#could i make a higher quality version of this? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

eloise-t-g · 6 days

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i think for me, the watcher situation comes down to this:

it's absolutely respectable that the watcher team wants to grow and produce better quality content. it's respectable that they don't want to stagnate and end up pushing the same content out over and over again. that's not satisfying for them creatively, i get that.

however, if higher quality, more heavily produced content is not what your fans are asking for, then you can't ask them to fund it.

this all-or-nothing method they've gone for is frankly bizarre. it feels like they leap-frogged all other alternatives to improving their finances and ended up here, alienating and frustrating the majority of their fanbase (the fanbase they thanked for getting them to where they are).

i think this could have gone a lot better if they:

Hadn't hyped up this video for a week.

Hadn't announced the worth it successor just beforehand.

Hadn't put out a wishy-washy, "boo hoo we're so sad about this", over-produced video.

Hadn't made it $6/month (more in a lot of countries given exchange rates).

Had considered that this means fans in specific countries literally cannot pay for the subscription due to geo/region-locking.

my ideas for improving their funds, aka things they could have tried before blowing their brand up: create their own website with two options - a free version with ads and a paid version without ads, OR make better use of their patreon/make their website extra content, not all their content, for example:

Put the ghost file debriefs on there.

Put shows like survival mode on there (or even shift that show from pre-recorded video to live-stream - live stream access to patrons and VOD access to everyone, maybe).

Put episode commentaries there.

Do reaction videos to their old buzzfeed content, talk about memories and BTS, and put that there.

Put one/two episodes of each show, per season on there (and ONLY there).

Put the episodes up there a few days early.

Make specific, website only content (that's not your main and most popular series aka ghost files and puppet history).

Record the live, in-person shows and put those VODs up there.

EDIT (thought of something else lmao): put extended or even uncut versions of ghost files on there. Paranormal Detour on Detune's twitch channel has shown that people will willingly sit through 6+ hours of a ghost investigation.

EDIT: idk, do livestreams once a week where you watch scary movies with fans on discord or twitch.

(side note: the fact that they're not taking down their patreon and instead shifting all of their podcast content on there, something the patreons who have been loyally giving them money for years didn't ask for, is ridiculous and greedy. add to this the fact that they don't even get a free sub to the new website, instead get 40% off - a measly 10% more than anyone else who subs before the official launch).

the thing for me is that they're claiming they want to make "television" and "television-grade content". that's completely fine. what's not completely fine is acting like your four episodes a month is equal to netflix's entire catalogue.

this really felt like it should have been something they told us they were progressing towards, not something they revealed to be on the imminent horizon. idk, it just feels out of nowhere. no, they don't owe us all of the info about their company. but something had to be better than this.

final thought - it's okay and valid to be upset at the team for this. for a lot of people, it's a complete betrayal (especially the comment that $6 a month is something "anyone and everyone can afford", i mean yikes). i do think some people's anger got the best of them, and some of the comments i've seen across youtube, twitter, and tumblr are plain bullying, racism, and harassment. until we have the whole story, we can't decide that one founder (aka steven in a lot of people's minds) is solely responsible. i know a lot of these awful things are only coming from a small minority of the fandom, but they still get seen.

at the end of the day, all three of them got up in front of a camera and made this video, together. that can only lead us to the conclusion that they made this decision together. acting like these men in their 30s couldn't stand up against it if they truly wanted to, is so strange and parasocial lmao.

tl;dr there were much better ways of going about this announcement, if it even needed to be made at all. however, that doesn't excuse the hateful shit being spewed at the team. for now, all we know is the three founders decided they were done with youtube, and done with their loyal youtube audience.

(i have so many more thoughts on this but i need to stop lmao. however i do wonder how different things could have been if 1. they had hired someone with actual business experience as their CEO from the jump, and 2. this video was more of a "hey we're broke! this is a last-ditch effort to save our company!". guess those questions will remain ... well ... you know ...).

#watcher #ryan bergara #steven lim #shane madej #buzzfeed unsolved #unsolved #worth it

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mcflymemes · 6 months

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AS SAID BY DORIAN PAVUS * assorted dialogue from dragon age inquisition, updated version

i don't care what they think about me. i care what they think about us.

i like you. more than i should. more than might be wise.

discretion isn't your thing, is it?

all this dancing, politics, and murder makes me a bit homesick.

i suppose it really depends. how bad do you want to be?

living a lie... it festers inside of you, like poison.

i'm a man of many talents. what can i say?

the moment i saw you, i thought "there's a man who knows quality."

if you don't come through this, i swear i'll kill you.

i'm curious where this goes, you and i. we've had fun. perfectly reasonable to leave it here.

here is my proposal: we dispense with the chitchat and move on to something more primal.

i tease you too much, i know.

i'll have to find something we can do that doesn't involve teasing.

time to drink myself into a stupor. it's been that sort of day.

i see you enjoy playing with fire.

i like playing hard to get.

i'm not suggesting we venture into mutual domesticity.

if it's a trap, we escape and kill everyone. you're good at that.

talk to me. let me hear how mystified you are by my anger.

oh, i'm not arguing. just pointing out the ridiculously obvious.

if you choose to leave your door unlocked like a savage, i may or may not come.

now... what was i talking about? ah, yes. me.

i am apparently an incredible ass at accepting gifts.

i prefer the company of men.

would you prefer me bound and leashed?

sometimes the ones you love are also the ones who disappoint you the most.

you are the man i love, [name]. nothing will truly keep us apart.

the things you ask are just... very personal.

sometimes... love isn't enough.

there will always be an "us." we'll just be... farther apart, for a time.

i had no idea something like you was possible.

i'm imagining what you would look like in a dress.

i've never seen you smile so much!

i have no idea what you're talking about.

you stand there, flexing your muscles, huffing like some beast of burden with no thought save conquest.

you're shaping the world for good or ill. how could i aspire to do any less?

my footsies are freezing, thank you.

don't you ever bathe?

you're not suggesting we're similar.

watch where you're pointing that thing!

i'm not wearing a skirt.

it's significantly more impressive than hitting them with a sharp piece of metal.

i only meant to say i'm very sorry for your loss.

we can continue this dance forever, if you wish.

i'm saying we should be careful what we assume when it comes to such matters.

demons don't appreciate a man with good hair.

what i wouldn't give for some proper wine.

your outfit's entertaining. i'll give you that.

he had to leave early on account of assassination.

it's nice to know you have friends.

i'm here to do what is right.

come on, just answer the question.

they were asking me about you. personal things.

you said we'd be ass-deep in trouble. this is more like knee-high.

so what's your estimation? think we can win?

you can't call me pampered. nobody's peeled a grape for me in weeks.

you startled me. you're always so... nondescript.

you're a special and unique snowflake. live the dream.

i wanted to see you make flowers bloom with your song. just once.

you've done a lot less dancing naked in the moonlight than expected.

i've never seen anyone in this part of the world do it.

i realize there's more to you than that.

have i offended you?

for hating the outdoors, you sure seem to like bad weather.

i can't figure you out, [name].

you don't play their stupid game, they send an assassin or three your way.

i can't believe you're scared of magic.

i'm going to take that as a compliment.

still don't like me, [name]? after all this time?

[name], i owe you an apology.

i suspect people will use any excuse to hate us.

why be ashamed? power should be respected, not swept under the carpet.

maybe you're not a complete moron.

i just need to know you're capable of higher thought. for my own comfort.

it would take work. and soap. lots and lots of soap.

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daydream-cement · 9 months

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At The Drive-In (NSFW)

Miranda Hilmarson x Reader

Miranda's plans to make her girlfriend's first time special.

Author's Note: I have no clue what compelled me to write this.

Miranda felt wrong for it, but after nearly a year of dating you, she was tired of waiting to have sex. The wait to have sex was mostly the blonde’s doing as it was her own way of showing you that she was there for you and you only.

Kisses were lingering long enough to initiate long bouts of making-out on the constable’s couch. Make-out sessions that the blonde was positive she could feel you grinding against her thigh as the intensity of the kisses increased. Miranda craved your touch to the point she had been daydreaming of this date for weeks.

The drive-in theater had been pointed out by you on a previous date and the constable had been looking at the movie showings for weeks to find something neither of you would want to actually watch. Miranda had been planning for it to be a bit of a romantic excursion, seeing as the Hollywood version of a drive-in usually meant making out.

---

Miranda had been holding this question in the back of her mind for nearly 15 minutes. The movie only serving as background noise to her thoughts. It felt brazen and inappropriate to ask, but she hoped it suggested the desire she had for you. “Would you like to sit in the back with me?”

“In the back?” Your response was automatic from an initial confusion as it would be harder to see the movie from the back. As you considered the question, you realized Miranda was more interested in spending some quality time with you rather than watching the movie.

“Yeah.” Miranda felt like she could be sick, but there was no way she could initiate intimacy if she wasn’t willing to ask for it.

There was a brief pause from you as you considered all of the pent up desire you felt for Miranda and the potential there was for you to finally release it all. “Oh... Yes, please.”

It felt incredibly embarrassing for the constable as she opened her car door and circled back into the back seat. She felt her ears burning and she clenched her fists a few times to chase away the feeling of them starting to shake. You followed suit and slid into the other side of the backseat, your own heart beating like a scared rabbit.

The air was thick with desire, masking itself as unbearable awkwardness.

You shifted closer together, but there was a timidness to you that caused Miranda to swallow her nerves and take the lead. The constable’s tone was gentle and loving and her hands tentative as she waited for permission before taking any liberties.

“Would you like to sit in my lap?” Miranda asked, her hands drifting gently over your thighs.

“Mhmm..” You hummed, crawling your way towards the blonde as the constable placed both of her hands on your sides. She brought you to rest in her lap, straddling her thighs.

In spite of her better instincts, Miranda allowed her hands to shift, stopping at the cusp of your ass. Her fingers swiped back and forth, enjoying the texture of your jeans against the pads of her fingers. You sucked in a breath, not expecting this level of manhandling from Miranda and shocked at how much you loved it.

“You’re very beautiful…” Miranda mumbled as the grip of her hands tightened and she pulled you against her, putting her mouth level at your neck and collarbone. Only if your damned turtleneck weren’t in the way. The constable’s hands trailed over your ass and up her back, her fingers slipping under your sweater and pausing, “Is this okay?”

“Yes.” You squeaked, the speedy pacing being a dramatic change from the blonde’s usual behavior.

“How about this?” Miranda asked as her hands moved higher, beginning to expose your midriff.

“Y-yes.” You stuttered, your arms beginning to lift away from the blonde’s shoulders to provide her with permission to remove your sweater.

The awareness that you being more undressed than she hit the blonde suddenly. The constable stopped, retracting her hands back to her own shirt, lifting it up over her head. She revealed a simple black bra to you.

