#I'm going to post art but not be in any way consistent about it whatsoever

[kittick-art]

Wahoo, time for another Animatic Deep Dive!

I did this on twitter after my jeanmarco animatic came out last year, and I wanted to do something similar for the Royai animatic! This post will include HD stills from the animatic, as well as some nerdy insight into some shot choices and such, bc I need an outlet to geek out about it. Everything is under the ‘keep reading’ break! :]

Ok to start off, I wanted to show some behind-the-scenes stuff, including my first thumbnails I drew in my sketchbook, as well as part of the shot sheet that kept me organized (and sane) throughout the animatic.

Also, fun fact is that I'm primarily a 3D animator, so I used that knowledge to sculpt a rough version of Mustang's office for the final shot :]

Ok so now for actual stills...starting with one of my FAVORITE sequences to draw, which I have dubbed 'the scrolling bit.'

And a fun little composition tidbit about this sequence is that I tried to show the passage of time through Roy & Riza's placement in the shots. So in order, they progressively go from the right of the screen to the left. It was actually a really last-minute decision, bc originally I had two different shots (see below) which got scrapped in order to do that silly compositional thing. I think it was a worthy sacrifice because that drawing of Black Hayate on Mustang's head was just so fun to draw.

OKAY, now I want to move onto my favorite part of any animatic, which is the pretentious stuff about 'character placement' and "the deeper meaning." Blah blah, all that art-school kind of stuff that you'd hear in some film analysis class.

It's not intentional whatsoever, but I realized after the animatic was finished that Hawkeye is almost always on Mustang's righthand side, other than a select few times when he's the one supporting her. Feel free to look into that if you'd like, but just know it was not intentional and isn't consistent 100% of the time.

What was intentional, however, were these 4 shots, and specifically the placement of Mustang & Hawkeye within them:

These 2 sequences are meant to be direct parallels to each other, in everything including how Mustang turns to Hawkeye, and Hawkeye is already facing him. They were also my favorite shots to animate, especially with Riza coming out of her salute. Seeing them in the final animatic almost made me tear up, ngl. They're just so dang in love!

Finally, the last part that holds some artsy deeper meaning is a sequence I actually shared a long long time ago. I've dubbed it the 'spotlight section' bc idk how else to describe it.

Back when I teased this sequence, I alluded to some "deeper meaning" behind the use of red in the tags. And while the use of red is a pivotal thing throughout the entire animatic, it's most important here. It starts on Hawkeye's back, then transfers to Mustang's glove, and finally goes back to Hawkeye as her blood. Basically what I was trying to get at was something about consequences, and where flame alchemy has led them. In some way or another, Riza's decision to show Roy her tattoo ended up leading to her own (near) demise. So the red was supposed to show that transfer of consequence, if that makes sense.

ANYWAYS. Enough of me rambling. Thank you for reading if you somehow made it this far. All the love on this animatic - even since I first started teasing it back in November - has been insane to me. I still feel like I can't wrap my head around it. I'll leave you all with one last sketch from when I first started making the animatic. Have a good night, everyone!

#WOO THIS IS A LONG POST #basically just me rambling about my own work #and some exclusive behind the scenes stuff ;) #props to you if you make it all the way through #royai #animatic deep dive

[lollytea]

I'm actively putting on my tinfoil hat as we speak but... the more Zeno plays up the whole 'Oh Hunter and Willow Are Such Good Friends' on twitter the more I think we have a big Huntlow Confirmed Romantic moment still to come in the last special. I feel like he's trolling just for fun but also because he knows there's only a limited amount of time he can plausibly say 'uwu just friends!' about them and he's milking it.

I will always respect and appreciate those who fight the good tinfoil hat fight. My own personal reading on all of this is that it confirms that the finger link WAS the big Huntlow Confirmed Romantic moment. Because I feel like that's why Zeno keeps milking the "friendship :)" joke. Because it is very obviously not. And he's never gonna stop saying it. Cuz it's funny as hell.

He made the joke sparingly over the months before FTF aired when the canon content consisted of Hunter blushing and Willow going feral when he was threatened. But he's really amped it up now that more stuff has happened.

Like I was very much in the opinion that, depending on if you squint or not, the finger thing could be interpreted as ambiguous. Maybe. Possibly. Then as soon as the episode aired, he went and said this shit.

Which I consider as good a confirmation as any lmao. No platonic intent behind this scene whatsoever. It's explicitly romantic.

Zeno has also been very funny because he'll say shit like "what is huntlow? Is that a band? Do they have good songs?" and then rt art of them smooching in the same breath. He's liked and rted art of them before, though he was kinda cryptic about it. Removing it within an hour. It's as if somebody contacted him like "Hey!! Spoilers!! Cut that out!!"

This led to people turning his huntlow teasing into a bit of a meme, something he happily leaned into. Like he knew everyone else knew that something was going on with those little guys. But he was still not allowed to talk about it. So he was all "They're friends :)", knowing everybody got what he was putting down. Now he's apparently been given the okay to post about it, considering all the art rts, their relationship is no longer considered "spoilers" apparently, he's teasing about dubbing over a comic where Hunter refers to Willow as his girlfriend, like??? The man is fully free. He's been set loose. Huntlow is as canon as canon can be. I don't personally think his "advanced friendship" gag is hinting at anything bigger still to come. I think he's just committed to the bit. Man's got jokes.

