#anyway. would be cool to have a hub of the sort.

[sisterdivinium]

Just came across a newsletter thing for another fandom I am absolutely not a part of but I must say that I'm envious. Organised links to various fandom contributions in the form of short fic, long fic, images/videos/audio AND fandom discussions -- and there's a big handful of each and it's updated regularly and it's all recent stuff that covers different aspects of their fannish experience in different platforms.

Why can't we have that

[dr-spectre]

team bread ?!?

side-eyeing aside, how do you feel about this upcoming splatfest ?

Upcoming Splatfest? You mean the Grand Fest right?

I'm gonna assume that is what you're talking about and you know what? I'M SO DAMN HYPED FOR IT!

WE'RE GETTING A BRAND NEW HUB FOR THIS SPLATFEST!!! AND ITS A FUCKING CONCERT WITH GOD DAMN ELECTRONIC RAVE REMIXES OF THE IDOLS SONGS! AND THERE'S INK EVERYWHERE AND UGHHH!!! I LOVE IT!!! ITS GONNA BE SO INSANE IM GONNA CRY I SWEAR TO GODDDDDD!!!!

If I hear Calamari Inkantation remixed by all three of the groups, I will not shut up about it for the next 4 years until we get Splatoon 4. I'm gonna be so fucking annoying and I won't apologise for it.

I mean sure the theme is kind of predictable but hey, it presents some interesting philosophical questions just like how Chaos vs. Order did, and i find those kinds of Splatfests to be the best ones. It's less about an Idol war or some useless shit, but it actually brings about genuine philosophical discussions and I love that!

I know that a lot of people are freaking out about the consequences about this Splatfest, myself included. If Team Past wins, will we go back to the past and never see Callie, Marie, Pearl, Marina, etc, for the next 5 to 7 years? If Team Future wins, will Callie and Marie be old women, and will the other characters we've grown to love.... pass away?

After thinking about it and seeing tweets from people on Twitter discuss it, nah, i don't think either of those outcomes will happen. Remember when people were making a fuss about if Chaos wins that Inkopolis would be covered in flames and be destroyed? Looked at what happened in Splatoon 3. Chaos was just an aesthetic for the new location Splatsville, the Idols, music, etc, and the Inkopolis we know ended up being okay!

If Team Future wins we might get a cool futuristic aesthetic for Splatoon 4 but it'll still be in the same timespan as Splatoon 3! Same with Team Past! Team Present will be the same sort of aesthetic we have currently duh. Obviously it'll be a few years after Splatoon 3 but I'm sure the characters we know we'll be okay!.... right?.... right nintendo?

I think the reason why people say that is because Nintendo has gone on record and said that Splatoon 3 is the "finale of the Splatoon saga" but they only mean the story mode of that game as ROTM tied up everything together theme wise in a neat trilogy. Callie, Marie, and everyone you like will come back because it would be a terrible financial and story decision to get rid of them. How will Nintendo sell new amiibo and merchandise? Off the Hook is so god damn popular and they would obviously come back in new outfits to sell new amiibo. Come on guys. Think like a business person for a second here.

I genuinely don't understand why some fans are so fucking adamant on wanting a clean reboot and to never see these characters again. Why do you want that SOOOO badly? I see that shit a lot on the Splatoon reddit man.

You don't wanna see these two again? Some of the best written characters in the series? You never wanna see these gay cephalopods ever again?!

YOU NEVER WANNA SEE THESE THREE GOOFBALLS THAT WE ALL LOVE AGAIN?!?! THEY HAVE SO MUCH STORY POTENTIAL AND YOU WANT THAT TO BE WASTED?!? FOR WHAT?!?!

And.... you don't wanna see the OGs again? You never wanna see Callie and Marie EVER AGAIN? The most iconic characters in the franchise, up there with the Inklings themselves!!! They have gone through so much and it's clear that Nintendo wants to keep them around, Marie has said in the Splatune 3 interview that she feels like she has an important role in creating the next generation of Idols. And yet... after what the shit they have gone through... you want them gone?

I truly don't believe you want that. Unless you don't really care about them...

Anyways, I am very much excited for the Grand Fest, so much so that thinking about it is giving me weird feelings in my chest. All of the screenshots I'm gonna take... eeeeee.... God help me.

[pigeonpeach]

Love Blooms within the Desert

Aka eremite reader x nilou

Contains: stalking? (Might not be classified as that because its not really creepy or malicious maybe?) pining, fluff. Gender neutral reader

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4 the end

A/n Inspiration struck me randomly so i must go with it

The desert is boring. Inbetween your trips and escorts are you often spending alot of time just in the sand doing nothing. Dancing is a common practice amongst tribes to pass the time and lighten the mood. Although you have never had the race and balance for it. You liked watching people dance instead. You had escorted a few merchants across the desert and thus were making your way back to the main central hub for eremites where you would escort another person. Unfortunately your tribe was content with sleeping off the exhaustion instead of any fun card games or dances. You never had the gut to ask, worried your tough exterior might crack. So you headed to the nearest oasis, the intention was just to bathe a little.

The night was beautiful, the stars were on full view with not a cloud in sight. Its as if there was just a blue filter over the desert with how well lit it was. So you quickly saw the figure of the dancing lady in the oasis. You stopped. If it was a fellow eremite you might be in trouble. Territorial disputes, or just adrenaline junkies were common. You weren’t good at negotiations. Come to think of it, you really weren’t good at much aside from strength related activities, and cooking. Hunting in the desert was a pain, scorpion meat wasn’t tasty so spices and marinades was your way of keeping sane and disguising any sneaky sand particles.

But her dance wasn’t similar to most you had seen. Nor were there others eremites around. It wasn’t impossible. Unfortunately sometimes eremites would be the last ones standing in their tribe, you had met a young girl named Jeht who was attracted by your cooking. You shared with her because you were full anyways, your tribe didn’t like that particular experimental marinade you came up with. So she ate her fill, telling you about her father and mothers passing. How she was looking for Babel, you wished her well and pointed to where you thought she was.

