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avee-anne · 9 months

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Sakuracon 2023: Studio Orange Interview

(I just learned that Japan-A-Radio has ceased operations so the interview with the director and producers of Trigun Stampede is no longer in their website. It has a lot of interesting information about Trigun Stampede so I'm reposting it here.)

Submitted by djcruzmissile on Sun, 04/16/2023 - 01:22

Sakuracon 2023 – Studio Orange Interview

By Jun Hong Pua, Sean Cruz, Matthew Fu & Lisa Su Transcribed by Jun Hong Pua Edited by Sean Cruz

Japan-A-Radio was part of a round table interview with Director Kenji Muto, and Producers Waki Kiyotaka & Yoshihiro Watanabe, members of Studio Orange, the team behind Trigun Stampede, to round out Sakuracon 2023 Sunday Afternoon. Producer Yoshihiro Watanabe started off with a brief introduction.

Yoshihiro Watanabe (W): I mainly do the distribution or strategic side of Trigun. Kiyotaka and I are from Studio Orange but Muto is a freelancer so he's only tied to our studio on a project basis.

I know it's been five years in the making, but why Trigun again?

Waki Kiyotaka (K): There are two big reasons why we chose to work on Trigun Stampede this time around. The first big reason would be that we were actually contacted by the producer, Katsuhiro Takei, who is a big fan of the original Trigun anime, and he'd always wanted to work on another anime version of Trigun.

The second reason is that we had the opportunity to employ Muto as the director. He had previously worked on the Land of the Lustrous, on both the storyboards and the animation direction. For storyboards, he did episode seven. For episode direction, he did episode ten. And so, we knew from working with him that he was able to do both action scenes and really good "feeling scenes": scenes where the feelings were really communicated well to the audience. We thought that he could do something really good with this project. And so that's why we chose to make Trigun Stampede and to do it with him as the director.

Kenji Muto (M): In my case, from the creative side, it's more of an ideological thing. When I started reading the Trigun manga by Nightow-sensei, I felt that it had many themes that were very unique and universal.

For example, there are inter-species interactions, the issues of migration, and a sci-fi approach to westerns. There's many core themes that I thought were very interesting.

How much involvement did Nightow-sensei have in the production of the show? You mentioned in your panel earlier that he just gave a green light and said to just have fun. Can you elaborate further?

K: It started with Nightow-sensei, myself, the director Muto, and also producer Takei. So four people altogether, just talking to each other for quite a long time. We heard from Nightow-sensei about what kind of a person he is, what he was thinking about when he was creating Trigun, and what he wanted to cover in that story. And that's where we started. Building on that, we moved on to the concept stage. We had two main staff members working on that.

We had Kouji Tajima, who worked on the concept art, and Takehiko Oshiki, who worked on the setup, writing the text that would describe the overall concepts of the world. Oshiki-san is a huge Trigun fan, a fan of the original anime and the manga. And so, he gathered together for us a bunch of design documents, set up documents, describing the themes that were covered in the original manga, and also the themes that were hinted at, but not really ever explored. Then, bas0kind of a world text that he had pulled together and written for us, Tajima-san started creating concept art. His goal was to create concept art that would show the overall feel of this world and help us with world building, to envision what.d on to the planet is, and he took over a year working on all the concept art.

During all of these conceptual design parts, we were continually checking in with Nightow-sensei. So, even before the usual pre-production process, we're showing him the setup text and the concept art, and he gave the okay to all of that. After being deeply involved in the concept design, he told us, "Everything, from here on out, the scripts, the character designs and so forth, the regular stuff of pre-production, you can do as you wish. That's because I'm confident now that you fully understand where you're going with this, and I've signed off on all the pre-pre-production concept designs that you've done."

It's not like he gave us completely free rein to do whatever we wanted. However, because we had actually that much deep, intense collaboration at the very start, he thought that we knew where we were going with this, and he's also good with where we chose to take this.

M: Usually, when you're adapting a book, a manga, to anime, you'd just be facing the book itself. But, in my case, I really wanted to face the person who created it first.

I'm actually really glad director Muto can be here, because he wasn't at Anime Expo, right? There was a video shown of him drinking alone on the roof.

W: (Laughs) We were still in production, so…

M: Ah, thank you so much.

So my question is actually about voice direction for Millions Knives. There's the scene where he is rejected by Vash, and he sounds very pained. This is an emotional attack; the physical ones don't really hurt him. What kind of care did he take to direct Junya Ikeda during that scene?

M: One of the first things I wanted to show, as a director, was that Knives is an actual being; a person. I mean, he's not a human, but as a person, he's not just a simple villain. That's why we're all focused on it.

At first, when we started the project in recording, on Ikeda-san’s side, he still didn't have the amount of information that we have on our side. He couldn't fully grasp his character, so there are times that he acted as a villain. At those times, I talk with him and say, "That's not the type of direction that I want for portraying Knives." As we worked together longer and longer, he was able to grasp more of the Knives that we wanted to depict. So yeah, Knives is not a bit; he is one of the main characters.

My relationship with Ikeda-san started out from episode three, where he first appeared, and kept on track ever since then. And, I think it's because of all the resolve and communication, that we were able to achieve what we were able to achieve in episode nine.

I noticed some similarities of the designs of plants with the designs of Avatar's Na'vi. And, a desert planet and worms, of course, brings to mind Dune. How much of these and other western influences got into the production?

M: I actually grew up in Chicago, when I was really young. That was the only time I spent in Chicago though. Having grown up there, I was influenced by a lot of shows, such as Ninja Turtles, Knight Rider, and White Wolf. I have a lot of respect for western culture. I tell myself, these two cultures don't really have a barrier. I treat them equally.

As a filmmaker, I have respect for Quentin Tarantino. So, it's probably not intentional, but I think his influence is very strong.

That's quite interesting, because Quentin Tarantino is about ultra-violence, while Vash is about anti-violence.

M: (Laughs)

When we are introduced to Millions Knives, we literally see a million knives, in comparison to the original series, which didn't do that. How did you come to decide on that being Knives' introduction? Just to say the animation for that sequence is, it has a feeling of being overwhelmed and a little grotesque, because of how many knives you see. So why did you decide to go in that direction?

M: Thinking of how to answer that question is a little difficult, because at the time when we were figuring out how that scene would end up, we didn't really think of that as grotesque. I've never actually thought of it that way before. At the time, we were thinking about how we wanted to portray Knives as a character? What is Knives thinking? What is he trying to do?

And really, what is inside of his head if he's only thinking about Vash and the plants. He's not thinking about humans at all, or if he is, they're on the same scale as bugs to him. So, if they're in his way, he's just going to exterminate them. He's not really thinking any more deeply about any humans than that. So yeah, that's the first time that it has actually occurred to us that it might come across that way.

Sorry, just to make a correction in terms of the grotesqueness, it's just that there's so many knives. And now that he said, it's like him squashing bugs, it makes sense. And it looks more like a cyclone or a hurricane. It was in a very circular motion, and you see all of the knives.

M: When I really think about the characters, I always think about contrast, and in this case, the contrast between Vash and Knives. I think it was out of necessity to create that contrast that Knives came out like that. Also, with the name Millions Knives, millions of knives is the reason why Knives named himself that in the manga. I was thinking about how to visualize that, and that's the answer we have.

In the case of designing him, Knives had an incident with a girl named Tesla. You can see fragments of that in episode ten. So, when you see Tesla, you see her as an eyeball, which formed a very important, strong impression. If you look at his knife at the time, there's actually an eyeball on his knife as well. That image is very strong within him. So one thing about the inspiration is that, instead of a typhoon, it's actually more eye-shaped. That's not a clear image, but more of a subconscious image from within him.

And so, for the entire layout of that entire scene, there's the city of humans called Jeneora Rock, and the eye of Tesla is looking down the Rock.

You mentioned about designing Knives, that one of the design criteria is the contrast. The original design of Knives wasn't as contrasting to Vash. And, the new Knives design feels more organic, compared to the mechanical, man-made feel of Vash's design. Can you elaborate more on how you redesigned Knives?

M: One of the things about the costume that I wanted to do, was that I did not want Knives to wear anything made by humans as much as possible. So actually, his robe is made out of knives, and his inner body suit is from the space era. In contrast, Vash, everything he wears was made by humans.

