deviantART: Sins-Of-Angels's Journal

Your Help Needed

Fri Oct 9, 2009, 5:55 AM

I feel like I should start this journal with "Friends, countrymen, lend me your ears" for what's about to follow may be a bit on the lengthy side. I hope you guys will stick with me here and read through it all, because you might very well be missing out on something fantastic if you don't.

No, this isn't a journal where I'll ask you for help for myself. Though I suppose in a way it is, because this may very well help me personally as well. But I digress. What I'm talking about specifically is a show. Dollhouse, to be exact, which airs on FOX Fridays at 9 EDT. Never heard of it? Not many people have. And that is what I, personally, would like to try and correct.

You see, Dollhouse is once again in trouble of being cancelled. Why? Because, like every Joss Whedon show (and it is a Whedon show), the networks fail to realize what a fantastic gem they have on their hands. (Firefly, anyone?). Anyway, if you don't want to read me ramble on about it, then do me a favor and visit [link] for a moment and get a succinct version of what I'm about to tell you (and some disturbingly pretty musics).

First and foremost I will address the likely people who gave it a shot and stopped. You see, from a plot standpoint, the show started off slowly. I can understand people who saw the first few episodes and were not only uninterested, but maybe a little disappointed. To those people: Please, give it a second chance. Give it until the 6th episode, Man on the Street, at least. Go to Echoes and tell me that it didn't get more intriguing. Make it to Needs and, if you're still uninterested, then I'll leave you alone and won't try to convert you. Honest. But, please, don't judge the show on the first 5 episodes. They're certainly important, but they don't become so until you have more context for them.

Next, to those people out there who are scratching their heads as to who Joss Whedon is...let me provide a little context for that too. Joss Whedon is, in my humble opinion, an incredibly talented man. He's responsible for the show Firefly, which was unjustly short-lived. Look it up on hulu.com, if you can, and watch the first episode. Right away you'll get a feeling of what his shows are like, how real the characters are, how masterfully he works with every emotion and how easily he sucks you in. He is also the mastermind behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spinoff Angel. Now, don't go running at the mention of Buffy. I didn't really think I'd like it either until I watched it this summer. And to those manly men out there who look down on it because of some conception that it's somehow Twilight-ish in any way....give it a chance, guys. Buffy is an incredibly witty, incredibly immersing show. I can guarantee your preconceptions about it are wrong. Angel I cannot, sadly, fully vouch for as I haven't seen enough of it yet. But nevertheless, it is remarkably Whedonesque in its writing and, I'm sure, once the plots gets under way, in its story too.

That being said, Dollhouse is easily a class of its own entirely. What is it? It's a journey of self discovery and of self loss, of world politics and of personal struggles. A study of truly noble people and mad scientists. But, to be more specific, it's about a people warehouse. It's about uncomfortable questions being asked, being put to you and then explored. What makes you who you are? How do you know when you've gone too far? What does it mean to be human?

But, I suppose, a more specific summary is called for. The Dollhouse itself is a facility, a business with vast amounts of influential connections that can only be afforded by the richest of the rich. And what does it do? Well. It gives you what you need.

The employees of the Dollhouse themselves is what the story centers around. There's the Dollhouse operator, Adelle DeWitt, a ruthless businesswoman with, of all things, a surprisingly human code of conduct she lives by. There is Topher Brink, the mad scientist responsible for all the technology that is in the Dollhouse (and when I get to the tech, you'll see how impressive that is), there's Boyd Langdon, an ex-cop who has a strong moral center absent from most of the other Dollhouse employees, Paul Ballard, an FBI agent determined to uncover the Dollhouse because it is fundamentally wrong, Dr. Claire Saunders, who has the well-being of everyone in the Dollhouse on her shoulders, and finally (and perhaps most importantly), there are the Actives. The "Dolls". What the story mostly centers on.

Actives are people who have signed away five years of their life to the Dollhouse. In compensation they get a hefty sum of money and a brand new life. In exchange, they are stripped of their memories and personalities for 5 years and looked after, while being sold off as anyone to anyone who can pay (and withstand a substantial background check, and only temporarily, i.e. a weekend). What I mean is, now that they have no memories and no personality, they construct one and put it in their brains. And then they wholly believe that they are that person, and that they love the client, or that they need to help the client, or, sometimes, a completely altruistic engagement where they go and truly help a person in a way no one else has been able to before. Actives are anyone who you want them to be. And then, once again, they're no one at all.

