#Video Review: Sister 2 Sister

[tristanjboomy]

Currently watching Arcane

What are your thoughts on this series? I'm currently reacting to it (just in time for Season 2) and will review it when I'm finished. Can't believe I missed out on this show.

[sizhens]

A "marxist-leninist video game" as I envision it would not really look like Halo but it's About The Revolution. I think a proper ML video game in my mind's eye would be an extremely low-action but mind-bogglingly thorough and complex browser/OS simulator wherein you do the day-in-day-out extremely difficult work of investigating the material bases of the conditions of this fictional world and its ludicrously nuanced lore and compiling meticulous research to justify making specific, extremely small-scale policy decisions for your local branch of the ruling communist party of the DOTP you live inside. it is rendered in beautiful pixel art but has a mode where the entire game can be run 100% text-based. you will have to contend with the data you collect being tainted by various elements including but not limited to random incompetence, foreign bourgeois propagandist interference, confusing inconsistencies, and simple individualist self-interest. the game would use remarkably advanced AI text-parsing technology to decide whether or not your reasoning and justifications for a particular policy decision were sufficiently thorough and careful and whether they had sufficiently considered the possible downstream effects of this decision on the broader society. if you make a mistake you have to do an entire sidequest branch which involves criticism and self-criticism which is again judged by the game's AI. the game would use the most bleeding-edge LLMs to do this and would be optimized to run on a Raspberry Pi 2 platform and would be distributed in little fun single-purpose consoles called Handtrons. it runs natively on Linux Mint. it would cost $0.15 and would get an Overwhelmingly Negative review on the Steam store but there would be an avid fanbase of a friend group of like 30 guys in Inner Mongolia who have meticulously and lovingly curated an independently hosted wiki for the game. amidst all of the vicious reviews on Steam of "Wtf this game is shit" and "how do u even play this" and "couldn't get past the first page(?)" there's a single glowing review, beautifully translated into 5 languages, which includes comments like "I don't believe it is right to call this a game. Rather I believe this elevates the medium of "game" into an entirely different form, and we are all bettered for it. This piece is rich in humanity and even richer in its love for the toiler. It is, down to its very core, the love of a firm older sister -- occasionally unforgiving, but only because it thinks of you so highly and expects so much; transcendentally hopeful, in how it believes in the capacity for things to be changed, if only in a small way, by the work of someone it trusts without question; kind and gentle in how it is as patient with you as you choose to be with it; and, like the only kind of love which matters, it is rooted deeply in truth. I will give this game to my children when I have them, if I am able, and it will be my greatest joy. 4.5/5 stars, only because I had difficulty running this on my android device despite there being native support (I downloaded a modded version from rutracker that fixed all the issues)."

[fagus-sylvatica-beech-hedge]

my 100% genuine and acurate predictions of what the show is actually going to be:

– 2 hour long graphic uncensored unedited recording of phil birthing the pheal with live commentary from dnp on stage.

– in-depth review of every popular phan theory since 2011 completely skipping over the vday video and spending half an hour discussing floor plans.

– they show up 25 minutes late to every show making up increasingly ridiculous excuses as to why, jameela jamil gets to sit in the vip section and throw popcorn at them.

– they hard launch but its done in such an obscure ironic way that the general public is still convinced that they're just besties.

– dan wears the sister daniel outfit on stage and flashes everyone in the front row.

– the pheal gets to crowd surf every show until someone accidentally spills a drink on it and it stains orange (ginger pheal era)

[thesleepyskipper]

2024 Year in Review: Writing Round-Up

I was shocked to see that I wrote TEN fics this year, all for RWRB. And that the first one was in April! It was definitely a busy year.

❤️🤍💙.

too sweet (Rated M | 2,237 words)

A little co-worker enemies-to-lovers. Based on the Hozier song of course!

❤️🤍💙.

2. good neighbours (Rated M | 10,283 words)

My fic for @aroyallybigbangrwrb which is a neighbours AU meet-cute situation where Alex really likes to fix stuff for Henry, who really likes to break stuff for Alex to fix. I'm normally a one-shot kinda gal, but writing a chaptered longer fic was a fun challenge!

❤️🤍💙.

3. stop pretending (Rated T | 3,159 words)

My fic for @thebrownstone Summer Switcheroo exchange. Childhood friends-to-lovers based on a little video I saw on twitter with a meddling sister and of course I added in some more meddling friends just for fun (because Nora and Pez need to get in there too!)

❤️🤍💙.

4. yours, forever (Rated T | 2.019 words)

Suuuuper fluffy proposal and wedding fic! The wedding bit is somewhat based on my own true story.

❤️🤍💙.

5. the cadence of your heart (Rated E | 5,585 words)

Oh boy. It took me about 4 or so months of working on this and building up the courage to post my first true E-rated fic in this fandom. This is basically shower sex PWP but also ended up with A LOT of feelings.

❤️🤍💙.

6. lost and found (love) (Rated T | 2.304 words)

A little meet-cute where Alex has lost his dog and Henry runs the local lost dog Facebook group. Part epistolary with FB messages throughout! Written for the red umbrella flufftober collection.

❤️🤍💙.

7. London? (Rated T | 1,432 words)

Somehow my second flufftober piece also ended up revolving around dogs, but this time an established relationship piece with some fun miscommunication about forever (but in a good way). Written for the red umbrella flufftober collection.

❤️🤍💙.

8. takes one to know one (Rated M | 3,608 words)

I had tons of fun writing this particular one about rival professors (with a little twist 🤫) for @anywhere-with-you-event.

❤️🤍💙.

9. According to Plan? (Rated T | 3,822 words)

A few people had asked for a proposal sequel to London? and it seemed to fit well with my first prompt for the frosted pages & snowbound stories collection which was Frozen Lake. My first 5+1 ever! Five times Henry almost caught on that Alex was going to propose and one time Henry had no idea.

❤️🤍💙.

10. keep him warm (Rated M | 4,339 words)

I had some fun with combining a bunch of tropes in this one - a bookstore AU with lots of pining, a power outage, being snowed in and THERE WAS ONLY ONE COUCH!! My second fic for frosted pages & snowbound stories collection.

❤️🤍💙.

It has truly been a wonderful year full of writing (and reading) and I am so appreciative to the tumblr community for all the kind comments, tags and reblogs throughout the year. The WIP games were so much fun and I really looked forward to WW and SSS each week!

Thank you to the lovely friends who tagged me in their Writing Round-Ups @kiwiana-writes, @cha-melodius, @firenati0n, @run-for-chamo-miles, @porcelainmortal

and @iboatedhere, @tinyarmedtrex, @0npurpose - look at all that we have accomplished!!! I've just loved reading all your works this year.

I'll try not to make a gigantic list (like I normally do LOL), but if anyone else would like to share, I'd absolutely love to see! So open tag for sure!

Tagging more lovely friends who have been active and tagged me in tag games or WW and SSS lately! @miss-minnelli, @onthewaytosomewhere, @sophie1973, @firstprincehornyramblings, @stellarmeadow

@littlemisskittentoes, @miharaikko, @getmehighonmagic, @orchidscript, @caterpills

@zwiazdziarka, @judasofsuburbia, @strwbrryagcd, @kj-bee, @whimsymanaged

@14carrotghoul, @myheartalivewrites, @tailsbeth-writes, @suseagull5914, @clockwrkpendrxgon

❤️🤍💙HAPPY NEW YEAR, FRIENDS! Here's to a successful 2025 with all sorts of wonderful new WIPs to work on! ❤️🤍💙

[hyuny-bunny]

Hi Rose!

