#just thinking out loud again

[papermonkeyism]

Poking at the dinosaur project thingy, this time with some production technicalities point of view.

Here be musings.

I originally thought of the project as a calendar, then a series of calendars that could be collected into an art book once enough art had been made for it, and at some point I thought of just skipping the calendar part and going straight for art books.

I've been going back and forth between those options multiple times over the years, and it's still kinda open. Like on one hand a simple calendar with just thirteen illustrations (twelve months plus cover) is the easiest and cheapest option, though pretty limited (what to do once the year presented in the calendar ends, and you still got unsold leftover stock?), and the other hand art books are big projects requiring lots of work, even more money, but be a lasting and very satisfying thing to have.

Maybe I should take a middle road and make a zine instead?

Maybe.

Though, this is where the shape of the actual project comes in.

I've always planned the project as having a slice of life style format, with little story and more focus in exploring the setting. Kinda just looking in and enjoying the view while you go. But I've noticed that keeping the "narration" as illustrations kinda keeps the immersion at arm's length too. While that is fine and dandy for a calendar where the space for any narrative would be very limited anyway, if I was going to do more with the setting, I kinda need something deeper. Even if the audience is fine just looking at pretty pictures, with ADHD it would be better to have something deeper to help keep me personally invested enough to actually plan, plot and produce the materials needed.

Should I make an actual story, with plot and stuff? Feels kinda unnecessary for a thing focusing on just illustrations, and I don't know if I really "click" with a text heavy picture book format. I kinda feel it would make comic as the best option, though that has its own downsides. I've always wanted to do full colour paintings of the dinosaurs, yet going comic it would have to simplify a lot and make it grayscale just to keep me sane. And, as someone who has done well over 250 pages of a long form comic, that's still a HUGE commitment I don't think I have the resources - mental, physical nor financial - to pull off.

I also kinda feel having a plot story would sort of detract from the "exploring the world" aspect and put more heavy focus on characters, which. Well, it's not *bad* exactly, just not quite what I want.

(Also I am aware the dinosaur clan I have has a kid character, and I don't want to make her the point of view character for the story. I have no interest doing a childrens' book. I mean, I am perfectly fine if kids do eventually end up liking my stuff, but I don't consider them my target audience. My target audience is me, an adult person in their later 30s, and a handful of nerds I consider friends and/or mutuals.)

Another option I've been toying with is kind of a double edged sword.

Those who got the Almost Real speculative evolution zine volume 5 got a bit of a taste of this, as I kinda tried it out there.

So... I've gone to pretty great lengths as a layperson to work in the setting of the project thingy. It's always bothered me when dinosaurs get just dumped into a story with no regards to when and where they actually lived, making for an anachronistic hodgepodge of what's popular forming into a mismatched fantasy setting, usually with throwing humans into the mix. I don't like that. I'm more interested in seeing the actual animals as they were, when they were and where they were, where the focus is in the dinosaurs themselves. Thus the limit to Two Medicine formation (with some of the surrounding areas included too, though still keeping to the same time period).

I do not want humans in my dinosaur stories. Period.

But what if...

So, imagine a research journal. There's a scientist visiting the clan of Singing People the project focuses on, with the mission of studying them, their life and their world. The book or zine or whatever could be a story of the dinosaur clan introducing themselves and their life to this person. An outsider point of view to excuse learning about them by them teaching this POV person how their world works. There could be some interaction and maybe interviews, and of course illustrations because you need to document your subjects after all.

Like, I'm kinda excited about the idea. It would let me get into the details I want to picture without getting too into the heads of the characters to limit the chances of artistic exploration. You gotta document the surroundings your study subjects live in after all! But you'd still get to know the characters because it's the job of the POV person to learn about them. Win win!

It's just that I don't want to put too much attention on this hypothetical scientist. Like I said before I don't want to mix my settings. The dinosaur project thingy's world IS Laramidia in the Campanian period of late Cretaceous, it's not meant to be a scifi setting, nor do I want to have any focus on any time travel.