But yeah I honestly see FTF as a "wrap" on Huntlow, the same way Hooty's door was a "wrap" on Lumity. In the same vein that Dana started posting and rting explicitly romantic Lumity art only after Hooty's door aired, she only interacted with Huntlow art after FTF. (Most notably stuff that was captioned "they're canon now") Like Zeno made a few slip ups but Dana never did. She's very careful about the art she interacts with, because people are quick to take her liking art as official creator approval and sometimes take it too far. So like. Huntlow canon bro. Huntlow painfully canon. They're officially established now. That's a wrap, folks.

Not that Huntlow's sweet little love story is over. Just like Lumity wasn't over after they were established. However, Lumity asked each other out at a somewhat low stakes point in the series. They had a little while to breathe and adjust as a newly formed teenage relationship. They got to have their silly little honeymoon phase and we got to see a glimpse into their mundane but adorable slice of life transition into girlfriends.

Meanwhile, Huntlow doesn't really have that privilege. They established themselves during a high stakes climax. They don't really have time to sit down and talk about this any further. Judging by whatever the Collector triggered at the end of the episode, they're probably gonna be more preoccupied with staying alive than entertaining thoughts about the fact that they're kinda sorta dating now.

Stuff's definitely gonna happen. I imagine they'll be joined at the hip over the course of WAD (possibly separated for plot related reasons and might be overly sentimental when they part ways and/or reunite.) If we get a breather or two throughout the ep, maybe they can flirt or hold hands or something dumb like that. Maybe some stuff linking them to Caleb and Evelyn. Idk if they're smooching. I seriously doubt it. I don't really believe we're getting any kind of kiss in the next special but a silly little cheek smooch like lumity in follies isn't unlikely. I could see it.

But yeah. I don't believe we're getting a bigger and grander romantic moment than the finger link, but I think we're gonna get a bunch of little ones instead. They don't have a lot of time to be cringe but I think they're gonna take advantage of every available moment to be complete losers for each other. I believe in them.

#i love you ''advanced friendship'' joke #but i miss ''or maybe willow?'' #MR ROBINSON PLEASE BRING BACK OR MAYBE WILLOW

[imperatriceauxdiamants]

How do you manage your time? How do you organize your days, weeks, goals...?

Very long post... Click under there at your own risk.

School:

I spread my exam study at least two weeks before my exam. First week is dedicated to the harder material. Second week is reinforcing my memory, redoing excercises, past exams, etc. All the material the teacher gives is very likely relevant.

I generally study a bit in the morning, in between classes, and after my dinner. I try to have a ratio of 60% study time and 40% enterainement time.

I block out my dinner time everyday. Relax time in the middle of my school day is highly important, and I need to eat well.

Since my diploma is heavily lab-related, I go to labs as much as I can cram in. The more I lab pratice the better my scores are. Simple. So if I want high notes, I pratice more.

When I used to do my diploma in mathematics and computer science, I crammed as much excercises as possible. Again, with sciences that are math based it is important to pratice in order to understand. It's sorta silly to expect perfection after just doing 5 excercises. It HAS to become your second nature.

I NEVER sacrifice my sleep in favor of school. It is critically important.

Homecare:

I wash my bedsheets every Saturday, I wash my laundry every Saturday. No exceptions. I try to start the work early in the morning, undoing my bed when I wakeup, so it is done by mid-afternoon.

Every Saturday I do a light tidying up as well, while my laundry is being washed. Dusting off with a slightly wet rag, vacuuming, sometimes a bit of mopping. If yout ake consistent care of things, they become quite easier to clean up. There's a reason why hotel maids come to clean everyday, both for your satisfaction, and for easier work when you check out.

During the week I do consistent tidying up. Throwing away obvious trash, loading up my laundry basket, I redo my bed everyday, etc. Takes only a few minutes out of your day and has a huge impact.

Creative work:

I try to do a little everyday, collecting ideas, putting the simplest ones into action right away.

I do Art Sundays, putting on some music, starting to write, paint, color, read, etc. No limits. For you, you can fix a day of the week dedicated to your favorite hobbies. Life's not only work work work work. It is also fun.

Again, being consistent about it is easier than doing a LOT at once. I won't do a huge 15 hour project a monday evening and rather reserve it for my Art Sunday, but I will do right away a sketch idea or post idea. 've personally never really liked just letting things lingering in the mind, without output whatsoever. They clutter the mind.

Work:

Since I'm a part-time student, I never get over 25-30 hours a week. I do not recommend working more than 20 hours a week if you're a full-time student. There are studies that show there's a decrease in grades the more the student works. If you can't subsist on 20 hours a week, seek for higher pay jobs first before accepting more hours.

I've never ever given my employer my class schedule. It is NOT a good idea, since the employer can guilt-trip you into working more hours. "Hey I saw you don't have class monday from 8 to 12 can you come work please, I'm so stuck here!" is pretty hard to resist.

Have extremely solid boundaries between work, school and personal life. Refuse any hours that are excessive or heavy. I refuse to work week evenings, I refuse to work more than 25-30 hours a week, I refuse to work more than 8 hours a day for my two jobs combined. If the employers have difficulty, not my fault. I give them hours of availability, they give me work based on that and end of story.

