#also official Dash design?? Give it now.

[scrambledd3ggss]

so Stuart Gibbs has confirmed that spy school won’t be the only one of his series that gets a graphic novel

if I get an official Charlie design I will go insane

[a-substantial-trash-pile]

Studio TV Solutions presents Half Life VR but the AI are Self-Aware (2020) [not a real movie]. A movie with a totally improv’d script starring a moltey crew who are sure to give you a rip-roarin’ good time!

anyway hi new au just dropped. i’m calling it HLVRAIM. it’s HLVRAI but it’s a blockbuster movie and the science team are played by actors. i have many thought on backstories n stuff that i will stick under a “read more” here otherwise this post will be hella long on people’s dashes. 👇👍 pls care about this i thought so hard and much

Half Life VR but the AI are Self-Aware was put out by Studio TV Solutions in 2020 and destroyed the box office with how fun it was and how well the cast played off one another. The cast was given a general outline for the script with the goal for it to be mostly improv.

Gordon Freeman: Mannie Flores (Dominican American, age 28, he/him) - Popular Youtuber/Twitch streamer (“Radi0Mann”). Got offered the role in HLVRAI thanks to the creative things he’s done in his Youtube/Twitch career. This is his first “official” acting gig. He was pretty starstruck at first, but then as he got to know everyone, he realized they’re all a bunch of dorks (affectionate). - Started off as a gaming channel, but then started branching off into various creative endeavors as he got more popular. He still plays games too though. - One of the things Mannie did in his internet career that hit the mainstream was when he wrote, directed, starred in, and filmed his own movie in just 2 weeks because he failed a bet with his audience. Except the movie was actually really good and funny and heartfelt (i want to say it was about “a man who got left behind on earth after everyone else was raptured because god literally forgot about him”, but i think the concept might’ve been done already). - Met Benji through HLVRAI. They hit it off and now they’re dating. They tried to keep it secret for a while but Mannie had a slip-up during a stream that sort of blew it out of the water.

Benrey: Benji Song (Japanese/Chinese, age 30, he/they) - Started off as a film sound designer in the industry, then through a series of silly willy little events—possibly even shenanigans—got roped into a role in a passion indie film that became wildly acclaimed and flung him into the spotlight. Been an actor ever since, but isn’t the most proactive in taking jobs much to their agent’s annoyance. People never know where he’ll pop up next. Sometimes Benji will sneak in sound designer work behind their agent’s back. - Honestly likes background work more because everyone’s got these expectations of them as an actor that they feel pressured to meet. But he’s also afraid of disappointing people. He’s working on it. - Met their partner Mannie through HLVRAI. Totally was a fan of his streams/videos beforehand though. When they mention that, Mannie gets flustered. - Does music as a hobby. Electronic stuff mostly—enjoys mashing together all sorts of sounds and trying to make them work. After HLVRAI, Mannie’s streams gets cool new music that’s made by somebody going by “johnwicklover1994.” wink

Harold Coomer: Hau’oli “Hau” Kaleo-Kirchhoff (Hawaiian/Samoan, age 66, he/him) - Old musician who’s supposed to be retired but once in a while will release a song or even do a concert (but nothing crazy). - Hau’oli is pronounced [hh-ow-oh-lee], but he also goes by “Hau” for the haoles’ sake. :) Kaleo is [kah-leh-oh]. also Hau’oli sounds a little bit like the name Holly so that’s a fun coincidence i didn’t realize until later. - Most of his music is chill island tunes but he has been known to dabble in rock and jazz. - Married to Mose (been together for 30 years and counting).

Bubby: Mose Kaleo-Kirchhoff (German, age 69 [nice], xe/him) - Veteran actor—been in the acting industry for a long time. One of his more well-known roles was in a popular sci-fi series. - Married to Hau’oli (they got married the moment it was legal). - i went with a name that started with “M” cuz when Gordon first asks Bubby for his name, xe’s like, “mmm Bubby.” and i headcanon it’s because Mose was about to say xir own name and had to swerve last minute and the thing his brain resorted to was Bubby lol.

Tommy Coolatta: Luis Tanglao (Filipino, age 37, he/they) - Child star who dropped out of the industry when he hit his teens and then came back years later as a comedian. He has material about how fucked up being a child star was. Will only take acting roles if it interests them. - They don’t care about how the public/media sees him. He’ll speak his mind and call out BS when he sees it. Interviewing them can be a war zone. - Hosts a popular podcast with some buds they discuss things like video games, their lives, news, etc. Just shooting the shit. - Sunkist is their actual dog and she modeled for the png photo that was used. Her name is actually Biko. She is a very good girl. <3

Darnold Pepper: Sage Haven (African American, age 40, he/her/they) - Famous cooking show host who gets offered roles in movies. Got popular by how unconventional her meals and cooking methods are and how funny he is. - Has had multiple food/cooking/baking shows over the years. Every competition-based one they’ve had focused more on good vibes, fun, and encouraging one another rather than drama. One show involved people competing to see who could make the best full course meal with the catch being they could only cook everything in a microwave. Many microwaves perished. - Changed their name to Sage Haven during their transition. They chose it because it reflects his passion and also is a play on the phrase “safe haven”, which is what she wants to be to others. - He has an adoptive daughter named Kit. She helped them think up bits and jokes. She also had to help explain what Half-Life was.

haven’t gotten to gman and forzen’s actors yet unfortunately. thinking gman’s actor could be a talk show host? because that would be funny. anyway thanks for humoring me on my shenanigans. bye

[choochooboss]

Butlermas artdump! 2022 May - 2023 April

▲ "At your service!" ▽ "Leave it to me."

Before diving into the sketches I need to talk about this song. This remix slaps me to the moon and back. How can you improve perfection? You can't! So better head over to a new track! In other words, the Subway Bosses theme can't apparently be beaten, but this remix plays no second fiddle to it! Let this sexy jazz piano duet accompany this post featuring the handsome gents in their fanciest attires yet. (Fun observation: The song shifts themes pretty much in sync with the Sync Moves being used in Pokémas!)

By chance I got into submas & installed Pokemas during the first run of The Curious Tea Party event, a week before butler Ingo's banner. I was so hyped to meet the boys in game so soon, and I was super lucky to get Ingo on his release day! Emmet on the other hand eluded me until the very last day ahah (the struggle was real), but I was so glad to FINALLY REUNITE THEM. The agony for their situation was so painfully fresh at the time, that brought a bit of relief to the suffering ahah. At first the costumes felt a little strange to me, but now I adooore them. Dang, do they look dashing and sleek in those fancy tailcoats and mirrored monocles!!

One of the first doodles of the butlers, still learning how to draw the sillies and their funny hats.

Love the suit designs! The tailcoats make the twins look even more graceful and slender, and the tails would float when they dash around! The hats are almost comically large, but after drawing them many times they actually look the best that way! This time no funny clown shoes, but these classy loafers look pretty chunky! And fittingly they are wearing cross ties, which is also another word for railroad ties. Yes there's another train pun in their outfits! Pretty clever design! Emmet's outfit has warm light grey (I believe it's because in a white suit he would look ready for the altar ahah) with sapphire blue accents, while Ingo's is a grayish dark blue with ruby red accents for the contrast they have going in all of their outfits. Furthermore they embrace the ruby and sapphire colors in their EX suits, which make them look even more luxurious!! I imagine them wearing the regular costumes during daylight hours, then switch to EX for late night events and parties. About the details. The metal bits are silver and gold, both reflecting their personalities. Emmet likes to dress bold and go for the gold, while Ingo dons the slightly more modest silver. EX costumes trade them for cool onyx black. That's enough twaddling for this round ahah! Hope you enjoy the rest of my doodles, attempts and experiments! More butler art coming up soon!

They're eager to serve at any given opportunity, ready to dash by your side if you just give them a word, accompany you wherever you want to go, make sure you feel safe and protected, and offer to become your personal butlers... wouldn't that be a dream! Butlermas are the ultimate official submas fanservice!

"If I can be of service in any way, please let me know! I will come to your aid faster than an express train!"

"If you're ever out alone, please feel free to call on me. I'll get you to your destination safe and sound!"

[dalishious]

hi! so...i saw a couple of people say that zevran isn't actually a poc he's just a white spaniard with a tanned skin so is it possible that's true? cuz it's somewhere said that the devs made him hispanic with a spanish accent and on top of that they white washed the shit out of him in da2 and in wotv2...do you know maybe one of the devs specified that he's brown hispanic and not white hispanic cuz IM FUCKING WORRIED

also i don't exactly remember the source (about the devs making him hispanic) cuz op didn't share and maybe it's just some random guy giving his impression on zevran but here:

"Thus, the developers had a very clear idea of what they wanted Zevran to be. They wanted Zevran to be charismatic, attractive, and quick on his feet. He is a lovable rogue with a troubled past. To help convey all these qualities to the player, he was given the accent of a Spaniard. It is an accent which has been used for all manner of renaissance-era heroes. Zevran is cut from the same cloth as famous heroes like Inigo Montoya and Zorro. Zevran himself will comment that his accent is one of his more attractive qualities. The dashing Hispanic archetype is quite poplar, to the point where just hearing the accent in the context of fiction implies the possession skill with a weapon of choice and suave mannerisms."