Looking at her closer now however you don’t think she’s a eremite. Actually she kind of looked like a goddess of sorts. Long flowy fabrics, her headdress, her movements were so graceful and serene. She danced to the melody of the night, of the nearby birds that chirped and the loud bugs. Her red hair flowed beautifully as she danced in a shallow part of the oasis, letting the water cool her feet. You knew it was wrong to just… watch someone but.. you couldn’t help it. You sat behind one of the bended palm trees and watched closely.

She was humming. A tune you didn’t know. But it was beautiful to watch. Her face was focused, she seemed.. stressed actually. Sweat dripped down her forehead. Before her eyes suddenly landed on you. A shock was evident as you quickly stood up and backed away.

“S-sorry.. just wanted some.. water..” you said, leaving your claymore in the ground as you cautiously approached the water from the other end. Purposely putting distance between you two in hopes she wouldn’t run off.

“O-oh that’s quite fine. Ah i didn’t mean to pollute the water with my uh… feet.. i just was walking for so long on the hot sand that i uh…”

“Don’t worry I’m not drinking it.” You said a little weirded out by that thought, water is water, so long as its safe you would drink it. But she probably had a different opinion of cleanliness.

“Oh okay..” silence fell between you as you took the opportunity to wash your hair. Cupping the water and drenching your face and hair in it. Temporarily did you remove your mask. Making her cover her mouth for a reason you weren’t sure about. “I.. i didn’t expect you to have such striking eyes. Sorry that must sound weird.”

“It doesn’t really. I’ve gotten weirder comments from people.” You say. You shake off the rest of the water. You would have a proper shower back at the main city, but for now you had to do with this. “So, what is your profession?”

“H-hm? Oh right. I’m Nilou, a dancer for the Zubayr Theatre. We put on lots of performances. My most recent performance was supposed to be about a desert girl so I figured it might help to actually go to the desert. I came later but it was still so hot.” She giggled awkwardly. You sat down, the water soaking your shoes.

“That sounds lovely. Eremites do have their own dances but it really isn’t as intricate as yours. But i think it helps to actually see the desert.” You paused trying to come up with a conversation topic to continue.”You know, not many people in Sumeru actually ever come here. they’re too intimidated by the gangs and hot sand and scorpions. I can’t blame them too much but they’re really missing out.”

“really?” She seemed intrigued.

“Well.. i think that’s just kind of like life you know, you gotta fight bad guys, conquer the environment and you get rewarded with sights like this, the cloudless night with endless stars, the oasis’s. Not to mention the foxes.” She smiled at that.

“Oh yes the foxes! They’re so cute but so skiddish. I wish I could pet one.” She sighed.

“Sometimes they actually come near me. Well only this specific family near Aaru village. I fed them a few times and so they’re more comfortable around me. Truth be told they aren’t optimal for meat or food so i hardly ever do try to hurt them.” She seemed a little startled by that concept, likely envisioning a cruel fate for such cute critters at your hands. You felt a embarrassed by that thought. “Not that i ever have eaten one. Scorpions are better food. They hardly ever hide and they provide alot of meat. They have a texture i’d compare to liek… lobster maybe?”

“Oh. I didn’t know they were edible.” She seemed less weirded out. ‘Wait why are you so eager to impress this lady anyway?’ “Although that does sound a little bit tasty.. i guess I should try it sometime.”

“Oh its great with a rosemary, boar fat, and sweet flower marinade with hara hara spice and minimal salt, oh you can pepper too.”

“Wow, is that recipe popular with eremites?” She asked curiously. You shook your head. Again embarrassed, most eremites looked at your weirdly when you showed that much interest in culinary passions. Although they didn’t complain or argue when you had something to show for it and for them to sample. You still felt embarrassed for culinary preferences to your potential weak spot. Getting spices and other flavors isn’t easy out here.

“Just me and my tribe. Mainly because of me.” You said. “I just can’t stand the same old things for too long. I find the process of concocting and working my surroundings to be quite relaxing. I don’t really know how to make much else that isn’t meaty.i hardly ever get vegetables.” You trailed on. She however seemed more comfortable, even sitting across from you.

“They must like you alot. In my troupe our chef is the most important one. You can’t work well on a empty stomach afterall.” She smiled.

“They tolerate it.” You paused as you decided not to divulge your tensions and issues with your tribe to a stranger. “Say, whats your favorite kind of dishes.” You asked curiously. She seemed to light up.

“Oh I simply love padisarah pudding, there’s also Tachin and sheermal!” You were however lost. You never had any puddings, tachin you had, but you were curious about these delicacies. A curiosity was peaked that you couldn’t satiate. Something pulling you now from your homelife right into her world. Into the forests, the city..

“I’ve never had padisarah pudding. Is it a dessert?” You asked. She nodded.

“Oh you should its lovely, if you ever come to sumeru city I’d love to treat you to some.” She smiled. Your embarrassment was different now, less of shame and now of.. confusion and surprise. You hadn’t had someone like her treat you so nicely, offering you what must be a bit pricey of a promise. She was only a dancer after all, her wages can’t be that good. But that offer sparked something in your stone heart. A crush? Love? Attraction? You bottles it away to deal with later.

“Maybe I will. My tribe and I are heading back in the morning actually. Are you going to the Caravan Ribat tomorrow?” You asked.

“Ah i am. But its okay I can go by myself. I don’t want to burden your tribe out of nowhere.”

“I insist. Its not too safe and… well.. i don’t mean to be mean or rude but your outfit might lure.. robbers and such. I’d be happy to accompany you alone if you would feel safer like that.” You said. ‘Whats wrong with you? Why are you insistent on making sure she’s safe now?’

“Well if you insist. I guess I should’ve thought about a plan to go back.. actually… if you don’t mind… could I sleep near your camp or.. in it maybe? I’m worried about sandstorms coming now.” She seemed rather embarrassed.

“I’ll bring my tent over don’t worry.” You said. “I’ll be right back.” You said, leaving your claymore.

‘Gosh what has gotten into you! Usually you would charge for such but you’re offering a escort for completely free just because she indulged your culinary curiosity and was nice! Are you truly so depraved of affection that you would throw yourself at the feet of those stuck up Akademiya nuts? But she’s not in the Akademiya, she’s a dancer, you hear they hate the arts. If anything she’s more familiar with the adversity you face than you would think. Whatever. You’ll just walk to the Ribat and maybe spend the day with her for a change. You can get a break surely. At least to try that pudding and maybe even see her performance…’

You knew deep down that something else was blooming inside. Your heart nurtured a seed of interest that turned into something more romantic as you thought about Nilou more and more. Ignoring the looks of your fellow tribe members who just shrugged and went back to bed as you hauled the whole tent yourself. You knew however that chances of a successful relationship with a non eremite wouldn’t be in your favor. For your home is the sand and hers is the flowers. But.. it couldn’t hurt to indulge your curiosity. She probably doesn’t even reciprocate anyways.

