#do the background and foreground match? no. do I care? also no

[thresholdbb]

#arms like a greek statue #decided against shading apparently #actually didn’t think I was gonna do more with this one #I was gonna go to bed but anxiety so I did this instead #you know why I should’ve gone to bed? the fight was on #I don’t think the concept is bad but the execution is not the greatest #I still like the sketch most but not gonna self critique in the tags #make bad art or whatever #idk the joints can’t take all the physical stuff I wanna make #do the background and foreground match? no. do I care? also no #should I continue is the question idk #mostly I just like making nebula backgrounds #ahh tag rambles

[beansprean]

"So, how did Guillermo get started as Nandor's familiar?"

"Nadja and Nadjita Tell It"; my entry for the Rashomon-style AO3 collection "So How Did You Two Meet?"! Check out the other fic and art entries to see the other characters' perspectives!

(ID in alt and under cut)

ID: 1a. Wide shot of Nadja and Dolly wearing matching pinkish-red gowns with dark blue sleeves sitting side by side in armchairs in the foyer, stairs twisting up behind them, as they do a talking head. Nadja tosses her hands up and scowls, rolling her eyes, and says 'Guillermo? What was that, 80 years ago? How should I remember?' Dolly has an open pack of crayons tucked into the chair next to her and has a stack of paper as big as her torso in her hands. She scribbles on it with a red crayon and clicks her tongue dismissively, replying, 'I remember everything. Let me show you.' 1b. Tight shot of Dolly's eyes in extreme closeup in the foreground, Nadja waist-up in the background. Nadja turns toward Dolly with a frown, one hand held palm up beside her head, and points out gently, 'But you weren't even there, my sweet little piglet.' Dolly responds, eyes focused on her paper, 'Then tell me if I get anything wrong.' 1c. Medium shot from the front, focused on Dolly as she smiles and turns her paper around to show the camera a clumsy crayon drawing of the vampire mansion. Nadja leans on one arm of her chair and ducks her head to get a closer look. Dolly begins, her speech bubbles turning into gilded scrollwork, 'Once upon a time...' 1d. The panels are now parchment paper with crayon drawings. This one depicts Guillermo, his body made of a single circle with a head on top and stick arms and legs with little circles for hands and feet. There is a big frown on his face, and behind him is a house shape in green with double doors and a P on the front followed by ellipses. Dolly's voiceover continues: '...there was a sad, round little human man with broken eyes who had a job at... uh... P...Pan...' Nadja's speech bubble appears, now in curly pink script: 'I believe it was Panda Bread, agapoula mou.' Dolly: 'Ah, yes! He had the job making breads from the panda milk, one of the most lowly forms of human labor.' 1e. Repeat of the previous drawing, now with a few additions from Nadja with a pink crayon: the building is titled Panda Bread, Guillermo is holding a load of bread and has a tear in his eye, and arrows are pointing toward him reading 'sad' and 'virgin'. 1f. Drawing of Nandor, whose body is made in the same style but shaped like a triangle, kneeling on the ground and weeping loudly. Pink additions: smell lines, a long dick and balls between his legs, and text that reads 'Oh I am so lonely and I smell bad because my last familiar fell off the roof or some shit'. Dolly: 'Meanwhile on the Staten Island, there was also a pathetic, empty-headed buffoon of a vampire who spent every night crying about how lonely and smelly he was.' Nadja: 'That sounds right.' 1g. Dolly: 'And his beautiful housemate, Nadja-' Nadja: 'That sounds very right!' Dolly: '-kicked him in his ass and said 'Get out of here and don't come dragging your balls over this doorstep without a familiar to take care of you!' The page shows a slightly more detailed drawing of Nadja with full lips and long eyelashes and waves of glorious hair in a big fancy dress, arms and legs held straight out. Nandor, still crying, is crouched over in the foreground as one of her heeled feet kicks him in the butt and sends him flying. Pink additions: dick and balls on Nandor and text that reads 'owie my penis', larger boobs, earrings, rings, and fishnet stockings on Nadja and sparkles surrounding her entrance.

2a. A drawing, torn off on the bottom, showing Nandor standing with his arms out and mouth open in an O, hearts in his eyes as he sees Guillermo crouched by a crudely drawn panda with an udder, milking it into a bucket. Pink additions: Nandor's dick standing at attention, surrounded by hearts; Guillermo surrounded by stink lines and hearts. Dolly narrates: 'So the sad vampire went to the Panda Bread and found the delicious virgin. The vampire wanted to eat him immediately! But he had promised Nadja to bring back a familiar.' 2b. A drawing, torn off at the top, showing a series of Guillermos working: holding a loaf of fresh bread, sweeping the floor, and dusting the wall with his back to the viewer. Nandor stands nearby, pointing a finger in the air with a big grin as he gets an idea. Pink additions: stink lines and hearts around Guillermo, buttcheeks on the dusting Guillermo, Nandor's dick pointing straight up. Dolly's voiceover continues: 'And though he noticed that the virgin worked very hard, he smelled much too yummy-scrummy to bring home alive. So the vampire did the only thing he could do...' 2c. Briefly back in reality, a close up of Dolly smiling and holding up a paper with a single crayon drawing showing a naked Guillermo lying on the floor with his mouth wide open and his legs straight up, Nandor crouched between them. Pink additions: buttcheeks on Nandor, tit and a small dick and balls on Guillermo, text reading 'ooh ahh master' and 'i love you human man'. 2d. Drawing torn at the bottom showing Nandor and Guillermo, now dressed, holding hands and smiling in front of Nadja, who towers over them and gives them a thumbs up. Pink additions: hearts surrounding Nandor and Guillermo, limp dicks on them both, a crown, bat wings, rings, sparkles, bigger boobs, and fishnet stockings on Nadja. Dolly narrates: 'Once his cherry was thoroughly popped, the vampire brought his new familiar home for Nadja's approval.' 2e. Dolly's voiceover continues: 'And then she and her husband fucked all night with no weepy loser to interrupt them!' Drawing, torn at the top, of a naked Laszlo laying on his back on the ground smiling with his arms straight up in a cheer. Nadja, also naked, is straddling him backwards with her arms also up. Pink additions: hearts all around them, crowns and rings for them both, chest hair and tits for laszlo, tits and bush for Nadja along with bat wings, a crude interpretation of their genitals entwined, text by Laszlo reading 'i love my wife', text by Nadja reading 'finally i can be the little spoon'. Dolly's narration concludes with a fancy 'The End.' 2f. Back to reality; repeat of the first panel, wide shot of the foyer with Nadja and Dolly sitting beside each other. Dolly is proudly holding up the final drawing with a smile. Nadja grins at the camera, left elbow braced on the chair arm and idly twirling a blunt pink crayon in the air as she declares, 'Yeah, that was pretty much it. No notes.' /end ID

#wwdits #nandermo #mlm #nadja of antipaxos #nadja doll #rashomon #shadowsart #what we do in the shadows #what we do in the shadows fx #my art #fanart #image described

[4noki-vns]

The Art of Asset Reduction: VNConf 2024 Write-Up

This is a write-up for my Visual;Conference 2024 talk on asset reduction: presentation of scenes with reduced art labor.

I will discuss how to reduce production requirements via various methods of asset presentation and staging, walking you through case studies of existing visual novels. This talk will guide you to answer the question: How do I fulfill my project scope without asset bloat?

This is an art talk that assumes you have already scoped down your story and have created a list of scenes that you need. This is not a talk about scoping down your game's story.

You have scenes you need to make. How are you going to make them (and with style)?

Abstraction

Cut-ins

Reduce

Reuse

-

I. Abstraction

I start off with abstraction as a reminder that visual novels are a combination of visual and novel (amongst other aspects)

Abstraction

Abstraction is a strong tool for bringing focus to the writing, highlighting ambiguity and setting the mood with colors.

Examples I mentioned in my talk include:

Black screen

Solid colored screen

Sky BG

Of Components

The mood-setting power of abstraction also extends to scenes with characters, especially CGs.

As again, abstraction draws focus to what you choose to emphasize: the characters.

(FLOWERS -Le volume sur ete-)

They are gay. Thank you for coming to my VNConf talk.

-

You can similarly abstract characters.

(Lachesis or Atropos)

Consider representing irrelevant characters (e.g., NPCs) as silhouettes. The reader can fill in the details within the shapes themselves.

Silhouettes are especially great for crowd scenes where you want to draw focus to the main characters.

This will be a recurring theme:

What do you really need to draw?

-

II. Cut-ins

One common not-quite full screen piece of art you'll see in many visual novels is the cut-in.

The cut-in typically consists of the:

Item/focus

Frame

And is often for topics such as objects or small animals, which may exist in the scene but may not be within the same frame of reference as the background and sprites.