Zevran literally has the second darkest skin tone in the game. His game model uses 006 of 7 skin tints. That man is not just tanned.

Here is his vanilla head model:

Here are various vanilla screenshots in different game lighting:

Here is his most recent official artwork from World of Thedas vol 2:

Zevran has brown skin. That is FACT.

I have to assume anyone who says otherwise has been either looking at too much whitewashed fanart or playing the game with their gamma/brightness turned way up.

Finally, Gaider did indeed refer to Zevran as having "darker skin" when people compared his design to Fenris, on the old and now dead BioWare forums. Unfortunately I don't have the full conversation saved, just this part of it:

^ The "him" in context of the full conversation was Zevran.

[xxcrystalinerose]

In celebration of me officially reaching 100 HOURS of fucking around in Hades 2, here's a couple of general gameplay tips from yours truly!

Preface

I am not the best Hades gamer out there, but I'd like to think I'm doing pretty good considering my still-standing 25+ win streak in the Underworld and 16 Fear clear on all weapon types, so this tip is meant for you guys who find Hades 2 weirdly difficult compared to the first game (I've been there!), or those who still haven't figured out good build and aspect combos. However, I will not be doing a deep dive of all the bosses except for the final bosses!

Obviously, spoilers abound under the cut, so tread with caution!!

Part 1: General Questions, Comments, Complaints, etc.

Q: Playing Melinoë is so difficult compared to Zagreus!

A: First of all, you are playing Melinoë, not Zagreus. Second of all, you are playing Lv. 1 Mel after being so used to Lv. 100 Zag (if you've spent an unreasonable amount of time playing Hades 1 like I did). These two have different playstyles! I myself am guilty of this mindset in my first 20 hours of gameplay.

Mel is all about using everything in your disposal to dispatch enemies. Additionally, the devs have designed the kit in such a way that none of your moves are an afterthought that you occasionally use every other room. The biggest example of this is Cast, which remains useful as a crowd control (CC) move even without a Boon attached to it. Use your Cast all the time!

Additionally, in case you haven't realized it, you can still move while charging your Omega Cast; however, the AoE will not follow you unless you have Local Climate (Demeter).

Don't forget that you can hold down Dash to Sprint. Lock enemies in place with Cast then sprint away if you need breathing room. However, do remember that you do not have i-frames while sprinting, only when dashing.

I have to concede that as of the current EA patch, dashing to dodge attacks still feels janky without the Swift Runner card, mostly because of the dash start-up animation being slightly but noticeably slower than Zag's dashes. However, after several runs with the Judgment card (where I can't activate Swift Runner, and that it might not activate further in the run), the rhythm of dashing with and without it is just muscle memory now. Keep practicing!

Q: Melinoë feels so squishy/slow/weak/etc.!

A: Hades 2 does feel much more Early Game Hellish™ than Hades 1, which imo is mostly because of the Arcana system's complexities.

You need various resources to unlock an Arcana, then you need sufficient Grasp to actually use the Arcana, THEN some Arcana have prerequisites for activation so you can't just use anything and everything you want. Very unlike H1, where you can just dump exactly one resource type into levelling the Mirror upgrades and the only true constraint is choosing one side of the Mirror over the other.

To mitigate the squishiness, Frinos with a fully upgraded Life Bond gives you a free 40 base HP. I prefer him over Toula because I fucking suck at bullet hells and Frinos eats up all those projectiles without flinching too much, and some enemies are really fucking annoying with their projectile attacks. Looking at you, hourglass thingies in Tartarus.

Another thing to note is that The Wayward Son card is a buffed version of Zag's health regen on room exit. At max level it heals 4 HP (8 if you're low), which also makes Chaos gate health drains trivial in Erebus and Oceanus, so go grab those Chaos boons.

If you think surviving against Chronos/Eris is difficult, try having at least 200-220 HP (adjust depending on Fear settings) before entering the fight. The Centaur and Titan cards are useful to achieve this. If you run a Hephaestus build, the Boon that adds HP based on Magick is also great!

Q: The Bosses in Hades 2 are more difficult... please help!

A: I see this observation often, but in my experience, the H2 bosses bar Chronos and Eris are actually significantly easier than the H1 bosses. Your experience gap between dealing with H1 and H2 bosses could also contribute. But anyways, here's some tips for each boss:

Hecate

The transformation Hex counts as a projectile and can be blocked by Frinos. If you haven't unlocked Frinos, simply dash back and forth into the hex (essentially abusing your dash i-frame) and it will eventually dissipate. Don't try to outrun it.

(Frinos ate the hex before I could fully demonstrate the dodging lol)

If you DO get transformed, dash and attack repeatedly to prevent Hecate's attacks from hitting you, because your attack in sheep form is a charge forward that helps add extra distance while waiting for the dash cooldown to end.

Scylla and the Sirens

They killed me an unreasonable amount of times early game because there's so damn much going on the screen, so my tip for that is kill the drummer first. The guitarist's arsenal is much less dangerous and her dash attack is heavily telegraphed. Even if the guitarist is the featured artist, I would still kill the drummer first. Additionally, the Night Bloom Hex* works in this fight. Have fun!

Infernal Beast

Mostly immobile boss that can't really turn around with heavily telegraphed attacks, so the easiest trick is to just stand behind it for free backstab damage and don't get hit. Paired with the massive hitbox, the boss becomes very vulnerable against Apollo/Zeus cast and Omega specials with Pan aspect on the Sister Blades.

Polyphemus

Sometimes he has sheep in the fight; if he eats them he gets healed. Gold sheep will block Omega moves in the radius indicated around them, while black sheep will charge at you. I find his most difficult attack is the boulder slam if he spots you. When he leaps, sprint away first for some distance, then dash into the shockwaves because they move FAST and staying near will guarantee you get hit.

Eris

All of her attacks count as projectiles, so Hestia's Soot Sprint turns the fight into a total joke. She also turns relatively slowly when firing; when she does the spread shots, stay directly behind her. The forward charge is also telegraphed by an animation where she rises a bit before charging, so dash towards Eris to avoid getting hit (because it also stuns you).

Chronos, in general

God I hate that bitch ass scythe throw attack SO MUCH. I find the most reliable way to dodge it is to dodge towards Chronos but in a counterclockwise direction because it always travels clockwise. DO NOT DODGE AWAY FROM HIM.

The thrown scythe counts as a projectile, so projectile slowing effects like Demeter's Cyclone debuff or Hard Target (Hermes) affect its move speed.

Additionally, Chronos himself is immune to any time-slowing effect, including from the Sorceress card, the Phase Shift Hex, and Hermes' legendary Boon. He can still damage you during the time stop in the Hex casting animation.

Lastly, the ring explosions that come after his slashing attacks are unblockable by any "Block" move e.g. Axe special.

Chronos, 2nd phase

He always begins the phase with a full screen attack that does 999 damage unless you stand in the highlighted safe spots... or if you have Coarse Grit (Demeter Infusion) that lets you take no more than 15 damage per hit (lol). The clock hands will also kill you this way, so stand well clear of its radius. When he does this attack he will stand in place, which if you're lucky lets you get a guaranteed Omega Cast or Total Eclipse strike, and even one or two fully charged Pan aspect specials if the "safe spot" is near him.

(* Night Bloom has an unintended interaction with the Judgment arcana that causes its effects to be triggered multiple times in the Scylla fight. I've reported this as a bug, but I guess you could abuse it until the next patch lol)

Q: What is your Arcana setup?

A: This! I find this to be the easiest setup for activating the Divinity card and also the "safest" build, with the drawback of being unable to change room rewards/Boon and Well of Charon offerings.

If I wanted more challenge, I would activate everything in the third row, and use the remaining 3 Grasp for either The Huntress or Death, depending on weapon:

When I do a Judgment arcana run, I only activate The Wayward Son, Eternity, and Excellence; the bonus with Judgment is that it also automatically activates The Queen, and keeps it active no matter how many more cards it activates later.

If you have yet to max out your Grasp and want to play it safe, the cards I recommend to prioritize are Eternity > Excellence > Origination > The Swift Runner/The Sorceress > The Titan > The Furies/The Moon/The Huntress/ > Night/The Unseen.

Extra tip: The Moon synergizes very well with pure damage Omega Casts e.g. Apollo, Zeus, Poseidon because it adds to the base damage. Naturally, this makes Apollo cast busted as hell.

Q: What are your recommended Keepsakes? How do I use them?

A: The ones from Hecate, Odysseus, Nemesis, Moros, and Narcissus. If you're good at not getting hit, Arachne's because it continuously stacks Armor per location as long as you stay above 1 Armor. Recently I've also been messing around with Chaos', which has been fun.

To elaborate:

Silver Wheel (Hecate) lets you regen Magick automatically, which was great for me in very early game until I got the hang of every Gain boon and evaluated which are the best ones. Essentially, it's a good crutch for learning how the game works. However, do note that the Keepsake regen is prioritized over any other Magick regeneration effects.