Well, theoretically.

The story centers on Echo, an active who begins to remember who she's been, but not the girl she truly used to be, Caroline. What develops is a split between Echo's personality and Caroline's as Echo begins to remember her engagements, the pure love she felt, or the heist that she almost pulled successfully, or the devout believer sent to infiltrate a cult. And as Echo develops and evolves, questions about the basics of human nature become ever more prominent, and her life becomes ever less simple.

But why do I watch it? Why am I writing this incredibly lengthy journal entry and asking you to stick with it and read it through? Because of the questions that it continuously asks. Because of what Dollhouse is really about. Because it really is the smartest show on tv that you are not watching - and I'd love for you to start watching it. Because it makes me think about what it means to be me, what makes me who I am, and what I would do without that. It raises questions about where the line of morality lies, about where technology that allows something like this to happen will take us. What happens to Topher when he realizes what he's done, what he's been able to create and, above all, what he's ultimately responsible for. What happens to Echo as she remembers, and also remembers that Caroline has abandoned her. What happens to the other dolls as they begin to remember as well and develop, can you really wipe away someone's essence of their being, someone's soul? And if not, why not? What of the "imprints", the personalities dumped in the Actives, do they go away? Do they have a soul of their own that lingers, something that will govern the behavior of the dolls themselves? I watch the show for its potential, for these questions and all the answers to them that it explores. I watch it because it makes me think about the things that will, ultimately, make me a better storyteller once I apply them to my characters. Make my stories more relateable, more real, more intriguing, and more impacting. Improve me as a person and as a writer, and challenge my preconceptions of humanity in new and creative ways. And that, to me, is what makes Dollhouse one of the best shows on tv and one I do not want to see canceled.

And now, dear reader, if you've made it this far and have yet to see an episode of Dollhouse, I'm going to point you to the prologue to the season 1 finale, Briar Rose. The, if you have the time and become hooked like me, please go on to Omega. And you will see what I mean. (if you'll only do one, I say do Omega, but you really need the context of Briar Rose to truly appreciate it). It may be a bit confusing without the context of the others, but it will give you a real feel for everything that I've raised here, and for what the episodes and the Dollhouse really are. And then I ask you to tune in tonight to Dollhouse, help give it the boost in ratings that it so desperately needs for FOX to stop themselves from making a terrible mistake, and, hopefully, have your mind blown by it as I have. And become hooked <3

[link]

The old journal layout will be back, do not worry. This is just something really important to me and, soon, hopefully to you too.

39 Comments

Mood: Mesmerized
Listening to: Remains - Maurissa Tancheroen

"Physics is like...

Journal Entry: Thu Jul 16, 2009, 9:18 PM

Play a game. Save the world.
Artists for Charity
Law of Talos

News

...sex. Sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it." -Feynman

One of my favourite quotes, in case you guys were wondering. It also totally goes along with what I've been doing, though. The physics part, anyway.

New journal CSS to mark the official end of LoT. It was an incredible ride, but now it's over. And to answer a question I've been getting a lot of: I do not have any intention of running another contest for a long, long, LONG time. I don't have the proper time available to put into it, and there's already so many amazing contests popping up all over DA anyway, go enter those! That's what I intend to do, anyway~

I got a job working at a research lab this summer, through a massive run of incredibly good luck. So now I'm living on my own and working with radioactive things and neutron detectors and holy crap it is so coooooooool. I literally get home and think about how mindblowingly awesome everything I did at work today was. Needless to say, I'm happy in my geeky astrophysics way! It's fantastic. I meant to update the journal long ago but I couldn't decide what CS to use and I felt like LoT deserved a lot of time on the front of my page. Because every artist in it deserves any and all publicity they get <3 But this works out nicely because as of the day this is updated, I am officially 21 years old! The 17th fell on a Friday this year, which works out nicely, since I do believe I'm going to make it halfway to zozzled tonight, and go party it up in the closest city to me worth partying at - Knoxville. Should be fun 8D Hopefully I'll survive.

