#Theme: Alternate Modes

[crimescrimson]

Mortal Kombat 11: The Krypt

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

[heartofbalemoon]

caesar king & crowe blackforest, if it's ok..! 👑❤️🐦‍⬛

reblog with ur f/o and self insert and i’ll draw you together

(i’ll probably only do 1 or 2 but hopefully i’ll have energy for more)

[cuppajj]

Beast Ancients AU FAQ

I’ve seen a lot of asks in my inbox that are identical to each other, so I decided to put em all in one post and then some. This’ll be updated the more I develop the AU and the more info we get.

As a disclaimer, I am very new to CRK (as of December 2023) and I haven’t gotten to all the game or story modes yet (notably odyssey), so things are definitely bound to change + be elaborated on more! Anyway without further ado:

General

What are the Beast Ancients’ themes?

Vanilla is Penance, Lily is Sovereignty, Dragonberry is Pride, Cacao is Solitude, and Cheese is Conquest. I tried to keep them within the realm of their original meanings

Essentially my philosophy is: Penance is the acknowledgment (truth) that sins such as deceit exist in the world and must be cleansed. Sovereignty is an extreme form of freedom where one can have all the agency they wish, but can be just as silent about their presence/power as well. Pride is a byproduct of passion or sloth, boiling down to the adamancy of the subject. Solitude is a choice made with both resolution and apathy in various degrees, and lastly Conquest promises an abundant future at the cost of untold destruction.

If the ancients are bad, are the beasts good?

No, the old Beasts are still a threat. With a total of ten beasts to worry about, the situation on Earthbread is very dire. However, there is still hope left, and hope can go a long way.

Is there a new set of ancient heroes with soul jams?

No, and there likely won’t be. The Neo Beasts and first Beasts still have their respective soul jam halves, and both want each other’s.

Where’s Gingerbrave and his party?

Likely the Crème Republic, which becomes a refuge for many cookies after the rise of the neo beasts. They’re at the front of the resistance movement, working with Clotted Cream Cookie to plan how the beasts will be taken down.

What do the Neo Beasts think of their past selves?

Generally they see themselves as improved or improving. The only one who doesn’t feel that way is Frigid Cacao, who doesn’t reflect on himself that often.

Did they all corrupt at the same time?

Still working on that part. The timeline for beast ancients is a WIP, but for now, it’s likely that while they didn’t corrupt at once, they corrupted pretty close to one another. Cheese was likely first, followed by Lily. Vanilla was among the last to fall and evidently had it the worst.

Do the Neo Beasts still have kingdoms? How is life like there?

Answered here

What are the cookies of darkness doing?

As of writing (5/31/24) we don’t have a lot of info on the cookies of darkness in beast yeast, but at the very least I can say Dark Enchantress cookie may or may not know about Midnight Lily’s plan to destroy her.

How would legendaries react?

I admittedly don’t know everything about the legendaries to say yet, but they’re all alarmed to some degree. I can flesh them out the more I learn about them

Individual Neo Beast questions under cut!

Saint Vanilla Cookie

How do his powers work?

Answered here

Does he know he’s killing cookies?

Nope, he doesn’t see it as that and it would pain him to. He sees purification as a form of transition or ascension in itself, to put it simply; he might even envy those he turns to stardust, knowing his own tainted soul will be so much harder to liberate.

Why is he constantly crying?

He’s just like that. He’s just that big of an empath.

Has his relationship with Lily changed?

Saint Vanilla still cares very much about Lily, and may even be more open about his feelings towards her; but he admits the only reason why she’s still alive is because she convinced him to leave her for last. Lily very well knows that Vanilla, in his mind, wants to purify her more than anyone else. Vanilla often pities her choice to stew in her tainted soul, but he respects her decision… at least the alternative is that they’ll someday be the only two cookies on Earthbread.

What happened to Black Raisin?

As the very first to witness his rise, she inadvertently became his very first martyr.

Where’s Custard Cookie III?

With his relatives in the Crème Republic, alongside the rest of Gingerbrave’s party. The kid has a hard time wrapping his head around what happened to Pure Vanilla, and it may be a blessing that he’s been largely focused on worrying about the well being of his uncle, Clotted Cream Cookie. As the head of the resistance, he’s been working tirelessly… is this what a king goes through too?

Shadow Milk’s opinion on Saint?

To put it simply, he starts out thinking that a confused Vanilla will be easy to manipulate, but he soon finds out that Saint Vanilla is way smarter and more aware than made out to be. He knows Shadow Milk is with him, and he wants to purge him from his soul; but that is a process that may be harder than anything else. So in the meantime, Shadow Milk can watch as he continues on his path of Penance towards ascension, fighting back the resistance he creates before it can truly harm him. Essentially, Saint Vanilla isn’t trapped with Shadow Milk, Shadow Milk is trapped with Saint Vanilla.

Dragonberry Cookie

Is the skull on her head real?

Yes! It comes from a nondescript monster.

If Pitaya is imprisoned, where is Snapdragon?

With Tarte Tatin and/or Royal Margarine. Dragon City likely got taken over by Dragonberry’s kingdom, but they noped out of there as it happened. The two of them might’ve been the first few to recognize Hollyberry’s spiral into corruption and where it was headed

How is her family doing?

Alright for the most part, but they can feel Dragonberry’s influence in every aspect of their life now. While Royal and Jungleberry are technically still the king and queen, it’s only a figurehead role as Dragonberry is the true ruler. She still cares about her family very much, but she’s controlling and good at keeping them under her thumb. Dragonberry’s granddaughter Princess Cookie is the only one who objects this new way of life, and runs away from the palace.

How would the other dragons react?

The other dragons aren’t canon to CRK so they’re not canon to the au by extension, but just for this question, they’d be different levels of alarmed or concerned save for maybe Longan. I could see Ananas wanting a word with Dragonberry in particular esp since they’re both prideful cookies

Frigid Cacao Cookie

Does he ever go outside?

Very rarely, but it’s usually to observe the licorice sea or meet with the few denizens he has left.

Where is Dark Choco?

Still working on this part (waiting for Apathy pt 2 to come out so I have a better idea), but he’s likely alone by himself. He heard wind of his father’s corruption though and took it less well than he thought he would. Perhaps he’ll run into someone who feels the same?

Is his permafrost truly permanent or can the frozen citizens be thawed?

Technically yes, the permafrost can be thawed, but it’s a meticulous process since Cacao’s ice isn’t normal ice. It’s a cure that Crunchy Chip is looking for to save Caramel Arrow.

How does the licorice sea work for him and how did he come to tame it?

I can’t say how yet outside of the fact that it was a definitely cool and heroic thing for Dark Cacao to do, on the scale of taming the Black and White dragons. The sea, arguably a sentient monster in itself, and all of the creatures within it came to follow Cacao and Cacao only. Now it almost acts like an extension of himself: the beast can make the sea do whatever he wants, like acting as his shield, arms, or barrier, and the licorice horrors will vehemently defend him. There are tons of monsters roaming his frozen kingdom now.

Mystic Flour’s opinion on Cacao?

Working on it, but to some degree she knows Cacao is much stronger than he looks. She might see his apparent apathy for his frozen kingdom with fondness though.

Celestial Cheese Cookie

Is the Golden City still running or did she leave it to die?

