#and there are people out here managed to make 3D models

[meanbossart]

Ask compilation: Art & advice! Reference use, light, facial expressions and sketching.

Replying to a few miscellaneous comments & questions about my process, with a giggle thrown between every other question for good measure!

Hey! Sorry, I just post them as they are 😅 Can't say I've ever had any issues regardless of size.

That is HYSTERICAL and honestly with the amount of "I don't play bg3 but I follow you anyway" messages that I get, I hope I'm not accidentally giving people the wrong idea 😂

Thank you so much for the kind message!

Anything, really! I use Virtamate whenever I'm really struggling with perspective or an angle, or sometimes something as simple as stock images from google (especially for furniture and interiors) I do also use myself as reference a lot, particularly for hands. Admittedly you do get to a point where you need reference less and less, and can pull poses and anatomy out of imagination pretty easily but you never completely cut it out of art. Reference is a tool just like paper and brushes are, not a crutch.

For angles/perspective and poses (to a degree), yes! Absolutely. It is a wonderful tool that has paid its cost over a million times for me, personally.

I do NOT suggest referencing off its anatomy, however! If you already have a good grasp of how real bodies move, sure, you can use it without issue and just "fix" the anatomy as you draw, but virtamate's models, while more malleable than most 3d figures, still suffer from the usual limitations of it's medium. Musculature and fat in particular do not operate very well alongside said model's movements and don't look very accurate to life.

I will not rest until I have normalized toes.

Thank you so much!

Unfortunately, that is something I genuinely don't use reference for - well, kind of! I pretty much walk through the world making a mental note of how things look and how I would translate that visual onto (digital) paper if I had to. And I think I do that the most with light and shadow.

Light application largely comes from from understanding 3 things:

-Dimensions/planes. -How different materials reflect/absorb said light. -✨DRAMA✨

I suggest studying art from monochrome artists and comic illustrators and seeing how they manage to create the illusion of multidimensionality with a very limited palette. Drawing a lot of figures with only black and white also helps - that was pretty much my entire comic career prior and probably what I am to thank for my current understanding of light placement.

Watching and studying movies and shows that make use of colorful, dramatic lighting also helps a lot - Nicolas Winding Refn has honestly taught me so much just by watching his flicks!

Thank you! I have indeed been trying a couple of different things and I'm glad that you noticed it and that you enjoy it!

Thank you! I'm happy to say I plan on drawing much more of her as well 😇 at least as soon as I recover from the last comic!

Hello, happy to have inspired you even a little bit to get back on the horse!

I think referencing from yourself/real pictures of people's faces is always best, even if your style is pretty cartoony or simplified. That way you can actually take note of how facial muscles work and apply that understanding to your art when you create expressions from memory. Start detailed and then work your way down, removing elements until you are happy with the results!

Paying attention to moving faces when you see/interact with people is also useful. I often say this, but just looking at the world through the lens of an artist can be immensely helpful - taking mental notes of small details and later applying them to what you do, that sort of thing!

I first type them down in (usually) Times Roman and then trace it for that pencil-ed in look!

Hello, hope you are well yourself!

I have this post here that might help you a little visually, but I guess you are more curious about the inbetween stages of that first draft and the final art. I think a lot of it is muscle memory! I can move onto lineart pretty reliably after 1 or 2 sketches for most things, occasionally I will need 3 (not counting when I just change something entirely - that obviously requires the process to start over again for that element) but that hasn't always been the case!

However many sketches you want to do is however many you need, and depending on your art style and process that can vary wildly. Just try not to boggle yourself down with perfectionism - I'm sure you've noticed by now that, sometimes, when you draw something over and over again trying to get it "right" you end up sucking the life out of it. It can actually good to turn your brain off a little bit and TRY to line in the details on the fly, not only will you build confidence over-time but you may arrive at some really fluid shapes and movements as a result!

[dragonmarquise]

How to Deal with Windows 10/11 Nonsense

This is more for my own reference to keep all of this on one post. But hopefully others will find this useful too! So yeah, as the title says, this is a to organize links and resources related to handling/removing nonsense from Windows 10 and Windows 11. Especially bloatware and stuff like that Copilot AI thing.

First and foremost, there's O&O Software's ShutUp10++ (an antispy tool that help give you more control over Windows settings) and App Buster (helps remove bloatware and manage applications). I've used these myself for Windows 10 and they work great, and the developers have stated that these should work with Windows 11 too!

10AppsManager is another bloatware/app management tool, though at the moment it seems to only work on Windows 10.

Winaero Tweaker, similar to ShupUp10++ in that it gives you more control over Windows to disable some of the more annoying settings, such as disabling web search from the taskbar/start menu and disabling ads/tips/suggestions in different parts of the OS. I think ShupUp10++ covers the same options as this one, but I'm not entirely sure.

OpenShell, helps simplify the Start Menu and make it look more like the classic start menu from older versions of Windows. Should work with both 10 and 11 according to the readme.

Notes on how to remove that one horrible AI spying snapshots feature that's being rolled out on Windows 11 right now.

Article on how to remove Copilot (an AI assistant) from Windows 11. (Edit 11/20/2024) Plus a post with notes on how to remove it from Windows 10 too, since apparently it's not just limited to 11 now.

Win11Debloat, a simple script that can be used to automatically remove pretty much all of the bullshit from both 10 and 11, though a lot of its features are focused on fixing Windows 11 in particular (hence the name). Also has options you can set to pick and choose what changes you want!

Article on how to set up Windows 11 with a local account on a new computer, instead of having to log in with a Microsoft account. To me, this is especially important because I much prefer having a local account than let Microsoft have access to my stuff via a cloud account. Also note this article and this article for more or less the same process.

I will add to this as I find more resources. I'm hoping to avoid Windows 11 for as long as possible, and I've already been used the O&O apps to keep Windows 10 trimmed down and controlled. But if all else fails and I have to use Windows 11 on a new computer, then I plan to be as prepared as possible.

Edit 11/1/2024: Two extra things I wanted to add onto here.

A recommended Linux distro for people who want to use Linux instead of Windows.

How to run a Windows app on Linux, using Wine. Note that this will not work for every app out there, though a lot of people out there are working on testing different apps and figuring out how to get them to work in Wine.

The main app I use to help with my art (specifically for 3D models to make references when I need it) is Windows only. If I could get it to work on Linux, it would give me no reason to use Windows outside of my work computer tbh (which is a company laptop anyways).

[rassicas]

my general Side Order thoughts:

I don't have much of anything groundbreaking to say. I haven't publicly said much in relation to side order in the first place, i don't want to build up crazy expectations, and I've seen much of the fanbase making solid theories anyways. also there has been a lot less information compared to ROTM which is great, I don't want to be able to predict the whole story before the game comes out. I'd rather be surprised like i was with octo expansion! here I just want to put out my thoughts real quick so people know where I stand and that yes i am aware of the Hints and Foreshadowing

Marina's quote at the end of her interview in Splatune 3 is relevant of course, gives us a sense of what this whole world of order is. But did she build it this whole digital simulation, or was it something she found? (mix of both perhaps? found it, contributed to parts of it and it went out of her control?)

Mem cakes, agent 8, cerebral theming...very interested where this all goes. love all the references to OE keep em coming

People have been talking about this already, and the foreshadowing was acknowledged back in haikara walker in 2018. the hat logos on dedf1sh and paul gotta be connected to this thing.

It'd be a huge waste for a more grown-up paul to not show up in s3, either as someone mentioned by Acht or for him to make some sort of musical return post side order.

Glen fiddler has always been interesting to me (in that i anticipated he would become plot relevant somehow) with how he was fully 3d modeled in his sunken scroll. im not 100% on if hes gonna be in side order but the copy machine connections in side order (the fish skeletons in splatoween, also the recent poster?) are sus

^has to be agent 4. of course. seeing enemy inklings instead of enemy octolings sounds awesome btw

I'm expecting the inkopolis square hub to come back as a thing you can access post-game. pearl and marina splatfest concerts

iso padre please come back to me (maybe in said inkopolis square hub world)

who the fuck are you. not a mantis shrimp, looks too soft to be a crustacean to me. closest thing i can compare this to is a black dragonfish nymph but i kind of doubt it. maybe it is some guy who was created to manage things, like CQ to the deepsea metro?