Nilou meanwhile tried her damnest to fix her headdress and her hair. Hoping she wouldn’t look like a slob or improper lady infront of that attractive eremite.

[fountainpenguin]

"So take it all... The city's yours! It's worth fighting for. It's all mine... it's all yours!" (x)

Chalaza

💙 Read on AO3

🧡 Short multi-chapter - Work in progress

💚 More Pixels Imperfect fics

He pushes his thumb against Martyn's gumline. Martyn rolls his eyes, but doesn't bite. Maybe just to mess with him, Bdubs hitches the curve of his lip higher. "Huh. You've still got all your spawnling teeth. I don't even see any budding fangs… Hey- you wanna punch me in the face?" "Yessir, but that's unrelated to the XP gain." "Oh, you're freakin' hilarious…" Bdubs withdraws his hand, wiping it dry against his leg. Since all of Martyn's friends have been jumpy, wide-eyed sheep with extra evasive sprinkles since they got here, Bdubs cracks the conversation open like a smacked walnut: "Where did you get your Education? Some sort of cult, right?"

Bdubs and Etho wrestle a skin on their server hub’s newest cult escapee. The glowing, hissing Martyn lives in a fishbowl (and/or under Etho’s couch) until he doesn’t.

OR, after Martyn's escape from the EVO hub, Bdubs helps him integrate into a proper phantom hybrid flock. A study in pixel people biology, culture, and social dynamics. Enjoy!

(First 1,000 words below the cut)

Chalaza

Egg Crackers

💙  🧡  💚

Martyn is dead, but unfortunately, no one's had the chance to tell that to Martyn. Martyn's in a fishbowl. Well, like… Martyn's soul is in the fishbowl- his skin fell in the Void. Or maybe got vaporized? Not sure. He looks like glowing blue smoothie stuff, complete with weird sprinkle colors, but Bdubs is pretty sure Etho would strangle him if he tried putting Martyn in a cup. Can you get drunk on real souls like you can on raw binary code? Huh…

Nobody in New Star Station's ever seen nothing like this. Or if they have, they sure haven't said that to Bdubs. Etho said the guy's trying to fight a system overload - Martyn; Martyn's trying (Etho says) - but it sure is violent. Geez…

Every couple minutes, Martyn's consciousness seizes up like a kicked cat. It twirls around like mashed-together clay. You get a huge spiral. You might even get part of a face or a clawing hand. Bdubs has been carrying the fishbowl for two days, even to that way fancy restaurant Etho likes, because it's really cool and you get to show him off to so many people this way, and he gets to be all "Sorry- Etho said only I can hold him." And Etho's the best healer ever and he can fix anything, so it's going to be okay.

But… still, even if he looks cool, Martyn can't hold his form. He comes crashing down every time. So Martyn stays in the fishbowl, because it's better than a bucket, and frankly this was a stupid waste of glass a couple years ago and it's good to put it to some use now. Bdubs keeps chucking pieces of sausage in there because maybe Martyn'll like that, but so far it's just been Martyn and the sausage and the other sausage and the other other sausage in the bowl, and Etho's probably gonna slap him for that.

"This is the voidfish market," Bdubs says anyway, holding Martyn's fishbowl above his head. Oh- we skipped forward. It's Wednesday now and not much has changed. If Martyn's a soul, he maybe won't be able to see out his eyes. If he's got free-cam, then probably. It's complicated; Bdubs leaves all that coding stuff to Etho anyway. He gives the fishbowl a slight rattle, just to wake Martyn up. "I guess you already know this place, huh? You flew out of the Void! Like, what? I can't believe you found us! We're a secret underground portal hub, and you just flew right in from the bottom! I never even knew you could do that! Ohhh, Scott's gonna fix it. You watch. He'll figure it out; no one's ever getting in again. You're lucky, Martyn. You're so lucky."

Martyn rests like impossibly bright jam inside the bowl. He doesn't seem interested in the market. Huh. Oh well. Bdubs swivels on his heel and walks down the street, even though the bowl bonks his head on every step. See, it's funnier when you're like, talking to people all normal and suddenly Martyn lurches up and makes grabby claw hands before he falls into the bowl again. Pixels spurt and crackle like tiny, tiny fireworks. Maybe he can't respawn inside the bowl. Is it too small?

How much sand does it take to make a giant bowl? Hmm… And would it be weird to reuse a giant "soul bowl" for cereal at a later time? I mean, you don't wanna waste something like that. That's a lot of glass. It'd be washed first, obviously.

It's been like three days. Nobody's gotten close enough to put a skin on Martyn yet, so Bdubs can't even put a face to his name. Martyn's just a hissing, writhing mess of blue and dashes of white - He's all claws and wings and sometimes teeth or tail. But even if they had a skin tailored to fit him, how're they supposed to get it on him? This guy can't hold his form! The only reason they even know his name is Martyn is 'cuz that's what the new guy Jimmy called him, and Jimmy's having problems keeping his arm together, so it's just a party where everyone's in pain, huh?

"I could eat you," Bdubs says, just to make casual polite conversation. The streets down here in the underground are okay-crowded today, though most people back off when they see a phantom hybrid coming. This may also be 'cuz he just said he might eat somebody and people don't really assume that Martyn can hear them or even get that he's still alive. "My player file's in the server hub, right? So, y'know… I can cycle you through and you're s'posed to respawn just fine! My species' whole thing is stabilizing weird code like yours. Yours too! You're gonna join my flock, right? That'll be fun. A rest will make you less sleepy. You should let me eat you."

Martyn's soul doesn't do much unless he's thrashing around. You can kinda talk to him, but he's not much for conversation. Maybe he can't hear. He probably doesn't have ears. He can't seem to project enough conscious thoughts to signal anything to Bdubs' communicator- not even anything weird and panicky like "stop stop stop." He doesn't even swim around! Why's he in a fishbowl? That's stupid. Briefly, Bdubs debates dumping him in the town square fountain. Maybe cold water will wake him up. Maybe he needs more sausage.

