no one told me theres gonna be an anime adaptation of 7seeds!???? omg!!!!!!!!

dailymilesmorales:

Miles Morales, for fans of comic books and Spider-Man, is very well known. But for people outside of that world, he’s not very well known. With Into the Spider-Verse, we’re introducing a character who our audience already knows is going to become a new Spider-Man. But the audience loves Peter Parker, the Spider-Man they’ve got. It’s a challenging introduction of a character: Our movie doesn’t work if you don’t fall in love with Miles Morales.

We open the movie with a montage that introduces the real Spider-Man. The scale of that scene is enormous. It’s like seeing an entire superhero movie in 45 seconds, guided by this very confident narrator. Then we cut to Miles, and things slow down a lot. In an elegant script, everything is deliberate, and everything is a microcosm for something larger: When you meet Miles, we see him singing a song with headphones on. We made a very deliberate choice to spend the first couple of minutes we’re with Miles really just watching him. We wanted Miles to be kind of lovable. We see him drawing and making stickers; we’re establishing that he’s a creative person, he’s an artist, who is able to create without feeling self-conscious or encumbered.

The most important thing for this scene to communicate is that Spider-Man, as a character, is always punching up. In Miles, we have a kid who’s not ready — he’s not ready for school; he’s not ready for this mission. He doesn’t have all the tools, but he has spirit, and we fall for him because of that. We start the movie looking at Miles, and then we end it with him looking right at us.

We needed Miles to score a foolproof laugh at the beginning of the movie, right when you meet him. There aren’t exactly jokes in this stretch, or any clever lines. It’s just what a reasonably clever kid would say. We had this idea that if he sang a song that was out of his register, it would make the audience laugh. It got a big laugh in the preview screening a year ago, but there was one problem: The song we initially used was the Donald Glover song “Redbone,” and we liked the double-layered joke of opening with a Donald Glover song because of his history with Spider-Man. “Redbone” killed … until Get Out premiered.

It was critical that the song gag landed. We had a feeling it was because people knew the song, and they knew how he was messing it up. We were in big trouble when we couldn’t use it anymore — we needed to replace one of the greatest songs of the year, and we had to do it in time to spend the three months we would need to animate that shot. It turns out “Sunflower” is a massive hit song. We heard it as part of a batch of songs that Republic Records presented to us.

We also liked the metaphor this presents: Miles is singing a song that theoretically he’s a little too young for and he doesn’t know the words yet. That’s the metaphor we’re going to be working with for most of the rest of the movie. He’s going to be asked to step into shoes that he feels he’s not ready for, he’s not going to know the words, and he’s going to feel very self-conscious and nervous about that.

With Jefferson, we need to convey the authority he has in Miles’s life. His lines are delivered from either off camera, or passing. In a very subtle way, there’s a bit of a disconnect between these characters: Miles and his dad talk to each other, but they don’t necessarily look at each other, or face each other. Jefferson is a character who’s searching for a way to communicate with his son. This line — “you’re a grown man now” — was improvised by Brian.

Jeff and Rio are both helicopter parents in some ways. We were always riding a line, we didn’t want Jeff to feel punitive or naggy. We always wanted him to seem like he was a good dad.

We had to have Spanish in this scene. We worked really hard with Shameik [Moore] and Luna [Velez] to have enough Spanish in there that felt credible and that didn’t alienate English speakers when they heard it. It was important that it wasn’t subtitled, that it felt completely normal, and was never presented as foreign or other.

Sometimes we overdid it. And at one point we underdid it. We spent a lot of time fine-tuning that stuff. Even in recording sessions where sometimes Rodney would be on the phone with his mom, and Luna would be on the phone with hers, and we’d be saying, “What would you say if I didn’t do my homework, and you were going to call me out?”