Equally, I refuse to clock in much earlier, or to clock out way later than planned. I do as much as possible, wrap it up when it is time to close. Not being able to do all the work is management fault for over-estimating the amount of work to be done, and not my fault.

Some employers hope that by overloading you with work, you'll stress up enough to do 2 people's work by yourself. Not worth the stress. Learn to refuse. Been there done that. My personal time is valuable.

I prioritize the most paying work. I routinely refuse hours at my less paying work if I'm busy. Money wins over loyalty.

I do a few hours of freelance work on the side, when I feel my schedule is freer. Freelance work can be time consumpting so it is important to schedule more than necessary so you don't miss deadlines.

Goal-making:

I've never been much into doing radical lifestyle changes. I've had more success adapting myself as I go: if I find something unsatisfactory in my life, I go work at it right away without wasting time on hesitation. I can almost always go back to how I was, and hesitating badly served me.

Letting unsatisfactory things go wild in your life will bring your down, wether you're fine with it or not.

Hesitation is often a godawful waste of time.

The biggest realization I've had when it comes to goalmaking is that you DO NOT want it to be temporary. You want the new change to be in your life forever.

You don't count the days.

You don't think to coming to the "before". The "before" is over, there's Now, and Future only. Before is DEAD.

Past failures don't define who you are.

When I want to start a new habit, activity, I incoporate it into my life, and my identity. I'm not "picking up books sometimes", I'm an good reader. I'm not "barely starting to workout", I workout and I'm a fit person. Assuming I'm That Person helps me interorize the change is there for good. I'm not the Before Person, that Peson is DEAD. I'm the Now Person.

Continuing on previous point, I believe that one should work on their goals at least a bit every day, every single day. Compounding. It can be as little as 5 minutes, it can be as much as hours and hours. You want to reinforce that habit and that identity. Let's say you start a habit of working out, you assume the identity of being a fit person, then you go at the gym. You just go at the gym every day, cuz you're a Fit Person. On days you're resting, you go anyways just to do stretches and some light walking, no hard work. The more you go the more you reinforce the habit the more you embody the Fit Person identity.

I try to hype myself up in a positive way, rather than berating myself in a negative way. Positive reinforcement works wonders on us, we're animals too!

If I fuck up my habit routine, I tell myself it is fine and that I can do better next time. I don't have "one shot", I pardon myself and get back right away.

#productivity

[thevagabondexpress]

cracks in the merry thieves, or, some issues a tsc fan sees in tsc, pt. iii

A nomad needs space to breathe in order to heal. A dismissed shadow fights for oft-denied recognition. And an exchange student outgrows his friends. Not the picture of the Merry Thieves we're used to, I know, but it's what I see when I see Matthew, Christopher, and Thomas in the context of that group.

I've seen lots of people analyze Matthew and his past actions far more deeply and intelligently than I ever could do, but I'm going to talk about his future actions instead, as he's reconciled with most of the other Thieves by the ending of Chain of Thorns—save Christopher, in worlds where he both a) lives and b) sticks around in London long enough to hear Matthew out—and thus what he's about to do now has more consequence here. He's going to travel the world. And not just a cross-cultural exchange like Thomas is going on. He's expatriating from England. It seems pretty clear to me that he's not coming back. London is a place that hurt him, badly, and it's a place in which he hurt other people badly. Alastair and Charlotte, people he'll likely never look at again without carrying grief and guilt, are in London. To truly heal he needs to leave this place that will always remind him of pain, and that means leaving the friends he loved and hurt behind. He's already moving on.

Christopher I've talked about before. I have a whole long vent-post about him. TL;DR direct quotation of that, "He's consistently dismissed, even by those closest to him, as the cinnamon roll, the mad scientist, the one who's bad at social interaction, the one who's definitely not interested in romance, with no input from Christopher himself whatsoever at all to confirm or deny any of these stereotypes.

"He's belittled, his friends and even his sister treat him like he's six, not sixteen (upon hearing of his death Charles calls him 'Little Kit' as if the person in question wasn't two years away from being a legal adult). They seem to think he can't take care of himself just because he's absentminded, nobody ever tells him anything important (Thomas only realizes he should've told Christopher about Alastair once Christopher's gone), and any time he tries to step out of the 'mad scientist' box his decisions are questioned and he's thrown right back in."

He spends the entire series with very little validation or recognition from the narrative and its characters (we really only get one scene in his point of view, in Chain of Iron) and this is epitomized in how he's barely mourned. You might be alive in my version of events, but even so, ave atque vale, you brilliantly adorable bastard, since nobody in CC's canon said it.

And then there's Thomas. He's going through something I've experienced more than once in my life, and that I've watched many other people experience. You change in some way, whether that's an obvious milestone growing-up like starting college or something more personalized; say, switching program tracks in school (honors, STEM, fine arts, general track, etc.) to pursue a goal, or leaving a fandom, or in my case, becoming a publishing internet author. You grow out of the friends who don't follow you in taking that step, or a similar one (I remained friends with the visual art kids I know, but lost the theatre crowd), and you make new friends that fit your new life.