Knuckle Bones (Odysseus) is also a similarly useful early game crutch if you have difficulty against bosses or need to take a run to analyze their moves (very appropriate). It also gives you all-damage reduction against bosses. And fun fact: bring it to the Polyphemus fight multiple times for some unique interactions!

Evil Eye (Nemesis) is just a straightforward free ~30% universal damage bonus against the last enemy that killed you. Since mine was Chronos... well, let's just say I almost never spend a single DD in his fights ever since.

Engraved Pin (Moros) is functionally a better Stubborn Defiance. Triggering its effect will be prioritized over consuming a Death Defiance, and it works ONCE PER ROOM which is fucking amazing as a learning crutch and in high Fear runs. One of my favorite strategies if 1) my HP falls below the Pin's healing threshold, 2) its effect has not been triggered yet, and 3) I am 100% sure the encounter is about to end, I just die on purpose, kill everything that's left, and get a free heal.

Aromatic Phial (Narcissus) rarifies a random Common boon when you drink from a Fountain, which helps massively in no-Arcana runs or runs without Excellence/Divinity. It could also help if you grabbed Hera's Uncommon Grace but are unable to activate it because you have a Common boon. Lastly, the extra Fountain heal helps with survivability.

On the topic of Keepsakes, I encourage you to use the Olympian Keepsakes, because they now have the ability to increase the rarity of non-Infusion/Duo/Legendary Boons up to a certain rarity threshold and not just help you aim where your current build is going.

Rarification works especially well with Demeter's Rare Crop; one time Heroic Rare Crop managed to rarify my Attack, Special, and Cast somehow and I ended up blazing through Tartarus and Chronos like it was nothing.

End Notes (For Now)

I have some more tips prepared, but I'd like to know before I compile the next one:

Aand that's it for now. If I got something wrong or you know anything relevant to what I've shared above, do tell me in the replies so I can edit!

TL;DR: Don't forget to use Cast, get used to dodging with and without Swift Runner card, grab Chaos boons in early regions, be patient with grinding for upgrades, keep practicing, and have fun :)

[adelaidedrubman]

some scattered thoughts on plagiarism and sharing creative space in good faith before i turn my phone off and walk into the swamp 

so, this is a post i have avoided making for well over a year now. because i have spent well over a year minimizing, excusing, and trying to convince myself that i’m crazy and just imagining things. even more so, convincing myself that it’s worthless to talk about, because even if i talked about it, no one would particularly care, and i would only cause myself more heartbreak by officially confirming that. 

but the past few days in fandom have dredged up a lot of things for me and made me reevaluate. i’ve found immense reassurance from seeing how ready and willing everyone is to band together to keep the community safe from those entering with the intent to copy the work of others rather than creating their own. i won’t lie, seeing that unity and mobilization on my dash was at times bittersweet when it was interspersed by reblogs from someone who’d plagiarized me. 

but i also took the opportunity to move past the hurt and remember this is a community — seeing others have the courage to come forward and talk about the plagiarism they’d experienced inspired me to open up to more and more friends in private about my own experiences, and i cannot describe to you how relieving it has been to find myself validated and supported. sincerely, to everyone who has lent me an ear over the past few days, i appreciate it more than you know. i’ve been brought to tears several times, and feel like i now have the strength to talk about this. 

this is also a post i have backspaced on several time, because. well. frankly it’s difficult to even allude to the vague category of most obvious thing that was stolen from me without this amounting to a de facto callout post, which isn’t my intention so much as getting out my feelings and hopefully opening a dialogue about the lasting harm plagiarism does. 

so. i’ll just start by saying one of the most hurtful things about plagiarism is that it destroys the implicit trust that everyone is entering a creative space in good faith. most of us don’t come into fandom and oc communities preemptively guarded and ready to go looking for instances of plagiarism, and are far more likely to perceive things as incidental overlap than malicious theft even under circumstances where the latter is more likely. personally, it didn’t even initially set off alarm bells for me when i saw an oc with jestiny’s exact design plus color contacts and terf bangs also sharing prominent symbolism utilized in her story. 

my first instinct was to be welcoming and supportive in the spirit of celebrating that creative minds can find inspiration from the same sources. even as the symbolism began less and less to in any way resemble the context of said source material and more and more to resemble the version of the story i told, increasingly picking up elements that weren’t in the original but were sure as hell in my fic. in fact, i went as far as to offer resources on the source material in hopes that it would motivate the person to dig into it and find a way to make it their own, still hoping this was a case of overstepping taking inspiration at worst. 

it was after pushing my goodwill that far and giving an out only to then see another of my most well-known scenes copied down to my exact wording and pacing that i got the nerve to block. 

and i was naïve enough to think that would actually end it — hurt as i was by what had already happened, at least it was over. 

nope. 

even after blocking, i went on to see the scraps of another of my most well known scenes lazily repackaged. (i can forgive ripping off jestiny, but i draw the line at sullying poor daniel’s memory. he’s been through enough.) in fact, it continued incessantly enough that i have had multiple people independently send me screenshots of the same passage from within the past month commenting on how blatant it is. 

it should go without saying what a violation this was of my boundaries and my creative labor. every single aspect of jestiny’s story is deeply personal to me, both because of the extensive effort i have put into researching and crafting it and because of the pieces of my own experiences and emotions its founded in. 

but more than that, what sticks with me is the violation of the implicit trust and vulnerability that comes with choosing to share a creative work. i stretched my benefit of the doubt to its limits at the expense of my own mental health, i assumed good faith and tried to make space, and when i could no longer endure i quietly isolated myself rather than risk sowing discord or simply being a bummer in a fun time space. it made me no longer feel safe sharing works that were especially personal. the pain of the experience was one of the primary reason i put wildfire on indefinite publishing hiatus despite still loving the story and greatly enjoying continuing to write it in private. 

still, after the past few days and my own slow process of opening up, i am beginning to develop a renewed hope that we can act as a community and look out for each other. i still genuinely want to think we can by and large share creative space in good faith, and that people coming forward will leave us more ready to identify and deal with bad actors when they do pop up. 

and i have hope that i can heal and find ways to be open and vulnerable with my work again. that might mean soon thinking critically about how to curate my fandom experience in a way that will minimize having plagiarism thrown in my face, but for now that’s still a problem for future liz. 

for today, i just want to thank anyone who has read this far (y’all know i’m bad at shutting up). i’m still not ready to be super detailed in public, but if anyone wants to know more about the 5 ws and 1 h, you’re welcome to dm me — although i might be slow to respond right now, because i wasn’t being hyperbolic with the title. i am going to be on a camping trip in the swamp the next few days, and might not be online much. 

i am excited to have the time to unplug and reflect, and look forward to coming back recharged. until then, please know i am so thankful for all of you, from the bottom of my heart. 

[maliciousandcrude]

More shit for my MM Reverse Au thingie or whatever YIPPIE!!!

Sonic Sing and Rhythm Game 9: Somari!

Honestly, I didn't know who should replace Somari in this mod. I had some ideas (D Sides BF, Minus Bf) But I couldn't find one that fits so it's still good ol Somari. Ultra M and Omega are obviously Pokemon in this song too. (Normal Zigzagoon for Ultra M and Galarian Zigzagoon for Omega)

Alone: Yourself

I feel like Yourself fits this song very well. It'll probably take place after Herself's funeral and start with him mourning for her. (I'm still contemplating whether or not Ultra M and Omega should be wearing their Secret Exit attire to fit with the whole funeral theme or as weird demon ghost things in a similar fashion to herself.)

Oh God No and I HATE YOU: Tabi

Betrayed skeleton thing gets burnt by his girlfriend. Ouchie. Oh God No starts with GF trying to negotiate with him before she gives up and just burns the whole restaurant down. I HATE YOU picks up shortly after that. (Also, Ultra M is dressed like Whitty and Omega is dressed like Agoti for this and Dark Forest :3)

Last Course: Black Imposter

Among Us in the big 2024??!!?! Ultra M and Omega are obviously Amogus now and Black is trying to kill them using a gun. Also, instead of dodging, M blocks the shots using his Cleaver instead.

Dark Forest: Sarvente

Sarvente finds some demons (Ultra M and Omega) roaming around her church and decides to banish them. She fails.

Bad Day: Skid and Pump

Truth be told, I didn't know who should replace Super Bad so I figured these two would work well. (And I'd think it'd be pretty cool if Ultra M and Omega were drawn in the style of the bas FNF game)

Day Out: Soft BF and Pico

Just Pico and BF chilling with a bunch of demons. Omega and Ultra M obviously have new designs during this song. And Omega, alongside BF, sing in the song too! (You don't play as BF in this song)

Dictator: Mashed Tails

Again, I didn't know who should replace Dictator and this guy was the only one I thought suitable. Tails kidnaps Ultra M and Omega and paint them to look like Sonic and Tails. (Omega also sings in this song!) At the end of the song, Tails throws a modified POW block at them and kills them.

RaceTraitors: Racist Mario (Huh???)

Yeah I didn't know to replace him with. I thought it would be really funny If he stayed the same. Dude finds Omega and Ultra M in a Mario kart race and gets mad cuz not only are they not official Mario Characters, they're also riding the same kart?! What is this, Double Dash??? That's hella outrageous!

