#Best Communication Skills Courses in 2024

[onlineenglishclass]

Explore the top-rated Communication Skills Courses of 2024. Master effective communication strategies, boost interpersonal skills, and excel in professional and personal spheres. Elevate your communication game today!

[luxurious-realty3]

[kirbyoctournament]

Hello again all! After the riveting finale of last year's tournament, we've spent a few months collecting a selection of fun stats into our final 2024 Tournament Review!

From which participant had the most propaganda posted, to the total number of votes cast across the event, to which canon Kirby species was most represented, we hope you'll enjoy this send-off for the 2024 tourney!!

. · ͙ * ̩̩͙˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩̥͙ ✩ * ̩̩̥͙ ˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩͙ ‧ ͙ . . · ͙ * ̩̩͙˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩̥͙ ✩ * ̩̩̥͙ ˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩͙ ‧ ͙ .

★ POLLS WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF VOTES a selection of the highest performing polls that attracted the most public attention

Mama D vs J: 848 votes

★ Dawn vs Starry Dee: 749 votes ★ Fylass vs Clark: 741 votes ★ Astro vs Noir Fontaine vs Techie: 592 votes ★ Sir Meteor vs Life: 554 votes

★ CHARACTERS WITH THE MOST PROPAGANDA characters who had the most propaganda posts for them, either from their own creator or from other artists

Fecto Flora 155 posts

★ Valfrey 112 posts ★ Sir Uther 108 posts ★ Noir Fontaine 98 posts ★ Dotty 95 posts

After applications closed at the end of April, the tournament ran from May 10th, 2024 to October 28th, 2024, just a few days shy of six months! During this time...

★ 143 competitors joined the tournament and made friends ★ 1,813 Propaganda posts were made by the community supporting those competitors, and reblogged to the @kirbyoctournament blog ★ 202 polls were made pitting your favorites against each other ★ across those polls, 43,165 votes were cast ★ and of all these, winners starstruck dee and Rope MF received 1179 votes and 699 votes respectively over the course of the event

★ RANDOM STATS

★ 36% (52) of entered OCs were of the "orb" species, with 33 of those taking up the mantle of "knight" specifically. far and away the most represented species ★ Waddle dees were the next most common entrant, with 17 OCs. ★ Ripple Fairies were the least showcased non common-enemy/custom species type, with only a single representative! ★ Of all OC names, "S" was the most common initial at 16 OCs, a statistic we do feel is influenced by the frequency of "sir" before names. Removing those, it was the letter "A", with 13. ★ The least successful initial was the letter "J", with all but one of their 4 representatives (75%) falling in the first round.

★ PROPAGANDA WITH THE MOST CHARACTERS INCLUDED most tournament characters included in a single piece (or single series) of propaganda

★ Tournament OCs Part One and Part Two by @ivynajspyder with a total of 60 competitors

★ 55 competitors Havent You Noticed I'm A Star? by @giantchasm ★ 29 competitors and 2 non competitors (total 31 characters) Congrats To Fecto Flora! by @ceoofmetagala ★ And an honorable mention with 13 competitors and 15 non competitors (total 28 characters), Stargate Commemorative Piece, by @moonverc3x

During the tournament, creators and fans of all kinds arrived to showcase their best skills in support of their own ocs, their friends, and even brand new favorite characters they had found. While it's of course impossible to pick just one stand out piece -and we strongly recommend you check our full propaganda tag to see many more of these incredible works- here are some notable and unique highlights suggested by the Kirby OC Tourney community!

★ Propaganda Hijack; Music cover by @boa35 ★ Vote Dotty; by @cauliarty ★ Vote Flora; by @metagalacafe ★ Valfrey icon; by @gethoce ★ Friendly Talk; by @sacrificecage

★ Dont Stop Rope MF Now; Animated music video by @mint-termsandconditions ★ Just another Astral; by @aseuki ★ Tea Time; by @quanblovk ★ Nighty Knight Mod; by @windstriker427 ★ Tournament armours; by @rosiegardenlove

★ Havent You Noticed I'm A Star; Animated music video by @giantchasm ★ Motifs and Symbols; by @kirbybecomesastarwarrior ★ Surprise propaganda; by @poppybros-jr ★ Go Life!; by @shippyo ★ Not In The Lead; by @hnm-tech-support

★ Noir's Field Trip; Masterpost of art, comics and asks by @desultory-novice ★ Space battle; by @pinkestmenace ★ Only In Passing; by @what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me ★ Wolfbell's Illustrated Roleplays; by @zombiecicada ★ Not Over yet; by @a-stardusted-sky

. · ͙ * ̩̩͙˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩̥͙ ✩ * ̩̩̥͙ ˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩͙ ‧ ͙ . . · ͙ * ̩̩͙˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩̥͙ ✩ * ̩̩̥͙ ˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩͙ ‧ ͙ .

And with this, we officially conclude the 2024 Kirby OC Tournament event!

Over the next few days we will reblog a few final propaganda posts we received notifications for since October. We also have a new pinned post with an FAQ regarding the tournament and when things may be picked up next!

Thank you for coming along on the ride with us, for sharing your creativity and supporting OCs, and for helping us to make this into a wonderful and enriching community event!

See you around!

[28ms28]

MY Rating of F1 drivers based on their personality(more sway) and their track presence and racing

1. Charles Leclerc

(Track Menace who is also Pookie Bear) (unintentionally funny) (just an inchident) (canonically listens to sad songs after bad races) (piano man was at some point higher in the iTunes chart than at the actual championship standings) (clueless cringefail loser) (Ice-cream man) (14 year old Max Verstappen's nightmare) (best qualifier on the grid imo) (idk something about someone who is on course for achieving greatness and will not stop until he achieves it no matter the cost, something about so much sacrifices for something he got soo close to achieving something that did not work out in the end something about how he devotes himself to Ferrari like no one else could before him something about how fate chose him to be in that seat something about how he made it look easy something about how it looked like the way was paved for him something red red red idk something about web weaving) (dogdad) (we love Leo) (went to Lewis Hamilton school of naming his dog after his rival) (oh and dreams about community services with said rival) (very strong mental health and even bigger therapy bills) (did i mention he's il predestinato of the tifosi) (biggest Ferrari fan) (only one who knows how to race max verstappen) (he was an ankle biting child see any photos of his childhood as proof) (everybody is maxplaining victim he's a maxplaining enjoyer) (suffers from middle child syndrome) (Seb's Ferrari child) (committed parricide on Sebastian Vettel in 2019 and 2020)

2. Max Verstappen

(pookiest pookie to ever pookie, track lion, big brother, catdad, certified victim ,about to be 4 time world champ, deserves so much more love, so so so incredibly talented, he's just a shy boy your honour ,free my man he did all of it but yeah vibes, because I'm dutch, fifa legend(just online), Danny kvyat has nightmares about him, geography nerd, has zero skills in any other physical sport, is planning to become a sim racer, tu tu tu du max verstappen (fun lore about Max did you know this guy was ranked 21st in the world in ultimate fifa in 2018(or was it 2016?? Doesn't matter) like can you imagine being that insane like bro you are a f1 driver in a top team like pls ??) (community service enjoyer) (certified yapper) (is terrified of fuel stations(jos verstappen when I catch you) ) (#1 lecfosi) (cringefail loser and he knows it) (teammate destroyer) (has read every rule in the rulebook and knows how to break every rule in the rulebook legally ofc all legally) (Seb's redbull child) (on his way to break every single one of Seb's record just to spite the old man)

(And is friends with an old Austrian man somehow)

3. Oscar Piastri

(Pookie bear, Mark Webbers child that has Sebastian Vettel's evil aura (Mark you will never know peace), koala, polite cat, eldest sibling energy, Android lover, Carlos Sainz's nightmare gremlin, loves cricket(cannot play well bless his heart), #1 lestappen shipper(I respect that) is also somehow the eldest of the lestappen children(his granddads are Webbanso) ) ( Him and Fernando have plotted the downfall of alpine) (I have a feeling he hates Zak brown deep down which I agree with) (grill the grid champ(like I said aura of Seb Vettel))

4. George Russell

(British individual(derogatory), king of radio messages (oh crikey), has an evil aura which is probably why he gets along with Nando, makes amazing powerpoints(facts!!), head of the gdpa and he takes it V.E.R.Y seriously probably the admin to the f1 driver group chat, part-time driver part-time strategist, he's a better driver than people give him credit for unpopular opinion but I think he can be a wdc or least a close wdc contender if given the right car I think if he was in lando's car in 2024 he probably would have taken the fight to max idk about winning but he's for sure no easy breeze, f3 and f2 wdc too, very memefiable or wotever the word is) ( T pose)(t.a.l.l.)(one sweaty boi)

5. Carlos Sainz

(Spanish chilli, smooth operator, dog lover, says bye to his racing career after 2024( no wait let me tell you something let me finish let m- *shot*), certified zoning out( Carlos has been called to the stewards), Lewis Hamilton hater prolly, certified Fred vassuer hater, poor guy really he leaves whenever a team is getting good like come on, has had very good teammates and has been friends with them, in 2025 will become the third person in history to have raced for Ferrari, McLaren and Williams, I feel like he lacks a bit of aggressiveness in his racing like he operates smoothly and intelligently sure but yk you should have a bite yk )(whenever he finds this said bite and aggressiveness it's usually against his teammate I'm observing you Carlos I'm noticing)( loves Lando Norris, golf master but humble about it, Maria Karey, one of the mature drivers on the grid, excellent at all sports, James aeiou has a crush on him, Lana del Ray coded, him and max were torro rosso nepo babies).