You settled her hips down against the blonde’s thighs and leaned forward, pressing your lips to the blonde’s. The constable tossed her shirt to the side and began lifting your sweater once more. There was no need for the blonde to ask if her motions were okay as you broke your kiss to help lift the sweater up over your head.

You felt as if there was a faint glow to your chest that only burned brighter when the blonde’s mouth made contact with your neck. Between tastes and kisses, Miranda continued muttering how beautiful she found you to be. Your head was spinning, never had you experienced a sensation that felt as good as this. In order to ground yourself, you gripped the blonde’s shoulders, whimpering as you felt the blonde’s shoulder muscles bulge under your fingertips.

The constable felt insatiable as her lips drifted across your skin. Sinking to the swell of your breast, the blonde pressed a kiss to both of the mounds before gazing back up at you. “Is this okay? Do you want me to keep going or to slow down?”

“Keep… keep going, please.” You whined, your lips dipping back down to capture the blonde’s once more.

The kissing intensified as tongues swept against one another. Miranda went as far as softly chewing on your bottom lip causing you to shudder as a bolt of lightning coursed through your body. Arousal began pooling between your legs, instinct propelling you to push your hips down against Miranda’s thigh.

Miranda’s right hand kept splayed on your back while her left drifted around to the button of your pants. She was panting hard, the kisses taking her breath away, “Do… do you… want to, uh… take your pants off?”

You nodded frantically, pulling away before pressing a few more desperate kisses to Miranda’s lips. The suddenness of the kisses made the constable laugh, and the laughs only seemed to continue at the clumsiness as you attempted to maneuver the backseat as you removed your pants. Your own giggles mixed with the blonde’s as you moved around one another, Miranda focused on keeping you from hitting your head or falling off the back seat.

Through the darkness of the car, Miranda groaned at the faint sight of your underwear. The urges from deep inside the constable got the best of her, her strong hands holding you tight as she guided you to lay back against the cushion of the back seat. Wordlessly, the blonde took a more uncomfortable position with one knee pressing to the floor of the car as her other wedged itself between your legs.

In spite of her forceful movements, the blonde’s words were as gentle and caring as ever. “Is this okay? I’d love to touch you if you would let me.”

You whimpered in response, twisting your body as your hips searched for Miranda’s leg to grind against once more.

“I’m sorry, baby, but I need you to say it… I need you to tell me what you want.” Miranda couldn’t believe the way her voice turned sultry and apparently neither could you, seeing as you sucked in a breath at the command.

“I want you to touch me, please.” You begged, your voice hoarse as your mouth went completely dry. Since when was Miranda so dominating? And why on Earth was it so arousing?

Miranda wasn’t interested in teasing you, your inexperience brought a vulnerability that the constable wasn’t looking to exploit. Rather she slowly trailed a hand down your stomach, pausing at the waistband of your underwear to tuck her fingers under the elastic. Before fully pushing her hand in your underwear, she looked up at your face, studying the way your brow furrowed and lips shifted into a pout from your frustration.

“I love you.” Miranda cooed, tears pooling in her eyes as a sudden wave of nostalgia hit her. Never had she waited this long because she had loved someone so dearly. The constable couldn’t ask for a more perfect person to call her own and she found it to be an utter privilege to be given the opportunity to pleasure you.

“I love you, honey. Now, please…” You were beginning to feel impatient, your hips bucking against Miranda’s hand, pushing it deeper into your underwear. You hadn’t realized the semi-emotional moment from the constable, but the neediness of you brought the blonde back to the moment.

Following your soft trimmed bush, Miranda’s fingers found your slick heat and whimpered at how wet you were. The blonde’s fingers brushed over your clit causing you to suck in a breath. The constable decided to fully focus on your clit, knowing now was not the time for penetrative sex.

At the new sensation of Miranda teasing your bundle of nerves, you dropped her head against the blonde’s sternum and tried to stifle the moans that inched their way from your body. You mewled and clung to the blonde, your hips beginning to roll against the constable’s hand for more.

“Mir… Mir... Oh, Mir...” You called over and over as you unraveled in Miranda’s arms.

“I love the way you sound… I’ve been waiting for this. You are so perfect…” Miranda couldn’t get enough of the feeling of your wetness against her fingers. As she circled your clit, her mind drifted to how good you probably tasted, how beautiful you would look sprawled out on her bedsheets.

The sounds of your squeaks and whines filled the car, pushing the blonde to add pressure and work her fingers quicker. There was no possible way you could hold out any longer, your inexperience and anticipation bringing you an orgasm quicker than expected.

You pushed her face into Miranda’s chest, muffling your moan as the orgasm coursed through your body. Your hips bucked against the blonde’s fingers, both searching for stimulation and shifting away from it.

“Oh, baby…” The constable moaned at the sound and feeling of your orgasm, and withdrew her fingers from your underwear, not wanting to push the boundaries of overstimulation quite yet.

You soon began your own assault on the blonde’s neck and shoulders, hands squeezing at the constable’s shoulders and biceps, silently praising Miranda for her regular workout schedule. The fading elation of the orgasm you had experienced still had you on cloud nine and unable to hear Miranda trying to get her attention. “Oh, sweetie… The credits… The movie is over.”

You pulled your face away, eyes searching for the movie screen. “Oh…”

“Do you wanna stay at mine tonight?” The blonde breathed, sitting up in the backseat and pulling you up with her.

“Yes, please. I’d like to return the favor.”

—

On the front step of Miranda’s home, you were losing patience, your hands slipping around Miranda’s waist grasping for her belt buckle. The blonde chuckled and teased by pushing her ass back into you, her hands working diligently to unlock the front door. She opened the door and propped it open with her knee and manhandled you into her arms, lifting you so you could wrap your legs around Miranda’s waist.

“The couch or the bedroom?” Miranda purred, a strong hand cupping your ass while the other maneuvered in the door.

Your breath quivered at the return of Miranda’s brazenness. If this was the blonde’s intimate and sexual side, you were ready for more. The constable was always so gentle and sweet, almost to a fault. This physically dominating side could be something you could get used to.

“Bedroom…” You huffed, hands on the blonde’s neck as your thumbs stroked the constable’s jaw.

Swiftly, Miranda took you back to her bedroom, maintaining her hold on you as she crawled into bed. The blonde laid you on the bed and sat up to admire you beneath her. A mixture of nerves and excitement churned in the constable’s stomach as the thought of exploring your body in a comfortable place came to mind.

Miranda pulled her shirt from her body, followed by her bra, tossing both to the side to reveal herself to the woman she loved so much. You allowed her eyes to slowly drift over Miranda’s rosy nipples, mouth watering at the thought of taking one in your mouth. The blonde’s overzealousness hadn’t given you the opportunity to properly enjoy her body as the constable began tugging your shirt upwards.

In a flash, you grasped the blonde’s wrist, preventing her from seeing your body in the light. There was something so nerve wracking and painfully vulnerable about exposing yourself to her outside the confines of her darkened car.

Miranda took your hesitancy as a sign of her own rushing of the physical relationship. “I’m sorry… Do you want to stop?”

“No, it’s just…” Your hands tightened around the hem of your sweater, the anxiety of Miranda not liking your form was overpowering.

“I understand if you don’t want me to see, but I’d feel so privileged to see you… to touch you…”

As always, the blonde’s words were incredibly genuine and loving, so much so that you couldn’t help but trust her. You moved her hands away from the sweater and lifted them above your head, giving the constable permission to undress you. You squeezed her eyes shut, unable to bear what negativite reaction the blonde might have when she realized you weren't as perfect as she thought.

Miranda moved slowly, her hands loving the softness of your skin. With some shifting from you, the blonde was able to lift the fabric up over your head, followed by you removing your bra, exposing your body fully. Miranda couldn’t help it when her breath caught, overwhelmed by how beautiful you were.

“I knew you were beautiful… but… oh my god…”

Shock and awe.

That’s what Miranda felt about your beautiful form.

Your hands now covered her face, fearful of Miranda’s face betraying her loving tone. What you couldn’t see was the blonde on the brink of tears, overwhelmed with the divine presence of your exposed form. She blinked away the tears, “God, you… You’re so, so beautiful…”

Rather than trying to convince you of your beauty with more words, the constable took to showing you how beautiful she found you to be. She started at your bellybutton and slowly worked her way up, occasionally poking her tongue from her lips and licking your sweet flesh. She made her way to your sternum and continued her worship, lips finding every mark and scar available.

As her mouth worked diligently to kiss every square inch of your body, Miranda’s hands kneaded at your breasts, delighted with how perfectly they fit in the blonde’s hands.

The tenseness brought on by your nerves slowly dissipated as it was evident your body wasn’t deterring Miranda anytime soon. After a short while, you relaxed into the bed and allowed herself to enjoy the constable’s touch. Your skin felt as if it had a glow wherever Miranda’s touched you, bringing a smile to your face. The same slow process of gaining consent followed by body worship occurred after Miranda’s drifted her attention down to your jeans. This time you felt much more prepared to give herself fully to the constable.

Hours could have passed, neither of you had a concept of how much time had passed, but you both felt buzzed from the intensity. Your breathing was labored as your body ached for another release and Miranda was desperate for a single orgasm. Both of you were needy in the way that you needed to be rapt in one another’s embrace.

“Maybe we could- Would you like to try something?” Miranda asked, her mind finding a solution to her little dilemma.

“Okay.”

Minutes later, Miranda had retrieved a vibrator from her bedside drawer and maneuvered your legs to intersect with Miranda’s, making you look like you were about to scissor. Miranda held the vibrator between your cunts with one hand, and brought the other around your back to keep you close. Uour hands held the blonde’s thighs in a vice grip, the jolting of the vibe against your clit driving you wild. You turned your gaze up to Miranda and were mesmerized by the way the constable was unraveling before you. The blonde’s eyes were squeezed shut and her chest was heaving, causing her breasts to rise and fall in the most wonderful way.

You dipped her head to meet the constable’s breast, humming when the taste of her skin was tangy with sweat. Her nipple was so perfectly textured and shaped that you sucked it slow, releasing it with a popping noise before putting it back in your mouth.

All of it was too much for Miranda, between you moaning around her nipple and your perfect body pressed up against her own, the constable found it impossible to last. She quivered and shook from her orgasm, drawing you in close as she came. You fought hard to come afterwards, your hips bucking and writhing against the vibrator.

You came with a loud groan, your hips falling away from Miranda’s to allow herself reprieve.

Flicking the vibrator into the off position, Miranda discarded the sex toy onto the bedside table, turned off the lights with the remote, and settled into bed next to you. Miranda’s frame curled around your smaller one, your limbs quickly becoming intertwined.

“Thank you.” Miranda mumbled, her hand softly tracing circles into your stomach.

You hushed the constable, your body twisting towards Miranda’s so that you could snuggle in close (hopefully so that you could fall asleep hugging the blonde). “There is no need for that. You are the most wonderful partner I could ask for. I’m happy we could share this experience together.”