Golden Land: Mouse.AVI

Originally wanted it to be Red Mist Squidward but I figured he was better suited for this song. He starts off all depressed and then after a while he gets insane.

No Party: DJ Hallyboo?

Idk bro. I couldn't figure out what I should replace him with. Bro found out Omega pirated the latest Mario Party game and decided to jail Ultra M instead of him because... Why not?

Overdue: Hypno

After noticing that Omega and Ultra M haven't been seen in a while, MX searches where they were last seen and finds the computer they opened in the beginning. He turns it on and- oops. He just got sucked in. He wanders around a bit and finds a Hypno. Being a bit confused of his current situation, he goes into False Hero and the song starts. Hypno then reveals himself and MX, panicked, transforms into Pipe Crawler so he could stomp on the ground and send shockwaves to Hypnos way, trying to stun him. This fails and MX decides to dip, transforming fully as he tries to run away.

Paranoia: Corrupt Daddy Dearest

Reason why it's Daddy Dearest specifically is because the corruption just wanted to rub a shit ton of salt into M's wound lol. Halfway through the song the Corruption manages to take control of Omega and corrupts him. Really cool shit happens and the songs over.

Powerdown and Demise: Xenophanes

Wow what a surprise. Powerdown starts off with Xeno in his faker form and in a somewhat normal Green Hill Zone before he transforms into his True Form. Green Hill becomes coated in some dead animals and blood and shit. Near the end of the song, Xeno says "So many souls to play with, so little time... Wouldn't you agree?" Before he grabs Omega and bashes his head with a crystal, essentially killing him. Demise starts with Ultra M running away from Xenophanes for obvious reasons through a burning Angel Island. The scream section takes place in You Can't Run and once it's done it transitions to "...". M and Xeno continue running until there was a void. Not taking any chances, the two jump into the void. Xeno falls into the void and M was about to fall with him but fortunately Omega catches him. Things seem good but then Xeno reappears in a big ring, causing Omega to panic and fly really fast (He doesn't drop Ultra M once the cutscenes over don't worry) and it ends with them entering a ring portal.

Promotion: Monika

The cutscene starts off with Monika trying to do a promo video that'll get more members to join the Literature Club. Just before she could properly start, a ring portal opens out of the cutscenes view and Ultra M and Omega drop out of it, breaking her desk. Monika is understandably confused, and she asks them who they are. "Uh- Who are you guys?" She asked, to which they respond with their names. She doesn't know what to do with them. But then she gets an idea. "Hey, how would you guys feel about joining the Literature Club? We really need some new members. Plus, you could help me with this promotion video I'm doing for the club!" The two contemplate about it before agreeing. "Great! Let's begin then!" Ultra M nods, he pulls out his microphone and- Hey, where'd it go? Seems like Omega stole his microphone. Turns out, Omega wants Ultra M to take a break and let him do any upcoming songs (That means Omega will sing for Abandoned and The End) since they just barely escaped a near death experience and wants him to rest. M doesn't put up and fight towards the idea and let's Omega do the song. And so, it starts! Halfway through the song, a silhouette of Sayori being hung appears causing Monika to become less lively and Omega and Ultra M becoming a bit concerned. Suddenly things go haywire when it transitions to Monika sitting in front of the screen. Then the song ends.

Unbeatable: The unbeatable cast (Still)

Honestly, I just thought I'd would be really funny if Unbeatable was the only song that wasn't changed. Not only are they unbeatable, they're also irreplaceable too ig.

Bonus: Game Over! (Xenophanes)

This one is non canon to the AU lol. Happens in-between Secret Exit because... Why not? After Omega's Act in Secret Exit, he dissolves into a black sludge and finds a warp pipe. He figured it was normal, so he entered it and was taken to... Angel Island? Huh, weird. Well he could just take the warp pipe back and- Oh it's gone. Shit. He explores around for a lil bit before finding... Sonic. He decided to engage in a rap battle with him. After a while, Sonic's disguise breaks, revealing it to be Xenophanes. Omega quickly gets outta there before Xeno fully transforms and starts chasing after him. After the song ends, Omega gets cornered. And it seems like he's about to die... Until Giga M shows up. He throws a POW block at Xeno and stuns him, grabbing Omega and leaving Xeno's world so they can get on with the final act.

[wilanserulia]

For a while now I've been trying to design an "alternate design" for my new OC Julian Rowley. While I feel the design I've come up with is perfectly adequate for a dashing sky pirate, Julian is also the captain of his own airship and I wanted him to have a more official-looking ensemble. Something that'd alter his silhouette slightly enough to give him an air of importance without making him come across as too pompous, something he could easily put on and off as the situation needed, and ideally something that would swirl in the wind for dramatic effect.

I've been experimenting with different kinds of coats, but nothing seems to work. Today, I think I've found my solution: shoulder armour pieces that attach to his harness, and a shoulder cape.

And that seems to do the trick! It's a very small addition to his design but I feel like it does a lot to change the way he comes across at a glance.

Alright now, let's see, what do I have left on my to-do list?

Design for his gun

Design for his violin

Design for his airship

... boy, am I glad I don't have a deadline for this.

[miloscat]

[Review] Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova (PS5)

I love to see budget licenced games still being made.

Prodigy is one of my favourites of the (many) new Star Trek shows. It’s got some Star Wars vibes, not just from the The Clone Wars-esque art style, but also the story of a band of misfits coming together to survive in a crapsack galaxy. Now that I’ve caught up with part 2 of season 1 (which was split in half for some reason) I thought I’d check out this companion game.

Like the show, the game could be classified as “for kids”. It’s not dissimilar to the Lego games which I always enjoy: a semi-isometric perspective, puzzles and simple combat, objects to bash and collectibles to find. The two main gameplay modes of puzzle-solving (via block-pushing and logic gates) and robot-battling (via bashing and pew-pewing variations on the show’s Watcher drone) are fairly well-developed if lacking in variety, while the rest of the experience is rough around the edges. These two modes are also very discrete, with rooms basically alternating between the two.

The game is wired for co-op but is technically playable solo by swapping between the two characters. Dal has more ranged options with different kinds of phasers, and for puzzles can lift heavy boxes and “camouflage” past security cameras. Gwyn is more melee with her “fretwork” heirloom morphing between sword, fists, and spear, and can also use it as a bridge or shield against certain lasers. Rescuing the rest of the crew is the main initial objective and once found, they can open certain themed doors and periodically activate a combat effect.

While the game is set in the mid-season gap, there’s a few plot details that are more impactful coming from the show’s second part as opposed to their insertion here. For example, the antagonist is a third Drednok from the Vau N’Akat Order who has enslaved the three-world system that is Supernova’s setting. It works well as an interquel adventure, and the show’s actors all reprise their roles nicely (although the two leads only having two oft-repeated attack and dash grunts gets grating).

The lead game designer and co-creative director Pere Suau Massanet of the upstart Spanish dev studio Tessera is credited with the original story, while actual writing fell to freelance Brit Martin Korda, many of whose most recent credits centre around the Fifa games’ story modes. Some questionable tendencies seem to have snuck their way into the game script, such as Janeway at one point cloaking the ship (something the Protostar is not supposed to be able to do!) using “Bajoran magic” (???), or out of nowhere giving Dal the character trait “constantly making shallow and nonsensical references to Star Trek stuff”, along the lines of “it’s hotter than a Cardassian fire pit” or “it’s colder than a Betazoid freezer”. On the other hand, there is some fun to be had such as with the collectibles, one being a toy version of Voyager’s Salamander Janeway, and I enjoyed the running gag of the crew picking up the expression “check it” from Dal as a part of their official communications.

After rolling credits, I considered replaying levels to find more relics for the captain’s quarters or to unlock more concept art, but having to redo the busywork of puzzles I’d solved before and undertake yet more repetitive combat was a prospect that lacked appeal. But I had a decent time playing through it once. I just wish there were more than two of those attractive, stylised motion comic-style cutscenes that bookend the game. Not that the in-game graphics don’t look good and match the show (except for Dal who looks a bit weird).

Two final notes. I called this a “budget” game because it has a budget feel on the development side, but on the consumer side it’s actually quite expensive at the A$70 mark. Try to get it on sale. And I loved seeing some casual nonbinary rep in this game from Lorn’ess, one of the two oppressed natives you meet. This is in addition to the main cast’s Zero of course, who joined the ranks in new Trek alongside Discovery’s Adira and Strange New Worlds’ Captain Angel. Pride!

[jerrymiemila]

HORI7ON: Their Remarkable Journey to Achieving Success

Getting a sneak peek into the world of the idol industry, achieving success often appears as a far-fetched dream. With the increasing number of pop musical groups in South Korea, leaving a distinctive image can be an uphill battle. Yet, HORI7ON managed to do just that. This group, composed of Jeromy, Marcus, Kyler, Vinci, Reyster, Kim, and Winston, stands out as the only all-Filipino group based in South Korea. Their remarkable journey is a testament to their unwavering passion, talent, and a unique blend of cultural influences. Now, let us delve into the epic saga of HORI7ON’s rise in the heart of the K-Pop scene, where dreams become reality.