Also. Saw Harry Potter at the midnight premiere. Taking into account that they'll never truly be able to capture the books, I thought it was a damn good movie. And funny 8D It has inspired a few lines of fanfiction, so I can confidently say I'm happy with it.

AND I saw UP which is the best movie of the year, hands down. Go see it, if you haven't. Right now. I'll wait.

Also caught Transformers 2, which had giant robot fights with big huge guns, so I of course liked it quite a lot. If only they'd cut out the scenes with the pesky people from it...and not tried to make the robots "bleed". That was just stupid. And also saw Public Enemies, which had Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, so there's no way it could go wrong. It made me want to read Lackadaisy (which I did), and really mourn the loss of suits and pinstripes as everyday wear for men. We as a species should find a way to bring it back. Along with the fedoras. 8D

Artstuffs

First off, Otakon! Unfortunately I can't attend this year :< I heard about the LoT meet up, though, and mark my words I'll be wanting photographs of all you guys that're crazy enough to do it! Best of luck to everyone going and selling stuff, like =exileddelusion, =SHADOBOXXER, ~ConcentrationMoon, to name a few. Also be sure to look up =TheCrowchan, she is far too awesome not to meet! And everyone who is going, I'm so jealous and I hope you guys all have fun! I know I did last year when I went. <3 And to those who have merchandise I'm missing out on...I'll hunt you down. Just you wait. 8D

As far as actual art stuff, well. I have no scanner and my digital art stuff is fighting with me currently, but I would love to get more artwork done. So look for it soon-ish, in between work and studying for the GREs~ Oh yeah. Sleep is totally optional in life.

Contests & Fun Things

Totally going to try and enter Yeah! Swing It!. A contest set in the 1920s? How can I resist? 8D

Artists at the Ready also recently got off to a roaring start. Unfortunately I couldn't do my audition justice and so my entry was scrapped. I still absolutely love the idea of the contest, however, and will be keeping an eye on it!

I'm also watching Miss SDL 2009, and it is beyond glorious so far <3 So much talent in that competition! I can't wait to see the final round!

And, as always, a list of current interesting contests and those opening up soon!

And, of course, there are leagues you can get in on:

's SDL league, and a new up-and-coming league worth checking out:

An awesome, easy-to-follow guide to current and past OC Tournaments:

Awesometastic

I am head over heels in love with

's stuff, and for very good reason. It is amazing. The things she does with color...I must learn. Very, very soon.

Another artist that has caught my eye very forcibly with truly unhealthy amounts of talent is

The watercolors in her gallery are breathtaking, and well worth a majorly long look.

And finally, I've found that

has a simply awesome style, both adorable and incredibly creepy. What more could you want? 8D

And finally, a few bits of fanart, both for LoT and for my undeserving characters, as well as some other amazing works I've come across recently:

23 Comments

Mood: Eager
Listening to: Sweet and his jazzy tones from Buffy
Watching: Buffy: Once More, With Feeling

Law of Talos: WINNER

Journal Entry: Wed May 13, 2009, 10:07 PM

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AND THE WINNER OF LAW OF TALOS IS:

Judges' Comments:

"This was seriously the hardest judging I've had to do. I kept going back and forth. There were so many things I like about both, and things that I thought maybe one did better than the other. But finally I came to a conclusion of BlackLillian. I thought long and hard as to why and it would have to be her talent for story telling. I was compelled the entire time. I even sided with the wrong intentions at one point, with the evil and inhuman desires. The story and characters drew me in that much, to the point where the story was steering me. I felt my gut wrenching and twisting as the story went on just from suspense. That's what a true OCer should do, make you not only read the story, but be completely involved in it, both finalists reached that level, but I thought she went above and beyond. I not only fell in love with the characters, but their story as well. I tip my hat to both finalists on a very excellent job well done, and the most enriching experience I’ve had in the field of art thus far. Thank you."

"BlackLillian's entry can be condensed into a single, potent word of resonant power: Finality.

It's been a long, hard road for our beloved contestants. And a long time coming. But I'm pleased to say that, in the end, neither contestant disappointed.

It's been a difficult round to select a winner for. Both entries were extravagant, providing us with heart-racing action and compelling storytelling. So many familiar faces made their appearances in the journey towards the final, epic struggle that culminates over the skies of Talos.