Can you do a fic where SKZ are in an interview and one of the questions for each of them is, "If you have a sister, whom would you want her to date?" And Minho vehemently objects to his metaphoric sister dating his friends, then notices Changbin looking all suspicious. Turns out Changbin has been chatting up Minho's cousin. Juicy, juicy.

Thank you! But please, please don't feel obligated if you're not comfy writing this, okay?

of course ! thank you so much for the request and i hope this does it justice :') i did tweak the details abit and kinda ran with it 😅. i hope not too much to disappoint. if you want something a little more spicy feel free to submit again and i can do a follow up pt 2☺️

i'll wait | C.B. ft minho

genre: fluff overload, friends to lovers, slow burn romance

content warning: cuteness overload, kissing, slightly upset minho, minho threatening to break changbin.

Minho had always been like an older brother to you. You weren't too far apart in age, you were glued to the hip at 3 and it's always been that way. Both sets of parents had to have a difficult talk with the two of you, explaining you weren't siblings. It didn't stop him referring to you as his sister and for you your brother.

Even during his time as a trainee, you were always there supporting. Whether it was dropping by the company building for a 15 minute break to have coffee and catch up, you'd always make time for him. When he was recruited by Chan to be a part of a group, you were ecstatic for him but your time together was cut down significantly when he went on to do the survival show.

After getting his big break to debut, he spent a lot of time out with his group doing street performances and advertising their group. You'd often join him with passing out flyers or just helping them record videos as they hadn't been supplied with staff just yet. You got more familiar with the rest of his group but you were always shy around them, not really knowing your place in how to interact with them.

Changbin and Jisung were the first ones you warmed up to. Han was always respectful but treated you like a friend, always making you feel comfortable around them. Changbin was much shyer with his approach. He found you pretty the moment Minho introduced you to all of them. He'd always crack jokes to you when you were around. Teasing your camera work when they were going back of their vlogs. It wasn't until one afternoon, you were supposed to be meeting Minho & Changbin for lunch, Minho had been running behind with his dance practice. This was the most nervous Changbin had felt in a long time, not even his performance review came close to he felt knowing he'd be alone with you until Minho would arrive.

All his worries washed away when he saw you sitting out on the terrace of that cafe. You were wearing a grey sweater with a black skirt. It was fall so the cold hadn't set it but he could see your legs shivering. Without thinking about it, he was already pulling his jacket off. He walked over to you seeing the way you beamed at him melted his heart.

"Here, for your legs." He extended the jacket out to you.

"Oh... it's fine, binnie," His heart skipped a beat at the nickname, "I'm not that cold! I don't want you getting cold either."

He cocked an eyebrow at you before laying the jacket over your lap himself, he didn't know where the confidence to do that came from. Your heart swooned at the gesture, your legs find a new found warmth from the heat that came from the worn jacket and the blood rushing in you. From that day on you had kept a close friendship to him, one Minho himself would've seen.

Much later down the line your friendship grew closer but never anything more. It wasn't until a few months before their new comeback, Changbin was stressing beyond belief. The pressure to have a big impact on the music charts this time around was getting to his head. He was practically calling you every night to talk. One night he couldn't take it anymore, he needed to see you. It was 2 in the morning, he was letting his legs were move and think for him.

He's standing at your door debating on whether or not to ring your bell, not a second is able to pass before you're already there opening the door. The next moment we're all a blur because once he's stepped into your apartment, his shoes kicked off, his lips are on yours. After a moment or so he stops, apologizing for not having asked for your permission but you're already pulling him back down to kiss him some more. After the night he swears off kissing, he wants to be able to date you properly. The other obstacle you face is your beloved cousin. You know the one who brought you two together, the one who doesn't know the details of your relationship with his group member.

From then, you both find time to sneak off for dates. Your dates mainly consist of eating dinner at his studio, or he's bringing you food to your place for a movie night. You're trying you best to make things work, away from prying eyes, deranged fans, and most importantly, from Minho.

The truth about the two of you comes spilling out suddenly and unexpectedly when SKZ is on a variety show. Their staff at this point had a vague idea of you relationship status to Binnie but it was unbeknownst to them that Minho did not know. Minho had invited you to come watch the variety show so you could all grab dinner afterwards. Things took a turn when the host was going around asking about the members siblings.

Lee Know candidly spoke about a cousin that was practically his sister, you could see Binnie glancing your way past the camera.

"Would any of you let your sisters date another member of the group?" The host asked.

Seung is the first to adamantly say 'no'. He's waving and shaking his head no in disgust, they're all laughing at his reaction but Minho soon joins in on him.

"Nope, never. Not happening, maybe when I'm dead." Minho deadpans looking across his members but his eyes land on Changbin who is dead staring at you.

He clocks it then. Minhos eyes are darting back and forth between you two. It takes Chan kicking the back of Changbins chair for him to snap out of his daze letting out a loud 'huh'. Minho's eyes are narrowed on him.

He knows something but he doesn't know for fact.

"Would you let your sister date any of the members?... Or better yet would you date any of the members sisters?" The host is laughing while repeating the question. Minho isn't laughing though.

Changbin flusters out a 'no' but his cheeks are a tint of pink now that he was caught staring you down. The filming wraps up and staff are asking the production to send them over the final product before they release it, just as an extra precaution. Minho says nothing when he brushes past you. He's pissed.

Shit maybe he does know.

You're standing out by your car waiting for Minho. It was supposed to be 4 of you. Jisung, Minho, Changbin, and you. You wave your goodbyes to rest of the members, finally seeing the three of them walking out together. You can tell Jisung is yapping about something based off the way he's moving his hands while talking. Changbin walks beside him head low and Minho walks on the opposite side of Han. He's staring you down all the way till he gets to you.

You're all standing outside the car but no one is moving.

"Do you have something to tell me?" Minho's never had such a cold tone with you, it makes you straighten up.

"I uh... We wanted to... I just..." You can't find the words but Changbin steps up.

"Take it out on me," He's stepped in between you two now. "We didn't know how to tell you, I asked to keep it quiet until the time came."

"And when was that time? Because I just had to find out in front an entire production crew and our staff. Was that your ideal time?" He's pissed but he's also hurt. Hurt that you would hide this from him.

"I'm sorry, Min. I am really. I was just scared that you wouldn't..."

"That I wouldn't what?" He snaps at you.

"You wouldn't approve of it."

beat

His eyes soften looking at you. He looks to Changbin.

"Do you love her?"

"I love her"

It was the first time you heard him say he loved you. It wasn't the way he imagined it going. Minho sighs looking at you again, he can tell it was your first time hearing this too.

"Okay.... If you so much as lay a hand on her or do anything to break her heart, i will break your fingers off one by one, and you'll never lift a weight again, got it?" Minho has a hand on his shoulder and a finger pointing in his face like a parent scolding a child.

Jisung has been stuck in same pose for the last 20 minutes with his jaw slack to the floor while clutching his hand over his heart. You're right there with him ever since you heard Changbin say 'I love her'.