6. Lewis Hamilton

(7-time world champion, goat behaviour, was friends with P Diddy, rich cool wine aunt, #blessed, fashionista, Hammertime, Fernando Alonso's nightmare gremlin, don't ever mention 2016 in front of him, is haunted by Nico Rosberg, is neighbours with Nico Rosberg, will avoid Greece for the rest of his life, had a very public divorce, thus vegan, Silverstone 2008 you will always be famous, this Barbie is an f1 driver, still we rise guys, Toto Wolff and David Croft will sacrifice their bloodline for him, certified Micheal Massi hater, certified Bottas lover, we love him and Seb being the activists on the grid, this is getting manipulated man, did not survive Abu Dhabi 2021, did not survive Abu Dhabi 2016, has had caps thrown at him, Left family for Italian mafia, uncle I beg you please get your qualifying form back pls pls, is embarrassed by those toxic #teamlh and you cannot convince me otherwise, has let 2 baddies named Nico slip from him, ISS THAT GLOCK???, Bono my tyres are gone)

7. Lando Norris

(twitch streamer first f1 driver second, McLaren boy, hates papaya rules, has been multi21nd, mental health has been made very public by his own goddamn team, party-boy and DJ, fakes knowing how to play COD and Fortnite, very consistent racing good for him, terrified of first laps and poles, best friends with last laps and fastest laps(let's go Lando), shit at golf and geography but it's okay he makes up for it by being funny, probably misses being Carlos's teammate, but like Carlos lacks a bit of aggressiveness that is required, McLaren PR's nightmare gremlin, opposite of polite cat, has somehow managed to anger every fanbase and his car is the sole reason for the unification of RedBull, Ferrari and Mercedes, has been dealing with the wrath of Australia since 2021, at the end of the day just a curly haired guy ).

8. Fernando Alonso

(Spanish devil , Disney villain ahh character, 2005 and 2006 world champ, is looking for his 33rd win, Michael Schumacher's nightmare gremlin, grumpy old man first f1 driver second, lance lover(rare), Lawrence stroll's sugar baby, fast, prime Alonso I am scared of you, goat behaviour, holds a special grudge against McLaren and Lewis Hamilton(Alonso is sick of his ass), no more radio for the rest of the race, believes in karma, has dated Taylor swift apparently but is in love with Mark Webber( Jenson button is also somewhere in there), is known as El padre and has an el plan(everyone should be afraid), racecraft out of this world, 2005 Suzuka you will always be famous, all de time you have to leave da space, Alonso radio my love, aggressive but good racing the likes of which I have never seen and probably never will, what do mean by "I knew he'd brake earlier because he has 2 kids and a wife at home" like who says that what what??, worse career decisions than Ferrari strategies, bad luck so much bad luck, so chaotic so much chaos, has adopted Oscar and has plotted the downfall of alpine with him, Flavio haunts him, do not bring up Singapore 2008 in front of him especially not if Felipe Massa is present there, has driven the 2014 Ferrari and has not recovered from it, has outlasted Renault in formula one (wild), give Fernando Alonso 5 more points and he would be a 5 time wdc (even more wild), bye bye I'm still the bad guy)

9. Alex Albon

(alabonoo) ( bff with George Russell) ( is bullied by George Russell) (golf wag first f1 driver second) ( James aeiou has a favourite and it's Alex Albon) ( Alex really said I'm Thai first and a colonizer second and good for you Alex) (2020 Alex and 2022 onwards Alex are different people okay?) ( he's a consistent racer much like Lando but he makes mistakes more often, under pressure working is not his forte sorry pals but it had to be said) ( he's a really nice dude tho and really funny as well ) ( dude has a Chipotle member card as one of his essentials and you tell me I'm not supposed to love him come on be reasonable)(he has his own zoo he's a certified pet owner) ( if I had the money for that amount of pets I would do the same Alex I get it ) (also he's a Ferrari fan so you just know bro is always on hopium) (I think he gets put under the radar often but he's great) ( he seems to be a chill dude imo)(we both love lily)

10. Nico Hulkenberg

(German but like in a cool way) ( has been giving dad energy before he was a dad) ( called Hulk but is probably the calmest person on the grid) ( give my man Bruce Banner his podium nah it's not even funny anymore he deserves so much better than that) ( he's won le mans on his first try yk give him the Redbull seat for godsakes) (Nico is so cheeky like I know he's a gen x or something but like I see the genz potential yk) (Audi better have a car good enough for a podium I swear to god if we say bye to him before a podium I'm uhm I'm uh I'm gonna cry).

11. Yuki Tsunoda

(anime boi) (wants a restaurant before he wants a world championship and I respect that Yuki) (has an evil aura) (certified hothead because he's a certified good chef) (has the bitch spirit to be a Redbull driver but is not. because of Horner issues) (Yuki does make the occasional mistakes but like he's far better than the alt no?) (in the words of Yuki "idk man wotever") (too much anger for too small body) (is in love with Pierre Gasly) (is bullied by Pierre Gasly) (everybody loves Yuki even Nando is a fan)(tbf nandos a fan of anyone who has an evil aura) (people are terrified of Yuki radio as they rightfully should be) (Yuki is nightmare gremlin of every race engineer).

12. Pierre Gasly

(French but like from the north of France)(known for being French and Max Verstappen's teammate thus known for being fucked over by Redbull, also known for his revenge win in Monza) ( he's just a great driver like if given the right car he can fight at the top and win he's not on Max and Charles level yet but I feel like around George and better than Lando) ( he's also a good qualifier maybe it has something to do with speaking French who knows but yeah amazing what he can do in that shit alpine) (unfortunately he has a severe case of resting bitch face but he's very nice actually unless you are Esteban then he's not very nice) (yeah he also has the brocedes case of childhood best friends turned enemies but like French and he's very much Lewis in that way which means he would much rather ignore estie bestie than talk about him e.v.e.r while estie brings up his bestie Pierre wherever he can like Nico)( oh and he loves one Japanese boi)(pierreeee gasllyyyyy)

13. Kevin Magnussen

(Kmag the Viking) (my god nobody races like kmag lol) Okay so maybe I put him this high because he's a track terror to everyone but like watcha want me to do? Not acknowledging kmag's great defending is a crime, he is here to cause menace no matter how many penalty points he gains or races he's banned from he's really coming for Ocon's penalty points honour tbh. Shame really that this is his last season... just when things got interesting *sigh* (off the track he's a chill girldad) (hulk and kmag had an enemies-to-lovers story arc and I think that's beautiful)

14. Esteban Ocon

(he's French, he's from Normandy in France which is the north of France so you just know he was a bored child) (he and Pierre were bored babies) (which is probably why he races the way he does lol) (5-second penalty for Ocon) (no but seriously this guy has mad potential but also he's a mad teammate killer and not in a good way) (he has made a way for himself in formula one and he belongs here it's just that maybe if he tried targeting people other than his teammates he would make it much easier for himself) (he's a very cheerful person irl) (big Marvel fan) (gives very early teenage boy vibes) (softie at heart) (cannot for the life of him pronounce squirrel)(oh he also loves lance(rare)) (Estie bestie is on the podium babyyy)

15. Daniel Riccardo

(Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi oi oi ) (damn Daniel) (it's not tears it's athlete sweat ) (I mean I knew it was time to go but still it didn't have to be this way it's okay tho Danny is enjoying retirement and dirt bikes) (yeah the performance was just not there for Danny boi not that we could see it anyway because of vcarbs shit strategy or whatever they call it) (I miss prime Daniel he was such an annoyance to Sebastian)(2014 Daniel took the Australian revenge on Seb for his crimes against Mark Webber) (but yeah Daniel you go out of this sport with lots of love and a fastest lap)(ki ki aye)

16. Valtteri Bottas

(Finnish when he was in Mercedes but is officially Australian since then) ( Bottas more like Bott-ass get what I mean) (I mean that he has a weird obsession with his gluteus maximus) (Valtteri pls I beg you stop this behaviour) (10 time Grand Prix winner Valtteri has nightmares about James aeiou) (Valtteri it's James) (he's pretty chill all he cares about is racing, cyclist girlfriend, and his mullet+moustache(not necessarily in that order)) also here's a sad fact since Valtteri won't be on the grid next year it would be the first time a Finnish racer is not in the grid since 1989 yeah everybody is waiting for Robin Raikkonen now.