This isn't about age maturity, really, it's not about the fact that Thomas is legally an adult now. We can see Christopher begin a similar process in Chain of Thorns as he discovers Grace (who shares his interests in a way most of the Thieves do not) and chooses spending time with her over attending the Institute's Christmas ball. Thomas has made major steps away from the worldview of the rest of the Thieves: he's done what's essentially the TSC version of a cross-cultural exchange program. He's exploring romance in a way far more complicated than what we see, say, James going through with Grace and then Cordelia: as not only falling in love but also as a process of reconciliation and deep understanding between two people who have fundamentally changed since they first met six years ago. He's spent time away from his friends, gaining new experiences they haven't gained, and while he is in some ways no more more or less mature than his other friends his lifestyle and worldview are very different. Think about how changed you would be after spending most of a year in a country your friends haven't visited.

I can see in the series that he's slowly starting to outgrow the friends with whom he does not connect. They still get along but they're starting to go in different directions. He's already losing his connection to Christopher by the start of Chain of Thorns (he doesn't think to bring up Alastair until after that door is closed). James has settled down with Daisy (for as long as that lasts) and will therefore likely never get a cross-cultural experience like the one Thomas had. Matthew is getting one (his Voyage) but, while his relationship with Thomas seems to be okay at the end of Chain of Thorns, I don't see him sending notes to anyone but James. And all of them are quickly approaching real, functioning adulthood.

Most "real adults" I know in this world (not just people who are legally adults but are at an age where they're done their schooling and have lives of their own beyond it) don't keep in touch with their childhood friends much after college or high school. Like in the real world, I can see that, while they're still close at the end of Chain of Thorns, the Thieves will inevitably change so much that their differences pull them apart and, like real adults do, they'll scatter to the four winds and find new friends who speak to their new experiences.

In worlds where Christopher lives, I struggle to see him continuing his relationship with the rest of the Thieves much past that final London battle anyway. To fully realize all that potential he has, he needs to break from these people who treat him more like a baby brother than an equal friend on equal footing and move on to people like Grace who not only share his interests but make attempts to connect with him as an intellectual and a mature adolescent, and not just as a beloved hobbit who lives in Henry Fairchild's laboratory.

Thomas needs more friends who share his broad horizons: people like perhaps Cordelia, who like her brother has traveled extensively in her life, or like his cousin Anna who has spent years observing people and developing an analytical skillset that would make her an excellent therapist should demon-hunting ever not work out for her.

And as much as I love James and Matthew's dynamic, and as much as the dream is that parabatai will remain close as brothers always and forever, Matthew needs to travel the world. It's clear that this is his path to fulfillment as chemistry is for Grace and moving out of the house is for Arati. And I struggle to see him, after a long time spent traveling the world, as someone still able to connect to a friend who's chosen to not go anywhere at all.

TL;DR: I love the Merry Thieves. But they're not destined to stay best friends forever.

"some issues a tsc fan sees in tsc" is an attempt to break down the unacknowledged things in tsc that i unearthed reading chain of thorns, rereading the rest of the series in preparation for it, and writing two longform fanfics (one of them a genderbent canon reworking) for the last hours. click on the "some issues..." tag to see more of these.

#some issues a tsc fan sees in tsc #tsc #tlh #the last hours #the shadowhunter chronicles #fan analysis #analyzing the last hours #fan essay

[funtxmequeen]

Rules

I am on mobile, so my tags are very minimal.

Do not reblog threads you are not apart of. This also applies to my headcanons, but I'm confident that the only people who reblog those are ppl who find it and don't realize this is an RP blog.

I'm lenient about this, but do not reblog art or memes from here, as it clogs up my feed.

Don't poop on the floor

Foxy is transfem. While I do not mind IN CHARACTER transph*bia for the sake of conflict and angst, I have an absolute ZERO TOLERANCE for ACTUAL transphobia. As such, anons who do not make it clear if the transph*bia is real or fake will be ip blocked immediately. (Ideally, send in an emoji of some sort so I can identify you, or if you're a mutual trying to stir up some drama, dm me ahead of time so we're on the same page.) Hate towards me or my muse will not be tolerated whatsoever.

IC transph*bia posts will be tagged "Transphobia," as a catch all, but if I need to make a specific tag, please tell me. I want the drama, but in no way do I want to make this blog unsafe for you. Any actual tr*nsphobic content I receive will not be posted.

If, even after all my efforts, this blog still does not feel safe to you, but you still would like to interact with me (not Foxy), DO NOT SOFT BLOCK ME! Some of you already know this, but this is not my only blog. Instead, please inform me that this blog makes you uncomfortable and you don't want to follow it. I will gladly reach out to you on my hub blog, and direct you to my other fnaf rp blogs. Your safety is more important than our hobby.

You never know what you're going to get with me. You may get a multipara starter/reply, you may get a few sentences. I don't expect you to match my length, especially if I've written a behemoth of a starter... but I do ask that you try to match my effort. If I'm writing a huge reply and you respond with something that doesn't match the setting or context, (and do this consistently,) I'm more than likely doing to drop threads, and if this keeps happening, I'll just soft block you. Yes I do this for fun, but I put abouts and rules and everything you need to know for a reason, and if you can't be bothered to put in the effort to read it, or properly read my responses, then don't even bother.

I am a mobile user. Maybe once in a while, I'll pop onto a computer at the library to fine tune posts like this, but it's hard, if not impossible for me to use the site to its full extent. As such, icons will not be used, tags will be scarce, and trimming posts will not be done the way I like.

