, did not really work here. But anyway lets look at the actual video.

The like first scene you can see how the cutting around is really off. That’s because the footage of me just standing there lasted, like, 3 seconds and I had a minute of dialogue, so I HAD to keep cutting if I wanted to use that footage. I should have just started a new save and rerecorded it but… again amateur hour.

But. The first joke here I think is really good. I have a lot of thoughts about it, so I’m going to make it a separate thread. There’s quite a bit going on there and I’m really proud of it.

But the beginning of the video, and the beginning of the series as a whole, is just kinda me moving from bit to bit like I did in the previous Joke Videos. These started out as those with a tiny bit more structure.

The Conversation with Elderbug here is what got Lordfrezon to get a better mic. Like this video convinced the man to get a better microphone. But you’ll notice Elderbugs mouth keeps moving when he’s not taking. I didn’t start putting a still picture over the talking characters yet

The quirrel scene is probably the best put together in the entire video. The editing is sharp. and I realized I could like, just reverse the video of him looking at the Black Egg to make it a little more dynamic.

But most of the dynamic-ness of these scenes comes down to me zooming in and out of characters faces for emphasis. The footage I’m working with is a character with a one second animation loop and another character staring up at them. So I gotta do a lot of cuts and zooms to make it look like a conversation with multiple emotions in it is happening. And I already had a pretty good grasp of that thanks to the joke videos! Say what you will about youtube video editing, but it sure teaches you how powerful quick cutting for emphasis is!

This was also before I started putting Reverb on every scene that takes place in a tunnel… which most of them do, and if there’s one thing I love, love, love playing with, it’s reverb. Sound design is my passion tbh. It is also the only thing I have any formal training in! I was taught it by a bunch of 80s rockers who showed me how to use an old analog soundboard for live mixing! And I’ve always held to the idea that 75% of video editing is sound editing, and 95% of that sound editing is shit no one would notice unless it wasn’t there.

There a little after the Quirrel scene I got *extremely lucky* and found a sign mender. Which is a really rare event. Just immediately out of the gate I see that man. I’d never seen him before I was getting footage for the video and he blessed me with his presence like an angel. Thank you Sign Mender! You gave me a great bit about property destruction!

The Cornifer scene is firstly, a great look into how a voice role evolves over time, and secondly, a great exemplification of what I started this with. Just Direct Your VA’s. You’ll notice how Saine’s performance on his first line here are worse than any of the other ones he’s given. He didn’t know what I wanted. And if I would have simply directed him, that wouldn’t be a problem!

He did, however get to delever the funniest lines of the video. And he did a great job with those! And, another thing to Saine’s credit is he does a fantastic job as Iselda! Man eats up that whole scene! Just great shit there!

Sly’s change is less in that the voice evolved as time went on and more I changed the character. I focused more on the Shopkeeper aspect rather than the teacher aspect as his Central Thing, and ultimately I think that was the best choice. Surly Shopkeeper who can “Show You Da Ropes” Is always a great character and he’s a lot of fun to write. Also all the thing’s Sly says about ‘God’ put me in a bit of a bind because “Okay, so why the hell does this guy know about The Radiance… a thing that a lot of people were lied to about for decades?” So I had to come up with some stuff for that. But that’s the kind of problem I love solving. Because it goes from “Weird plot hole” to “Ooh new character aspect! let’s give this man some depth!

Dergo’s performance as Myla is the best one in the video. And it’s great that’s the case too, because of how much *that* kicks off a lot of the story. But, yeah 10/10 no notes. Dergo is incredibly good at this shit.

The end bit with the snail man is probably my biggest regret of the video. It very much does not fit in with the tone of everything else. It’s kinda something that just happens in the first episode and I hope everyone forgets about. The implication he just murdered the snail guy is funny but it doesn’t fit in the wider whole. Whole scene just is not very good tbh. I also probably should have had someone else voice the Snail man as well.

And I wholeass forgot I used a different font for the credits! But I think that’s that for the first episode. IT’s kind of just a collection of thoughts, but the episode is just kind of a collection of scenes so, there we go!