Wonder if it would be possible to leave the scientist character vague enough to never actually get explained? They're just nameless outsider from undetermined time and place who's interviewing some dinosaurs. Maybe with some peronal opinions or musings but no anecdotes about their own life or themself. And whenever there's interactions between the scientist and any of the Singing People it just gets handwaved away. (Of course the Singing People are curious about them too, but that's not the point of the study so it just doesn't get documented or something?)

I don't know. Could that work?

#shut up paper #dinosaur headworld #the herd #long post #just thinking out loud again

[lead-to-code]

sometimes the toughest part of writing a poem is trying to think up a goshdarn title (ik you can always leave it untitled but i like giving them titles, its like i'm framing them on my wall lmao)

#just thinking out loud again

[elusivegreen]

Goodness, the last time I actually built something was November.

As mentioned then I found myself in a situation where I had to move, and the intervening time has been a trial of downsizing, unpacking, organizing, donating things to various places, and throwing things away.

I feel like an ant eating an elephant.

When I started making things I had few tools, and less resources. Had a tendency to put my hands on anything I could get a hold of. Eventually I was fortunate enough to find myself in a place where I had access to enough things that I was able to figure out more about what I enjoy doing, and my process of how I do those things.

The combination of those two schools of thought, brought me to my next conclusion of, the realization of what I did not actually need. Which unfortunately was, actually kind of a lot. Easy to lose track of everything tucked into corners, hidden on shelves, buried in drawers. It's nice to have things on hand so I didn't have to rush out and get something for a build, right up until I had to pick it all up to move it, and didn't have anywhere to set it down.

Sharing my thoughts on this because, it's why I haven't made anything lately. Something that is making me unhappy. I miss it. I had a lot of things I've held onto for years and years. Things I had an idea for I don't recall, things I got just because they were on sale, and they may be the right thing some day. Eben things I knew exactly what I had intended to do with them, but hadn't for upwards of 6 years. I know it's in a crafter's nature to hoard things to an extent, but maybe now and then it's worth thinning it out.

If there's even a doubt you'll regret it, keep it. No one can make you do anything. Fuck em. But I could have helped myself out a bit if I'd just been able to honestly admit, I don't need some of this. Cause I really didn't.

#just thinking out loud again #shop organization

[klywrites]

what if I just combine murder wip with trool actually? just so I can recycle the title lol

honestly, htgawm is only a very loose inspiration and pretty generic if you boil it down (something something sub-genre of dark academia perhaps)

I really like contemporary RS and I want my characters to do some crimes, that's all

it's like trool but juicy, turned up a few notches

#just thinking out loud again #I should be sleeping yes #but I need to generate ideas! #also need to figure out which characters will be victims #who am I gonna kill off in this one #process. #rsverse

[hetabee]

Well, since Twitter's over and Walmart still won't hire me, guess that ask blog I loved having is getting a reboot~ 💖✨️

#hetabee #just thinking out loud again #maybe ill do a timeskip to where her idol group is more established #and make the proship themes more clear so antis eff off #i dunno just thinking thoughts #gonna change up a lot of character designs and make a bunch of ready reaction images to make answering easier #probably use ms paint as the main art program and use sai for fancier stuff idk

[lloydfrontera]

the webcomic can have one (1) funny "earnest moment interrupted by comedy" joke. as a treat. but also because it is so in character for them ajkshdjkas

yes they will say the most earnest shit to each other and then immediately try to cringe out of their own bodies. they are best friends but they would rather jump out of a window before admitting it. they are incredibly devoted and grateful to one another but you could not water board that out of either of them.

the only thing that can get either of them to admit how much they care for each other is if the other is in life threatening danger and not a second before aakjshdks