[genericpuff]

Here's your regular service reminder that $48k/year sounds like a dream come true to people who have never made a living off their art or comics before, until you factor in the following:

Cost of assistants which is out-of-pocket (some creators literally don't hire assistants because of this which makes the process of meeting their deadlines even harder)

Cost of additional tools necessary to making webtoons and meeting deadlines, such as paying for drawing software, 3D models, etc.

Cost of emergency services such as healthcare are not covered by WT, so if your health deteriorates while you're working on your comic (which it often does for many creators whose bodies are destroyed from working long hours at a desk 7 days a week), WT will not help you.

No paid vacation time, no paid sick leave, no accommodations for people with kids, disabilities, etc. meaning if you have to take time off, WT will not be covering it.

Speaking of vacation time, Webtoons ONLY pays creators for completed and submitted episodes, meaning they will not pay you for pre-production time leading up to a series release OR have your back when you have to go on hiatus. Some creators manage multiple series to make ends meet and avoid stretches of unpaid hiatuses (IIRC I believe KitTrace does this with Nevermore and Shiloh rotating on and off hiatus one at a time) and others simply have to go without pay relying solely on their Patreons and other forms of income when they go on hiatus. And, as we've seen in the past, when they return from hiatus is often up to Webtoons, not them.

That $48k is basically just an average ballpark of what Webtoons pays creators for a season of content, and for those who recall, FastPass earnings are not given to creators until they make back that payment.

It's really hard to get people to FastPass when Webtoons is deliberately not advertising your series and, in some cases, outright SABOTAGING your attempts to advertise.

I don't even know if that $48k is before or AFTER taxes, I'm assuming before considering this is a self-employment contract, meaning you likely have to put away a good few thousand for taxes depending on your state tax rate and what you're able to write off. This also includes having to track assistant expenditures for filing.

The 60-80+ hour weeks many creators are having to pull to meet their deadlines turns that $48k/year into an ASTOUNDING drum roll ... $11 - $15/hour! Which is just barely over minimum wage in many states, and absolutely 100% not a living wage in most! And that's BEST CASE scenario in which you don't pay an assistant, don't suffer any health expenses, don't pay for 3D models / software, and POSSIBLY don't pay your taxes. Yaaaaay! 😒🖕

TL : DR $48k/year hasn't been a salary worth bragging about since 2005 ESPECIALLY not for such high-demand specialized work like this, fuck you Webtoons <3

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Shapeshifter Anatomy

shapeshifter is a broad category, covering any fictional creature or peoples that can alter the shape of their body. some can shift into pretty much any animal, like animorphs or DnD druids. some are shapeshifters against their will, like werewolves. I'll be covering the anatomical possibilities for shapeshifters with a limited ability to change their shape, more like werewolves.

the anatomy required to change one's form mostly involves keeping a lot of body parts "hidden" until they're brought out to use. there are a lot of animals that can do this! cats have retractable claws, eels have a secondary jaw in their throats, many snakes have large fangs that fold back in the mouth. etc.

hair and feathers are also capable of changing the shape of a creature by the way they move, like the quills of a porcupine or the display feathers of many birds of paradise. this is a much less flexible sort of shapeshifting, but it's a good option for intimidation and courting displays or temporary disguise.

to keep this post simple, I'm just going to focus on a humanoid with a singular monstrous form, but these concepts could be used for a lot of different creatures! though I haven't fully determined how to make someone go from mostly hairless to suddenly very furry. Maybe becoming a werewolf just gives you a lot more body hair growth and it puffs up during the transformation.

(image description: compiled sketches of different animal anatomy. in the top left corner, there are colored diagrams showing the different parts of a human skull and a wolf skull. in the top left, a diagram showing how cat claws retract and bend forward. on the bottom, sketches of moray eel and viper skulls, showing the eel's secondary jaw and the viper's folding fangs. end description.)

It took a while but i managed to find an ask i answered a while back about giving humanoids retractable claws like cats have. so that's at least one part of possible shapeshifter anatomy covered! the tldr is this: retractable claws actually require the first joint of the finger or toe to be folded backwards, and then the claw comes out when that joint flexes forward. it does make the fingers and toes shorter and more bulky at the front, but that's fine.

here's a look at just the skull and upper torso of a potential were-creature or monstrous humanoid.

(image description: colored sketches of a humanoid skeleton with a retractable fang on both the upper and lower jaws, as well as an extra joint on the lower jaw, and neck vertebrae that sit more curved in the first sketch and straighten out to a longer neck in the second sketch. end description.)

this could use more polish before it's really ready to add the fleshy parts on top, and they wouldn't quite look fully human on the outside. If you want to take something like this even further, you can alter the entire skull to be full of small moving joints, like how so many fish are able to fold up their jaws and then shoot them forward like a tube. or the sarcastic fringehead, a fish that can unfold its jaw as a method of intimidation.

(video description: a 3d model of a carp's jaw, showing how it's made of multiple parts that can all move and extend the mouth. end description.)

(image description: two photos of a sarcastic fringehead. the top photo shows this fish at rest, with its jaw frame folded backward along its face. the bottom image shows this fish with its jaw fully extended, revealing a very wide panel of brightly colored flesh on either side of the mouth. end description.)

facial changes like this are probably the most difficult part of making the anatomy for a shapeshifter. but the more moving parts their face has, the more variety of face shape you get! moving to the rest of the body though, let's consider how an upright human figure could shift into a quadrupedal form with digitigrade legs, since werewolves are probably among the more common creatures all this advice is useful for.

(image description: a simplified human skeleton and wolf skeleton next to each other, with an arrow pointing from the human to the wolf. end description)

pretty much all vertebrates have things in common when it comes to the form of their skeletons. the general location of each limb and the ribs and pelvis are always similar. but their exact size and shape varies from animal to animal. so you can't really make a normal human skeleton turn into a normal wolf skeleton. but you can make a weird human skeleton that doubles as a weird wolf skeleton.

(image description: same as above, but now the human shaped skeleton and the wolf shaped skeleton match each other, and the human shaped one is hiding its longer neck, spine, and tail by holding them with a far more curved shape while the wolf shaped skeleton holds them more straight. end description.)

okay they're not an exact match, but I tried. any humanoid being with a skeleton like this is not going to be able to fool anyone into thinking they're a normal human when they're naked. but with the right styling of clothes, a lot of the weird curves, hunched shoulders, and awkward feet problems can be hidden from view.

anything that gets more complicated than this will require extra bones and joints and muscles depending on what exactly you need your shapeshifter to do! a change in posture is a lot different than, say, being able to extend the length of their limbs or alter the shape of their ribcage by making it more narrow and protruding vs more flat and open.

I can't personally cover every single possibility! so you all will have to just use this post as a springboard and go explore more ideas yourself! I started with the idea of taking a human skeleton and altering it, but imagine what this would look like if the base form was entirely non-human! or if they were more of an invertebrate! extra arms can be folded to resemble the shape of a torso, for example. there are so many more options I'm sure I didn't even think of.

go put your mind to work and have fun!

