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a really great organization that i don't see any posts about here is HEAL palestine. it was founded by steve sosebee, who was a founding president of the PCRF before leaving in late 2023 to refocus his efforts on heal palestine to better meet the needs of palestinians impacted by the genocide. the organization provides palestinians in gaza with food, clean water, shelters, "makeshift classrooms," and even medical evacuation for some children when it's possible--their services are pretty wide.

you can donate here if you would like to send a tax-deductible donation to an organization. also, i don't think any evacuations are possible right now, but if you're in the united states and you'd like to welcome medically evacuated children in the future, i highly recommend signing up for their newsletter or following them on social media so you can stay updated in case any children evacuated by HEAL come to your area for treatment. welcoming these kids at the airport is a really moving way to provide them with moral support, entirely for free.

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Update will be tomorrow as per (mostly) usual, but for today I'm showing off another set of character art! Once again, these are all done by Zerovirus, our artist for the project.

This time we'll be showing class surgeon and accidental eugenics advocate Ptolema of Rheeds. Ptolema's design went through a couple iterations, initially being a lot more cutesy and in a more minimalist outfit, as described in the web serial. I wanted her to be more tomboyish, while Zero thought it would be appropriate - and add some visual interest to the design - if her rich girl background was a little more reflected.

So we arrived at this design where she retains her green chiton and period sandals, but with a fancier fur coat and accessories. Again, if you're a reader, let me know what you think!

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so i hold you to my knife

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violet and klaus baudelaire should not have been at the club - they should have been at the library but not in a life or death situation as usual. sunny, however, should have been at the club

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Actual Knives Out-like recommendations:

Umineko

The Flower that Bloomed Nowhere

LOVE the popularity of Benoit Blanc, HATE that Knives Out has become the default comparison for any whodunnit or cosy crime because I love the elements of Knives Out that make it what it is, but when something is described as "like Knives Out" that doesn't mean it's got those elements, it just means it's a murder mystery.

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one thing i absolutely LOVE about the original Umineko sprites is the way they use color and i have to talk about it.

first, let's make a quick comparison between Umineko and Higurashi. the latter clearly has no problem using bright, "unnatural" hair and eye colors for some of its central characters. the Sonozakis have green hair and green eyes, Rika has blue hair and purple eyes, etc.

the first batch of Umineko's characters is very different, limiting themselves to natural hair colors and having all of their irises appear black/very dark.

however, things change when we move away from the world of humans and make contact with the realm of fantasy.

the difference is usually in the eyes. Beatrice's first appearance shows this clearly. though Battler's blue eyes barely even look blue, Beatrice's eyes are literally neon blue. same goes for Virgilia.

(this also might be just me, but compared to Jessica's blonde hair, Beatrice's hair color looks slightly more vibrant. not that Jessica's hair is bad, i'm just trying to make a point here.)

even EVA Beatrice has bright blue eyes, even though these are not present in her human counterpart, and in her case, her clothes are a lot flashier as well, her dress being a very rich purple.

some characters also have unnatural hair colors, which are almost never present in human characters, and colorful clothing, though the eyes are still usually the most striking feature. in Chiester 410's case, even her hair is very saturated, and Zepar and Furfur make use of many contrasting colors and elaborate designs, with their eye color being rather unique.

an exception to the rule is Erika, having blue hair and blue eyes despite being a human. i'd argue this is possibly to make her stand out from the other humans and mark her as Bernkastel's artificially inserted piece.

overall, it's just a neat detail i noticed that makes me appreciate the original Ryukishi sprites all that much more, as it's not really visible/present in the console/pachinko sprites. it made me think about how effective small visual details like this can be to convey things about a character or differentiate them from others.

[coolstuffiseverywhere]

one thing i absolutely LOVE about the original Umineko sprites is the way they use color and i have to talk about it.

first, let's make a quick comparison between Umineko and Higurashi. the latter clearly has no problem using bright, "unnatural" hair and eye colors for some of its central characters. the Sonozakis have green hair and green eyes, Rika has blue hair and purple eyes, etc.

the first batch of Umineko's characters is very different, limiting themselves to natural hair colors and having all of their irises appear black/very dark.

however, things change when we move away from the world of humans and make contact with the realm of fantasy.

the difference is usually in the eyes. Beatrice's first appearance shows this clearly. though Battler's blue eyes barely even look blue, Beatrice's eyes are literally neon blue. same goes for Virgilia.