17. Sergio Perez

(Checo damn man what happened) (no 2 Redbull driver curse got to checo) (he was doing so good in racing point like Sakhir 2020 my beloved last to first, man what a performance that was) (he is capable of doing such great things but nooo bro gets knocked out in q1 more than he has reached q3) (Redbull killed the dawg in him man) (certain Austrian man haunts his nightmares and no it's not Niki Lauda) (he and Logan are the nightmare gremlins for mechanics)(even when he performs it's usually in no human right countries so he's not really helping the allegations) ( this poor Latina I swear to god) (he can't drive and he's up and about with other women(Taylor swift 1989 reference) aye aye aye(checo go home to your wife and children).

18. Logan Sargeant

(American) (bald eagle noises) (collective groan of William mechanics) (sorry logie bear)(James aeiou shall face the wrath of Jenson button it's ok) (first American to score points in f1 since 1993 that's 30 years so yaaay!!) (American history will be kind to you Logan)(not sure about f1 history tho) (your last gift to us was a sick ass album cover and I respect it) (if only he knew what a kilometre was * sigh*)(bye bye miss American pie).

19. Zhou Guanyu

(China boy) (another alpine escapee) (Zhou I'm sorry but you're not him anymore) (I miss pre-Silverstone 2022 Zhou where has my dawg gone man) (Zhou may not be as good of a racer now but he makes it up by being a fashionista) (tbf to him that Sauber stake monstrosity is not really helpful so) (also he is a catdad and had an emo phase through f3) (He's the first Chinese to ever race in f1 I think he's done his country proud) (He's also a proud Valtteri lover)

Okay so rookies next I did not include them here well because they have had like on avg 4 races soo

1. Oliver bearman

(ollie) (what a wonderful job he has done my god) (p7 in Jeddah on a day's notice wow dude) (he's driving for Haas in 2025 and his teammate is Esteban so that's..great (my condolences!! ifykyk)) also points in Baku after he passed his teammate (tell me you are a lestappen child w/o telling me you're a lestappen child) what I've seen from him I can tell he's very relentless that's good(also he's the most employed unemployed person ever) (also I heard people criticising him by commenting on his current f2 season like babe did u see his rookie f2 season?? that's why he's here not because of this year but last year and he's not doing bad this year it's just the car is shit but yeah he was at one point higher in the f1 standings than in f2 so I get why people are confused lol) (also he's super likeable very Genz very demure very mindful) (Ferrari has grown him in a lab with utmost care so he's very much a PR baby)

(oh yeah also he's in love with Kimi Antonelli) (yeah they are being genz lestappen)

2. Franco Colapinto

(Frankie baby) (Argentinian and very proud) (is very funny) (is also very genz) (sent James aeiou into a crisis by doing a better job than Alex Albon) (scored 4 times the amount of points than his predecessor in his 2nd race) (looks like Senna goes for the gap like Senna( in racing!! in racing!! calm down man)) (he deserves his place in f1 next year my god) (like the racecraft he has shown is very impressive I'm impressed and so is very f1 team even if he does not get the seat next year I doubt people are gonna forget about him believe me he will be in the talks still) (like I said he's not even had a full f2 season when he was called in for Williams and yet the incredible pace he has shown is fantastic) (has all the 30+ aged drivers enthralled with him and I don't blame them I would be too) (also he refers to Ocon as the Frenchman so where do I submit my stan card??) (oh and he has been adopted by Max Verstappen)

3. Liam Lawson

(aka New Zealand's revenge on Australia) (he did a fantastic job in 2023 and has been doing a fantastic job in 2024) (his idol is Lighting McQueen.....so now that everybody knows that he's Genz you can probably understand why he is beefing with Nando and Checo(boomers) (I think he drives aggressively but not as smoothly he is yet to find a balance it looks like but hey it's working out for him no?) (honestly just give either him or Yuki the Redbull seat) (off the track he's quite an expressive person but I don't think we have seen much of his personality he's friendly for sure and I mean he's a cars fan like come on he's a Pixar kid) (idk something about him says yeah I'm Genz but I still go on Facebook) (not that it's bad not saying the vibes are bad just Liam show more personality).

So that's pretty much it let me kno-what ? what do you mean I forgot someone oh lance stroll?? yeah no I didn't forget(I wish) I just have nothing to say really.

PLS READ these rankings are in my opinion and my opinion only please be kind to me this ranking is for humorous and comedic purposes only no hate to anyone!!

[felassan]

EA site update:

"The Dread Wolf Rises Dragon Age Day 2023 Happy DA Day to our friends across Thedas!"

"[Mark] Dragon Age has always been a franchise about characters. Characters to fall in love with or to learn to loath. Those characters need a place in which to live, to fight, and to love—a place that shapes them and the events they find themselves swept up in. Today we explore the place they call home that forms the stage for everything that you do: Thedas. Corinne and the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf team have created a game that celebrates the rich and varied past of the franchise while crafting new experiences and stories. It has been incredible to come back to BioWare and see all of the progress they’ve made, and I’m excited for some of that world to be shared with all of you today. [Corinne] Thank you, Mark! I fondly remember playing each entry in the Dragon Age franchise, being completely immersed and enamored in the world you all had built. It amazes me to be here now, working alongside you and the team, to bring new stories and characters (not to mention a few returning characters) to all of the fans of the franchise. Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is the product of hard work and love. We know how much this world means to all of you, how these experiences stay with you. We want to get it right, so we’ve taken our time. We're so excited to join in this celebration of all things Dragon Age and the incredible fandom that surrounds it. Within the dev team, we’ve been eagerly awaiting Dragon Age Day as the enthusiasm, stories, charity, and artwork you share motivates us to be our best and create new experiences for all of you. To celebrate DA Day, we’re sharing a look at a few of the in-game locations you’ll explore on this new adventure (and perhaps a little more for those who listen closely). The stage is set. The Dread Wolf is ready to make his move. Oh, and one last thing before I go… In summer 2024, we’ll be fully revealing Dragon Age: Dreadwolf to you! We honestly can’t wait. See you all in Thedas, — Corinne Busche, Game Director & Mark Darrah, Sr Production Advisor"

"You’ve visited the lands of Thedas thrice before in our games and many more times in comics, books, art, and short stories. This time, you’ll be venturing to places unseen and returning to places from long ago. To celebrate Dragon Age Day, we wanted to show you some of those sights. [link to new trailer] We stand on the precipice of change. This is a world brimming with stories and characters waiting to meet you. The fate of this world teeters on the edge of a knife. In past games, you only got to see a slice of the world. In Origins, it was Ferelden—a land ravaged by war and Dark Spawn. In II, it was Kirkwall and its locales—festering with corruption and a dark underworld. And in Inquisition, you ventured across much of Orlais—facing down political intrigue as often as combat."

"This time, however, much more of Thedas is yours to see. The desolate, beautiful badlands of the Anderfels with curtains of distant mountainous spires. The twisting canals and gleaming towers of Antiva, where Crows may lurk in any shadow. The turquoise seas of Rivain with its rushes of greenery and hardy sea-faring people. And of course, there’s more."

"We felt this was best for the tale we wanted to tell this time and we hope you enjoy it as much as we have! It’s allowed us to create many more locations than past games, including both some you’ve longed to go to…and some you’ve never heard of before!"

"To help capture the wonders of Thedas, we partnered with three wonderful artists from our exceptionally talented community and gave them an early look at what you’ve now seen. We’ve always been so fortunate to have such an incredibly skilled community of artists, and getting to work with these three was a true joy! We asked each of them to create a vista of one of the three regions in the video based on their interpretation of it in their own unique styles. Please enjoy their wonderful work, and be sure to send them some love when you check out their personal channels for more of their art!" [link to art]

"Turning our focus to your closest kitchen, if you’re looking for a fun gift this holiday season or want to try some Thedosian dishes yourself, we’ve got you covered with Dragon Age: The Official Cookbook: Tastes of Thedas from our partners, Insight Editions! This project was lovingly crafted by the author, Jessie Hasset, as well as members of our team who have an affinity for the kitchen and a love of cuisine."