It may still be running but in a scaled-down beta form. Cheese learned to accept the fact that what she’d built was entirely fake, but she didn’t move on from regaining what was lost. Her virtual Golden City serves as a blueprint for the kingdom she wants on Earthbread, and then some; with nothing in the barren desert to grow her kingdom, her brightened eyes turn elsewhere towards civilizations that could be brought into the fold. Such is the beginning of the Beast of Conquest’s terror.

She does sometimes visit her golden city, only sometimes. It doesn’t look the same; it’s not a paradise for her to escape to, but it is a promise of what she will have someday. This time, it will be no mirage, and there will be no one to threaten its destruction ever again.

Midnight Lily Cookie

What is her opinion on dark enchantress cookie?

DE is the source of insecurity for Lily, who regards herself as the weakest among all the beasts. Because she’s half of a complete whole, who was already half of another whole, she is passionate about reuniting her souls. While she is focused on expanding the influence of the faerie kingdom, her true goal is to track down Dark Enchantress Cookie and destroy her; but she knows she will need more help than just herself, and has considered asking for help from other vengeful allies.

Does she still guard the silver tree?

Yes, she still fiercely honors Elder Faerie’s wishes.

Have her relationships with the other neo beasts changed?

Ish, most notably her and Celestial Cheese are a little more on speaking terms; but they’re connecting through their potential partnership as Lily hopes she can help her take down Dark Enchantress. In return, she might help her expand her kingdom and take down Burning Spice.

If more FAQs come up, I will make a part two. Thank you for your interest!

[nightospheresims]

roselipa super shy posepack (for ts3)

i've always wanted to convert some cute model poses and i finally figured it out! it kind of took me longer than it probably should have because the facial expressions get all wonky when pasting them over from the ts4 rig. I tried to adjust the faces as best i could, but be warned that there may be some general weirdness, especially with the eye shapes. i may have also adjusted the eyebrows too much to the point where they all look sad but i guess that goes with the theme of the pack lol.

super shy pose pack

for adult/young adult females

10 poses

pose list compatible and and non-pose list compatible options

pose list contains short descriptions and thumbnails for easy navigation<3

♡  HOW TO USE POSES ♡

Poses are meant to be used with cmomoney's pose player. It's located in the Decorations/Miscellaneous section in buy mode. Place the pose player down and choose either "Pose by Name" or "Select Pose from List".

My pose downloads come with two files: a listed and a not listed version. Select "Pose by Name" if you have the not listed file, and type in the code of the pose (provided in zip) you want to use. Select "Pose from List" if you have the listed version, and select the pose you want from the list. ONLY HAVE ONE VERSION IN YOUR PACKAGES FOLDER AT ONCE.

♡  DOWNLOAD  ♡

PATREON (free)

Mediafire Alternative

↓↓↓

♡  CREDITS  ♡

these poses are originally by roselipa! I just converted them to be usable with the ts3 rig.

@sssvitlanz @pis3update @xto3conversionsfinds @matchsim @simfluencer-network

♡  Support Me (Ko-fi) |All Downloads | TOU  ♡

[safehousebooze]

For Benthan week day 6, alternate theme: Getting frisky on a mode of transportation

They're on a train x3 (I MUST draw a continuation of this)

[writeblrcafe]

A Comprehensive Guide for Writing Advice

Sometimes, despite enjoying writing so much, something is not working for you. Maybe your well of ideas has run dry. Or your WIP has hit a corner and you can't find your way out to the end of the story. Or you need to go back to your finished draft and see if there are any kinks to clear up.

Fortunately, everyone at Writeblrcafé has experienced such, and to help you out, we have a bunch of links to helpful posts by fellow writers to help you along on your writing journey as well as some helpful links to other websites, resources and software.

General:

WHY IS WRITING IS SO FUCKING HARD? (@writers-hq)

Writer Block First Aid Kit (@isabellestone)

Websites for writers (masterpost @2soulscollide)

Writing advice (masterpost @theliteraryarchitect)

Writing resources (masterpost @stinastar)

One look thesaurus (a reverse dictionary where you can enter words or concepts)

Coming Up with Ideas:

97 Character Motivations (@theplottery)

Character Flaws (@fantasyfillsmysoul)

Character Profile (@mistblossomdesigns)

Characters Unflawed (@emptymanuscript)

Why Theme is More Important than Plot (@theplottery)

Weekly writing prompts on Reedsy

Drafting:

3 of the worst story beginnings (and how to fix them) (@theplottery)

Cheat Sheet for Writing Emotion (@myhoniahaka)

Creative Writing for Writers (@writerscreed)

Describing Physical Things (@wordsnstuff)

How to Craft a Natural Plot (@theplottery)

How to Write a Story? (masterpost @creativepromptsforwriting)

How to write: ethnicity & skin colour (@youneedsomeprompts)

What the F is Show Not Tell (@theplottery)

Writing advice from my uni teachers (@thewritingumbrellas)

First Draft: story outlining template meant to help with planning your next big writing project (@fauxriot)

The wonder/ discovery arc (@evelynmlewis)

How to structure a chapter (@theplottery)

How to pace your storytelling (@charlesoberonn)

How to write and research mental illness (@hayatheauthor)

Seven Blogs You Need To Read As An Author (@hayatheauthor)

Editing/Revising:

Eight steps in making the editing process of your book easier (@joaneunknown)

Kill Your Darlings (@tibodine)

Self editing tips (first pass) (@projecttreehouse)

Publishing:

Chill Subs: biggest database for literary magazines and small presses; track your submissions and get your writing published!

5 steps to get your novel ready to self-publish (by @nanowrimo)

Resources for finishing and publishing your novel (masterpost by @nanowrimo)

For self-publishing: this page gives you the exact pixel count of a book spine based on its page count, and/or a template you can use for the correct width/height ratio.

Software:

Scrivener: one time payment of $60 or 70€ (macOS/windows), $24 (iOS; no Euro listed for iOS); used by professionals, many tools to write and organize your novel

Bibisco: free and "pay what you want" version; multilingual, world building, character profiles, writing goals, story timeline, mind maps, notes and more templates to write a novel.

Manuskript: free open source-tool; outliner, novel assistant, distraction-free mode

Ghostwriter: a free and open alternative which has a decent interface with some interesting features, like Hemingway Mode, which disables one's backspace and delete keys, emulating a typewriter.

NaNoWriMo: an international contest to encourage writers to finish writing their novel with many events, groups for exchange with fellow writers, helpful writing advice and help for self-publishing and publishing traditionally.

Campfire Writing: website, desktop app, and mobile app, with tools built in to help manage characters, magic systems, research, etc. It has a great free option, plus monthly, annual, and lifetime purchase options. It also has built-in NaNoWriMo compatibility and a catalogue of tutorials and writing advice videos (suggestion by @harfblarf)

Websites And Writing Apps Every Author Needs In 2023 (@hayatheauthor)

Let us know in the comments if there are any links we could add to it! Reblog this post to help a fellow writer.

Support our work by buying a cup of coffee on KoFi.

[sepublic]

Interesting that pop culture portrays Van Helsing as an experienced, seasoned vampire hunter, when it's pretty clear in the novel that this is his first go around with the whole thing, his first confirmation they actually exist, and in other words he's basically winging it and hasn't necessarily thrown a punch in his entire life (Which means he can’t just throw hands with Dracula, he needs research and backup to organize the perfect trap where they won’t be instantly killed). VH doesn’t always know what’s going on, he’s figuring things as he goes along; Like yeah he's HEARD of vampires, but it's never been anything prominent to him.