“I love you...”

“I love you.”

#gwendoline christie #gwen christie #miranda hilmarson smut #miranda hilmarson x reader #miranda hilmarson #top of the lake #smut #oneshot

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yumeka-sxf · 9 months

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Spy x Family Exhibition Pamphlet

I got my copy of the Spy x Family exhibition pamphlet! I wanted to make HD scans of some of the notable pages and try to translate if I can.

First off is this great "Main Character Correlation Chart" (sorry for my amateur editing, all I have is MS Paint!)

I love how Bond has a different "bofu" (woof) for Loid and Yor!

Several of the pages show the creation process of the manga, starting with rough sketches to final drafts, using chapter 1 as an example. There were a lot of pages for this, so I just scanned the ones that showed the end of the chapter.

Probably the most interesting pages of the pamphlet are the early character designs/concept sketches. Most of these have already been shared by @sy-on-boy on her post here, but I thought it'd be cool to have them in HD! Unfortunately, even with higher quality images it's very difficult to decipher Endo's handwriting. I could make out just a few words here and there, and Google Lens is very unreliable when the writing isn't clear.

The first page has early concepts for the Forger family, Loid, Anya, the WISE logo, and the Eden uniform.

Things to note are that "Oscar" was a working name for Loid, as was "Yolanda" for Yor. What's also interesting is that a beta version of Franky is shown along with the Forgers. Unfortunately I can't make out the notes about him, but I think this has significance because of a sketch on the next page...

Most of the next page shows concept designs for Yor, with a section for Bond and Yor's coworkers on the bottom.

However, what's really intriguing is the sketch in the upper right of the whole family, titled 疑似家族 (pseudo family).

Once again, a Franky-looking character is with them, and he has the title "Uncle" (叔父) Was an uncle originally going to be part of the main Forgers? Was he actually related to Loid or Yor, or if that character did eventually become Franky, maybe he would just pretend to be Loid's brother? I can also make out the word "otaku" (オタク) in the notes for this character as well as "enjoying life" (人生を楽しんでる) Also in the notes for beta Yor it looks like 最強 (the best/strongest) and バカ (idiot/dummy) All I can make out for Loid's notes are 孤独 (loneliness) I think? And what's up with the older and more sinister looking Anya? She really looks like Ashe there. But these are all just early concept designs/notes so I wouldn't take them too seriously.

The next page titled "East and West During the Cold War" has concept designs for Franky, Yuri, Fiona (referred to as a female WISE spy), a male WISE spy, Melinda, and various assassins from the cruise arc.

The first interesting thing to point out is the notes next to the very crudely drawn woman at the bottom of Yuri's concept designs. It says "Yuri's girlfriend?"(ユーリの彼女?) though I can't make out clearly what the rest of it says. For the Franky designs, I could make out "tsukkomi or boke". So it looks like at some point Endo was deciding whether to make him more of a tsukkomi (straight man) or boke (wise guy) personality. There's also mention of giving him a high IQ (IQ高い). Also, the fact that the sketches include Melinda and the cruise arc assassins gives the impression that Endo had ideas for these story elements very early on.

But the character relationship chart in the lower left is really intriguing.

I'm not sure how accurate these translations are so take them with a grain of salt, but they do make sense to me. But I have to wonder why Anya and Becky are connected to Desmond. For Becky, it could be because her family has ties to the Desmonds, but why Anya? Could the "mysterious institute/lab" she comes from have ties to Desmond too? Again, these could just be early concepts from ideas that Endo is no longer using, so best not to take them literally. Also, the lack of Shopkeeper/Garden in the character relationship charts, the concept art, and the exhibition overall, really does portray them as a "mysterious organization" that Endo perhaps didn't plan out until later in the series' development and is still trying to figure out. But as far as this sketch, I have to say that despite how terribly crudely drawn all their little heads are, it's easy to identify every character...proof of Endo's top notch character design skills!

Another sketch that stands out is on the same page...

It's a very rough drawing of what appears to be either Loid holding Yor or Yor holding Loid with Anya next to them. But honestly it's such a rough drawing it could be any other parents+child. All I can make out of the text directly above is "My wife is stressed!? At this rate..." And the drawing next to it also appears to be two parents and maybe two children? I also have no clue what the "WJ4C 9/20, etc" at the top means. Very mysterious sketch, lol.

The next page has Eden related concepts, including Becky, Damian, George, and various teachers. The drawings in the bottom section appear to be an alternate/abbreviated version of how the Forgers met.

Pretty funny that an image of Franky is covering what's supposed to be a sketch of Demetrius. The text from Franky says "I can't show you this information yet" which is pretty solid proof that Demetrius will make an appearance in the series eventually. There's also nicknames for Damian and Demetrius in the notes - "Dami" and "Demi."

Some notes on the Eden page says there's 2,000 students in the school, with 13 grades divided into 8 classes/houses. The chart on the left is a list of teacher names and their classes, all of which are given names of colors. None of the teacher names have been used so far in the series.

And all that's on the last page of sketches is a continuation of the previous page with the early concept of how the Forgers started (it honestly looks pretty cute, wish it wasn't just rough sketches). And the following section looks like drafts Endo did for promotional material.

The final pages of the pamphlet are the new extra mission chapter which I already fully translated here.

And that's all I'm going to share for now from the pamphlet! I could spend more time trying to decipher the concept art notes but it was giving me a headache after a while, lol. But if anyone wants to try translating them, go ahead (I have higher quality png files of all the scans if needed...they were too big for Tumblr). And again, these sketches are just trial and error pre-serialization ideas that don't necessarily reflect Endo's final vision for the series, so I wouldn't dwell on them much other than for fun theorizing.

The pamphlet does have other interesting information, including an interview with Endo, a timeline of his work on Spy x Family and other manga, and his notes about random things from the series. So I might return to translating the pamphlet at a later date when I have time/motivation.

#spy x family #spy family #sxf #spyxfamily #loid forger #yor forger #anya forger #bond forger #sxf spoilers #sxf manga #sxf manga spoilers #sxf scans #yuri briar #damian desmond #becky blackbell #fiona frost #franky franklin

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absolutebl · 11 days

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Hi ABL! Can I be what I'm assuming is the 80th person to ask for your analysis about the move of Prem and Boun to GMMTV? Particularly, any thoughts on:

Why did the move happen and does it mean anything that they moved together?

What might this mean for new series with them as a pair and the potential to break up their pairing?

Are there any GMMTV talents that you'd love to see Boun or Prem paired with?

Thanks in advance for any insights!

BounPrem move to GMMTV

DISCUSS!

AKA Thai BL industry speculation, my favorite game!!

I am actually cautiously optimistic about this.

They're an ideal pair for GMMTV to get. Especially if GMMTV continues optioning Japanese IP. These two are beautifully suited to A LOT of yaoi. Just imagine them in a Thai version of Takumi-kun? !

Rise up Broccoli Nation... let's talk kabedons!

Why did the move happened?

From BounPrem's perspective:

I think they've been pretty underserved by their current home and that home is pushing them towards pulps (I refuse to talk about Even Sun and I found Between Us pretty darn disappointing too.) If they want higher quality narratives and content, GMMTV is a better home for them.

Also it will handle their brand better for sponsorship and longevity. I was shocked not to see them on more stuff in Bangkok. Most sponsor gigs and major promos and billboards and such were GMMTV pairs and... ZeeNunew

Right now there are good indication for pairs who WANT to stick together (even while aging up) that GMMTV can handle it - because of what they've done with OffGun and TayNew recently.

It's clear that GMMTV will throw a good pair at decent content (or at least popular stuff) pretty regularly. With GMMTV, BounPrem stand an even better chance at landing a prestige piece, since they have an established fan base.

From the pair's perspective, this is a good career move.

Now, from GMMTV's perspective, let's talk...

Does it mean anything that they moved together?

Yes, it most likely means GMMTV signed them as a BL pair. Some of GMMTV's other hot properties like EarttMix, OffGun, and TayNew clearly want to do (and have done) more than just BL for GMMTV. Even "second levels" like JimmySea are being split for het dramas. It means they lose their BL talent for a good potion of filming season, while they film some other property.

If GMMTV can sign a high value pair that's happy to stay doing BL regularly, that will work very well for them.

ALSO they've add a hot property pair into their stable that's on the EarthMix (highly commercial) level AND willing to do high heat. I think this is key. GMMTV has shown they want to move into sexier stuff (NC-GMMTV?) with things like Moonlight Chicken and Only Friends. VERY few of their existing pairs are willing to go there, and can do it as well as, BounPrem. These 2 do lust and thirst in a way that most GMMTV pairs can't (they are just too brotherly with each other).

I think this is a sign GMMTV want's to enter the after dark market, and move international markets too. (The higher heat stuff tends to be particularly popular outside of Thailand.)

Also, I think it's pretty clear some of GMMTV's hoped for heavy hitters last year (like PerthChimon) aren't working out for them, so it makes sense to onboard a solid bankable pair whole cloth at this juncture.

I said a while ago I thought GMMTV would make a play for ZeeNunew. I didn't have BounPrem on the list as a backup option, but these pairs are kinda similar, and fill the same niche.

Anyway, smart move all 'round, IMHO.

What might this mean for new series with them as a pair and the potential to break up their pairing?

I think the pairing is now less likely to break up than ever.

I think they've possibly been tempted to sign BY a prestige new series carrot. We could get something historical with them in it. Or, like I said, something Japanese IP. Probably higher heat than GMMTV has given us in a full BL.

Eyes Target the Finder thoughtfully. (It was VERY popular when I was over there.)

Are there any GMMTV talents that you'd love to see Boun or Prem paired with?

Like I said, I think GMMTV's objective in signing them would actually be the opposite - NOT to split the pair.

But if you just want me to speculate for fun (and piss stadn off), I'm always happy to do so.

First is great with anyone, so First with either... or both. First is like the MSG of GMMTV, always improves the taste of any dish.

It might be fun to see Jimmy paired with Prem. But in all honestly I really want a Jimmy + Khaotung thing to happen.

I think Mix has some BDE too, so I think he should play the seme for a change, why not him and Prem?

As for Boun, I think he's a little more dependent on the pairing. It's hard for me to imagine him with someone else. Lemme think. Someone with a very soft screen presence, maybe? How about Gun?

Heh he, now I'm just winding ya'll up.

Let me have my foibles.

#fun fun speculation #thai bl #bl industry chat #BounPrem #gmmtv #thai bl branded pairs #smart move gmmtv very smart

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luciddownloading · 6 months

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Tarot Reading: What Makes You Shine? ☀️

Hello, all. I felt inspired to do this reading today. Let's take a look at what makes you shine. What are the best qualities you have that people love, that people admire or are inspired by or want to emulate?