A Look Back on Their Pre-Debut

Since the formation of the group on February 12, 2023, their journey as idols has been set. Prior to their official debut, they unveiled three pre-debut singles: ‘Dash’, ‘Salamat’, and ‘Lovey Dovey’. These tracks garnered widespread acclaim from both fans and the public, setting the stage for their upcoming success.

In addition to their music releases, the group made memorable appearances on popular variety shows like “It’s Showtime” and “ASAP Natin ‘To”, solidifying their presence in the entertainment scene. Their star shone even brighter as they embarked on a series of mall shows, spanning various provinces across the country, where they introduced themselves to an eager and growing fanbase.

Furthermore, before their departure to South Korea, the group hosted their first-ever fan meeting at the New Frontier Theater, which was a resounding success, with tickets selling out swiftly. This event marked a significant milestone in their journey, and it was during this time that they officially unveiled their fandom name, “ANCHOR.” At that time, it was also announced that the group would have their first reality show program titled “100 Days Miracle”, which was later announced to be shown on Mnet’s M2 YouTube channel, showcasing the group’s 100-day journey before debut and giving fans a glimpse into how they prepared for their debut.

Debut Highlights

Arriving in South Korea, the feeling of being an idol became even more profound with their tight schedules. Training for twelve hours a day showed just how hard they had to work to be prepared for their debut day, which was initially set for June but was later pushed to July. Apart from the rigorous training, homesickness also took a toll on their mental health, leaving them in tears at times. However, as they gradually adapted to their lives as idols, they learned that nothing worth having comes easy.

On July 4, 2023, MLD Entertainment announced that the group would be debuting with a full-length album titled “Friend-SHIP”. Debuting with a full-length album is a rare opportunity for any group. Perhaps no other group had ever debuted with a fully packed album consisting of 12 songs, making fans even more excited for the septet’s debut.

Following the announcement, they posted their schedule, detailing what fans could expect in the days leading up to the group’s debut, including concept photos, a track list, a debut trailer, album highlight medleys, and music video teasers. Additionally, the group released information about their expected debut album, detailing the album’s versions, designs, inclusions, and pre-order information, which added to the excitement. Moreover, they revealed ‘SIX7EEN’ as the group’s debut track when they released the album’s track list. In addition to the songs released in Dream Maker, the album also included sub-unit songs and solo songs featuring members of TFN, Lapillus, and New:ID.

On July 24, 2023, the group released the music video for their title track, ‘SIX7EEN’, alongside the album. Before the release of the music video and the album, the group held a press release in front of various media outlets from South Korea. Afterward, the group held their debut showcase at the Olympic Hall at the Seoul Olympic Park, where they performed what they had prepared for their fans, who had eagerly awaited this exciting moment in their journey as an idol group.

The group’s full album, “Friend-SHIP”, debuted in various countries on iTunes, including the Philippines, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Poland, Finland, Spain, Cayman Islands, New Zealand, Singapore, Belgium, Thailand, Canada, Italy, United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition, it debuted on the Worldwide iTunes Album Chart and the European iTunes Album Chart at #82 and #185 and peaked at #57 and #58, respectively. Their album also amassed nearly 60,000 sold copies, demonstrating their marketability. Furthermore, their title track, ‘SIX7EEN’, achieved over two million views within its first 24 hours of release, showing their growing popularity.

The group also performed on various popular music shows, such as Mnet’s “M Countdown”, KBS2’s “Music Bank”, SBS’ “Inkigayo”, SBS MTV’s “The Show”, MBC TV’s “Show! Music Core”, and Arirang TV’s “Simply K-pop” to commemorate their debut. To date, they are the very first Filipino group to have performed on these music shows, showing that nothing is impossible when it comes to reaching your dreams.

Post-Debut Adventures

Bringing themselves the title of Global Pop Group, expectations for the group were high. In addition to promoting in both the Philippines and South Korea, as seen in their pre-debut and debut activities, the group also aimed to go global.

On August 19, 2023, the group performed at Kamp Fest held in Mexico City, a music festival organized by Kamp Global. Their appearance at this festival had already been planned before their debut, hinting at their likely future global promotions. Prior to flying to Mexico for their first international performance, they also took part in music festivals in South Korea, including the Ulsan Music Festival and Cheonan K-Culture Expo 2023.

Following their successful debut, MLD Entertainment announced on August 2, 2023, that the group would hold their first concert titled “Voyage to Manila” on September 9, 2023, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. This sudden announcement took fans by surprise, giving them little time to save up and prepare. Nevertheless, they managed to sell over 70% of the big dome’s capacity, a remarkable feat for a newcomer group that had only debuted two months earlier. In addition to the group’s concert, the septet also planned to stay in the Philippines for the whole month of September to do various promotions on both radio and television.

Moreover, on September 18, 2023, Star News, one of the organizers of the most anticipated annual Asia Artist Awards, announced the group as one of the performing artists, alongside big K-Pop groups such as BSS, ZEROBASEONE, ITZY, THE BOYZ, Stray Kids, and NewJeans, among others, signifying their gradual rise in the music industry.

Like many other groups, the septet’s journey was no walk in the park. However, their talent and unwavering dedication turned their achievements into a clear demonstration of the group’s enormous potential for success. With their increasing visibility and appeal to the public, with effective management and promotion, it is only a matter of time before they ascend to the pinnacle and establish a prominent reputation for themselves.

[davidvkimball]

Charizard and Diddy Kong in Melee?!

The Akaneia Build - Version 0.8 Update Trailer

This trailer, lovingly created in the style of Melee Special Movie, showcases the three new-to-Melee characters, Wolf, Diddy Kong, and Charizard, while also sharing the new costumes and game modes.

You can also hear a unique Star Wolf theme that was created by @Sarveproduction on Twitter and it sounds OUTSTANDING! It feels right at home in Melee.

Altogether a wonderfully constructed trailer that feels like it could have been made by HAL Laboratory in 2001.

Two New Characters Join the Fight

Based on their Project M counterparts, Charizard and Diddy Kong join Wolf and the rest of the roster in the latest Akaneia build for Melee.

Of course they’ve been given the Melee design treatment to fit in with the rest of the cast.

Some liberties were taken with the special moves, like Charizard’s side B and up B, and giving him Rock Smash on down B. Diddy Kong’s side B is simplified to be more “Melee-like.” All-in-all, they fit in well.

Right now Charizard’s dash dance doesn’t rumble quite the way I’d expect it to - but UnclePunch and team are aware.

With that minor complaint aside, these additions are pretty cool.

New Costumes + New Game Modes

A slew of new costumes are available for the whole cast!

Tag, All Star Versus, and Turbo Melee modes have been added to Melee’s new options under the added “Games” menu option. Note, these will not appear if you’re using Slippi.

Volleyball, Peach’s Castle, and Wolf got some tweaks also.

Wolf and Diddy Kong’s design are based on Smash 2‘s models.

Shout out to KTH, ConnorRentz, MaZone, Super4ng, Pik, and duccW, for their work on this update!

See the video at the top of this post to see the trailer they released for this update. It’s very well done!

* Edit, Team Akaneia on Twitter clarified that Project M was not used as a reference for the new fighters, rather they used official releases and tweaked based on their own preferences.

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

I did literally just say I love Sonic now more than ever so gonna offset my last post about Prime being negative by mentioning a few things I really like about Prime.

One of the biggest ones is just how dope it looks! Really fun stylised 3D animation that looks smooth and has a good focus on like, keyframing and strong poses - combined with the really expressive mdoels it’s a style that really works for Sonic and I can’t wait for more even just to see how it looks.

And on visuals, I really like the character designs! Part of the reason I grind Sonic Dash so hard or why I bought the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is because getting any official opportunity to see the characters in alternate outfits is usually just super fun, especially because of how strict SEGA usually is with that stuff. Prime meanwhile comes around and has given us like 3 extra outfits for several of the core cast with still more to come! That’s just blanket really fun!

I also like that Sonic’s new looks tend to give him neat little abilities. Narratively it doesn’t amount to much but I don’t even feel like it has to - it’s a neat surprise factor/rule of cool thing that adds character to whichever universe we’re in and enhances Sonic’s reactions to those places as well. If anything it’d honestly be cool to have something like that in the games lol.

I like the voice acting a lot! I actually can’t meaningfully expand on that one lol, it just sounds really good, everyone feels well cast to me, it doesn’t feel like many awkward line reads made it through to the final thing. They are just nice. The only person I don’t adore is Eggman but even then, A) I so can’t imagine non-Mike Pollock Eggmen and B) actual Eggman is mostly absent in favour of Mister Doctor Eggman so I’m pretty much solid with it anyway.

I really enjoy New Yoke as a setting a lot. “What if the villain won?” is a classic setting for a reason, even being one that multiple pieces of Sonic media have explored, but I think New Yoke manages to feel particularly fresh even just on execution and aesthetic alone. It helps that it still feels very lived in - there’s a living, breathing population and a band of rebels that operate in secret and there’s Nine’s hideout and just like, cool shit going on lol.