Also, for the technological contrast in the world, there's lost technology, and there's scrap parts. So things that are made out of scrap parts have certain colors used to it, and things made out of lost technology have a different tone and color to it. The tone and color adds to the contrast as well.

I think the original Vash had scrap parts rather than lost technology.

M: The reason that Vash's arm is lost technology is that Vash's entire fashion is actually designed based on one concept: That of his relationship with humans. And, his relationship with humans is very strong with people originally from Seeds. People like Rem. There are two groups of people. One group is those that are closely related to Seeds. His fashion is basically based on that. And that's what led to the change. All the designs of the fashion that they wore, it's not just a stylistic choice. It's a visualization of their identity.

So is it a contrast between not just two, but three factions, like the Seeds humans, the scrap humans and the plants?

M: Yes, those are the three elements. I think Vash has strong ties with all of them, but the strongest is with Rem, and whatever Rem is a part of, which was Seeds.

I have a question for Watanabe-san. You're very active on Twitter. You're engaging with fans and sharing the story of Trigun. How careful do you have to be to not accidentally spoil anything and especially with the final phase coming up?

W: For Trigun, we did work closely and carefully with how the information is revealed. We can't control everything because we're just the production studio (Anime is a global distribution involving many languages). And there's distribution, and different partners. And this means that we couldn't talk with everyone at the same time. We talk domestically, with domestic partners, and through them, to the international distributors.

We try to make sure that we use specific languages. So for example, July/JuLai, how July/JuLai was revealed in Japanese was that it's always phonetically described in Katakana as well. We'd never really revealed the kanji, the Chinese letters, of July/JuLai until later, but we knew that subtitles do not work like that. So that's why for subtitles, promotional written material, and the written letters shown in the series, we designed it so that people will see different types of July/JuLai at first, and they might not associate it as other people with keener senses might, but in the end, everything comes to people who notice that.

The reason that I actually do a lot of Twitter is that it's more appealing to communicate. I think it's a communication to the fans. And anime is definitely a global market. And as an anime studio in Japan, we have a heavy focus on the Japanese market. However, I myself am originally from California, that's where I grew up actually, and my career began from being a staff at an Anime Expo as a volunteer.

I feel that community is a very important part of the anime market. It's not just about the money, it is really about the passion. And it takes the passion of the fans and passion of the creators. They're different, but the energy is something that's really important to be reassuring.

About making mistakes, I actually make a lot of mistakes. (Laughs) Not the information I tweet about, but I actually do typos and actually tweet wrongfully-written tweets a lot. I delete them immediately. (Laughs)

I do want to ask about representing Studio Orange. I want to say, compared to some of the other production studios, it's more transparent. The panels you had in Anime Expo, here at Sakura-con, and I think at other American conventions. Why is it so important for Studio Orange to be so transparent to fans?

W: So this is something that happened when I joined Orange five years ago. Something I talked to Waki-san about was that I have a lot of inspirations on how anime can be enjoyed or how anime communities can be built be extended, but I couldn't act on them at the previous studios I'd been at. I was actually looking for somewhere I could be comfortable doing so. And Orange was that somewhere. He gave me the liberty to do these kinds of things.

And as we discuss daily about how we should spread Orange, how not just as a company, a brand, or even choosing projects, we really think it's important to communicate. I mean, for communication, in the company, I am the only English public speaker. There's a few other English speakers, but they're not public speakers. So, I can't really respond to everything, but I try to communicate at least. I look at a lot of people's responses and I can't reply to each of them, but as a sum, I try to respond to the people's reactions.

One of the things that is not really highlighted on your Orange Presents panels, but that I really enjoy, is the music direction of your TV shows. From the Land of the Lustrous, Beastars, and Trigun Stampede, the soundtrack and the use of the soundtrack at the correct point of the show is brilliant. Can you provide some insight into how the music direction is done?

K: When we are creating an animation at Studio Orange, we use a technique called film scoring. Although we don't use it completely, we use what we call half film scoring. That's where we have the music first, and then we adjust the imagery to match the music and the scene. Because we're doing it in that order, we find that we're actually able to produce better results. We found that more emotion is communicated by both the music and the imagery matching each other. And because we do it in that order, we really allow the people who are composing the music to have a lot of control over the emotions in the scene, so they're really motivated to produce amazing music for us. I think that's probably why we get complimented on the music in the works that we've done.

M: As Waki-san said, I feel that it's really important about establishing relationships with composers. I can only speak for the case of Trigun, of course, but for not just the composer, but for the audio team, the mixer, the sound effects team, I was actually responsible as a sound director to direct all those people as well. Basically the relationship and passion that everyone feels is very much reflected onto the quality. And I've spent time making sure that the groove is there.

In the manga, Knives actually plays the piano, just for a few frames, but that left a strong impression on me. So, I put a lot of thought on how that can be put into this anime. That became one of the things that I focused on.

I really care for the beats per minute, the rhythm, the tempo. Those are the things where we put a lot of thought into, and I got a lot of references for the music team. I've said it in a couple other interviews as well, but when I am writing the storyboard, there's already music playing in the background, and it's my job to figure out how to convey that music to the team.

I want to ask about the character concept art by Kouji Tajima. So director Muto was responsible for adapting that concept art into what we see in the anime. Going from the concept art, which is 2D, and then taking it into 3D, there's a little bit of stylistic changes with that. With Vash, he's a little bit bigger than what you see in Tajima's concept art. Much more muscular. And, as you said before, organically built out. Can you talk a little bit about the adaptation of concept art?

K: We think of the concept art as more of just the capturing of an idea as an image, as opposed to setting the actual imagery and laying out the official visuals for the show. Once that idea has been put into concept art and shared with the staff and the director, the director can decide how to interpret that idea and how to carry it forward into the rest of the production. Things that we are looking for in the character concept art would be things such as distinctive silhouettes. We want the silhouettes of each character to actually be distinct from each other so they're more recognizable. Making some characters more muscly and other people less muscly would affect how distinctive their silhouettes are. Also, we think about what extent do we want the expressions of the characters to be actually deforming the CG models that are used. That's something that we would discuss when we move on to the adaptation of concept art?

For concept art, the main purpose is to portray the attractiveness of an idea. And when you develop a design, that design has a different purpose. The purpose could be the storyline, where they come from, where they are going, what they represent. Even though it's within the same drawing, the purpose of each design and concept art is completely different. So that's why there will definitely be a difference.

M: The concept art, it's basically this ball of ideas. From there, we look at what ideas we can distill into, shaping the ideas into a more concrete form.

One of the goals for Trigun, I think you'd mentioned, was to expand the storytelling, the universe, and I think you have effectively succeeded for the first season. However, a lot of the story plotlines were just to the point, where you just briefly touch upon and then move on. I think that there's more than enough material to have a two-cour, or 24-episodes, instead of 12 episodes. Is there a reason why you chose this length?

W: For the first season.

Yeah. And for the second season, is it going to be the same length, or can we expect it to be longer?

W: So just to be clear, we've never used the term second season at this point. This doesn't mean anything. Just to get on record, we've only specifically used the term "Final Phase".

M: The amount of information that's contained in the original manga is massive. And, when you're creating a TV series, the format is first of all different so you can't take that same amount of information and drop it into the animation format. We'd love to, but as the format is completely different, it's not possible. One thing that, as a director, I was aiming for, is that I want people to enjoy this show, in as many ways as possible. So, first of all, as a simple action entertainment people can enjoy, but people also can have the joy of figuring out the world. By having things in there that people can connect the dots to, they will discover an entirely new view in the show, and also people discovering the theme of the show. So, those are different layers I tried to create so that as many people can enjoy. That's the goal that I set and tried to accomplish.

I have a question about visual storytelling. For example, when you see Knives, he's shrouded, and kind of like a hidden figure, more, you know, in terms of the visual storytelling, versus Vash, who is very open, very bright. The humans as well, they're all very brightly colored compared to the plants that are more muted. Can you talk to us a little bit about your metaphoric or visual storytelling style?

M: There's the starting point, the manga, which has concept colors. So, from the starting point, what I want to do is to make sure that we treat those fairly. Coloring-wise, even though we're using that base color of the manga as a foundation, I really put thought into the identity associated with the color as well. So, in this case, you could see that Vash has red and green, very vibrant colors, and those colors are tied very tightly with his identity. In the case of Knives, that is the blue-ish color, which is associated with the plants.