The separate framing informs the players that the item is "separately framed."

(Who is the Red Queen?)

For example, this small bird is not huge and would not be the size of a character's head even had a sprite been on screen.

The Foreground-Backdrop Heuristic

Cut-ins make strong use of what I refer to as the "foreground-backdrop heuristic."

(Shikkoku no Sharnoth)

A general backdrop informs the reader of a broad location or scene (especially if characters are present). Then a more specific foreground (the cut-in) informs the reader of the specifics.

As the foreground cut-in is in a different frame, the pairing of the two helps create a mental model of the space in the reader's mind.

Cut-ins can be used for:

Backgrounds (mix and match foregrounds with a backdrop)

Reduced CGs

Presenting existing assets in a different frame of reference

CG variants

Try tackling your visual presentation in a layered, comic book-esque fashion with cut-ins!

Just be careful about clutter.

Whether you want to go for the layered cut-in style, the 3d stage cinematic style, or a combination of the two, make sure you have a vision before you jump in.

SD CGs

I had to make an obligatory mention of SD "super deformed" CGs in this talk, so here it is in the write up as well.

(Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Vol. 1)

SD, chibi. However you call these, they're great for playful scenes that might require more art than your classic sprite-background combination.

What SD CGs do best is that they:

Fulfill the role of a CG

Are easier to draw than fully rendered non-chibi art

Can be distributed to different artists to reduce artist workloads due to style difference

Just keep in mind that a simplified CG is still a CG and thus may lack reusability.

Consider what scenes really need a CG.

-

III. Reduce

Now, consider asking yourself: "Does what a player does not see need to exist?" (mostly applicable for games with opaque UI)

Yet, what you need to draw is what you need to draw. How can you reduce the work in what you need to draw?

One option is:

Palette Limitation

You've heard of gray scale games, but don't forget about other ways of limiting your palette to reduce workload.

Dramatic, mood setting color power

Less rendering work

(Sona-Nyl of the Violet Shadows)

A similar idea can be applied to NPCs for a more detailed take on silhouettes.

-

IV. Reuse

Lastly, please remember to be economical and reuse assets as necessary. One of the great joys of cut-in BGs, for example, is reusability.

I had to give an obligatory mention to CG variants in my talk, such as:

(Fatal Twelve)

However, overall, you never know when you'll want to use various components of your art elsewhere such as intermixing CG and sprite art.

Please keep your working layers if possible.

Other reuse examples:

UI (especially in episodic games)

Gameplay (e.g., Kogado's rhythm game)

Consider asking your programmer to work on a framework to reuse, reducing repeated code work.

-

Conclusions

All in all, you can make your game.

And it doesn't need to be hellish on your budget or timeline.

If you take anything away from this talk, let it be to:

Prioritize reusable assets

Maintain aesthetic; avoid clutter

Display important scenes

Do not scope up; aim for a set goal

A scene can be presented in many stylish ways, some of which will suit your workflow better than others.

So, go on. Make your game!

-

Interested in my works? Find me on itch:

And check out my newsletter:

-

VNConf 2023 Talk Write-up:

#visual novel development #vnconf #visual novel #vn #vndev #development guide #devlog #game development #talk write-up #gamedev #indiedev #this talk is also a yuri visual novel recommendation (kind of) #lachesis or atropos #shiei no sona-nyl #fatal twelve #grisaia phantom trigger #shikkoku no sharnoth #flowers visual novel #who is the red queen?

[neversleepever]

My secret Santa gave me "art" they "drew" but it's ai art.

I just have to get this off my chest.

So for the past couple of years I've been doing an online secret Santa. I've had a good time both giving and receiving.

This year my secret Santa sent me a few little things I really loved. They also gifted me two pieces of "art" that they "drew". It's blatantly obvious it's ai art.

When you send your gift you notify the system. In your notification you can add shipping information as well as a note for your giftee. The note my secret Santa sent me only referenced their "art" and they specifically said that they "drew". I thought that might be the only thing I would get, which I would have been happy with if it was real art. I would have been happy even if it was real crappy art. Because at least a person put in time and effort. That's love.

Luckily their "art" was not the only thing they gave me. The gifts they did give I really did love. It was a few fun little things and an art book from one of my favorite artists. But trying to pass off ai art as their own just sours things.

Before I show you the "art", I'm going to have to add some context. When you sign up for this secret Santa you have to fill out a profile with things you like. I added a bunch of random things I like. Like how I love cyberpunk (the genre and the video game/ttrpg). I also listed all my pets. Including my 4 tarantulas. Clearly they just put "tarantula + cyberpunk" into an ai.

Cyberpunk is a fantasy genre. You can take a certain amount of artistic liberty. I just can't imagine an artist who can make almost photo realistic art make so many fundamental mistakes

Without further-a-do.

Where to begin? Nothing is symmetrical. Forget 8 legs. I would be happy if the same number of legs were on each side.

Many of the legs don't touch the ground. Probably because many of the legs aren't even full legs. They just stop at the first joint. Legs are going in all directions. The leg in the top right corner of the bottom picture looks like it's going behind the building.

Items in the foreground are blurry but the background is crisp and clear. It looks a little better in the pic I posted but in person it's really obvious.

"Hey there handsome. You happy to see me?"

"Yeah, you should have that looked at"

Where is this even coming from?

I just can't believe they thought they could get away with it. Obviously I know tarantula anatomy very well. You also don't need to be an anatomy expert to know legs need to touch the ground to use them. It's the lying that I hate. If they were honest that it was ai art, I wouldn't be so mad. I hate ai art but I hate people who try to pass off ai art as their own even more.

But also, I put in my profile that I'M AN ARTIST!!!

I did say I was a beginner. But just because my skill level is still beginner doesn't mean I don't know art basics. I've spent my whole life surrounded by art, going to art museums, art shows, art festivals. Looking at art critically. I even have family that works in an art gallery. I've spent my whole life around artists.

I was originally not going to call them out. I've been trying to be a nicer person.

With this secret Santa process, it is considered customary to make a post of what you got and a little thank you note to your Santa. I did make a post thanking them for the other things I got. I did genuinely like the other things I got. But when it came to the "art" I just said it was... Interesting.

I was going to leave it at that until my secret Santa commented on my post. I knew it was them because their username matched the name they signed on the back of the pictures. Because of course they signed the back of the pictures.

They once again brought up that they "sketched" these pictures. That's when I just couldn't take it. I replied thanking them for the gifts and said the art was ai. They haven't responded yet and I don't care if they do.

We are truly in the worst timeline.

#Ai art #ai art is not art #Art #secret santa #art #angry vent #ai art generator #digital art

[shuuji-thoughts]

on Godzilla - Ishiro Honda (1954)

Initial Impressions

I was initially pretty excited to finally see this after having marathoned the Monsterverse series and Shin Godzilla over winter break, as I was pretty curious about how many elements from those later iterations were present from the first film. I can definitely say I wasn't particularly surprised by anything I saw here, and I can also say now that this is somehow probably my least favorite out of the iterations I've seen lol. There's certainly a lot to appreciate from a filmmaking perspective, and the plot is relatively consistent and well-presented, but as an experience, there were just way too many things that took me out of it for me to really appreciate it (i.e. broken cuts, shoddy acting, and a lack of suspense due to how ridiculously funny any scene with Godzilla in it was). Obviously though, it's really cool the impact the film had on the anti-nuclear movement in addition to the film industry, so at least there's that.

Further Critique

Of course, the main thing to talk about in regard to this film is no doubt the practical effects. A brief glance at the wiki page will make it clear just how much time, effort, and manpower went into making the miniature sets, the weather effects, and scaling everything properly to match the Godzilla suit. I found it particularly interesting that Godzilla's famous roar was made using loosened contrabass strings. Also just in general, the careful attention put into how each shot of Godzilla was framed could be clearly felt throughout. I'm still curious about what exact techniques were used in the shots where crowds of people are framed in the foreground with the rampaging monster in the background.

Plot-wise, this iteration of Godzilla felt immensely lacking. For example, we had the typical "professor who wants to study Godzilla instead of killing him", but we don't really get much out of him regarding what exactly he'd propose doing. Also, the whole "Oxygen Destroyer" thing was fucking stupid. I hate the idea of a Godzilla film ending with Godzilla being killed by something similarly comparable to a nuclear weapon. Also, literally none of the characters were even remotely interesting or of note aside from maybe Serizawa, and the acting was extremely mediocre at times, particularly Emiko, I genuinely couldn't stand her performance lol.