Minho moves to open the car to put his bag in the back, unfortunately you're still frozen in place and haven't unlocked.

"You know the least you could do is feed me now?" He looks at you gesturing the car keys in hand. He grabs the keys from you to unlock the car now. He hugs you for a moment before patting changbin on the shoulder.

You look at Changbin who is matching the flush on your face. He kisses your forehead trying to bring you out of your state of shock.

" You know 'I love you, too' would've been nice to hear ," He laughs taking the keys and walking to the passenger side to usher you in "But I'll wait."

[sashasspace]

MOVIE LOVER TRAIT BY SASHA'S SPACE

This CAS trait is for sims who love to watch movies. The movies from Movie Hangout and movie theater options from Growing Together are included in this trait. This trait is meant for child sims to elder sims. There are 34 in-game movies, so that means your sims will have 34 wants plus other social-related wants. Thank you so much for supporting my first-ever mod, the love language mod.

Packs Needed: Mostly Growing Together and Movie Hangout, but there are some wants that have Get Famous and one want is from Kids Hangout.

HOW DOES THIS MOD WORK? Your sim will wants to watch movies. For Growing Together’s movie theater wants, the symbol will all be the same. This is also true for Movie Hangouts. IMPORTANT NOTE: Sims who don’t enjoy a movie won’t have a want completed, so I recommend you to cheat it with UI cheats mod. Right-click over the want and complete it like that.

Child sim wants: Watch Moonlight Massacre III Watch SuperKids Cortex Catastrophe  Watch Lost Dog’s Journey Home Watch The Adventures of Spaceship Simulation Watch the Sheriff from Alpha Centauri Watch Yibs Yibs! Watch A Room with No Door Watch Of Tea & Treachery Watch VoidBop: The Movie Watch Critters from Mauven Forest: The Last Llama Watch Peter Barker’s Homecoming Hijinks Watch SuperKids: Agent Diaper Eat Popcorn Imitate movie scene Read books under the covers Discuss love for movies Complain about movie Talk about your favorite movie Talk about the movie you last watched Declare your favorite movie genre Text a friend about a movie Invite a friend and watch a movie with them Watch a movie Perform a puppet show Dream about the cartoon world Join the drama club Host a sleepover *you can use MizoreYuuki's mod that unlocks plan social events for child sims as a bonus way to complete the want if you want* Read the book from that one movie

Teens to Elder wants: Watch Simder Watch College Cram Watch Moonlight Massacre III Watch Roaring Vice Watch SuperKids: Cortex Catastrophe Watch Lost Dog’s Journey Home The Khlumzee Sisters Watch Diamonds Are For Sims Watch The Adventures of Spaceship Simulation Watch the Sheriff from Alpha Centauri Watch Yibs Yibs! Watch Of Tea & Treachery Watch VoidBop: The Movie Watch Princess Cordelia’s Pirates Watch Captain Sigma: Olympus Landing Watch All My Friends are Fred Watch Tournament of Honor Watch A Room with No Door Watch Critters from Mauven Forest: The Last Llama Watch Packs & Prejudice Watch Treasures of Aarbyville Watch The Great Pickle Capers Watch Dusk Glow 3: Shadowmoon Watch Peter Barker’s Homecoming Hijinks Watch Simder 2: Master Suite Watch Live and Let Diamond Watch Missing Handlebars Watch Gentlemen Corgi: A Memoir Watch SuperKids: Agent Diaper Watch Untamed Treachery of the Heart Eat Popcorn Discuss love for movies Complain about movie Talk about your favorite movie Talk about the last movie you watched Text a friend about a movie Declare a movie as your favorite genre Video Call Call a friend and talk to them about movies Cuddle while watching a movie Argue about movie Take a selfie with a movie star Ask for autograph Watch movie with Watch movie Gossip about actors Throw a movie party Movie and chill Create a movie review SimTube channel Reenact a scene on a mirror Ask a celeb for a hug  Ask to take a picture of a celebrity Talk about Starlight Accolades Go to the movie theatre alone Talk to a youngin’ about old movies **Adults and Elder sims only** Reminisce about past movies *Elder Sims only* Join the acting career **Young Adult Sims to Elder Sims only** Join the Drama Club *Teen and Child Sims only* 

I don't recommend this mod for people who use movie overrides because it may be a bit annoying to keep getting wants on movies you don't have in your game since you have an override. I'll consider making an override user-friendly version for this trait in the future♥

General mods I recommend for people who play with wants Wants Reroll by Lumpinou UI cheats by Weerbesu Searchable Pie menu by Twisted Mexi

Credits

Ravasheen for listing all the Growing Together movies

SimsVIP for listing all the movies from Movie Hangout

Zerbu mod constructor v5

Lot51 Tuning Builder

Sims 4 Studio

EA & The Sims

TwistedMexi Better Exceptions

Nisa K x Scumbumbo Tuning Error Notifier

Tee for teaching me how to create wants/buffs 🫶🏾

Cepzid for helping me with a situation goal

Jordy for motivating me and for inspiring me to add a scary buff+ starlight accolade tea

My amazing testers love you 🥹

Pose makers and the cc creators I used for the thumbnail tysm♥

To all my motivators, my family, friends, subscribers on YouTube, and all of you who’ve been leaving amazing comments on all my social media, I worked on this for you. Thank you for being part of this journey with me. To celebrate all my recent milestones, check my video out to join the giveaway for Growing Together and Movie Hangout to celebrate all my recent milestones. The video also shows how this mod works. This mod will be in early access for two weeks.

For any modder who wants to translate any of my mods, I don't mind if you upload it on your Patreon or any other website that monetizes, BUT I do not want you to post it on CurseForge. I would also like it if you keep the mods up publicly for download no early access/paywall. If any translator translates mods before the early access period, please wait till the mod is public to release it for everyone.

A bonus mod I recommend to help the in-game movie experience is the RVSN film reaper mod (movie theaters in all worlds). Btw I will create a Tumblr post on all my favorite mods for movie gameplay in the coming days!

DOWNLOAD EARLY ACCESS// Public August 25,2024

[agendabymooner]

the paddock’s drive to survive ! toto w. x ofc (hearth sister!team owner!ofc) - cmyc extra

summary: the sixth season of the netflix series ‘drive to survive’ featured the team owner who practically monopolized the sports. in the span of a year tilly wolff struggled with a lot of things— follow her as fans reviewed the entire season of her appearance (while she’s both a team owner and a wife of another team owner)

content warning: use of explicit language, dts references, drama, a lot of drama, mentions daddy issue, video clip + social media format, toto being whiny in the morning, mentions lover’s quarrel (abu dhabi 2021), mentions f1 drivers x ofc, platonic!christian horner banter

note: i manifested a red bull lose once (context). i wonder if i can do it again. enjoy some drama tho xx

a - n masterlist // o - z masterlist

. ▶︎ NOW STREAMING: DRIVE TO SURVIVE

S.6 E.1

S.6 E.2

S.6 E.3

S.6 E.4

S.6 E.6

♡ moony’s reminder 🅶 (general): @hiraethrhapsody @avaleineandafryingpan @topguncultleader @enhacolor @roseandtulips @woweewoowa @magnummagnussen @happy-nico @architect-2015

[716chr]

Chihiro Natsuyaki Novel - “Choose Me!”