I am going to do this one a little differently. The first section of each pile will take a look at what this special energy is and then the second section will tell you how you can embrace it or maximize it.

Pick the image below that you feel most drawn to. Today's theme is shades because you should aim to shine brightly enough that any haters need to put on their sunglasses. 😁 As I always say, feel free to choose more than one. There may be more messages for you here than just one pile can give. (I am not taking reversals today, btw)

Also, know that, with readings like this, you may not exactly be the person described yet but Spirit could be bringing it to your attention so you know this is the potential version of you that you will or can manifest. If you listen to your intuition/gut, you will know if it resonates or not.

PILE 1

PILE 2

PILE 3

PILE 4

PILE 1

What Makes You Shine?

The Wheel of Fortune

clarified by: The Hierophant, Six of Pentacles

Pile 1, the Divine has your back! That's the first thing popping out here to me. What makes you shine is that you kind of seem to be one of God's favorites (God doesn't have favorites, of course. But, if He did...). But, this can also be a bit misleading to some. You definitely have high high's but you are more than familiar with low low's. I don't think the majority of people know about your low moments, though. They don't see the times of depression, stress, burnout, anxiety, feeling overwhelmed that you either have dealt with or still do. They just look at you and think, maybe a bit dismissively, "They just have it all!"

Well, the reason for your good fortune is that you are very, very spiritually connected. You definitely have intuitive/psychic gifts, whether you embrace them or not. I am getting mediumship for some of you. You also just have a direct line to Spirit. It's like you have Spirit's number and can text them whenever you want. And you're never left on read. The thing that makes you seem so blessed is that you exude such divine and high-vibrational energy. This deep connection to Spirit does get you through the hardest of times. I feel called to tell you that you are ALWAYS blessed, even when things are difficult in life. You may not realize it but you have an incredible way of moving through really tough circumstances and remaining firmly intact. Things that would break other people are easily bounced back from by you. Kind of like, "Well, that was crazy. So, anyway..." This is part of what makes people believe that you are so fortunate.

It's not that you're hard as stone or something. More so, you are just so in tune with the guidance of Spirit, your Guides and your Higher Self that you are able to clear a path for yourself through difficulties. Your Guides love you very, very much. Everyone's Guides love them. That's the point lol. But, yours are very especially loving and protective. They are helping you ALL the time, talking to you all the time, and you may not even realize it. As protective as they are, they are also kind of "hands off" or quick to give you space because they want you to trust and know your own power. It's kind of like when parents do little subtle things to help their children while letting the child think they're doing it all by themselves because that builds characters. For many of you, these Guides were parental figures in this life or a past life. Or a mentor of sorts.

You also emanate very powerful "mentor" energy. You shine because of how incredibly generous you are with your energy, your wisdom, your spiritual insights. I am sure people come to you for help all the time and the message here is to set boundaries with that. Don't feel so pressured to help others that you don't take the time to help yourself. What makes you special is what a guiding figure you are to others and what a blessing you are. You're like a "good luck charm" in human form. You may have personal placements in the Fixed signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius (Taurus is especially emphasized here)

How To Embrace/Strengthen This Quality

Three of Swords

Two of Pentacles

Five of Wands

back of the deck: Eight of Pentacles

Pile 1, I am getting the message that a lot of you are being called to be spiritual practitioners. As in, being a professional astrologer, Tarot reader, energy healer, etc. Whatever your heart is calling you to do! If you have been wanting to head in this direction but have been uncertain, this may be the sign you need! Even if it's not something you do forever, there does seem to be an element of fate, in regards to you doing spiritual work. It will truly allow you to bless and help others, to be the guide that you're meant to be. It will also be a way of opening up or developing your psychic abilities. There is a major urge from your Guides to do so and you might unconsciously use them through divination in ways that you don't fully understand. Becoming conscious of that is your journey.

You didn't reach your spiritual wisdom overnight. It took long, hard work, probably years and years. I think this is also telling you that your spiritual journey will NOT be easy but it will absolutely pay off. You are being guided to remember that being spiritual is not all sunshine and rainbows. It takes application, grit, discipline, and a willingness to take accountability. I also think it will be very hard for you to balance your spiritual and practical life. For many of you, you will endure many struggles in an attempt to adjust to the so-called "real world" and this will just bring you closer and closer to your truth.

But, you are here to battle it out with the limiting beliefs that this world has imposed on you. This can get very intense and manifest through material/financial struggles and even conflicts with others. But, this is how your light comes in. You will serve as a beautiful example of how to beat that nasty inner voice as well as the equally nasty voices of the world and obtain remarkable success and prosperity. You will be incredibly inspiring to others and someone that people can really look up to. You have to walk the walk in addition to talking the talk. But, you possess the integrity to do so.

Channeled Song: Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (even the band's name is fitting lol. You are a survivor, Pile 1, and don't forget it)

///////////

PILE 2

What Makes You Shine?

Queen of Pentacles

clarified by: King of Cups, Knight of Pentacles

Pile 2, I get a very kind, very calm energy from you. You guys are exceptionally grounded and a real calm in the midst of any storm. What makes you shine is this soothing, nurturing quality you possess. You most likely have a strong Earth emphasis (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) in your chart but there's also a significant Water influence here (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces). So, you know how to be sensitive and empathic while also keeping a level head and staying sensible. There's also an emphasis on boundaries here. You aren't at your best when people pleasing but when knowing how to take care of yourself and then care for others. You have either learned that or will learn it.

This energy just feels like a lush, beautiful garden. You seem to have a more feminine energy to you. And you're like a beautiful flower. Flowers are very important to many of you. Your first or middle name may be a flower (Rose, Lily, etc) or you may just have an obsession with flowers or gardening. Floral-print clothing, too, is what I am getting. Which also makes me think of The Devil Wears Prada. "Florals? For spring? How groundbreaking." That movie may have significance to you. I can see you being similar to Anne Hathaway's character, Andy. She initially hates fashion, which is seen as something more feminine, but eventually blossoms and discovers how stylish and elegant she is capable of being.

Beyond fashion, I think it may have taken you some time in life to grow into your femininity. Maybe the older you get, the more you like traditionally feminine pursuits or ways of being. I think you were probably more masculine when you were younger yet still with a sensitive side. But, now, like a flower, you are blooming into your truer self. You definitely could be a late bloomer, even in terms of career or finances. Like Andy, you could be uncertain or awkward while climbing the professional ladder but you will make it to the top. With status and abundance.

I also have to say that you have a very strong impact on masculine energies in your life. You might attract a lot of "big teddy bear" types or gentle giants who just want to take care of you and support you. Or you could have a refining effect on certain masculines who express their yang energy in more primitive or toxic ways. Especially in love. Your elegance shines through and you are such a catch that these love interests realize they have to straighten up and fly right when dealing with you. In the process, they get more in touch with their heart space.

How To Strengthen/Embrace This Quality

Four of Cups

Eight of Pentacles

The Star

back of the deck: The Lovers

Interesting! Pile 2, we're going to do a little detour here. Your Guides really want to bring a potential romantic relationship to your attention. And I think it is someone who fits the profile of what I was just saying. They always had the potential to be the King of Cups (whether male or female because, remember, these cards are energies, not specific genders). But, they weren't able to really achieve this growth until they fell for you. However, you weren't out here trying to play Build A Boo and "fix" them. (And if you were, you definitely learned your lesson about that) They are doing this out of their own free will.

They see you as most people do: a very special, very magical person. You give me fairy or elf vibes, tbh, and a lot of people see you that way. I think all you have to do to embrace your light is just exist. Just be your ethereal self. You are this beautiful mix of earthy and otherworldly, which is part of why you are able to bless others with your energy. That lovely fairy dust of yours stays stuck on people, even if you leave their life, and acts as a sort of magic spell to get them to see their full potential and the ways they can actualize it.

All you have to do is focus on you and your abundance, your success. People will feel very inspired to follow your lead, especially if they are at some crossroads in life. As for this potential romantic interest, I think they feel deep regret for whatever may have happened here and are putting in a lot of effort and work into becoming the partner you need them to be. Whether or not you're open to them is up to you but the opportunity is there. And when they come in, it will be with a very different energy than before.

Channeled Song: Whatcha Say by Jason Derulo

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PILE 3

What Makes You Shine?

The Hanged Man

clarified by: Nine of Pentacles, The Empress

Pile 3, what makes you shine is how incredibly drawn to you people are. This pile is most certainly giving me "baddie" energy, regardless of your gender. You are not only gorgeous and sensual but so many people see you as out of their league. In fact, the frustrating thing is that your attractiveness is so intimidating to some love interests that they just end up doing... nothing. If you don't think anyone has a crush on you, think again. There are plenty of people who do. They're just too scared to say anything.

But, there really is no reason for them to be. I am getting such Cher Horowitz vibes from you (the main character from Clueless, obviously). She was so pretty and well-dressed and popular but also a real sweetheart. Someone as hot as you could be totally stuck-up or let it all go to their head. But, one of the most appealing things about you is that you have a heart of gold. Your kindness and loving spirit only makes you even more attractive. Yet, you also get incredibly frustrated because so many people can't see past the surface to who you really are. You hate being viewed superficially and often find the gap between your self-perception and others' perception of you very jarring or bewildering.

The message from your Guides, though, is that you could stand to shift that self-perception some. You often times don't see either your beauty or your social currency because you're not focused on those things. You have deeper values. While your Guides don't want you to lose your kindness or depth of character, they also want you to know that it's okay to be pretty. They want you to know that you are beloved and much more popular than you think. You are being called to accentuate your physical appearance more (and enjoy the benefits of that) and to openly receive the love and admiration people have for you.

And don't take it personally when some only see "the surface". While some will show that limited kind of thinking, I think you will pleasantly surprise many with your multiple facets. A lot of you are artistic in some way and gain HUGE satisfaction from your creativity. If not, you may just be more sophisticated in your thinking or your tastes/hobbies than you let on. You could still even be a visual art lover or enjoy classical music or literature. People are constantly thrown for a loop that someone as attractive as you is also so talented, intelligent, fascinating, etc. Anyone who thinks they can put you in a little box due to your exterior will learn otherwise. You may have chart placements in the signs of Pisces or Libra or the Earth element (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn). I am specifically getting Venus in Virgo, too, for a few of you.

How To Strengthen/Embrace This Quality

Justice

Four of Cups

Six of Pentacles

back of the deck: Four of Swords

Pile 3, you are being called to really pay attention to how people treat you. The thing I am getting is that you may deal with envy and unfairness from others that you are completely blind to. Because you may lack a clear sense of your social currency, you may not realize that certain people around you are jealous or competitive. And even if you do, you might just think, "Jealous of what?" In addition to that, being treated in this way can be quite wounding or exhausting. Maybe you just endured a friend break-up or you're still reeling from one where your so-called friend was secretly envious of you or toxic due to perceiving you as "better" than them.