Those colors symbolize a lot of their identity as well. And for example, humans have actually resembled Western, or more to be specific, the space frontiers. So, they're migrants. I'm saying that, but that's the base, and in July, there are more Asian things. So based on that, from the start, the base color theme was already set.

In the case of Nicholas D. Wolfwood, his identity is actually shifting throughout the series, within Stampede. He's fluctuating between Nicholas the Punisher and Nicholas D. Wolfwood. In the manga, he is already established as Nicholas D. Wolfwood, but in Stampede, he is still seeking the answer for his own identity. That fluctuation is actually portrayed within the color of his shirt.

If we're going into specifics, there's going to be so much to talk about. So, I would like to end it there. (Laughs)

We know that there’s going to be like a final season of Beastars, that's going to be a final phase for Trigun. Are we going to see a second season for Land of the Lustrous? Or, do you have any future developments you can share with us?

K: To speak to that, we've shared that we have been developing Trigun Stampede and working on that since about five and a half years ago. We've been working on it that whole time, all five and a half years, but for many of those years we couldn't say anything about it, as it was confidential for a lot of that time that we were working on it. That carries over to the other projects that the studio is working on now.

Of course, we are working on many projects, but we can't say much about them. What we can say here is what we have already shared in the panels at this con. We learned a lot, and developed new tools, while working on Land of the Lustrous, Beastars and Trigun Stampede. As a studio, we want to continually challenge ourselves to achieve better results in certain areas that are difficult for CG to achieve great results. And so once we find a good approach for these difficult areas, we use it going forward and all the works that our studio works on later. So you can expect that we will be using everything that we have learned on those works in our next work going forward as well as looking at new aspects of CG that we want to really pin down and achieve greater results with.

#trigun #trigun stampede

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stonechild · 4 months

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2023 favorites!

tagged by @venusmoon tysm ! <;3 (i am also not ranking but more so listing and recommending)

albums these are primarily alternative/indie rock

pinback by pinback (1999) // probably my favorite artist find of 2023! ive listened to a fair bit of pinbacks discography now but this is the one i keep coming back to. - my favs are hurley, crutch, tripoli, chaos engine, loro, and versailles

widows weeds by silversun pickups (2019) // ive known about silversun pickups for a while but never listened to any of their albums. this one has a fair bit of songs i liked :) - my favs are neon wound, straw man, songbirds, and simpatico

weird revolution by butthole surfers (2001) // a surprising love i also found this year! i was initially drawn in by the name of the band and the album artwork being so fun. again a fair amount of songs i liked. - my favs are shame of life, shit like that, intelligent guy, get down, and yentel

books i dont think i finished a single book last year.. lol.... but i can recommend:

carrie by stephen king (fiction, 1974) // im almost done with it and i feel it to be better than any movie adaptation ive seen. Its suspenseful and heartbreaking.

sex at dawn by christopher ryan and cacilda jetha (non-fiction, 2010) // im half way through this book i was reading over the summer. im definetely planning on finishing it this year. I appreciate it for helping me expand my mind on what sex is and what it can be.

movies a mess of genres and tones. a grab bag.

tar, 2022, R, drama dir. todd field main player: cate blanchet - dude i cant stop thinking about this movie... its kinds pretentious and has a mildly confusing plot, but i love it... i feel compelled to rewatch it just to gather more information i may have missed on my first viewing. quite frankly this movie is listed purely based on its unbreakable and mysterious hold over me. also its beautiful.

uncle buck, 1989, PG, comedy dir. john hughes main player: john candy - this movie was so unexpectantly sweet! i hadnt ever seen anything featuring john candy, and i found him to be incredibly charming and lovable. I also found myself laughing a lot and left it feeling warm inside.

contact, 1997, PG, sci-fi dir. robert zemeckis main player: jodie foster - this one is wild. ive always been a sucker for the scifi genre, but this one also tackles religion making it a very interesting look at the rifts and overlaps between the two. that plus the messages regarding grief, communication, global culture, and the hypothetical politics of extraterrestrial contact are welcomed. loved this one :)

fools rush in, 1997, PG-13, romance/comedy dir. andy tennant main players: salma hayek/matthew perry - im not much of a romcom watcher, but this movie is very cute! it has some issues of its time, but overall i found it to be a fun watch, especially with my boyfriend. in light of matthew perry's passing (i watched this not too long before it happened) i felt compelled to add this one to the list. him and salma bring down to earth and genuine chemistry to this movie that was very sweet. <3

tagging: @stinkbeck, @official-redhood, @moldavite, @chapelcarpet, @halfwaysleeping, @immuno, @soracities, @1ight, @eviltreespirit if you'd like :) <3

#thank you for tagging me! this was a fun way to spend some time today :)#also idk why the text is being strange i dont want to fix it lol #2023 #talk

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marley-manson · 6 months

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New Doctor Who episode reaction post in a pros and cons list. Overall I really liked it.

Pros:

-- That's my show!!! That's my faves!!!!!! They're right there on the screen!!!

-- Donna Donna Donna Donna Donna Donna Donna Donna <3333333333333333

-- Gorgeous TARDIS interior, I cannot believe it's an actual 100% physical set god damn, I'm in love. I think it's actually better than the old coral

-- Rose was a great character, love her. I think Davies did really well writing her as trans, the scene with her shitty classmates and Donna being protective was a great moment imo that was just the right amount of transphobia to feel grounded without feeling gratuitous, and Sylvia second guessing herself about calling Rose gorgeous was also a nice moment. Felt real but also warm and loving.

-- I liked that Rose feeling like she's from an alien planet isn't a trans thing, it's a secretly has timelord genetics thing lol

-- oh god the Doctor saying he's a friend of Nerys was incredible, amazing writing, so fucking funny, love that continuity

-- Shaun was great too, love his amiability

-- I liked the Meep being the twist villain, you could see it coming a mile away but I'm always a fan of these kinds of twists

-- I also loved that one of the hints was that Shaun's car wasn't affected by the energy weapons because during that scene I was like 'lol wtf why are their weapons so weak come on' and then 2 minutes later I got an explanation. Love when that happens

-- I liked that Sylvia chilled out a lot and is much better but still isn't a perfect parent (taking a moment before reassuring Donna that she does know how Donna feels about Rose eg), and Donna partially overcompensates with Rose because she didn't get enough praise from Sylvia, and Sylvia seemingly trying to make up for her unsupportiveness of Donna by being very supportive of Rose. Man I love how Davies writes people, yk?

-- I got teary when Donna got her memories back <333

-- RTD always showing the big dangerous effects of the aliens through the pov of innocent bystanders <3 Mainly the neighbour kid in this case.

-- UNIT's scientific consultant was great. I forget her name, but again I enjoy how RTD wrote her representation-wise. She does have a disability, she can't take the stairs and that's a plot point at one point, but she also has some awesome ways to help not just in spite of her disability but because of it. Again, a great balance between grounded and uplifting imo

-- Catherine Tate's performance as a half-timelord is just so fun <3

-- I really loved the revelation that Rose inherited some of the timelord stuff and so she helped save the day as well as keeping Donna alive longer, it was a great exciting moment

-- I was spoiled for the Doctor's line where he tells Donna he loves her and then goes 'oh do I say those things now?' and I was prepared to be annoyed at the gender essentialist implication that it's from ~the female doctor~ but in context it did not feel like a reference to Thirteen being more open, it just felt like the Doctor reflecting that this regeneration isn't exactly the same as Ten. I haven't seen Thirteen so I can't say what her personality is like exactly beyond some vague osmosis, but it could be read as a contrast since he just regenerated from her and that's the kind of stuff a new regeneration says in comparision to the last one. Which I dig.

-- I liked the psychic paper giving him a 'mistress' title and the Doctor saying "oh catch up." Actually in general I enjoyed the occasional Thirteen references, the Doctor was a woman, not anymore, cool. Good, light touch. I am primed to be easily annoyed at how sci-fi gender changes are handled, so I was pleasantly surprised.