We tried a lot of different versions of this scene, but sometimes the most down-the-middle structure works the best. A lot of these sequences were grounded in conversations we were having about how a lot of the characters in the movie were fighting against inevitable change, and were seeking to go back to a comfortable place in the past that didn’t really exist anymore. That was the intention behind Miles and his old school, and wanting to go back to it. We decided that Miles’s school was around the corner from his house, because it let us say a lot of stuff very quickly.

The initial versions of this scene, in some ways, hit a lot of the same things but in a different order. You saw Miles hanging out a lot with a specific group of friends that we no longer meet specifically. There was a dinner-table scene with the parents, and a lot of the dynamic of that was eventually moved to the scene where he drives to school with his dad. You had stuff about how Jefferson feels about Spider-Man. In those drafts, the movie started with him telling his parents that he decided to quit school.

You don’t get the sense that Miles is Mr. Popular, but you definitely get the sense that he’s a well-liked kid who has history and rapport with the people around him. In some ways we started to draft a lot on Shameik, and his charm. This is just a piece of flavor that popped up, between the writing and the recording sessions. Miles is not in control of his powers; it’s almost like setting up what’s to come. He is a charming kid. He is starting to make connections with other people that may or may not be romantic; it’s unclear. He’s capable of getting the connection, but he just isn’t quite in control of what he’s doing yet.

The stickers that Miles works on came from Bob Persichetti and his rebellious, street-art-skateboarder past. In the initial treatment, we wanted him to have something that was a little lie that he would keep from his parents, because it felt like a good microcosm of the big lie that he has to keep from them, going forward into the next stage of his life. What’s cool with the stickers, too, is that they literally say “My name is.” It very uniquely set up that Miles was someone who was still searching for himself and identity and wasn’t quite sure who he was, and was almost trying out different versions of who he was, graphically, on these stickers.

There were many versions of this scene, even in its current structure. We tried over and over again to write more jokes for Miles. Beyond meeting Miles, this first scene with him is about mapping out the visual contours of what you’re doing, and the tonal contours of what you’re doing. You’re conveying the overture for your whole movie, and the audience is paying attention. Sometimes if you don’t establish that stuff early enough, it feels jarring later on if you take a sharp turn and do something that you haven’t set up as one of the colors you’re playing with. A lot of jokes just didn’t work. They either felt fake, or written. So we just said, “Forget it.” All we want to do is fall in love with this kid, fall in love with his family, and convey a couple of very simple things. The kid feels a little overwhelmed; he’s not prepared. He’s a regular kid who fibs to his parents, parents who have very high expectations of him because they love him and are trying to do as much as they can to help him. And, of course, we had to do all that in 45 seconds.

astrolovecosmos:

Aries Rising: Has a lot of enthusiastic energy towards associates and casual friends. Is open about meeting new people and letting others into their life. Shows their individuality clearly to all. Anger or passionate feelings show early on in relationships or even to strangers. With an Aries Rising one can be in or out of favor with them quickly.

Taurus Rising: Slower to open up emotionally and vulnerably but is approachable. Can view people as resources or have a practical approach to others, is patient and calm in more shallow relationships, can have a possessive view about the world, which can manifest in many different ways. Taurus Rising appreciates beauty and the physical, this carries over to when they are getting to know someone.

Gemini Rising: Usually very social but is ultimately more detached when first getting to know others. This person is talkative, funny, and interesting but takes a bit to get close to.They do well with networking, navigating groups, is flexible in “fitting in”, and is observant.  Duality can be seen in a Gemini Rising, usually via becoming distant and elusive vs. being highly attentive and involved with those they are still getting to know or are not close with.

Cancer Rising: Usually on the shyer side or is reserved. They take a while to open up and get close to. They can be sensitive and reclusive with acquaintances or more shallow connections. They may attract others with a bit of mystery or emotional appeal. A Cancer Rising can swing from being softly approachable to being closed off and prickly. Emotional biases could seep through their adaptable and pulled back exterior.

Leo Rising: Is usually a very warm and extroverted person on the surface. In more shallow relationships doesn’t want to ever be looked down upon and tries to impress. They can be generous to those they aren’t close to. Leo Rising might keep anyone threatening to their individuality or strength at arms length.