It is important to not be blind to these social dynamics because you can easily attract them. It's also important to let the secret fans hate and continue being your beautiful, radiant self. I think the task for you right now is to focus on healing, especially if you had to deal with an undercover hater recently or in the past. Spend some quality time with yourself and be the best friend that you could have. Also, ask yourself what kind of qualities you want in a friendship. And don't settle for less than that! Things may have been a bit grey or dissatisfying lately. But, many of you are on the cusp of manifesting the kind of friendship you really need. You just have to heal your wounds surrounding "outshining" someone else. A true friend will want you to be your fullest self and won't be threatened.

I think that's how you are toward others and you deserve the same level of kindness, sincerity and generosity you give out. And you should hold off on letting people in until you find that. Also, don't dwell on regrets, if you had a toxic friendship that made you shrink yourself a bit. Just see it as a lesson learned and not to be repeated! There's not a lot coming through about romance, though. Just relationships, in general. But, in love, I think you need to watch out for those who are so overly enamored with you that they put you on a pedestal and can't see you fully/accurately. You need a partner, honey, not a fan. I think there is, though, a relationship coming in with someone who is more equipped to see and establish themselves as your equal. And it could leave someone else who was too intimidated to come forward with a lot of regret.

Channeled Song: Sauce by Ella Mai

///////////

PILE 4

What Makes You Shine?

The Devil

clarified by: Judgement, Queen of Cups

Pile 4, you have definitely had your fair share of dark days. What makes you shine is the way your spirit has endured as well as evolved throughout these trials and tribulations. You might have suffered from addiction in the past or had to survive a very toxic family/upbringing. An abusive relationship or two may even be part of your story. But, in spite of everything, you persisted. You were able to come out on the other side of it, healed, with a clearer awareness of yourself and of life.

I feel as if you aren't the type to blame the world for your problems and this is where part of your greatness stems from. You know how to take accountability. So, whatever you have "recovered" from, you owned your part in it, which gave you the ability to better yourself. In fact, I am getting the sense that you may be TOO hard on yourself at times and this is also something people can clearly see. You might be very self-deprecating or self-critical. But, while you're busy beating yourself up, you fail to see just how much you mean to others. Unfortunately, I think you were judged so harshly by people in your early years that it's really stuck with you. But, you either have learned or are learning that the story doesn't have to end there.

You might have planets in the sign of Capricorn or in the Water element (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces). Scorpio is especially highlighted. I am getting two pictures here. Some of you have a very tough exterior (or like to think you do) but are really so sweet and soft and sensitive on the inside. And some of you may be very troubled and quite wild but you have a pure heart. It's kind of giving me Drew Barrymore vibes, in how she dealt with all these issues early in life but remained very kind and loving through it all. If there are any really lighthearted rom-coms or comedies that you enjoy, you're being called to watch them. You're either being asked by your Guides to lighten up and laugh more because you've been taking life way too seriously or to have a good cry over a movie like Jerry Maguire or something (although this isn't me recommending that one because I will remind you that you need no one to complete you lol!) But, either way, you currently have a lot of inner tension that needs releasing.

The thing you need to know is that your story is going to, one day, be the thing that gets other people through. People who had a hard time hanging on or believing in themselves, as you did. You are going to have to experience a huge personal awakening and transformation that will then serve as an example for others who need freedom from their own demons. You have so much good to contribute to the world. Please don't focus on your flaws, your weaknesses, your past mistakes. All of that has just been a necessary part of journey. But, it doesn't have to define you.

How To Strengthen/Embrace This Quality

King of Pentacles

Ace of Pentacles

Seven of Cups

back of the deck: Six of Swords

Pile 4, it is crucial that you figure out who you really want to be and manifest that version of yourself. You struggle to think highly of yourself and this stands in your way far more than you think. I get the feeling that a lot of Earth Suns chose this pile (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) but you don't have to have that particular energy. You are just being asked to firmly ground yourself and in ways that extend beyond work. You might actually overcompensate with work and use as it a buffer for your real feelings or problems. Instead, you must embrace a level, centered, mature version of you with plenty of self-respect in addition to the respect of those around you.

Some of you may have especially troubled relationships with your father figure that prevents you from feeling stable and secure. There could be a profound fear of becoming your father or a belief that you already are your father. But, you are an individual! It's very likely that you were either put down by this parent or compared a lot to them in an uncomfortable way. This isn't the story you have to tell yourself! You can flip the script and be whoever you want to be. But, it takes maturity, self-confidence and self-awareness to do this. Give yourself the time needed to build up that healthy self-image. It is a slow, gradual but worthwhile process.

Your Guides want to communicate with you very badly and I feel like you're not very in touch with them. Your spiritual life, in general, may need bolstering. You could spend so much time trying to escape from reality and live in a fantasy world that you find it hard to really sit with the truth of your soul. Something I feel called to say is that a hyperactive imagination or maladaptive daydreaming is often a sign of someone who is clairvoyant. But, until you're able to accept this gift, you can sublimate it into those habits/ways of being. I also think your Guides are always sending you signs and synchs but you may be dismissing them as "coincidences" or overanalyzing them. They want you to know that you are never alone and that they are patiently, lovingly waiting until you are ready to be open to them.

Channeled Song: Serve the Servants by Nirvana

#tarot #tarot reading #channeled reading #channeled message #pick a pile reading #pick a card reading #pick a card #pick a picture #channeled song #spirit guides #pick a pile

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aeskit-ifnie · 2 months

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What if the Qing Jin was a hosting club paired with the restaurant? What if Zhao was the mama managing the Qing Jin on top of the Yokohama Liumang?

What if Ichi was here only for the higher quality the Qing Jin could offer? smudge lipstick, an empty office and plenty of time for them two.

Who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I had nothing in mind but Zhao in a tight dress for days, don't @ me x) I'm deep down in the trenches of the Ichizhao club. I just want more of them two, if I could write, I would make one hell of a fic ;-; also

BOOB WINDOW, BOOB WINDOW LESSGOOOOOO !!!!!

I was hesitating to post a version without the smudge lipstick, lemme know what you think about that maybe i'll do a thread of this the edit of this piece I had in mind [ including a different face for ichi x) ].

It's the first time I'm so proud of my rendering \o/

Enjoy and lets partake in more Ichizhao !!!

won't lie...im hella nervous posting this LOL

#like a dragon #yakuza #rgg 7 #ryu ga gotoku 7 #ichiban kasuga #ichizhao #tianyou zhao #zhao tianyou #yakuza fanart #yakuza 7 #yakuza like a dragon #like a dragon infinite wealth #like a dragon: infinite wealth #rgg 8

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brotherconstant · 7 days

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GIFMAKING TUTORIAL: PHOTOPEA (for Windows)

Screencapping

Gif Width/Size Limit/Ezgif

Loading Frames

Cropping and Resizing

Rasterize/Make Frames

Sharpening

Coloring (not detailed. Links to other tutorials included)

Exporting

Obligatory Mentions: @photopeablr ; @miwtual ; @benoitblanc ; @ashleysolsen Definitely check out these blogs for tips, tutorials and resources, they're a gold mine. Finally I recommend browsing the PHOTOPEA TUTORIAL / PHOTOPEA TUTORIAL GIF tags. DISCLAIMER: English is not my first language and I'm not an expert on what I'm going to discuss, so if anything's unclear feel free to drop another ask.

1. SCREENCAPPING -> PotPlayer (the one I use) or MVP or KMPlayer

INSTALL PotPlayer (tutorial)

Play your movie/episode and press Ctrl + G. The Consecutive Image Capturer window will pop up. Click Start to capture consecutive frames, Stop when you got what you needed.

Where it says "Image Type -> Format" I recommend picking PNG, for higher quality screencaps.

To access the folder where the screencaps are stored, type %appdata% in windows search, open the PotPlayerMini64 folder (or 32, depending on your system) and then the Capture folder. That's where you'll find your screencaps.

Admittedly MVP is a lot faster but I prefer Potplayer because it generates (at least in my case) higher quality screencaps. MVP kind of alters the hue and it made it harder for me to color my gifs. Still, if you're interested in how to use it, I recommend this tutorial.

As for KMPlayer, every tutorial out there is outdated and I couldn't figure out the new version of the software.

2. GIF WIDTH/HEIGHT, SIZE LIMIT, EZGIF OPTMIZER

At this point you should already know how big your gifs are going to be. Remember the ideal gif width(s) on tumblr are 540 px / 268 px / 177 px. These specific numbers take into account the 4 px space between the gifs. No restrictions on height. Here are some examples:

You can play around with the height (177x400, 177x540, 268x200, 268x268, 268x350, 268x400, 540x440, 540x500, 540x540 etc) but if you go over the 10 MB limit you'll either have to make your gifs smaller/delete some frames.

OR you can go on ezgif and optimize your gif, which is usually what I do. The quality might suffer a little, but I'm not really (that) obsessed with how crispy my gifs look, or I'd download photoshop.

Depending on the gif size, you can decrease the compression level. I've never had to go over 35. It's better to start at 5 (minimum) and then go from there until you reach your desired ( <10mb) gif size. Now that I think about it I should have included this passage at the end of the tutorial, I guess I'll just mention it again.

3. LOAD YOUR FRAMES

File -> Open... -> Pick one of your screencaps. The first one, the last one, a random one. Doesn't matter. That's your Background.

File -> Open & Place -> Select all the frames (including the one you already loaded in the previous passage) you need for your gif and load them.

(I recommend creating a specific folder for the screencaps of each gif you're going to make.)

WARNING: When you Place your screencaps make sure the Crop tool is NOT selected, especially if you've already used it and the width/height values have been entered. It will mess things up - I don't know why, could be a bug.

You can either select them all with Ctrl+A or with the method I explained in the ask: "when you want to select more than one frame or all frames at once select the first one, then scroll to the bottom and, while pressing Shift, select the last one. this way ALL your frames will be selected".

WARNING: Depending on how fast your computer is / on your RAM, this process may take a while. My old computer was old and slow af, while my new one can load even a 100 frames relatively fast, all things considered. Even so, I recommend ALWAYS saving your work before loading new frames for a new gif, because photopea might crash unexpectedly. Just save your work as often as you can, even while coloring or before exporting. Trust me, I speak from experience.

Now you can go ahead and delete the Background at the bottom, you won't need it anymore.

4. CROPPING AND RESIZING

Right now your screencaps are still smart objects. Before rasterizing and converting to frames, you need to crop your gif.

Technically you can rasterize/convert to frames and then crop, BUT if you do it in that order photopea will automatically delete the cropped pixels, even if you don't select the "Delete Cropped Pixels" Option. Might be another bug, unclear. Basically, if you crop your gif and then realize you cropped a little too much to the left or the right, you can go ahead, select the Move Tool (shortcut: V) and, after selecting ALL YOUR FRAMES, move them around on your canvas until you are satisfied. You won't be able to do this if you rasterize first and then crop, the excess pixels will be deleted. I don't know why, I found out by accident lol.