"Oh, I've got an idea. Tango? You know Tango? You probably don't know Tango; you only saw him for like a sec before you melted, I heard. Yeah, I heard you crashed and went up in flames like two seconds after leaving the Void. Well, not flame, but you know what I mean. Hey, Tango's got this huge countertop! We should pour you on that and push a giant cookie cutter in you. Or maybe we should pour you inside a skin anyway and see what happens. I mean, skin's sticky on the inside, right? It's got… adhesion, or whatever."

Read on AO3

[seven-oh-four]

dont know whos front right nkw but hi its chaos system can you explain whats going on in splatoon to us badly maybe we don't go there but are so curious (only if u want )

haii :D okay so i'm not sure how familiar you are with splatoon so here's a few basic things to get out of the way first:

all of the music is diegetic, and is made by bands that exist in-universe!

each game has an "idol group", which is a group of in-universe celebrities who sort of act as the mascot for that game. whenever you open the game, there's a little news segment run by them where they tell you about any updates the game has gotten, what maps are in rotation, special events, if the biblically prophesied mutant salmon invasion is happening, etc! and they also do songs and stuff.

every, like, month or so, there's an event in the game called a Splatfest! basically, a question is asked, such as "Which is better? Cats or dogs?" and you pick a team, and then you will fight against the other team! this will last like 48 hours, and whichever team does better wins the splatfest and whatever option they chose is now legally the correct one! so if team cats won the "dogs vs cats" splatfest that would been cats are officially factually better than dogs forever

oh and also whenever there's a splatfest, each idol picks a different team, acting as a sort of mascot for that team

the games do not receive support forever, but they like to go out with a bang via a final splatfest! these are the biggest ones, and they actually have an influence on the NEXT game!

the first game's splatfests were run by the musical duo Callie and Marie Cuttlefish. they're called the Squid Sisters, because they're cousins. and the final splatfest in Splatoon 1 was Callie vs. Marie!

Marie won, so in the next game, Callie defected to the side of the enemy

Splatoon 2's splatfests were run by Pearl Houzuki and Marina Ida, who make up the band Off The Hook! they're also lesbiabs. the final splatfest of Splatoon 2 was Chaos vs. Order!

chaos won, so Splatoon 3 takes place in the mad max desert that was once known as france

Splatoon 3's splatfests are run by the musical group Deep Cut, consisting of Shiver Hohojiro, Frye Onaga, and Big Man:

you can guess which one is Big Man.

currently, the final splatfest of Splatoon 3 is happening. the Grand Festival!! it's the biggest one there's ever been!!!!!!

the theme is: "Which is most important to you? Past, present, or future?"

and for the first time, instead of each idol representing a specific team, each team is represented by an idol group from one of the games! Past is the Squid Sisters, Present is Off The Hook, and Future is Deep Cut.

anyways

for this splatfest, there is a completely new hub world!!!! the Grand Festival Grounds! and it's really really cool this splatfest is so insanely big :] there's a bunch of stands everywhere selling stuff, all of the characters are attending the festival, and there's three big stages at the venue where each of the idol groups can play.

they have fifteen fully animated choreographed performances involving lights and pyrotechnics and dance moves. all of their songs are like four minutes.

THAT IS A FULL HOUR OF FULLY ANIMATED CHOREOGRAPHED PERFORMANCES FOR THE FICTIONAL CELEBRITIES IN THE SILLY SQUID GAME.

that's also fifteen song remixes just for this event.

and this is only the beginning! this is the opening - this is phase 1. even more is to come on saturday night and i cannot WAIT. all of the idols have special Grand Festival outfits that they, noticably, are not wearing at the concerts!

(also look at how pearl and marina holding hands is the central point of the composition of this piece)

the new map they added to the game specifically for this splatfest, the Grand Splatlands Bowl, has not been used yet! and after we had to do a whole thing last week where we saved it from the salmon

+ the new song, Three Wishes - we still don't even know what it's for yet!

there's a ton of other special little things but that's the grand gist of it! i hope this made sense!

i love infodumping about splatoon i do it to my mom all the time thank you for another opportunity to do so :) ask me about salmonids next i love them

oh since this is anon i should probably @chaosites so that you still get notified for it. ok bye!

[colorfuldream]

Okay so I've seen it a few times now and there are people who genuinely believe the Squid Sisters have the least content out of every group. I mean, I get forgetting Deep Cuts but the Squid Sisters do have as much as Off The Hook. Sure, OTH is starting to look like favorites now but the SS aren't left behind. Here's an itemized list:

They're in every main story mode. They have three whole games about them. The concept of story mode revolves around them. Just because they aren't proactive in them doesn't make it not count. Their quips and banter are what made us care and learn about them. It did flesh them out. They don't have to actively help to be main characters and receive development. The only game you could argue that is Splatoon 3 but it has a writing problem in general. It did close their story, subtle but interesting and well-written (for what Splatoon is), across the three games.

A short story. They're the only ones who have that. That has insane development, providing a lot of details about them. Like, that's a MAJOR thing that's lore-dumping so many things.

They're in almost every concert. They're in all but two concerts. They're canon too. This gives them a lot of presence in the franchise.

Lots of illustrations. Makes sense. Of course they are with how long they've been around. Still an important sign that they're a major part of the franchise (obviously, the main story is about them). It's always nice to see them in different situations anyways. They also get some lore out of them, fleshes them out and whatever. Which brings me to my next point.

Different outfits. It's not only giving us a sense of how they dress, but it's telling a story. Said it before but, for example, we know Marie likes dressing up for Story Mode and be a mentor of some sort. If you pull that string, you can get that she's someone who puts on a façade depending on the occasion and likes teaching/guiding people, her idea of mature and cool is a traditional outfit from her hometown.

Special Fest variants. Yes, they all do. However, the thing that differentiates them is that this is outside their game and, even though they were mostly reskins, they did get fully new outfits and hairstyles which neither other groups did.

Technically, they got a DLC. Even if it's the old hub and basically promo for Side Order.

