I like it! Only one question... Is the name a pun, or did you mean wither, as in Apollo's wither vanish?
"Whither" means "to what place" as in:
Whither are we wandering?
While "wither" means "to cause to shrivel or fade".
Apollo talks about getting a manicure and using a clear coat on your nails so they are
VERY shiny and catch the light. When done correctly the flash of the coin is replaced by the flash on the fingernails, and the coin "withers" away.
For your effect I actually like "whither" as it is a change rather than a vanish, but I'm not sure if that is what you meant.
Okay, I lied I have two questions... Have you tried combining the retention vanish with the muscle pass so they they happen roughly at the same time, with the hands still in the vertical retention position instead of the muscle pass happening a bit later with the hand in motion?
I started playing with that idea after I saw your video, and I think it
may be possible, however I still can't do it yet and I'm sure it would take quite a while before it became anything close to natural, but I though I would ask you since it seems you are probably
very close to being able to pull off something as technical as what I am proposing.
Great work on the change and thank you for sharing it!
-ThisOneGoesTo11