#i talk a lot <3 #tged #the greatest estate developer #lloyd frontera #javier asrahan #llojavi #i'm sorry i do think this is incredibly funny i'm still laughing ajksdhsjkfsd #they're assholes! they're best friends! they will risk life and limb for one another but you won't get them to say one nice thing #about the other unless it's a matter of life and death! and even then they might risk it if they're the ones in danger and not the other lo #like!! this is in character! this is a joke made by the characters and not at them!! this is them acknowledging how much they care #for the other and then cringing when they realize they let themselves be earnest out loud. #not the narrative itself cringing and not allowing the characters to be earnest at all. not the author pointing and laughing at the story #you're supposed to care about. #i'm getting serious again so i'm gonna stop!! just!! i do love them <3333 #ep 122

[mossflower]

ppl complaining about the master showing up too much in nuwho are wrong. personally i don’t think they’re around enough. they should be in at least one episode a season doing gay arch nemesis shit and every time they should die in increasingly bizarre and improbable ways and every time the doctor should buy it 100% and be baffled when they show up perfectly alive in the next season

#less of the master being the big series bad. more of them doing saturday morning cartoon villain of the week shit #i do think dw is at it’s best when it’s more episodic. it’s my biggest issue w flux bc a lot of the stories are bangers but the series arc. #well. bit shit innit. universe ending plots tend to suck in most media. bc you know they’re not going to end the universe #some of the stuff flux did w it like the false prophet part and the vinder stuff i liked #but you coulda done that without. the Universe Ending #idk just thinking out loud. tags mostly unrelated to the post again i fear #doctor who

[alienssstufff]

ik Bdubs was ragging on about how the silos and a bunch of the other areas felt ‘disjointed’ ,,, IMO they fit in quite well - almost too well even. whwhw if anything I feels he should try to make this area + the clearing around the cottage stand out even more. Maybe subtle things like remnants of deteriorated industrial fences for the silos, different types of soil on the ground - not just for aesthetics but narrative intonation that this area has been dug up to make way for the silos and so on.

Generally just thins that ask “OTHER than the buildings themselves, what about this place indicates you’re in a new part of the woods?” “What about the surrounding area of the group silos make them distinct from how the bamboo silo was treated?”

My sixth senses predict we’re going to get another terraforming video in the near future - these ideas are still in its early stages I trust Bdubs’ judgement

#stufff rambles #bdubs #hermitcraft season 10 #I’d draw what I mean but I’m tired snore #again not rly meant to make a point - I’m just thinking out loud

[infini-tree]

distance models my beloved

#mells thinking out loud on her blog again #dead end paranormal park #theres more obvs but i just snagged these on an early ep

[ganondoodle]

1 year since i got scammed by nintedno leaving me forever yearning for a game we will never get and an extreme worry for the future

#ganondoodles talks #zelda #dont think they will learn anything #i know its pessimistic but like #as if the critics were in any way as loud or popular as those worshipping it #i feel so bad for having contributed twice to its sales and earnings #i bought it normally (later sold that to a coworker) and the collectors #which i sold but i only got back the money a normal new one would have cost #and it was also only bc i was buying sth else and it was literally in prime condition #like he said it wouldnt matter bc he cant give me more but then even he said holy shit thats literlly like unopened lol #i mean ... most of it was never opnened xD just took the game out once and put it back once thats it #i feel extra scammed bc it was the first and only collectors edition i ever owned #and i dont think i will ever buy one again #and might regret that #i still wish i had known how much i liked botw to get its special one ... but i didnt have the money back then either way #but id rather miss out on that than spend so much money on sth i will forever regret having spend money on #and i worry for the future bc the “story is the least important part” guy and “lol you can only like the old games bc nostalgia” guy- #-being in charge of the franchise arent giving me much hope for anything better #especially after totks success

[icewindandboringhorror]