"The cookbook features recipes suited to all skill levels, but we know that jumping in may be a daunting task for some. To help you out, we’ve partnered with MisoHungrie, a wonderful YouTuber who specializes in cooking, with a particular knack for video game and entertainment-related dishes. If you’re looking for a place to start on your culinary journey, check out his video and follow along. And be sure to let us know what you think of these Thedosian delights! In addition to this, there are two giveaways you should keep an eye out for! For the first, our friends over at Insight Editions are giving away five copies of the cookbook on their social channels, so be sure to check them out. And it doesn’t end there. For those of you who decide to try your hand at making a culinary delight from the book (including one of the ones we’ve released separately), be sure to follow our own Dragon Age social channels for the second giveaway. Keep an eye out for the opportunity to submit your creation for a chance to win a BioWare Gear Store package, including the brand-new Morrigan romance bundle! Details on that giveaway will be posted next week."

"As we mentioned earlier this year, we’ve partnered with Dark Horse to create a digital package of all their comics for Dragon Age and Mass Effect on Humble Bundle. Visit the Humble Bundle page to find out how our partners are working to support Child’s Play, an organization that seeks to make the lives of children in hospitals more comfortable through the enjoyment of games. There’s no better time than the holidays to bring a smile to someone’s face. BioWare is also supporting a few local charities this month that focus on helping the most vulnerable in our communities via food banks. This includes the Edmonton Food Bank, the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, Les Banques alimentaires au Québec, and the Central Texas Food Bank. All of them provide food to thousands of people each month and rely on kindhearted donations and volunteers. If you’re wanting to give back this holiday season, please consider supporting Child’s Play or donating to your local food banks. Many communities also accept non-monetary donations of canned, dried, and packaged goods, clothing, and other useful supplies. However you choose to support those in need, know that every bit helps and can make a big difference in someone’s life, whether they’re in your community or around the world."

"An insult that he took as a badge of pride. An insult to inspire hope in his friends and fear in his enemies. That is what Fen’Harel, the Dread Wolf, truly is. Not a man who sees himself as evil, but someone who believes he’s fighting for a good cause and is willing to get his hands dirty. This long-awaited chapter of Dragon Age is fast approaching—the time close at hand. We’ll see you next summer with answers to your questions, including ones you have yet to ask. With that will come our full reveal including new trailers, gameplay, and—of course—the long-awaited release date. The Dread Wolf will rise once more and we’ll have much more to share with you as we approach Summer 2024. Please keep an eye on our social channels for all the latest information on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s reveal and beyond. Know this, though: The Dread Wolf has not been idle these past years. His reach is far, and soon his plans will come to fruition—a cataclysmic rejoining of magic and realms hundreds of years in the making. Will you be able to stop him? We hope so. Always believing in you,             — The Dragon Age Team"

[source and full post]

[seafoamreadings]

week of may 26th, 2024

these are written predominantly for the *rising* signs but they are also intuitively "channeled" enough that they should work for any dominant energy you have! (try your sun if you don't know rising, or more advanced readers can try moon, anywhere you have a stellium, etc and see what works best for you!)

aries: although mars gets entangled with ceres in a less than optimal way this week, otherwise the transits are quite friendly for you. they encourage you to be friendly too. if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all, but if you can, then go out and be seen and have a good time. just be sure not to neglect your needs.

taurus: distinctly airier vibe may not be your preferred speed but it's actually good for your money and resources as long as you can exercise self control. mercury reaches the last degrees of your sign, makes a hyper-technological-futuristic meetup with uranus, and then next week joins your 2nd house pileup for great results in all manner of exchanges.

gemini: even if you don't consider yourself much a fan of the limelight you're nonetheless set up to sparkle this week. literal glitter is auspicious. but not all that glitters is gold; if something seems too good to be true or overly superficial, it's ok to pass it over.

cancerians: like it or not, even if you remain unaware of it, you're doing soul and shadow work this week. but especially later in the week if you can tap into jupiter trine pluto you become a veritable magician. all the tools you need are at your disposal.

leo: quite possibly you feel a bit flat or dimmed out this week. but gemini activity brightens up your social circles. seek support from your friends and network. if that's not very forthcoming it's a good sign to fortify those circles.

virgo: mars squares ceres and then mercury trines it this week, challenging your health or how you care for your body as well as pushing you to communicate these types of needs with the people who matter to you. you may need help from spirit guides more than from human beings, though, and you may also have your ailments put somewhat more in the spotlight than you might prefer. in the end, it's for the best, one way or another, no matter how to the contrary it seems in the moment.

libra: this week sees you thriving, on the condition that you build from your past mistakes or wisdom and head into the future boldly and equipped with experiential knowledge. blindly fumbling onward does not do justice to your keen skills of discernment.

scorpio: there is certainly some magic in things that superficially seem frivolous. are they really? enjoy small things and watch them grow into big and important things. meanwhile, build a safe haven out of your home for yourself - and maybe for a new pet, as such friendship is auspicious for you now. if not, you can certainly at least care for the local spirits of nature, right?

sagittarius: your relationships remain a central focus. commitment may seem to materialize in places you thought you never wanted it to. meanwhile you get a lot of financial support through your relationships, or a lover turns out to be such a valuable resource you'll wonder how you managed without them.

capricorn: of course ceres is still hanging out in your sign and even in retrograde is a fruitful blessing. she is challenged by mars this week so do not overdo anything. do what you must and stop, and then only do what's pleasurable and lights you up. she's also augmented by mercury at around the same time, so good conversations are a rich source of spiritual nutrition.

aquarius: your position in your daily life is strengthened throughout the week but probably not in any way that seems particularly vigorous, and even less so if you're not intentionally having a good time. even if times are hard, you have to be focusing on even the tiniest positives.

pisces: if you're interested in healing generational trauma/curses/genetic illnesses/etc, this is a good time to do it with the benefics, the sun, and soon mercury all on your side. if that's not an issue, work to resolve any conflicts with roommates or your family of origin, your landlord, the structure of your home itself.

[someprettyname]

✨GF FC INDIGO AWARDS 2024 PT 6✨

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9 | part 10 | part 11 | part 12 | part 13 | winner's list | after party

Some points to note before you move to the event visualizer : 

🟣 My anchoring style is highly energetic and bubbly so you can imagine me doing a lot of hand gestures, changing pitch and tones of my voice, moving around on the stage a lot, etc. Hehe.  

🟣 The theatre/event venue has been engineered by the best engineers of the world, with the most modern technology. The petals of the lotus can close or open to hide or reveal the night sky. It can also change its colours. For tonight, it's indigo!  

🟣 The "OUTFIT CHECK" were clicked in different places (according to where the member was spotted first) hence the different background. 

🟣 I didn't want to write too dialogues on yall's behalf but I can't really bother you with every small detail, so I hope whatever dialogues I've made up are not too out of character! 

🟣Ignore the contradiction of same blue locker entering the scene multiple times, pretend there are a few copies of each member 🥰👍🏻

🟣 Ignore the outfit mismatch in the edits (any edit after the outfit checks please, our editing skills only go so far 🙏🏻 ) 

🟣 I highly suggest that you listen to songs as you keep finding them being embedded in links for added feels and extra hype! 🔥

🟣 The performances where multiple songs have been used is supposed to be a mashup. You can imagine the mashup to be as you please! The songs I've bunched together are for the sole purpose of creating a particular vibe, so as long as to they are fulfilled it's all good! 😌🤝🏻

🟣 The posts are scheduled at a gap of 3-4 hours each, this event is going to be spread throughout 2 or more days. Feel free to go feral in the comments/reblogs/community my mates. 🔥 

🟣 I hope you enjoy this! Tagging all the attendees here : 

@glue-thief  @getosugurusbangs @bueris @soleilonthesun @galaxynajma

@sid3buns @mariyumemi @pinkinsect @refrigeratedboombursts @satosuguhastakenovermylife 

@10renz0 @simp-simp-no-mi @boinin @sharkissm @milkteansugar 

@thebestsetter @merlucide @jujutsustraycats @kurona-theshark @nskiyuriz

@asarajaa @writingonthewalls1832 @hooudie212back @sadao-tsuki @milaisreading 

@8-xnny @licoririce @rinitoshisgirl @luvingshidou  @duckydee-0

@kuro-min @gojoracle @marcsnuffy @filecurropt0 @riririnnnn 

@wroophruh @sanaexus @melodiclune

Previously in GF FC INDIGO AWARDS : 

Cranium C R O N C H survivors were honoured. 

A super vibey performance by @/refrigeratedboombursts!! 

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·. .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Soleil : You were right! It was so wholesome! I'm literally bursting with serotonin! I'm sure others are too!! 

Nami : Oh, sol! 🤭 The choreographers have faaaarrrr too many wholesome performances choreographed other than this, ha! The evening is just getting started after all! 

Soleil : I'm so excited!!! XD 

Soleil : But, Nami...this made me think. This isn't the only time I've felt like this. You know? 