But in the end.... in the very end, there can only be one victor. My vote has been cast towards that weaver of the most magnificent tale I've ever read in a sequential piece, Blacklillian.

Do not be fooled by my choices. Unknown-Person's entry was captivating, incredibly vibrant, and an eye-opener into the man behind the ceramic mask of possibly one of the most intriguing hollow villains I've ever come across.

But in the end, we are not hollow at the core. We are men of flesh and blood and pulse with life. In the same fashion, Blacklillian's entry resonated the very pulse of Talos, so much so I could see how fate determined that the final wish must be a joint effort: a unanimous, albeit subconscious, choice that linked the Professor's final wish to that of the city was the only power mighty enough to bring the dead back to life.

In the end, all things must be brought to their Finality.

And for me, it is =BlackLillian who has realized this Finality in Talos."

"First off, I would like to make an announcement, in which I thank all the fans that have patiently waited for the results without much complaint. I have, after 20 days of struggling and oggling at mindbreakingly awesome entries, come to a decision, which will, most definitly be bawwww'd over at one point or another. To these people I say "CRY SOME MORE!" and challenge them to judge these two amazing entries without bias. And now for my actual judgement.

Though, as I said before, both entries were spectacular and amazing, I have seen both, flaws as well as strong points, that made it even more difficult for me to come to a conclusion. What one did, the other didn't, and vice versa. So, I went back, and judged the entries in their entirety. Meaning, I went and looked at all their entries they have submitted to the Law of Talos tourney, to see how their finale plays out, and fits into their scheme.

=BlackLillian always had a fluid style of storytelling, quick-witted humour, and amazing ideas.

*Unknown-person had smooth animations that were absolutely stunning, as well as an intriguing character.
But, in the end, I can only choose one.

I vote =BlackLillian as winner, because overall, her entries had a constant fluid story, that was punctuated with quotes that underlined that particular fight with so much more, and I had the feeling that her story kept one constant goal in mind: the wish. Which in the end was used for a different purpose than originally intended, giving it a whole new fresh turn. The use of other contestants also didn't seem out of the blue, and introduced a completely new storyline, which blended into the whole tournament, and became the main plot. Best of all to me, was the feeling of conclusion.

Though I praise =BlackLillian I also admit that there were a few flaws (in my opinion), that did not sit well with me. While Karl's character portrayal worked well with her entry, it didn't quite feel right to me.

But, to be brutally honest, *Unknown-person's animations are nothing to sneeze at either. I was, and still am, in total awe at what he conjured up every time for the whole tourney, and then squeezing in some more. But, unfortunately, this made his entries very erratic to me.
Though past occurrences were explained, or hinted at, and some things that were happening at the same time shown, it gave his story an inconsistent feeling. My next point may just be me being nit-picky, but I did not like the choice of voice for some of the characters, (this is not something I weighed in heavily)and the professor quoting the raven was horribly predictive, and was anti-climatic for me.

Overall, I went with =BlackLillian's entry, because to me, it fit better in the context, and the story-telling appealled more to me.
Both contestants did amazing jobs, and would have deserved the win equally. Thank you for entering you two, and thank you for following and watching this tourney."

"Both entries were completely and utterly spectacular and if I could flake out and call it a draw I would, but alas a tournament needs a winner, one winner so I have to take a step back and look at this as critically as possible. Still I don’t want to sound too harsh and I would like to emphasize how grand both contestants did, so I’ll to try start with the more negative and end with the more positive although it probably won’t work out exactly that way.

Unknown-person’s animation was epic as per usual, but some parts were maybe too epic? What I mean by that is there were certain scenes that were addressed so that they felt extremely important, but these same scenes felt only a split second long, not nearly long enough. It is hard for me to say something like that because I know he’s a great guy and I’m very much aware of how much time and effort Unknown puts into his animations. Telling him he should put even more time into it, time he probably doesn’t even have, feels like it’s wrong. However truth is he is very good at certain types of scenes, the sort of edge of your seat scenes (often with fighting) for example, and I felt he should have focused a tad bit more on them as they are one of his strengths. That’s not to say he should have focused only on them or less on the calmer dialogue scenes, but balancing it a little more would have been nice. There is also the fact that things did not feel quite as neatly tied up as they could have been. I was expecting a sort of epiphany moment where everything came together and I would be blown off my feet. That moment didn’t really come, at least not as powerfully as it should have. There were plenty of times in the tourney where I felt myself hoping Unknown would make it to the end so I could see how things tied in his grand finale and indeed things came together and made an excellent end, I was just expecting it to fit a little more in my mind.