[starberry-cupcake]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN: CHAPTER 33 PEOPLE, WE'VE MADE IT!!!

previously, on harrowcita del 9:

this was the last recap update

this was my recap of where I left off

this is the post about camilla's reappearance which I can't reproduce in its entirety in this post but I suggest you look at

CHAPTER 33:

harrowcita is hanging out in a nice planet that sounds very pleasant

we've been so long in the emperor's bolthole and canaan house that this feels like heaven, actually

let's build a cottage and live here forever maybe

even better, as previously established, camilla is here

there's nature, there's little bugs, there's camilla, what else do we need???

maybe gideon would be nice

camilla shows up like "hey, loser, I need you to do me a solid" and pulls out palmolive's reconstructed skull

harrow is like ???????????????????????????

and here's where things get complicated for that 3D model I was building

harrow remembers camilla and palmolive dying the way they died in the gideon-less au

like, shot in the face repeatedly

her memory of them is the memory of the gideon-less au: not knowing them much, not remembering their faces much, seeing them shot to death by a slasher villain

and I'm like...huh????????????????????

because, as previously established (5 months ago), in the gideon-less au, dulcinea isn't not!dulcinea

she's real!dulcinea and protozoa is alive

he's reciting poetry and ortus doesn't like him coming for his gig

however, harrow does remember not!dulcinea being a threat and yandere twin has repeatedly talked about how she took off her arm and all that

so...which is it????

camilla is like "look, I don't care about your lack of memory or the fact that you're currently bleeding out of every perceivable orifice in your head, I got a job for you"

harrow is, as usual, skeptical of everything, especially of camilla being real, because 1) they're like in the orbit of the emperor's supposedly top secret bolthole, 2) camilla was supposed to be dead and 3) she's too perfect to exist

well, that last one was mine, but still

and harrowcita is dealing with this thing in which she can't trust her mind because, for all intents and purposes, she has an emotional support apparition trailing her

so harrow starts attacking camilla to try to figure out if she's real and camilla is slaying all her constructs because she's that bitch

so harrow accepts to listen and then camilla gives her palmolive's skull that's all glued back together with a lot of care, love and patience

camilla says they planned stuff in case he died (Sixth house winning points with me every single day, they came PREPARED, not like you SECOND HOUSE, YOU JUDGMENTAL ASSHATS)

in case palmolive kicked the bucket, he'd tether his soul or energy or whatever incorporeal thing that makes him himself to his remains

his remains blew to bits though

sometimes it doesn't matter how much you plan, things just blow up and explode in a million pieces

like my plans of reading this book in less time

so camilla found some palmolive scraps and put them together but if whatever bit of him he's tethered to isn't there, she has to go back and look for more bits

basically, camilla needs harrow to tell her if palmolive's force ghost is in the collected bits

harrow is both bleeding from every orifice and also very confused with everything that is happening

those are the two things she's been consistently experiencing all book long

but she's harrowcita nonagesimus and she's no quitter so in she goes to the river to see if indeed palmolive sextus has managed to cheat death, so to speak

she's expecting to have to do this

but she finds herself here

there's a nice little room with a cushion-y bed, some books, a window, a chair, etc

and there's also my reluctant bestie palmolive (I'm growing attached to him against my initial intentions)

palmolive hugs harrow and harrow is even more confused than before because affection????? care???? in this economy?????

so my reluctant bestie palmolive was able to create a sort of bubble in the shores of the metaphorical ghostly river

he created a space in the nothing, so to speak, a space in which he can remain without being pulled away from the same spot

he tethered himself in a cellular level in a spiderweb-like form to his pieces and was able to craft an unmoving reproduction of the place where he died, with what he could see at that time

that includes one romance book he's in the midst of writing fanfiction of

as one would

palmolive is also very upset at harrow taking approximately 8 months to get to him

harrow is like ?????????

palmolive goes "how did you get separated from cam?"

harrow is like ???????????????????????????

and when harrow starts with the lyctor spiel...

(is anyone impressed by that? ever? the emperor is a clown)

...palmolive says "tell me you did it correctly"

harrow tells him she slurped her cav

which we all know might not be entirely true because 1) harrow thinks ortus was his cav (brother in being blown to bits to palmolive) and 2) she's lyctor lite

but palmolive doesn't know this

he's very disappointed in god, and aren't we all

palm, my reluctant bestie, if you knew the guy you'd be even more disappointed

BUT THERE'S NO TIME FOR ANY OF THAT BECAUSE THERE'S SOMEONE AT THE WINDOW JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN

IT'S THE SLEEPER/WAKER/SLASHER

palmolive thinks harrow brought him there but he doesn't know who tf it is because he's the real palmolive and not the gideon-less au palmolive

the slasher villain is trying to get at them

if harrow leaves palm's apartment, the waker/sleeper/slasher will leave too, according to him

he kisses harrow's brow and drops a funny one-liner, as he does, because he's a nerd

harrow reluctantly leaves and shows up in a dark corridor

but it's not a corridor and it isn't dark

and most shocking of all

THERE'S A "ME"

THERE'S A NARRATOR

"you never could have guessed that he had seen me"

WHO'S ME?????? WHO IS NARRATING????

and that's it for chapter 33, I'm glad I stopped halfway 5 months ago because idk if I would have been able to do what I did if I had read until the end

happy halloween fam! I'll post my costume later but it isn't locked tomb related although maybe next year???

[pommpuriinn]

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪. 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉’𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓂𝑒, 𝑒𝓈𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑜 5

๋࣭⭑ pairing ๋࣭⭑- idol!yeonjun x superstar!oc x idol!jungkook

๋࣭⭑ synopsis ๋࣭⭑- a love triangle between Hollywood’s sweetheart, Korea’s golden maknae, and Gen Z’s IT boy. Estrella is a very busy woman who never had time dating with all her photoshoots, movie offers, recording sessions, dance practices, and public appearances. As she’s doing a little world tour promotions for her latest mini album ‘You & Me’, and let’s just say that stop lasts a little longer and it becomes a little too interesting.

๋࣭⭑ a/n ๋࣭⭑- this is a filler chapter, but I hope y’all still enjoy 🫶🏼

Korean = italics English = normal

outfit | makeup | hair | nails

Today is the pop up event for fans to visit and buy merchandise such as clothing items, albums, cute pc holders, and other little trinkets. Estrella even came early before opening to sign posters and even the huge picture of herself on the wall so fans could take their cute photos. Estrella took time taking photos in the different photo ops so she can post later. “I’m glad my vision came to life.” Estrella was planning this event for months since this pop up event will not just be in Korea. She would make 3D models on her iPad making sure everything was perfect. “Oh my god, Estrella you have to see how many people are lined up.” Daya grabs Estrella by her hand and pulls her towards the entrance. Starrys started cheering and pulling out their phones to record Estrella, who immediately started giving fanservice; waving, heart poses, and blowing kisses at all the starrys by the entrance.

“Estrella, can I talk to you for a minute?” Megan pulled Estrella’s attention away from her fans. “Yeah.” Estrella quickly waves ‘bye’ before following Megan. “So I just received a bunch of calls from different entertainments here asking if you will allow their idols to come visit because they are a big fan of yours. I just didn’t want to give a quick answer before I had a talk with you.” Megan always included Estrella in decision making. “Yes, but my starrys will not wait outside longer than the opening time just because an idol is in here. My starrys have been waiting since the middle of night and I will not let them wait any longer.”

Estrella obviously really cares for her fans and always wants what is best for them, plus seeing how dedicated they are to coming to her events and waiting for hours on end just to see a glimpse of her, or just to make sure they buy the merch before it sells out. That’s why when celebrities come to Estrella’s events she doesn’t treat them better nor give them special treatment. They will receive the same like all her starrys get. Because she sees how other celebrities act with their fans when their celebrity friends come or how they make them wait even longer because their “friends” are in there looking around taking their time buying everything.

“For sure, I’ll call them back and tell them.” Megan goes back to business leaving Estrella to finally open her pop up. Before Estrella could open the doors the staff made sure to tell the fans not to act too crazy around Estrella when they get inside since she’ll be there helping them and checking out their items. Once the first set of starrys came they were already freaking out in the entrance way because there stood Estrella helping the staff pass out exclusive photocards.

After a couple of hours helping starrys find the right size, finding out if they have more in stock of the photocard holder, checking out starrys at the register, and helping taking the photos for starrys in the photo ops. Many videos went viral joking that Estrella is those managers doing everything and running that pop up like the military.

“Lunch time boss.” Sana giggles, guiding Estrella away from the register. “We got pizza in the back and a special someone came.” Estrella furrowed her eyebrows trying to think who it would be. Since lots of idols came to the pop up and were just as excited as starrys were seeing Estrella in person.

“Our star is here after working so hard.” The staff laughed seeing Estrella's tired face. “We ordered pizza,” Sana plated two slices of pizza for Estrella. Luckily the pop up staff created a little green room for Estrella’s team to chill in while Estrella worked the floor. Estrella wanted to start eating, but she wanted to know who was the special person to see her. “Hey who’s the-“

There was a knock at the door causing Estrella to whip right around seeing the one and only, Choi Yeonjun. He has a pink flower bouquet with him making Estrella grab and pillow hiding her flustered face. Her staff never saw Estrella so shy since she’s always so confident and is never the one to break. The whole room pointed at the shy Estrella hiding from Yeonjun’s eyes. “Why, why?” He comes closer to Estrella, confused about her flustered state. “Why the flowers?” Estrella asked while placing the pillow from her face on to her lap. “I wanted to give you a little congratulation on your successful promotional week.” Yeonjun handed over the bouquet to Estrella. “Oh my god, thank you.” She pulls him into a hug. Yeonjun was a bit taken back at the friendly gesture, but nonetheless wrapped his arms around her, hugging Estrella back.