If anything, his past with vampires is probably similar to a lot of readers; Familiar with the concept, knows some of the details but not all of them, and definitely presumes them fake. He sees something going on with his patient and is like Haha damn that's just like a vampire, wouldn't it be crazy if... And then he slowly starts settling into conspiracy theory mode when more and more dots show up to conveniently connect, as he does the obligatory Protagonist Searching Stuff Up bit and realizes Mein Gott!!! It might be a vampire!!!

But then at the last second VH reminds himself, Now hold on, have I actually SEEN this vampire??? But it won't do anyone harm if I added some garlic flowers, right...? And then it just gradually escalates from there into full-on paranoia and dread that vampires exist and VH needs to desecrate the dead, and then he finally gets confirmation when he sees an Undead Lucy. What the fuck.

I think there's an argument to be made that Van Helsing was doubting himself just as much as Seward and the others initially did, if not more so, and he can’t even talk to anyone about it; So there’s an elation where you finally talk to others and realize it’s really happening, you’re not crazy.

This just ties into the theme of recording that which you did see, which is indisputable, because it’s evidence and proof. So you can be certain you aren't totally insane, and can distinguish facts from assumptions and theories if necessary; Especially when one needs to consider other explanations for the same symptoms. There’s a relief confirming what is and isn’t real to dispel self-doubt, like there was for Jonathan, who also suffered from Dracula’s gaslighting distorting his perception of reality.

I think all of this makes Van Helsing's actions and secrecy a lot more understandable when handling Lucy; If you hired a doctor and he suddenly started bringing up vampires, you might be inclined to think he's insane, doesn't know what he's talking about, and has read too many vampire stories and probably believes in 'alternative' medicine. Van Helsing still has an image and reputation to uphold here, and if it's gone, he can't actually be there to help Lucy if he turns out to be right.

That isn't to say he isn't without critique, especially in later portions of the novel, but you can kinda see where this underdog stance of "I'm right and the others around me are wrong" gets vindicated and thus develops into a bit of arrogance later down the line; Particularly, in presuming his disagreements with Mina to be no different than his secrecy with Seward and Mrs. Westenra.

In the end, VH could be described as a character who wonders if he's in the novel Dracula (compared to Jonathan who knows he's in a horror story of some kind but can't name the genre), but then has to remind himself this is reality... If this is a story, it’s probably just some medical drama. And when VH does accept he's in the novel Dracula, he assumes his character development and the lessons he learns are straightforward.

[live-emotion]

Utapri Live Emotion release date

It has been confirmed that Live Emotion will release on the 12th of June!

Pre-registration is open now on Google Play and the App Store, but is currently only available for Japanese accounts.

There are also new promotional images featured on the official app and play stores that have hints of new information in them. (Information in Image descriptions and below the read more)

Previously used promotional image featuring all 18 idols and the games logo.

Otoya from a music video without the rhythm game overlay. The Japanese text reads "Idols show off their brilliant performances!"

Images of various alternate rhythm game backgrounds that can be used during gameplay instead of the previously shown cg music video dance backgrounds. Top left shows a similar layout to Shining Live, with a static concert stage background and six rhythm icon lanes. The right shows a backdrop of the full art of the initial Reiji UR Piece with 4 rhythm icon lanes, confirming the amount of lanes will differ between songs, or difficulties. Japanese text reads, "A rhythm game featuring popular songs from Uta no Prince-sama!"

Four images of the chatting screens. One close-up each with Shion, Ranmaru, and Syo, and one with Eiichi central and Nagi, Masato, and Camus in the background. Japanese text reads "Have fun talking with the idols!"

Two images of the story mode. One the left is the main story with Ai, Tokiya, and Eiji, and on the right is likely a private or piece story with Van. The Japanese text reads, "a rich story with 18 idols!"

Two shots of the Piece level up screen, showing Yamato and Cecil URs. The Yamato UR rewards the player with four of a key shaped item with a pink heart crystal and ribbon. Design will likely vary in colour and shape for each character and group. The Japanese text reads, "Let's cultivate fragments of emotions, the Emotional Pieces!"

Image of Minipri, with Ren, Natsuki, and Kira in the same room setup as was initially seen. Japanese text reads, "Decorate your own rooms!"

Image of each group, likely taken from the music video of their group songs from the Live Emotion Theme Song CD.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Dystopia

How to Research Your Dystopian Novel

Basic Features of a Dystopian Story

Takes place in the future (although it could be an alternate history, too)

Features a huge disparity between the haves and the have nots (or thrusts everyone into abject poverty and survival mode)

Has an oppressive government (but, on the flipside, there could be apocalyptic anarchy and the oppressive element could be the possibly of death at every turn, i.e. The Road by Cormac McCarthy)

Features society’s complete reliance on government (or, in the absence of government, every individual must fend for himself)

Includes an enforced groupthink consciousness (individuals are obligated to think like everyone else and accept propaganda or they are punished)

Limits information and individual freedom

In a dystopian world, the villains are in control.

Evil triumphs over good, at least in the beginning…and the middle.

Perhaps, by the end of the story, there is a spark of hope, but even that may be ambiguous and up for interpretation.

A dystopian novel is definitely not a feel-good fairy tale. It’s one that’s rife with struggle (both internal and external), and often features martyrdom.

All dystopian novels, the good ones anyway, share a sense of crushing hopelessness that, perhaps even the protagonist can’t combat.

For these reasons, a dystopian story is most effective when you focus on the theme, and then use that theme to draw parallels to the reader’s present. Orwell was a master at it.

Give Thought to Your Theme

The theme of a story is its big idea.

In a dystopian novel, the theme is usually one of the following:

Oppression

Repression

Control

Rebellion

Survival

What is the idea that you’re trying to convey in your story?

What sort of statement or observation are you making about society?

EXAMPLES

If your novel tackles the idea of an oppressive government, research oppressive governments of the past and present.

What are some real life ideas that you can incorporate into your dystopian world to emphasize your theme?

To examine how low humanity can sink under the fist of an oppressive government, start studying Nazi Europe and the Khmer Rouge killing fields of Cambodia.

When you look at these shameful times in our human history, pay attention to how these regimes came to power, and how they maintained power.

On the other hand, if your novel tackles rebellion, start studying the Nat Turner slave rebellion of 1831 or the storming of the Bastille of 1789.

Make special note of what caused these rebellions, and also consider the experiences from both sides (the rebel and the rebelled against).

When you settle on a theme, pull examples from real history to create a stronger narrative.

Create Realistic Characters

Your dystopian novel should feature a cast of compelling characters.

The protagonist should be relatable, but never perfect.

The antagonist may be evil, but never one-sided.

When you’re creating and fleshing out your characters, take time to consider how they view their society.

EXAMPLES

Your protagonist was born into the dystopia, and has no other reference point, so he accepts it without question.

Or maybe your protagonist had a life before the events that created your dystopia, and mourns for it.

You’ll need to research your characters.

Understand each character's backstory.

What history do they carry with them into your story?

Sure, you’re researching “fictional” characters, but it’s still a real process, and a necessary one if you want to create a rounded, consistent character.

It may be a good idea to "interview" your characters. A few questions to ask include:

How do you feel about your society and why?

Who do you trust and why?

What rules do you like and why?