However as I stated earlier Unknown’s animation was still epic and still had that charm all his works do, comic or animation regardless. It’s hard to even place what makes Unknown’s works so good. Contrary to popular (and unfortunate) belief it is NOT simply because it is animated. As a matter of fact I think his regular comics are every bit as wonderful and charming as his animations. Unknown’s works are almost like an addiction, something you love and keep coming back to but if asked why you’re not even sure what to answer. The characters are amazing, some are more archetypes than others but all have a distinct and unique quality to them. The writing is wonderful and although I give great respect to the voice actors who graciously give their talents to Unknown’s aid, I think even subtitled only his works would still retain their quality. All of his animations and comics seem to flow perfectly and this latest entry is no exception. A lot of amateur and aspiring artists seem to have these moments of “dead air” speckling their works, but Unknown has eliminated them. Every single second feels important and feels needed. From dialogue scenes to fight scenes to any other scenes they move seamlessly and keep you glued to your screen. Unknown continues to amaze and inspire awe with his works.

Blacklillian’s entry is incredible and her comic is an amazing read. Admittedly though, I had to convince myself to actually read it in the first place. Indeed I knew it would be amazing as always but the length did intimidate me at first. I don’t even know that it was the longest entry of Lillian’s or even of the tournament but none the less sometimes with these longer entries I find myself thinking perhaps some of it could be condensed in some places. Now I know I seem to be contradicting myself here. First I say Unknown should lengthen in parts and now I say Lillian should shorten in parts. Make up my mind, huh? Well I guess it’s all about the balance, its quality over quantity but that doesn’t mean quantity should be ignored. Before you flip out at me though, calm down and read on because the truth is although this still felt a bit lengthy it also felt like the length was better handled than some of her previous entries. Some of the inserted text between panels felt like it was getting a bit too tedious and maybe a few of them wasn’t needed but it didn’t so much detract as just feel unnecessary.

However everything felt much more needed and in place than before. The length wasn’t all that bad and other than perhaps some of the placed text, it mostly felt that the panels were all quite necessary. Everything just simply seemed to fit in place like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and there wasn’t a single panel where I was confused as to what was going on, which is nice in these types of tournaments. Not only that but one problem I had with a few of Lillian’s previous entries was the slight lack of focus on her opponent. I feel an original character battle should focus on the original characters, specifically your OC and your opponent’s OC, not so much your own OC and non contestant OCs or contestant OCs who you aren’t even facing. Lillian did a fantastic job this round of keeping to her own story and tying in all the other characters without loosing focus on her opponent. It felt like every panel of the entry was important but the focus was on The Professor and Annie and Karl and the rest of the cast was support, major support and very important, but still support. That is how I believe it should be. Finally the way every single part of every entry tied in at the end for a grand finale of epic proportions was simply amazing. Once again Lillian shows her mastery of writing and gives you intense moments of emotion and amazement you can’t quite get anywhere else. Reading the last few panels of her final entry actually gave me goose-bumps (the good kind). Right down to the last line it was a fantastic ending."

"Wow. For many days that’s all I could think to write. Wow, and golly and jeez and holycrapIcan’tbelievehejustdidthat. What a simply incredible journey all of this has been, for both the contestants and the characters. I’m still sitting back in my chair, rereading and rewatching and just thinking to myself “how the hell do they do that?” Because our two finalists are nothing short of magicians, crafting an illusion that has roped this judge in from round one and continues to surprise at every turn. Aside from both contestants’ obvious artistic skill (which is, as an understatement, over-frakkin-9000), both of them told a story of epic proportions, and I was captivated by each of them. They both took the concept of Law of Talos and the Law itself and applied it in very different ways, but it both simply worked, and it worked so well that, after finishing each entry, I went “I wish I could’ve thought of that.” Twice. In both cases. Put =BlackLillian and *Unknown-person on the list of people whose brains I aspire to devour in the unrealistic thought that it’d somehow make me think like them. You two have done a stupendofantastinredibawesometastic job, and you should both be incredibly proud of all your work.