After the hug Yeonjun realized that she had yet started eating, so not wanting her to go back out there with an empty stomach he started encouraging her to eat. “You're welcome. Start eating, you need energy to go back.” Yeonjun rubs her back, while taking back the bouquet, gently placing the flowers on the table letting Estrella to eat. If the staff didn’t know any better they would’ve thought Yeonjun was her boyfriend with how he’s treating her.

“Should we leave the two?” Daya whispered to Sana, who was watching the scene in front of them. “Yeah.” Sana nods her head grabbing Daya’s hand. “Hey, we should let Estrella rest alone. Let’s help at the front.” Sana gets all the staff members out. Before Daya and her head out last, Sana sent a quick wink towards Estrella who wanted to roll her eyes, but held it in.

Now that Estrella and Yeonjun were by themselves she decided to make the first move. “So…what’s the real reason why you’re here? Did you miss me that much, mm?” Estrella raised her eyebrow at him, while wiping her hands with a baby wipe to get the pizza grease off her fingers. “Maybe~” Yeonjun smiles, while playing with Estrella’s jog string that was hanging from her fluffy skirt. “How cute.” Estrella chuckles. “But I also wanted to come and support you. I am a fan too, you know.” Yeonjun leans back into the couch they’re sitting on. “You must be living every fan's dream right?” Estrella gives Yeonjun her signature sweet smile many fall for. “Not yet.” Yeonjun’s dream is to be able to bag Estrella and make her his.

The two make intense eye contact with each other feeling the tension in the room. It is so thick you cut it with a knife. Estrella moves closer while placing her hand on Yeonjun’s cheek caressing it. Yeonjun was instantly wrapped around her finger as he leaned closer into her touch. Yeonjun was also closing the gap between them.

*knock knock*

“Estrella 5 minutes!” Megan’s voice was heard through the other side. The two quickly went back to their places. Estrella looked at Yeonjun while giggling, causing him to laugh too. “Are you free tomorrow night?” Estrella asks, while crossing her right leg over her left. “Why not tonight?” Totally whipped. “I have plans tonight jjunie.” He could hear his heart beating louder with hearing his nickname coming from her lips. “Before I head out,” Estrella grabs a piece of paper and a marker from her Vivienne Westwood shoulder purse. “Here so you don’t miss me too much.” Estrella says, as she writes down her number with an xo at the end. “Bye~” she pets his head before walking out of her green room.

Yeonjun sat there still processing what’s written on the paper. “The woman you are Estrella Blue.” He sighs, dreamily.

taglist»-♡→ @iveivory @jjkluver7 @lively-potter @angie-x3 @herebyaccident0 @mitchko11

[snoozykazoo]

happy springtime allergies! 🌸

The flowers at this time of year are so lovely! sniff sniff sniff… They’re pretty enough that I’m THIS close to forgetting the pollen up my nose. So it goes. Regardless of springtime allergies or not, it’s Snoozy Devpost time!

If this is your first time seeing us, hey! We’re Snoozy Kazoo, a game dev studio of six guys who make dumb, silly, and fun games. We made the Turnip Boy games, and we’re currently in the midst of working on our latest game, Hobnobbers!

This month, we're getting into our task management workflow to help all you fellow indie devs out there!

What's Snoozy been up to?

Ah…! We’re so, so close to being able to announce something really exciting…! But you have to forgive me. I can’t say anything yet. Keep your eyes peeled — there’s going to be a LOT of exciting Snoozy News™️ come May. Even if I can’t say the big deets yet, I can at least drop this link right overrr here for you merch heads out there…

Cool Makeship Link 👀

Buuuut since we can’t talk about our projects, let’s talk about the next best thing: Project Management! This past month, Snoozy switched from our old task-tracking system to a new system called Codecks. Imagine if you could track your project progress with a deck-building roguelike, and that’s what Codecks is! It’s a nifty little tool specifically made for Indie Game Developers, which we just happen to be.

And to clear the air: no, we are not sponsored in any way by Codecks. Though if Codecks is reading this — we’d totally love to be!

We wanted to share how this system has been working for us, so any aspiring indie devs out there can see if this system is appealing to them and potentially benefit from it!

How it works

What’s made Codecks click for us is how it blends structure with playfulness. It doesn’t just let you organize your work — it encourages you to think about it in terms of clear progress paths, visual layouts, and deck-building metaphors.

We kept falling off of our past task systems because jugging a game’s worth of art, code, design, writing, marketing, and bug-fixing while ALSO needing to come up with constantly updating organization methods is. Hard. Codecks simplifies that process!

Codecks organizes itself into Cards, Decks, and Projects. Cards are tasks (like “Animate a Hob’s death!”), Decks are chunks (animating a Hob would go in our ‘Art’ Deck, but you could split it up further into a ‘3D Animation’ deck while also having a ‘3D Modeling’ Deck), and Projects are, well, projects! (‘Hobnobbers’ is, well, our project!)

What we like

Myyy personal favorite bit of Codecks is how it handles Conversations. Conversations can be had on any card, which makes it really easy to find discussions and notes on particular topics. In the past, we’ve used Discord to talk about ideas, critiques, and problems as they’ve come up. When notes are discussed quickly, they don’t necessarily quality for opening up the whole task itself, which has made remembering clarifications like “Wait, what resolution did this sprite need to be, again?” as simple as pulling up its relevant card.

Other people on the team love the ‘Required Effort’ settings, which allow you to set an amount of effort for each card and then see how much total effort a single person has. Basically, all of us adore the fact that you can use Markdown (which I, Yukon, am currently converting this post into for the Snoozy website haha). There are just a ton of little quality of life features that really feel like this tool was made by indie devs, for indie devs, and it’s really smooth to use!

But I’m just a little guy. Just a Small Man. With Few Dollars?

Codecks is free for up to 5 users on a team! If you’re a solo developer working on a project in your spare time, it’s probably more than suitable for you.

Aaaand that was our non-sponsored shilling of this tool we really like! There’s only so much we can say without going too into the weeds of it, but we hope that giving you a peep into our processes helped you out!

Team Corner!

It’s back a second time! Almost like it’s always going to be here!

This week we’ve got… badadadum, Jake! Our musician and developer!

What are you most excited for in Hobnobbers?

I’m most excited for the physics. Some of my favorite games have really robust physics simulations like Gang Beasts, Motor Town, and BeamNG.drive. I love sandbox games that have fun and unexpected environments to explore in a tactile way.

What’s something you’ve worked on in Hobnobbers recently that you’ve found particularly frustrating?

Audio Volumes and spatialization. In a 3D game, each space needs to sound different, and sometimes dialing that in just right can be a pain. Large open rooms and tiny little tunnels sound different in real life, and they will do the same in Hobnobbers, after lots of tweaking and iteration. Coming from 2D development, this literally opens up a whole new dimension of sound design.

What kinds of feelings do you hope for the Hobnobbers’ music to bring about?

I really want to mix dreamlike folktale and plastic consumerism. I am super inspired by I spy books, grimms fairytales, folk/americana music, and toy instruments for the Hobnobbers musical palette, and the music comes very naturally when the inspirations are so vivid. A lot of Hobnobbers is about simulating something tactile and physical in a digital space, and I hope to channel that into the music.

Yay! Thank you for your time!

Andddd we’re all wrapped up!

As a reminder, feel free to send in questions for us to answer right here on our Tumblr, or join our Discord and ask questions in the “ask-the-devs-❓” channel!

Keep your eyes peeled for this upcoming month in particular — we’ve got a lot of cool announcements coming up!

As per Devposts, see you next month!!

[soupiestzilla]

OKAY OKAY I'M SEARCHING AND I THINK I FOUND EVERYTHING- btw do know that many things here will come IN THE FUTURE AND NOOOOT THE NEXT UPDATE!!!!