What rules do you hate and why?

While it may feel silly, remember that the interview is confidential.

Only you and the character have to know.

This information may or may not make it onto the pages of your novel, but it will help you shape the motivations of your characters.

Remember that these characters aren’t transplants from our time and world-- they live and shape the world of your novel, and won’t always have the same mindset as your reader. The characters should act according to their own logic.

Lay Down the Law

What laws does your dystopian society abide by?

Even in the most anarchic worlds, there are rules--even if these rules forged and followed by just your protagonist alone.

But, if your dystopian novel deals with an oppressive government, they’ll definitely be a ton of rules that society must follow.

What are they? How should you create them?

Consider the following:

Study the laws of both totalitarian governments and police states

Make a list of the laws that keeps the ruling elite in power

Make a list of punishments for not keeping the law

From caste systems to cannibalism, you’ll find an exhaustive list of ways that the ruling class has preserved the power balance in their favor.

How can you implement these rules and their consequences into your novel?

Also, decide on the method of control.

How does the antagonist exert control over the protagonist? (Can be a government or an oppressive element like diminishing resources).

Is it through propaganda?

Is it through police raids?

Is it through poverty?

Finding Ideas for Your Dystopian Novel

Stumped and not sure how to find ideas for your dystopian novel? Turn on the news. We’re basically living in a dystopian landscape anyway.

What stories grab you? What do you care about?

Child slavery, privacy, the environment, lack of resources, immigration?

Exploit that idea by setting your story 50 or 100 years into the future.

What’s the inevitable (or probable) end of this idea?

This can serve as the basis of your story.

Remember to Build the World

World building is particularly crucial in a dystopian novel.

In your dystopian novel, you’re introducing a completely new world that the reader isn’t familiar with.

What does the world look like? Are there mountains and mist? Is the world dull and gray? Is it a dense, green jungle?

What caused the world to look like it does? Was it an earthquake, a war, a robot apocalypse?

What resources are limited? Sunlight? Water? Food?

Don’t just focus on one small part of the world:

The reader should have a sense of what’s happening throughout your dystopian landscape.

For a dystopian novel, world-building must come from your rich imagination.

That’s because this world doesn’t exist yet and definitely doesn’t have a Wikipedia page. But, this doesn’t mean you can’t research your world’s landscape.

Example: If your novel takes place in a desert, you can research deserts to learn more about the people who live in that environment, including what they wear, what they eat, and how they survive the harsh conditions.

Read Other Dystopian Novels

Finally, familiarize yourself with the very books that define the dystopian genre.

By reading and researching these books, you’ll have a better understanding of what your reader is hoping for when they read your dystopian novel.

When you read the following dystopian novels, do so with an analytical eye. Critique it:

What worked? What didn’t work? How would you change it? How was the pacing? What was the theme? What motifs did the author use to convey the theme?

Source ⚜ Writing Notes & References ⚜ Hate ⚜ Worksheet: Dystopian World More References: Worldbuilding ⚜ Plot ⚜ Character ⚜ 100 Sensory Words

[digi-lov]

Beelzemon Blast Mode EX2-074 Alternative Art by Tonamikanji from EX-02 Theme Booster Digital Hazard

[johannestevans]

Finding Your Style, Part I: Shape & Silhouette

A deep dive into deciding on your own personal fashion and tailoring your clothes to fit.

Also on Patreon / / Also on Medium / / Leave a tip.

Introduction

Before I start with the actual meat of this piece, I want to establish what this series of guides is not going to be. These guides are going to be about building and cultivating your wardrobe and accessories for you and your preferences.

I have no interest in and will not be going into how to look good (or revoltingly, how to look “slimmer” or similar), how to be fashionable or trendy, or alternatively, how to look unique or dress differently to everybody you know.

I often get frustrated when pieces about cultivating one’s personal style stumble across my dashboards and they advise the reader to pay attention to the latest trends, to make a moodboard, cultivate a capsule wardrobe, and leave it at that — a moodboard can be helpful if you’re a visual thinker, and there’s nothing wrong with a capsule wardrobe as a tool, however.

I have a particular style of dress, I like to play around with a lot of colours and fabrics, a lot of patterns, and a lot of the people around me tell me I dress well and that they enjoy my style: I have never read a style guide that is envisioning a man who dresses like me, or even a man who dresses even close to the way I dress.

When I think of someone’s personal style, I’m talking about aspects of their appearance and the mode in which they clothe and carry themselves that are distinctive to them.

Firstly, this doesn’t mean that they dress uniquely, and like no other person around them.

I know guys who basically dress themselves to match mannequins in particular stores, and they look good for it — when I see them around, even if I haven’t seen those mannequins and don’t shop in the stores they shop from, what makes them distinctive is particular colour palettes, brands, and also a clean-cut, neat style that works really well on a shop mannequin. What they’re wearing obviously isn’t unique, but it is distinctive, and it is a particular visual I associate with them when I see them.

Secondly, when we think of distinctive qualities, I might associate them with a specific style that isn’t inspired by a high street store or particular fashionable brand — people who dress in vintage clothes and are always kind of ’90s or ’70s, or people who dress in lolita or goth or emo or cottagecore or identify with another subculture that has a particular visual signature.

Apart from fashion subcultures, there might be other aspects — yes, specific high street brands, but there are all kinds of other visual signatures like particular patterns (someone who always wears stripes, for example), other brands or media (e.g. someone who wears a lot of stuff printed with anime characters), particular places or hobbies, et cetera. I’m currently fleshing out my wardrobe and trying to find a lot more pieces that are nautical or sailing themed, so there are a lot of anchors, compasses, helm’s wheels, and ships incorporated into my wardrobe.

And thirdly — this is one thing I want to impress very firmly, because far too many pieces that focus on fashion don’t take this into account at all — one of the most distinctive qualities is how much I might recognise a friend’s specific needs for comfort in their style of dress.

I, for example, have a lot of cardigans, jumpers, woollen vests and waistcoats, etc, and in winter will often appear in multiple layers of wool underneath another layer of leather because I get cold so easily; even in summer, I’m often wearing a t-shirt under a collared shirt, sporting a cardigan, or even wearing three-piece suits. I know other people who basically from spring through to late autumn will only ever be wearing one layer, particularly just a t-shirt or long-sleeved shirt, because they overheat so easily.

This is going to be a series of pieces, and I want to focus on a handful of specific points to focus on in cultivating your wardrobe and accessories:

Part I: Shape and Silhouette

Part II: Fabrics and Materials

Part III: Colours and Patterns

Part IV: Garments and their Construction

Part V: Accessories and Details

Part VI: Eras & Epochs, Subcultures & Alternative Looks

Part VII: Thematic Cohesion

Part VIII: Editing and Adding to your Wardrobe

A lot of style guides are written with people in mind who are trying to look good at work, especially at office jobs, and subsequently they assume a certain level of conformity with business casual or other “acceptable” styles in mind, where standing out to any degree is considered in poor taste, but more importantly, where things like personal comfort aren’t taken into account.

Your personal comfort in the clothes you wear, whether that’s to do with your resting temperature, if you feel most comfortable in any specific fabrics or textures, if you feel comfortable under multiple layers or only one, how many pockets you have and how accessible those pockets are, how exposed or free certain parts of your body are, etc, is far more important than virtually any other aspect in selecting your wardrobe.