Nami : Oh Sol, I know. I know FAR TOO well hehe! There's some one else who's been on a mission to spread serotonin for a long time now! Ha! 

Soleil : Hehe! So let's call upon stage ISH (@/jujutsustraycats) (since they got cats in their url too) for GF FC HONORARY INDIGO AWARD FOR SUCCESSFUL RUNNING OF KITTY KAISER!! 

(*Camera cuts to a very.... bashful (?) Kaiser who has his eyes narrowed. Tf is kitty kaiser? Why does he not know about it? Is he the "Kaiser" in question here? Tsk. What is he thinking about. Of course he is.*)  

Jujutsustraycats : 😁 thanks for having me give out this award. I've seen some kitty kaiser posts too and it really made want to adopt him and pet him. Sigh. Anyways, I think we all know who is taking this award home tonight!!! Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for..... 

🥁

🥁

🥁

Jujutsustraycats : NAJMA!!! 

(*Camera cuts to a very flabbergasted looking Kaiser whom Najma very obliviously ignores and moves to the stage with a huge [sarcastic] smile.*) 

Galaxynajma : I first started the kitty Kaiser agenda because I saw the lack of cat Kaiser posts on tumblr and I needed to change that. I’m happy so many people have seen how much of a kitty cat Michael Kaiser can be. 

Also like Kitty Kaiser is the cutest cat in the world and he’s forever my baby. 

(*Camera cuts to a blushing Michael who hides his face from the camera.*) 

Nami : Yeah Najma, it's a very charitable work that you're doing. You should definitely keep going. 

Soleil : Agreed! Agreed! Now that we're on the topic of serotonin and happiness, I think we should very well honour our memer(s) too! Don't you think? 😁

Nami : Absolutely, Soleil! Let's welcome on stage, @/satosuguhastakenovermylife for handing out the GF FC HONORARY INDIGO AWARDS FOR BEST MEMER, because making others smile with your jokes is indeed a very ✨OSHA✨ thing to do. 

*Camera cuts to Aryu who looks pleased.* 

satosuguhastakenovermylife : I think this award is a really important one because we all need them memers in a community to keep the community alive and laughing!! :D

satosuguhastakenovermylife : 2 of our memers are sharing this award and they are....

🥁

🥁

🥁 Satosuguhastakenovermylife : @/glue-thief & @/kurona-theshark!!!

Satosuguhastakenovermylife: HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE PLEASE!! (*claps*) 

(*Isagi is seen cheering enthusiastically and gagamaru looks F A S C I N A T E D as he watches them walk upto the stage.*) 

Glue-thief : Who knew making silly puns about glue and sending my dear pet bunny usagi isagi to target practice would land me an award? I'm glad my antics and photo editing app were able to bring a smile to your faces, and i hope to make you all laugh again and again as long as this community exists. thank you, everyone!

(*Camera cuts to a very 🥹👏🏻 looking Isagi.*) 

Kurona-theshark : Well i'm glad you like my jokes and im happy i could bring a smile on your face but honestly i think there are more funnier memebers in gf fc so im surpirsed i got this award. 

Soleil : Oh come on! I think you're plenty funny and definitely deserve this award!! 

Nami : Soleil? :3

Soleil : Yeah? 

Nami : You know how I have a liking for chaos right? :3 

Soleil : 🤠

Soleil : i don't like where this is going 🥰

Nami : Nothing too bad, I just had this urge to....(*clears throat*)....I just happened to have this... curiousity....of that what would happen if I were to invite a team with a rather...cunty (͡⁠°⁠‿⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)... performance now that we we're on the topic of happiness. :> 

Soleil : Sigh. There's no way I can stop you from doing that can I? 

Nami : I mean of course I can call the planned team on the stage....but you wouldn't want to break my heart do you? 😔💔

Soleil : Alright! Alright! Fine. Call them. I'm pretty sure the audience would enjoy it anyways. Gf fc loves cunty things afterall. [ 🤰🏻🥚 flashbacks ] 

Nami : Alright then ladies and gentlemen 😁, I'll need you to PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR TEEEEAAAM ✨GLLLLITTER✨ GALSSS!!! 

[ links : yummy | fashion | sloppy seconds ]

Nami : WASN'T THAT AMAZING? OMG 🤩

Soleil : Yeah, but that broke the order :"D how am I supposed to link that to GF FC HONORARY INDIGO AWARDS FOR BEST "SILENT" WATCHER ??? 

Nami : we don't have to ^_^ ~ 

Nami : We can just invite @/pinkinsect on stage to hand the awards :3 

*The grand doors open and pinkinsect walks out*

Nami : 😁😁

PINKINSECT : Heh! Well, this one's for those of you who might not be too active with the GF FC shenanigans but are always watching from the sidelines and supporting......which would be a lot of us, actually. But the 2 people sharing these awards are specially found leaving behind a heart on the post and this is to let them, and everyone else know that YOU ARE APPRECIATED!! 

Pinkinsect : Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for...

🥁

🥁

🥁

Pinkinsect : @/filecurropt0 & @/gojoracle!!! (*Claps and smiles*) 

(*The winners in question hug their partner & the ones around them and then walk up to the stage with huge grins.*) 

Gojoracle : I'm not the best with words but im deeply grateful to the girlfriend fc for this recognition. being part of this club has been one of the most wonderful things that could have happened to me. im not one to interact directly with the members of the club, but im always aware from the shadows and appreciate each of its members. and i especially want to thank my dear tabito who has always been there for me unconditionally, i love you babe!!

and obviously thank @/soleilonthesun and @/someprettyname for all their efforts in this amazing night...gracias!!

Soleil & Nami : 🥹❤️

Nami : And we thank you for being a part of this community and joining us! 

Soleil : And being a sweetheart! 😄

Nami : AND being a sweetheart, yes! (*Nods and grins*) 

Filecurropt0 : I feel very thankful and grateful to win this award despite it being decided towards my inactivity. I'm very happy I've been nominated for this award and I humbly accept it!

Nami : It's beautiful 🥹

Soleil : What's beautiful? :0 

Nami : How every member we have, regardless of whether active in the community and shenanigans or not, is so sweet and civil! I'm so SO glad to be a part of such amazing community and be hosting an award show for it! 

Soleil : True words, Nami. True words! 😌

Nami : Oh! Soleil! 😳💡

Soleil : Hm? What happened? 

Nami : That's not it! Remember the 2 new members I sent an invite to at the last moment, that I was telling you about? 

Soleil : You mean @/sanaexus and @/8-xnny?? 

Nami : YES! THEM! 😁 WELL, WHAT BETTER TO CLOSE THE FIRST CATEGORY i.e THE HONORARY OTHER THAN A SHOUTOUT TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS AND A SHOWCASE PERFORMANCE BY ONE OF THEM?? 

Soleil : Oh my god! A showcase performance! I'm so excited!! 

Nami : ALRIGHT THEN! LET'S PUT OUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR @/8-xnny AND ENCOURAGE HER SO THE STAGE CAN BURNNNNNN 🔥🔥

(*The crowd breaks into cheers, hootings and claps.*) 

[ links : circus ]

(*After the performance, Nami walks up on stage all alone.*) 

Nami : Hm? (*looks left and right, turns round and round*) 

Nami : Where would Soleil go? D:

Ish (@/jujutsustraycats) : You ate her snacks and ice cream on backstage and now she's sulking. She says she doesn't wanna anchor anymore. :x

Nami : WHAAAATTTT 😰😰😰😰

Nami : HEY! BUT THERE WAS PLENTY OF OTHER SNACKS TOO, I DIDN'T DO THAT ON PURPOSE 😥😥😥

Ish : *shakes his head sadly* Unfortunately, the flavour she wanted was the exact one you ate. 

Nami : Huh? D: 

Nami : but she never told me anything about it, ish. 😔 What do I do now? 

Ash (@/Refrigeratedboombursts) : That boy is messing with you. 

(*We both turn to the source of the voice.*)

Nami : huh? 

Ash : She's just preparing herself for her opening performance for GRAND AWARDS, that's why she's not here. He's messing with you. 

(*Turns to ISH dangerous slow.*) 

Nami : 🤨

Ish : 🤭😬 *runs away*

Nami : *chases him without wasting a second* ISH!!! COME HERE YOU LITTLE-

Ash : (*Sighs watching them*) I guess I'll have to do this now. Well....(*shrugs*) ...in any case, PLEASE WELCOME ON STAGE SOLEIL OUR PERSONAL BALL OF SUNSHINE FOR HER PERFORMANCE!! 

[ links : feel my rhythm ]

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·. .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Stay tuned for grand awards in the next update...

[ organiser : @/someprettyname

script writing credits : @/someprettyname

proofread by : @/melodiclune

editing credits : @/soleilonthesun ]

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo 2023 wrap-up

And finally, after the hectic period of Christmas and the New Year, we are here and ready for our wrap-up!