First of there was a Kahoot hosted by Qwel and it costed her 300$- COUGH-

There will be a new pack, similar to Startime skins and this time it will be Showtime and it will cost the same as the Startime pack. The pack will have Looey, Yatta, Blot, Razzle & Dazzle and Vee and Qwel showed us 3 skins-

You will also have the option to gift a pack that costs Robux to someone, whoever you want, can be ur friends, family anyone anyone

Halloween update is confirmed to come this year, spooky toons incoming, Connie is not a Halloween toon as some thought-

Discord poll which was asking everyone if they want to hear Bobette's or Bassie's last name and Bassie won so her full name is Bassie Bloomington.

There will be a button while in the elevator in the future where you can press it alone or with someone together and it will match you together with other players in other servers that also pressed the button, this is for those that want a team immediately immediately instead of server hopping to find a run already, you can still host runs in the lobby ofc, the button is optional!

Different types of machines

3 new maps and maaaaybe some new lore in them

Stickers will be added in the future for easier communication with your team or for silly stuff (like showing them off). Idk if all stickers will have messages on them but they will contain messages where you can talk easier like "gte", "I'll handle the twisteds", "I'm on the last machine" probably those types of messages (this is huge for console players who can't use chat at all), no idea if the stickers will have characters on them, maybe some?? No idea. Free stickers will be given by default and the rest you have to collect/buy them with ichor, idk if you have to actually collect them around the maps?? Also apparently one (Golden Shrimpo Brick??) will cost 10k ichor I genuinely have no idea if they'll add it but omg it became a meme-

Qwel showed us an idle Cosmo animation in the works (it might change) where he reaches behind his back to grab his Sweet Charm bracelet, look at it before putting it back, as if checking/making sure it's okay, if I heard right apparently Sprout and him will have matching idle animations with their trinkets (also yes they 3D modeled the Sweet Charm lol), I managed to find a GIF of it in Twitter so click here if you wanna see it!

Yatta "I eat bricks" skin coming soon too

The keychain plushie merch thingy ships in a few days or soon or something idk those blind bags and also apparently Qwel is planning new merch like clothes, higher quality plushies and more (shit doesn't ship in my country I'm cooked fellas I really want them sobs)

Razzle & Dazzle got optimized and they'll have new animations and it'll be different in the lobby and during the game too. During the game, whoever is active will have their own animations and it also shows who is active better (like for example, they both will have different extracting animation) so that's very noice for the RnD fans

They said they'll tweak the hitboxes/make them better or something idk something like that, let's pray the air doesn't attack us randomly fellas

Qwel has more people to help push out updates/optimization stuff faster

Dandy is getting more dialogue options, expressions and more interactions with what the players do (The YouTube stream I was watching lagged in general so I didn't hear that much, idk if it's only the lobby or shop during a run or even both but he's getting more content)

I THINK THAT'S ALL BUT PERSONALLY I VIBE WITH A LOT OF THESE, IDK ABOUT THE VEE SKIN THOUGH SOBS- BUT LET ME KNOW ZILLA, WHAT DO YOU THINK AJDHAJDHAJS I HOPE I EXPLAINED THEM WELL LMFAOAOAOAO

HOPE YOUR DAY IS GOING WELL, ZILLA!!!!

DUDDDWWWWWW

Grabs you will all ten fingers on my hands im so ready to yap

That RND SKIN????

GOING STRAIGHT TO THE GARDEN OF GODS AU LMAO/SILLY (its gorgeous thank god dude)(their current seafoam one was basic so phew)

Yatta looks like startime sprout and i was gonna say that but then i heard its a showtime pack so yeah lol she looks neat

Ok yeah i answered another ask on this but yeah zilla yaps down below lmao

ok hear me out anna

The vee skin

Listen

The first time i saw it i actually grieved a little inside lmao

but

But hear me bro

LIKE??? LOOK AT IT A BIT??? I THINK

Ngl i think

I think its like

Cute in a stupid way

Like she looks different but like - NGL MAN I CAN SEE MYSELF GETTING USED TO IT??? DO U GET ME LOL??? im already predicting a collective community crashout on the vee skin but tbh man its like

Ill vibe lol not that bad imo

MATCHMAKIMG??? GO POPPIES????? GO BOXTENS???? YOUR TIME IS NOW BRO????? (thank god man getting public runs otherwise is a whole case lol)(Maybe in the future it could expand into even more quality of life updates yk)(like pro runs becoming an actual thing based on rank and stats or yadda yadda)(but yk)(anywho)

I heard about the different types of machines. Wild dude lmao

ALREADY HYPED AS HELL FOR SPROUT ROOM DUDE LESGGGGGOOOOOO

Yatta new skin???? Another win for the lgbtq community (i eat bricks??? Asexual flag)(i swear shes just a different pride flag each time lmao)

fruitcake shipper stay calm breathe breathe its just friendship lore please (fruitcake shippers go wild)(i know id lose my entire mind too if it were shellvision so)(go crazy lmao)

Golden shrimpo brick my beloved i always knew you were a thing

QWEL HAS MORE PPL HELPING???? NEW DANDY DIALOGUES???? RND ACTUALLY???? BEING???? LOOKED AT LMAO??? RND FANS UR FIRST EVER WIN????????

Dude personally- i love qwel as a developer , she is absolutely cooking on these updates recently and ngl i fw most of those too lol, so hyped man even if vee looks like a kfc cardboard cutout now

[littlekiara96]

Why are there so many little inconsistencies about Gallagher and who he is?

[Obvious spoilers for 2.0 Penacony content undercut, you've been warned.]

This reflexion of mine started back when I first saw him during the Penacony storyline and in that one occasion you can mention him to an NPC at Dream's Edge.

Let's talk about the first time we see Gallagher, and more precisely, how the two NPCs present react to him.

(Let's call them Taylor and Bob. Taylor uses a fem 3D model, but Gallagher keeps gendering both of them as men, so I'll roll with that.)

First, Taylor does not know Gallagher at all. Nothing strange there. The Families have a lot of members, it sounds believable. For now.

Bob, on the other hand, recognises him. But he seems to do so thanks to his appearance and his "trademark" features (brown hair and grey vest) more than because he actually knew him.

He also describes Gallagher as the "officer sent by the Family". Here, "officer" could either mean a worker for the Family, which is a given, or it could be an actual rank, which sounds more probable. He does wear what looks like a badge on his left lapel.

And afterall, Gallagher trained those two, so it surely means that he's of a higher rank than them-

Wait. He's training them?

Bob recognised him, technically, yes. But Taylor couldn't even tell who he was??

And "he's been training them"???

How does one of your trainees not recognise you on sight??!

And that's not the weirdest part.

So, Gallagher was specially sent by the Family to ensure the safety of the Charmony Festival, right? So, that sounds like he's kind of a big deal, right? Like... Other Bloodhounds would know about his presence, right?

Okay. Either the guy who won't let us to the secret place is lying as a means to do his job...

Or there's something wrong about Gallagher, actually...

Alright... What do we know about him, at this point?

Bartender and security officer. That makes sense for different reasons.

Coty and Woolsey, two other Bloodhounds, also explain the extent of the Bloodhound Family's job.

Coty puts it quite literally: they will help you manage your emotions. Because doing so is also part of taking care of safety issues, because of how the Dreamscape works and can be affected by said emotions.

And Woolsey is the NPC who tells you if there are people in the Dreamscape who still need such aid in managing their emotions.

Thus, Gallagher being security staff and a bartender makes sense.

Here's the citation from his reveal on the HSR Youtube channel:

"Making a drink is a sensory skill. In dreams, creating fizzy concoctions requires adding a bit of your mood. Heavier if you're troubled, a touch sweeter if you're in high spirits... It's not just about mixing beverages. It's about mixing the experiences of life."

And funnily enough, there's this no-name bar with a no-name bartender somewhere on the commercial street and uhh...

Yeah, that House-Blend sounds like something Gallagher could make.

Hell, it perfectly fits!

But let's go back to his "downloading" description...

Local of Penacony. Very knowledgeable, but also lowkey about it.

So, Gallagher is a discreet bartender with a discreet bar, and also a security officer of a high enough rank to be sent by The Family to secure the biggest event to them, and to have trainees...

And no one knows who this guy is.

Except Misha. Who doesn't even work directly with him.