I think it's also worth noting my particular gripe with most of the Godzilla films I've seen, that being that I feel as though Godzilla's thematic role/ purpose is never really fully explored to its full potential. In some films, he's just a simply rampaging monster, in others, he's this vaguely altruistic force of nature who just happens to kill a bunch of people. Idk if it's just me but it feels like just about every iteration of the character has been somewhat confused and unfocused. This might literally just be a me thing and I might just have no media literacy, but I'd love to see a film that really utilizes Godzilla's full symbolic potential.

Overall, a pretty impressive and inspiring film, but a pretty mediocre experience at least for me personally. 5/10

#japanese film

[millieify5]

Figure 81.  Figure 82. Figure 83. Figure 84. Figure 85. Figure 86. Figure 87. Figure 88. Figure 89. Figure 90.

For this project I ended up working on all the scenes simultaneously as I found it much easier to keep the line art consistent when I didn’t need to keep changing brush (and the size) to work on colouring. I decided to use a brush that emulates a pencil like texture for the line art as the texturing and slight transparency gave the illustrations some more variance than they would otherwise have had, which leant itself to the slightly rough and sketchy style I ended up using. I used this more rough style in part due to the fact it increased the speed at which I could work, and in part because it matches the imperfect and handmade look of stained glass.

For many of the scenes I planned to create some movement or blurring effect in the finished PMV, and so any time I wanted some form of change to happen I had to be very careful about how I split the line art up onto different layers so that I could save each section separately and layer them up in the video editing software later. Most of the time this just meant having a background and a foreground layer, however in some circumstances - like the moving cart in fig. 90- I needed a third layer when the moving object wasn’t at the forefront of the scene.

Overall, I’ve been especially proud of many of the backgrounds I illustrated for these scenes. Before this project I tended to end up with mainly simple ‘flat’ backgrounds when I drew scenes, rather than more dynamic perspectives, however with the help of my own reference images and screenshots of google street view I feel like I’ve started to begin to understand how create more 3D feeling backgrounds, as well as how to place characters and objects within these scenes. On the other hand, I do think I could improve the proportions and expressions of the characters in many of the scenes. Before the start of this year I’d hardly had any practice drawing people, so I am proud with how far I’ve come - especially when it comes to dynamic poses that aren’t explicitly from a singular reference image - but as I had to draw so many characters and scenes within this project I know I didn’t have the time to work on each individual one to the standards I’ve managed in some of my other illustrations, and so I fell back into the traps of struggling not to make their heads too big & ending up with over-the-top or slightly off expressions.

Because of the time constraints, there were also a few areas where I reused elements from one scene in another (not including scenes that were specifically designed to mirror each other). I kept this to Dante’s cart, as the two instances were already planned to be in the same position, and the background of scenes set in a town, since all three were taking place in the same town and as such I could justify using the same street to signify that. If I had had more time though, I would have at least illustrated a unique background for each of the town scenes, as that would have been more engaging and allow for more worldbuilding to be fleshed out in the small details of the background elements.

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #5

Wild Style wall painted by Revolt and Sharp for Charlie Ahearn’s movie “Wild Style,” Riverside Park, Manhattan, NYC, 1983 © Martha Cooper

This photo has a sharp contrast of bright colors in the middle and silhouettes of people and leaves. The composition is interesting in that the bottom third is almost completely dark, showing that Cooper isn’t afraid of shadows in her photography. The people almost look like shadows on the back wall because you can’t see much color on their clothes or figures. The tree at the top of the photo frames the brightly colored portion of the wall well. The middle third of the wall really sticks out compared to the mostly gray left and right sides as well, bringing the focus of the viewer towards the center of the photo. 

How & Nosm, Fairey, and Faust Train, Berlin, 2017 © Martha Cooper

This photograph is clearly split in half vertically by the train tracks, with buildings in the upper half and the road and sidewalk on the lower half. The top half is very light and brightly colored, since the clean white building takes up most of the space, highlighted with the red writing. Conversely, the bottom is mostly gray and darker in color, with pops of color by the trees and red cars. The actual train tracks are similarly split, with the gray metal tracks fitting into the bottom composition and the brightly painted train matching the upper half style. In the film, Martha Cooper mentioned she liked taking photos of graffiti, particularly on trains, but once she got a good picture in one location, she would go somewhere else to find another interesting background. This is good advice to add variety to photos while maintaining a common theme or exploring the photographer’s interests.

Bruce Gilden | People with masks grocery shopping during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Hudson Valley, New York. April 20, 2020. © Bruce Gilden | Magnum Photos

Bruce Gilden was interesting to watch take photos because he was incredibly intrusive towards random people on the street. There are many confused, annoyed, and surprised expressions in his works. He does not seem to care as much about the background or overall composition of his pictures, but rather on capturing people’s faces. The photos, like this one, are often taken at a skewed angle, perhaps in line with the people but not parallel to the ground. He tends to take pictures of people not in the most flattering of angles or any prior posing; in this way they are very real in contrast to some other photographers who want their subjects to pose or smile for the camera. He captures everyday people doing everyday tasks.

Boogie, Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn 2003

In this photo, the gun is in focus, but the background of the brick wall and his hand in the foreground are out of focus. It’s obvious what the focal point of the image is, drawing the eye to the center. The gun also stands out because it has a lot of very straight lines, while most of the rest of the photo is more organic or imperfect. The subject’s eye peering through the trigger guard creates a sense of mystery and hiding in a predatory manner. This photographer, Boogie, took a lot of pictures in situations I would personally feel very uncomfortable in, but the way he frames his images is interesting. In his series on people with guns, the weapons tend to be in focus, sometimes pointing at the camera, while the wielders are out of focus, hidden, or in shadows.

Boogie, Barcelona, Spain 2007

I found this image to be particularly eye-catching due to being an action shot of a bird in flight. The silhouette of the bird stands out against the bright sky taking up the middle vertical third of the photo. It does not seem to be in focus, but that is expected for a likely very quick shot. The bird almost looks like an angel the way its wings are spread out, while the other figures on the wire are more clearly birds. This image is a good example of taking pictures at different angles, not just human eye level looking ahead. I would want to explore looking up and down more, and looking at things from a different perspective to create interesting photos.

#DianeHeinle #Everybody

[darnell-blog-stcg]

Final

This will be short and sweet to finally wrap everything together

This is the front cover for my hypothetical short story.

In terms of time This took about 10 hours of on and off work over around a week

Notes.

The background is a kind of doctors note. the messy handwriting under the Doctor’s signature reads work in progress.

Under patients signature is the title (Work in Progress)

There are scribbles all over it obviously done by a child

The child appears to be going under some sort of operation, the top portion of the head has been attached, revealing the brain which is supposed to be composed of string.

In the foreground are a pair of hands wearing surgical gloves, which are holding knitting needles

Explanations

I chose a doctors note for the background for a couple of reasons.

It indicates a serious atmosphere to the audience and implies that there is a doctor patient relationship between the child and doctor/caretaker (owner of the gloved hands).

The creation of the paper background allowed me to make the lighting scheme more obvious as without the background, it was not originally obvious that the light was coming from above (pictured below)- this was done by overlaying a paper filter on the background

Having the background be paper created an area of visual rest for the audience as the texture and lighting reduce the background's detail and by extension draw attention to the foreground

The story’s title/placeholder title could also be displayed somewhat subtly by placing it on the paper background this acts a segway into the characterisation I included in the backgrounds writing (signatures and drawings)

The messy signature under Doctor’s signature is supposed to be reminiscent of doctor’s handwriting which is infamous for being equally unintelligible and refined at the same time.

Besides making it obvious that the pair of hands belong to a doctor that is caring for the child. Having writing that is both professional and messy successfully implements the caretaker’s characterization that I established in my character sketches and notes, that being someone who is meek and somewhat goofy despite having a career that is as professional as medicine/professional child care. This contrast well with the title written by the child that is not only done in alternating crayon colours but is very messy (irregular sizes ,backwards letter,and emerging from dotted writing space). This makes the child’s immaturity plain and obvious and contrasts sharply with the caretakers more refined writing. Surrounding the signatures are the child’s scribbles.