Track 1 - 1st Round

Smiling brightly, I turn on my charm.

Desperately trying to connect with the person on the other side of the screen, I seek their love.

Whether the image of me reflected there is fake or real…..Even I can’t tell anymore.

—— “Heya! Thanks for checking out my 100sec-PR vid! My name’s Chihiro Natsuyaki, and I’m from the special tourist ward, HAMA 14! All my friends call me Chii! I’m passionate about dancing and regularly upload my idol dance covers on Dazzle!”

“So come check me out!”, I say with a smile.

However my smile is a bit forced, and there is a hint of anxiety lurking in my eyes.

The reality is I have no confidence in myself, and those who understand that feeling would definitely notice.

“Also, I have lots of respect for the gyaru culture of the Heisei era….. My hobby is collecting Heisei memorabilia(1)! First, please check out my dances!”

I hadn't started using “Chii-nese” at this point in time.

There was a moment in my SNS self-introduction video that was shot soon after I was accepted for the audition show but before the final selection where I started dancing, and only in that moment did I truly appear to be brimming with confidence.

“Alright, how about you adopt a gyaru persona? It adds more flair to have someone like that on the show. Got that? I’m counting on you.”

“……A gyaru… persona?”

That day, I sat in the TV station’s conference room, my heart thumping with nervousness.

“13Choose!” ——After applying to this next-generation idol audition program, I successfully passed the document review and video screening and made it to the finals. I was then invited for an in-person meeting; I wondered if the other contestants would be there and what they were like. It made me really nervous.

But, to my surprise, the only person in the meeting room was a man who introduced himself as the director.

In the room, there was a TV playing my newly recorded self-intro video.

The director glanced at it and said, “You mentioned liking Heisei’s gyaru culture, right?”

“We need at least one flashy person among the contestants. Ah, your current makeup is fine, but can you make your eye makeup a bit heavier? Put more emphasis into that cat-eye(2) look. And also, dye your hair pink”

“Dye… my hair… pink?”

“Can’t do it?”

“N-No, I can.”

When questioned, I hastily agreed. I wasn’t sure what this all meant, but I felt that I shouldn’t refuse. The director was telling this to a nobody like me, who wasn’t even part of a talent agency, so I figured I should follow his instructions if I wanted to have a chance at making it.

“Make sure to really play up the gyaru persona in front of the camera. If you can at least make it to the semi-finals, it’ll keep the show engaging.”

The director didn’t even look my way, as if I was a speck of dust in his eyes. My self-introduction video reached the dance portion, the one part I wanted him to see the most, but…

“Next person, please.”

With those words, I had no choice but to get up and leave the room.

After leaving the TV station, I looked for a salon where I could book an appointment.

I needed a place that could dye my hair pink for as cheaply as possible.

What kind of personality would a gyaru have?

I wonder if it means someone who uses a lot of gyaru slang.

Does that mean I should act bright and cheerful?

“……..At least make it to the semi-finals…., huh…”

I remember the director’s words.

That means he doesn’t think I can debut, right?

Being told to exaggerate the gyaru persona on camera surely means he wants me to be a high-energy hypeman.

I suddenly become aware of the hole deep inside my heart.

The usual draft blows through it, leaving me feeling cold and lonely.

It's the unbearable loneliness that comes when I realize no one in this world needs me.

But then, I shake my head and think to myself, “I can do this, I know I can.”

After all, I do this at home too. The same old routine.

My bad-tempered mom, my irritable big sister, and my frightened little sisters.

I smile and play the role of a clown in order to make everyone laugh.

In order to make everyone smile.

…..I thought, for a moment, that no matter where I go, nothing changes.

But even so, that’s okay.

I clenched my fists tightly at the thought.

“If it means I can become an idol, I’ll do anything.”

If it’ll change my meaningless life around.

If it can make my family smile, even just a tiny bit….

At least for now, the only path I can choose is to win the audition in front of me.

For me, there is no other option.

“13Choose!” is the successor to a popular, regularly held audition show. Being chosen and making your debut here means becoming an idol with a tremendous amount of fame and popularity.

I’ve watch many idol audition shows myself.

Contestants are brought to their dormitory, their smartphones taken away, and are made to live under strict supervision. They are ranked and compete in dancing, singing, and idol concepts. Viewer votes and producer evaluations are combined to determine who gets eliminated, starting with the lowest-ranked contestants.

I heard that there’s a total of 133 contestants this time.

And only 13 people will be allowed to debut.

So, here I was, unpacking my belongings in my assigned room at the dormitory. The other contestants were probably doing the same, though I could hear occasional excited shouts coming from down the hallway.

It was only natural.

The first mission song was just announced, and everyone was on cloud nine. I was feeling excited and anxious too.

“Man~, I’m a total nervous wreck, but I love that song to death so I can’t help but feel excited ‘bout it~!”

There’s a camera in my room too, capturing everything.

Remembering the direction to…. play up and exaggerate the gyaru persona in front of the camera, I struck up a conversation with my roommate.

“Y’know! I nearly cried when I listened to this song. It’s a song by an artist that I’m the biggest fan of…. Ah, geez, I got emotional again.”

My roommate, Komu-kun, was super cute.

His smile was radiant, like an angel’s.

It seemed he’d come all the way from Kansai to participate, and got embarrassed whenever he accidentally slipped into his Kansai dialect.

Even now, he’s shyly covering his mouth, and I can't help but think he's one of those naturally "adorable" types.

“Komu-pi is so cute—— Ah, can I call you Komu-pi? You can call me Chii!”

Komu-kun, elated, said with a laugh, “I’m glad to be roommates with Chii….”

“I haven’t tried singing or dancing before…. But Chii’s good at dancing, right? I saw it in your 100s-PR!”

“Eh, you checked it so fast! Didn’t it just come out yesterday?”

“I was told in advance that I’d be roommates with you, so I looked you up right away…. Your dancing skills are amazing, and you look so cool too!”

The day before arriving at the dormitory, my roommate’s name was indeed given to me.

In fact, I had already watched Komu-kun’s PR, and his shy yet amusing display of his talent of being able to “recite pi to a hundred decimals!” as he called it while fidgeting was kinda strange, but entertaining nonetheless.

I never thought Komu-kun would watch my video, so it was a nice surprise. It warmed my heart to know that he watched my dancing and complimented it.

“To be honest, I dunno if I can keep up with practice. …..But my family is poor, you see. So I dropped out after middle school so I could become an idol to support my family.”

“Oh, same here. I dropped out after middle school too.”

“For real? That’s pretty comfortin’. Come to think of it, Chii and I are almost the same height too.”

I missed the chance to say it, but knowing that we both wanted to support our families and that we both came from the same impoverished background made me feel somewhat comforted.

But when Komu-kun pulled out a bunch of family photos from his luggage and put them up on the wall, I felt a pang in my chest.

Between the two people who looked to be kind and gentle parents stood Komu-kun, smiling.

Looking at the photos from his childhood to present day, I felt they all gave off the sense that he had a close bond with his family.

There were not only formal pictures, but also some casual playful ones taken of their daily lives.

As I stared at them intently, Komu-kun turned around and innocently said, “Ah, those’re my family photos.”

“…..You guys take a lot of photos, huh.”