They're in Smash Bros. That's not nothing. They're not spirits, they're full-on assist trophies. They better be in it honestly, but it's still something they have over the other two groups. It solidifies their status in the franchise.

Many songs, including remixes. Obviously, but they're also on the Splatfest list which never happened before outside of special events. They started it in Splatoon 2's Final Fest and started it in Splatoon 3's regular Fests. They're trend setters! Which leads me to...

Boss Fight. Final Boss, even. Callie started it. Literally. She fought us. The fact that she was The Final Boss™ puts her above the others. They wish they were her.

Solos. They did it first. They've also got not one but two mash-ups of their solos so it gotta count. I would argue that theirs are special too as they're meant to be solo pieces while the Anarchy Poisons are always put together be it on the soundtrack or the concerts. They were made to, and it's lovely, as Deep Cut's continuing the trend OTH's set: a united group that values each other and their work over fame. Their music is made to be together. Anarchy Rainbow and its Poisons is just that, something that's all of them, always. They were also fused in every live version, and the in-game live version, unlike Tide Goes Out and Bomb Rush Blush. These were forcefully mashed up as each sang over the other, desperately trying to drown out their will and win this fight. It's only now, years later, that they get an unexpected mash-up, joyful and harmonious —which in a way is a part of their story, them reclaiming this song as they bring their solos together. The Squid Sisters are working for themselves, they now do whatever they want with their careers and what they sing, how they sing, when they sing is up to them and only them.

They're the end credits of every game. Special mention to Splatoon 3 that just sacrifices its own idol group for them. Unlike Splatoon 2, Deep Cut was involved in Story Mode and for all the 10 minutes they spent in it, the end credits should have been theirs as they sure as hell didn't get a DLC. Their equivalent was a last minute addition at that, unceremoniously added later on without much spotlight. Jeez, they could have had a second collab song instead or something!

They've got the final battle song for every game. Makes sense because it's their story and their games, it's the culmination of their work every single time. Unlike the credits, they at least shared the spotlight with Deep Cut... Hey, if Marie's their boss, doesn't that make her a part of their group or vice-versa? She better be, she's the one handling their paperwork after all (poor woman, it's a mess too and they're not spending wisely. Shouldn't have been talking about becoming a manager, Marie, you're getting roped up in too much silliness and Callie won't help).

Participation in 2 Final Fests. By that, I mean actually having a team and representing it. Otherwise, they're involved in every Final Fest.

Merch. I mean why wouldn't they have some?? But it had to be added. Special note for the concert CD and special edition. I guess I'd put there the interview bit Marie conducted in Splatoon 3's soundtrack bonuses. That's another bit of trivia/insight on her work. The Nintendo Magazine interviews also count as they're relevant to their characters.

Their song is a major part of their world and franchise. Calamari Inkantation has a special place in the lore and the franchise. It's THE song but also THEIR song.

4 amiibos. They might not give their outfits (which I kinda like because I'm not fond of how they did it for the others) but they give out gear related to their story, the game, and that we should have gotten. At least they're fixing that flaw I guess.

Storyline during the Splatfests. Not sure if it should be added but it did culminate into long lasting conflict between the two of them and started their storyline. Since it's missing in Splatoon 3, I think it should be noted. It fleshes them out and makes them feel a bit more alive, like they're affected by the results.

Most of these could apply to Off The Hook too. My point is that the Squid Sisters haven't been neglected, not from Nintendo's point of view. They're more than included, arguably the stars of Splatoon 1 and 3. The thing is that Off The Hook is the fan favorite right now so most of our attention is on them, not the others. The Squid Sisters have also been so ingrained in the franchise that we're used to it. We readily accepted they would be the stars of Splatoon 3 because they took over most of Splatoon 2 until Octo Expansion. We assumed the other two groups would get DLCs, or that Deep Cut would be involved in OTH's like in the Main Story, only to realize that Nintendo didn't give a damn and gave the spotlight to OTH alone in an attempt to replicate what Splatoon 2 did. Obviously, once we got over Side Order, we kinda realized this was unfair and that there was favoritism. It didn't help that OTH was featured in regular battles and that Splatoon 2 and 3 handled Splatfests differently, with special events and work done to the idols. We've come a long way since the first game, which itself had changed plenty during its time, so it feels unfair that the Squid Sisters didn't benefit from what the others got or for as long. That doesn't mean they didn't get a lot and weren't the favorites for a long time.

Now, I'm gonna address the thing that made me write this in the first place:

They do have a story and development. Just because it wasn't in your face doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Up until Splatoon 3, the story wasn't as obvious as it could be when it came to the idols. Marina's background is clear-cut, because you cannot be too subtle about it, but apart from some big lines, it wasn't directly stated, nor was her development in Octo Expansion (it's heavily linked to Agent 8 and the Octavian but the fact that she comes to be comfortable in what species she is and overcomes her fear of being found out and rejected should count as a story). She's fascinating and it's important to the world.

But that doesn't leave the Squid Sisters flat and boring. They had an arc! Them slowly resenting each other because of their time as Splatcast anchors, because they were always pit against each other, because of the way being an idol works, is a story in itself. It was bad enough to get Callie to free Octavio, who's a terrible, dangerous person as far as she knew then, and go to the Octarians, poor, underground enemies. The Hypno-Shades are more like heavily suggesting you to obey, we know that Callie had some sort of free will to put glitter, of all things, into their ink. She also was fully conscious of her actions when freeing Octavio, and we know this guy isn't a mastermind and world class manipulator. Marie wasn't doing much better, working a lot and being stressed. Fame drove them apart and broke Callie down to the point of going to people who wanted hers dead. She freed a war criminal. Once Marie saved her, mostly from her own despair, they decided to do their own thing. They didn't need fame or their careers. Family was more important. Tidal Rush was their solos crashing against each other, not listening and trying to sing over the opponent, until Marie blasted on a song that meant the world to them. The hymn of sea kind. The song that they won that fateful contest with when they were young, the reason why their dream came true. The song that they sang when safinf their dear grandpa, powerful enough to make Octolings give up everything and try to join the surface. A beautiful memory. Something that was theirs. And so they sang. Together. "I remember everything!" The innocent days they practiced for the contest, the terrifying ride to Inkopolis, the nervousness of their first Splatcast. But they were together. She wasn't alone. Marie had always been on her side. Neither of them wanted this. If it had been up to them, nobody would have compared them to each other. They wouldn't have been choices for their last Splatfest. It's a certain kind of cruel to ask which of the two teenage girls was the better one. Callie wasn't angry at Marie, she was angry at the system. She felt awkward, self-conscious, worthless because of her status as a celebrity, because she as a person didn't matter. Her comfort? Who cares. Take the photos, sing the songs, be careful to be perfect. She was overworked, isolated, and the only person she could count on was put in the same position and told she was a competitor.

