hello! as a celebration of me finally getting my driving license (shoutout to my instructor, he is an absolute saint and has forever changed my perspective on cars and car nerds), i thought i'd ask about your opinion on the cars my family owns — the Škoda Fabia I (the specific one we have is a combi from late 2004. slowly perishing, mainly of rust) and Kia Cee'd (2013??). is there anything remarkable about these two?
Ah, the Ceed, as Kia cowardly renamed it in 2018, in a decision I deliberately reject as I keep on referring to it as Cee apostrophe d, as Top Gear liked to call the earlier model they gave celebrities to go try to get themselves killed on tape, Tom Cruise getting the closest because of course it would be him.
Notice how nary an ounce of steering was given up whatsoever. Man was just balancing the car with the throttle in the true racing driver spirit of "If I die I die and if I don't this'll be a good time".
However, this is a bit of a sidetrack, as that's not your car - that'll be one o' deez, which whether as a 5 door...
...station wagon...
...or its bafflingly named coupe version (Pro_Cee'd????)...
...looks sharp as a goddamn tack in my books. In fact, wanna know how that's not just cheap flattery? That station wagon was actually the car I was pushing for our family to get when ours needed changing! Life didn't grace us with the opportunity, however, and so we ended up replacing our grey Citroën Picasso MPV with another (the ole' Xsara Picasso to C4 Picasso pipeline) which served us decently over a couple years before developing woes and getting passed on to family friends more willing to deal with them. Weird car, that C4 Picasso. Most of the steering wheel didn't turn.
Now, you may ask why those French folx would do that. And the answer is in the word French.
I can just imagine the designers asking feedback about the handbrake and getting all giddy as they look at them struggle to figure out where it is. Actually, go on, you try!
Wait, wait, we're once again getting sidetracked, we've still not addressed the Fabia! And that's a crime, because it was a hugely important car for Škoda: as Volkswagen's involvement with the company had turned from shareholder to owner its involvement in the cars had turned from help to codevelopment, making the Fabia a humongous departure from Škodas of old. However, for the latest Octavia, no closer to those hunksajunk, the rave reviews had been no match against Škoda's brand image, which was so terrible that even Wikipedia feels comfortable saying they were laughing stocks.
So for the Fabia, Škoda turned to marketing agency Fallon London for a very bold advertising campaign. So bold in fact that I didn't even stumble into it through my passion for cars, but through my study of marketing.
And it's so simple you could miss it.
(...it's in the lower right.)
This simple idea, and how hard they doubled down on it...
...completely turned Skoda's fortunes around, in a brand repositioning so successful that all of Fallon's Škoda-related ads received awards. Including this one.
That's not even an ad for Škoda. That's an ad for themselves.
Links in blue are posts of mine about the topic in question: if you liked this post, you might like those - or the blog’s Discord server, linked in the pinned post!
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If you get this, answer with 3 random facts about yourself and send this to the last 7 people in your notifs! Let’s get to know each other better! (Anon or not, it doesn’t matter)
THREE whole facts??? alright LFG
the current #1 song on my on repeat is the cure for breathing by voilà (great song everyone in the world should know it)
in 2021 i drank a grand total of 598 cups of tea
my only piece of stranger things merch is a racerback tank top that says "i dump your ass" in super colorful 80s font that i bought at an it'sugar in nyc like four years ago. after some intensive googling i have been completely unable to find any evidence that this tank top even exists much less was sold by it'sugar, but i guarantee it exists, because it is in my closet right now. it's possible i am the only person in the world who possesses this shirt
ETA: found a picture i took right after i bought the shirt so you can all see what im talking about
i realize this doesnt matter to anyone but it matters to me. a mystery that doesnt need solving but damn if etc etc
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It certainly has been a while since I last popped up and such.
But me? I'm doing well. Though it's always a bit worrying that people keep talking about me and the factors surrounding my life, yet it can't be stopped.
I do thank you for asking. Are you by chance okay with receiving another gift or no?
-✨ Anon (Sparkles Anon)
Eh, it's life, stuff happens. People come and go, I guess. Glad to hear you're doing well, aside from the busy bodies we seem to be surrounded with.
I think I can relate, although less to your caliber, it would seem. I know people have been talking about me to Stacey, at least. I'm surprised people care. I suppose you must feel much the same? Although, you're cloaked in more mystery than me, I guess. That's probably what makes you such a hot topic.
I would accept one, yeah. I still haven't gotten to open the last one though, sorry. I think I was overly cautious, then, and just... forgot about it. It's probably tucked in my desk drawer or something; I'll be sure to get to it when I get home, finally. Fit it in before my several hour drumming session I've got brewing.