Also done in crayon, they are unrefined and obviously childish, this was done to further the immature characteristics. The scribbles include; a dinosaur breathing fire, a smiling sun with sunglasses, a moon & stars, a random blue object (meant to be the child’s sewing needle) and a cats with blood in its teeth. Besides the cat and moon/stars, the scribbles are meaningless and are just things i remember drawing as a child. Firstly the moon and stars simply relate to the nighttime aesthetic the story was going to have (the child would be nocturnal and so most scenes would take place at night).The importance the cat has is to indicate a slightly darker tone due to the blood in its teeth. This is a reference to random creepy drawings children make that are not usually, but could be a indicator of some underlying mental issue

https://abclearningcenterfl.com/psychology-childrens-artwork/

The significance of the blood in the cat’s teeth is to parallel the child’s behaviour. As cute as cats are, they are animals at the end of the day and are predators at that. The blood indicates a fresh kill which is perfectly normal for cats to do but doesn't really match the cute personality ,that we as humans, impose on them. the child similarly is cute but again has an underlying darker nature, The difference here though is that this “darker behaviour” is completely normal for cats but not for children (generally) this tie back to the nature vs nurture theme as a cat cant really be “taught” to not hunt pests as thats it’s nature, but it can be prevented by keeping it indoors. children can however be taught not to harm others and whatnot however is this preventing a natural behaviours as with the cat or is it correcting an abnormal behaviour? These are all “again” questions i wanted readers to ponder in the story but I hope it will be apparent enough in the front cover so that at least some will pick up on it.

The title (Work in progress) is currently a place holder as I couldn't think of a satisfying title. It does however work as a decent title for now.

The reason being that it successfully encapsulates the core idea of the story, that the caretaker is attempting to put the child on the right path and prevent them developing abnormally which would be particularly disadvantageous for the world due to the supernatural aspect The fact that both the doctor and patient’s signature read “work in progress” symbolises their connection and eventual pseudo mother-child relationship. I chose for the crayon colours to be red and purple as these are the characters signature colours, dark but also striking.

The inclusion of doodles on a professional document also ties back to the child’s immature but also general lack of respect for authority and the caretaker’s professional documents and her by extension(as stated before she is weak and not really taken seriously) Disregard for authority/the law can also be a symptom of Antisocial personality disorder (generally known in pop culture as psychopathy) which I included to ground the character's personality a bit more as everything else about them is rather fantastical. I hoped by including this a reader may recognise this symptom as real one and think that my characterization is more convincing

 https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/antisocial-personality-disorder/

The child’s head is opened up to reveal that in place of a regular mind, is a brain entirely composed of string. 

The brain being made of string references the strings that character conjours (evident in one of my previous posts) but also to simply more heavily the supernatural elements as it is not normal for someone to have their skull opened up whilst remaining calm and conscious as well as having a brain composed of an inorganic material.

In terms of deeper meaning. The “string brain is a reference to the phrase “”Wooley headed ” which means  “ marked by vague or confused perception or thinking”

 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woolly-headed#:~:text=Definition%20of%20woolly%2Dheaded,or%20confused%20perception%20or%20thinking

This applies to the child as they have not had any previous experiences with a parental figure or role model and so is social inept but also sort of messed up for lack of a better term. The phrase can also simply refer to hair that resembles wool which was further reasoning for giving the child a curly hair texture besides it having a youthful connotation in my head.

Another reason is to reference the delicacy of a child’s mind, they are very malleable and prone to influence. Childhood is primetime for  children to pick up learned behaviours and is generally the age period that is most referenced by the whole nature/nurture discussion. In other words, despite being kind of messed up, the child is still not beyond saving and is at the perfect stage to be returned to normalcy, thus the caretaker’s employment. The malleability is of a child’s mind is another reason that the brain is composed of string, string is easily manipulated and can be formed into intricate patterns with enough skill and patience - just like successfully raising a child. This is the reason why the caretaker is performing the surgery (correcting the child’s evil) with a pair of sewing needles rather than a scalpels and other normal surgical tools.

This is also the reason for the top down lightning scheme, a surgery is underway so i tried my best to illustrate that a bright surgery light was placed above the child

In terms of clothing, The child is exposed on one side revealing stitches causing them to resemble less of a patient and more of a cadaver- further adding to the supernatural theme. The appearance of stiches on every where but the child’s face is a left over idea for a plot point where the child would be revealed as having been altered upon death to have a more pleasing face to better resemble the beautiful fae beings they had temporarily been taken in by. The freckles on their cheeks would turn out to be sewing string loops/stiches upon further inspection

something like this maybe

The idea was to tie into the idea of beauty standards due to the unnaturally beautiful features fairy’s tend to have and what not

On their left side, the child wears their signature pijamas which contrasts with their bare skin to reference the contrast between the supernatural fun and idealised world their soul resides in whilst their body isn't in the best condition due to neglect but is the “real-er” form 

Finally the child is sticking their tounge out and pulling their eye down in a mocking way as this is a childish act and reveals the surgery is seemingly having no “painful effect” on them. their tongue is forked as this is a commonly demonic attribute for characters to have, further enhancing the supernatural therme. my signature and the issue number is red as it fits in with the rest of the colour scheme - dark reds and purples the placement obviously resembles the first issue of a manga or comic the main characters(or at least one of them) are front and center. 

Examples

The illustration is jam packed with bright colours, symbolism and (hopefully) an interesting concept. All implemented to catch a viewers attention and ensure they actually read the story

[darksushimoon-moved]

Stars Align (Hoshiai no Sora) has been trending for the past few hours (around 12 now! And it was above BTS for a while!!!). For those who don't watch it, it might be a new thing under their radar, one they haven't seen trending yet. I say, in my personal opinion, it's a must watch!

It's a sports anime, yes, but it's not really about the sport. On My Anime List, the synopsis goes like this:

"Constantly outperformed by the girls' club, the boys' soft tennis club faces disbandment due to their poor skills and lack of positive results in matches. In desperate need of members, Toma Shinjou is looking to recruit capable players, but he fails to scout anyone. Enter Maki Katsuragi, a new transfer student who demonstrates great reflexes when he catches a stray cat in his classroom, instantly capturing Toma's attention. With his interest piqued, Toma ambitiously asks Maki to join the boys' team but is quickly rejected, as Maki doesn't wish to join any clubs. Toma refuses to back down and ends up persuading Maki—only under the condition that Toma will pay him for his participation and cover other club expenses.

As Maki joins the team, his incredible form and quick learning allow him to immediately outshine the rest of the team. Although this gives rise to conflict among the boys, Maki challenges and pushes his fellow team members to not only keep up with his seemingly natural talent, but also drive them to devote themselves to the game they once neglected.

This story focuses on the potential of the boys' soft tennis club and their discovery of their own capability, while also enduring personal hardships and dealing with the darker side of growing up in middle school."

So, without going into spoiler territory, why should you watch it?

For one, the scenes are incredibly storyboarded and craftfully animated. While using standard 2D animation for the foreground characters,

they use 3D animation for the background characters and objects, keeping them moving despite their distance in the scene!

Not to mention the incredible scenery.

The characters are drawn and colored with care, the lines looking painter-ly with their fluidness, and the colors a pastel color, contrasting with the show's heavy themes.

Which brings me to the second point as to why you should watch this.

This show tackles many themes that have been relatively unexplored in anime. Without going into depth, they tackle themes such as child abuse and LGBTQ representation, and many more. It may appear to be a sports anime, but it does not focus on its sports, only in a handful of episodes does the soft tennis place forefront ahead of the issues the characters face.

Lastly, I beg you to watch it because of how it was treated. In short, the creator, Akane Kazuki, wanted to tell an unconventional story, and had originally planned for this anime to be 24 episodes. However, it was axed down to 12 episodes in the spring of last year, and therefore, they could only air the first half of the series. Akane wants to finish the story, but it's up to fans like us who are willing to go the extra mile to advertise it and buy merch to show the company that we want more. If you watch it on legal streaming sites (which it can be abundantly found on) the company will see interest, and want to televise it more!

So, you may be asking, where can I watch it? (Or not, that's fine too.)

Well, its available on Funimation (where there's a dub coming out of it, it's on episode 9 currently) and Hulu (where all the subbed episodes are located)! And, I believe you can find it on Amazon Instant Video as well.

Though, despite all I talk it up, I must issue some content warnings before it starts. This anime is very, very heavy thematically, and I don't want anyone to be surprised when they watch it.

-Child abuse is brought up time and time again throughout the show, with most of its cast having problematic parents who abuse their children, in many ways, not only physical.

-Bullying/cyberbullying is a major theme throughout the show as well, especially in episode three, and throughout one of the character's arcs.

-sadly, alongside the LGBTQ representation, there is transphobia/homophobia.

-furthermore, there are themes of violence, murder, and mild suicide implications sprinkled throughout the show.

EDIT: I've been informed to also include further cws, so these are a few I forgot in the original post!

-existentialism is talked about often throughout the show, by the main character and others!

-in the dub, funimation changed one of the lines to be fatphobic, likely by accident, but still a thing.

So despite the fact this is an incredible show which talks about tooics that deserve to be talked about in today's media, I do acknowledge it isn't for everyone. Which is okay! I just wish for everyone to promote the show as it deserves to be played out in its entirity, instead of being cut short.

Thank you for reading, if you made it this far! I hope you'll give this show a chance!