(this also might be just me, but compared to Jessica's blonde hair, Beatrice's hair color looks slightly more vibrant. not that Jessica's hair is bad, i'm just trying to make a point here.)

even EVA Beatrice has bright blue eyes, even though these are not present in her human counterpart, and in her case, her clothes are a lot flashier as well, her dress being a very rich purple.

some characters also have unnatural hair colors, which are almost never present in human characters, and colorful clothing, though the eyes are still usually the most striking feature. in Chiester 410's case, even her hair is very saturated, and Zepar and Furfur make use of many contrasting colors and elaborate designs, with their eye color being rather unique.

an exception to the rule is Erika, having blue hair and blue eyes despite being a human. i'd argue this is possibly to make her stand out from the other humans and mark her as Bernkastel's artificially inserted piece.

overall, it's just a neat detail i noticed that makes me appreciate the original Ryukishi sprites all that much more, as it's not really visible/present in the console/pachinko sprites. it made me think about how effective small visual details like this can be to convey things about a character or differentiate them from others.

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“Cerrit looks at the symbol of the Eyes of Avalir on his ring. The eye is sculpted to look down, ever watchful, the eyes of a city in the clouds.

On a 26 insight, you found many threats to the city of Avalir, long years of being exceptional, perceptive, intelligent, clever, your eyes ever peering down, cultists and criminals, even some magisters, some corrupt officials – but on a 26 insight, often ones without friends or connections.

The Eyes of Avalir never looked up.

And the price you paid was that here at the end of things, you still don’t get to hear the laughter of your children in this home, as was the case so many long nights of devotion and service.”

— Brennan Lee Mulligan, Exandria Unlimited: Calamity finale

See what Brennan did there? Brennan said, on a 26 insight, you finally understand what’s wrong with law enforcement: it enforces only downwards. It investigates and hounds the little people and the outcasts, and leaves the corridors of power unchecked. And it’s not a failure of individuals (this cop is corrupt, that one’s incompetent); that would be easily solved with better individuals, individuals like Cerrit, brilliant and honest and devoted. But it’s an institutional failure. The Eyes of Avalir were meant and made to look down, and never up.

Brennan said, y’all thought that because Cerrit’s the only non-magical guy in the Ring of Brass of the floating city of Avalir in the Age of Arcanum, he’s blameless? Think again! Everyone unwittingly contributed to the Calamity. The Leywright trio by hubris, the paladin by zeal and conviction, the fey by love (if Loquatius hadn’t killed the truth about Evandrin to protect Laerryn, she’d have to explain what she’s building in there, and crucial information could have come to light in time), and the cop by being a normal-ass cop, and thus missing every single clue that could prevent this – because every single clue was up above, and the Eyes of Avalir never looked up.

And then Brennan “I came here to hurt people” Lee Mulligan twists the knife and says, Cerrit, this is what you devoted your whole life to, this is what you spent all your energy on, this is why you missed on your own children growing up. For an institutional failure.

And on a 26 insight, here at the end of things, Cerrit finally takes off his badge ring and sets his fucking office on fire.

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also I got a tattoo partially re-coloured today and they bandaged me in veterinary wrap like I'm a sick horse

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his swagless mental breakdowns this, his homoerotic patterns of grief that. what about HER grief-stricken moments of extremely poor decisionmaking? what about HER incredibly alarming isolation and trauma-driven life choices?!?!?!

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Your honor both of them suck

Propaganda Under Cut:

Satan (Younger Sister of Lucifer + Leviathan and Older Sister of Belphegor, Mammon, Beelzebub + Asmodeus): Submitted by Anonymous.

Nessarose Thropp (Younger Half Sister of Elphaba): Nessa feels guilty that her father has given her a parting gift whilst Elphaba has received nothing and tries to talk to Elphaba about it.Nessa sees her sister off to the Emerald City at the train station.