Fresh Start is the two of them reconnecting away from show business. Going back to their roots. They stop being idols afterwards, they don't sing much anymore. They get their own careers. Callie slowly finds the strength to be in the spotlight after so long and goes back to acting, unlike Marie this seems to be more of her thing. Marie keeps on with her podcast, now using it to hype Callie up. Splatoon 3 even shows us that Callie is some sort of spokesperson, announcing that an Inkopolis stage will undergo reconstruction. She's rebuilding her career on her own and making it her own. The Squid Sisters, while some of the most people in the world, weren't recognized in the Splatlands. Sure, Shiver and Frye probably didn't give a damn about Inkopolis musicians but Big Man is a fan, he's even showed them their music, and he still didn't recognize them. They're known for their music, their names possibly for themselves. Splatoon 3 is the only game not to give them a story, even its details don't imply much. But the previous two games did.

It's a story of two girls who got famous too soon, too suddenly, and got eaten by showbusiness. It's two young women taking their power back and breaking free from the idol life. It's a family that managed to heal from the damage fame caused over the years.

I dunno but I think it's beautiful and I'm a sucker for stories that criticize being an idol and family coming together. The Squid Sisters' entire thing was being idols, that's their entire concept, especially identical ones which is dehumanizing enough. It's fitting and not something you'd expect out of Splatoon of all places but it's the kind of franchise that gets surprisingly deep and dark in its smallest details.

No, they're not neglected or underdeveloped. Their story is there, just not as flashy as you'd expect. Their presence is something we're so used to that we don't clock it anymore, moreso when the other group gets attention too. Splatoon 3 didn't handle the writing well, as fun and silly as it gets, and it shows in a lot of ways. It's easy to go "so what was the point of the Squid Sisters being there?" when the story didn't bother doing anything with them for once but they weren't the only one neglected nor did they not get content in other ways!

[appleciderjulie]

i have more rambles for you guyysss~

i just got back from my fall break vacation to universal studios, and i had a lot of fun!! the highlight of my trip was definitely nintendo world, but i was very disappointed to find that it was all mario stuff. i mean, dont get me wrong, i love the mario franchise, but splatoon will always have my heart

so today i just wanted to talk about what i think some sort of “splatoon world” theme park thing would look like! just a note: i dont actually expect any of this to actually happen, (god forbid nintendo has any sort of splatoon-related stuff available to north america-) but its fun to think about, isn’t it?

first of all, the aesthetic and vibes. i think any of the hubs could work, but splatoon 3’s would probably work the best shape and structure wise. also its my favorite city out of the three and this is my post so i get the final and only say ok

one thing i noticed is that instead of traditional roller coasters, its all “experience rides” which are like the 3d glasses where your seat is shaking to mimic as though you were actually there. having a salmon run ride would be really cool, i think. you can be a salmon run worker, working with a team of 4 to defeat salmonids and collect golden eggs, with a triumvirate battle at the end ofc.

i want the shops to be like the actual in-game stores, like the merch store is hotlantis, and you can get food at a little booth like you do in-game, like a marigold cafe or something along those lines.

anyways i hope you guys dont mind me being delusional about all this, i just got a bunch of ideas in my head and needed to get them out so i could function like a normal person again (nintendo should hire me)

[aeoki]

Candy House - Electric Utopia: Chapter 11

Characters: Sora, Natsume & Tsumugi Season: Autumn

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< Ten or so minutes later. Cyberworld “Candy House” Central Hub. >

Natsume: ⸻

(I sEE. This is amaziNG.)

(The scenery changed the moment I blinkED. We moved from our reality to “Candy HouSE” – to this strange worLD.)

(So this is what the new “SSVRS” that was made specifically for “Candy House” can dO.)

(In reality, wearing contact lenses and accessing the cyberworld that way feels much more comfortable than using the headsET.)

(It feels as though I’ve obtained a brand new pair of eyes in order to catch a glimpse at a strange world that shouldn’t exist in the first plaCE.)

(It feels much more immersiVE. But if we’re just viewing another virtual reality, then it’s no different than any of the other “SSVRS” experiencES.)

Tsumugi?: Master~...♪

Natsume: ………!?

Tsumugi?: Wow! It’s so cool! Not only does the scenery change, but you can actually touch the things here! You can even smell it!

It’s like we’re actually touching, Master~! Huuuuug ♪

Natsume: …What do you think you’re doiNG? Don’t casually hug mE – Do you have a death wish, you perveRT?

Tsumugi?: Ugh! Don’t strangle me! Sure, we don’t feel as much stress here compared to reality, but it still hurts!

Natsume: WeLL, since the game is going to be sold to the general public, they can’t make it so that the players actually feel pain when they’re huRT…

Or the players will die when they die in the gaME.

This virtual reality, “Candy House”, is a utopia that doesn’t have those undesirable real life factoRS.

Tsumugi?: P–Please don’t explain all that as you’re strangling me! It’s getting hard to breathe, but Sora will be sad if he gets killed by Master~

This actually feels pretty real?

Natsume: That manner of speakiNG… Is that you, SoRA? You look exactly like that Phantom MopheAD.

Tsumugi?: Yes! Sora did his best to make Sora’s avatar look just like Senpai! Tadaa~☆

Natsume: Don’t give me thAT. It’s revolting seeing Senpai move so cuteLY. It gives me the sudden urge to kiLL.

If the actual Senpai acted like that, then I’ll hire a hitman and remove him from this EarTH.

Tsumugi?: Uuu, but Sora worked so hard on this avatar~ Master~ doesn’t like it~?

Natsume: Why would you make your avatar look like Senpai, anywAY?

You can apparently look however you want in “Candy HouSE”.