#hoshiai no sora #hns #stars align #maki katsuragi #shinjou touma #anime #anime 2019 #akane kazuki #shut up ash #long post

[artyrogue]

Blind Date Gaming: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R

Well today's date was a blast from my past. Remember way back when in yesteryear, before the advent of anime in the west? Probably not? Well hey, let's go back in time to when Sailor Moon was like the only anime being shown on TV. Okay, so yeah, it's really not super-great and all (at least the dub wasn't...), but whatever, it was my jam as a young impressionable lad of...what was I, like 10 or something? I can't remember, but since my old grey brick Game Boy was the cornerstone of my youth, I am a little excited to revisit a merging of two old passions. That's right! We're gonna play some Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R!

It starts with a cutscene, of course. This IS based off an anime, so we gotta get a fill of some anime girls with their obligatory high school problems! Sadly for me, it's all in Japanese, but I can provide some crappy machine translations to no doubt elucidate the action-packed dialogue!

"Today, every one of them..."

Oh. Guess I shouldn't have just kind of took a random screenshot in the middle of nowhere. Well, uhh...I'll ad-lib. Today, everyone is apparently milling about whatever Sailor Moon's hometown was. Serena was being a git and verbally harassing everyone she found on the street. That kind of accurately described the first phase of gameplay in this game: an 'adventure' where you have to talk to the right person, then talk to someone else, etc. until the game decides that surprise! You found the area's boss! (My apologies to the script writers here for my clear bypassing of their hard work.)

why hello there fellow school girl, let us talk about boys and how hard maths are

I get some bad vibes of two sorts: One, adventure games where you just try things randomly until you click the right thing and the game decides to let you progress; and Two, Mario is Missing. An odd marriage, especially considering the random boring mini-games they sprinkle in here and there, like matching cards, guessing if the next card will be higher or lower than the current card, and of course the staple of youth fun, sliding puzzles.

At least Final Fantasy gave you money for completing these dumb things....

Well, luckily the game isn't just mingling. There's a platforming phase where you use magical powers to jump, shoot foes, and do battle with evildoers from the Sailor Moon universe! Though I really don't recall any of these enemies since I never watched this season of the show, so I can't speak to their accuracy to the source material. The platforming is accurate for girls wearing high heels, though. These jumps're so stiff, you can mount 'em on a ladder and do high dives offa them.

I can only assume these are the Japanese temple versions of Jehovah's witnesses

The bosses are unsurprisingly dull! Pretty much the only cool thing about them is their animations, which are alright and fairly fluid. Combat is summed up as ‘spam the attack button and don't even try to dodge, because who cares?’ You have more health than every boss in the game. Which is a good thing, ‘cos it's not like you can actually move around and dodge anything anyway.

Ahh yes, the handstand of dominance. A most impressive display for an inter-dimensional being bent on destruction!

So after thumb-wrestling a boss, you get kicked back into story mode. It shifts the scout you play as, but who cares, they all blabber to randos on the street. Come on, just let me fight things! This sucks! While the best aspect of the street-roaming phase that gets changed up is the road layout, later platforming levels get a little cute with their traps and enemies. Still, though, it's all stupidly easy and kinda boring. Except that one time Sailor Mercury was dodging spike mace balls in a sea of scaffolding. Dang, I liked that episode of the show!

Why can't they ever have spiky cubes? Why always balls? C'mon devs, get creative!

Also, I feel the need to point out that the background artists definitely got paid more than the foreground artists. There is so little effort put into the foreground, you may as well be playing an old Game Boy g...oh. Right.

Mmyep, this sure looks like release material and not placeholders during development.

The story starts getting kooky near the end, at least from what my illiterate self can tell. Your first foes are some David Bowie wannabes. Next, a cloaked fortune teller pops in to ruin your self esteem and flash their $40 glass orb (as they do). Eventually, you meet the REAL enemy pulling the strings. It's...a planet? I think? A planet with a dirt lip and a mohawk. Sure. That's fine, I don't see anything that could go wrong with that.

"...my life is Wiseman. This is my heart." Yeah no, I don't think you should have put 'Organ Donor' on your driver's license then, buddy

"Moon Crystal Power!" The faces are definitely part of the power summoning rite. I get a similar look from my wife when I take the last ice cream bar from the freezer

The ending was lackluster, really. I mean, don't get me wrong, the character portraits were pretty good, but you don't get many more unique ones in the final cutscene. But hey, at least you can use the existing ones to redo some popular internet memes.

Overall, not really that great. It was pretty disappointing, but I mean, that's kind of spot-on for all of my revisits to fond childhood memories. So what I've learned from this date is that holy moly did I have terrible taste as a kid! While my younger self might have sprung for it, I ain't going on a date with this one again. Nopes all around! But at least I found a baller Sprite of Passage from one of the lame mini games! Have it as a reminder to never revisit your childhood. Keep that past rosy!

do you have burials at sea for sailor scouts?

#blinddategaming #gameboy #sailor moon

[busterkeatonfanfic]

Chapter 4

The band in the Senator’s ballroom was playing a slow dirge-like version of “In the Good Old Summertime” and Buster had half a mind to kick the lead singer in the seat of the pants so he’d shut up. The head of the Chamber of Commerce was there, the mayor too, and he was pretty sure he’d met a few of the eponymous senators. He’d glad-handed for as long as he could stand it (about an hour) before slinking off into a protective circle of familiar faces. He used his stature to his advantage, concealing himself behind the screen that Joe, Fred, Sandy Roth, and other members of the company made. There was plenty to talk about; namely, the picture. And also, the picture. But now he was bored of talking about the picture and this positive funeral march that they were playing wasn’t helping matters. Although Sacramento was rumored to be open, the hotel was pretending tonight that it was dry and he regretted leaving his flask in his room, but they were feting Buster after all and it would have been rude not to be fully present for every single excruciating second.

Still.

“Think they’ll notice if their esteemed guest goes AWOL?” he said to Fred. 

Fred laughed. “Count on it.”

Buster pulled his packet of cigarettes out of his slacks pocket, pinched one out, struck a match, and lit it. He didn’t like crowds of people he didn’t know or being expected to care about Sacramento’s economic situation, whether Coolidge was to be president again, and what was to be done about the decline of morals in young people. He especially didn’t like airs and this crowd had plenty. The truth was, he’d been made to do very few things in his charmed life, fewer still as he’d become a bona fide star, and his tolerance for formalities was at an all-time low. They were much more Nate’s speed. With her at his side at these functions, he never had to do more than answer the usual stupid questions (“Do you ever smile?”; “Do your pratfalls hurt?”) before Nate filled the uncomfortable silence with gay chatter and put the questioner at their ease.

Unlike with The General , however, Natalie had expressed no desire to be on location during the filming of Steamboat . He liked to think it was because she couldn’t bear to be away from her magnificent Villa for very long, but he had a sneaking suspicion her absence had simply to do with the fact that she didn’t care to be around him any longer.

“At least one more hour,” Joe said. “Then you can go back to your room and cut loose if that’s what you want.”

Behind Sandy, Buster spotted a man and his wife encroaching. 

“Excuse me,” said the man, tapping Sandy on the shoulder. “My wife’s an awful big fan of Mr. Keaton and I was just wondering if we could introduce ourselves for a minute.”

Taking a deep drag from the cigarette and blowing the smoke out in such a way that it temporarily obscured his face, Buster looked at the woman and said, “I never smile and the pratfalls don’t hurt.” 

She looked shocked. “How did you know what I was going to say?”

  “Hi.”

Nelly startled just as badly as she had when Buster had crept up on her a few days prior. She knew the voice wasn’t his, though, even before she looked over her shoulder and found herself locking eyes with Tommy, the blonde-haired workman. 

“Hi yourself,” she said, turning around and smoothing down the skirt of her dress. She’d been going through a jumble of skeleton keys in one of the smaller rooms in the prop house. 

Tommy was extraordinarily tall, almost sequoia-sized. He leaned against shelves. “How’d you like to go to a blind tiger tonight?” he said, without preamble. “A few of the fellows and I are going. We invited Mr. Bert. Oh, and Buster too.”

Buster, she thought, accustomed as he was to rubbing elbows with the upper crust, was not going to attend this rustic soirée, but she didn’t want to puncture Tommy’s evident pride at the scheme. She had never been to a blind pig, a blind tiger, a blind anything. She and some girlfriends would pass around hooch some Saturday nights back in Evanston, but she’d never actually drunk alcohol in an establishment. So naturally she said, “What time?”

Tommy grinned. “Oh, we were thinking maybe seven o’clock or something.”

