The Shit Just Never Ends Huh

alright, super quick primer on torrenting:

depending on your country, you may need a vpn to access torrenting sites and avoid getting fined. a vpn can also allow you to stream on legal sites that are location-restricted. proton vpn is a strong free alternative for minor piracy, but this isn't a major deal in my region, so do your own research if fines are a concern.

you want a strong ad blocker before going into any piracy websites. don't use adblock. i recommend ublock origin.

you also want to have at least the system antivirus on. on top of my antivirus, i also use malwarebytes.

next, you need a torrent client to manage your downloads. don't use bittorrent. i recommend qbittorrent.

last, but not least, you need a reliable source for your torrents. rarbggo dot org (edit: rarbg shut down in 2023) and 1337x dot to are my go-to websites at the time being. downloading multimedia files is safe as long as you are going to a solid website like these ones, but you may want to do some extra reading before you try to pirate software.

for subtitles, i primarily use opensubtitles dot org.

bonus tip: vlc media player includes an integrated subtitle search engine. under the view menu, click vlsubs to find subtitles by name, episode and language.

Someone needs to inform the (rightly) pro-piracy tumblr users that it is no longer 2014 and some of the services they are recommending will turn ur computer in a broken microwave that serves bitcoins to shitheads.

thinking again about TvTropes and how it’s genuinely such an amazing resource for learning the mechanics of storytelling, honestly more so than a lot of formally taught literature classes

reasons for this:

basically TvTropes breaks down stories mechanically, using a perspective that’s not…ABOUT mechanics. Another way I like to put it, is that it’s an inductive, instead of deductive, approach to analyzing storytelling.

like in a literature or writing class you’re learning the elements that are part of the basic functioning of a story, so, character, plot, setting, et cetera. You’re learning the things that make a story a story, and why. Like, you learn what setting is, what defines it, and work from there to what makes it effective, and the range of ways it can be effective.

here’s the thing, though: everyone has some intuitive understanding of how stories work. if we didn’t, we couldn’t…understand stories.

TvTropes’s approach is bottom-up instead of top-down: instead of trying to exhaustively explore the broad, general elements of story, it identifies very small, specific elements, and explores the absolute shit out of how they fit, what they do, where they go, how they work.

Every TvTropes article is basically, “Here is a piece of a story that is part of many different stories. You have probably seen it before, but if not, here is a list of stories that use it, where it is, and what it’s doing in those stories. Here are some things it does. Here is why it is functionally different than other, similar story pieces. Here is some background on its origins and how audiences respond to it.”

all of this is BRILLIANT for a lot of reasons. one of the major ones is that the site has long lists of media that utilizes any given trope, ranging from classic literature to cartoons to video games to advertisements. the Iliad and Adventure Time ARE different things, but they are MADE OF the same stuff. And being able to study dozens of examples of a trope in action teaches you to see the common thread in what the trope does and why its specific characteristics let it do that

I love TvTropes because a great, renowned work of literature and a shitty, derivative YA novel will appear on the same list, because they’re Made Of The Same Stuff. And breaking down that mental barrier between them is good on its own for developing a mechanical understanding of storytelling.

But also? I think one of the biggest blessings of TvTropes’s commitment to cataloguing examples of tropes regardless of their “merit” or literary value or whatever…is that we get to see the full range of effectiveness or ineffectiveness of storytelling tools. Like, this is how you see what makes one book good and another book crappy. Tropes are Tools, and when you observe how a master craftsman uses a tool vs. a novice, you can break down not only what the tool is most effective for but how it is best used.

In fact? There are trope pages devoted to what happens when storytelling tools just unilaterally fail. e.g. Narm is when creators intend something to be frightening, but audiences find it hilarious instead.

On that note, TvTropes is also great in that its analysis of stories is very grounded in authors, audiences, and culture; it’s not solely focused on in-story elements. A lot of the trope pages are categories for audience responses to tropes, or for real-world occurrences that affected the storytelling, or just the human failings that creep into storytelling and affect it, like Early Installment Weirdness. There are categories for censorship-driven storytelling decisions. There are “lineages” of tropes that show how storytelling has changed over time, and how audience responses change as culture changes. Tropes like Draco in Leather Pants or Narm are catalogued because the audience reaction to a story is as much a part of that story—the story of that story?—as the “canon.”

like, storytelling is inextricable from context. it’s inextricable from how big the writers’ budget was, and how accepting of homophobia the audience was, and what was acceptable to be shown on film at the time. Tropes beget other tropes, one trope is exchanged for another, they are all linked. A Dead Horse Trope becomes an Undead Horse Trope, and sometimes it was a Dead Unicorn Trope all along. What was this work responding to? And all works are responding to something, whether they know it or not

Some music asks hehe 💖🎶

Favorite 3 artists/bands?