... Am I the only one getting weirded out by all of this?

Bonus:

Have a lil' crack theory of my own. Because I'm silly, aha.

Gallagher and Firefly share the same shade of green with a "starry sky" pattern. He's not the real Gallagher, and the only things they actually have in common are the "brown hair and grey vest", but of course that's enough to fool everyone Superman-style.

The Bloodhounds are looking for a silver-haired boy, or at least, that's how "Gallagher" corrected them.

Is it Sparkle in disguise? Someone else? Why are they helping Firefly? Does she know them? I don't know, this is a crack theory.

Good night and have nice dreams~

ADDENDUM, because another post made me go "Waiiiit that is ALSO very weird:

Hey, remember the Pepeshi Club and its entry rules?

Cielo confirms that anyone (not just Sparkle) can change their "Dreamscape avatar" a.k.a. appearance. And the Dreamscape Pass serves as an I.D. to check someone's true identity, even when they are using an appearance completely different form it.

So uuuuuh...

Why didn't Gallagher just check Firefly's I.D.??? Wouldn't that be the first thing to do in the Dreamscape while searching for a stowaway who could change their appearance so easily???

No need to be uncourteous about it too, like Bob and Taylor were... Just a lil' "Excuse me, milady, may I have a look at your Pass, please?"

Would that have been too much??? Gallagher, dear, care to explain yourself???

[arkus-rhapsode]

No, the Switch 2 is not another Wii U

I know video game content is my least viewed content on this blog, but I’ve been seeing this talking point spouted over the last few days and I decided to use what little voice I had in the world to say something. So, the last few days have been rough for the Switch 2. Kinda funny how for almost an entire year the question was “When Switch 2?” To now actually being here and pissing off basically everyone with a pulse. However, a certain saying I’ve been hearing a lot is that they believe or hope that the Switch 2 will be another Wii U for the company.

This line of thinking is just plain wrong. Simply because why the Wii U failed and why the Switch 2 has the potential to fail are two completely different things.

Let’s start with the Wii U, for those who don’t remember, the Wii U was going to be the follow up to the ultra successful Wii console. And its issues were already obvious out of the gate, and I’m not just talking about the game pad, but I kinda am. Because at the time of its announcement, many weren’t even clear if the Wii U was a new console or an add on to the Wii. The announcement for the Wii U was so miscommunicated at the time that the President Satoru Iwata lamented not even showing off the full console itself.

The second, most obvious issue facing the Wii U was the innovation that Nintendo banked on. The Wii was highly successful due to the fact that its motion control innovation managed to capture the attention of gamers and non gamers alike. It was as simple as “pretend like you’re bowling with the remote and the action happens on screen.” Rather than simply continue with that model and add more power to it, a Wii 2 if you will, Nintendo opted to focus on focus on asymmetrical gaming, using the dual screens to create a unique experience. While this sounds interesting on paper, it’s clear that in practice asymmetrical gaming is inconvenient to how one actually plays video games. You don’t actively play video games with the control at the level of your direct vision. While there are certainly people who had fun with this, it was never going to recapture the audience the Wii had. Nintendo’s desire for innovation was under cut by its ability for practicality.

This reflected in the games, which outside of Nintendo’s first party offerings, very few large game devs took advantage of the Wii U architecture. If they even made games for the Wii U at all. With major publishers like EA flat out discontinuing any development of Nintendo hardware. Even going as far to call it “Crap.” Other companies like Ubisoft basically changed direction on any exclusivity support for the Wii U. Rayman Legends was promised as an exclusive for the system at first, but changed due to fact the Wii U ecosystem was so minuscule. Ubisoft’s ZombiU a launch title for the Wii U made to show off what the system could do would be ported to other platforms under the name Zombi and would cancel a sequel due to poor sales.

Even Nintendo’s own first party offerings, suffered. This was during the New Super Mario Bros era, where 2D Mario games were now criticized for becoming overly homogenized. There was no traditional Fire Emblem, no traditional Kirby, no Metroid period, and… whatever was Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival. The console wouldn’t get a 3D Zelda until its own dying breath.

When you put this all together it’s no wonder the Wii U was so unprofitable for the company.

So with all that said. Is any of this applicable to the Switch 2? Well because the console isn’t even out, it’s impossible to predict how it will preform in its lifetime. But, I believe we can make some judgement calls based on the facts available to us.

Let’s start with its announcement. While yes, it is true that the Switch 2 did fail to include any price in its huge announcement and it has caused the the narrative of the Switch 2 to spiral out of their control, the Switch 2 was nothing if not transparent on what the system actually was and what it came with. This is going to be a bigger, thicker, stronger version of a switch. That is what it is. What it has failed to communicate is the pricing of its games. But when it comes to innovation-it’s just more of the same stuff people already like.

And let’s talk about the games. Unlike the Wii U, we can already see Nintendo capitalizing on already highly anticipated franchises like Mario Kart and Donkey Kong. As well as having advanced versions of the next Pokémon Legends title and Metroid Prime 4. Now it’s possible that the release of new Switch 2 games will be as low as the Wii U, but as of now, we have no real evidence to believe that is the case. There is also the fact that right out of the gate, Nintendo has highlighted its exclusive deals with third party developers. The biggest being the much beloved developer FromSoft creating an exclusive Souls game for the console with a release window of 2026.

Speaking of third party developers, many of them, do not have a reason to believe that this machine will be poor in terms of gaming experience. With even articles right now talking about how developing for the switch 2 is similar to developing for a mid tier PC. In fact, the implementation of mouse controls has actually expanded to types of gameplay gamers have used on other platforms.

While there are some similarities like this being a sequel system to a highly successful console and doesn’t include a pack in game. When you look at the broad reasons for the failure of the Wii U: that being poor communication of the product, innovation vs practicality, third party support, and first party offering, it’s pretty easy to see that the these consoles aren’t applicable.

Now of course there are issues facing the Switch 2’s launch that the Wii U never could’ve predicted. Such as the new game keycard system optional to some publishers, to the purchase of game upgrade packs for switch 1 games. And of course games not being priced competitively. So why are so many saying “this is the next Wii U?” Well it’s because during the Wii U era, Nintendo as a company was at its most vulnerable and most desperate after coming off a pretty successful run with its previous console. This resulted in them needing to offer better deals to consumers AND push them to truly innovate in the game of gaming hardware and software.

With the above issues mentioned, there a very real and palpable desire for Nintendo to return that state once again. Where, once again it can’t just have “60 dollar games or get lost,” it might actually need to make concessions to the players. It remains to see if that will happen or not. However, if it does happen I want it to be clear, it’s not because the Switch 2 is “the Wii U all over again.”

The Wii U wasn’t bad because it was anti-consumerist. It was bad because it was a bad console.

[smahell]

so the obey me boys aren't going to AX this year..

to absolutely nobody's surprise. yes solmare, you take away one of the most anticipated events for AX for obey me fans (at least for me; I need more fan content!)

but what I'm genuinely excited about, though I'm unable to go is..

now THIS is what i'm interested in. a new youtube audio drama project by ntt solmare: Ex and Bee: Nightfall's Coven; a mystery-centered audio drama with a dash of the dark arts and occult! am I excited just by that premise? from the little sneak peaks posted on twitter, which is the bare minimum, it's just enough to hype me up for this, yes. finally something else that might be solmare's legacy other than weird luke art and bad representation.

y'know what makes me even more excited.

look who's having a video appearance. heh. heheheh.

are they recycling VAs? yes. do I care? not at all. get that bag, Kada-san.

i genuinely think this project will be well received by those who do recognize it. with its more mature, somber theming, perhaps darker tone than obey me, it seems to still be catering to that same 16-24 age group but more to those who may be interested in psychological horror, sci-fi and true crime (aka, autistic people like me).

there's not much information i could dig from the internet about whoever else is working on the project, but i fear that the series will be reduced to 'obey me's lesser step-brother', and won't reach (enough of) its target audience, and then be completely discontinued out of nowhere after a year due to 'funding issues" (aka, not enough popularity, and daddy solmare wanting to spend his big bucks in silly dating sim game and their shitty 3D model concerts around the world (Japan and the US)).