She knew that Sacramento wasn’t as dry as other cities, but she paused to consider whether this was such a good idea nonetheless. A brief flash of the place being raided by police and her getting carted off to jail and losing her gig on the film occurred. The sybaritic part of her threw the doubts aside. Her decision was only strengthened by Bert, who came through the prop house doors.

“This jackass bothering you?” he teased, craning his head to look up at Tommy. 

“I invited her to the party tonight,” Tommy said. 

“What makes you think she’d go with the likes of you? She has taste, y’know,” said Bert. 

“What makes you think I have taste?” Nelly said, making both men laugh. When the laughter died away, she said, “Sure. Where?”

Tommy told her it was on 2nd Avenue next to a Chinese laundry. By day, it masqueraded as a five- and ten-cent store. “One of the bricks is painted a sort of yellow,” he said. “Just the one, though. There’s a side door off the alley. Knock four times.”

It all sounded so alluring and mysterious that Nelly couldn’t wait. 

A quarter past the appointed hour, Joe dropped her off in front of the store. She expected it to have a dingy air, but it looked perfectly clean and presentable, not at all the sort of place that would draw attention. Joe waited for her as she crept into the alley, feeling her heart race with the illicitness of it all and the promise of seeing Tommy again. She gave three rhythmic knocks. A man in a tweed cap whom she vaguely recognized opened the door and she waved to Joe to let him know it was okay to drive off before she stepped into the tiger’s den. 

There were slightly more than a dozen men crowded into the place, which was an apartment at the back of the store consisting of one main room, a water closet, and a couple doors that appeared to belong to bedrooms or closets. Everything from the stove to the sofa was in the main room. An old gramophone in the corner played ragtime jazz. She knew at once that Buster would not be coming. The set-up and the company were far too humble and she wondered if she’d made an error in judgement showing up. She was the only girl in sight and overdressed in nylon stockings and her best black dress with the belt. She felt ill at ease until she saw Bert and Tommy. Bert was in conversation with one of the men who was frequently in and out of the prop house. Tommy was standing near a bar, behind which stood various libations. 

“Nelly!” he cried, striding toward her. His eyes crinkled and he looked ecstatic to see her. “C’mon, come pick your poison.”

He put his arm around her shoulders and led her to the bar. Bottles lining the shelves behind it contained liquors of light ambers, deep browns, and clear silvers. There were even bottles of beer, not near beer, but real beer. She’d never seen so much booze in her life. She selected a bottle of beer. Tommy didn’t take his arm away immediately. It was heavy and he smelled good, woollen and mannish. She tilted the bottle back to her lips, feeling as though she was in good hands. It didn’t take long before she was warm and happy. 

Tommy conversed with the other men about the week’s events on the set—one man had nearly lost a finger sawing a board, another had given himself a good electric shock from a wire—and talked a good deal about a poker game he had recently won $100 in. She and Bert spoke for a while, mostly about work and what they expected shooting to look like next week. When her beer bottle was empty, Tommy slid a generous glass of bourbon into her hand. It stung going down in a way she didn’t quite care for, but as she got warmer still, she became used to it. About an hour or so into the party, Tommy’s hand crept around her waist and she didn’t mind a single bit. He talked to her about his childhood in Indiana and how he’d trap raccoons for fur to bring in money for the family. With his height and looks, she figured he was trying to break into pictures too, but it transpired that he thought he’d make his real fortune as a high-stakes poker player. The ambition seemed a little silly, but she wasn’t one to trod on other people’s dreams.

“Let’s dance,” he said, bending down to yell it in her ear over the conversation. The man who was in charge of the gramophone put on a song of medium speed in which a guitar plunked quietly in the background and a clarinet and trumpet took turns in the foreground. They danced in a small circle around the room and she had to crane her neck when he talked. 

They were three songs in when a workman in his fifties approached. He was missing several bottom front teeth. “Here.” He pushed a small glass of something clear in her hands.

“What is it?” she said, laughing.

“Gin.”

“I’ve never had gin before,” she said.

“Never had gin before?” Tommy said, holding her at arm’s length in mock incredulity.

She giggled and shook her head, trying to keep the glass steady as he pulled her back under her shoulder. She sipped and there was that sting again, this time tasting like Christmas trees. 

“No, you don’t sip it,” said the workman. “You swallow it down all at once.”

He and Tommy watched as she gamely tilted the drink to her lips and disappeared the gin down in one gulp. She gasped, wrinkling her nose as they laughed uproariously. “That was awful!”

“Try this one,” said another workman, younger and heavier. He extended a rocks glass containing a chestnut brown liquor. “Whiskey.”

She sipped and contorted her face. This was the worst one yet. “I’ll take my time,” she promised, setting it on a nearby table.

It didn’t take long before she was warmer and looser and gayer than she’d ever felt. Tommy passed her into the arms of the toothless workman. To her surprise, he was an incredible dancer and they did a foxtrot around the room to the next song, winning the applause of the other men. Bert took the next dance and they attempted a tango, but the music wasn’t the right tempo and they couldn’t stay in step. She was having the time of her life. She reached for the whiskey and barely noticed the sting as it went down. 

Tommy took her back and someone put “Steamboat Bill” on the Victrola, which caused everyone to erupt into laughter.

Oh, Steamboat Bill, steaming down the Mississippi.

Steamboat Bill, a mighty man was he.

Steamboat Bill, steaming down the Mississippi.

Going to beat the record of the Robert E. Lee!

She grinned, hot and breathless. Tommy’s big hand on her waist was beginning to feel more and more exhilarating. She began to entertain thoughts of asking him to slip out into the alley with her, but whenever a song ended, another workman was waiting with a drink or a request for a dance. At some point, the fat workman stole her away from Tommy and tried the Turkey Trot with her, but her feet were no longer cooperating. She was thirsty, but the only thing available to quench her thirst was beer.

She became dimly aware that her head and limbs had turned clumsy and heavy and she had completely lost track of time. It didn’t worry her. She was young and could dance and drink all night if she wanted.

(Image source.)

#Buster Keaton #Silent Film #Golden Age Hollywood #Silent Movie Stars #RPF #Actor RPF #Real Person Fiction #Roaring Twenties #1920s #1920s Film

[encyclopika]

Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #86

Brought to you by a marine biologist who started her new job!

CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!

Yeah...that explains why I haven’t been doing this in like a week. Sorry if you were looking for them! My new job is VERY tiring...and I guess that goes along with today’s fish and the rest of the fish we will be covering during this special month - the Salmon:

Salmon are what I like to call “famous fish”. You may not really know what they look like, but you have heard of them, either as a dinner option (for which they are one of the most popular fish to eat after Tuna) or for their semelparous lifestyle, in which they all dramatically return to their birth rivers to spawn and then all promptly DIE. They’re the...one and done, fish. So this week we’ll cover the rest of the salmon because September is Salmon Month in ACNH; every species of salmon in the game, except for the Stringfish, is here! 

Check out the salmonids we’ve already covered: Cherry Salmon & Stringfish.

Okay, so it’s funny to me that there are multiple salmon species in the same, cherry salmon, king salmon, and this one’s just called “salmon”. Other AC Wikis may call this the Coho salmon, (Oncorhynchus kisutch), but I disagree; I’m fairly certain this is actually the Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) and of course I’ll explain:

Chum Salmon have the widest natural distribution of any Pacific Salmon, from Russia and Japan to Alaska and Canada. They also have the longest migrations, reaching deep into the interiors of Asia and North America to spawn. This probably explains why it’s the most common thing in the River Mouth right now. Seriously, if you see a shadow in the river mouth, it’s probably the Salmon (unless you’re my husband the Sturgeon Poacher, who is back on his shit again.)

Also! Look! The breeding colors match up perfectly! And yes, the Salmon in ACNH is particularly a male in his breeding colors and shape. In the picture above, you can tell the male (background) apart from the female (foreground) by his hooked jaws. Below, you can see the huge difference between the ocean-faring Chum Salmon and the one in breeding colors:

Photo from here.

So, why the change? And how? Well, the how comes from hormones and environmental factors. Like many animals on this planet, salmon are on a clock, and once it’s time to breed, they all travel back to their spawning grounds; their bodies take care of the rest. Both makes and females turn red and green, but it’s the male that gets the hooked jaws and big teeth. He uses these tools to fight with other males once they reach the breeding grounds and defend the nest he’s built for a very lucky lady. Is it any wonder they drop dead when they’re done spawning? Imagine running for weeks on end, up waterfalls against the river current, then fight a bunch of dudes, and then make love (sometimes multiple times)...you’d probably die, too. 

And there you have it. Fascinating stuff, no?