For that matter I like Nine a lot. I literally put Tails as my 5th favourite Sonic character in that list I did a while back and he’s been in virtually every single Sonic game even during some of its most intense Solo Sonica eras - but he can feel very relegated to the background because of the nature of his character sometimes? So it’s really awesome to see Prime use Nine as an excuse to really let Tails play a major role with lots of actual development and stuff. This is helped doubly by the fact that, awkward pixel art aside, the flashback of his actual backstory (as canonised by Origins wow) alone helps him just feel like the real Tails we’re dealing with, just in a different setting. And yeah, the mechanical Tails are just really cool lol. Particularly a fan of the fact that it allows Tails to be up close and personal in combat again - he’s supposed to use his Tails to attack as well but lots of Sonic media has him holding back for support roles in combat, it’s nice that Prime is willing to acknowledge that, yo, Tails can throw hands. And also tails lmaoooooo

I’m not sure how best to word this part specifically also, but I personally was worried that Prime would sorta like, I guess just follow a rigid structure of x episodes in x shatterverse, grab the crystals, and then move onto the next one? The formula not really changing? But it does not do that and we kinda go back and forth between them and there’s things happening between the shatterverses and like, just in general there’s an actually good attempt to keep the structure fresh and interesting.

And the biggest thing of all is that. Prime is actually just really fun lol. There’s a lot of other good things I haven’t mentioned, but it all comes together with what I have to make a show that’s actually just plain old entertaining to watch. I didn’t feel like I was watching the new Sonic show out of obligation, I was just watching it because I genuinely liked watching it. Even my problems with it don’t feel like a huge deal because it’s so good at the moment-to-moment that I wasn’t really thinking about them while watching. Like it’s literally just a good show, and that slaps.

So fuck yeah, Prime is dope.

[talesfromasnarkylisa]

Lacey: Chapter 5

James: August 1st, 2023

Two days until the deadline and I still hadn’t finished the application yet. The questions really are weird. I wondered to myself if Corianna was right. 

What’s worse, though, is that I was completely stuck in writer’s block for everything. Articles, video scripts, even Tweets and Reddit posts. I had not updated in a few days on any of my socials besides retweets. While that wouldn’t be a problem if I wasn’t stuck in a sludge of no creativity, the last time I had writer’s block lasted for a month. I lost over a hundred followers from an initial two thousand then. Thank goodness I now have 30K on Medium and Vocal.

With seemingly no way out of my creative sterility and only a few days left, I contemplated giving up on applying. 

Maybe it just isn’t worth the hassle, I thought.

Part of me didn’t want to give up yet, but I definitely needed a break. I went onto Discord. None of my online friends or mutuals were online. So I checked out the official Music Refined server.

For a publication known for being insanely exclusive, the chat was rather chaotic. There were anime GIFs being plastered all over in the general chat and writers arguing about Machine Gun Kelly.

I messaged a simple “Hello” to the server. For a brief moment, everyone seemed to calm down. A few greeted me back.

Orion (08/01/23, 7:59 PM): Hello there!

Animemc (08/01/23, 7:59 PM): Hey there

Lacey Hannah (08/01/23, 8:00 PM): Hiiiiiiii, what’s up dude?

The last message startled me. I hadn’t seen that phrase since last summer. I’ve only ever heard it from one person: Augusta.

Augusta used to be my other best friend. At times, we were even closer than Darian and I. We only ever knew each other online, but she felt like family to me. I’d half-jokingly call her a sister sometimes.

Those days are long gone.

She wrote articles like me and also posted on TikTok. Also past tense. Augusta doesn’t go onto public social media anymore - assuming she told the truth. And honestly, it’s for the better.

While trying to calm down, I noticed Lacey’s avatar. It was a sullen dark skinned blonde Picrew with medium length hair and brown eyes. Photoshopped onto it was a dreamy filter - almost the exact same one Augusta used to use.

This can’t be Augusta, I thought. She’d never be so blatant with an alt account.

Still, I spent several minutes combing through Lacey’s socials and messages.

I started with her Twitter. The bolded name was Lacey Hannah, with the handle being the simple laceyhannah. Her bio went like this: She/they, writer and rambler. I unwind here. Lacey’s Tweets fell into four main categories. Generic cute animal memes, promoting her content, small talk designed to be #relatable, and pop punk. Not even only respectable pop punk like Paramore, Avril Lavigne or Fall Out Boy. Nope. She just had to go with Olivia Rodrigo fangirling on top of those. At least she seemed to like me, though. She retweeted a few posts of mine and followed me.

Next, I checked her YouTube. She had been trying to make it big in music there. Unfortunately, for her, there were quite a few things going against her. One, a low subscriber count of 43. Two, too many original songs and not enough covers to gain a fanbase first. Three, a singing voice that while good was hardly consistent video to video.

Finally, Medium. Unlike me, that was the only place she wrote long form. She didn’t post often. Her articles tended to center around pop music and rap, with a dash of actual rock here and there. Turned out, she wrote for Music Refined before. I read her article on a Sex Pistols song where she rips and tears into every detail. I may not have been into the band all that bunch, but she clearly didn’t know what she was talking about. Most damning was an article from 3 years prior where she confesses to having never heard a hard punk song in her life.

Returning to the Discord server, I scrolled through Lacey’s latest messages. She had only been in the server for a few days, but everyone liked her as a texter. They participated in her playful banter and replied to her meme posting. I both felt déja vu and didn’t. 

Stupid you, I thought to myself. If you can’t write, at least spend more time trying to eliminate your competition.

I checked the Music Refined server channel for editor questions. Sure enough, Lacey was also applying to the editing team. 

Lacey Hannah (07/30/23, 5:00 PM): For the questions which aren’t asterisked on the editor application form, do we still have to answer them?

Micah Turner (07/30/23, 5:06 PM): You can if you want to! There’s no requirement, but it’s a great way to show off your personality.

Lacey Hannah (07/30/23, 5:07 PM): Alright, thanks.

The time was 9:00 PM. Even though it was late, I felt rejuvenated. The motivation to finish up that damn application was back in store for me. There was no way I’d let Lacey take an editor position. Not when she was a sleazy sellout with no idea what true punk was. Sure, I didn’t know an awful lot either. But at least I wasn’t into juvenile wannabes like Lacey was.

I wasn’t just doing it for me either. Lacey was the pinnacle of everything wrong with beginner publications. Her articles were light and fun, yes, but they were just that: light and fun. And being light and fun shouldn’t be what cuts it in this sphere. Lots of people - like me - worked their asses off to get the engagement they dreamed of. It wouldn't be fair for Lacey to win.

(Wattpad version: ​​https://www.wattpad.com/1481611874-lacey-chapter-5)

[brandongamesall]

I'm officially going to rank the cuphead bosses right now. Like, oh my god, they are almost impossible to totally rank, but I'll give it a try. I'll start from last so you all don't have to be spoiled XD

31. Hopus Pocus - I hate the design for the pink coming down and the circle if you don't have invisible dash on. Worst dodge.

30. Pirouletta- the attack various in speed and sometimes she pauses towards the end of her attack. I don't even think invisible dash works on her. And if you miss one of the chip platforms to jump over her, YOURE DONE! I've died on her too many times to say I'm a good gamer 😂😭😢🪦⚰️🤚

29. Esther Winchester - tied with the dragon (IMO) on it being so hard getting an S rank. Not just this, but the birds that fly by and small little green dudes can actually ruin any run you're doing. RNG on this boss is barely impossible with all 3 stages. You HAVE to get lucky with it being empty or you're really fast. Stage 2 killed me more than stage 3 did too. So, there you go.

28. Mangosteen - even though easy as heck and I really love catching a break here when the extra life lands on it.... I will never forgive how boring it is to beat this mini boss. Just, too easy and whenever you do lose a life on there, you always just want to reset because it can really tik you off.

27. Rumor Honeybottoms - If you were a beginner like me and you just defeated the dragon on isle 2, then you'll remember fondly coming to this boss, regretting you ever reaching the third phase (after an actually easy going first and second phase), and said "screw that" whenever you realized you needed lobber or chaser. This was a boss I waited to beat until even after Maria. Also, so many deaths and rage quits because the RNG on the second phase can make you hate that stage too. Though, I really love how the intensity went up each phase, so did the platforms. Oh wait, YHE PLATFORMS SUCK! Not to mention when you jump off stage at the top, if she recently did a move that floated to the top, you can still get hit. Like what the...

26. Talking about dragons (deez nuts across a chin LOL), Grim Matchstick - I enjoyed the game to a tee until this boss. This is the boss that made me have to go onto easy mode just to find out that you literally have to beat it on normal. And he was one of two I skipped (genie was the other one). I honestly respect and love this boss now, but I hate playing it. The first and second phases trick you into thinking this would be a nice way end on a good note... THEN THE FIRE BUBBLES! I think we all realized after the pain and suffering after a few hours, you couldn't use a spread shot, chaser, or even pea shooters as a beginner. Lobber or ring shot were the only ways to go. After the pain and misery, I can say this is one boss ill never revisit if I don't have to.