Trimming posts are a strange area. I have adhd and autism, so the best way for a thread to be trimmed is with the last response still attached. This way I can remember what's going on in the thread, which will lead to an overall better rp experience. If posts don't get trimmed, I'll just have to make the reply and hit that big red X button that deletes everything before my response, so take that as a warning.

RESPECT MY FUCKING BOUNDARIES. I've had some issues with one individual who sucked me into this Fandom, they refused to take no for an answer, and forced me to rp an incest ship. This has scared me away from the rpc for years. If I say no, it does not mean "convince me," it means no. I have a three strikes your out policy.

I have a full-time job as a daycare teacher. I am not always online. Do not pester me for replies.

I like to talk in the DMs!! Please don't think that this is a passive aggressive attempt to get you to reply, as eager as I get, this is a hobby, and I will not rush you intentionally!! Please tell me politely if I make you feel rushed or don't want to talk via dms. (I personally just think that writing is more fun when you know your partners.) That being said, I do not want you feeling like you are responsible for my personal feelings, and vice versa. You are allowed to say no, I am allowed to say no. If you try and guilt trip me, that will count against your three strikes. (And I will warn you dw.)

In addition to this, if you do NOT like communicating via dms, please tell me, and I will stop. If you just ignore me or ghost me, I'm either going to continue to try and reach out, thinking you forgot or didn't get notified, or I'll become intimidated, and think I did something wrong. We're all adults here, we can use our words. You don't have to follow me if you don't want to interact.

I have kept up with the lore moderately well, but if I don't know something, or have forgotten something, do not bully me. I have zero tolerance for it. You respect me, and I respect you.

If you want to let me know you've read these, go ahead and like it, but it's not required, I use an honor system anyway.

#Rules #Out of Cake

[maryellencarter]

So your posts on the movie got me to watch Lupin III The First, and now I’m interested but have no idea where to start with watching more. What would you suggest for a newbie?

Oh my god, I only got into this fandom less than a month ago myself, I just don't do anything in moderation. ^_^ So this is going to be basically a "what all is out there" summary with a little bit about what I've seen so far, and I'd really appreciate it if the rest of the fandom would chime in with opinions / corrections. Short version, I started with Part 4 and it was pretty good? Part 2, also good if you're into the more batshit sort of Scooby-Doo type plots.

Major difference to be aware of between "The First" and most other entries in the canon: Lupin is usually a *lot* more of a perv, especially in the older stuff. Trying to get into Fujiko's pants is generally his main motivation alongside stealing stuff, and he has no sense of boundaries whatsoever. Him being completely uninterested in Laetitia that way is not exactly OOC but definitely not something you should rely on.

To start off with, there are five and a half "parts" of the Lupin III anime show so far (Part 6 is still airing right now), plus a ton of movies and TV specials and "OVAs". This is my first anime fandom actually, so I haven't entirely figured out the differences between those things, I just think of them as there's the TV show and there's the longer more standalone stuff.

The "parts" or versions of the TV show are mostly distinguished by the art styles, and especially by what color jacket Lupin wears.

Part 1: Green Jacket. Made around 1970ish? and looks it. Subtitled only (so far -- there's something going on with a dub for it that I'm not entirely clear on). Sets up the basic relationships including Goemon's introduction, has some really tasty emotional stuff (Jigen sobbing over the first time Lupin fakes his death onscreen still gets me), but the art style is crusty enough and the quality erratic enough that I wouldn't recommend jumping straight there from "The First".

Part 2: Red Jacket. Made around 1979ish. The first 80 episodes were dubbed in the early 2000s by the same main cast (except Zenigata) as the people who did the English dub of "The First", referred to in shorthand as the Epcar cast, since Richard Epcar (who voices Jigen) both voice-directed and wrote that English dub, as well as writing the English dub script for "The First". I really liked extremely competent Zenigata from "The First", so I'm not enjoying extremely bumbling Zenigata in Red Jacket as much, but the character relationships are solid -- you get a lot of the found family polycule aspect as well as Jigen's unquestioning loyalty to Lupin, which are both just barely hinted at in "The First". It's pretty wacky a lot of the time, with vampires, telepathy, mummy-mask possession, and what-all have you. There's barely any continuity but plenty of shenanigans and like 150 episodes to choose from. This is the part I'm working through right now. If you're looking for "baseline" classic Lupin III anime, this is it.

Part 3: Pink Jacket. Made in the 1980s, haven't seen any of it yet. I've heard it's significantly more cracky than Red Jacket, which has got to be an achievement.

"The Woman Called Fujiko Mine": Not sure when it was made but I know it fits here. Totally different art style, very dark and adult in both looks and content, visually inspired by Frank Miller apparently. Extremely pointy Jigen with the weird hatband comes from this or one of the three movie-type-things made in the same style, called collectively "koike Lupin".

Part 4: Made in 2015. Parts 4/5/6 are all "Blue Jacket" Lupin. Dubbed by the Epcar cast, again. I've seen all 26 episodes of part 4, it's a lot more like a modern TV show or anime, which makes sense because it is one. Pretty arc-focused with some standalone episodes. Much more consistent animation. The English version I saw has a theme song not by Yuji Ohno (as I understand it), which is a travesty but there you go. Fun, interesting, I enjoyed it. Lots of good character interaction and a badass Zenigata.