Virgo Rising: Can be shy or quiet, cares a lot about first impressions, critical or bluntness can come out in how they see the world, easygoing with associates or casual friends, remembers details about people they meet, and knows what they expect out of others. Virgo Rising gives practical advise to really anyone in their life. They are picky about who they truly get close to but is helpful to acquaintances, coworkers, and maybe strangers.

Libra Rising: Can seem like everyone’s friend and approaches more shallow relationships with charm, persuasion, and mellowness. Relating to others is shown clearly but emotions and desires are not shown unless someone truly knows them/is very close. Libra Rising is personable but when people try to get close they tend to turn elusive and maybe distant. Those who compliment them, romance them, or confront their deep or emotional side can get in.

Scorpio Rising: Can be hard to read or figure out for some. In more shallow relationships they are reserved and private. When they do get closer to people they want to discover them and can be driven by mystery or fascination. Feels uncomfortable with surface level. Despite their reserved nature can be influential and magnetic in more superficial bonds/networking. Their intensity is usually felt rather than seen by peers.

Sagittarius Rising: Tends to be open towards meeting new people and making new friends. They accept all types of people, their attention can be grabbed by someone interesting, and some can be easily impressed. They have a heart-on-their-sleeve approach to more shallow relationships. Sagittarius Rising has an optimistic view towards others. They can be easily fooled or taken advantage of in more superficial connections. They prefer fun casualness and is serious or gets closer when meaning is created in a bond.

Capricorn Rising: Is dependable and responsible with casual pals, associates, and especially coworkers. They can be practical towards getting to know others, only getting close if there is a gain by doing so (this isn’t always a materialistic or status gain). They can be cold and hard when you try to peer in closer at  them. They open their doors when others are patient and trustworthy.

Aquarius Rising: Tends to approach almost everyone in the same way, maybe this is viewing everyone as a friend or in a professional way. They try to get to the core of the individual when getting to know someone. Aquarius Rising are distant and can get indifferent when people try to pressure or pursue, usually emotionally.

Pisces Rising: Can lack boundaries when it comes to casual relationships and getting to know others. They tend to attract people who need healing/are wounded. They can be easily swayed by acquaintances and peers. Is intuitive towards the outer world. Pisces Rising can be vague and hard to pin down. They can get lost in impressions and might be changeable in how they approach a peer or acquaintance day by day.

mrsbeef:

kramergate:

kramergate:

not to get mad nerdy but I just discovered tabletopaudio.com and I’m fuckin losing it

this person (people?) goes about making 10 minute long loopable ambient noise tracks for every imaginable setting (docks, taverns, forests, airships, spaceships, office buildings, sewers, EVERYTHING) and has over a hundred tracks to offer, and on top of that if none of them suit you there’s a huge feature called soundpad where you can mix and match from their set of hundreds of individual sound effects and music clips to make your own ambient background track

holy shit dudes

I did a little further reading on his about and the guy running this is just a dad with two kids who like playing tabletops with him and he had the composition and musical training to start making soundtracks for his games then decided to spread that to the world for absolutely free, he even welcomes you to use his tracks in your works (podcasts, videos etc) and is open to being hired for custom tracks

I love him

Reblogging for Mr. Beef, and any other tabletop-rpg-inclined darlings.

tarysande:

dynamicsymmetry:

Good stuff.

Guys, I edit professionally. This list is legit. Incorporating these suggestions before you hire an editor will save you A LOT of money. Even if you did these and nothing else, you’d see significant overall improvement in your work.

That said, you don’t have to overthink these things when you’re writing a first draft. If you write, “she said angrily” in a first draft, you can always revisit the phrasing in a second draft. I mention this because overthinking style can lead to a loss of momentum, and losing momentum is why so many people never finish a draft. Give yourself permission to write fast, write messy or ugly, and edit your draft into beauty later.