25. Captain Britney beard - NO, I did not have any fond time enjoying him. As embarrassing as this is, I actually spend 5 minutes in a row jumping up and down shooting the boats face at the last phase, not realizing the uvila was what you wanted to hit. I am talking about this phase because you know how many times I died here ducking and just saying "oh, the chest again.." yes, nothing you can do on one life and the chest smashes you under the laser. It was 4 months ago I learned you can parry the laser... 4 MONTHS AGO! I truly don't think this parry is easy to see. Other than that, I think the balls and shark and chest all together is bad RNG at times. One good thing I love about this boss though is you can get at least 4 supers in lol. Take that buddy!

Sorry, I ranted about it. Maybe tomorrow I'll continue this ^^ sorry for the long story XD

[disabletblrlivereminder]

Tumblr Clients to Use Other Than This Shitty App (but honestly thoooo...)

This is a long list and it's mostly me rambling about features that stood out to me. Also, going through these, no client here is going to completely replace the desktop or the app for most people. All of these clients have something up with them that, at least for me, hasn't made me stop using official tumblr options. Even the option I actually recommend to use is still just the official tumblr app while on desktop it's best to just use dashboard unfucker and xkit rewritten.

Think of these as companion apps for the most part.

Desktop

Washboard.ws: Browser || Free

Idk if anyone still remembers washboard?? I remember it being the first tumblr client I've seen people talk about back in the day... and, boy, does it still feel like it's back in the day.

It's a bit old feeling since it still using the older tumblr dash layout and I think some features don't work correctly like search not working and trying to reblog or like a post gives you an error. Their blog hasn't been updated in 2 years and the site feels like it hasn't been updated in 7 so while it's up and running, it's not very functional anymore. I just had to mention it because I appreciate it so much.

My Pros • Dashboard Views - List (Blockquote/Old Tumblr) • Viewable Posts - Text Only, Text w/ media, Photos, Videos, Audio • Posting - Redirects to Tumblr • Reblogging - Queue, Draft, Private, Schedule • Side Blogs - View, Reblog • Search Support - Clickable Tags Only • Messaging Support - Ask (redirects to tumblr) • Save Tags • Filter/Blacklist My Cons • Feels like 2009 bc of old dash design • Reblogging is broken • Liking is broken • No search bar

Ouga: Windows Desktop app || Free/OTP - $4.99

One of the desktop apps I've used for quite a while. It's ok, it feels better than Tumblast and 6tum (which isn't on here bc it doesn't work right and I've already made an exception for washbaord) to use but I've also had more crashes than Tumblast. Still, to me, it's the better working and easy to understand client on the windows store.

My Pros • Dashboard Views - List • Viewable Posts - Text Only, Text w/ media, Photos, Videos, Audio • Interruptions - Banner/Footer Ads • Posting - Queue, Draft, Private, Schedule • Reblogging - Queue, Draft, Private, Schedule • Side Blogs - View, Reblog, Post • Search Support - Bar, Clickable Tags • Messaging Support - Ask, IM • Download Support - Images, Videos • Filter/Blacklist • Activity Feed • Multi Account • Add Tags to Posts My Cons • Interruptions - Dashboard Tumblr Ads, Banner/Footer Ads • Crashes sometimes

Tumblast: Windows Desktop app || Free

So/so about this one. It works enough to make a post, reblog things, like stuff, but I think it's a little bit more clunky than Ouga. I do like this one feature that let's you have multiple tabs open. It's not a well working feature that sometimes crashes the app and searching tags don't always show with this enabled, but you can do it.

My Pros • Dashboard Views - List, Blockquote • Viewable Posts - Text Only, Text w/ media, Photos, Videos, Audio • Posting - Queue, Draft, Private, Schedule • Reblogging - Queue, Draft, Private, Schedule • Side Blogs - View, Reblog, Post • Search Support - Bar, Clickable Tags • Messaging Support - Ask, IM • Download Support - Images, Videos • Filter/Blacklist • Activity Feed • Multi Tabs • Add Tags to Posts My Cons • Look/feels like it was made for windows 8 & 7 mobile.. it came out for windows 10 • Searching bugs out sometimes • Can feel clunky • Icons aren't showing right now

Tumblesocks (updated fork): Emacs app(?) || Free

.... i....... tried.

I know I put this off for most of the month bc I had a feeling it'll be a bitch in a half to do (and I was right) but I didn't know I'd spend 3 days trying to get this client to work. Emacs itself was difficult to work with even though I went the simple way and the gnu install.

I tried this out in Windows. Got frustrated. Actually fucked with Linux. Got more frustrated. I'm pretty sure Linux users are probably like "this is so easy" and that's fine but there's a reason I hate Linux and I'm not cut out to test out Emacs. I'm sorry.

If you're interested I still have the links above. Gargle's fork is probably the best to use since it's said to fix a lot of things. But I absolutely invite anybody to reblog this or send me an ask explaining how to get this shit running in the most hand holdy way.

As far I can find, there isn't a client app for macos. I closest I saw was an app called MenuTab Pro for Tumblr which everyone was saying doesn't work (anymore?). From the looks of it, it would've fallen under "viewer" for me so I most likely would've skipped it anyways.

Android

Tumblr (revanced): Android || Free

So this post was made awhile back before tumblr was supported by the revanced community. I'm excited to see that, while I was testing all these clients out, some people have made tumblr patches for revanced!

There are very little patches right now. Most importantly the tumblr live icon is now gone and ads are supposed to also be gone but that sims a bit more finicky. It only says that dashboard ads are disabled and sometimes it feels like they are but then they come back in full force so you'll have to force close the app in settings and then they're gone again for awhile. The same with blaze post as it feels like they've also been disabled until it doesn't.

Even though these are early patches, it's still the only option I would replace the original app with. It's not a client so you still have to deal with Official Tumblr App Bullshit™ but you also get all the expected or good features of the tumblr app that some of these clients don't have. I would like to see more patches like hiding the badges or fixing how the disable ads patch work but it's still better than nothing.

This bit is long, sorry, but I wanna add it's worth picking between 2 versions of the tumblr app depending on how you like the layout. v28.6.0.110 (the version I use) has the old layout and some problems that come will it like tiny images in text post, not being able to reply with side blogs, and sometimes some things just stop... working at times? While any version after that will have the new layout what comes with it: tumblrmart icon, changed activity feed, new video/photo view. I love the old layout over the new one so I stick with v28.

Both versions have their goods and bads and is why I have 3 versions of tumblr on my phone. Using app cloner (better options are behind an otp. don't get the sub, it's not worth it) you can install different versions and see what you want.

My Pros • It's still the Tumblr app so everything you like is all here • No ads! (sometimes) • Tumblr Live icon is gone <3 • Am able to test out newer features that are actually useful and interesting (like collections and interacting from side blogs) My Cons •Blaze posts are still present at times • It's still the Tumblr app so almost everything you hate is still here • Badges are still visible as well as version newer than v28.6.0.110 will have the "add badges" button on your blog • Annoying pop ups like going ad free or whatever are still a thing if you're using any version with the new layout • Breaks like "but wait! there is more" and "check out these x" are still here • TumblrMart icon is still at the top corner on the new layout

TeeHub: Android/iOS || Free/Sub - $1.99, $3.99, $5.99/OTP - $8.99

TeeHub is no longer on either app store. You can download the latest apk and modded apk here

While this has become my new favorite android tumblr client, the free version of this app feels so limiting and the paid version don't feel that better. I'm still happy that they added the one time payment option because I'm tried of subscriptions but stuff like not being able to see text only post at all, problems with posting, and no filter feature is so annoying to me.

Currently, TeeHub, on the tumblr side of things, feels lacking but also on the same level as Tumbletail for Android. There is an OTP of $8.99 and 3 sub options of $1.99, $3.99, and $5.99. If you like this and want to support it getting better I'd say just do the OTP because while the pro features aren't anything important, paying 9 bucks once feels more worth it than paying around 50 by the time the month is over.

TeeHub is only my favorite android client right now because it looks nice. If Tumbletail fucking updated their app so you can post in the paid version and it didn't look like shit it'd be a different story.

My Pros • Dashboard Views - List, Grid • Viewable Posts - Text w/ media, Photos, Videos • Posting - Queue, Draft, Private, Schedule • Reblogging - Instant • Side Blogs - View • Download support - Images, Videos (paid) • Multi Account (paid) My Cons • Interruptions - Popup Ads(? they said there's ads but i couldn't get them to popup even on a separate phone soooo) • Subscription • Can't view text post • Can't post/reblog to side blogs • Can't post/reblog to queue, draft, schedule, or privately • Can't add tags to post • No search function • No filter/blacklist support • Posting videos/photos aren't working right now

Tmdroid: Android || Free

This one I love what they're trying to do I just think it needs more time in the oven. Some of my problems with this that aren't in my cons list are some of the dashboard settings in carousel view aren't available in waterfall view (the view I use in the image) and text post specifically don't have a square around them to separate them from other post. It's not that bad when it's a text post sandwiched between images but when there's text posts in a row, like in the image, it all looks like 1 text post.

They do have a blog and this app does get updates so I've been keeping an eye on this. They seem to be very open and accepting to feedback unlike someone else on this list and that's really fucking cool.