[which is one of the reasons why i made this post. i do NOT want this project to flop just because of its relations to obey me and under funding.]

i think Ex and Bee deserves a chance its own separate fanbase from obey me... even though one of the main selling points was "hey guys!! you remember these guys??? they're gonna be here!!! please recognize them!! give us money!!!" and all that other corporate greed blabber that you don't hear from the social media managers.

conclusion: (army general voice) i want YOU to attend this panel if you are going to AX, and if you aren't, i want YOU to hype this shit up when more information comes out!1!!

[notoneopinion]

10 Ways I Soothe Anxiety

Hello. I have anxiety.

I have anxiety, but I have also managed to somehow keep a pretty good life for myself through it all. Getting out of bed when you have a paralysing fear of the world is not an easy task, but there are a few things I have found that make it that little bit easier, life that little bit smoother. And because we certainly don't gatekeep here, I thought I'd share the ten main ways I soothe anxiety. Basically, ten things I do to switch off and remove myself from my brain.

1. Turn your phone off.

An obvious one, but probably one of the most important. It's insane how clogged a person's brain will get when they spend their day glued to a phone screen. For me, it's not even just social media that sets me off, though that is a massive trigger for me and many other people; it's the phone in general. I could be playing Angry Birds for twenty-four hours and still finish the day feeling gross and anxious and guilty. The screen itself just makes me feel groggy, which in turn leaves me feeling anxious by the time I'm getting into bed that night. There are some days I will wake up, and just turn my phone off completely - usually days when I know I'm going to be at home all day, but still. That extended break from screen time is a life saver.

2. Fidget toys.

Okay, so I may also have autism.

But!!!! Fidget toys are miracle workers for all kinds of mental illnesses and uncomfortable feelings, so don't think you can't invest in some just because you're not on the spectrum. Fidget toys are literally made to soothe anxiety, so get yourself some!! I have one called a Tangle that I keep on me at all times, and I just mess with it in my pocket when I'm in a social situation and I don't know what to do with my hands, or I start feeling a little overwhelmed. It brings my fight or flight right down. I don't know the science behind it, but I honestly don't even care. Give me fidget toys, or give me death.

3. Model making, eg Legos, 3D puzzles.

Legos and 3D puzzles are another thing that has changed the game for me when it comes to anxiety. Like fidget toys, they are the perfect way to keep your hands busy, but they have the added bonus of keeping your mind busy, too. These are, of course, more of a relaxation technique, something you come home to after a stressful day rather than something to eliminate anxiety on the spot, but we'll take what we can get. These also keep you relaxed and distracted for hours, because there is hours worth of work to be put into them. Plus, they're very addictive - once you start on a Lego set, or a puzzle, you don't want to stop until it's finished. I've sat for eleven hours straight doing a Lego set just because I wanted to see the finished product as soon as possible, and during those eleven hours, my anxiety was non-existent. I was just enjoying myself the entire time.

4. Have a nap.

Very self explanatory, and yet controversial???

But genuinely, just go to sleep??? If you're having a gruesome day, and your mind is bullying you, and you're exhausted, just lay down and go to sleep. Fuck what other people say. There is nothing wrong with clocking out from the horrors of the real world for a few hours. As long as you get back up, all refreshed and ready to tackle another day, who cares??

5. Talk to a loved one.

I am very blessed that I can put this on the list. I know this can be a very difficult coping mechanism for a lot of people - trust me, I know. Growing up, my anxiety was my own, and not once did it ever occur to me to share that problem with anyone else. However, after meeting the right people, and understanding that nobody is going to be annoyed about hearing my problems, talking to people became one of the best and most useful coping mechanisms I've got. It can be as simple as sending your best friend a text telling them how you're feeling, or you can go all out and sit your Mum down with a cup of tea and bawl your eyes out. Getting those feelings out will give you a physical relief as well as a mental relief; the weight you've been carrying, a weight you probably don't even notice any more, will be gone in a matter of minutes. I promise you.

6. Exercise.

I know. I was shocked too. All those scientists that told us exercise and moving your body is good for your mental health were right. Bastards.

Just go on a walk. That's what I mean when I say 'exercise.' If you want to go to the gym and lift weights, or run a marathon, you go right ahead. More power to you. But by 'exercise' I just mean. . . move your body. Take the dog on a walk! Walk to the shop instead of driving! Get a bike! The tiniest bit of movement in a day can do wonders, whether we want to admit it or not.

7. Blast happy, sing-in-the-car music.

There's a playlist of Spotify that I highly recommend when it comes to wanting to escape reality and just have a good time. It's literally called Songs to Sing in the Car, and it's one of those playlists Spotify make themselves, just full of songs that you can sing at the top of your lungs, or blast through your headphones, and just have a real good time for a little while. I know it's easy sometimes to just go straight to that playlist full of sad songs that you can relate to in that moment, but try and go for a different approach - go find old bangers that you used to jump around to as a kid. It's a breath of fresh air.

8. Do chores.

Two in one baby!

A good chunk of the time, our anxiety is stemming from our to-do list, even if we're not thinking about it. All around us is evidence of all the unfinished tasks we've got to do, and that can really stress you out. Personally, whenever I'm anxious, I become almost camotose; I will just sit on the sofa and stare at the wall, feeling everything all at once. However, I've found that using this time to do little tasks around the house actually makes me feel better. I'm not saying I go and do a full massive clean; I might push myself just a bit to wash one or two dishes, or the whole sink if I can manage it. I'll hoover the living room floor. I'll go upstairs and put my clothes away. Just tiny jobs, only as much as I can push myself to do. A lot of the time, one job turns into two, and then two turns to three, and soon my house is spotless, and you know what they say - clean space, clear mind!

9. Take up knitting/ crocheting.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. I only discovered this as a coping mechanism when I was suffering from really bad insomnia and I couldn't sleep; I somehow found myself watching YouTube tutorials on knitting, and I was overcome with this intense urge to learn. It was literally one in the morning, and I drove to my Mum's house (dragged my fiance out of bed to come with me, too, sorry babe <3) and grabbed knitting needles and some yarn. I was up knitting for about an hour, and I felt so relaxed that I actually managed to go to sleep! For the first time in days! So not only can you make really cute clothes and nick-nacks and learn a new skill, you're also relaxing that anxious brain of yours for a little bit.

10. Have a good cry.

Yeah. Just this.

[speeps-highway]

hiya speeps! love your mods and videos, they have fueled my sonic hyperfixations very well! anyway, in one of your older videos you briefly mentioned how sa1 having cutscenes play over top of gameplay was why characters could "make faces" in that game but not sa2. could you go into more detail as to why this is?

In SA1 the cutscenes are done like an RPGMaker event, it has a library of event-specific functions to control characters/objects etc. and forms a list of them as one big script.

Here's an example from one of Sonic's events:

Here's what a few of them do:

EV_MovePoint2: Move a character to coordinates with specified speed and acceleration. There's also a simpler, less used version called EV_MovePoint that does the same thing but at a fixed speed.

EV_SetAction: Give an object an action (Model+Animation) and textures. You can also specify the speed of the animation, whether it loops and (if another EV_SetAction is playing) how many frames to interpolate to this animation from the previous one. (Think every time Sonic moves his hands around while he says "Ah Yeah this is Happenin'", that uses it)

EV_SetFace: Give a character a list of preset facial animations to do (Each letter in the string corresponds to one) . It only works on Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Tikal - no other character has faces. (Except for Big, but the game will do an out of bounds crash since he only has 6 faces instead of 20)

EV _Wait: Pause the event thread for X frames.

Here's some others that aren't in that image:

EV_CreateObject: Creates a blank object, usually used for props by giving them an appearance with EV_SetAction.

EV_PlayPad: Plays back recorded user input, Sonic Team used this whenever they wanted Sonic to jump or do a spindash.

While this way can make everything look stiff at times, it's pretty flexible and easy to play with in a mod. It's also why the game has 8 character slots and why Eggman, Tikal and event ZERO are technically player characters.

The best part about it is that the two aren't mutually exclusive, you can call anything from an event in during gameplay and vice versa, the game does this itself a few times too, like setting a flag that keeps the hint monitors active for the Twinkle Park scene.

The faces are part of the characters themselves and they'll switch to them at any time if the relevant values are changed, so I managed to figure out how to do it in the Dreamcast version in 2017. (Funnily enough, also August).