Part 5: Like 2018ish. I haven't actually seen any of Part 5 yet except one episode, but as I understand it, it's also set in 2018ish, featuring a lot of arc stuff about social media, surveillance, and so forth. Extremely competent Zenigata. Extremely competent everybody, really, as far as I've picked up.

Part 6: Still airing, so I'm really spotty on what's going on because I don't do open canons. Visually similar to parts 4 and 5.

Castle of Cagliostro: No idea when it was made. Apparently the first movie Hayao Miyazaki directed. Very pretty, very very soft, not very rowdy. If you're looking for "the least pervy Lupin III ever rescues a princess and everybody looks about twelve except Jigen", this is the movie for you. Features a delightful Zenigata truce -- if you liked the Laetitia and Zenigata content in "The First", you might try this. I've only seen the subbed version, so I can't speak to the dub quality.

"Is Lupin Still Burning?" -- 50th anniversary special. You need to have seen several backstory episodes of Green Jacket to get the full effect. However, with that caveat, MANY MANY FEELS, absolutely worth it. Lupin gets bounced through time, being put into positions where he alters his own history and fucks up his friends' lives. All of the found family feels, ALL OF THEM, I could probably pull together a non-spoilery list of What You Should See First if you're interested. Also there's a fucking amazing slightly AU Jigen/Zenigata fanfic based on the part right before the ending, which I just cannot say enough good things about, that thing is fucking Art.

(Look, disabled homeless Jigen was always going to hit me right in the feels for personal reasons, okay? ANYWAY.)

Uh. I don't think I've actually seen anything else yet, only gifsets. Hey fandom, any recommendations for "if you liked this aspect of The First, watch this"?

#lupin iii #watching order

[dogtoling]

What is a Special Weapon? (a speculation)

So let's get straight into the post. (LONG post under the cut)

A Special Weapon is: - the weapon itself: a powerful ink battling weapon manufactured and regulated specifically for this purpose (Bubble Blower, Sting Ray, Inkstrike, Inkzooka etc.) OR - a specialized attack or response treated as a special weapon (Kraken, Splashdown, Booyah Bomb etc.) - Supposedly uses the Inkling's own ink - debatable, but highly likely based on evidence

Before we can get deeper into the special weapon lore, we must look into what comes BEFORE a special weapon. That's the special gauge.

There are multiple ways to fill up a special gauge: - Inking turf - Having control over an objective in Ranked Battle - Being in an underdog situation in a match (Tenacity) - Equipping a Canned Special What happens when the special is then activated? The meter slowly depletes, and once it is fully drained, the special ends. In practice, what IS the special meter? Now, when looking at the meter objectively, it looks as if it's filled with ink. That alongside its function in powering Special Weapons, as well as draining like an actual Ink Tank, can give the impression that it is LITERALLY a secondary ink reserve the player is filling up. This is in order to then use all of that ink as ammo for the special. And this actually makes a lot of sense. well now it's time to open a whole new can of worms (or weapons i guess)

CANNED SPECIALS Canned specials are literally, well, canned specials that make an appearance in Splatoon's single player modes as well as the Battle Dojo from the first game.

(From the splash screen of the first game, we can see that they are approximately the size of an actual tuna can.) Upon obtaining a canned special, your special gauge immediately fills up and you gain the ability to use said special weapon, which heavily suggests that the special weapon itself is stored inside.... the tiny can. You know, stuff like a force field, or a 7ft ink cannon. Or a pressure washer that includes more ink than the volume of an Inkling. Yeah. Right. So this implies insane hammerspace technology if it IS to be taken at face value - although i find it odd that there's not a single official art or tidbit of lore that acknowledges that inklings in fact obtain their specials from tiny hammerspace tins. (Even sub weapons and their inner workings make a tiny appearance in official art. Specials are never elaborated on too much, unfortunately...)

As an alternative, there is the concept of the cans holding a specific amount of condensed ink enough to power any of the included specials that you could then pop inside the weapon. That is not at all how it's implied to work, but it's a cool alternate explanation that makes slightly more sense - and if we take some liberties and assume that the cans are a LIIITTLE bit bigger, we could even argue that the cans could be THE special gauge itself. Looking at the special gauge, it IS designed to be round, just like a tin. I don't recall what it was modeled after if anything, or if it's just a coincidence, but food for thought.

Oh yeah also here's a picture of a NORMAL main weapon can that you can get at Kamabo Co. They have one for like every weapon type as well as some bombs which implies that weapons are oftentimes stored inside cans (although these might be bigger cans). Either way, the ink tank idea might be down the drain considering the implications of this one.

Anyway, moving on. Hi guys! I brought you guys all the way through that wall of text... just to dunk on that literal ink tank theory and dump it in the trash because there is another theory that makes more sense on like every scale possible. I'm so sorry. (But I also really like the idea of the special gauge being a literal ink tank that you fill up, so I had to include it, because it's not like it doesn't hold a lot of ground.) I'll get straight to the point. The other theory is that the special gauge is only a hypothetical concept created for the sake of gameplay and balancing, and in reality, it is simply the buildup to what I'll refer to as the "special rush" state of an Inkling. It has no physical value, varies between Inklings, and has no ties to actual points at all. Observe these bits from the art books 1 and 2:

1. Some Inkzooka trivia. Although the entry refers to SPECIFICALLY this weapon, it is very likely that the same is true for all special weapons - or at least the ones that primarily use ink (so not necessarily things such as the Bubbler and Echolocator).