Favorite 3 songs?

Favorite 3 albums?

Last song you played?

Favorite music genres?

Favorite decade in music?

Play any instruments? If not, which would you like to play?

Do you like singing?

Do you like dancing?

Singing or dancing?

Have you ever written a song?

What do you think makes a great song?

Are lyrics and their meaning very important to you?

Do you like classical music?

Some songs that make you cry?

Think of someone; what song do you associate them with?

How many concerts have you been to?

Do you own any band/artist merch?

Do you own physical albums or singles?

Do you make/listen to your own playlists, or do you just shuffle all songs?

Favorite music video?

If you could meet any music artist, which would it be?

Your biggest crush in music?

At what age did you start enjoying music, and what kind of music did you like at first?

Alternative or "mainstream" music?

Have you ever been in a heated argumemt with someone about music?

What do you think of the Grammy awards? Do they deserve credibility?

What's more trustworthy? Popularity or critical acclaim?

Do you listen to music written in different languages?

Are you a close follower of a specific musician/band?

Any artists you absolutely hate?

Your least favorite music genre?

Have you ever dedicated a song to someone?

Do you listen to music while studying or doing homework?

Do you play music while taking a shower?

Do you think certain types of music could have a bad influence on people?

What's the most underrated musician/band in your opinion?

What's the most overrated musician/band in your opinion?

"Weirdest" music you like?

An album or song you dislike from an artist you really like?

🎵🎸🎹 music ask game 🎵🎸🎹

what is your favourite song of all time?

what is your go-to karaoke song?

if you were to get lyrics tattooed on you, which would they be? (or tell about what you already have!)

if you were to get a non-lyrics music tattoo, what would it be? (or tell about one you already have!)

is there a song that always makes you cry, no matter what? what is it?

is there/what is a song that you secretly love but you hate to admit it?

is there/what is a song that always makes you think of your parents?

what do you think is the best song to play during sexy times?

who are your top three all time favourite bands or artists?

what band were you obsessed with as a child? do you still like them?

what is the best live music show you've ever been to?

who is a band or artist that you've never seen that you're dying to see?

what's an album cover that you would frame and put up in your house?

do you have any music related home decorations?

what is a song you are obsessed with at the moment?

is there/what is a song that has been ruined for you by an ex or a former crush/situationship/relationship?

what song do you listen to if you need to pump yourself up to do something difficult?

what's a song that you absolutely cannot help dancing to?

what do you think is the greatest love song of all time?

do you have any band t-shirts or other clothing items and what are they??

what is the best album of all time?

what band do you think has the best or most interesting story? (toxic breakup, bandmates in love, etc)

Do you create your own playlists? If so, how many do you have?

How many hours a day would you say you spend listening to music?

Is there any activity (walking, housework, studying, etc) that you cannot do without music?

Is there/what is a song that you always associate with a movie or tv show?

which musical artist's wardrobe would you like to steal for your own?

Most underrated band or artist?

Most overrated band or artist?

Do you sing along to songs in the car? In the shower? other places?

A Semi-Comprehensive List of Muppet Specials Available to Watch on YouTube:

The Muppets on Puppets (1969)

John Denver and The Muppets: A Christmas Together (1979)

The Muppets Valentine Show (1979)

The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979)

The Muppets at the 1980 World Puppetry Festival

The Muppets Go To The Movies (1981)

The Making of the Muppet Show (1982)

The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (1982)

Rocky Mountain Holiday - John Denver and The Muppets (1983)

The Tale of The Bunny Picnic (1986)

The Muppets - A Celebration of 30 Years (1986)

A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)

An Evening with Jim Henson and Frank Oz (1989)

The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)

The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990)

Muppet Classic Theater (1994)

The World of Jim Henson (1994)

The Muppet Show Live (2001)

I Love Muppets (2002)

Oh my gosh. I just found this website that walks you though creating a believable society. It breaks each facet down into individual questions and makes it so simple! It seems really helpful for worldbuilding!

My animation process (in a GIF!)

So you've learned the 12 principles of animation but don't know where to actually apply them? Fear not!! For here is my step-by-step process, very very condensed, into one singular giant GIF.

Hope it helps!

(You may need to open it in a new tab to read the text)

Any tips for panel layout for pacing? I feel like yours really lends itself to the stories u tell.

thank u. its random comic tips which may or may not answer your question time, cookie edition

did that help