CROPPING

(Cropped pixels: the gray/opaque area outside of the selected area. That area disappears once you press enter and crop, but the pixels are retained, so you can move the frames around and reposition them as you like. In this case I could move the frames to the left and include Silver's figure [curly guy in the foreground] in the crop)

After deleting the Background, you will need to select all your frames (using the Shift key), use the C shortcut on your keyboard to choose the Crop tool. Or you can click on it, whatever's more convenient. Once you do that, a dropdown menu is going to appear. You need to select the "FIXED SIZE" option, as shown in the following screencap.

Once you do that, you can type in your desired width and height. Do not immediately press enter.

Your work area should now look like this. Now you can click on one of the white squares and enlarge the selected area until the edges are lined up. You can then move it around until it covers the area you wish to gif.

WARNING: to move the big rectangle around, you're gonna have to click on a random point of the work area, PREFERABLY not to close to the rectangle itself, or you might accidentally rotate it.

See? When your cursor is close to the selected area it turns into this rotating tool. Move it away until it reverts to your usual cursor, then you can start moving the rectangle. Press Enter when you're satisfied with the area you selected.

RESIZE

This isn't always necessary (pretty much never in my case) - and it's a passage I often forget myself - but it's mentioned in most of the tutorials I came across over the years, so I'd be remiss if I didn't include it in mine. After cropping, you'll want to resize your image.

IMAGE -> Image Size...

This window will pop up. Now, should the values in the Width and Height space be anything other than 540 and 400 (or the values you entered yourself, whatever they might be) you need to correct that. They've always been correct in my case, but again. Had to mention it.

5. RASTERIZE & MAKE FRAMES

Now that your screencaps are cropped, you can go ahead and convert them.

LAYER -> Rasterize (if you skip this passage you won't be able to Sharpen (or use any filter) on your frames at once. You'll have to Sharpen your frames one by one.

Photopea doesn't feature a timeline and it's not a video editor, which makes this passage crucial. When you select all your smart objects and try to apply a filter, the filter will only by applied to ONE frame. Once you rasterize your smart objects and make them into frames, you can select them all and sharpen them at once. Unfortunately this also means that you won't be able to - I don't know how to explain this properly so bear with me - use all smart filters/use them in the same way a photoshop user can. For example, you can sharpen / remove noise / add noise / unsharp mask... but you can't act on those filters in the same way a photoshop user can. When you work on smart objects you can change the blend mode - which is critical if you decide to use a filter like High Pass. If you simply apply a high pass filter on photopea you won't be able to change the blend mode and your gif will look like this (following screencaps). Or rather, you will be able to change the blend mode by clicking on the little wheel next to "High pass" (circled in green in the 2nd screencap), but you'll have to apply the filter to each frame manually, one by one.

Then you can rasterize/make into frames, but it's extremely time consuming. I did it once or twice when I first started making gifs and it got old pretty soon haha.

Layer -> Animation -> Make frames. This passage will add "_a_" at the beginning of all your frames and it's what allows you to make a (moving) gif. As I said in the ask, if you skip this passage your gif will not move.

6. SHARPENING

Some people prefer to color first and sharpen later, but I found that sharpening filters (more or less) dramatically alter the aspect of your gif and already brighten it a bit (depending on your settings) and you may end up with an excessively bright gif.

Now, sharpening settings are not necessarily set in stone. The most popular ones are 500/0.4 + 10/10, which I use sometimes. But you may also need to take into account the quality of the files you're working with + the specific tv show you're giffing. I've been using different settings for pretty much every tv show I gif, especially in the last couple months. Some examples:

followed by

AMOUNT: 500% RADIUS 0.3px followed by AMOUNT: 20% (or 10%) RADIUS 10px

You'll just need to experiment and see what works best for your gifs.

Some gifmakers use the UNSHARP MASK filter as well (I think it's pretty popular among photopea users?) but it makes my gifs look extra grainy, makes the borders look super bright and it clashes with my coloring method(s), so I use it rarely and with very moderate settings. Something like this:

Again, depends on the gif and on what you like. I've seen it used with great results by other gifmakers!

REDUCE NOISE

Sometimes - and this is especially the case for dark scenes - your gif may look excessively grainy, depending on how bright you want to make it. Reducing noise can help. Keep it mind, it can also make it worse and mess up the quality. BUT it also reduces the size of your gif. Obviously, the higher the settings, the more quality will suffer.

These are my standard settings (either 2/70% or 2/80%). It's almost imperceptible, but it helps with some of the trickier scenes.

ADDING NOISE

Adding noise (1% or 2% max) can sometimes help with quality (or make it worse, just like reduce noise) but it will make your gif so so so much bigger, and occasionally damage the frames, which means you won't be able to load your gif on tumblr, so I rarely use it.

You'll also want to create ACTIONS which will allow you to sharpen your gifs much faster.

HOW TO CREATE AN ACTION ON PHOTOPEA

The Action Button (shaped like a Play button as you can see in the following screencaps) may not be there if you're using photopea for the first time. If that's the case click on the magnifiying glass next to "Account" (in red) and type "actions". Press Enter and the button should immediately show up.

Once you do that, click on the Folder (circled in yellow)

and rename it however you like.

now click on New Action (circled in red). now you can press the Recording button (circled in green)

Now

FILTERS -> Smart Sharpen

and you can enter your values. Then you repeat this passage (WITHOUT pressing rec, WITHOUT pressing new action or anything else, you just open the smart shapen window again) and, if you want, you can sharpen your gif some more (10%, 10px, or anything you want.)

Maybe, before creating an action, experiment with the settings first and see what works best.

When you're satisfied, you can PRESS STOP (it's the rec button, which is now a square) and you can DOWNLOAD your action (downwards facing arrow, the last button next to the bin. Sorry, forgot to circle it) .

You need to download your action and then upload it on your photopea. When you do, a window will pop up and photopea will ask you whether you wish to load the action every time you open the program. You choose "Okay" and the action will be loaded in the storage.

When you want to sharpen your gif, you select all your frames, then you click on the Play button, and select the Action, NOT the folder, or it won't work.

Actions can also be created to more rapidly crop and convert your frames, but it doesn't always work on photopea (for me at least). The process is exactly the same, except once you start recording you 1) crop your gif as explained in step 4, 2) convert into frames. Then you stop the recording and download the action and upload it. This won't work for the Rasterize step by the way. Just the Animation -> Make Frame step.

7. COLORING

Now you can color your gif. I won't include a coloring tutorial simply because I use a different method for every tv show I gif for. You normally want to begin with a brightness or a curve layer, but sometimes I start with a Channel Mixer layer to immediately get rid of yellow/green filters (there's a tutorial for this particular tool which you will find in the list I mention in the link below)

[Plus I'm not really an authority on this matter as my method is generally... fuck around and find out. Two years of coloring and I still have no idea what I'm doing. 70% of the time.]

Simple Gif Coloring for Beginners -> very detailed + it includes a pretty handy list of tutorials at the bottom.

8. EXPORTING

Now you can export your gif. Some gifmakers export their (sharpened) gifs BEFORE coloring and then load the gifs on photopea to color them. I'm not sure it makes any difference.

FILE -> EXPORT AS -> GIF

(not colored, just sharpened)

As you can see, unlike photoshop the exporting settings are pretty thread bare. The only option available is dither - it sometimes help with color banding - which, and I'm quoting from google for maximum clarity:

"refers to the method of simulating colors not available in the color display system of your computer. A higher dithering percentage creates the appearance of more colors and more detail in an image, but can also increase the file size."

SPEED

When you export your gif, it will play at a very decreased speed (100%). I usually set it at 180/190%, but as for every other tool, you might want to play around a little bit.

GIF SIZE/EZGIF OPTIMIZER (See Step 2)

And that's it.

P.S.: worth repeating

Save your work as often as you can, even while coloring or before exporting.

#photopea #my inbox is open if you have any questions <3 #image heavy under the cut #photopeablr #tutorials #gif tutorial #allresources #photopea tutorial #completeresources #gifmaking

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hopeymchope · 1 month

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I wish Spike Chunsoft would just go full "Persona" with Danganronpa and milk it with tons of spinoffs.

I'd be there for every goddamn one of them on DAY ONE, you know. Pick your genre! The minute they figured out how to make a decent third-person DR action game with Ultra Despair Girls, that should've opened the floodgates wide IMO. In fact, if you take any given Persona spinoff, I can tell you how easily/naturally they could develop (and I could get super-hyped for) a Danganronpa equivalent.

Danganronpa Arena is SO obvious. It's the MOST obvious spinoff, and it has been sitting there waiting to be creating for seven goddamn years now. Ever since Kodaka said he wants a DR fighting game. Hey, remember that official DR3 Staff Book art that showed Nanami dreaming about it? Many of us have shared fan ideas for the story and/or for character moves. COME ON, y'all. What's the holdup?? DO IT! DO IT NOW!

Danganronpa: Dancing? FUCK YAS. I mean, there's already some wicked dance remixes of the game soundtracks in that Crypt of the Necrodancer DR content, so why the hell not?? And I recall that @dreamrlu did some great fanart (1) for how the (2) V3 crew could dress (3).

Danganronpa Q, a dungeon crawler? Despair Dungeon already exists, so it's COMPLETELY NATURAL. It's just a higher-quality production of that same concept! And if you haven't seen that fanmade version of the first "Persona Q" opening where it's the casts of DR1 and DR2 meeting up? It's AMAZING.

youtube

Danganronpa Tactica? Imagine leading squads from the Future Foundation (including DR1 and DR3 cast members) in missions against remaining Remnants of Despair. I've been playing a lot of tactical RPGs lately, and there's a lot of room to tell a ton of story in this format... plus it's not like you even have to make complex graphics to make it work, so SC doesn't have to worry about struggling with 3D renders if they don't want to. Just consider how Digimon Survive pulled this off with 2D sprite art!

Danganronpa Strikers is, uh, maybe the hardest to justify — but if you set it in the virtual world, that could make it easy! Since Danganronpa S already took place entirely in VR and contained a load of combat encounters, why the hell not do a similar setup for an action game? And if you prefer to keep in the real world, there are still a number of characters I could easily justify making playable in such a scenario — Genocide(r), Sakura, Asahina, Mondo, Nekomaru, Peko, Akane, Great Gozu, Seiko, Munakata, Maki, Gonta, etc. I can even picture some more-unlikely candidates such as Kimura slotting into the roster. I don't even like musou games that much, but ofc I'd play the SHIT out of this one.