(Ignore the random lines. Those are my notes lol) This Baller entry tells us a LOT and i mean a LOT of what we needed to know. First of all, the Inklings' ink output breaks the laws of physics there is no way a single inkling has enough ink inside it to even fill THAT ball at least 4 times the volume of its body NOT TO MENTION producing enough ink to fill one SEVEN TIMES THAT SIZE anyway the important part is the one where it confirms that Inklings produce an abnormal amount of ink while they are using a special weapon. Because the Baller was specifically developed for the purpose of containing all the excess ink, there is a big implication that the ink is originating from the user itself, specifically in the moment of using a Special. Then why is this? Well now we get to the concept of the "special rush" that I mentioned before. It refers to this state that we see Inklings enter when their special gauge fills up:

Their tentacles will glow, bubble up as if boiling, and they will look as if caught in an epic dramatic action movie wind at all times. This is when they're able to use their Special.

I think it's safe to say that this is "a heightened emotional state". As opposed to for example the Kraken which could be a repurposed panic response (if you haven't seen my post about that, that exists too) the special rush is likely a similar all-out response, although caused by getting really in the zone of battle. So to put it simply, a POSITIVE chemical response, in which the Inkling's body starts pumping more ink through channeling one's fighting spirit and yadda yadda yadda.

To put it shortly here; this "rush" likely evolved as a response to intense territory disputes or even hunting. More ink means more defense AND more offensive power. In Turf Wars, reaching this rush means that Inklings can - and probably have to - channel this excess ink elsewhere, which in this case is into special weapons that quickly gobble up all of the excess ink (with part of it going in the ink tank).

A lot of the weapons second this excess ink theory by including a heightened coating of ink across the user's whole body (Ink Armor, Booyah Bomb, Splashdown) or even rounding up the excess ink that's built up into an offensive endeavor (Splashdown, Booyah Bomb, other specials utilize it as ammo). Once all the ink is used up, the Inkling's emotional state stabilizes and the cycle soon starts over again until they hit the high mark again. (For a second ignoring the fact that it is physically impossible for them to produce this much ink. I guess I'm not ignoring it since I'm drawing attention to it here but it bothers me so much. My work is never done lol) So I guess this theory makes sense, but why is it inherently BETTER than the "special gauge is an ink reserve" one? Let's see the arguments for the ink tank version: 1. The Special Gauge is literally filled up with ink as the game is played. This is potentially something that happens as the weapon is shot, and some of the ink is channeled into the special gauge instead.

> It doesn't make much sense for this to be the case. The ink is being SHOT OUT, not stored; at least not stored anywhere visible and although you really have to have room for imagination when trying to draw logic for this game, i would really assume the developers would include a physical indicator of the gauge if it was meant to be literal.

2. There is potential for the Canned Specials to BE the gauge itself, as something that attaches or "fuels" the special. The gauge could be designed the way it is to reflect this.

> The canned specials are a weirdly inconsistent thing in the world of Splatoon, appearing ONLY as insta-fills in single player campaigns and the Splatoon 1 battle dojo. True, there are some on the player's desk in the splash screen of the first game, but we also don't know if those are for Turf War, or the dojo, or from Hero Mode. There's not even any for sale at Ammo Knights, whereas entire special weapons outside of cans very much are. Even if the special gauge isn't a can, it also doesn't mean that a can as an ink tank can't essentially serve the same purpose of providing the ink needed for a special. 3. The gauge fills up with a very distinct ink graphic, so it could literally mean it's ink!

> This one is true! But taking into consideration one thing; as a hypothetical gauge, the connection with ink is STILL there, as by the time the gauge is finished, the Inkling is basically overflowing with excess Ink. So rather than an external tank being filled with ink, the player itself is. 4. The gauge fills, then it's full, and it slowly depletes as a special is used. Basically the perfect flow; and a perfect reasoning for where all the ink comes from, and WHY you need to fill up the gauge to be able to use a special.

> This same reasoning still makes complete sense for the hypothetical gauge. The graphic goes up to indicate how close the Inkling is getting to the rush state, clearly shows when they are IN the rush state, and then the state slowly wears off as the ink is used. Where the ink comes from is directly explained in canon at this point; an Inkling in its special weapon state emits a crazy amount of ink - according to what the art book shows, more than like 10 times the volume of the inkling itself. Which makes zero sense whatsoever but, well, it does explain where the ink comes from. 5. The special meter being hypothetical wouldn't be good because it wouldn't be consistent at all. Some people surely get way more pumped WAY faster and use way more specials than others! No balance!

> The special meters aren't consistent to begin with, even in the game. People who stack Special Charge Up will sometimes use a special upwards of five times per 3-minute-game. People who get splatted a lot may literally never get to use a special once. Just like people's personalities in real life, the rates at which different Inklings would "charge up" can vary by a mile. And furthermore...

We see examples of the "special rush" outside of the gameplay!