So why did you choose to look like SenpAI? You didn’t think I was good enough for yOU? Do you prefer Senpai over me, SoRA?

Tsumugi?: U–Um? Sora just wanted to? Sora figured that he might understand Senpai more if he looked like him~?

Sora wants to learn more about Senpai!

Sora wants to learn more about Master~ too! After all, we’re all going to be working together in the same unit forever from now on! Heheh ♪

Natsume: UgH, don’t say such adorable thinGS! I want to hug you but your appearance is infuriating and it’s confusing my braIN!

Mophead: Um…

Natsume: …..!? Now whAT?

Mophead: Oh, it’s me. Me, you know? I can’t see myself but for some reason, I don’t think I’m human right now.

Natsume: I’m not going to be able to know if you just say “mE”. I don’t know any evil spirits or monsteRS. I suppose I do know someone who calls themself a vampire, thouGH?

WaIT. Oh, rigHT. Come to think of it, I think I set it so that you look like some sort of hairy monstER.

I think I also set your name to “MopheAD”.

Mophead: Why would you bully me like that…?

Well, it’s not like I hate it. In fact, it makes me happy to see you’re doing all these things for me!

Natsume: Shut uP. Anyway, you arrived late because you had to register an account and everythiNG.

But where’s Stheno-sAN? She said she would take us arouND.

Mophead: Huh? She’s not here? That’s weird~

Ah, I’ve heard that only the soul gets transported into the virtual world and since Stheno-san is a robot, maybe she couldn’t make it?

Natsume: She’s a real person so that wouldn’t make senSE.

Even robots should be able to freely walk around in this world if they make an accouNT…

???: “Welcome.”

“I’ve been waiting for you, ‘Switch’.”

Natsume: …SoRA?

Tsumugi?: Yes? Sora is here?

Natsume: Oh right, Sora looks like Senpai right nOW.

Then who’s that SoRA? Is that Stheno-sAN?

???: “I used a barrier to keep that ‘Witch’ out. I didn’t want any interruptions, you see.”

Natsume: A barriER…?

???: “Hehe. I spoke in a poetic manner to match your style. She was just denied access to ‘Candy House’ and couldn’t log in.”

“I don’t know how long I can keep that ‘Witch’ out, so I’ll tell you everything I can – as quickly as I can.”

“No. Before that, I should introduce myself.”

Euryale: “My name is Euryale.”

Tsumugi?: Euryale…? Wait, Ecchan!?

Euryale: “Yup, that’s me. We finally meet, Sora-kun.”

“This is our first time properly meeting each other, so I don’t want to act all friendly in order to ask you a favour, but…”

“Please, help me.”

“I’ve been trapped in this ‘Candy House’ since I was little.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

[technovillain]

really curious about your ideas for the Truman mind DLC, care to share- you said you had wall of text and phone, and we always love to see those pour out- as alas we cannot dive into minds (yet).

Several people have asked for my wall of text now so I must oblige!!! I'll clean up my phone memo stuff a little bit for you all :] Here we go:

TRUMAN'S TOPIARY:

A twisting garden theme with a notably busy vibe. Lots of little mental workers ( the Trumen ) hard at work trimming all the tiny branches. Multi-tiered hedge maze setup that plays with different types of plants throughout, including different people from his life represented as different types of plants.

You start out in an endless grassy field with a giant topiary tree in it there are green needle weeds at the base of one side. A few censors and regrets burst out around this area to fight. As you approach the tree you can climb up it, and there are carvings in the wood akin to Truman's tattoos (I am a Truman cool hidden tattoos truther okay).

The first level is absolutely crawling with Trumen, little garden-gnome-esque Truman guys who would prune the trees in a very calculated manner....normally. Right now they are crazy busy at work pruning thousands of little gristol heads out of the woodwork...nasty bodysnatching side effects. There is a hub in this area with a big brainlike water feature reminiscent of the original motherlobe design. Warm dappled green lighting everywhere. 

Truman will talk to you inside his mind, like Sasha and Milla do. But he isn't so much present as just himself but rather sort of the whole tree is him in a way?? Or maybe just a certain part of the tree he is visible and speaks to you. The leaves around you can part and open and blink like his eyes. The ground rumbles a little when he talks and shakes a lot when he laughs or shouts.

There is an area full of flowers for Lili, and a lily flower version of Lili. His representation of her makes it entirely clear that she is an absolute ray of sunshine in his life. This area is somewhat reminiscent of a kid's bedroom mixed with a flower garden....something something flower bed.

There is a secondary area above the main hub where you can find Hollis (as well as a few other agents) as plant characters. This area covers his relationship with her and the other agents and also how he feels about the current state of the Psychonauts.

There is the Truman part of the Truman Tree at the top and that's where you learn more about him and you can hear all his thoughts. This is where you see how he really works. The Trumen are kind of like harmless censors in a way. As you observe them you realize they have a bit of a "hiding what the vibe really is" thing going on as they overwater, overprune, and overwork themselves. In this room is an access point to the main trunk piece of the Truman Tree. You can go inside and slide down it to the root system.

The roots area allows you to see a bit into Truman's past and this is where you see his relationships to Bob and Laurel (his mother). The main problem here is Bob being essentially buried alive. Thats what's causing the crazy weeds on the surface and all the strife in his head is his really shitty relationship with Bob and the heavy regrets he has about how he left things with him and feeling responsible for Bob's rapid decline.

We see that he can make a clean break, although it splinters pretty heavily with Delphine's area of the tree being pruned away, with Delphine connections being left mostly through the Lili section of the brain. [Memory vault in a part of the Lili section that goes through the rise and fall of their relationship quickly]

Anyways the root system shows us a memory vault of Truman's memories with his mother Laurel, with the last one implying her death from cancer. The physical version of Laurel is her as some sort of plant that has been closed in a book. Reminiscent of both a coffin and also the fond memory that goes along with a plant pressing. What book it is might be relevant in some way...haven't decided yet

The other part of the root system is Bob. The Bob, who is a very thorny cactus man in a closed in glass planter. It is cracked and the thorny weeds are breaking through it and up to the surface but no light comes in.

.... I honestly haven't thought a whole lot about gameplay mechanics other than that it relies heavily on Herbaphony, the new power that Truman teaches you. Levitation and mental connection doesn't really do anything for getting around in this level.

