never mind; figured it out. no idea how I haven't had problems previously

in the light of day, I'm realizing what bothered me: there's no shadows -v-

checked the scene and I'm not sure what went wrong, but it seems that the render engine doesn't believe in shadows right now. it used to! but not right now!

thank you!! your animatic was a joy to reference and I've still got half-baked ideas thanks to it ^v^