Look: I know I'm an insatiable fan who just wants more precious content with these characters. But you can't convince me that these things wouldn't also SELL. The brand reached new heights of awareness and sales with V3, and they haven't really capitalized on that at all aside from giving us "Danganronpa S." We haven't even gotten a new anime since DR3, FFS! And I'm confident that any one of the ideas listed above would sell far better than a weird digital board game with RPG combat set inside VR, frankly. :P

#danganronpa #dangnaronpa spinoffs #danganronpa q #danganronpa strikers #danganronpa dancing #danganronpa dancing all night #danganronpa arena #danganronpa fighting game #danganronpa tactica #Youtube

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splatsvilles-fashionista · 5 months

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Splatoon 3 Version 6.0 Patch Notes Breakdown

Been a little bit since I did one of these, but Nintendo released the Chill Season 2023 patch notes about three hour ago, and while in terms of balance changes this is one of the smallest patches ever, it's got a ton of quality-of-life changes, so let's dig in, shall we?

So let's start from the top. In terms of new content, this patch includes a new catalog, two new stages (Robo ROM-en and Bluefin Depot), two new Specials (Splattercolor Screen and Triple Splashdown), nine new weapons, two new multiplayer songs, the new King Salmonid Megalodontia, and eleven new Tableturf cards.

Additionally, you'll note that they're including a line about giving you one Sheldon License at the end of each season. This is actually really relevant to a change coming down in line, so tuck that in the back of your mind for later.

The balance changes are all buffs, but they're relatively minor, and only six Main weapons and one Special are seeing any changes this time around.

Starting off, .96 Gal is having its ink efficiency buffed by 8%. It currently gets 40 shots on a full ink tank, so I wager this increases that number by about 5-10, but it's 5 AM my time at time of writing and I am bad at math, so I don't know for sure.

Ranged Blaster's explosions get a 15% paint buff. Note that this applies only to the final explosion and not the trail, so it's not a straight 15% paint buff.

Dread Wringer gets a 10% ink efficiency buff, and since it currently has ten sloshes on a full tank, that increases that number to eleven.

And finally, for Main Weapon changes the Heavy Edit Splatling now paints more. Unlike the Ranged Blaster's paint buff this is a lot harder to gauge, but Heavy Edit's paint can be kind of spotty and inefficient, so this is undoubtedly a good thing for it.

After that, we've got only two points-for-Special changes.

Jet Squelcher and L-3 Nozzlenose both get some points shaved off their Specials, taking their Ink Vac and Crab Tank to 180p and 190p respectively. On one hand, I am biased and hate the Jet Squelcher, and I think this buff was completely unwarranted and unnecessary, but on the other hand I love the L-3 and want only good things in life for it, so they balance each other out, in my book.

And, for the final balance change of the entire patch, we've got a Reefslider buff, as it now makes you invulnerable during its startup 13 frames faster. The thing about this change is that like, it's a buff, and that is good, but the problem Reefslider has is not getting the Special off, it's that you very rarely survive the aftermath of using it, and this does nothing to solve that. With Triple Splashdown on the horizon I think things might be rough for this Special in the future.

And that's all of the balance changes! There being so few of them indicate two things to me: That Nintendo is overall happy with the the state of the game, and that they are wary of touching anything unless they have to. And one hand I get it, after all, competitive players are currently saying that there really isn't a meta at the moment, just picking weapons you're good at and playing well, and that's probably not an environment you want to shake up too much. But on the other hand, there are a lot of things like Line Marker, Undercover Brella, and Reefslider to name a few, that could really do with some sprucing up to help them keep up with the just the middle of the pack. I think raising the bottom bar a bit higher would be to everyone's benefit.

But we've got two Specials being added, so I suppose now's not the time to rock the boat too much. We'll see how things have shaken out come the mid-season patch in January.

But the balance changes are a very small part of these patch notes, and nowhere near the most interesting, so let's keep moving on.

Anarchy Series and X Battles are receiving a whole slew of changes, the most prominent of which are some new badge rewards for win streaks and attaining high X Rankings. Additionally, matchmaking in X Battles is being changed to more strictly separate people with high and low X Ranks, as well as allowing more team compositions. To cut a long story short, weapons have a set of internal values that the game uses during matchmaking to try and balance the team compositions. Matchmaking in high-power X Rank infamously takes a very long time, so I have to imagine that this change aims to speed things up by making the matchmaking more lenient on that front.

Salmon Run, in addition to the new King Salmonid, is getting some significant changes, starting with some changes to the Specials:

Kraken Royale and Triple Splashdown are being added to the pool of available Specials. Additionally, Mr. Grizz has finally agreed to always provide at least two workers on every team with a long-range Special to handle all the pesky Stingers and Flyfish. Be sure to thank your local union representative the next chance you get.

This change is particularly spicy. Your Salmon Run stage badges will now boost your starting difficulty on their respective stages, adding more incentive to play beyond the two superbonuses, as well as making the grind for future badges easier. This certainly gives me more motivation to go for those VP 400+ badges.

You'll now be able to tell what King Salmonid is present during each Shift, and the Salmometer will change to match it, as well. Can you believe they didn't change that when they added Horrorboros?

Also I am curious what this means for those Shifts where the King Salmonid was random. Will the Salmometer become a question mark? Are they not gonna do those anymore? We'll have to wait and see.

But this next change, is a big one, and it's for, what else, Big Run:

Big Run trophy requirements will now be set in advance, and no longer scale off top 50%, 20% and 5% player results.

I am in two minds about this change. On one hand, I always thought that people complaining about overfishers in Big Run were kind of petulant and entitled, especially when the rewards were as minor as locker decorations and badges. Maybe that's mean-spirited of me, but there was never a way for me to read it as anything but people demanding to be given the same reward as the people working the hardest without putting in the effort themselves.

But on the other hand, the 5% cutoff has been steadily rising as overall Big Run participation decreased, which is just a natural result of time passing and casual players falling off the game, nothing weird there, but this means that the top becomes more stacked, further disincentivizing casual players as getting even the bronze trophies becomes harder and harder for them. Giving the players much clearer and more achievable goals will likely serve to pull a lot of people back into Big Runs, and that is undoubtedly a good thing.

And hey, I said the rewards weren't worth getting upset over, and by that same metric, I don't think it's worth getting upset over more people getting them, either. All the better, if it makes more folks happy. And as for the people who do want to grind their hearts out, well:

There's still some recognition for that, too.

So that's the gist of the Salmon Run changes, so let's finish up with some miscellaneous changes.

Remember how I told you to keep that bonus Sheldon's License in mind for later?

Players who own every currently available weapon will now be able to trade extra licenses in for Shell-Out Tokens. In other words, that extra license serves as a failsafe so you don't lock yourself out of buying future weapons by spending all your licenses on gacha rolls.

The Splatfest Battle Pro queue is receiving the same matchmaking changes as X, presumably for much the same reasons.

And finally, the most important change of all:

WANDERCRUST IS BACK!!! YEAH BABY!!!! WOO!!!

#splatoon 3 #chill season 2023 #salmon run #salmon run next wave

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thesherrinfordfacility · 8 months

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take me up / cast me away

so this is going to be a veritable word vomit but this is actually so exciting to me; we obviously affiliate aziraphale with the flaming sword and both its biblical and GO narrative implications, but the catch that @frog-person made on this particular shot has got every synapse firing.

(and therefore this is a meta for @frog-person and them only, mwah✨💕)

not only is the sword going through their hands, but it's one sword of many in a particularly fiendish magic trick (or at least an earlier version of one made popular by the morettis in the 70s), and the box itself with all of its swords is relatively prominent in most of the scene, as background props go (more on this later).

now, i don't know enough about magic tricks or illusions to understand the significance that this aspect may have, if any - possibly the element of trust, sure, but also the sheer ability to hoodwink the audience into accepting that there is no way that whatever is inside could possibly survive such a trick. however, i simply want to just talk about the sword in general.

let's start with connotations and symbolism behind the image of the sword. first of all, it's a phallic symbol and is largely used in the context of knighthood, chivalry, and sovereignty. it symbolises justice, and truth, and righteous and merciful power. to hold the meter of life and death in your hands, and to be trusted to use it in conscience and clemency.

in alchemy, the sword was shown as a symbol of purification, between life and death. similar connotations in other histories, literature, and customs read the sword as being the key to balance between truth and enlightenment. later into history, especially in the middle ages, swords of discernible quality were understandably resource-intensive to make and therefore came to symbolise wealth, but moreso in the context of strength and glory, and further then a symbol of protection and shelter. traditionally, oaths and pledges would be made to the sword (literally, sworn-sword), and in turn swords were - and continue to be - used to elevate you to a higher station (eg. use of a knighting sword).

the imagery of the sword in the box is evocative of the sword excalibur, probably one of the most famous swords in literature and legend. cliff notes: excalibur was the believed magical sword of king arthur, and was written in some accounts (specifically in this case in the poem Merlin by robert de boron) to have lodged in an anvil, sat atop a stone, and that whoever could pull it from the anvil would be proof of rightful lineage of uther pendragon - and therefore, by divine right, king of the britons. obviously, arthur was said to have pulled the sword from the stone.

excalibur's symbolism can be interpreted somewhat as being as i said above; tennyson wrote that the words inscribed on excalibur as being (paraphrased): "take me up" / "cast me away"; to indicate that the sword is a weapon that should be used sparingly, only when necessary, and never without mercy or fair judgement. it is a power that can destroy, and should be safeguarded from turning that power to insidiousness. a call-to-arms when taken up, and a grace and peace when cast away.