“Papa and Mama are always…. Ah, I mean, my Dad and my Mom really love taking photos, so despite our financial situation, they always want to take photos and make photo albums for me every year. I wish they could cut me some slack, but I can’t deny that it makes me really happy.”

“………..”

I pause. My words won’t come out right away.

I thought we were similar just mere moments ago, but now I just couldn’t see him that way anymore.

I desperately tried to stop the bubbling sense of unease inside me.

“C’mon, Komu-pi, don’t try to act cool~. You usually call your parents ‘Papa’ and ‘Mama’, right? You can call them that in front of me.”

“Ehhh, you’re not going to laugh at me for actin’ like a kid?”

“I won’t laugh, I promise. I think it’s cute, so you’re totally in the OK-zone.”

Komu-kun’s shy smile really is cute.

There wasn’t a single shred of malice in him; just a genuine smile. And it made me think, “He truly is loved.”

…..He’s going to be really popular.

The thought suddenly occurred to me.

“Come to think of it, Chii, you didn’t have pink hair in your 100s-PR video, right? Did you dye it? It really suits you.”

“Aah…… Yeah, the director gave me some advice. And he suggested I go pink.”

Actually, it was more like an order.

But Komu-kun turned to me with a smile and genuinely exclaimed, “Woah, the director is so kind!”

“I got some advice too. He said that by being myself, I can bring out my natural charm, and that I should just be confident.”

“……Is that so.”

“That’s completely different from what he told me,” I thought to myself.

Deep inside my chest, ugly jealousy began to sprout alongside my anxiety.

It was dark, viscous, oppressive, and the moment I became conscious of it I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

I brushed it off. I didn’t want to lose to something like that.

After all, I’m gonna become an idol, and I want to keep that idol spirit inside my heart too.

“If it’s dancing, I can teach you all ‘bout it!”

That’s why I decided to say that. Komu-kun who said, “Chii, you’re too kind!” was really happy.

Because of my slight sense of guilt, I swore to make sure to teach him with absolute seriousness and sincerity.

I made up my mind to practice together, to make sure that both Komu-kun and I could make it through to the next selection.

Track 1 | Track 2 | Track 3 | Track 4 | Track 5

TL Notes:

Here, even though the original script used “グッズ” (goods), I decided to go with the word “memorabilia” instead since Heisei era ended in 2019 and this game supposedly takes place in a pretty far future, I’d say it’s pretty fitting

Original word is “つり目” (tsurime), the eye style that’s famously known to be a trademark trait for tsundere characters but its definition defined it as “slanted upwards eyes”, I decided to call it “cat eye” due to similar look + in Chihiro’s profile, he said his charm point is his “cat eyes” so yeah

[arcane-ish]

@blood-starved-beast

My concern with ViCait isn't really that it's bad or illogical or unhealty.

It's more like:

“We finally get to answer ‘What would Vi do if she didn’t have anything left to protect?’” Overton says. “She would choose Cait.”

Source

This bothers me due to:

1.) imo it has consistently felt like Amanda feels possessive over ViCait vis a vis Vi&Jinx. That ViCait and Vi&Jinx is a contradiction, it's a competition. And that is always going to rub people the wrong way who either think it shouldn't be a competition (why can't Vi have both? Why should Jinx being in Vi's life be a threat to Cait? Is that kind of fucked up way where Cait has to possess Vi completely and there can't be anybody whether Jinx or Vander or whoever to take away Vi's attention or emotional energy?) or that if it's a competition then Vi should choose her sister and it's immoral to not put her sister first.

(I personally don't care that deeply, but imo that explains some of the fan reactions)

2.) Even if you see it as a competition. Of it's "Jinx versus Cait". And as a romance you NEED to have Vi pick Cait over Jinx. The fact that Vi chooses Cait only after she has (passively) lost Jinx, after Jinx has forcefully and against Vi's will removed herself from the equation lessons the romantic power of the choice. Yes from a character point of view Vi choosing Cait over her sister is more fucked up. But from a romance POV the bigger choice is Vi does it proactively and with intentional agency, because she loves/wants Cait just that damn much because the promise of a life with Cait is just that damn appealing and not because everything else has been taken away from her first. That feels like Vi is being cornered into that choice rather than Vi making that choice as a big powerful statement. (even if the cornered choice is something that Vi does genuinely enjoy and likes, the fact that she has been cornered into it rather than proactively choosing it makes Vi and the romance weaker)

3.) Some of Arcane feels like fanfiction made real. That doesn't have to be a bad thing. Ekko going to the happy AU is pure fanfiction plotting but imo they pulled it off. There's a reason why so many reviewers name it as their favorite episode. Because they did pull it off.

But part of me looks at season 2 in particular and feels like somebody writing a Vi Whump Fic. And there you just run into the problem that there are just some thing, some cadences of emotion and plot that make sense in fanfic (like ie exhaustive curtain picking fics) that just don't work as well as a main work. (ironically that's one thing I really noticed in the 50 Shades of Grey movies, that they follow the cadence of a fanfic [main character gets threatened and saved, then they have sex, guy gives her a gift, then they have sex, main character has an unpleasant run in, then they have sex, guy gives her another gift, then they have sex], that fanfic/porn plotting, and that's why the pacing of those movies feels super weird for a normal movie, why it's hard to put them into a traditional act or character arc structure).

I don't really begrude ViCait as a little bit of "my weird, messy, slightly kinky side thing", but if on some level you were trying to write the big BAMF f/f OTP of all times, the Han and Leia for the gays, imo general, shared audiences are always going to favor agency and proactiveness.

I don't dislike ViCait and I can still like them as the messy chaotic thing. But imo the squee over ViCait has been muted compared to what it would have been (imo) if Vi had just been a little bit more proactive and forceful.

(admittedly, that could just be my youtube algorithm throwing way more "Ekko and Jinx is zomg so deep!!!" analysis videos my way compared to undiluted and unmarred ViCait squee)

[tomorrowxtogether]

SOOBIN: “I thought I should just try to shine as I am.”

TOMORROW X TOGETHER The Star Chapter: SANCTUARY comeback interview

2024.11.11

He once strived to become a lush, towering forest. But he realized that people will love him for exactly what he is—a deep, rolling ocean. And so, he decided to remain as whom he always has been: an ocean named SOOBIN.

You took a trip to Vietnam earlier this year with BEOMGYU. I heard you planned the whole thing. SOOBIN: I’m usually the kind of person who just goes around without a real plan, but since we don’t get much vacation time, I figured we’d better go all out and do everything we could in one go, so I tried planning it all out. (laughs) BEOMGYU just wanted to go with the flow, but there was a ton of stuff I wanted to do.

I’m sure it’s not easy taking a trip or spending your off time with the same people you spend all your time with. SOOBIN: I hang out a lot with the rest of the group on my own time too, though. Three of us were all hanging out together just yesterday. To be perfectly honest, it doesn’t feel like anything special since we’re always together 365 days a year, but I’m also most comfortable around them for the same reason.