-- Oh, I like that the 10 clone thing is gonna be an ongoing mystery over these three specials. I didn't like the concept when I'd heard about it (I was like c'mon can't we get Ten II up in here if we're going to bring Tennant back?) but it is the only way to have a Ten+Donna adventure at this point in the story without handwaving the aging and making it a multi-doctor story featuring 3 Doctors idgaf about, and it's def worth it, so I'm glad they're making it a mystery to be solved rather than giving an offhand easy explanation at least.

Cons:

-- This is on me, but having not watched the show aside from like 5 episodes in the last 15 years, I'm not sure which elements are RTD originals and which are from Moffat and/or Chibnall. Like the sonic screwdriver being able to draw in the air and create forcefields? I don't like that.

-- Also on that same note, UNIT's Judge Dredd swat team vibe? What's up with that? Not a fan, not sure who to blame tho.

-- But yeah this lack of knowledge of what came before left me feeling a little lost sometimes, unsure what I'm supposed to roll with and what's supposed to be new and cool. I'm hoping RTD does more of a clean new start overall because I'm not willing to watch previous DW for the sake of this series.

-- RTD's thing with... puns as (usually retrospective lol) foreshadowing? Always one of the sillier things about his writing, eg YANA, the Doctor-Donna being an actual thing rather than an idiosyncratic speech pattern, etc. Anyway he did it again with the binary/non-binary thing and I thought it was silly again.

-- Biggest con probably is that the resolution to the half-timelord thing was underwhelming and I realize this was meant to be a bit of a feminist statement but came across as gender essentialist as hell too. We're women so we understand we can just let the power go??? At LEAST make it crystal clear that this is only an option now that it's dispersed between two people and not something Donna could've done 15 years ago lol.

-- The editing felt a little off? Scenes cut off a hair too quickly, causing the pacing to feel rushed during a lot of it. There were a few good emotional and character scenes that had room to breathe ofc, but the action/plot scenes felt a little too crushed together, yk? Gimme half a second after a line of dialogue before you cut to the next scene pls.

-- Oh I was meh about the opening titles, but honestly that's just because I like how simple the old RTD credits were and these feel overdone in comparison. But that's a super minor complaint lol, I don't really care.

That's about it though honestly, I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. I mean I was vascillating hard between high and low hopes lol, but yk. I try to keep my expectations moderate, and those expectations were exceeded. Before this I wasn't sure if I was going to jump back in at all, but now I'm genuinely looking forward to the next special, and the next Doctor after this anniversary stuff!

#text post #marley on doctor who #doctor who spoilers

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bropunzeling · 5 months

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4 for marriage bets, 7. 13

4. What detail in marriage bets are you really proud of?

oh gosh it's been so long and everything is flying out of my head 😂 idk if this is a "detail" but i really like how i paced/doled out the questions and answers! i was working off a (truly unhinged) list from brides dot com of things to ask your partner before you get engaged, and figuring out which ones to ask when, and the slow slide of purely funny ones to ones that were more serious as the relationship deepened, and culminating with the question leon passes on (because he'll be too honest! he'll reveal too much!) was such a fun thing to work out as i went along. im very pleased with the overall effect!

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

i think about the werewolf dating reality tv shows from the ducklings werewolf au a ridiculous amount. i can SEE the lighting i can SEE a very bronzed woman sniffing t-shirts to find the one it would be FASCINATING and GROSS. also like great way to drop how important scenting and clothes-sharing would be without being too too obvious!

13. Are there any tropes you used to like but don’t anymore?

the longer i'm in fandom the less i enjoy mundane aus. i think they CAN be done very well and there are some ive really liked BUT a lot of the time now i either want something where the sports of it all is still a theme or just like. wild imaginative stuff like fantasy ir sci-fi or historical! ofc i say this as a noted lover of fraternity aus lmao but i think it's because it can sometimes be tricky to translate the dynamics of the pairing when you're writing in a mundane setting that doesn't ALSO have the stakes/competitiveness of athletics if that makes sense? again still like a lot of them if well-written but it's not something i'll necessarily seek out

#ask meme

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crystalelemental · 6 months

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I keep trying to post something interesting about this and failing, so forgot it: general thoughts now that I've finished all the I'm in Love With the Villainess light novels.

Overall, pretty fun! I enjoyed it quite a lot. Rae and Claire are very cute, and I love them. To the surprise of no one, I really like Claire, very much my character type. I was surprised how much I wound up liking Rae, though. I find her very...relatable. Like, the tendency to respond to anything serious and therefore uncomfortable with goofs, the desire to just be apolitical at all times, hiding insecurities by over-exaggerating things and avoiding disappointment by self-sabotaging. There's something about how she is that just connects.

The rest of the cast is generally good, but far less significant. Which is a weak point overall, I think. I found myself wanting a lot more of some of the side characters that don't do as much directly. For as right there as Misha always is, she doesn't contribute much, which is hindered all the more with her relationship with Yu, which doesn't get a whole lot of development. They get like two scenes. It's a bit disappointing, because I would've liked more of their dynamic. Similar situation with Lilly, who is my girl, and who not only doesn't get many scenes, but also is Possessions Georg, being mind controlled or otherwise possessed by every entity capable of doing so. Poor girl.

I think Book 3 was when, character wise, I started to lose a bit of interest. Like, we already had multiple side characters I really liked who weren't getting substantial play at this point, and now we're going to introduce a whole new set that are...frankly not as interesting to me? May and Aleah are adorable, I love the kids, but the rest aren't quite as interesting despite how many there are. It's not even that they don't get a lot of time; Philine, Hilda, and Dorothea get as much time as any other side character, but I don't really connect with them as much. Couldn't entirely tell you why. ...well, I might be able to in part.

I think Book 3 is when it became a bit much that every character was interested in either Rae or Claire. Manaria was excusable as the one hidden route in the original game, so like sure, that checks out in the same way as the princes. Lilly, sure, I'm willing to accept that, since Manaria kinda backs off even if feelings are still there. But then Philine's interested in Claire, and Lana's interested in Rae, and at the point Rae and Claire are basically married it gets to be a bit much? I'm not saying I wanted nothing but cute domestic wives like the first chapter of Book 3, but also maybe that's what I wanted. Because I do legitimately love that dynamic through the rest of the series.

For what it does do, I think it does well. The story's fun and engaging and there were multiple points where I was squealing with excitement over the recent developments. I think if there's one thing they did well, it's building tension. Which is impressive for an isekai where the protagonist knows, more or less, what's going to happen in advance. And it's nice that every twist isn't another stomp against the protagonists. I think it's pretty common for the twists to build tension being things that work against the protagonists, but just as often the story sets up some hint at Rae being up to something that isn't revealed until later, and it's a fun little hook. The quickest example I can think of is when May and Aleah are kidnapped, and they reference May having a bag as their trump card, but not revealing what that was until near the end of that encounter. Related: Ralaire is hilarious. Like it always shows up to save the day, at like the perfect interval that I forgot it was there.

The Book 5 reveal is...a mixed bag for me. I generally don't love the kind of switch from hard magic (barring the isekai, which I think counts) into a more sci-fi "it's basically the real world adjacent" narrative. But I think it's relatively unobtrusive? Like, once it's out, they never stop talking from that angle. But I think the way things work out for characters is still interesting. I love that initial Rei's whole deal was that all these cycles wore down her affections until it didn't feel right anymore. I love that they have an AI that's focused on keeping humanity going at all costs, willing to fuck with everyone here to achieve that goal; very Etrian Odyssey 2 of you. I like that, in the re-written world, Lilly has no idea what's going on but still wants the best for Rae.

I think if there's one thing I expected to matter more, it's tandem casting. They made a huge deal of this, and about how it links to the secrets of the world, and it...doesn't really do much of anything. It's pretty unexplained how this was so linked to the hidden truth of reality, or why it works at all. Or how it's associated with the ring that Torrid made. There's a lot of gray area on that one. Which is a shame because I do love me some magic systems. Related note: I love how the initial explanation for wind is "yeah it's like support I guess, don't worry about it," and then it's easily the most overpowered element, being able to project or silence sound, power up physical attacks, be used offensively, create a shield, dispel certain kinds of magic, and goddamn manipulate time. Like oh okay, wind just does everything. Water and Earth have some stuff, while Fire is just...fire. You do damage. That's it. I do like that overall proficiency is secondary to skill, though. Like, Salas' hypnosis magic is super powerful and dangerous, and he's only like mid-proficiency as I recall. I think the applications of the system are more interesting than the system itself.