Now for the actual judging part. It was incredibly, incredibly difficult to stack these two entries up against one another, and this decision took a long time of thinking and mental bouncing back and forth. Here’s what I liked: I liked Unknown’s use of the Law of Talos as an energy source that was going to get something out of Karl, and the way that Karl constantly pushes right up against telling us what happened, making it all very very clear, but never actually says it, or anything. It works so well for the character, and it builds a lot of intrigue that lasts for long after you read through it. I liked Lil’s mental overload that Karl had to go through, that part gave me chills while I was reading it and every time since I’ve read it. I liked that both contestants played with the idea of the loss of someone special as a motivator, and where it took the characters that were left. I liked, well, all of it. I loved all of it. Every twist and every turn, and I’ve been very close to just saying “there should be two official winners”, and leaving it at that. Because they both deserve it. However, the idea of a tournament is that one man (or woman) comes out on top and so I had to resort to being incredibly nitpicky to even decide who might have possibly had an edge. I loved Lil’s overarching story, her heart wrenching moments in the Professor’s fight against Karl, and her way of tying this entire tournament together. Unknown took his in a different direction which I was very surprised to see, and also made me entirely rethink my personal views on what the Law of Talos is. Karl is a very, very compelling character, one that is truly a character that people love to hate, but love all the same. The way Unknown handled us getting to know Karl, and the glimpses we got of him throughout the story, and then the final confrontation, the final "mistake"...it was just brilliant, in this humble judge's opinion. It kept me wanting more, every time, and left me with a lot to think about and to wonder over at the end of each entry. However, Lil's story...the whole thing, all I can think to say is simply "wow", and press the back button and reread it again and again. Blacklillian truly took the city of Talos and the law of Talos, and made it her own, but still shared it with everyone that was along for Annie and the Professor's incredible ride. And that is what stood out most for me, at the end of the day (or many, many days, as the case may be). =BlackLillian is a masterful storyteller, and I am lucky to have been part of something that has her touch in it in such a powerful way, and the whole experience was better off for it."

Congratulations, Lil. Thanks for the epic tale you shared <3

Thank you to everyone for your overwhelming patience, it has not been an easy decision in any way, shape or form. You'll notice a few boxes of the journal missing - that's because I felt it was important to have just the things directly related to Law of Talos, and stress those who deserve it, the contestants and, of course, our exceptionally talented winner. And I also want to take this opportunity to say that every contestant we've had in this tournament has really been stellar and has helped it end on such an incredibly awesome note. And every last one of them deserves a plug. So here they are, in their original, random order:

_{Also, while this should really go without saying, I understand if you disagree with a ruling, but express that discontent in a way that is disrespectful to ANY of the contestants in this entire tournament and I will hide your comment, because you wouldn't even be worth their time. All of them worked incredibly hard these past months, and they don't deserve any crap from anyone. You have been warned.}

_{I will update these with the newest Spectator Entries as well as a few randomly chosen from the full list. See the full list here: [link]}

OC contests still accepting auditions, for those who want to get in the game! (and some that have started but are worth a look regardless!)

And, of course, there are leagues you can get in on:

's SDL league, and a new up-and-coming league worth checking out:

An awesome, easy-to-follow guide to current and past OC Tournaments:

_{If you know of any others, feel free to suggest them so I can feature them!}

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_{Journal CSS code is an adaptation of a code of ¢mynti's and `Lilyas's. Brushes by ~SummerAIR}

175 Comments

Mood: Astonished

Law of Talos: Round 5 End

Journal Entry: Thu Apr 16, 2009, 6:21 AM

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Aaaand here are the very deserving finalists and their final entries! Be patient with the judging, we've got quite an impossibel task ahead of us ;3

Law of Talos: Round 5 Finals

vs.

_{I will update these with the newest Spectator Entries as well as a few randomly chosen from the full list. See the full list here: [link]}

Who better to feature for the final round than our two finalists? I won't feature any actual LoT entries, but both of their galleries are full of so many other forms of win that there's nothing to disappoint!