Sometimes people start bickering with each other when they get too comfortable with one another, but you’re always so kind—like how you gifted BEOMGYU with a nap in that “The Perfect Way to Rest” video when you remembered he was feeling tired. SOOBIN: I think I’m good at picking up on things. I don’t know if I can do it with everyone, but at least with the other members of the group, I’m pretty good at telling how they’re feeling or if they’re not feeling well. As soon as I see one of them, I can tell, Oh, he looks a little rough today, or, He’s sure in a good mood today. (laughs) If they seem down, I go over to them to find out what’s wrong and talk it over.

Your kindness also comes across when you’re with animals, like in the “OUR TOMORROW” video, where you took care of one dog who was so nervous that it didn’t get a chance to eat any treats. Have you always been drawn to people and creatures that are small and left out? SOOBIN: So, so much. In fact, I was really shy and struggled to fit in when I was a trainee. I was really lonely at first. So when time passed and I finally got accustomed to things, if I saw another trainee who was shy and couldn’t adjust, I felt like looking out for them. Kai was among them. (laughs) That’s how I ended up becoming really close with him.

You talked about the cat your sister adopted recently, explaining how it used to be shy because it had a hard life in the past but that it finally opened up this year. SOOBIN: I went to see the cat when my sister first got it, but I couldn’t even see it that first time—it just hid under the couch. It was so shy that I thought I’d never get to pet it, but the last time I saw it, it came right up to me and started purring, wanting to be petted. It was able to overcome its painful past and open up to my family thanks to all the love they show looking after it. Love really does have the power to change anything. (laughs)

You also said on weverse LIVE recently that you made a new friend who you can talk about dramas, movies, and books with. SOOBIN: For me, dramas and movies don’t end with watching them—after you’re done watching, that’s when things are just getting started. I always look up reviews and analyses online. People can watch the same thing and they’ll all have their own thoughts on it, so I’m curious about all those different views, and now I have someone to talk about that with. They know a lot more about books and movies than I do, so I end up learning a lot when we’re sharing our thoughts together. Just having a friend to share my interests with is really fun.

You mentioned talking about Inside Out 2, and you looked at how it features a place to store things you’ve heard that you want to keep for a long time, which got you thinking about what sort of things you would want to hold onto. SOOBIN: I kept recalling things my friends say after we hang out—things like, “SOOBIN, I’m so happy we’re friends,” and, “I feel great whenever I’m with you.” Hearing things like that really touches my heart. Seriously, how often do you get to hear things like that in life? I used to find expressing things like that awkward and weird, but thanks to my friends, I’m getting used to saying I love and appreciate people. You empathized with how Anxiety works harder and feels more anxious than others because they want to be good at things. Are there things you feel you should work harder at than other people? SOOBIN: I’m actually slower at learning choreography compared to the other members. I assumed I’d get a lot better after debuting and regularly performing onstage, but progress was slower than I expected. I didn’t say anything about this before, and I even kept it a secret from the other members, but I actually got separate choreo lessons on the side when we were doing “Chasing That Feeling” and “Deja Vu.” We’d take lessons as a group, and then once I was alone I’d always spend about an hour dancing and working on the little details. I tried so hard with those two most recent songs that I even practiced on my own like that. Seeing as I’m slow, I have to work harder to keep up with the other members. If I have more time, I want to practice more for this comeback, too.

With all the touring you’ve done and the encore performances you have coming up, it must’ve been really hectic getting ready for your Star Chapter: SANCTUARY comeback. SOOBIN: The schedule was really tight this time around—we even had to record vocals in Japan in the middle of the tour since we were in and out of the country—but now that we’re in our sixth year, the five of us were all really fast about things. I could sense that we had grown compared to before since we were faster at recording than we could’ve expected to be in the past and it took us less time to work out the details of the choreography.

The album’s subtitle, SANCTUARY, is a word that’s appeared in TOMORROW X TOGETHER albums before. What’s been your sanctuary these days? SOOBIN: I never used to have a sanctuary, which made getting through tough times hard, but I do now: simple things like working out or reading. It feels like the things that break me away from overthinking and let me immerse myself in something else are my sanctuary.

You were complimented on your previous promotions for your improved vocals and high notes. What about on this album? SOOBIN: Actually, every other album we’ve done had a song in a genre I wasn’t confident in, but not this time. The single “Over The Moon” is really laid-back, and I felt like it was perfect timing for us to try out a song like that. What’s unfortunate is that I caught this horrendous cold during recording. We started practicing for live performances recently, and the director said, “SOOBIN’s singing better than he did when recording. He makes it sound effortless.” So I couldn’t help but think about how much better I could’ve done if only my throat had been in better shape.

You always focus a lot on lyrics. Were there any on this album that have stuck with you in particular? SOOBIN: This album isn’t so much about telling some big, sweeping story as it is about everything we’ve been through together. Now that we’ve been through all that chaos, it’s about the universal emotion of love, which everyone can relate to, and I liked that about it. There’s a line in “Higher Than Heaven” that sticks with me that goes, “I think I kinda get what forever means now.” I even once said, “I never used to believe in the word ‘forever,’ but I think I can now, thanks to our fans.” I didn’t write that part, but it’s like it was written to perfectly capture my feelings.

The other members have probably had an impact on your belief in the word “forever,” too. SOOBIN: I’m pretty sure we’re going to grow old together and that we’ll be together till the day I die. We do the same thing and basically live the same life day in and day out, so we know what makes each other cry the most during concerts, too. Whether it’s my tears of happiness or BEOMGYU’s tears of disappointment from a leg injury, having friends to understand and share those feelings with is nice. They’re all just really kind people—calm and clear, like a stream. None of us is domineering or splashing around, disturbing the peace, and nobody’s dirtying the water, so I think we’ll be able to stick together for a long, long time.

You said before that you had found being onstage tough while touring. Now that you’ve already wrapped up your third world tour, do you still find that to be the case? SOOBIN: I think I’m getting better over time. I still can’t say that I completely enjoy myself, but the worries I used to have before going onstage have gone away entirely. There used to be times where I found it hard to watch myself onstage because I didn’t like how I looked, but now I see myself up there and I think I look cool. (laughs)

The way you have a different outfit on for every sound check when you’re on tour is definitely cool. SOOBIN: For fans who come even though they’re busy, showing up hours before the concert just to wait, doing it purely out of love, I wanted to be more stylish, so I bought a lot of clothes just for sound checks. The glasses-plus-cardigan combo was something I bought in advance for summer, and the reaction from the audience was amazing! They showed me on the big screen and MOA was screaming their lungs out—like, not the usual “wow,” but, “aah!” Like shock and awe. (laughs) I was worried I went overboard with the look, but they showed they liked it, so I was happy.

There’s no way not to bring up your cover of the Choi Yu Ree song “Forest” when talking about you. You said that the people around you are like tall trees in a forest and that you thought you’re one of them, but that you figured out you’re actually more like the ocean. SOOBIN: It’s easy to find people around me who are better looking and sing and dance better than I do. I actually started thinking about that at Lollapalooza. The other members looked so happy and like they were having so much fun onstage, but I couldn’t. I felt eaten up inside seeing myself not being able to fully enjoy it because of all the pressure. Then I heard Choi Yu Ree explaining that “Forest” is about feeling like you’re not good enough and I thought, “Ah, so that’s what I’ve been going through.” I started to understand my emotions a little bit better. Everyone ends up comparing themselves to others at some point in their lives—it’s unavoidable. And they have times where all they can see are the things they hate about themselves, but it’s ridiculous. I was overflowing with negative feelings when I was working on my “Forest” cover, and I wanted to sort of deal with those feelings and express them.