The only odd bits from magic that slightly bug me are Dark magic, and the void. Dark bugs me just because it's better than all of them by default, and also because they designated Earth as the color black, but Final Fantasy rules say that should be yellow and Wind should be green and yes this bothers me. The void is just...what Dorothea and Aleah have going on. Like oh, sure, they can completely negate all magic used against them, or absorb that magic to create their own attacks. Don't get me wrong, big fan of Spellblade Aleah, but it feels hysterically overpowered for little reason, and kinda undercuts the significance of their whole discussion with the kids about how not having magic won't make them any less important.

As a last note, I don't think I'm legally allowed to just...not mention that yes, as many others have pointed out since episode 3 of the anime, there are a lot of discussions around sexuality and gender identity. It's very direct in calling things what they are, and it is nice to see things discussed so openly. I do think it sometimes comes across a bit heavy-handed, but then you kinda need to for people who don't have a baseline understanding of these things.

I think I'm running out of things to talk about. The short is, I had a good time. They're fun books, would recommend.

#I'm in love with the villainess #spoliers for the light novels #obviously #but still

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thisworldisablackhole · 1 month

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Long time no see. I have been extremely distracted by video games lately. Helldivers 2 has consumed the past few weeks of my life, and I also just decided to take another stab at Elden Ring, so this book took me much longer than usual to get through

Hyperion's format of storytelling actually lends itself to longevity though, as it's essentially a collection of short stories. This worked out nicely for me because I didn't have to worry about forgetting any details after not touching the book for a few days in a row. To sum things up quickly, the stories are shared by a group of pilgrims who are travelling to the Time Tombs on Hyperion to request council with the Shrike; the mysterious Lord of Pain and/or bloodthirsty murderer who's intentions are unknown. All the citizens of the Web know is that the Shrike holds insurmountable power and secrets. That alone was enough to hook me in.

Each character takes turns sharing their backstory of why they decided to join this potentially fatal pilgrimage, and it is through these stories that the world of Dan Simmons' immense universe comes to life. Hyperion takes place in a distant future where Earth has been destroyed and humans have officially become an interstellar species. Almost every planet in the galaxy is not only inhabited, but connected by "farcaster" portals (a technology passed down to humans via the AI conduit) which makes access to these planets almost instantaneous. These planets are part of the "World Web", which is governed by the Hegemony (because of course the entire universe is going to be ruled by one totalitarian government). Hyperion is the only planet that sits outside of the Web, and it's incorporation into the Hegemony is highly debated due to the absolutely violent, maniacal God that roams it's plains.

Time is a very important aspect of this book. Not only are the Time Tombs themselves very central to the plot, but there is also the problem of time debt. To put it simply, people who often travel in space ships at a speed faster than light experience less time than those who don't. 9 months of space travel for one person could be 10 years of local time for their family back home. This makes the universe quite unique, because as citizens of the Web experience time at different speeds, the cultures and technologies of past and future begin to bleed together. The result is a book where the exact time period is really hard to pin down. Descriptions of 19th century peasants are contrasted by space ships and laser guns, and it gives the whole book a really special vibe that is equal parts confusing and exciting.

If I have one gripe with this book, it's with the inconsistency of the writing itself. Hyperion often shifts in and out of sci fi genius in one moment, and then eye roll inducing space opera pig fodder in the next. Some of the pilgrim's stories are really imaginative and unique, and then others read like something I would have written when I was 12. I don't fault Simmons for letting his inner child run rampant throughout the novel, but some of the romance and power fantasy action scenes were just a bit too shallow. Regardless, the world building is so fun that even the most shallow stories climax with intriguing information and a foreboding twist that will engage you further in the plot and make you feel more connected to the individual characters.

Overall I'd say this is an essential read simply due to the innovative ideas and masterful storytelling. It's genius is sometimes bogged down by adolescent fantasies, but it's not enough to detract from the central plot, which is definitely meaty enough on it's own to keep you engaged. From what I've been told, the second book doesn't follow the same format of storytelling, so I am really excited to jump into it. As much as I enjoyed getting to know the characters through their individual sub plots, I am looking forward to a more straight forward story arc. I must find out more about the Shrike.

4/5

#hyperion #hyperion cantos #dan simmons #sci fi #books #science fiction

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thewarmestplacetohide · 2 months

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Dread by the Decade: Son of Frankenstein

👻 You can support or commission me on Ko-Fi! ❤️

Sequel to: The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Year: 1939 Genre: Sci-Fi Horror Rating: UR (Recommended: PG) Country: USA Language: English Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes

Director: Rowland V. Lee Cinematographer: George Robinson Editor: Ted Kent Composer: Frank Skinner Writer: Willis Cooper Cast: Basil Rathbone, Josephine Hutchinson, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Emma Dunn, Donnie Dunagan

Plot: Frankenstein's son tries to revive the Monster in the hopes of redeeming his father's name.

Review: Desperately lacking Whale's signature flare and sporting mile wide plot holes, this film fails both as a standalone story and a sequel.

Overall Rating: 2/5

Story: 2/5 - Despite some interesting ideas, it is plagued by inconsistencies, inscrutable character motivations (Why would Frankenstein's son, who wants people to like him, revive the Monster?), and awkward exposition.

Performances: 3/5 - Though the Monster's character development is gone, Karloff still plays him with striking complexity. Meanwhile, Rathbone's Frankenstein comes off as infuriatingly stupid, and Lugosi is fun but cartoonish.

Cinematography: 3.5/5 - Some interesting lighting and framing that pays homage to German expressionism.

Editing: 2.5/5 - A definite lack of fluidity.

Music: 3/5

Effects & Props: 3/5 - Serviceable lab equipment and storm effects.

Sets: 2.5/5 - While some sets are interesting and expressionistic, many appear cheap and empty. There's also a decided lack of cohesion between the castle's rooms.

Costumes, Hair, & Make-Up: 2/5 - The Monster just does not look as good—his costume is a serious downgrade—and Ygor's make-up is very subpar.

youtube

Trigger Warnings:

Mild violence

Ableist caricature

Child endangerment

#Son of Frankenstein (1939)#Son of Frankenstein #Rowland V. Lee #American #sci-fi horror #Dread by the Decade #review #1930s

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enteroctopusdarkysilis · 7 months

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Here’s my take on a batch of custom Nexo Knights minifigs !

Closeups and thoughts under the cut

So, in no particular order, the closeups, with comments and comparisons with the actual characters from the original Lego theme (also, because of Tumblr’s image limits, I had to badly stitch together my pictures, sorry-)

1) Mace

Pretty cool one, and the only girl in the team in the original cast, who also happen to have troubles because her dad is the king. But eh, none of that here, so she get the cool cloak I assign to any cool red character I can find (yes, you’ll see it again many times in the future). The overall design is pretty nice (mostly this face, the other one on the brick is not as good; the printed armor, which is from season 4, is pretty nice, and does a nice job with the large dark piece (coming from later Hero Factory sets). The weapons are from the Chima theme (and so is the cloak !). The hairs are from the only Tron set, which should have been continued as whole theme but eh-

2) Axel

Stupid and muscular originally. Well, now he’s got a Large Axe (Bionicle) to stand to his name. The helmet is all Nexo, but with some custom brew of mine, and so is the shield. Also, the custom arm was possible because the large chest has a technic pin.

3) Clay(more)

Not room much modifications on the base character (s1). The sword is from a season four version of the character, the shield is homemade with some fun pieces I had lying around. The two arms are modified from the Ultimate set. …which I transformed in guns…Yeah.

4) Aaron

Green ! Always had a cooler weapon. The armor is from the mech set, the chest piece is from s3-4, the Google’s are from the Ultimate set, and the shoulder thingy is from Boba Fett. I kept the original shield with some added pieces, which is made to fly (like with the original al character) but changed the face to give him a more serious expression. The weapon is mostly from the original crossbow, with some nice twists (the beam on the first image is from a ninjago sword).