And also: [link] Go left to right, up to down. And laugh. A lot. I did. x3

:unknown-person:

And, of course:

Both of these artists are simply amazing in everything they do, and I am lucky to know them and be able to see their works. DA & OCT love, ftw. :3

OC contests still accepting auditions, for those who want to get in the game! (and some that have started but are worth a look regardless!)

:iconmonogatorioct:

And, of course, there are leagues you can get in on:

's SDL league, and a new up-and-coming league worth checking out:

An awesome, easy-to-follow guide to current and past OC Tournaments:

_{If you know of any others, feel free to suggest them so I can feature them!}

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_{Journal CSS code is an adaptation of a code of ¢mynti's and `Lilyas's. Brushes by ~SummerAIR}

98 Comments

Mood: Joy

LoT Extension and holyfrack BSG

Journal Entry: Sun Mar 22, 2009, 2:27 PM

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One more extension is needed in order for life to stop being so mean to our contestants. Thanks for being patient, I think you'll agree that it's well worth it when you see what the two finalists have cooked up. :3

New Round 5 Deadline: April 15th 2009

In Other News!

The contest that =Rocker-Artist is hosting is drawing to a close, last chance to enter and receive some way awesome prizes!

I've also had to abandon this month's sketch theme in the interest of doing at least vaguely decently in school. I know, I know. Being (somewhat)responsible and productive sucks :< As soon as I figure a way around doing the actual work, but still keep the good grades, I'll be sure to sketch non-stop! Unfortunately this also means I won't get to enter any OCTs again for a while. They demand way too much time, and I'm already taking a class which asks for short-ish comics from me on a weekly basis. I'll be following a lot of them very closely, though, and I suggest you do the same.

Over this past week (spring break from me, though it's ending today. Boo.) I've caught up with Heroes. Pretty cool show. Hiro is, understandably, my favourite <3 He just had...the perfect reaction to realizing that he had powers XD Hiro and Ando ftw.

And, speaking of shows. The re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series came to an end Friday night. And. And holy frak was it awesome. Space battles, gun fights, power-plays, religious beliefs, and good old ass-kicking all come together to a very fitting end to an epic journey that spanned four fantastic seasons. It will be missed. And it will be rewatched. Often. Whenever I need inspiration. Or have a free 45 minutes. Or don't have a free 45 minutes, but decide BSG is time better spent (though, to be fair, that would happen EVERY TIME).

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I can't really sum up all the awesome things about BSG in a deviantart journal, especially because even now I am merely making one last-ditch effort to avoid doing my astronomy lab before it comes down to the wire and I cave in and open up excel. I can say this with certainly, though: All Along the Watchtower is now one of my favourite songs, and it's BSG's fault. And I welcome it. I loved the echoes of the lyrics when they were said by The Final Four, and how it brought them all together, and how they continued to echo phrases of it in key moments. Like when the Eight was dying and wanted to meet Tigh, her last words were "there's too much confusion", if I remember correctly. Or, more prominently, when Starbuck was ordered to jump the ship: There must be some kind of way out of here. And the transition from that song to the slightly different composition that Starbuck played on the piano. That was a wonderful moment that I've rewatched more times than I can count.

I loved, absolutely loved, how everything came together. The Opera House being the CIC, with the illumination in the back and the flashes between the two. It was so fitting for Galactica to be compared to such a beautiful place that was introduced so early on. Baltar finally getting enough balls to care about someone other than himself. Head Six and Head Baltar coming together so Caprica and Gaius were all "Wait, you see them too?" I was somewhat disappointed that Daniel never played a bigger part than to show us Cavil's true nature, but it was wonderful misdirection. I myself was convinced that Starbuck was a half-cylon baby. I liked her departure, though. And I liked her as an angel of God, like Head Six and Head Baltar, only a much more prominent one. My like for her had started to wane recently with her wild swings from Lee to Sam and back again, but I liked her ending, and her, by the end of it.

I also loved the short arc with Boomer. Boomer has always been a favourite of mine, even while she was all Evil and whatnot. I was so glad to see her do that one final act, and then to come back to her promise to pay Adama back when it really meant something. She did good. And then Athena emptied out her gun into her, but that was to be expected. Boomer did frak her husband and steal her child, after all. I kind of wish she had run into the Chief one last time, but...at the same time, their arc was over when he went into the empty house. And it was heartbreaking to see.