There are absolutely garments or styles where you might either enjoy the discomfort or think it’s worth withstanding for the visual effect, but that’s really up to you to decide, and anyone who says that you should be uncomfortable on your day-to-day, or that it’s normal and therefore desirable to feel uncomfortable in your own clothes, is a prick.

As a species, we wear clothes to keep our bodies warm and safe from harm, and while we might enjoy looking good or projecting a particular image, our comfort, safety, and our feeling of security in the clothes we’re wearing is no less vital.

Especially if you’re used to dressing in uncomfortable clothes, it can be hard to figure out what you actually do feel comfortable in, and that’s okay, that’s a process.

A lot of us have basically had it embedded into us, after years of conditioning, that there is only one way to dress, one way to exist, and that this is in-keeping with what’s Appropriate or what’s Pretty or in line with any other expectation, and unlearning that is hard, but it’s a process, and it’s possible to work through it.

Shapes & Silhouette

The first thing we often talk about when it comes to fashion, and the first thing a lot of clothes designers sketch out and visualise, is silhouette — if you find that hard to envisage, imagine yourself in whatever outfit is a favourite of yours, that you’re behind a canvas, and you’re being backlit from behind.

Your silhouette is the shadow cast by the shape of your body and your clothes — when someone first enters into a room, when we take in their outfit, we take in the broad strokes of it and the silhouette it casts, the shape of their body.

You might want to cast an initial impression that emphasises particular bodily qualities you’re proudest of, makes you seem taller or shorter than you are, slimmer or fatter, curvier or squarer, softer or more angular.

The problem with a lot of silhouette discussion is that many clothing designers abhor and loathe clothing anyone who isn’t a white, thin cisgender woman: imagining silhouette becomes about imagining a base body that serves as a mannequin and clothes that are draped on her, rather than about imagining a range of body types and different silhouettes that might go with them, complementing or contrasting the base body on which they’re built.

Subsequently, when people talk about clothing for fat people, particularly for fat women, a great deal of emphasis is placed on a silhouette that attempts to disguise or hide the body’s natural shape, whether that means making them seem nebulously slimmer by increasing their perceived height or by some other method, or increasing or decreasing their curviness.

The problem with that, apart from the fact that it relies on a vociferous hatred of fat people, of fat people’s bodies, of body fat in general, an odious bigotry in itself, is that a lot of the time, it doesn’t fucking work.

It’s instead people writing pages upon pages of advice on how to make yourself appear smaller and lesser, capitalising on people’s taught and conditioned self-loathing, and a lot of it is just clickbait. I’m by no means saying it would be ethical or correct if a lot of this advice did work, but the fact is that it doesn’t.

Someone might take your outfit with lots of layers and rounded shapes to it and assume you’re fatter than you in fact are, because multiple layers make you look larger — it could also be that simply wearing those soft fabrics make people think that you’re rounder, which they associate with fatness. In contrast, someone might take an outfit with lots of angles to mean that you’re bigger than you are because when we drape our body with angular clothes, they often work by sticking out from our body and creating corners where they don’t exist — but, people might associate that angularity with a lack of body fat, either with bones or with muscle, and therefore think you are bigger, but less fat.

We live in a fatphobic society where people make a lot of judgements based on how fat they perceive you as being. Because of the aforementioned fatphobic society, we also live in a society where people might associate you with fatness (or some other physical trait they consider negative) because they dislike you.

If you speak loudly or “a lot”, people might perceive you as being fatter than you are — if you barely speak, they might perceive you as being thinner, because you take up less apparent space, no matter what you wear or what shape you present.

There is no way to win, is my point.

You cannot win against bigotry in a fundamentally bigoted society by trying to change subtle perceptions of angle or size or light or shadow, and the people who say that you can are lying. The point of those lies is firstly to sell newspapers and screentime, but the second of them is to make the reader think that a bigoted society’s attitude toward them is their fault, because they weren’t employing enough tricks to deter the bigotry.

When I talk about the varieties of silhouette you might want to attain or aim for in your clothing choices, or how well-fitting or loose a garment might be for you, it should be in line with your preferences and your desires, whether that’s about aesthetic, comfort, or something else.

Photo by cottonbro studio via Pexels, with guide lines added by me.

When envisioning your silhouette, the key points of your body might be:

your head

your shoulders

your waist and hips

your feet

This depends on your body shape and also on the sorts of outfits you’re wearing — it might change for you depending on the clothes you’re wearing on a given day, or you might cut a drastically different silhouette in boymode versus girlmode, or in summer versus winter, etc. 

Think of these as anchor points on which your clothing or accessories are draped over or mounted from, almost like you might envision armour slots in a videogame. When you envision your silhouette, it’s how your body immediately appears when lit from behind — your legs and arms aren’t irrelevant here, and the shape of sleeves, trousers, and skirts will absolutely contribute to your silhouette, but depending on your body in motion or how you stand, these won’t always be immediately distinctive, whereas your head and torso will be.

As well as being the place where your clothes drape from, these might be the points where your most important accessories might be placed — headbands or hats, shoulder clasps or shawls or collar pins and such, belt buckles or suspender clips, and your shoes or boots. These points become the focus to which the eye is drawn because they’ll be the most static parts of the body, whereas other parts in between might jiggle or flow. 

These points aren’t part of some sort of rule you have to follow — it’s more of a handy shorthand to help train your eye into seeing the particular shapes each part of someone’s body cuts, and what the overall effect is, and how much you like or dislike the effect. 

You might feel that some of these anchor points, when emphasised or de-emphasised, add or take away from your dysphoria or your general self-esteem, make you feel more feminine or masculine, just look really fucking cool or really hot, etc. Think about those when you start sketching out your shapes in your head and what you like best. 

When you really want to imagine a silhouette, do what I did with the first three images — there’s the outfit itself, I’ve drawn the anchors at the top of the head, the top of the shoulders, the waist, and then the feet. Contrast that silhouette with this image:

Photo by Becerra Govea Photo via Pexels, with guidelines added by me.

This person has a different hair style, but see how with the shape of the dress, the waistline is drawn in compared to their shoulders, and would be even if they weren’t posed with their elbows outward? See how their waist appears to be smaller in contrast with the wide sweep of the thickly layered, loose skirts?

A useful exercise when thinking about a silhouette you like is to draw these anchor points and then either draw in lines following the outside of the body’s / clothing’s shape, or you can separate into each section and think about the simplest shape that silhouette can be boiled down to: a circle, a square, a triangle, a straight line.

In the two images I’ve indicated, I’ve focused on the waist as an anchor point because it’s the base of the suit jacket and then where this dress is drawn in — on your body, you might find that somewhere else on your pelvis is better for you to draw the line.

Have a look at this TikTok and look at all these bodies in motion, the clothes they’re wearing, how much skin is or isn’t being revealed, how loose or fixed each piece of clothing is, how much contrast is or isn’t present in the different shapes on show. Think about each different silhouette and how different or similar they are to one another.

(A TikTok of an NYFW fashion show in September from Remi Jo on TikTok.)

Look for the motion in these garments and in these people’s bodies — the parts that jiggle, that flow, that have free motion — and contrast them with the bits of their garments or bodies that remain more static. Many of these garments bare skin or flesh, and many of them cover a lot up, depending on the garment’s design — look at shoulder pieces, busts, waists, skirts, hemlines, sleeves. If a garment stands out to you as pleasing, cut it up in your mind and look at each piece of it individually before you consider the whole again, see what stands out most to you.