5) Lance Whatever their name is now

Really a bad character : rich, 'very pretty', egocentric. So, well…I took the armor and made an entire new one. I really like them, but it might be because it took an awful lot of time to figure out the weapon (transparent white piece similar to the green beam mentioned above). Armor-wise, it’s s1 body, with a grey pauldron (Clone Wars) and a light grey kama (…Also Clone Wars). The hairs are a really cool piece from a Ninjago set, and the head…Come from a City ski set. But the orange visor makes it work !

6) Never remembered the name of that one

Original character is a very smart kid with not much development in the show. Well, firstly I made him an adult (legs are from a black widow figure), and then I decided to push the technical side a little. So, full suit with crystal swords, which works ! Most pieces are actually from the theme, except the red dots (Ninjago again), the crystals in the back (Power Mine [really a cool theme !]), and the helmet (City firefighters + Ninjago…again). It was the first one I made, which made me do the others.

I might get them in a diorama at some point, to set them against the very many custom monsters from the same theme (which were already much cooler than the original minifigs). In fact, most of the theme was really cool, the two sad points are that it was discontinued, and the TV show was…Well, it didn’t push much sci-fi nor fantasy, so I had to do the job.

Now, with that post I have finally revealed my three favorites things to do with legos : Dioramas, Big Mechs, and Custom minifigures (plus any Clone Wars related stuff, but it’s probably just as much because of the fandom aspect as it is the Lego aspect). One day perhaps, I’ll get all three of these aspects in one epic scene, but I have no idea of how for now, so maybe later~

#lego #lego moc #lego minifigures #nexo knights

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mswyrr · 9 months

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Ahsoka, ep 1 & 2 [SPOILERS]

I really enjoyed these. List of things I liked:

-Lighting, set design, costumes, everything was done so beautifully. It felt very lived in and everything had weight and history to it. I loved the design work on the ancient ruins, the map itself, and the way each location had a distinct visual feel. The framing of shots and mise en scène is often thoughtful and evocative. Film quality work overall.

-When I was growing up I dreamed of Sci Fi/Fantasy stories with this many women getting to be distinct and interesting. It's a pleasure to see. It's not absent male characters, but women's journeys and struggles are foregrounded.

-I'm fascinated by the two master and apprentice duos - a father and daughter relationship that is more formal and distant (IMO) because of the introduction of that (and what DOES Dad feel about Jedi??? I'm intrigued) - and then Ahsoka and Sabine, for whom that bond is about moving closer. Perhaps, in many ways, it is all Ahsoka knows of being family with someone, and Sabine (in light of her grief and equally broken/war torn childhood as Ahsoka?) needs "structure" and a sense of purpose.

-It totally works for me how Ahsoka is sharing with Sabine the spiritual, philosophical, ethical, and martial components of force training - that it doesn't matter whether Sabine is super gifted in the force. The force is with her, and within her, as it is with all living beings, and exploring it is a discipline that offers her and Ahsoka a bond they need and a sense of grounding that Sabine longs for. The power levels obsession is something I dislike; it turns the force into just another superpower, where only superheroes with super gifts matter. I like the Rogue One and TLJ more mystical pov.

-I thought I'd be all about Shinsoka before watching, but so far I'm shipping Shinwren [edit: I guess people are calling them Wolfwren?] pretty hard and having fun with it 🤷 PUNK girl/Emo Goth girl Enemies to Lovers ship ftw lol Shin didn't stab Sabine center mass - she hit her on the side and Shin's dad is reluctant to kill Jedi trained/force using people, perhaps his daughter is too? Also perhaps she's lonely - how much social interaction does she get with other force users? Esp ones near her own age? We'll see!

#ahsoka #ahsoka spoilers #shinwren #wolfwren #shin x sabine #my meta #star wars meta

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runicmagitek · 8 months

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NaNo is around the corner and I'm getting ready for Yet Another Keinatsu Longfic, so just dumping my thoughts here bc it's Friday and slow at work and it's been a while since I've done this. (Massive spoilers under the cut)

So in the game, it's mentioned that Project Ark is meant to prepare the 15 compatibles for life in the real world. The first 18 years are spent living in their assigned Sector within the simulation. The last 2 years are spent in a training session for final preparations. Due to the fuckery that happens in the game, the simulation is reset every 16 years after the Deimos invasion. Insert the events of the game here, where they finally break the cycle and free themselves.

However.

What if there were no Deimos, no Sentinels? What if everything ran its intended course? What if these poor kids were living their normal lives and wake up elsewhere and discover the truth? What would this two-year training program look like? What would be different in this AU, where everyone grew up in their assigned Sector?

Well, that's more or less this fic in a nutshell.

To literally no one's surprise, this is yet another keinatsu fic. It's very similar to WLYH in that it's got a bunch of angst and trauma recovery (all the more reason to lean into that comfort after all the hurt), but... it should be more light-hearted in comparison? Hopefully? It's hard to tell, because the abrupt shift of everyday life to "oh hey that was all a lie and now you need to get ready for the actual real world as humanity's only survivors" is... A Lot. And I don't think that's something anyone, let alone these kids, can digest in a single day, never mind two years.

Natsuno will be the main POV character, a) because I don't feel I write from her perspective enough, b) she's super fun to write, and c) I think out of everyone involved, she'd be the most excited about this reveal. She's actually living her sci-fi dreams! Why wouldn't she love that?! I'd also need to take into consideration a) what she did the extra two years in the simulation and b) the fact she didn't really have anyone else growing up, especially after Yuki moved. I looked up the rates at which high school students moved onto university in Japan each decade and for women in the 1980s it was stupid low. Like 15% ish, or so my research is telling me. So that plus Natsuno being Natsuno, I don't think she ever thought about higher education. Maybe she struggled with holding a day job. Maybe her parents pressured her into dating and finding a good man to settle down with and start a family with. All very Not Natsuno things. No shit she'd be happy to escape that and live this sci-fi dream come true.

But then on the flip side, there's Keitaro.

It guts me apart to think about how his 2188 iteration was aware of how long the simulation would run and being okay with his clone living through not just WWII, but everything pertaining to the atomic bombs and then the aftermath of losing the war. As much as I want to put Keitaro in a bubble and save him from this mess, if I'm sticking to this concept, I need to drag him through this hell. God, this is probably going to be the toughest part for me to write - this poor shell of a young man who has seen too fucking much. Which, again, is a big reason why the story will be from Natsuno's POV, because for the first half of the story, she doesn't know what he went through. She just thinks he's being quiet because he's shy, because maybe he's nervous or misses his home, because maybe he's like her and struggled to fit in due to being a weird nerd, so all the better to try and befriend him! 🫠

But overall, it's a very slice-of-life coming-of-age story that will probably read like a weird college AU. I just want to explore the worldbuilding possibilities along with what their relationship might look like in those circumstances. I really love their reincarnated soulmate vibes of always finding each other and always falling for one another. And despite the angst and trauma (yet again lolsob), I'm really excited to write about them meeting for the first time, learning about each other, and very slowly falling in love.

And according to my tracker and based on the current outline, the word count range is anywhere between 60k to uh.... 280k 🥲 it's a good thing I love these sweeties

#runic rambles #my writing #keinatsu #13 sentinels spoilers

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zhoufeis · 1 year

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What are your favorite dramas and tv shows? ^^ Are there any you’re currently watching or interested in watching??

Hi there :)

I didn't expect to get such an ask to be honest. The first question is kind of really difficult to answer. Let me start with asian dramas since most things are just them, I'll list the main genre/vibe since I don't know if you're looking for recs.

My best kdrama experiences: - W TWO WORLDS (2016) - rather serious tone, sci-fi/romance - I'M NOT A ROBOT (2017) - romcom tone with some serious elements, more of a slice-of-life vibe than a sci-fi drama - HOTEL DEL LUNA (2019) - rather serious tone, fantasy - EXTRAORDINARY YOU (2019) - goes back and forth between utter comedy, romance and utter tragedy, most people put it into the high school kdrama section, i personally think it is much more into the fantasy aspect) - THE TALE OF NOKDU (2019) - serious tone, historical/political with a wonderful romantic ship. The only Korean ancient drama with rights. - FLOWER OF EVIL (2020) - serious tone, crime/romance. - TRUE BEAUTY (2020) - light tone, it's the parallel line directingwise to Extraordinary You without all the severe tragedy and fantasy, high school drama with pure romance - A LOVE SO BEAUTIFUL (2020) - light romantic/comedy. Mostly high school, but they grow into adults. - DOOM AT YOUR SERVICE (2021) - serious tone, fantasy/romance. But beware, the secondary couple is absolutely useless.