As I said above with EV_SetFace, there's only 20 faces to hold up the entire game's dialogue with (even fewer in actuality given the ones either reserved for blinking or unused) and they seem to be focused more on expression than speaking, at least for Sonic and Knuckles, which is why a lot of people find them goofy.

There's only one situation the game uses the animations for outside cutscenes - when the player gets hurt, they'll do one of their screaming animations for a few frames. (There's also a funny issue where Sonic does it after hitting Knuckles in his boss fight)

Anyway, you can call any event animation, any face and even spawn event objects (such as Chaos event actors) whenever you want in that game. Usually the only thing they need is their textures loaded.

Here's a few things I did when I first figured out how to do it:

SA2's cutscenes are full 3D animations (like Blender) in the game's event folder, everything in them is entirely separate to the gameplay stuff, so the in-game characters have no mouths or cutscene-specific animations to play around with.

It meant they didn't need to deal with gameplay limitations (like player physics) and were easier for them to test as they have a fixed timeline rather than relying on in-game sequences to fall into place.

They also had much greater control over character expressions. The mouth and head are separated and they aren't limited to the list of 20 faces. Here's a bunch I dug out a few years ago for Amy's brow alone:

They used to be really annoying to edit (I had to use a Hex Editor) but I think the SA2 Modding community has had breakthroughs since. Still, I suck at 3D modelling so I prefer SA1's.

I decompiled all of SADX PC's event scripts a few years ago so if you want to learn exactly what they do (and change them, as it's in mod form) take a look:

[cuntyyellowpikmin]

Wassup.

It's me, Cunty Yellow Pikmin, Cunty for short, CYP if ya don't wanna say the word "cunty," or Cleo "Cunty" Cassidy Cordatum de Yellow Pikmin if ya wanna get reallyyyyy formal.

My pronouns are she/her.

I'm a former member of r/Pikmin's Discord Server "The Zoo," so if you've seen me before then it was probably there. (ask me stuff or DM me!) Unfortunately, I don't have Discord anymore. That's why I made a Tumblr account so I can still talk to the Pikmin fandom.

I speak English and Spanish (Español) fluently. I'm learning Chinese （中文：普通话）(more proficiency) and Japanese（日本語）(less proficiency) as well.

A little about me, I guess. I was born with a Dandori Issue (ADHD) that may end up staying with me for the rest of my life, so if I don't keep my stuff updated then that's probably why, or I'm hyperfocusing on studying cuz I managed to romanticize it for a day and then everything goes back to normal. I draw, paint (a little), produce music, write, crochet, sew, and I'm learning 3D modeling, animation, and a bunch of other things. Call me a jack-of-all-trades, if you will.

UPDATE: I am now, in fact, associated with the original creator (@beansisbugs) of the Cunty Yellow Pikmin meme. We’re moots now!!

Discriminatory people get off my turf, y'all haters ain't allowed on my block. So get yo racism, sexism, homophobia, and whatever else you got there outta my sight, cuz this is no place for hate. If you think otherwise, I'll draw you pregnant, send you to the torture room and then let you pick your execution, or I'll simply just block you. Depends on how I feel. Extremists aren't allowed here either. I'm a feminist, but Radfem is technically another word for misandry and transphobia, so I won't allow it. The goal of feminism is for women to be treated equally to men, not more than them.

PEDOPHILES, ZOOPHILES, NECROPHILES, PROSHIPPERS, AND EVERYONE ELSE THAT IS SIMILAR OR FALLS INTO THIS CATEGORY OF WEIRD CREEPY PEOPLE SHOULD ALSO STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!!

I dare you to check my AO3 it's absolutely horrendous that y'all wouldn't wanna go there. Literally just a Pikmin AU that doesn't even have it's first chapter out yet (as of 11/3/2024) so until I manage to refine the first chapter I'll just let y'all wait I guess. Also I don't know if the Pikmin community would even like whatever the hell I'm cooking. I just gotta find out...

If i already posted any art here, I won't be posting much from now on. Only wips or drawings I don't really care about will be thrown here. The reason why is because of Tumblr's AI takeover and I don't trust the opt-out option in settings. The only place I'm putting my finished art in is Cara or AO3.

Oh yeah I wanna make YouTube videos of Pikmin creations and whatnot, so maybe y'all would wanna watch them?

Okay I talked long enough. Remember guys, Gaslight Gatekeep, Girlboss.

[vexation-816]

Hello it is I, random anon who does not know you and has never interacted with you before, what is your opinion of your mutuals?

Byxell. I know this is you but I gonna still answer this question notheless.

Anyways my opinion on my mutuals. Well where do I start?

@rabid-mercenary16

Firstly, there's the 'Greyscale Jester' Rabid. One of the first people that Ive interacted on here. She's a comedic, funny, creative, and an enjoyable person to talk to in general. When I first started on here I didn't think I would get noticed with my art but I started drawing out her characters and her and Glitchy being one of the first people to like my stuff. In the beginning I was honestly happy that people were liking the stuff I posted and shared on here. She and the others are just a big reminder to me of how I matter and just a funny person to be around I really to the bottom of my heart appreciate them for that. You're an amazing person Rabid. Don't you ever forget that.

@moshieee

Secondly, there's the adhd buddy of mine Moshie. Who cannot like this lovable person. They're one of the second traditional artists that Ive interacted with on here and Ive just enjoyed interacting with them for this entire time. They're an absolute funny, creative and amazing person to talk to in general. Ever since we started to talk more we'd just be rambling about our characters and ideas for hours and I just love their personality overall and they've just been an inspiration for me to keep going. You're an amazing person Moshie. Don't you ever forget that.

@bunnybunnsowo

Thirdly, there's the fluffy bunny friend Bun. He's a funny and creative person to talk about ideas with and they're just funny in general. I haven't talked to them until I started doing stuff for the Mafia AU and when I first talked with them they seemed like a very kind and lovable person to talk to and Im just glad that Ive been able to be friends with them and talk with them. Your amazing Bun. Don't you ever forget that.

@unfunnyaceartist

Next there's the cuphead fanatic Ace. I honestly haven't talked to her as much but she's honestly a very nice and funny person. She's very creative with what she does and they are just an amazing person to talk to in general. She's a very comedic person to talk to about Cuphead and other topics about the game. You matter Ace and don't you ever forget that.

@bixell-pixell

Next there's the robotic pal Bixell. They're a pretty creative and chill person in general. She's pretty funny and creative when it comes to the stuff that they do. Ive done 3D Modeling in the past and Im glad I found another person that takes interest in modeling. Overall they're a cool and funny person to talk to and Im glad that Im able to talk to them.

@dia-smthidk

Now we have 'The Prince' Dia. He's a pretty comedic person to talk with and they're just very creative in general. I remember that they were one of the first few people Ive started to interact with and their AU and they are just a funny person to talk to. Even when the mood is brought down they always manage to persevere. You're an amazing person Dia. Don't forget that. Make sure to take care of yourself.

@lilithloves-you

Now we catch up to Lilith. I honestly never had the chance to talk to Lilith but from what Ive seen she's a pretty nice and funny person to talk to in general. Im sorry if there's barely anything here I just haven't been able to talk to ya but your a very amazing and creative individual and don't forget that.

@glitchyk

Im not sure if Glitch will see this but I will type one out for them anyways. She is honestly a funny, creative, nice, and overall just an amazing person in general. They were always that little voice of motivation that just encouraged me to continue with traditional art and were just there for me whenever I was having a bad day or down to my lowest. I honestly do miss them to the bottom of my heart and I hope they are doing well at the moment.

@neptunestoast

Lastly, we have the Blob, Neptune. Ive seen them around here a few times before but never gotten a chance to talk to them. But when they got invited to the Sona Mafia server they are just a wholesome, funny and creative person to talk to. When I first saw their art style I was shocked on how good it was and was just thinking 'Why is this individual so underrated?!?" But still Neptune your an amazing person dude. Don't forget that.

Im sorry if some of my writing seems repetitive. Im not the best writer out there but I genuinely mean it when I say that you all are amazing people and Im just happy that I got to be able to interact with ya'll.

To the bottom of my heart. Thank you guys for just liking the stuff Ive done and just being like rays of hope and inspiration throughout my time on here. I appreciate you guys. I really do.