The music video echoes your thoughts that someday you’ll come to shore and become one with the forest. What does the forest mean to you? SOOBIN: Just being a singer who’s good at singing and dancing, interacting with my fans, enjoying performing, and being able to do it all with complete sincerity. I think I was showing how the forest to me means being happy with the other members when they’re happy. Nothing big—just simple things I’m not always that good at.

Do you feel more like a forest now that some time has gone by? SOOBIN: Umm … I saw a ton of comments from fans after I covered “Forest.” My mindset when I was doing it was, Right now I’m like the ocean, but I’ll become a part of the forest just like you guys—so wait for me until then. But once I saw what fans were writing, I changed my mind and thought, Do I really need to become a part of the forest? I could be similar to the forest, but I don’t have to change myself to be one. My fans kept saying, “The whole reason we liked you in the first place is because you’re like the ocean, not because we hoped you’d become like a forest. If that were the case, we’d like somebody else. Why do you think it was you?” The ocean comes with its own perks, you know. You need to have some ocean near a forest to add to the scenery and have more things to do. Now I think maybe I tried too hard to fit in by trying to be like the forest. Now I feel like I can shine bright just by being myself.

That lines up with what you recently said in an interview you did in Japan when you said that your 20s, the best and most energetic time of life, are dazzling and fun thanks to knowing MOA. What do you think you’ll see when you look back on this youthful period of your 20s? SOOBIN: Joy. Every moment of our lives is packed with good times and bad times, joy and sorrow, but in the end, I think, I’m on a path towards joy. Even things that are so agonizing that you want to die—so bad you feel like the whole world is against you, and so bad you’re certain they’re weighing on you forever, eventually pass.

Doesn’t it almost feel funny sometimes, looking back after all that? (laughs) SOOBIN: Yes. It ends up feeling so trivial somehow. Things that felt massive at the time are like a speck in the distance once you get even a little space between them and yourself. Even after all the hardship I went through being a trainee, I can look back now and see there were a lot of good times. Maybe we tend to romanticize the past a bit? (laughs) Even some of the stuff I’m going through now can be tough, to be honest, but I’m never going to give up. There’s still so much I want to give. The amount of joy I derive from doing this is way higher than the amount of difficulty. I think my life’s amazing, even right now.

So amazing. (laughs) SOOBIN: I think so too! (laughs) As time goes on and I get older, when I look back on my youth, my time with TOMORROW X TOGETHER, I wonder if it’ll look that much more shiny and amazing. Maybe I’ll feel I was even cooler at this time than I feel I am now.

[yourdrugisafartbreaker]

Man. The Phillies are fucking KILLING the Dodgers right now… Need a good video to eat my pizza to… Wait just a second…

DOGS IN LOVE 3 CAME OUT??!!

For those that have no context, this sentence means nothing to you. And yet, it has all the meaning to me. Dogs in Love is a series, now officially a trilogy, on the JelloApocalypse channel. If you know him, cool! If you don’t know him, he’s a variety YouTuber best characterized by the art and opinions in his videos, although this doesn’t describe all of his videos. His best known series are probably his Welcome to, So This Is Basically, and Marathon Reviews series. He’ll at the same time also play various video games, drink a lot of lemonade, and play an eBay edition of The Price Is Right with his friends. He even has like a little show on his YouTube channel called Epithet Erased! I need to actually watch that sometime… Oh, and yeah, he does good voice acting work!

So, what is Dogs in Love? Basically, they are edited highlight videos with a lot of drawings of Jello and his friends taking the lore of Pokémon Colloseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness and throwing it out of the window during playthroughs for those games, with the group instead deciding to take the characters (Both the Pokémon and the humans) and playing with them like Barbie dolls and action figures.

The original Dogs in Love video focuses on Pokémon Coliseum, following the player trainer and his terrorist Pokémon, with the main focus around a edgy Umbreon who actually turns out to be a dumbo softboy and his partner Espeon who is smart and stressed out of his mind and needs more coffee. As you can guess, they are the dogs in love. In Dogs in Love 2 and 3, both of them focus on Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, with the logical tie in between the two games being that the Jolteon the player trainer has is the sweet and kind demonic child of the two dads of Umbreon and Espeon. Yeah. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

I cannot fully explain the humor of it for myself. The voice acting as well as the improv comedy done by Jello and his friends makes the whole experience dumb, weird, and hilarious in a brilliant way. The dynamics and relationships of all of the characters are comedically sound, and yet, I feel genuine emotion for all of them. It knows exactly where to scratch my back when I have an itch. And, the thing is, the waits between each of these videos was about a year! Sure, the full streams are right there, but it’s hard because the videos are so good. (I rewatched both videos at my older sister’s wedding!) However, it’s worth the wait, and the videos show that the excellence needed time to cook. Dogs in Love has meant so much to me, but with the trilogy now completed, I look back at these three videos in marvel and with love.

[tristanjboomy]

Is the Game as Engaging as the Series?

[liarsandleechespod]

Looking for your next horror audio drama?

Welcome to "Liars & Leeches," an immersive, full cast, supernatural horror audio drama. The first original audio drama from Hemlock Creek Productions (@hemcreekprod), “Liars & Leeches” delves deep into the complicated horrors of grief, trauma, resilience, and steadfast human determination to uncover the truth.

Grief. Anxiety. Terror. Tonya Wright felt it all after the tragic murders of her sister and brother-in-law in a random act of gun violence. Struggling to travel outside of her home, she now lives constantly on edge about perceived threats that seem to surround her. Retreating to the house her sister and brother-in-law once shared to process her grief, Tonya soon discovers that someone — or something — has followed her there. With the help of her best friend Natalie, and others she meets along the way, can Tonya overcome her fears before they completely consume her?

You might enjoy "Liars & Leeches" if you like:

Psychological and supernatural horror like Stephen King's "The Outsider"

A creeping sense of dread or a feeling of something being "off" like "Get Out."

Tension building through sound design, especially in quiet moments like "A Quiet Place" (which was a massive source of sonic inspiration for the show)

Audio dramas such as "Dark Dice," "Dark Sanctum," "Maxine Miles," "Aftershock," "Transplanar RPG," and "Connections," as Hemlock Creek Productions assisted with audio editing for all of them.

Soundtracks like those from "Yellowjackets," "Smile," "Chernobyl," "Broadchurch," and "The Rising," all of which were used as inspirations for the music in "Liars & Leeches."

Some other facts about the show:

Season 1 is complete with a run time a little over four hours. Season 2 is currently in pre-production.

We have transcripts available for every episode of the show, as well as video versions of each episode on YouTube that are fully subtitled.

We have won awards for best horror/thriller podcast, best podcast, and best leading performance in an audio drama. We have also been nominated for additional awards including best director, best sound design (action), best supporting performance in an audio drama, and best music/score (podcast).

We have "Liars & Leeches" merch available on Streamlabs, as well as the soundtrack from season 1 available on Bandcamp.

If you're interested in listening to "Liars & Leeches," you can find us wherever you listen to podcasts. If you do listen, feel free to toss us a review there, or on Podchaser, and let us know what you think!

Don't be afraid, just have a taste.