#cats #outing myself once again as someone whos not attune whatsoever to human culture but - in all honesty I do not know #what 'psspsspss' means despite loving cats my entire life hghj.. I've just seen people online describe that as how you call a cat #but I have never in my life witnessed someone call a cat by making that noise or made that noise myself. I can't even think of an example o #it so I genuinely don't even know what that's supposed to be but. Included because I've seen it so much it must be something to someone #even when I was a kid I pretty much always just meowed to cats and tried to sound exactly like them or whatever meow I associated with them #obviously not literally saying “ME OW” but doing an actual cat meow. often times a kind of 'prrrow' sort of noise where you trill your tong #ue then lead into a softer vocal tone .. maybe like 'mrrrrauh' or something? Or sometimes just a trilling chirp immitating the #cat's ''mrrrrp'' they do sometimes. I used to mimic small kittens to get the attention of cats #with their like very high pitches squeky whine with a little bit of air out the nostrils at the end to imitate the sound of them having #tiny lungs that don't hold much air so with a long loud 'mew' it's sometimes a little strained near the end #Though usually I just imitate the cat that I'm around at the time. Sometimes I have done kind of a combination kissy lip sort of noise #tongue clicking. almost like tapping on the back of your front teeth with your tongue and sucking in. almost makes kind of a squirrel noise #ANYWAY... curiouse....

[papermonkeyism]

I have an undefined yet rather large amount of headworlds that I bounce around and between at any given time, and I can spawn new settings without much trouble. There are so many I stopped keeping count a decade or so ago, some are more major and involved than others, while some are just a scent of an idea.

There is one kinda amorphous rule to the headworlds, though. There's a limited amount of overlap allowed, untill one of the worlds consumes the other one. The amount of overlap is hard to evaluate too, I seem to have very few problems with having multiple separate headworlds that could be categorized as "high fantasy" (or adjacent), while some other qualifiers are really weirdly specific.

The one I've been slowly rolling around lately in the hopes of developing it more later has the defining point of "bunch of colourful weirdoes with common goal who are forced to coexist", and I still haven't quite found what kind of an excuse to use to make that happen. Like previously mused on, some options are to have them be researchers/scientists on a field trip, or a circus or something.

I also thought about making them a ship's crew, because yes pirate aesthetic! And a perfect excuse to have them cohabit in a limited space, just put them on a boat!

However, here's where the overlap problem rises again.

My oldest still existing headworld, one I've already trashed multiple times but one that refuses to stay dead is a "sky pirate" thing, tagged Bloodbride in here. It has existed in one form or another for two decades now, and it has already consumed about four other headworlds so far. One of them was dinosaur pirates, which I'm still kinda salty about. It was fun for as long as it lasted.

And this is a problem. Bloodbride, by virtue of being so old and having cannibalized so many other stories and settings, is overwhelming and unwieldy. It's kind of an anthology setting, but it doesn't actually have enough material to make into proper stories. (it has kind of a "series finale" -type thing, and there's one actual short story, but one that can't be the first one in the series, aaaaand. That's kinda it. Many vague ideas, but nothing substantial)

I want to start fresh, without the massive baggage of Bloodbride behind it, so I can't let it be consumed. I just don't know if I can.

(I do, one day, really want to make Bloodbride a thing as well, I just don't think I can do it without good brainstorming help)

#shut up paper #Just thinking out loud again #Pay no mind

[samarecharm]

People who really like shuake also seem to write themselves into a corner wrt Akechi and his relationship to Akiras team. Contrary to popular belief, the team, including Haru, does not hate Akechi. At worst, they tolerate him and deal with his attitude. Hes a good teammate and respectable fighter and the team recognizes that at the end of the day, he was a teenager who was manipulated and abused by a man who saw him as disposable. Just about every thief understands this intimately. They have the same mindset wrt adults who take advantage of the people beneath them. Under different circumstances they wouldve been friends. And if u approach it from that angle, it becomes less about Akechi being the sole person who ‘gets’ Akira, and more about the thieves being the only people in the world who ‘get’ Akechi.