My best cdrama experiences: - THE LEGENDS (2019) - serious tone, ancient fantasy. The show would have been better if they stuck with their 30 intended eps and didn't end drama for secondary characters for 25 episodes, but overall, good show with awesome messages. - THE UNTAMED (2019) - serious tone, ancient fantasy with politics, the plot is as addictive as it is complex. You must pay lots of attention to understand things. - THE LOVE BY HYPNOTIC (2019) - juggling between comedy and tragedy, a wonderful historical and political drama with a beautiful romance. - I'VE FALLEN FOR YOU (2020) - mostly a romantic comedy with memorable characters and actors. It started off in the most ridiculous ways and gradually became better every episode. - THE ROMANCE OF TIGER AND ROSE (2020) - a time travel / world travel show with romantic comedy elements. If you hated what Goodbye My Princess did, you will love how this show here drags all the bad tropes through the mud. A very entertaining show. - LEGEND OF FEI (2020) - serious tone, ancient fantasy. Badass female lead and warm, soft boy who is in love with her. Funny secondary characters and a nice character journey. - A GIRL LIKE ME (2021) - hidden gem. Barely anyone seems to know it but it perfectly balances romance, politics and tragedy. Absolutely worth a watch because it really has something for everyone who likes ancient dramas. - LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL (2022) - a tumblr favorite. Very good directing, alongside Ancient Love Poetry the best use of CGI I have seen on a Chinese drama. Cinematopgraphy my beloved. - WHO RULES THE WORLD (2022) - ancient drama. Basically, in the same league as Legend of Fei and The Untamed, but the CGI is better. - LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY (2020) - historical-political drama. Very, very, very slow-moving and utterly serious tone throughout the show. Very intriguing once you get into it. - LOVE UNDER THE FULL MOON (2021) - another hidden gem. Modern fantasy, very well done overall. 1/2 modern day dramas on my cdrama list. - LIGHTER & PRINCESS (2022) - the only modern slice-of-life drama I've sincerely become obsessed with. Serious tone, very good directing, outstanding acting and plot development.

My best Thai drama experiences: - NOT ME (2021) - sociopolitical BL with a serious tone and very memorable messages. Directing is spot-on and, honestly, a gem in the maze of Thai BLs. - BAD BUDDY (2021) - romcom BL with all the right messages and the fun you want to have when you wanna watch a romcom.

My best experiences with Japanese productions: - MY BEAUTIFUL MAN (2021) - high school BL (later university) that absolutely gives off an independent movie vibe. Very good camerawork and dialogue. Somewhere between very slow moving and sudden time jumps. First season is enough; the second season rather drags the issue the first season had already established. - THE DISASTROUS LIFE OF SAIKI K. (2016) - anime/comedy.

Now, western world things that I genuinely enjoyed: - WESTWORLD (2016, U.S.) - THE show. The best goddamn thing I've watched in my life, but sooooo complex and difficult to understand. Serious tone, sci-fi. - SANKT MAIK (2018, Germany) - Comedic tone, romcom/crime. - AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER (2005, U.S.) - Light tone, animated fantasy. - THE SOCIETY (2019, U.S.) - Serious tone, fantasy/sci-fi/dystopia. - SIEMPRE FUI YO (2022, Colombia) - Serious tone, drama/mystery. - SIMONA (2018, Argentina) - Light tone, telenovela/romcom. - JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS (2020, U.S.) - a disney show that isn't disney, but is supposed to be fun and entertaining, but somehow utterly destroys you emotionally, idk. - MIRACLE WORKERS (2019, U.S.) - Anthology, satire/comedy, fantasy. - FLORICIENTA (2004, Argentina) - Light tone, telenovela/romcom.

Currently watching: - THE STARRY LOVE (2023) - livewatching. went into this show wanting to root for the secondary ship, love them, but the main ship is destroying me. - THE JOURNEY OF CHONG ZI (2023) - livewatching. I do not recommend to watch this, the ML is a disgrace. - MY DEEPEST DREAM (2022) - i should really finish this one it's so good. Modern fantasy. - SEASONS OF BLOSSOM (2022) - a tragic drama. i should finish it, it's so good, but i do not want. - OH! MY SWEET LIAR (2020) - i should also finish this one, it's cute and I'm almost done with it. - HIS DARK MATERIALS (2019) - should finally watch s2&3.

#mischa for ts #anon #answered

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dnpanimationstudioclone · 2 years

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Sidney Pointdexter Redesign Discussion🪞

In terms of human design I didn't change too much but added a pretty HUGE change. A giant mantis sized one.

I Wanted his outfit to have the same feel but also feel more, personal. It's clear they were going for the 50's nerd look, it fits and makes sense dont get me wrong. I wanted to show his more shy, akward side. Probably didn't want to stand out, avoid attention. I also wanted to push both the mirror/reflection and bug theme more. The bug theme's more subtle though.

For the mirror theme, I added reflective surfaces such as his glasses and watch. I also added crack designs on his pants to look like mirror cracks as well as show his internal fragility, feeling weak and left with many marks from his past🪞

For the bug theme, I wanted it to be more subtle, I want the audience to be both shocked but also feel like it was foreshadowing. I kept his thin figure, wanted to make him feel longer, I also made his glasses show just his pupils with light to feel big like bug eyes. I totally see Bullies to have made fun of him for his "stick bug body" and "big buggy eyes". I also have a hair on him sticking up which moves like an antenna. Perhaps depending on state becomes more bug like🪲

Gave him sharper, more angular features to show he has hidden sharpness to him📐

Made his glasses squarer, shift based on expression in place of eyebrows👓

Kept his color scheme but added a light blue color in his palette to have him stand out plus blue can mean things such as calm and relaxing but also passive, fragility and sadness. Things that fit my Sid very well.

Added a sleeveless sweater vest over his white collar shirt. I see him be very sensitive to cold so I can see him in setters, cardigans etc.

Removed the bowtie. I feel like Sid wouldn't feel confident wearing that u leas for formal occasions, worried he'd be made fun for that.

Gave him black sneaker shoes. Good for running from bullies, as well as being outdoors to look at bugs.

Gave him a watch. To add the reflection aesthatic on him plus I feel like he's the type who likes to be on time like Jazz.

Gave him braces.

Added more head on the top of his head and made it more square shaped.

Changed his nose. Nostrils aren't visible.

For his Praying Mantis form, I was inspired by 50's sci-fi horror stuff, many being about creepy crawlies such as bugs. One great example is 1957's "The Deadly Mantis. Also, praying mantis are known for the art of surprise and overall look very scary and intimidating. Sid at first glance seems friendly and genuinely is, also has a hidden darker side to him and wished he could've been like a praying mantis and all of his tormentors his prey. In a way his normal form and friendly demeanor are both his nature and camouflage.

Gave him many sharp features. Good for intimidation and attacking.

Made his pincers, legs, eyes, teeth and overall complexion very shiny and reflective for the mirror theme.

Gave him very sharp teeth.

Made his hair pointer like antennae.

Kept the top clothes but with ripped sleeves.

Made his pupils slit.