My Pros • Dashboard Views - List (Waterfall), Grid (Columns), Carousel • Viewable Posts - Text Only, Text w/ media, Photos, Videos • Reblogging - Queue • Side Blogs - Reblog • Download support - Images My Cons • Weird UI • Unresponsive UI • Limited or clunky side blog support • Can't make posts • Can't reblog to draft, schedule, privately • No search function • No filter/blacklist support

Tumbletail (Lite): Android/iOS || Free/OTP - $1.99

*screaming and crying* I feel like... a disappointed parent. Except I'm not disappointed. I'm mad.

This was my favorite client all the way back in 2012 when I was forced to use an iphone 3gs. I loved the way it looked, the text post were easy to read, it was smooth to use, it had a tag history that made reblogging & making post easy for me who ran an acnl blog, had really good settings to mess around with.... Y'all... so much of this is just not on the android version.

And it fucking pisses me off lol. There's no reason for the android version to look so ugly, to be lacking in settings & features, to not give paid uses the ability to post when you can on ios?

While the android version of this app is usable, moving from the ios app to android and seeing how lacking it was comparably and seeing people give feedback to cathand (who did have a blog) but they went unanswered while the ios version still got updates... The ios versions aren't perfect but it's a much better experience than the android apps. And I'm a bit mad about that.

My Pros • Dashboard Views - Grid, List (change thumbnail size to huge) • Viewable Posts - Text Only, Text w/ media, Photos, Videos • Reblogging - Queue, Draft • Side Blogs - View, Reblog, Post • Search Support - Bar, Clickable Tags • Download Support - Images, Videos (via video player options) • Multi Account (paid) • Tag History • Add Tags to Posts My Cons • Interruptions - Banner/Footer Ads • Can only make post in the ios app??!?!?!?!??? • Polls are viable as text posts but are broken • Looks cleaner on ios • Non photo/video post could be better formatted • Text posts contents are too large and you can't zoom out to see everything • Photos/Videos made using the new text editor (Text w/ media) are seen as text posts • ios version have more features/settings • Only posts uploaded as photo/video (not text w/ media) will have clickable tags • No filter/blacklist support

Violet: Android/iOS || OTP - $0.99

Violet is a weird on. I want to see it get better but I also don't recommended it. It did get a price cut to $1 so, ya know, but I think as a client it's not good. As a viewer, it's usable. I don't like the carousel view I'd rather have a normal dash. Stuff like posting and searching aren't a thing and reblogging isn't as featureful as I wish.

This works best in the way we heart it and instgram do, not like tumblr does.

My Pros • Dashboard Views - Carousel • Viewable Posts - Text Only, Text w/ media, Photos, Videos, Polls • Reblogging - Instant • Side Blogs - Reblog • Download support - Images My Cons • Account login troubles • Polls redirects you to tumblr • Can't make post • Can't reblog to queue, draft, schedule, or privately • No search function (tags open tumblr) • No filter/blacklist feature

iOS (mostly the iphone bc i dont have a tablet)

Tumbletail (Lite): Android/iOS || Free/OTP - $1.99

yes we're back again bc ive been yelling about this for years but i"ll make it quick

Had this app since 2012 and I still recommended using it along side the tumblr app. Mostly because of how tumblr works today with their restrictions and inclusion of a filters list.

While text post in the dash view looks better than on android to me, open a text post the contents are so small but they fit the screen. I know the image shows that I have text size small but that's only because it doesn't change anything that I can tell so I left it alone.

My Pros • Dashboard Views - Grid, List (change thumbnail size to huge) • Viewable Posts - Text Only, Text w/ media, Photos, Videos, Audio • Posting - Queue, Draft • Reblogging - Queue, Draft • Side Blogs - View, Reblog, Post • Search Support - Bar, Clickable Tags • Download Support - Images • Multi Account (paid) • Tag History • Save Tags • Add Tags to Posts My Cons • Interruptions - Banner/Footer Ads • Polls soft crashes back to dash • Hard crashes a lot more than on android • Dash view only shows media and text post separately • Quote, Link, Chat, & Audio are sorted as Text Post since you can't view different types of posts like on android • Photos/Videos made using the new text editor (Text w/ media) are seen as text posts • Only posts uploaded as photo/video (not Text w/ media) will have clickable tags • Can't post videos • Can't download images and videos from Text w/ media post • Searching by clickable tags is broken • No filter/blacklist support

Tumbot: iOS || Free/OTP - $4.99

This is the most fine and normal client on ios so far and I honestly really love it for that. I found the only big problems I had was I couldn't post anything, you can't add tags when reblogging content, and that you couldn't reblog to queue. As a primarily queue user, that's annoying.

I think the best way to describe this app is "chill". If I was able to make post and use queue/draft this would be my replacement app.

My Pros • Dashboard Views - List • Viewable Posts - Text Only, Text w/ media, Photos, Videos, Polls • Reblogging - Instant • Search Support - Bar, Clickable Tags • Multi account support (paid) • Download support (paid) My Cons • Interruptions - Banner/Footer Ads • Dark mode paywalled • No side blog support • Can't make post • Can't reblog to queue, draft, schedule, or privately • Can't add tags to reblogs • Crashes sometimes • No filter/blacklist support

MultiTab T: iOS || Free/Sub - $2.49, $5.99

MultiTab have old pricing structure list that is still up on the apple store page but is not longer effective since the subscription model was added, sadly.

Another app I would actually buy if they didn't only have fucking subscription options.

Compared to Tumbot it kinda feels less clean to me. Idky but it looks a bit clutter or busy even if you only have one dashboard tabs open. I also think post not having a boarder or a different background from the background isn't helping either.

But the way this app handles reblogging is so good and the custom dashboards that I've been wanting on this damn site for years is here but pretty limited. I'm sad that even paid users have a pretty small limit for how many people you can add to a "feedset".

My Pros • Dashboard Views - Grid, List • Viewable Posts - Text Only, Text w/ media, Photos, Videos, Audio, Polls • Posting - Queue, Draft, Private, Schedule • Reblogging - Queue, Draft, Private, Schedule • Side Blogs - View, Reblog, Post • Search Support - Bar, Clickable Tags • Download Support - Images, Videos (paid) • The most features/settings I've seen so far • Best reblogging menu I've seen so far • Multi Account (paid) • Multi Tabs (Customizable - 5 - free | 20 - paid) • Tag History • Save Tags My Cons • Interruptions - Banner/Footer Ads, Popup Ads • Subscription • Polls are viable but can't vote • Doesn't show or explains everything a premium subs gives you • Holds to reblog doesn't show all side blogs • Dashboard Feeds are limited even if subbed • Adding blogs to custom feeds don't always work correctly • No filter/blacklist support

[luxmaeastra]

Viren stepped back making sure everything looked as it should. He'd drawn this all down before he even attempted to put it all together.

The notes from each of their children had been hung. He'd given them free reign of how it should look. And while he may not be their favorite parent, Sarai was. He was sure they were all thrilled to tell her how much they loved and adored her.

He turned away from the fireplace to the table he'd made. He was getting a little annoyed by how everything was just being bought from artisans. He had forgotten how good it was fled his own skills again.

It reminded him of working with his mother in her workshop. He inspected it a third time satisfied before he put the cloth and served the food he'd made. He put a warming charm over it to keep it hot. He'd remade the feast she'd made him.

Honestly he should do this for every Handfasting day. But this was the first year that they didn't have any obligations or children to (lovingly) bother them.

He'd been anticipating this for a year. He'd wanted to give her a simple card but it hadn't felt adequate enough. He looked over the small book he'd made. Each page a letter to her, one for every day of the year. From last year's Handfasting to now.

He looked to the window hearing the servants open the gates. So she should be home now, good.

He shut the door and left the wing. He'd kept it under construction for the last year. He slipped through one of the side hallways to meet her as she came into her wing.

He'd given the servants the days off when Sarai had gotten home. Though why many were still here was beyond him. He hadn't realized they were so loyal to them.

He grinned moving to cup her cheeks to kiss her hard. He nuzzled her nose keeping his forehead with hers.

"How was your shopping trip my moon?"

He stepped back and held his hand out to her.

"I hope you aren't too tired. Because we are going out again. I even picked an outfit for you to wear, jewels and all."

//Viren - make it official and look like her asks to me 💖🥰//

"Thank you, please make sure the fabric gets to my craft room please." Sarai smiled as she handed the basket to one of her ladies, the fruits of her adventure down to the markets. More fabric for her to use towards the dresses she had been making, beautiful designs for her daughters, and those daughters-in-law she had.

Her smile grew as she finally made her way into her chambers, the sight of her dashing mate coming to meet her. Her heart filled with all the warmth and affection he inspired, she melted into his kiss as she pressed herself closer to him.

"Hello to you too my Night," She whispered breathlessly in response. "And my shopping trip was good, I got a lot of new fabric for the girls. I also ordered some items for the boys do they don't feel left out."

She took his hand as it was held out to her, her head tilted to the side as he spoke. They were going out again? What did he have up his sleeve?

"And what outfit is this you have chosen? And where are we going? Or is it a surprise?"