Generally, for modern men’s tailoring, the focus is often on the lower-slung hips rather than on the higher waist. If you’ve got a squarer body, your waist and hips might be the same or almost the same width, to the point you have no big distinguishing angle between the two points — you might want to think of your anchor point as at the base of your hips, in line with your backside; you might want to think of it as at the absolute high point of your waist if you tend to very high-waisted trousers or skirts. 

If you’re fatter and have a significant overhang to your belly, depending on whether you like to wear your waistband underneath the overhang and have your belly rest on top / over it, or if you wear looser clothes or generally keep your belly within the waistband, for example under your dress or your skirt, this might change how you think about your silhouette too. 

You might still be looking from the tops of your shoulders, but then the end of that “shape” might be in line with your backside or your upper thigh instead because that’s where you can see the lowest part of your belly in your trousers or leggings, or in a maxi dress, it might be a straight (or mostly straight) line from your shoulder down to your feet. Alternatively, rather than focusing on your hips or specifically where your waist is, you might like to make sure your middle point is at the widest point of your belly — if you’re wearing a belt, you might like the belt buckle to rest in the middle point there, or have the waistband of your skirt there so that you have the maximum flow to the skirt. 

And remember, as I said about how the most key points might be different depending on what sort of outfit you’re wearing or what the occasion is, consider how much you’re going to be sitting down or from what angle you’re going to be viewed by others. 

If you’re generally going to be sitting down while wearing a particular outfit, your midpoints at the waist might be less important to you than your shoulders and your feet — and if you’re going to be viewed significantly from above or below (for example, if you’re on stage or performing in a theatre), or from a further distance, this might make a difference to what key points you want to focus on. 

If you use a wheelchair, depending on how big your wheelchair is compared to you in terms of its back and shape, you might like to take its angles and colours in complement to your outfit — if you use a cane or crutches, or if you wear a prosthetic limb for some events but not others, you might want to consider the asymmetry or the squarer shapes cut by your mobility aids. 

Similarly, if you’re in costume and you’re wearing or using a really important prop like a stave or wand, some sort of weapon in the hand or slung on the belt or worn in some sort of other holster, you might want to employ similar complementary or perpendicular angles. 

For example, if you’re wearing something that’s really angular and is going to make one shoulder, side of your head, or side of your waist/belly seem much higher than the other side, you might want to match that angular shift to the side you don’t have a limb or use a cane or have a prop to continue that exaggerated angle — you might want to make it go to the opposite way to offset the imbalance. 

--

I’ve talked a lot above about how to observe and identify shapes and silhouettes in outfits you’re observing, but only a little bit about how to actually construct and cast them. 

For a lot of people, the shadow cast by your head is going to be the same every day depending on your haircut or hairstyle: if you have shorter hair, you’re unlikely to change it much on the day to day in a way that will be noticeable at a glance.

If you do have longer hair or you change your style regularly, you can think about the shape that your head is casting in contrast to your outfit — if you alternate, for example, between having a big ‘fro and braids or twists that are much tighter to the head or are gathered at the back of your neck, those will be pretty dramatic differences to your silhouette; ditto if you go between different ponytails or braids and different up-dos, whether that’s a bun or gathered braid or similar. 

If you wear hats and/or wear headscarves, those will make a big difference too — a beanie casts a very different shadow to a Panama hat, different again to a boater, a baseball cap, or a bandana. 

A more structured hat or other garment for the head — a tiara or crown, for example, or more structured hair styles that come out from the head such as bantu knots or structured wigs and up-dos, will be more static; looser hats, scarves, and loose-worn hair will have more flow and wave when you move, and will stay in motion as you walk or even as you turn your head. 

How visible do you want your neck to be? The lines of your jaw, your chin, your ears (and earrings), your brow, the nape of your neck? Do you enjoy the sensation of fabric or your own longer hair touching the tops of your shoulders, or being a weight on your back? Do you need the shade from your bangs or longer fringe, or that a structured hat will give you?

From your head we can jump to the broader part of your actual outfit or the garment that covers most of your body. 

Your shoulders and your hips / waist / the widest point of your belly are where the garments you wear are going to rest — shirts, jackets, vests, coats, all of these are going to sit on your shoulders and either cling closely to your body or hang over it; loose fitting trousers and any sort of kilt or skirt are going to hang off your hips or the widest point of your middle. 

Depending on your outfit and how your legs are clad, your feet might not actually be particularly noticeable — if you’re wearing shorts or anything with a shorter skirt, more attention is going to be drawn to the feet in contrast to your legs, ditto any sort of skinny trouser, legging, or tights. This goes especially for bigger boots, trainers/sneakers, and various heels.

MSCHF’s newest crowd pleaser, the Big Red Boot, is distinctive because the Big Red Boots are extremely shaped like boots, but not particularly like feet.

And after this point, you might have different points entirely that you construct away from your body — big earrings can be a point of interest; the hem of a shorter skirt, for example, might stop at your mid-thigh or knee, and that might be at an angle with your shoes; if you wear flared trousers like I tend to, you might create another point of contrast at your knee or at the mid calf.

Some points to consider are: 

Which parts of your body or your shape do you enjoy most, want to most emphasise, or want to draw most attention to? Are there any parts of your body or your shape you feel less comfortable showing or emphasising, and would like to draw attention from?

Are there any silhouettes, for any gender, that you feel most drawn to and interested in? For example, do you particularly like the shape cut by certain styles of suits, robes, dresses, or other garments? What points do you like most, are most drawn to? What points are the same from outfit to outfit? 

Think of cartoons and other animated series you like or have enjoyed, which normally have distinct styles and place emphasis on certain body parts or shapes for each characters. Do any particularly appeal to you? Do any characters look especially fun or cool compared to others, because of the style they’re drawn in or what garments or armour they’re drawn in? Cartoons will show an extreme, but they might help you visualise something you’re particularly drawn to because the extremity makes it so visible.

Apart from the shoulders, middle, head, and feet, do you want to create any further points of interest? Draw attention to your elbow or knees, dangling earrings, shift the silhouette of your feet by elevating your heel or sole?

Do you want your garments to hang from your body and be loose, or do you want them to be more tightly tailored? A garment that “hangs” will generally rest on your shoulders or around your middle and then be looser or boxier — a more fitted garment will hug tighter to the lines and curves of your body, and the extent to which will depend on the fabric weight and the construction of the garment. 

How much is your silhouette different in motion, standing, seated, or otherwise? How much does it change with different mobility aids, or in different seats, while doing different activities? 

And that’s it for that piece!

I am going to go through the other parts of this bit by bit — originally I was going to do this as one huge deep dive, but it just became untenable in terms of length. Let me know what you think, which bits are most helpful, and please feel free to mention anything you’d particularly want me to cover in the other pieces as I go through them. 

[crimescrimson]

Mortal Kombat 11: The Krypt (for @elveneye)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

[thecursedjazz]

Sorry but Postal 1 dude being Dude Sr just doesn't work at all because all of the traits that define Postal 1 Dude (and the demon) are absent in Dude Sr

Not sure that I really need to elaborate on this one.