[psychhound]

psychhound games 2 year anniversary

wow ... i cant believe its already been two years since i started publishing games on itch but so much has happened in that time. i got promoted at my job, quit that job, started a master's program, became a teacher, decided to continue on to a phd, got published (twice), found meds that helped, made a lot of new friends, learned to cook, played in a good number of campaigns and short shots, and somehow, through all of that, i managed to publish (checks notes) 24 games, 2 zines, and an srd

in that time ive gotten over 20k views and almost 5000 downloads, as well as shout outs in video essays and podcasts. i've run two successful kickstarters and one that made it a far way but ended up teaching me more from its failure than i wouldve hoped

my goal when i started making ttrpgs was just to get a little bit of practice before i made my Big Dream Game. get my feet wet a little to learn the ropes and then design what i had actually set out to do in the first place - make a game designed specifically for therapeutic practice. and then i realized that i actually just really enjoy making games and kept making more and more and more of them until ... here we are

the first ttrpg i ever made literally came to me in a dream. my little sister was working for his college paper at the time and i dreamt that when he came to visit we played a silly comedy interviewing game i had made for her. so i woke up and made it. and then she visited and we played and it was a lot of fun!! and i was like. oh wait i can make games to make very specific people happy ... baller. so i kept doing that. made a game for my best friend where they could play as their cat and cause mischief and playing it for their birthday is such a cherished memory. my by far best selling game was made for a dear friend who's a photographer and lives in a big city and i wanted to blend city exploration, photography, and his love of a well-designed tarot deck into something fun he could do when he got out of the house. my most recent game was made because i wanted a tiny game i could print and send with my friends' holiday cards, and i know how much we all love writing and making crazy blorbo playlists so i made a playlist-driven writing game

over these two years its just become more and more obvious to me that my creativity that was once fueled so wholly by grief and trying to process it has now flipped around to being powered by joy and just overwhelming love. so many people in my life now who i love so wholeheartedly i found or got close to through playing ttrpgs, or being in the ttrpg community, and channeling that energy and that joy into making more of them to put out into the world has made my life so much better a million times over. i dont know where the future will take me but i hope to have such a long career of this - making through joy, engaging through play, growing through community - and i cant thank everyone whos supported me in getting here enough. im feeling very touched and very overwhelmed but just know that if youve ever bought one of my games, posted about playing it, left a nice review, or recommended it to a friend, you have my whole heart and i hope you have such a sweet new year

if you wanna check out my games you can find them on psychhound on itch or check out my portfolio and such on my website :) thanks everyone. happy new year

[somedayillbepeterpan]

Finally, I am able to continue this series.

I started doing The Butterfly Ball analysis as a way to get it out of my head because it had burrowed deep inside my brain that it was rotting my thoughts (which still hasn't stopped).

To understand my ramblings fully, you can go to the other parts here:

Start here | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Here we go for: PART 5: BLOCKING AND WHERE COLIN WAS WHILE PEN WAS REVEALING HERSELF AS LW

I've decided to chop this part into smaller pieces too because when I started part 5, the whole thing was way too long for my attention span. I really am so sorry about the deluge of thoughts that I have for this scene. I'm half tempted to copy Sammy Bates and create videos but I do not have the same talent that she has. So, you're stuck with me and my barrage of written thoughts.

Anyway, Part 5.1 - The stage layout

We've talked about the shape of the venue. We've talked about the aesthetics of the event. We've talked about clothes. And we've talked about music and dances.

Now, let's get to the nitty-gritty of things. Let's talk about the blocking of the whole scene. To start it off, we have to understand the layout of stage.

Just for context, at one point in my life, I studied cinematography and I love movies so I get keyed up with blocking and camera angle choices.

To give importance to how important this scene is, sweeping/panning shots that is 360 degrees in motion with about 150, maybe 200 people, in one room is a nightmare in logistics. Every shot has to matter and every shot has to be reviewed and set up precisely. Most of the ball scenes takes 1 week to shoot because of how technical it is. There is an interview of Tom Verica talking about plotting the whole scene (I think it was the Vanity Fair one).

The particular weight of this ball is shown in how it's set-up like a centre stage. Even the lighting and the floor design draws your attention inward. Out of the three seasons' Ep 8 balls, this is the only one elevated and without anything disrupting the centre.

I've drafted a diagram to fully understand how the whole stage looks like.

**you guys are allowed to call me crazy after this post.

There are 4 major sides that I will call anchor points as we go around this layout.

Entrance (in between the two bug cages)

Side entrance 1

Side entrance 2

Ostrich feathers

One particular stand out for me are the pillars around the stage. The pillars hides and distinctly divides each of the 4 anchor points. While this might go past a regular viewers' head, someone looking for it (or a crazy person like me) will understand the significance of each anchor point. It helps easily assign people on each side and and use blocking (+ camera shots) as a great storytelling device.

These 4 anchor points become very important when Pen goes on stage.

Because every single one of it stands an important woman in Pen's life.

(going clockwise from the entrance) Anchor point 1: Prudence by the entrance

Anchor point 2: Portia by side entrance 1

Anchor point 3: Philippa (+ Albion) by the Ostrich feathers

and Eloise (next to Fran, Alice Mondrich, and Lady Danbury) right by Anchor point 4: Side entrance 2

I just loved that every time Pen turned around, there was someone for her to look at and ground herself. Because what she did, being vulnerable and exposing that part of herself she has kept hidden for a very long time, couldn't have been easy.

(We will get to Colin after the next post if you're wondering where he is in all of this).

I understand that some people were disappointed in how the LW reveal/fallout was portrayed but just for a while, let me help you appreciate that in Pen's most vulnerable moment, these women had equal parts surprise and awe on their faces as they watch their sister/daughter/best friend own up to her mistakes and face the Queen herself. And while we didn't get much out of them in the aftermath in terms of communication, it was still wonderful to know that in the end, all these women become/is important for Pen to fully embrace who she is.

I'm hoping to put all of these out every 1-2 days so I can finally move on to writing other things.

Next up: Part 5.2 The Queen and the bugs

[applebuttercringe]

Arcane Season 2

So after S2 was leaked there was a lot of talk about Arcane S2 being bad, or a disapointment, a lot of people who watched the leaks didn't like it. Also a lot of nervousness about certain story decisions seen in trailers like Jinx becoming a surrogate mom/older sister, less Jayce/Viktor Content, most likely killing off Mel, Vi/Caitlyn breakup. It seems that no matter what S2 is it will split the fandom.

I'm gonna be honest, I will enjoy it either way.

What with how the election went, as well as just a lot of stress from college for me. I don't care if it's bad. I just wanna enjoy something and I've been looking forward to S2 for literal years.

Of course I want it to be good. But I'm not gonna complain. Even if I have to turn my brain off and enjoy it like its The Room. The thrill of hearing the music again, seeing the characters again, the beautiful animation will be enough. I'm usually very into show/movie review channels but not today. If it's trash I will be a raccoon basking in it. If review channels come out with 2 hour long videos titled things like "How did Arcane fall off" and "Arcane Season 2 is a huge disapointment" I will mute the topic and rewatch S1.

I no longer desire to have good taste, or be attuned to the flaws of the media I consume in order to become a better writer/artist myself. I will have garbage taste and I will be free. I just wanna vibe y'all.