Speaking of heartbreak. Man. Roslin/Adama will forever be my BSG OTP. No doubt about it. Those two characters are magnificent, and I've cried like a baby at so many of their scenes. When Adama makes one last desperate grab to fix Galactica and splatters the white paint all over the walls... Or when he comforts Roslin early on when she's dying (for the first time). When they're on New Caprica, talking about the cabin. And when they're on "Earth", in the end, and she passes away next to him, before he could show her that perfect spot. Hell, I'm getting misty-eyed right now thinking about it. And him talking to her grave... it was just so... right. Done so well. They both left, to live alone. And I can't help but be reminded of that line that one of the Sixes had said during the cylon-occupation of Caprica: "Parents have to die in order for children to come into their own." I see Roslin and Adama as the parents of what was left of the human race. And they went off alone as their children went to settle a new planet, and find their own way.

And my very favourite Adama scene ever? Every bit of the Mutiny arc in Galactica, when he and Tigh are just pure badass the entire way and take their ship back. There's no question of how awesome Adama was after those episodes. Not that there ever was before in the first place, though.

I wish we could have seen more about the hybrids, too. They are by far the most fascinating part of the entire show to me. Seeing that old hybrid in Razor was such a wonderful touch <3 The way they seem to know everything, but yet present it in such a nonsense-sounding way. Stop. End of line. Jump! I find it amusing how the Centurians were able to create the hybrids, which are arguably closer to God than anyone, with the obvious exceptions of Starbuck, Head Six and Head Baltar. But they enlisted the help of the Final Five to create human forms. And the hybrids are henceforth treated as either prophets or nonsense. Cavil has so much faith in his lack of faith it's rather ironic. And his dialogue is love <3 I thought suicide was a fitting end for him. The man who has always wanted control over his fate, over everything in his life and, for that matter, everyone else's, faced with a very real loss of control? I expected it.

I'm not sure what else to say. There is simply TOO MUCH for me to continue to carry on by myself, though I welcome any and all conversation/comments on it. As a final note, I loved the end, and the music throughout the entire series, and the entire series itself. Head Six still sends chills down my spine. The discovery of the battered and beaten Gina. Caprica's arc. Seul losing Liam, and his scene with Adama. Dee's suicide, which I did not see coming. Starbuck's death and then angel-ness. Sam's happy end of perfection. Billy's death, all that time ago. Chief's undying love for Boomer, and Boomer's moral gray area. Athena and Helo, and everything they've been through. Lee Adama, and all of his struggles, both internal and with Starbuck and Adama. Laura Roslin, the best frakking president in the entire 'verse. The Centurian's independence, and seeing the red-striped cylons marching behind a Six, and then leading and being led into battle. The Opera House. The Scrolls of Pythia. The Lords of Kobol. Gaeta. Zerek. Seul Tigh's cling to his previous ideals even after realizing he's a cylon. And Adama accepting him for it. Earth, the cylon planet. "Life here began out there." Everything, in the entire series. Everything. And how it all came together. And the ending, with Head Six and Head Baltar talking, the way that the humans on this "Earth" are heading.

All of this has happened before. All of it will happen again.

So say we all.

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As one final note, if you have not yet checked out Joss Whedon's new series "Dollhouse", airs on FOX at 9 on Friday nights, you should start. Immediately. The first few episodes held a lot of potential that made me very excited, but it wasn't until episode 6, which two days ago, that the awesome hit you in the face. Check it out, you won't be disappointed. It's cutting edge science! In a house full of hot chicks!

Law of Talos: Round 5 Finals
Deadline: 11:59 PM EST APRIL 15th, 2009

vs.

_{I will update these with the newest Spectator Entries as well as a few randomly chosen from the full list. See the full list here: [link]}

is an amazing friend and a rockin' artist (see what I did there?) She deserves way more publicity than she's getting, so here's my little try at helping her out some. She's ridiculously versatile and her style is nothing short of amazingly brilliant. Check out this wholly awesome woman, but be prepared to have your face rocked off.

AND she's also humbled herself to take a lineart I've done and make it awesome, and I'd be very remiss if I didn't mention it here, because it bears mentioning. Everywhere.