I mean Postal 1 Dudes core fundamentals as a character is that he's a mentally comprised individual who's damaged to the point where he believes he's under attack from the whole world, he kills not because he's a sadistic and cold killer but instead because he's fully under the impression that he's left with no option but to fight back because the world is out to get him. Like his ramage wasn't even a planned thing, the first thing he does after he's "attacked" is go to the sherrif for help so he's literally just a traumatised everyman prior to Postal 1s events.

But Dude Sr...just lacks any actual substance or sign of that, there's no paranoid lunatic there, there no mention of the hate plague (which is even wierder since it literally becomes real at the end of Postal 4).

His goal is to have complete control of edensin which is fine and dandy but why would Postal 1 dude wanna run casino's and a whole city and shit? Not only that but he's fully incapable, man couldn't even keep his house and isn't even able to distinguish cries of fear from fleeing civilians from actual hostiles, his ass is NOT running a whole city.

And on top of that it can't even be connected to the demon, the demon (or dudes alternative personality if you see it that way) just simply wants to causes as much death and destruction as possible, I struggle to see how running casinos links to that.

The rampage mode ending literally tells us the Postal 1 Dudes mental health and deteriorated so much that he's trapped inside his mind, so he's either braindead by this point or the demon has full control of his body so his ass ain't acting as level headed as Dude Sr.

Dude Sr saying "we are the place called climax, and the time called now" isn't even enough to bridge that gap because EVERY postal Dude uses Postal 1 quotes.

Postal 1 Dude is also younger than P2/Postal 4 Dude, with him being 27 and being portrayed as young in the manual (the pic of him holding his gun in the corner), P2 Dude is stated to be early thirties to late forties by Postal 2 as stated by RWS and he looks alot older than P1 so how can he be his dad if he's younger?

And like, Dude Sr just doesn't have the same vibe as Postal 1 Dude or like anything related to Postal 1 as a whole, his whole setup, placement in the game, his dialogue, theme song, and motivations just....don't match to Postal 1 at all.

Of course i don't wanna come across as a douche, if you wanna headcanon that he is Dude Sr then cool, don't let me discourage you.

But if this guy IS considered as Postal 1 Dude and that is the last we see of him...as a portrayal that makes him acts nothing like himself then that just seems like such a cop out.

Anyway this whole thing was written as improv and on the spot so apologies for any typos and shit.

[benthan-week-forever]

Benthan Week 2024 Themes

The votes are in! There were so many fabulous themes, both beloved classics and shiny new ideas, and the voting was neck-and-neck. See the final results below 👀🌈

Monday, August 12

Day 1: Old injury flare up

               Alternate theme: One vanishes (either of their own accord or against their will) and the other stops at nothing to find them

Tuesday, August 13

Day 2: The good ol’ Ethan sees Benji shirtless

               Alternate theme: Amnesia

Wednesday, August 14

Day 3: Enemy spy wears a mask of Ethan or Benji, the other has to notice (a “who is the real one” situation)

               Alternate theme: Unwanted sexual attention towards one and how the other handles it

Thursday, August 15

Day 4: Bickering over something, like old married couples do

               Alternate theme: Hurt Ethan and protective Benji

Friday, August 16

Day 5: Fake relationship

               Alternate theme: Getting turned on at an inappropriate time

Saturday, August 17

Day 6: Let Ethan retire/have his happy ending/walk away from the IMF

               Alternate theme: Getting frisky on a mode of transportation (boat, train, etc.)

Sunday, August 18

Day 7: Fake/Wrong date (ex. Ethan thinks he’s meeting someone for a mission, Benji thinks he’s on a date)

               Alternate theme: Going on an undercover mission, wearing costumes to blend in

We've got about two months to start creating! (Though, if you're anything like me, it'll be a panicked two AM writing sesh the night before the first day 😅) In the meantime, feel free to drop a message if you've got a question not answered by the FAQ, which you can access here, at the top of the desktop blog, or via the pinned post on mobile.

Have fun, everyone!!

[nylarac]

hii i have written up comparisons on the 3 main neoclones <3 grundo's cafe is definitely my favorite overall but they all have their pros and cons

grundo's cafe

- start with 6 pets, more expensive to expand than the other neoclones (done through buying tokens) and that type of token increases in cost every time you buy them

- by far the best for games in terms of number of games, optimization for mobile, and np payout + gives random item prizes including paint brushes (high earnings per game and high np cap, able to get even more if you do neoschool)

- most frequent negative random events (maybe i am just unlucky?)

- pant devil attractors are a necessity with how often the wheels destroy your items (i don't think this is just me)

- can buy a shield to protect your pet/self from random events/color changes but it is a) expensive b) gets damaged over time if not equipped to a pet and c) has to be equipped to each pet if you ever want to have them active without risking them

- has by far the most extensive and engaging holiday events of the 3 (at least judging by the halloween events lol)

- no fanmade pets but has the most exclusive color options of the 3, lots of alts including older style art (downside is that it's much more expensive to get the alt art than it is on moderneo)

- only neoclone that has alts of even older art like the old jubjub and zafara

- pets can't have the same name

- most dailies and games have a chance to give you a relic which can be sold at a high price or exchanged for warehouse credits to buy items like alternative color and shield tokens (relics decently common, can usually get 1 or 2 per day through quests, less common through games)

- has a lot of fun unlockable site themes (plus a dark mode) and a useful extra sidebar but not as well optimized for mobile as virtupet (have to zoom in and scroll around some)

- doesn't have as many pages of employment center jobs as moderneo and the payout is lower - np reward for basic jobs seems to be mostly proportional to how many items are being asked for

- seems to have the most active users of the 3

- only neoclone with a functional auction house atm

- has neoschool where you pick a subject and then answer a question + bring random school supplies every day and then are rewarded with a relic (worth more than ones you get from dailies) and double items/np from games for a week

screenshots:

moderneopets

- can have up to 24 pets from the start and can get more with an item called animalis (only about 300k currently)

- not the best for games in terms of number of games, mobile optimization, and np payout (very low cap on max np and low earnings per game)

- best way to make np through games is tyranu evanu which has a higher max np cap but isn't the most fun to play imo

- most frequent positive random events (constantly finding np on the floor etc)

- has lots of fanmade pets (including my beloved motere) and some colors exclusive to moderneo

- also has alts exclusive to moderneo (including v nice color palette swaps)

- pets technically can't have the same name but there's an option to add zero width characters so you can still use whatever name you want

- much easier to please the 2 kings and significantly higher np payout

- not as well optimized for mobile as virtupet (have to zoom in and scroll around)

- best for employment agency jobs - each basic job gives at least 10k no matter how many items are being asked for, has the most pages of options

- can give one item to a pet to have visible on their lookup

- more active than virtupet but less active than grundo's cafe - good for being able to get morphing potions from the magic shop, bad for trying to sell stuff

screenshots:

virtu.pet

- start with 8 pets, you can get extra pet slots through the virtupet mall where you can buy stuff with using virtugems and np

- you can get virtugems by crushing items (more valuable items are worth more)

- the cost of the extra pet slot item does increase every time you buy it

- has some exclusive colors (including a plushie lutari that i really really like)

- equal to grundo's cafe in terms of mobile optimization for games, has less games but still a good amount, highest np cap but lower earnings per game

- can fully disable random events that change your pet color

- best mobile layout (don't need to zoom in and scroll around like you do for the other neoclones) though worth noting that the neopets central bar is off at the moment (you have to tap an icon over to get to the right page)