When you expand your thoughts to include the thieves as members of his Team and not roadblocks that get in the way of your ideal shipping dynamic, you allow urself to give Akechi and Akira more depth and nuance to their own relationship.

Akira and Akechi are wildcards; both of them struggle with the face they choose to display to the world. Its the first time Akira interacts with someone who is, at a literal, technical level, his ‘equal’. But Akechi is one of many firsts for Akira yeah? Every thief has their bond with Akira thats completely unique and personal. Akechi will never be the person who witnesses Akiras Awakening, hes never the person who watches Akira have his restless nights alone in the attic, and hes never the person who realizes in real time that the teenager hes housing is just Some Kid, not the delinquent hes been warned about. Hes not Ann or Yusuke, or any of the thieves; he doesnt have the time or experience that they have with Akira, and I think its interesting to explore that part of their relationship, shippy or not.

Akechi is someone who is incredibly lonely and self depreciating despite his cockiness and attitude. He has no positive bonds to speak of save for his connection with Sae. To have him see a team that works together and cares for each other, how do you think he would feel? Out of place? Inferior in some way? Angry about how hes been alone for so long in this single minded quest for revenge? Wouldnt that be a point of struggle between the two of them? I think what makes shuake good for me is knowing that Akechi needs alot of time to heal, and the thieves would want to help with that process. They do it bc they care, bc Akira cares, and bc they trust Akiras opinion (and he trusts theirs in return); if Akira feels like Akechi is someone who can be trusted Now after everything thats happened, then the thieves would do their best to help. And how would Akechi feel about that? Angry about the show of pity? That even now, he has no real say in what happens to him? Or begrudgingly grateful that they are cordial with him? Because they do care, he KNOWS they care, they care TOO MUCH actually; but the one thing he values over brawn and wits is honesty- fighting for what you believe in without having to use soft words to justify it.

#chattin #also like. as an aside #my hcs regarding these two is like. they could not date. theyd kill each other lmao #and like TOTALLY by all means i am obsessed w unhealthy dynamics for shipping #let ur boys be toxic. let them be messy and loud and violent. its like crack to me #but just like fandom as a whole; fanon interpretations are prevalent and LOUD #and so trying to interact with it is like pulling teeth #personally. i think too many of them think of Akechi as like. the Rude one of the bunch #when i like to think of Akira as rude and full of himself when its deserved #and man. being able to outwit Akechi makes it Fully deserved #and i like to think Akira would remind him of this when he tries to intimidate or degrade his team #like. i have a short wip i never finished (basic sketches) #of Akira pulling him aside and grilling him #‘youre here because I Want you here. youre here bc i Allow you to be here’ #‘if youre going to stoop low and play petty i can do the same. if theres anyone on my team whos a fucking idiot; its you.’ #‘dont make me reconsider having you on the team.’ #and akechis like okay great does ur dick feel big trying to pull rank on me? #but really hes fuming. hes MAD. like feral dog mad. bc akira is RIGHT. like he is most times as akechi starts to see. #he has enough of a mind to recognize that hes lashing out bc of his own shortcomings; even if he refuses to admit it out loud #its beyond infuriating. its degrading. its a little 😶. #never had to deal w anyone that rivaled his own brawn and wits. and now theres a TEAM of them #just humbling him time and time again. it sucks. he stays bc he cant help himself 😭 #he needs to see more… #also #shuake #for blacklisting

[elusivegreen]

I dedicate way too much brain space to the idea of, if I were to exist in a fantasy setting, how would I present myself. I suppose it could even be shortened to more of a, what would I be if I could be anything, or, what is an idealized self.

I use costuming to play with this idea. What do I feel comfortable in, what's fun for me, what makes me feel bold, or confident. Cosplay is always fun and it's a great way to meet people of similar interests, but things like our Renaissance festival where people tend to go, more original with D&D characters, or Original characters, or their own avatars from different games feels like the right place to experiment with that.