(im a whore for arthurian legend ok, im from southwest uk) (and have a tattoo on my arm of those words, im a basic cornish legend bitch)

now, i realise that excalibur is not literally a part of the GO story (that we know of, notwithstanding the flashback in s1), and the sword we know in GO has a rather different narrative importance (or does it?). so, we know that in genesis the flaming sword was given to the cherubim in eden to guard adam and eve, and this is pretty much transposed to GO right up until aziraphale does the Cool Thing and gives it away, meant as a means of protection.

however, given that it ends up in the hands of humanity's personification of war, it bears a rather vivid mirror to the intention of excalibur; that in casting it away, aziraphale inadvertently introduces the concept of destruction to humanity.

but im now going to move away from the symbolism of the sword itself (i promise im trying to organise this meta into some semblance of order), and instead look at it in terms of when aziraphale actually holds it. we start with him giving it to adam and eve:

and then when he takes it up at the airfield:

and in the time bubble with adam and crowley:

now this is really obvious, i realise, but it does have some bearing for me on the image we see in the 40s minisode. sword up: ready to fight. sword down: ready to rest. it's a reasonably common occurrence to see in heraldry (by extension in logos/emblems and even on gravestones) two crossed swords pointing up or pointing down. usually, for the former, that the prospective wielder is ready to battle, is prepared and willing, and is or always has been braced for the onslaught.

the latter however indicates that either the fighting is done, or that no threat is meant - and that this can be in death, in surrender or defeat, or out of conscientious choice. that the wielder may have chosen mercy, and to act with peace and without conflict. one step further - sheathed sword goes on to symbolise that a fight is not anticipated; not necessarily in the sense that the wielder is unprepared, but instead that they are not turning to violence as an option.

this is where i think the presence of the sword in the shots from the minisode, with all of the connotations of it from eden (and its similar, in my eyes, likeness to excalibur) come into play. as i said before, the sword/s are notable visually in the whole magic shop scene. its in primary focus along with the desk as they enter, its the first display aziraphale goes towards, and it oscillates in the background from to aziraphale's right, to between him and crowley, and latterly back again:

summarised thoughts on this, because it will otherwise be a truly garbled mess:

the sheer presence of it reminds the audience that a fight may be imminent, even if the scene/story is currently at peace

that whilst the narrative is not currently in full combat, it pays heed to not only the events of ep4 being somewhat of a fight, but the events that precipitate in ep5 and ep6, and leading into s3

that where it is currently cast in the figurative stone, it may be called upon to take up arms, and confer suggestions of sovereignty, divine power, and strength

that victory (however that may conclude) may only be possible with the right person in power; aziraphale as the new supreme archangel and prince of heaven

it also confers the necessity of protection, of justice, and of mercy, being elevated to a position where you have the power to make that judgement

all things which aziraphale intended by giving away his own sword, and is what he indicates in ep6 that he intends to deliver to heaven once he ascends

that this fight, whenever it may come, may literally divide him and crowley in the story that lies ahead

...you don't need me to explain this bit contextually, right?

the last thing that stumped me, however, is that there ought to have been something in ep6 that almost bookended all of this imagery (at least temporarily, until we have a s3), or at least indicated whether or not aziraphale chooses to take up the sword again like he does at the end of s1. that shows him prepared for a fight, to defend the weak, and uphold judgement in mercy... and then it hit me:

of course there bloody is.

#this is relatively unimportant and unneeded but this my shit #like do i believe that ive cracked a code and this was what neil intended to convey? no not necessarily #but do igaf and instead just like going full year 9 english teacher on this shit? absolutely #not proof read yet - pretend you do not Perceive The Errors #good omens #s2 meta #s1 meta #flashback meta #aziraphale meta #s3 narrative spec

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the-solar-system52 · 5 months

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DAYCARE ATTENDANT IN HELP WANTED 2

FUCK YESSSS!! I REALLY THOUGHT RUIN WOULD BE SUN AND MOON'S LAST MAJOR APPEARANCE BUT NO!! NEW TRAILER IS OUT AND ITS TIME TO ANALYSE!!!

WE FINALLY GET TO DO ARTS AND CRAFTS WITH SUN!! This seems to be a puzzle mini game where you make Paper Pals!! I'm guessing, if you mess up the Paper Pal, you get jumpscared (probably by Moon) or it could be a time trail. It does seem weirdly DARK in the clip for Sun to still be here, but maybe that was intentional? Or not.

(those red doors seem to have lightbulbs on them, maybe there's a mechanic where we need to stop the lights from going out?)

Edit: I have even more evidence to suggest that the lights will be a feature in this minigame! In the one clip, if you slow it down, you can see the lights flicker and the screen you are using switch off!

I bet this is the electricity going out, and if that happens, Moon will jumpscare you! A lot of HW minigames have a "do this task but also stop this thing from happening so you don't get jumpscared" like the mangle vent repairs, so this makes sense!

NEXT UP WE GOT THE CAROUSEL MINIGAME! Not much to say about this one, since Dawko already uploaded him playing it, but this is significantly higher quality! Moons animation is different, and more things could change from the Dawko version considering the fact that it was only a playtest and wasn't finished yet. I'm very excited to play it!

(I hope they upload the carnival music in better quality if they release the soundtrack for the game. that shit SLAPS)

Ok so this is a weird one. We seem to be training the endo (who has a VR HEADSET on) with a moon-themed memory card game. At first, I thought this would be in the daycare because of the background, but in another clip, we see the camera pan over and we are actually in the daycare-themed room in the endo section all the way back in security breach!

Moon has always had a weird unexplained connection to the endos. Broken endo parts in his room, Moon merch and Daycare structures in the endo basement thing, and even evidence of a scrapped area of the endo section that Moon was supposed to appear in. (There was an unused soundtrack and unused animations, check out the Lost Bits YouTube video on SB for more info)

I'm excited to see if they will explain more as to why these connections are here. Is Vanny using Moon to train the endos to do her bidding? I dunno, but I'll be waiting to find out.

Last image i could find is this. It sure is a sun, dunno if its actually connected to Daycare Attendant Sun or not. The way this shot is framed makes it look like a dark ride?? That, or the player character has the weakest flashlight imaginable.

But if this IS Daycare Attendant related, then it'll most-likely be the intro for the Paper Pals minigame! Still, UNREASONABLY dark if this is a sun-centric minigame, there's no way the dark won't be part of the gameplay mechanic in this.

If anyone recognises this specific structure from anywhere in the pizzaplex please tell me!!

Edit: There's also this weird glitch-transition effect when it cuts to DJ Music Man, what's that about? Reminds me of the BB World Arcade Game a little bit.

Ending thoughts:

So before we get too excited, let's not forget about Help Wanted 1. The minigames were just that, MINIGAMES. They weren't even canon, and depending where this game takes place in the timeline, I don't think these are either.

I mean, these are DCA normal models! Where we left him in the story they were:

In their RUINED models.

And 2. Eclipse! And therefore non-hostile.

And even if this takes place BEFORE Ruin, how on Earth would Moon be at a CAROUSEL? In Help Wanted 1, the game was made-up by Fazbear Entertainment to make light of the rumours going around about Freddys, although they were based on real events, the Glamrocks aren't ACTUALLY in the Sister Location basements. I'm not saying there's NO truth to the minigames, but we shouldn't accept everything they tell us at face value.

BUT that doesn't mean we won't get ANY Daycare Attendant lore crumbs. Firstly, we may possibly get voicelines in the minigames, if they don't decide to just reuse old ones.

Secondly, it's possible this game will have something similar to the Help Wanted 1 Tapes. Secrets outside of the minigames that tell us more about the canon lore! Bonnie, The Glamrocks, DCA, and other loose ends from SB may be mentioned through these secrets!

Thirdly, what I just said may be made more likely if the "we play as Cassies dad" theory is true. If Cassie takes after her dad in having sympathy for the animatronics (which I think she does) then he will probably have something to say about all the stuff Fazbear Entertainment has done to the animatronics. Especially since he WORKS there.

EITHER WAY I AM SO INSANELY EXCITED!! Unfortunately, it comes out on December 14th and I won't be able to play it till Christmas so TAG YOUR SPOILERS EVERYONE!!!

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snapscube · 9 months

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hey big fan of your channel and art!! was wondering if for the midnight snap series what kind of sound design you were doing it rlly sounds nice!! (also smth that could be nice with it is maybe a little bit of like tape saturation or something might be able to make the audio sound "warmer" if youre like not already doing something like that already, but you probably know better than me!!) feel free to ignore that, but wanted to say in general its so well done and sounds so good!!! its really cozy and nice!!

hey thank you!!! yeah i'd.... genuinely LOVE to talk about my thinking and approach behind the sound design, i'm actually so happy you asked me this LOL this is the kind of shit i live for.

you might assume that it's just me recording the game audio and talking quietly with my normal stream settings, and that is kinda how it STARTS, but there's actually a bit more i've been doing behind the scenes :) nothing too crazy just yet but a little goes a long way when it comes to sound! i'm hoping to really nail down the soundscape and increase the quality over time and specifically up the soothing vibes by a lot. as well as get a little better about mic etiquette and my style of speech. BUT in terms of what i'm doing in post:

the first piece of the puzzle and definitely one of the most important sauces in the whole mix is the Hard Limiter. it does what you might imagine it does, basically just places a hard barrier and says "any sounds that exceed this volume.... no you don't", sort of like a much more intense compressor. currently i have a Hard Limiter on both my commentary AND the game audio, commentary i have set to peak at around -15 to -12 db, whereas game audio is more around the -23 to -20 range. in my more polished audio from later in the AC episode it's enough difference that one doesn't drown the other out in most cases, but not a wide enough gulf that people are struggling to pay attention to one in particular or have to frequently change volume (preferably they don't have to change it at all!). i took this screenshot of the episode's complete waveform when rendering out the audio-only version of AC part 1 and it was super satisfying cause like.... yeah. this is exactly the kind of waveform read i was going for. just super even and smooth across the board, save for a couple anomalies i'll buff out over time.

the next thing i do to both my own commentary and the game audio is actually just cutting down on harsher, higher frequencies with an EQ and just upping the bassier, warmer tones. i started with something super small in the first couple of episodes, i'm probably gonna go a bit harder on it for future stuff though. i wanna find a balance that doesn't make the game sound unrecognizable or anything but is noticeably easier on the ears and sounds more like a nice rolling wave rather than beep boop pac-man time.

past this i have a couple more things added to the commentary track:

to intensify the previous effect mentioned and cut down on harsh frequencies in my speech, i actually have a dedicated de-esser on my voice as well as my usual warmer EQ. i have the de-esser going pretty hard too, you might hear the difference from my usual stream commentary if you were to listen closely. really just taking those harsh t's and s's in my speech and making them sound more like a nice "shhhh", this one is super important i think

last thing i have to speak on otherwise is actually a plugin i found and bought specifically for this show and ends up being subtle but i think SUUUPER helpful in the long run, and that's this plugin called "spiff". spiff is a plugin by oeksound and i guess it's referred to as like, a transient editor? i'm actually not sure how it works at all on the nitty gritty level BUT the important thing is that they have a very important preset in the software, and that is a preset specifically designed to lessen and/or remove like... mouth sounds. yknow like lip smacks and the like. just kinda the gross smacks and clicks you don't hear as much in normal speech but can come through really intensely on a recording and kinda make ya uncomfortable. it obviously doesn't remove a lot of the more intense stuff, it's not a magic wand in my experience. but listening to the output of what it's removing on its own makes it REALLY clear there's a lot of little things it picks up and just kinda makes speech more soothing to listen to. not something i'm racing to apply to my normal streams, BUT for a sleep aid series where good audio is key????? 100% worth it, i like it a lot.

anyway yeah that's about it for now! a lot of it is pretty simple in and of itself but it's stuff i've been working at and experimenting with since i first started doing tests for the show and it's gonna be real nice to keep honing this stuff in. also cool suggestion with the tape saturation idea, i might look into something like that! once i nail stuff like leveling and frequency tuning for this show, i wanna look into some fancier ways of making the soundscape unique to this show compared to my normal streams so ideas like that are super helpful!

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