- pets can have the same name

- can give multiple items to pets as treasure that is visible on their lookup

- only one page of options for jobs at the employment agency, lower payout than moderneo but doesn't seem to be proportional to how many items are being asked for basic jobs like how it is for grundo's cafe

- by far the smallest player base, i am often literally the only person online lol

- nearly impossible to get some items like a plushie paint brush (no one selling them)

screenshots:

[pochapal]

hi there! Since you're currently Homestuck I'm writing in to ask you a favor: could you explain the truth/relevance/essentiality model of native integrity, for someone who has some experience with metafiction but hasn't read the Epilogues? I never got to that part of Homestuck and my attempts to Google explanations has left things very unclear in my head - in particular where each category ends and the other two begin.

okay so! caveat that a lot of this is going off memory and also 4 years of my own interpretation of the terms that may or may not correlate to actual reality, but truth/relevance/essentiality can be explained as follows:

as per the epilogues these things constitute the three pillars of canon - for a piece of fiction to attain canonicity it must be true relevant and essential to that which came before. in some ways this is as simple as if something like a sequel/spinoff passes the "he would not fucking say that" test and sometimes it's less simple.

for ease of understanding, each pillar can be understood as thus:

for something to be true, it must by definition not contradict either the literal or metaphorical truth of the canonical text. what comes after must be congruent with what came before. the easiest way to measure a story's truth value is to see if what is being said is verified as existing in some form within canon - if a character expresses interest in thing A, but this piece of fiction depicts them as both liking B and disliking A without even acknowledging their canonical enjoyment of A, then it loses its truth value.

for something to be relevant, it must have some matter of value or importance within the text itself. an example of something that is true but not relevant would be a side story that doesn't contradict the main canon but also doesn't add or change the core story in any way. inoffensive fluff of no consequence in other words.

for something to be essential, it must be in alignment with the themes and driving theses of the text. to make something essential, it must speak to the "why" of the source text in such a way that it either changes/becomes part of the central message. another understanding of essentiality is through audience impact - is this feature valued enough to stick in a reader's consciousness as a key component when recounting the story's details? in a lot of ways essentiality/relevance do share overlap, but my understanding is relevance = within the text and essentiality = outside of the text.

when thinking about these pillars, the important part is that these terms are also a loose metaphor for adherence to power structures/conformity to hierarchical norms. in homestuck, "canon" is a form of violence inflicted on its characters (the alpha timeline as a concept is the most accessible form of this) and so to adhere to canon is to perform existence in a way that the system views with approval. the pillars of canon are extrinsic validation that represent a total narrativising of reality, and thus the conflicts and hardships of canon continue to perpetuate (in homestuck epilogues terms, this comes in the form of sacrificing "happily ever after" for an intriguing and exciting sequel despite the suffering it will inflict on the characters).

what's interesting about this model is that truth/relevance/essentiality can also be self-generated and self-sustaining. a totally canon-divergent fanfiction will completely undermine the rules of its source to the point where if it were to be moored to canon it would damage the integrity of both texts, but it nonetheless continues to have its own internal consistency/structures. a queer AU means nothing to the source text, but it has meaning to itself and to the audience it exists for (audience response isn't very hashed out in the epilogues model, but i think it's important to consider for a more comprehensive picture - @hms-no-fun's godfeels touches a lot on this angle) and thus an alternative mode of being is formed in response.

the problem with a text that fails to adhere to these pillars is that, while it is afforded a greater structural freedom, it also fails to matter. a fanfiction that is canon-compliant has a greater value in the discourse surrounding its source text than a coffee shop au that only has character names and appearances as a shared commonality - even if this coffee shop au is a groundbreaking and moving piece of narrative, because it lacks any meaningful ties to canon it cannot be used to shape canon.

to give a clear example, a lot of this for me is most easily explored in the concept of june egbert who existed most prominently as a nebulous promise destined for the future of homestuck, but absent in its present. the question driving a lot of the fans with a vested interest in june during the 2019/2020 era was "june egbert is real, but how can june egbert be real? and what does june egbert being real mean?"

you can see this a lot with the two schools of fanworks depicting june egbert. on one hand you have what is loosely dubbed "hairclips june" - a version of june egbert who exists as the platonic ideal of transfeminine fantasy, who inhabits contemporary college aus and perfect femininity and coming out stories filled to the brim with queer coming of age tropes and feelgood trans girl archetypes. she is true and essential and relevant to the transgender experience (and indeed hairclips june *has* helped in cracking people's eggs and thus her validity and importance cannot be denied) but not the homestuck experience. in homestuck, june egbert will never come into being as an early 20's john egbert who realizes her depression is actually unaddressed dysphoria and who spends a great deal of time taking estrogen and wearing skirts and kissing her friends, but that doesn't mean there isn't a great deal of value in these texts existing regardless of their proximity to canon.

on the flipside you have "extant june" (a term i am inventing right now to categorize this character type in absence of official terminology), a version of june egbert focused much more on meaningfully addressing "how can june egbert come to be in a convincing way?", or "what canon and canon-adjacent avenues could june egbert take to come into being?". these june works are more dominated by the messy and heavy and dramatic rules that govern homestuck, and figuring out how to fit june egbert into that pattern. one such instance of this is godfeels, whose june comes about from a mind-meld with a sort of brain ghost vriska after a severe depressive episode and creates the composite "june eg8ert", a manifestation of vriska's influence on john during act 5 brought to its logical extreme. another instance is my own story, omelette route, which has june egbert come into being following her resurrection at the end of the epilogues and the canonical truth that "john egbert is dead"; freed from the narrative obligation of being john egbert, she is able to start examining the true shape of her feelings - this of course is an extension of the questions of selfhood posed over and over again by postcanon homestuck. you can even turn to homestuck^2 itself for what will almost certainly be "canon" june's entrance, through a 40 year old john egbert who, after sleepwalking his way into a miserable life and cruel world, has decided to once again give autonomy a chance.

extant june's stories are, for a better term, characterised in bleak and heavy and thematically dense brushstrokes, because homestuck itself is all of these things and more. to make a plausible june egbert that adheres to the rules of homestuck is to make june egbert compatible with the suffering of homestuck. june will never get a neat and happy coming out, but she might experience post-resurrection ego dissolution, or she might experience a personality-shifting psychic fusion, as these are all extreme character-defining moments common to homestuck's narrative language. yet there remains a controversy in these junes compared to hairclips june - these stories are often too complicated, too messy, too traumatic for an easy and palatable consumption. and yet they feel infinitely more tangible than a story about 21 year old college senior john egbert who is forcefemmed by his transfem roommate rose lalonde and has several feelings awoken as a result.

one version of june strives for truth and relevance and essentiality, and one does not. both junes contain an immense value for their respective audiences. in this way, you don't need the pillars of canon to have a conversation with a story's audience, but you do need them to have a conversation with the story itself. a story can only speak to its own pillars. if you discard those pillars either willingly or unwillingly, then you are distancing yourself from the possibility of dialogue. this is not to say that extant june is more "real" than hairclips june (they are both fanworks after all, and thus unable to ever attain absolute "truth" on their own due to not being canonically-authored texts), but that extant junes are more readily in direct dialogue and conversation with homestuck and thus have a greater potential for influence in this specific way. hairclips june through her essentiality can change your relationship to yourself, while extant june through her essentiality and relevance can change your relationship to homestuck.

i hope this helps in illuminating these concepts in a way that makes more tangible sense!