Warning: this devlog may include some typos. As per usual!

Honestly, I can't believe we are here. This year has been wild for so many reasons. We have made so much progress, perhaps not as much as we would have wanted, but we have come really far. I'm very proud of my team and thankful for the people we have met this year that have made this journey easier.

So...let's see what we have done this year and our plans for 2024!

✦ First of all, we made our itch.io page debut!

And this was perhaps the hugest milestone for us. It got a wonderful reception even if there's nothing to play yet, so we can't be grateful enough for that. This of course includes the key art and the screenshots we managed to get ready for the itchio page!

✦ We launched our official webpage!

Another amazing milestone for us! I remember tirelessly working with Raquel for weeks to get this done the way we wanted it to be.

✦ We welcomed our editor, Allie Vera, to our team!

They are not only a marvelous person but someone I'm having the privilege to learn from. Her editing skills are amazing and the script has done nothing but improve since we got it in her hands. We have started editing together and she has been working so, so hard, I'll be doing my best to keep up. Please send a lot of love their way, because they deserve it!

✦ We began working on the CGs!

Raquel has been working super hard and right now we have five CGs ready and one in process. The last one will likely be ready for next month, and with that the CGs for the demo will be finished!

✦ The UI was implemented and it's fully functional!

For someone who was a total stranger to programming, I think I've done a good job this past year! The game menus finally look like they should (with a bit of changes needed here and there) and everything is working well. I'm sure the code could be optimized greatly, but for now I'm happy with how it is (as my skills are, well, what they are!).

✦ We finished the demo script and have started the editing process!

That was a huge step for us as many changes were done to the script before we could consider it done. We sadly had to cut chunks of content because we felt like, for a demo, it was better to get to the juicy parts and meet the LI's as soon as possible. Some adaptations had to be made, some ideas had to be scratched, but here we are now, with a finished script ready to be coded, and being edited by Allie!

✦ We got some nice backgrounds done!

Work on backgrounds has been slower than we would have wanted to, but taking into consideration we were studying a master (that was pretty hard on us) and there's only four of us, I'd say it's a victory! There's still some backgrounds left, but as Astro and Raquel work on that, there's other areas of the game that keep moving forward.

✦ We opened a ko.fi page!

This was one of our 2023 goals, so high-five!

✦ We met amazing people, made new friends, and learned from a lot of fellow devs!

What a ride has it been! People I used to admire from a distance, enjoying their projects and gushing over them, are now part of my personal life. A lot of fellow devs have come forward in 2023 with new projects, new inspiring and incredible ideas, and we have been supported by all of them and welcomed as if we had always been a part of the Indie visual novel community.

Just to name a few of inspiring and amazing devs, the sweet folks at Foxglove Games (who have released Trouble Comes Twice!), Velvet Cupcake Games and their progress with Made Marion, Best Laid Plain Productions and their amazing work with Save the Villainness, and of course our beloved Crescence Studio with Alaris and Intertwine, which now has an Extended Edition!

As per usual, Lem (Crescence) has a special spot in this devlog because they have been the absolute highlight of this year. What a loving, sweet, amazing and creative individual. We all are very lucky to have them with us, but specially me; their friendship has meant so much for me this year, and I hope we can only grow closer with time! I LOVE YOU LEM!! 💜

✦ On a personal note...

On the personal side of things, I got diagnosed with OCD in late November. I had been suffering the symptoms since July, knowing something was wrong but thinking it would pass. It has changed my life and the way I see things and myself, and I'm on a long journey that has, unfortunately, affected my work on Lost in Limbo. I have not worked as much as I had planned, but I'm lucky to have my friends, my family and my partner, who are walking this path with me.

I'm sharing this because I think it's important. My experience will hopefully give someone who is reading this the push to seek help; I thought it was nothing and I ended up going through the hardest year of my life. Thankfully, I now have the help I need; I have been going to therapy since October, been diagnosed, and I'm now on my way to learn to live with OCD and heal from it. Some days are harder than others, but I'll get there! 💜

On a happier note, Astro and I will be adopting a cat from a shelter very very soon, if things go as planned! Raquel has taken the plunge and opened a sticker store! She has been doing great so far and is overworked but happy. We are so proud of her!

Also, we finally, FINALLY had the chance to get together for New Year's Eve and celebrate together after more than seven years of friendship! Sadly Kayden couldn't make it in the end because of COVID, but hopefully this is the beginning of a lot of years of celebrating together!

Mostly, the team and I have been doing fine, all things considered. Astro wants you all to now that even if he's not very active on social media, he appreciates your support a lot and will do his best to return that love! Thank you all for your support through the year, as always 💜

We had a bunch of goals set for 2023, and my God if they weren't ambitious. This year has taught us a lot about limits, about being realistic with our expectations and with the amount of work needed for a visual novel, and has overall humbled us.

There's one sprite remaining, the LI's expressions, plus one CG and finishing the backgrounds that need a bit more polishing. That and editing the script into its final state and code it accordingly.

With that being said, I want to be positive and say the demo may be ready for April - May, but I don't know if that'll be possible. We made the mistake of being too excited and too positive when it came to the work we would be able to do, and we apologize for that. We are still learning and we hope you can still support us and make this journey with us as you have been doing since we started.

Still, the demo WILL release this year. That is for sure. As we keep working —and the team has been working very, very hard— we'll decide when the demo will release, giving it time to be beta tested, sent to streamers who are interested, etc.

So the main objective of this year is...

✦ Release the demo!

Obvious, right? But with it comes some smaller goals!

✦ Code the script!

The editing process is going well —thanks to Allie who works tirelessly, honestly— so I hope I can step on the gas and get those corrections done as soon as possible!

✦ Finish all the assets!

As soon as Raquel is done with the CGs, we'll start working on the expressions together (I have already been toying with it) and the remaining sprite. Astro will finish the remaining backgrounds!

✦ Open a casting call for our LIs!

We want the demo to be at least partially voiced. When the whole script is done and more or less coded, we'll open a casting call to give our LIs what will be their official voices for the whole game. What an adventure!

✦ Open our steam page!

Pretty self-explanatory, but there it is!

What a year, huh? We have worked so much and so hard while studying, and that studies are now over. This year has been one of self-discovery, of new challenges, of some goodbyes and some new faces and friends. My only wish for 2024 is for it to be gentler to everyone. Hopefully we can all heal from whatever hurt us in 2023, laugh a lot with our loved ones, and learn more about ourselves and our lives in this 2024! 💜

With that being said, thank you for reading once more, and let us hope this year brings us a lot of amazing games and memories! 💜

[onlineenglishclass]

[intelligencevidyarthi]

Engage your team with fun and interactive group communication activities designed to foster collaboration and strengthen relationships. From icebreakers to problem-solving tasks, these ideas will enhance teamwork.

[myfirstgamejam]

My First Game Jam 2024 is on!

The optional theme is: “Light”

Here’s a few tips and links to get the most out of the jam.

Make a dev log on the community!

A development blog is a blog in which a game developer or team talks about the process they’ve made over the course of the game’s creation. Maintaining a devblog keeps your audience in the know and helps facilitate productivity so you’ll have something to blog about. It also serves as a record of problems you encounter as well as the solutions you find for those problems.

Development logs are essentially the same thing, except we’ll be using the jam forums rather than a blog. However, you are free to use both the forums and your own blog as you develop your game.

Doing so is not necessary at all, but check out all the logs from last jam! In order to get the most out of your jam experience, it is vital that you interact with your fellow jammers and the community surrounding it. They’ll provide valuable feedback and support to help you along the way. So please, we encourage you to mingle, post in other logs, and of course post your own!

In addition, you are encouraged to add images and gifs. Here’s some programs to help facilitate that:

ScreenToGif

Licecap

Start your dev log today!

Respect your community!

Take a moment to review our code of conduct. We strive to create a safe, supportive, and productive environment, and we appreciate your efforts to make our community welcoming for everyone!

Post daily updates!

Post screenshots or fun mishaps to your dev log, twitter, tumblr, or your own blog to track your progress and get feedback. Tag your posts as #MyFirstGameJam so other jammers can find your work! To get the most exposure you can also tag #gamedev or #ScreenshotSaturday for Saturdays! Share your work and link back to your devlog to get feedback.

Manage your time and tasks!

We have a list of of useful time and task management tools for staying on top of your project. Set goals early and keep track of how fast it takes you to reach them!

Use our resources!

Still deciding on an engine? No problem. Check out this post to see what fits your project best or try the sortingh.at!

We have also started migrating our resource lists over to a new jam resources wiki! Here's some direct page links:

Unity resources

Godot resources

Gamemaker resources

RPGMaker resources

Ren'py resources

Twine resources

Free assets

Resources tag on blog

If you still have questions about the jam itself, take a look at our rules page!