#HKR-BTS #hollow knight meme #hollow knight #quirrel #content creation #youtube #Youtube

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clorofolle · 1 year

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Hello! I hope you’re having a good day!

I saw your piracy for beginners post, and it was incredibly helpful. I was wondering if you perhaps had suggestions for finding torrents with subtitles? I have auditory processing issues and most things are nearly impossible for me to watch without them. If not, no worries! Thank you very much!

Hello, thank you for asking!! <3 I feel this question in my soul. English isn't my first language, and when I started pirating I was younger, and didn't understand a lick of what was being said in English media without subs. Finding subs was the hardest part of my pirating experience back then, so I'm very happy to teach you the way of the subs!

Tutorial for how to get subtitles under the cut! :D

First, some basic vocaboulary. Weaboos will know this already - there's hard subs and soft subs. Hard subs are encoded directly into the video, they're part of the frames. You can't turn them off and are considered kinda bad quality. They're harder to find nowadays. Soft subs are your best friends! They're captions that you can turn on and off. For them, you need a media player software that support subs (like VLC). They can be inside the video (usually when the videos is in .mkv format) or outside the video, as files of their own, in .srt format mostly. To get VLC to play an external subtitle file automatically, you need to rename it with the same name as your video file (ex: snails.mp4 + snails.srt), and they need to be in the same folder.

The easiest way to get subs is to just look for a video that includes subtitles from the get-go. I'm gonna walk you through the steps in 1337x, but this will work in other torrent sites as well! Usually, searching for "movie name sub" will get you few or no results - most times, it's movies with multiple dubs (for example, multiple spoken languages you can choose from) that have subs for each language. However: internal subtitles are often a sign of quality, and many good/quality releases will include them!

So. Let's say you want to watch the Fellowship of the Ring:

It's a popular movie, and there's a lot to choose from. No mention of subs, but... The first two super popular ones - they're so popular because they're from YIFY. Their releases are TINY compressed, and you will lose some quality, but get tiny files that are easy to store and process! In my experience, it's a dice roll whether they'll have subs, but since they're so popular, you can usually download external matching subs from yts-subs.com. Let's open the first one up. You want to look for info about the "video", "audio", and next possibly "text", "subs", or "subtitles" tracks, and... bingo!

There's English subtitles in this one! What about the third one, that's 14.7 GBs?

I had to press ctrl+f on my browser to search for keywords, since it was a lot of text... but see how it says "Text#1", "Text#2", etc? They're describing in detail the quality of the subtitles! LOTR is a very popular saga, so releases tend to be very good for the average user.

Same method can be applied for tv series. Usually, the best the rip quality, the higher the chances they'll have subs.

Same season of doctor who - first one is half the size as the second one (lower quality), but no subs to be found on the first one.

What if you don't find a torrent that includes subtitles? Or if you don't have the storage space to download the fancy ones?

There's websites where you can look for your video file, and see if someone has uploaded subtitles for it.

I already mentioned the YIFY subtitles site, for subs for YIFY releases, yts-subs,

opensubtitles is a bit clunky in UI, but very good for movies,

addic7ed is the best for tv shows,

I've also heard good things of subscene.

It's best to look for subtitles that match your release/filename perfectly, as they will be synced better. But if you have subs that are out of sync, you can usually adjust them in VLC directly (usually just pressing g or h until they look good is enough). This easy technique saved my ass a lot.

Lastly: even though I don't use them myself, there are media players (and possibly VLC plugins?) that retrieve subtitles directly from online sites so you don't have to go hunting for them. I just gave BSPlayer a shot rn - it's super pushy in wanting you to get the paid option, and I don't like the UI, but it doesn't bundle adware or anything like that, and does it's job! Once you open a video file, you go in "menu>subtitles>check for subtitles online" and you can try them on, see which one works the best.

I hope you have a good time pirating!! Remember to stay safe and bind your client to the VPN. If you need any extra help I'll be very very glad to assist! <3 And as always, if anyone seeing this has extra resources to share, please do!

#piracy #pro piracy #subtitles #auditory processing issues #share and enjoy #piracy tutorial

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