What do u think? How would u redesign Sid? I'd love to know💖

Based on my Sid

https://dnpanimationstudioclone.tumblr.com/post/688093503095521280/about-sidney-pointdexter

https://dnpanimationstudioclone.tumblr.com/post/692794941498408960/how-sidney-died

#danny phantom #sidney pointdexter #mantis sidney #manny the mantis #dp sidney #phanart #redesign #character design #sidney poindexter

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swinging-stars-from-satellites · 2 years

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Hello! May I enquire after an X files episode? Like. Least scary/most fun. The tribbles episode of you will. If it exists? (There’s always one). I’m hoping to fall in love with characters in a lower stress mode for myself so then I will follow them into the pit of despair or sit in the creepy haunted mansion with them. Alternatively what is your absolute favorite?

oh!!! Magpie dearest!!! ok I'm going to give several answers, actually. TXF has a solid break-up of Mytharc episodes (overarching series plotline), Monster Of The Week Episodes (can range from light and fluffy to deep dives into the darkest recesses of the characters), and deliberately comedic episodes, so there's quite a lot of variety to choose from

I'd say that if you want a "Tribbles episode," I think Humbug (s2e20, this is Gurt's favorite comedy episode) or War of the Coprophages (s3e12, MY favorite, and one of my top 10 episodes overall) would be a good one. neither requires a lot of context for plot or characters, as they're intentionally written as a sort of break from the overall plot and emotional impact of the season. they're both very chill episodes, low-stress high-fun — however if you have a squick for bugs, War of the Coprophages may not be the best one for you lol. the premise is that people in a small town believe that cockroaches are attacking and killing them, and there's a couple scenes where that's exactly what it looks like, so fair warning. (WotC also has one of the best Mulder-Scully dynamics there is, because they just seem incredibly domestic and married the entire time)

however, if I had to pitch the series to you in one episode — apart from the Pilot, of course — it would be s5e18, The Pine Bluff Variant. it is a pretty tense episode, with undercover operations and some pretty dark imagery (the props department on TXF always loves to go full ham on icky things, but since it was the 90s it does seem a tad campy tbh), but it really encapsulates what the show is and who the characters are so perfectly in one episode. it's also one of the few episodes that doesn't deal with any kind of extraterrestrial or paranormal subjects, just simple human nature — to boil it down to its basis, it is an episode wholly about Good vs. Evil and what each of those things brings about. I've written a lot about it because it's both my favorite episode and the one that I think sums up the entirety of the show best.

and if you decide you want to actually start watching it, but not like... fully commit, the first four episodes of season 1 (Pilot, Deep Throat, Squeeze, and Conduit) are the true essentials and really do a great job of setting up a foundation of who Scully and Mulder are, individually, and what they're going to be as a duo. the first season is a lot more in the horror aspect of sci-fi horror, but it's also in a lot of ways the least intense season. I tend to think of it as "comfort horror," tbh, because while the vibes are darker than much that follows, it's also the season with (naturally) the last baggage on the characters and storylines, so it feels lighter at the same time.

I can give you a more comprehensive bare minimum viewing list if you want, but for now I would just say that Humbug or War of the Coprophages are good tribble episodes (keeping in mind the bug thing, but WotC is actually the episode I prefer 😅 Humbug kinda bores me bc the character dynamics are a bit flat imo) and Pine Bluff Variant is my favorite and my "sell someone on this show in one(1) episode" episode, so I hope that helps!! lemme know what you think!!!

#also btw feel free to send asks/dm me if you want any more details!!! my dms are always open <3 #i love talking about this show it makes me so excited that you want to try it!!!!!!#''the rain king'' is another good one though it probably needs a bit more context of the characters/plot #another one of my favorite (non fluffy) eps is ''ice'' in season 1 bc it does a lot for the relationship development between the leads #plus it's based on one of my favorite movies!!!! and set in alaska!!!!#anyway!!! really hope this helps and you enjoy these!!!!!#Lu rambles #asks #txf #magpie #soz this got long i ended up giving mt huge rant on this show shdjxhskfb love you <3

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goblins-riddles-or-frocks · 1 year

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Sorry not sure if it's okay to ask this, but do you have any reccs for fantasy or sci-fi books, other than the ones with Alina and the Darkling I mean?

It’s absolutely okay! That being said, I’m rather terrible at giving out blanket recommendations because I like to tailor to taste/what someone might be in the mood for. But here are a few things I liked in no particular order!

Book of Night by Holly Black

This is* Holly Black’s most recent, very highly anticipated release, and also her adult debut. It’s very on the radar lol but there was some negative rap surrounding it, that I actually found pretty surprising.

It’s a fairly slow building, character driven urban fantasy with a noirish tone. The premise is that the general populace has only recently learned that people’s shadows can be used to perform magic. The protagonist is a former teen-con-artist turned notorious thief in the magic world (stealing grimoires, magical artifacts, etc) who’s trying desperately to get her life in order. But then she finds herself dragged into the center of a mystery.

*was until literally two days ago, I forgot Stolen Heir exists

The Poppy War by R F Kuang

This series was probably my favorite read of 2021. It’s a sprawling fantasy drawing from Chinese history, with a protagonist loosely inspired by Mao Zedong. It’s notorious for being really dark and brutal, and it’s very well done but not a light read. That being said, I think there’s some uneven choices with the relationships development in the first book, and it has some debut clumsiness but overall it’s very good. And Kuang’s skill noticeably improves with every book.

Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter

I read this over five years ago so I’m not entirely certain how it holds up. But I remember it as a really fun urban fairy tale, bordering on surrealism. It’s a modern retelling of Vasalisa the Beautiful where the protagonist is sent out by her stepsister to buy lightbulbs at Babs Yags’ convenience store in the middle of the night, gets accused of shoplifting, and must prove her innocence by completing three impossible tasks or get *beheaded.* It’s just really weird and really fun.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

These are a fun set of novellas set in a cyberpunk dystopia. The protagonist “Murderbot” is a sentient android/cyborg owned by a bond company who sends it to protect contracted human research teams from potential threats. But Murderbot’s hacked itself so that it can do the bare minimum/spend the majority of its time watching television. The first book is really fast and imo the clumsiest of the bunch but it goes on to become a really interesting sci fi thriller as Murderbot embarks on a journey to unravel a corporate conspiracy and just figuring out personhood, who it is, and what it wants out of life, etc

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Sweeping historical set in alternate china with some magical elements. It’s billed as Mulan meets the Song of Achilles and it fits that description really well! The protagonist is a peasant girl living in abject poverty who, upon her brother’s suicide, steals his identity and hopefully his fortune, because while he was foretold to be “great” her fate was to be “nothing.” And she goes from taking refuge in a monastery, becoming ordained, to eventually joining the rebel forces that end up destroying the place, all in a bid to survive and achieve this ephemeral idea of greatness.

There’s also a foil protagonist/antagonist in a eunuch military commander, who, as a child, chose castration over death when the emperor demanded the eradication of all the men in his bloodline. And then, iirc, kept him on as a ward? And his struggle with filial duty to avenge them at the cost of his own wants and personal loyalties is fascinating. Overall this book explores gender, social roles, queerness, and misogyny in really interesting ways.

Empress of Salt and Fortune by Ngi Vo

It’s been awhile since I read this one too but it’s the first in a series of novellas. It’s told through a framing device, as a story told to another character. It’s again a sort of fantasy imperial china, about a foreign empress in a very unhappy marriage, shunned by everyone at court, and her relationship with her handmaiden. And their eventual scheme to overthrow her husband. These books are very short, and told in a leisurely fable-esque way, but I enjoy them a lot.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

I know this is the internet darling right now, but unfortunately it is just as good as the hype. The first book is like a space opera spin on a country house murder mystery. The protagonist, a foundling on a desolate planet, wants nothing more than to escape and make her own life, and she’s given the chance to if she pretends to be her most despised childhood enemy/ruler’s personally sworn knight essentially— they call them cavalier’s in universe— and accompanies her on an unknown trial on another planet. And then things start going very wrong.

It’s billed as lesbian necromancers in space, and like, yeah that covers it! The subsequent two books get weirder with every installment and the fourth and last book’s not out yet, but overall this is a really solid series.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

This one’s a space opera I’ve seen people calling economicspunk. The protagonist is a ruthless machiavellian type, intent on getting revenge on the empire that colonized and destroyed her homeland by clawing up the ranks. And though she’s relegated to an accountant, she intends to use that position to achieve her ends. There’s a lot of twisty political intrigue in this, though a large part of the conflict comes from her trying to survive as a lesbian in a brutally homophobic society.

The Diabolic by S J Kincaid

This is the absolute silliest of the bunch. But it’s probably my favorite YA series. It’s like space opera hamlet if ophelia was a super soldier. The protagonist is a “diabolic” genetically engineered to protect her charge at all costs, down to pretending to be her when she’s demanded at the (space!) emperor’s court. It’s ridiculous but fun, the second book is the best in the series imo, and the third book is… fine if rather weird. It’s an entertaining brain off kind of read.

#okay but the thing is… I actually would not recommend the books with the darkling and alina shdhdgdd #book talk #fantasy #sci fi #bookblr #all the bendy punctuations #a mysterious stranger has appeared #i ramble sometimes

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