#salmon #marine biology #fish #chum salmon #animal crossing #animal crossing fish explained #science in video games

[nim-lock]

It’s 2 AM, I’m in a contemplative mood, and I’m gonna self-crit a bunch of pieces from ~2016 that I learned something from!! I was pretty dissatisfied with each of these at the time of creation, and couldn’t formulate WHY I disliked them so much (thus; why most of these have never been posted here)....so 2020 me is gonna tell me shit I learned in the time since then. 

1 - At the time of this piece, I thought my colors were way off. Looking back, if I would care less about any color issues, and instead story. If I were talking to myself it’d go A) it’s really good that you’re thinking about dynamic posing and movement. B) consider the composition in a way that tells cause/effect; WHY is she standing like that, WHERE did the bear head come from; etc. Also legs could be adjusted by putting them farther away so it matches the distance of the receding arm. 

2 - A) Specific parts of this piece work really well, because the use of value depicts the forms. It doesn’t work as a whole because the tones of the environment weren’t considered while the individual parts were being worked on. Thumbnails with a few shades tossed in while planning the piece would help in making sure the values stayed legible. B) The characters in the foreground could show more emotion by having more of the body in view; right now they are standing stock still, looking at a point underneath the wolf’s paw. One way this could be changed is by having a character leaning back, arms out, maybe a bit unbalanced. It’s good to be able to tell a character’s reaction by their body language. 

3 - I know and I’m pretty sure my professor knew that I did this shit just to have something to show, instead of caring about it ahahah. My crit would prolly just be ‘please pick a subject you give a shit about’, BUT it’s also good to experiment and try shit just so you know what you like & don’t like to make, so this is a successful piece bc I learned that I didn’t like to make THAT.

4 - Shading could help distinguish between foreground, middleground, and background for this.The front pig also looks like they might be on a collision course with the middle pig, so perhaps having them go clearly in a direction (maybe with a path on the ground, or a hint of something in the foreground) would show their actions more clearly.

5 - More of “consider WHY they’re here and what they’re doing.” I have the impulse to add a bunch of leaves in the foreground to frame it to both give more depth & also to cover up parts of the piece that are less figured out xD...

Alright that’s it :-0

I think. I KNEW a lot of this at the time, it’s one thing to know in theory some tips about drawing, and another to remember to do it in every single piece. Also sometimes you can get too lost in the sauce of your own piece to be able to crit it in the moment x) But yeee there’s some stuff :-0!!!

+ overall art “quality” can fluctuate wildly; like for example there’s one piece from 2014 that’s STILL on my portfolio just because it was a total crapshoot that surpassed the quality of everything else I was doing then. (I should... replace it...)

these days my own quality can still change, I’ve just gotten better at hiding mistakes + shoving things into a method that works for me 

You got this everyone !!! Sometimes the jumps & improvement are barely noticeable but they ARE there. 

#uhhhh head empty I yell at my old work

[nakunakunomi]

Matchup for @jordimac33​

I’m very excited I made it! Thank you Hazel!! 💕

My name is Jordan, but all my friends call me Jordie. I’m 23 and 5'10". I’m bisexual. My Myers Briggs is INTP, and my zodiac sign is Cancer (everytime I open my horoscope it feels like a personal attack). I have brown eyes with glasses, and short brown hair shaved along the sides & back. I have a couple of stray freckles around my chin and down my shoulders. I played Ice hockey up until college so I’m still pretty lean. Hockey made my legs pretty strong & thick and they’re probably my favorite feature on myself. I’ve got two really big passions in my life, baking and my friends & family. Baking is something that has always brought me a lot of joy, and it’s something I can share with the people that I care about. I was always a firm believer that my love language to others was gift giving, especially with food. Everytime someone is feeling low or upset pastries have a way of appearing. It’s something I can see myself doing happily for the rest of my life, so I’m trying to make a career out of it. I’m my 2nd year of a pastry program in culinary school, so I’m constantly trying different recipes out on my friends and coworkers. When I’m not baking up a storm, I’m normally burning through any book I can get my hands on. History and fantasy adventure stories have always been my favorite. I come from a pretty big family that saw each other regularly, so I’ve come to love the chaos. Being that close really made me treasure my friendships as well. Family & friends always come first for me, it doesn’t matter what I’m doing i’ll drop it to be there for them. I’m normally the one people head to for comfort/advice, and I thrive off of that. I’m not always comfortable being in the foreground, but I absolutely love being able to support the people who are. My biggest fear is probably being alone, I flourish in environments with lots of people I care about. I hate the thought of being left behind.

I hope I hit all the points you needed, sorry if I’m long winded! 😬 Thank you again Hazel!! 💕

Hiya Jordan (can I call you Jordie?) Dont worry about being long winded, the more info I get the better! :D The baking talents sound amazing (and now im hungry TwT ) I hope you like these matches for you! I match you with...

OTP: Katakuri 

Into sweets? Big family? A lot of chaos? Unwavering loyalty? I think all the marks get checked right here! Your pastries are a great way of winning him over, breaking that stoic first wall and getting him to trust and eventually love you. The biggest hurdle is allowing you to see his face, and from there on out, it’s pretty much smooth sailing. 

Despite his hard exterior and overwhelming power, Kata is pretty insecure and a softie once you get closer. He loves and admires your cooking, preferring it over whatever the chefs make, because of the secret ingrediënt only you can provide: love. You’re the only person ever to be invited to his merienda. 

Once you get past the initial hard exterior, you will find that he can be pretty affectionate. Usually not in public but within the walls of your own home you can unleash all the affections you have, and he will carefully reciprocate, treating you with utmost care and softness. He gets easily flustered whenever you initiate even a cuddle session but will never reject you or let you down, after all, he likes it too. 

He loves that you adapt to such a big family so well and get along with everyone so easily. No matter how weird or dysfunctional this family is sometimes, Katakuri does care about his siblings and the fact that you somehow feel comforted in the chaos does make him happy. The fact that you are so supportive and someone everyone in the family can come and talk to makes you fit in perfectly and all around loved! 

Dates, besides the obvious baking and tasting include long walks around the various islands, just for exercise since you both like some activity, as well as letting you find all kinds of new flavors and ingredients that are so prominently available on the many islands! Katakuri likes to take you to Big mom’s huge library every now and then. He himself is not really an avid reader, but can stare for hours as you lose yourself in the endless bookcollection that there is. 

Runner up: Nico Robin 

A shared love for books and history, the two of you can speak for hours about diverse topic, have intense yet polite discussions, and a whole array of inside jokes. Honestly, you two could spend hours upon hours talking and never get tired nor bored of each other. Anyone listening in on a conversation would either be gravely disturbed, thoroughly confused of have no idea what either of you are talking about, and purposfully picking the most strange things to talk about in places where others can overhear it just to shock them slowly becomes a hobby, even if neither of you has every explicitly said that the goal was to disturb eavesdropping people.  

You both like being supportive in the background, the caretakers of the crew so to say, and are usually the first ones the crew comes to when it is actual advice they need. You’re also each other’s first line whenever either one of you need help. 

Why she’s not the one: Robin can endure chaos very well, is even amused by it, but in the end, she thrives in solitude and needs time to herself quite often to be able to give her all to you. In those times, she can be a little cold, and even though it’s nothing personal, it is not ideal for someone who thrives on companionship. 

BrOTP: Sanj

Silently supporting your friends in the background with love; strong legs and heaps of great food. Sanji and you bond over food and make a hobby out of coming up with new desserts; one more creative and insane than the other, each and every single one of them tasty, great looking and still relatively nutricious. 

You are the first one in the background waiting with a towel to throw at his face the moment he loses control over the bloodflow to his nose when he spots someone to swoon over and the first one to drag him back into the kitchen where both of you thrive. 

Favorite pastime is doing challenges: think of the most insane cooking shows with desserts you’ve seen and now apply that craziness to the both of you, some timers and your crew/friends in the background as the jury both to keep an eye on you following the rules and as taste-testers (after all there will be no food wasted). 

#Naku no matchup #500 followers event #matchup #one piece matchup #jordimac33

[arcaneranger]

Final Thoughts - VLADLOVE

At least it can really only go up from here!

VLADLOVE is...an anomaly. Basically nothing about it makes any sense, and I’m honestly wondering if this was a real episode I just watched or if I actually just dreamed it.

Let’s start from the outside - despite being created and directed by the very experienced, highly-lauded Mamoru Oshii, and animated by Production IG, VLADLOVE’s direction can best be summarized as “yeah, I’ve seen Monogatari and FLCL, I’m pretty sure I know how to direct anime now”. Strange color grading choices are all over the place and don’t have much in the way of rhyme or reason, and the color grading on the characters doesn’t ever match the background, so it never looks like they’re actually part of the scene behind them. The character designs are...