Join the jam chat!

Want to share your work or ask for help? Or even just take a break from dev? Join discord chat here! (Please note you must be at least 14 years old to join!) Feel free to say hi and share your work! If you need help with a specific skill or engine, you can @/Unity or @/2D Art to notify mentors. If you think you would like to help other people with some part of games–join us as a mentor! You can get notifications when someone has a question about engines or skills you have expertise in!

Here’s a quick guide to how you can become a mentor.

Heed advice from previous jammers

This jam we took the time to write up a quick summary of advice from previous jammers: Know how to scope.

You can read about the number one game jam killer here!

Take care of yourself!

Game-making can be exhausting as well as rewarding! You are more important than your work, and we compiled a list of helpful tools for getting the most out of you!

Aaaand good luck!

Game dev can be exciting, frustrating, and extremely rewarding. We hope to give you the tools to help you succeed in your goals in the next two weeks!

[jasper-tarot-reader]

Hey Jasper! Hope you're keeping well :)

I'm Fern, he/him pronouns, no specific deck preference

So a bit of background before I get to the question... In 2024 I underwent two initiations to a Witch Mother and Witch Father, and had been quite rigourously prompted to do so despite my mere mortal mind protesting the timing. Yess I trust their far-seeing eyes and I knew this wouldn't be easy and I AM very excited... but I am currently going through major flare ups and there's crazy external life circumstances that will not chill for at least another 6 months. The main problem with this is that I'm super exhausted, and I've tried taking micro-breaks and then I've tried every divination method I can think of to get answers, but communication is just super blocked and I struggle to do even the most basic thing/reading/meditation. HOWEVER I have been given a psychopompic task that I can only put off for so long. I feel so honoured to be given the opportunity to help this spirit cross entirely, but I just don't know *how* to do it. My own research isn't very helpful (though I could go deeper, I know), and I don't know what it is that my Initiators themselves want me to do. I don't know if that's [how to help them pass] a question you can answer, and if not, could you perhaps do a reading on what my other steps should be? As in, are there preliminary actions to take, is there someone/something I should consult somehow, maybe even how to get rid of this blockage?

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Hello there, Fern! First thing's first, I happen to be friends with a person skilled with psychopomp work here on Tumblr - @stagkingswife! She's one of the most skilled individuals I know who's actually, you know, talked about this work.

As for the reading, I went for a "word of advice" style reading with the Radiant Wilds Tarot by Nat Girsberger. It has given you the Seven of Swords shadowed.

If you want to see change, you need to be the change first - transform yourself, and you will transform the world. You've gotta start by changing things about yourself. It seems like falling back on the old stuff you've done isn't working, so you need to put that aside and focus on new stuff instead. It's hard work to learn new things, of course, but it will be so much cooler and potentially easier once you accept the fact that things need to change. You don't have to destroy the old - this isn't the Tower card, after all - but you do need to quit falling back to the same old thing when you're unsure. The purpose of initiation, in many cases, is to have your being split open and reformed to pursue magic in a new way.

I wish you the best going forward! If you feel so inclined, please feel free to send feedback in my ask box, leave feedback in a reblog of this reading, and/or reblog my reading guidelines!

~Jasper

[fishyyuzi]

2024: A retrospect

Happy new year! 2024 drew to a close in the blink of an eye, and 2025 came marching in. I hope the new year finds everyone well, and wishing all of you a good health for this year too!

I usually don't really write very long blog posts due to being shy about my own writing skills, but I decided I want to do this anyway. I wanted to look back and re-organize my thoughts about 2024, as well as write down what I hope to do and achieve in 2025. If you don't like reading long posts then please feel free to skip over! Otherwise, brace yourselves because it is going to be a LONG one indeed, haha.

Now then, where do I start...2024 has been a wild ride for me. I actually never "officially" announced it on my socials, but in April of 2024, I actually went to Japan to study and find employment there! This has been one of my biggest life-long dreams, and I am fully aware that this is a BIG priviledge that could not have been realized without the help of my parents. I'm so SO thankful for them for everything they've done for me, I definitely will not let this oppurtunity go to waste, I will do my best to get a stable job, get a stable life and then repay them back (this is my own free will) for all the financial support they have given me.

Life in Japan

Life in Japan has been good. Of course, it's not all rainbows and sunshine all the time, and I have definitely faced my fair share of obstacles as well as having identity crisis multiple times, lol. But the things I have learned and experienced here far exceeded the negativites.

I came here with the determination of first improving my language skills, especially my verbal skills, and also to improve my social skills. Through my school, I ended up joining in the local community work of picking up trash in the morning and sharing a cup of tea or coffee afterwards. Although I originally inteded to join to practice interacting with the local people, I found myself enjoying this volunteer work so much that I eventually just started joining out of my own volition instead of through school. I also joined a lot of other programmes, such as a short homestay program and a longer homestay + cultural exchange program amongst other things. All in all, I really tried my best and I think I have somewhat succeeded in my goals! I could communicate with locals now without much issues, and I can listen to radio shows or watch TV shows with minimal to no subtitles now (and also understand most of what people in real life are saying of course!). Also, not to toot my own horn, but a lot of locals have also commented about how natural my accent sounds, and it makes me very happy to hear that because I worked really, really hard, so it felt like a validation of my efforts ;w;

As you all may have realized, in exchange for me putting in the time and effort in real life, 2024 was a very very barren year for me art-wise lol. I didn't draw much (didn't had the time and energy or the willpower) this year, but I somehow still managed to make some drawings as well as making a doujinshi with a friend this year and took part in Reitaisai Autumn 2024! I have always thought of participating in Reitaisai as a dream that would never come true in my life, but I'm glad that wasn't the case… thank you to my friend Opu for inviting me as well as shouldering most of the things from planning to printing and also the booth setup T_T!

Expressing Thanks

On that note, I would also like to take some time to express my gratitude to a plethora of people, as well as the smaller things in life that brought about so much more positivity in my life.

First of all, and as mentioned earlier, I would like to thank my parents for giving my this opportunity to come abroad and believe in my one last time for me to achieve my dreams. I actually didn't really have a very good relationship with my parents prior to this, and despite that they still cared for me enough to send me abroad and only wished the best for me…physical distance with them has opened my eyes to so many more other things, not just my feelings towards them, but also things that contributed to my personal growth. I've not only grown closer to them in the past year, I've also finally become "independent". It is hard for me to put it into words, but I truly felt myself finally becoming an adult this year, and I will get deeper into that later (want to tie it together with a small announcement).

Next off, are my friends in Japan who has helped me so much with adjusting to life here, as well as hanging out with me when we have time! I'm not sure if they are ccomfortable with me naming them, but I've also witnessed their very very major growth in their pursued field this year, and it just makes me so, so proud to be able to call them my friend! To see them achieve their own dreams and goals, it motivates ME a lot to work towards my own! Also!! They always hear me out when I have troubles of my own, and also gave me so much practial advice (particularly for when I was applying to part time jobs), I am forever so grateful for them and I would honestly gladly d*e for them lmao that is how extremely grateful I am towards my friends!! I don't know if they are reading this or not but if you are YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!! いつもありがとうね！！This year is the year I will make you proud!!!!!

(ahem). Jokes aside, I would also like to thank my school, and my school teachers for making my Japanese improve so much lol. I really came here with ¼ of that bucket filled, and it is thanks to their teaching that I gradually filled it up, and now I think the bucket is probably like 70% filled…..learning is a never ending journey though, so I would like to continue improving my Japanese even after I graduate! If I continue to list more people I think this post is never going to end…but last one ok I would like to thank my co-workers at my part time job too for being some of the nicest people I've ever worked with!! And the customers who come to the shop! They always put a smile on my face!! Thank you so much!

Other things I'm grateful for!

Being able to eat what I want whenever I want!

Being able to go to Karaoke and release steam every Sunday morning!

The manga and drama "What Did You Eat Yesterday" for being my comfort media when I just came here and was filled with much anxiety! It was like having 2 more dads in my life, lol

Getting to know Hoshino Gen's works! His songs, especially "SUN", uplift me a lot! I listen to his songs almost daily now because it's a great energy booster…also, his literature works are very inspiring! I've since became obsessed with this guy to a kinda crazy level actually I'm so sorry lol but I HOPE I CAN GO TO HIS CONCERT THIS YEAR SCREAMS (prays for my ticket lottery)

Saizeriya for being cheap and delicious. I love you Saizeriya!!!

A final look back, as well as what's to come

This post has gotten way too long…sorry for that but if anyone's still sticking around, thank you for reading me yap so much!

2024 was really such a wild ride for me. I can safely say that my life has changed for the better ever since coming to Japan, and I'm excited to tackle 2025 and the challenges it has in store for me.