*And she does mean brewing, much like the tea being prepared beside her. It's an itch bubbling up in her chest and zapping around in her arms, up from the fingertips. She doesn't know that it helps any, but after she sets her phone back down, she starts to tap a rhythm against the countertop on either side, using her fingers as though they were her trusty drumsticks. Right as she's getting into the swing of it, starting to relax a little- her phone goes off again, making her miss the beat. She tsks in frustration, narrowing her eyes down at her traitorous hands before she picks it up again.*
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WHAT DO YOU MEAAANNN "MID" THAT COMIC GOES SO HARD AND NOT FOR ANYTHING... THAT WAS MY FIRST THOUGHT VERBATIM... THIS GOES HARD. Incredibly effective composition and symbolism and use of values and shadow on the first page ESPECIALLY (I would love to hear what the third eye symbolizes as mentioned in your tags :) ) but. But. But like. Masato being Arakawa's comfort and not recognizing it and certainly not remembering it when he's older... despite how much it means to Arakawa in the moment... owwww owwie
I was gonna ramble about how much it hits home to depict Yoko as non-human because the nightmares that have stuck with the most about my mom were like that But Enough Of That We Get It... at any rate, as always, take care and I hope you get some good news soon!
thank you so much ♪(´▽`) !! it generally felt like somethin i dont really post (but horror/blood is something i really love and love to draw), so its why i was especially excited to share it and see what people thought: im glad people like it from what i see (❁´◡`❁) ! and im glad the lack of color wasn't anything detrimental- it might have worked better in this instance. maybe.
i dont ever 'title' things per say since i feel weird doin it BUT i guess captions serve as the title sometimes. so the caption 'matrophobia' is really ironic with that whole aspect in relation to masato being arakawa's Everything: on the one hand, it can just be a general fear of your mother, but on the other hand it could also be the fear of becoming like your mother. if i ever intended to go through with a jo variant, 'patrophobia' would for sure be the title with that ambiguity in mind, but (and i suppose in both instances) with this its more ironic here since masato is the one who ends up the most like his parents' abusers- which ultimately just makes things more bittersweet in that moment dont it (´▽` ;;;) on top of masato being arakawa's comfort, it's not just masato himself being the only reason: tying back into the alt. meaning of matrophobia, it's also a relief for arakawa in that he didn't turn out like his mother- which, again, makes everything so bittersweet in the end. its like spiders in my brain when it comes to that whole aspect in regards to the arakawa family's history and dynamics...... it makes me insane to be blunt ☠️
ah but yeah ! i decided to make her an actual perceivable monster so people who. DON'T. have issues with either of their parents could get a better feeling of what it is like to have a troublesome parent/s (id rather see wolves in my dreams than my mom on that note- even if they were going to bite my face off ( ´◡` ;;; ) ). i ran out of tags before i could make any more notes i had while drawing (;´x`) but i do have more and i'll be glad to explain the missing eye bit ! under the cut since it'll just be me rambling bout symbolism ig and its gonna get long (´▽`;;; )
when it came to the third/center eye being missing specifically, i did it in relation to how the third eye can relate to enlightenment or higher knowledge. definitely just as a result of projection, but its cause all the time when i was growing up my mom would not only assert and act as if Her Way Was The Right Way and that she knew everything, but that i should only go to her if i needed help and no one else could help me- hence it being missing being a reflection of how that notion isn't true (or always true i should say). as en extension, it's also a dig at how enlightened persons are supposed to help others reach enlightenment- yk, guide them. yet, again, in this case, they're only doing harm.
that's all for the third eye bit, but also just some other things i didnt have room to ramble bout last post: i had her lips be torn away to constantly show her fangs since. well. i dont have to explain it i guess: its just meant to highlight the never ending feeling of danger when around her (and the promise of danger). her nose being gone is purposeful too: in animals, the smell of your family's significant and it helps you find out Which One Is Yours right. in her nose being gone- again, more projection and personal problems on my part- it's a way to emphasize the separation between mother and child: 'you're no longer my kid anymore, i can't even recognize your scent'. of course, that's only to the mother: she is the only one no longer able to say they're family because she can't smell that shared scent anymore. in reality, they could very much smell the same, it's just the mother's unwilling to accept that anymore.
i know i mentioned the flowers in my initial post, but her wearing a flower shirt really was convenient since it allowed me to add those thorns and vines. when you have a troublesome parent like that, the feeling of not just being trapped is there, but it's painful- it's not something you can deal with quietly. even if you're not interacting with the parent directly, the thought of their presence or the unfortunate thoughts that come about as a result of having been around them so long are a constant thorn in the side. if i may make a pun ( ´uゝ` )
alright NOW i think i've covered everything i wanted to. without all the symbolism aside, i hope she at least looks grotesque for people to enjoy without the added thought- and i hope i didn't overdue it. in any case im glad you enjoyed it !! i hope you'll enjoy the next comic i get out (❁´◡`❁) if i ever start it and i dont abandon it midway through ( ❁´◡`❁ ;;;)
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Uh
Also holy shit lol
Loved this little rant, especially considering this
happened immediately after lol. Honestly, I was more surprised that there actually was a floor to the Mind Control Facility!
And of course I had to return to the HD Remix, since I hadn’t actually ever been down there in the 2013 release! But first-
I swear I have a talent for breaking these games. I don’t do it on purpose!
I couldn’t even trigger the Coward ending, it was like the Escape Pod ending except there was no out!
I also managed to get to a black screen on another restart, but this wasn’t another falling-through-the-floor situation?? I dunno what happened lol
But I did get there eventually! It’s pretty <3 I actually landed on a platform so I was closer to the catwalk until I wandered off of it and got surprised haha
You can see the platform there on the left, and how much further down I was. It’s pretty cool!
Swirl <3
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