Pearl, in the ending of Octo Expansion, enters a special rush mode seemingly out of nowhere (though you could also maybe say she might have used a canned special) after getting pumped to literally save the world. So does Agent 3; DOZENS OF TIMES, in both iterations of battles against them. They use a bunch of special weapons completely out of left field, take way more hits than the player and continuously use Splashdowns. This is because they're continuously triggering their Rush in the midst of intense combat, and especially under mind control, during which most of what they probably have is survival instinct, which means drastically raised ink production upping both offensive and defensive capabilities. But wait, there's actually even more that supports the theory of the special gauge referring to a buildup to a rush state: - Tenacity as an ability. This ability makes it so that your special gauge will automatically fill itself up if your team has fewer players on the field than the enemy team. This ability makes very little sense in the situation that the special gauge is literally an ink tank, as you're not actually shooting ink at all for it to fill up. However, as an emotional thing, a player that is also an underdog is SURE to be really giving their all in the competition and thus building up their rush faster. - Your special gauge supposedly fills up passively while your team has control of the objective in Ranked (I literally didn't know this because I barely play ranked ever). Again, this has nothing to do with actual inking. But what it DOES have to do with is potentially winning the game, and that totally gets you pumped. - Again, the inconsistencies in a special gauge. If it was an ink tank, you would assume the amount of ink needed for each special weapon was a very specific amount. Instead, players fill their special gauge at different rates, and getting splatted cuts down the gauge... again, depending on your abilities. Losing ink from a pre-filled ink tank that is being specifically saved up for a weapon doesn't really make sense as one gets splatted, but getting demoralized and frustrated when getting splatted makes a whole lot of sense, which would also set you back in reaching your special rush.

In conclusion: The Special Gauge is a hypothetical meter that exists for gameplay purposes; in practice, it only conveys how close or far a player is to their "special rush" state, in which their senses and emotions are heightened and their ink production is greatly increased due to a surge in fighting spirit.

1. When a battle starts, no one has their rush going on because everyone is only just warming up. Different people with different objectives and personalities may get their rush very quickly, very slowly, very frequently or only once. You get the picture.

2. As players find themselves doing intense physical activities, participating in tense combat and so on, they build up towards their rush state (likely building up endorphins, dopamine and adrenaline or the like), which increases the body's ink production. It is likely that contact with ink also naturally increases one's ink production.

3. When players hit this rush state and the "special meter" is filled, they can channel all the excess ink into a special weapon. Once the ink is used up, the rush subsides into a less intense emotional state, until the cycle may start again soon after.

Well, there's my thoughts on specials and mostly the special gauge and what it means. Thanks for reading yet another one of these essays.

#squidthoughts #splatoon #splatoon headcanons #special weapon #specials

[no-vamos]

BYF

Until I am legally an adult in the US I'm gonna keep putting this places: I am a minor, so if following a minor makes you uncomfortable, make your own decision ig.

I try to remain as conflict/negativity free as I can, but I have my own problems in life. I'll try to filter out rants/sensitive topics with a tag I will eventually create so you will be able to filter those out 😋

I do curse(?) idk I used to curse a lot but I tend to not anymore (?) but yea I'll probably end up cursing in excitement or anger

I'm kinda boring so don't expect anything amazing from this blog, bc that's basically all it is, a blog. I do reblog a bunch of stuff and basically treat this as my own digital time capsule. So yea

I have ocs! That I will hopefully post about! Eventually! uh yea I haven't really posted any content about them online bc idk I haven't felt motivated to?

My interests change a lotttt so if I'm randomly reblogging content for something I hadn't been a week ago or stop talking/reblogging about something I usually do, don't be surprised, I'll probably come back to be into that thing(?) quite soon

On that note, content to expect would be kpop, anime, oc/art, book, and life-related things. I'll probably juggle between those topics

I'll try to be active and I do genuinely want more friends, altho my skills in online communicating are..... below the bar I suppose. Basically what I mean is that I have more social anxiety online than I do irl bc I can't see facial expressions ig, so yea I'll try to respond eventually

To make people aware, altho I doubt I'll post very much on it, I do ship(?) idols. Now it's kind of complicated, bc it's less about me wanting them to date irl as it is I enjoy their dynamics and I think they make cute couples in fiction. This is why in my DNI I say to not interact if you can't tell fiction from reality, bc in no way whatsoever do I want these idols to be forced to do fanservice that consists of acting "romantically" between their bandmates. I have no expectations for any of it to be real, and if I am reblogging ship-related content, it's mostly going to be gifs/photos displaying their irl friendship. If anyone wants me to go into more detail on how I "ship" idols, I'd be happy to, bc I do want to reiterate that I am not a delulu, a saesang, or fetishizing queer relationships, I merely think the dynamics are great character-wise and appreciate the dynamics the idols choose to show us (this sounds super defensive, as if I am actually all those things I said I wasn't, but it's for you to decide)

if a scandal of any type occurs with a group that I love and support, I doubt I will truly talk about it on here. I do "knowingly" continue to support idols that have appropriated cultures, but I do not condone it at all. I have no idea how to "hold idols accountable" when I hold no internet presence and aren't korean/don't live in Korea. if you choose to unstan a group that I continue to talk about, feel free to block me and/or "educate" me (talk to me) about the scandals and the severity of it.