I've been iterating those ideas for a long time, and honestly, not learning much. I tend to swing way too wide from one thing to the next and don't learn any lessons. I change too many variables at a time and tend to not carry over even pieces. Very much, throw spaghetti at the wall, and see what sticks.

I've been trying to pay a little more attention at least to, what I like and what I want to incorporate again these last few years. I've also accepted that as I grow and change as a person, what I like and how I perceive myself, also changes, so it's very much a moving target. There isn't going to be a single costume that satisfies all my desires, and I stop making new ones. Just, not going to happen.

I will say however, one thing I've started to embrace a little more, is that, if it's a supposed fantasy setting, it doesn't need to be accurate. There doesn't need to be a historical precedent or culture its based on. Doesn't need to be functional. Yes if I were traveling around the world by foot in ye olde times I'd need a bedroll and cookware and a multitude of things but, I'm not, it's all make believe and I can travel light. Doesn't need to make sense. Can absolutely just throw together whatever. And in all honesty, it should be a little slutty.

Now, I use the term slutty to just kind of shorten, anything that makes you feel bold and confident. If you look good in plate mail, slay. If you want to strut your stuff in a kilt, or be mysteriously wrapped in a large cloak, go for it. Slutty doesn't mean leather bikini armor but if it's fantasy, I wouldn't say no to someone wearing that either. If it's for fun I'd rather see a bunch of people being their most fulfilling self.

#larp oc #renaissance festival #costuming #just thinking out loud again

[asweetprologue]

the crazy thing about the sages in totk and their connections to the champions in botw to me is this: if the events of totk had happened 100 years ago, the champions would have been the sages. they have the sages' powers passed down by blood, and their descendants use the same powers throughout the game. all of them are related to the sages--

except Revali.

he's just some guy!! all of the other champions have their powers because they're descendants of the sages. but Tulin is the sage of wind and to my knowledge he isn't related to Revali at all. revali is the only one that has no special powers, only his own skills. the fact that teba and tulin exist implies that the actual descendant of the sage of wind had to be present when the hylians came looking for a rito champion, and revali took that guy's job. Imagine having the power to literally control the wind but even w that you're just not fucking good enough to compete with Revali 'I have to be the best at everything or I'll go nuclear' of the Rito for the title of champion. if all of the champions had survived the calamity and were there to help Link in totk, they would all be the ones with the secret stones taking up the mantle of sage. except Revali, who would just be some guy still hanging around losing his mind bc for the second time in his life an actual child is being given a position that he thinks he's much better suited for. it's a good thing he didn't make it honestly I don't think he'd take it well.

#totk #totk spoilers #revali #botw #zelda #legend of zelda #i just think it's rly funny that everyone in this franchise #is doing what they do bc they're basically fulfilling their destiny and playing a role #zelda and link and even ganon locked in their eternal struggle #the sages bound to sacrifice themselves again and again to help the hero defeat the great evil #all stuck doing what they're destined to do #but in just this one instance #someone was stubborn enough and loud enough about being the right one for the job #about CHOOSING to fight #that he pushed destiny and bloodlines and powers out of the way and said nope!! my time to shine babey #he still beefed it obvs but I appreciate that level of fuckery #and I'm sure the real sage of wind was glad for the break

[reapersynth]

9-1-1 ‣ S03E1: Kids Today

#911edit #911 abc #911 fox #userknight #usercam #.gfx #loud exhale. i hope these turned out okay. believe it or not my first 911 gifset is NOT a buddie edit (we'll get there) #instead its this scene where i think about eddie's face journey 24/7. and just so happens to be the s3 std incident. sorry ⛷️ #i have a lot of edit ideas and for some reason i picked this one to start with 👍 #AND TY AGAIN @HOUSEWIFEBUCK FOR ALL UR HELP!!!