And overall, the project looks honestly overanimated. The key frames are pretty ugly, but there’s a lot of what would, in most other situations, be called “sakuga” if not for the things they’re animating being hideous and uninspired. This might have worked, say, twenty five years ago, but not in 2021.

The plot is really not much better. The central character is a girl who obsessively donates blood, a character trait which will be relatable to basically nobody because it doesn’t sound like something anybody would actually do. She meets a vampire chick with two different personalities depending on her hunger level, and decides “hey, we both like blood! I can take care of her” but by the end of the episode starts referring to the vampire as her girlfriend, and the two of them are helped by...the school nurse.

Yes, that’s her in the foreground. This character basically made my brain melt. I had to pause the episode for ten minutes just to unpack this costume design. Why does the dress zip up in the front? Why is the zipper so low? What exactly is holding it up? Is it taped to her boobs? (And, the obvious one: why does she wear this to work at a high school?) The rabbit hole goes deeper, because apparently in addition to being a high school nurse, she’s also a scientist who studies rare blood types? For some reason? And she convinces our main character to start a blood donation club to keep her vampire girlfriend fed.

Am I being punked? I keep having flashbacks to Punch Line, a show that also had a nonsensical first episode, but Punch Line had stuff to latch onto, the weirdness was apparent in-universe, and here, Vlad Love is played completely straight. The direction is trying far too hard, the universe has shattered my suspension of disbelief, and the whole thing looks like it was a giant waste of money and talent.

What a terrible way to start 2021, but at least you can make the argument that this episode actually went up on YouTube two weeks ago, so it’s technically from 2020. Just give me this. I can’t accept that this is actually the first thing I watched this year.

#vladlove #arcaneanime #final thoughts #arcane's hall of shame #winter 2021

[imthepunchlord]

Rethinking Marinette’s miraculous potential

Adrien’s here

Marinette is a character I have come to think is a rarity, that is able to use a lot if not all miraculouses very well. She’s got an even mix of aggression and passivity, action and thought, taking in the situation, resourcefulness, and reaction as needed. With the flexibility she has, she’s solid for a lot of the 5; though, I will only be covering four of them, not Peacock. 

Butterfly

Starting off with Butterfly, back in s1, I thought it was was one of the least fit miraculouses for Marinette. All we had seen of its power was the holder hanging back in his lair while others fought his battle. And for me, that seemed to go against Marinette’s character, standing back while others fought for her, she’s eager to work with others, but she’s also someone that likes to be involved, sometimes taking on the issue herself. Didn’t quite make her promising as as Butterfly, despite her having moments to encourage and support others (like Ivan back in Origins).  

Then s2 revealed that Butterfly could be more combative than we realize, and if desired, Butterfly could easily join the fray and fight alongside their Champions. Now its a miraculous that is more up her alley. Could even be her best match in how it works. 

It can play off her strength as a leader, motivate and encourage another to fight with her, and allow her to still be in a fight and be involved. And she can recognize another’s potential and their strength. She knows to work off those strengths, use them to her advantage. And as we see by Darkblade and Refleckta, she’s good at bringing people onto her side, has the heart to care, and can easily inspire them. She branches out, reaches out to others, connects with them, takes time to understand them; this is the biggest appeal to her being a Butterfly. She makes the connections, seeks to make a change, and will be there alongside them to help her Champions. With this, Butterfly has strong potential to be her best match out of the five. 

Nooroo is a kwami she’d also get along well with. Both of them are passive, and desire the best for all, and he’d be ready and willing to help her achieve her goals to help all. And if he has concerns to share, she’ll be ready to listen and consider his words. And with his inquisitive nature, help her think and consider all factors around her. 

At this point, there’s no immediate drawback I can think of for Marinette and Butterfly; she can keep a distance when she desires and leave her Champion to face the core fight, she can involved and hold her own, and can work with others, connect with them, branch and mix it up so there’s a new Champion each time and no way to predict what’s going to happen. And she gets to be a leader she has the potential to be. 

Butterfly may be her best. 

Fox 

Fox was another I used to think wasn’t a good fit, but after LFP and thinking about it more, its another strong potential. 

Fox is a miraculous I used to see be more flashy and playful, and while it can be (not the best idea for it), with the limitation of one illusion, its miraculous that can require more subtly, cunning, and planning. It requires more keeping a distance, being aware of your surroundings and what’s about to happen, to be creative with the one illusion and knowing what’s the best way to use it. 

Marinette is very cunning, observant, and resourceful. She’d be subtle in using the Fox, making use of her realistic illusion so none would know the Fox is about and that they’re being tricked. She wouldn’t give her location away, and can work being a long range miraculous hero. 

Only issue is that Marinette does like to be involved in the fight. And its natural for her to step up into the role of leader when its needed. With Fox better suited to being more in the background and not in the heat of things, I can see her risking herself a bit with that instinctive need to be out there. Its a miraculous not meant to be in the heat of the fight, and while she can work around these limitations and can still fight even when not fit for close range (Prime Queen), for it to be used to its best, she’d have to limit herself to the background more often. But, she is flexible and resourceful, and as PQ shows, while not best for close range, she can make things work in her favor, fight close when its needed. 

Trixx is kwami that’s a big appeal with Fox. Trixx is driven and crafty, knowing what to say to manipulate his holders down the best route. Marinette is equally sharp, and is capable of manipulating others as well (Horrificator and Queen Wasp, though its not for the best despite what narrative wants us to think). While Trixx can play her after first, I can see her catching on quick as her confidence grows, and they become two individuals that can interact evenly with their sharp wit, engaging each other playful and becoming quick partners that are fond of each other, with Trixx especially enjoying having someone with sharp wit to interact with. 

So Fox is a great potential miraculous for Marinette to use, only issue is that it would have her more background set than she’d like, but I can still see her pulling that off and finding ways to work around this limitation, allowing her to still be a very solid Fox. Where Butterfly plays off her desire to connect with others, Fox plays off her intelligence. It is another promising miraculous for her. 

Bee

Bee is another that can play off Marinette’s strengths and have little issues with, if any. Bee requires someone to be aggressive when needed (which she can be), to be calculating and flexible against enemies, can work solo or with another, and have a drive to put a stop to chaos and restore order. 

All of these can qualify and fit with Marinette. She can be involved and be aggressive. She is calculating and works quickly with the danger before her. And has a strong drive to reestablish order and put a stop to chaos and danger. And while this miraculous can work as a team player, it can also play a role of leader, which can allow Marinette to embrace the queen bee that she is. She can work similarly to how she does as LB, just be able to bring in the Sting. 

Pollen would be the only thing I can think of as an issue. Not that Marinette wouldn’t get along with her, but she is someone who likes to engage with her kwami, see them as an equal and receive advise and guidance from them, hear their thoughts and opinions. And Pollen is a kwami that has blind faith in her holders, think them the best and already know what to do. Marinette would be good growth for Pollen, to develop mentally and break away from that mindset, but she doesn’t offer Marinette much in terms of guidance, leaving her on her own to figure things out. 

But, since Tikki hardly ever does give Marinette actual advise, just speaks out when she’s bothered by something, Marinette can figure stuff out on her own. Which still allows Bee to be another promising miraculous for her. Much like the other two, it can play off strengths that are there. 

Turtle

Turtle I used to think was the least fit for Marinette, alongside Butterfly and Fox. But now, I can see the potential in a different light, particularly playing off Marinette’s desire to stand up for others, watch out for others, and the factor that she is willing to take risks (Copycat). This is the biggest appeal to turtle!Marinette, plays off this drive to be a rock and barrier, to step in for others and handle things for them. Turtle plays off her desire to be reliable, and this protective drive she has. It was actually a big that got to her to step up as a hero in Origins, seeing the danger Alya was in and realizing how much a hero is needed. 

Wayzz is a kwami that Marinette would get along with. While he can be anxious as well, he is focused and driven. He would know what to say to help Marinette when lost, he would speak out and discuss things with her when bothered, be engaging and involved. He’d be encouraging of her heroics, take pride in who she is, and enjoy tea with her all the time. I see them becoming a very unified duo. 

Only issue with the Turtle that I can think of is it would have her more deeper in a fight than she would like to be. While Marinette does like to be involved, she makes use off her miraculous being long range, take a chance to take things in, step back and regroup. Turtle, as defense, is meant to be more foreground, able to take that blow for another. She can be aware of all her partners, can put up the shield as needed; but she’d be more in a fight than she’d prefer. But, she can still make this work and still be a solid rock of support for all. Just not as flexible as she’d like to be. 

But with all this, out of the 4/5, Butterfly and Bee I think would be her best, with Fox and Turtle as strong contenders, with Fox more than Turtle. 

#miraculous ladybug #kwami swap #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #ml speculation #ml theory #this has been sitting in my draft for forever and finally got it done #character study