In regards to what would happen to my art/drawings, I have…so much I want to say, but because this post is long enough, I'll try to be brief.

Starting from 2025, I will no longer be taking personal art commissions. Commercial commissions would be heavily considered, but for the most part, I would like to take a step back from drawing for work.

It was not an easy decision to make, and reaching this point took a lot of energy on my part as well. I love drawing, I love to draw for others and see them be happy with the work I made for them. But I'm not cut out to be a freelance artist. The past 2 years was honestly, a very very lonely time for me. Sure I had more flexibility in time and scheduling, but I didn't have financial stability, and "making enough money" just ate away at me all the time to the point of destroying my mental health, and causing a rift between me and my family. Despite all this negativity though, I'm just glad I experienced it in my 20s when I'm still young and had the room to make mistakes like this. 

And of course, I am always thankful to those who have commissioned me, or bought my art at events! I will always remember your kindness and support. If it wasn't for all of you, I wouldn't be surviving till today. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

So where do I go from here?

I cannot 100% predict what the future holds for me, but my most important goal for now is to secure a proper job as a 正社員 in a company here, hopefully obtain a working visa and start planting my roots here in Japan!

In my free time, I would like to work on translating some of my favourite books from JP -> EN. I don't want to  bet on freelance work again a second time, especially not in a foreign country…but, it would be nice if one day I could ACTUALLY officially work to translate those favourite books of mine. And what better way to achieve that than to actually start putting in the work? I know it's going to be a tough road but I will work hard!

Art will take a backseat from now on, but that doesn't mean I will stop drawing! It's just that I will mostly be drawing for myself now.

Thank you to everyone who has looked at my drawings up until this point. For those who choose to stay and continue following me, thank you and I hope you will continue to watch over my journey.

Stay safe, and have a great 2025.

fishy魚子

[fenrir77]

⭐ I want to say thank you! ⭐

 As I reflect on the year 2024, I can’t help but feel immense gratitude for all the support and love you’ve shown me. This year has been filled with so many milestones and growth, and I truly couldn’t have done it without you. 🔎🎉

I’ve been thrilled with all the thoughtful requests and ideas/wishes you’ve shared with me. They’ve pushed me to improve and develop new skills. I’ve learned how to create all-in-one poses, and I’m now able to convert items from objects into accessories—things I never thought I could do! It’s been an incredible journey of self-improvement.🎉

The best part has been getting to know so many wonderful people in this community. Connecting with such kind and supportive individuals has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my work. Together, we’ve been able to create and share content that enhances the Sims experience, and that’s something I’m incredibly proud of.

Through my DIY poses and accessory conversions, I’m able to give back to the Sims community in a meaningful way, and it brings me so much joy to see how my work helps and inspires others.

And of course, there was also a personal moment that deeply reminded me of the difference your support makes.

This year, my cat needed an unexpected trip to the vet, and the bill turned out to be much higher than I anticipated. But because of your incredible generosity, I was able to cover the costs without worry, and that meant the world to me. 🐾Thank you!🐾

Thank you for being such an important part of this journey. Your kindness, support, and encouragement continue to inspire me every day. Here’s to a new year filled with more growth, more creativity, and more beautiful moments together!

Yours Truly,

Fenrir / rirri ❤️

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 12/02/2024

V​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​a​-​V​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​r

Season 6 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume DQ

Rip credited to "Green Monika Takeover"

Requested by crickqt! (Discord)

If you're truly deep in the trenches of SiIvaGunner like I am, then over the course of reading all of these blog posts, you may have noticed a rather...curious omission from my coverage. I've covered jokes both obscure and relevant, storylines big and small, rips of every part of the spectrum from Outertale to Loopdeloop Griddy to Sex - Steve Harvey. Yet all of these have one thing in common: They're all from within the SiIvaGunner channel. And as should perhaps be expected, SiIvaGunner is far from the only place where high quality ripping occurs nowadays.

SiIvaGunner was, of course, not an entirely original concept to begin with - mashups using video game music have existed for ages, and Chaze the Chat himself has made it no secret that the channel was an evolution of a subculture from SoundCloud, inspired heavily by the works of toonlink, as I mentioned back in Aphex. Yet the channel certainly carved out its own niche and style: its presentation as bait-and-switch mimicry of the actual GilvaSunner channel, paired with the mysterious insistence on full anonymity of each rip's creator, gave SiIvaGunner its own feel, one that it would only further refine as the fanbase grew and lore began to develop. For those first nine months, there was nothing else on YouTube like SiIvaGunner.

Yet when the channel's true "ending" was announced in the last quarter of 2016, near the end of Season 1, several people were distraught to see it go after just a few months. And keep in mind, it took until February of 2017 to get any sort of confirmation that SiIvaGunner was actually going to be sticking around beyond occasional events - and before November 2016, we didn't even know if the channel would return at all. So it comes as no surprise that, on October 1st 2016, we'd see the birth of the first true "fan channel" aiming to continue SiIvaGunner's legacy - TimmyTurnersGrandDad. And even as SiIva returned, TTGD grew to form a fanbase of its own, its own smaller community, with many of SiIva's rippers even contributing different things to both channels in parallel.

I'll be completely earnest with you all - the reason I haven't covered fan channels on this blog before is due purely to my own lack of experience with them. I've been glued stuck to SiIva alone since 2016, and the rabbitholes of the various fan channels simply appear too vast and deep to go down the same way I myself do here on this blog for the main channel. But, TTGD aside, there is one fan channel that deserves special mention, one that has quite often intermingled with SiIvaGunner itself and has such an immediately recognizable identity from all others - the namesake of V​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​a​-​V​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​r itself, Vvvvvavvvvvvr.

To put it concisely, while TTGD aimed to initially be a SiIvaGunner successor, then moved to be more of a SiIvaGunner alternative, the nature of the Vvvvvavvvvvvr channel has always been a fair bit more...dubious. You'll notice it just from clicking on the channel yourself - everything from the profile picture, to the header, to the titles and thumbnails of the videos uploaded to the channel have a far more chaotic, unpolished, almost "trashy" feel to them. This is because, with little exception, Vvvvvavvvvvvr aims to be almost entirely unfiltered - with minimal quality control and a submission process open to anyone, its effectively a big sandbox for rippers of all skill levels to submit to, the output almost best described as the SiIvaGunner equivalent Twitch Plays Pokémon. And much like that phenomenon, Vvvvvavvvvvvr somehow, through the unfiltered voices of hundreds of contributors, managed to find its own voice, its own set of recurring jokes, and eventually develop its own lore to tie it all together.

References to Vvvvvavvvvvvr aren't exactly a rarity on SiIvaGunner, either. The YTPMV Rock my Forum, as featured on LAST YTPMV^2 OF 2016 by ripper Xarlable, eventually took off as Vvvvvavvvvvvr's primary channel meme; almost every time the meme has been referenced on SiIvaGunner since, has been in tribute of the fan channel. V​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​a​-​V​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​r, then, is no exception - uploaded during the period of which the Vvvvvavvvvvvr had supposedly ended for good, its a loving tribute to just about every joke featured prominently on the channel, in the form of an incredibly varied medley rip. Scatman John, Reese's Puffs Rap, The Michael Rosen Rap, Chadtronic, Rock My Forum - its not as if these memes have never been featured on SiIvaGunner before, but they're (to my understanding!) such core parts of Vvvvvavvvvvvr in particular, that their usage in combination here makes the tribute's intentions clear.

As if that wasn't clear enough, certain segments of the fast-paced C-R-O-W-N-E-D are dedicated to referencing specific Vvvvvavvvvvvr rips (formally "vips") on an individual basis. A section using sentence-mixed AVGN clips, for instance, uses the same clips, sentence mixed in a similar fashion, as Crazy Bus Tylenol. There's references like this strewn all about this dense medley, yet as many in the comments have made clear - none of them get in the way of V​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​a​-​V​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​v​-​r just being a fantastic rip on its own, without any context or knowledge of the fan channel itself.

While I don't fall into that category in particular, as I'm of course aware of the fan channels that are more active now than ever - I am still very much an outsider. Yet I've once again been privy to take a peek down the rabbithole through this request, and I learned a lot about Vvvvvavvvvvvr as a result: Its a genuinely valuable platform with a fun and zany community, however small it may appear from the outside looking in. The near complete lack of filter or quality control means that anyone, even you reading, could submit something to the channel, a first step toward a great ripper's journey - a good number of SiIvaGunner's members who first joined around 2018-2021 got their start by contributing things to fan channels just like Vvvvvavvvvvvr. And though I may never become a full-on fan to the same degree I am SiIva itself, I'm of course eternally grateful and happy for their existence - through collaboration and teamwork, these channels help keep the art of high quality ripping alive.