Herbaphony has two primary features and functions pretty similarly to mental connection. In a non combat setting it helps you get around into new areas. Using herbaphony on hotspots grows purple vines around them. Growing lots of vines next to each other connects them and you can climb up them. In combat, you can grow vines around enemies and the plants sap their energy and gives it to you.

[rudjedet]

Oh hey! Another anosmic! So rare to see. I'll admit, I can smell now, but I was definitely born without the ability to do so.

My parents didn't notice it until I was 5 and I couldn't smell Vick's VapoRub, but they quickly found me like, the only anosmia clinic in the country and the first in the world, Dr. Henkin's Taste and Smell Clinic. It was and is unlike any clinic I've been to. They had rows of brown glass bottles of (probably) pungent liquids, they would collect saliva from you using name-brand lemon juice, you would get your blood drawn monthly in the doctor's own office, a little closet-sized room stacked floor to ceiling with binders. (Maybe this description is just showing how privileged i am) Anyway he treated me with an athsma medicine for 3-4 years and it indeed worked.

The first thing I smelled was my mom's minty breath after she brushed her teeth. Not having any frame of reference, I called it stinky lol

I've found smell to be a very valuable sense, and I'm eternally grateful to Henkin and his colleagues. When I was maybe 10 I was camping with my father and my sister, and me and my sister were in a tent together with a space heater. Had I not smelled the space heater burning my sister's blanket, we both could have been seriously burned.

About your question, I've never noticed distinctly different smells coming from anyone I know. Sweat smells the same on everybody, farts can smell a little different based on diet, same goes for mouth smell, we all sort of smell the same. The closest I can think of to "people's scents smell different" is people mistaking the idea of cologne or perfume for something like animal musk, which it Is Not.

But then again I do have those anonymized MRIs floating around the clinic's website, so maybe my sense of smell isn't exactly normal lmao

Oh that's cool! Based on all the responses, whether or not you can smell other people (and even whether sugar granulate has a scent) seems to be highly dependent on a ton of factors. Perfume and other hygiene products is one thing, but there's definitely people saying they can recognise certain people under certain circumstances based on their scent.

Most of you weren't around for this, but during my second pregnancy I suddenly started being able to smell (and this was the thing that made me side eye my uterus because I hadn't done a pregnancy test at that point yet). The first whiff of something I caught was the window cleaner I was using at work. It smelled vaguely sweet, and it was such a weird experience. The next morning I visited bestie and we tore open her spices cabinet just shoving anything and everything into my nostrils. I could mostly get the pungent stuff like paprika and dried ginger. Two weeks later we were out for ramen and that's when I recognised my first smell without knowing what it was beforehand (the ginger in the gyoza).

I lost that baby and the smelling went away again, but for my last pregnancy the same thing happened. Unfortunately what also happened is that I ended up with pregnancy rhinitis and hay fever (hubs has hay fever and our kiddo does too, so throughout pregnancy I was suffering thanks to his overly excited immune system copying onto baby), so there wasn't much smelling going on during the pregnancy itself. It did persist for about 6 months post-partum, and I did find out that if I keep my dust allergy under control with antihistamines, I can sort of smell again once my ovulation rolls around.

Interestingly and opposite you, my immediate response to any scent is "oh wow that's nice!", I guess just because I can even smell it lmao. But once I get used to them, there's room for nuance. My favourite scents are ginger, properly aged cheese, and my daughter. I will say I once walked into a group of old humans (choir practice, lmao) and... didn't like it, it was this uncomfortable wall of something undefinable. Dirty diapers are ... oddly minty? I wouldn't classify it as a "stink" but it's a scent that definitely lingers.

The thing with human personal scents and why I operated on the notion that all humans in general would be able to recognise someone based on scent is part having smelled my own kid before and hearing a lot of mums say they love the scents of their children, part knowing that perfume does tend to travel across larger distances, part being told that I have a pretty present personal scent, part being autistic and having overactive other senses and thus thinking "well scent would be the same then wouldn't it", and part just... not having any direct experience with it lmao. As with everything scent-related everyone's replies have all been extremely elucidating, just like the time I ended up hyperfocussing on perfumes.

[cecelianonymous22]

Okay i had to talk about this

So

Final fest just got announced a few hours ago

Squid sisters and oth look fire, more pearlina, new amiibos, the setting looks really cool and i like the visual of your inkfish being covered in ink splotches

However

The Splatfest theme has me concerned

Past vs present vs future

Now obviously present isn't going to win so its essentially just past vs future

Why is this concerning to me?

Im big into lore alright, i know almost every piece of lore (except about the bands), that kind of thing

I think no matter which side wins, I feel like its going to be really regressive going into the next game. For past, quite literally. it would probably be a load of retconning like Alterna was. But for future, i also feel like it would 1) mess with some sort of continuity or 2) just be really poorly executed

Which ties into another reason why im nervous about this last fest: the Splatoon devs most likely have in mind what side they want to win, and if that team doesn't win, we'll end up with a weird half-in half-out game like Splatoon 3

Let me explain

Chaos vs Order was HUGE

It was a big deal for a lot of different reasons, but everyone knew it would decide the fate of the next game.

I firmly believe that the Splatoon team wanted Order to win. Genuinely. Possibly they expected Order to win. So when Chaos won, they had to scrape together concepts and make the next game

Which leads Splatoon 3 to having (in my opinion) an uninspired main hub (whose chaos elements are rarely explored) and uninteresting idols (who i love but they feel so shallow to me compared to the other idols)

I think it's likely Alterna was meant to be the order-oriented story mode. Because if you remove the tutorial area, there's nothing "chaotic" about 3's campaign. The pristine, high-tech stages complete with an AI main character all scream Order.

Dont get me wrong, I think it's narratively fitting that Mr Grizz, the only one of three neutral parties in chaos vs order, is the antagonist of the most thematically ambiguous campaign.

But to have an entire order-esc campaign AND TO HAVE SIDE ORDER (which i could go on another probably controversial rant about) feels kind of redundant, and i to this day am upset that we didn't see more chaos elements beyond the hub, idols, and ig you could count the salmon run plotline? Idk man

Anyway, what im saying is im worried a potential Splatoon 4 would have the same sort theme confusion, where we wouldn't be able to just explore the aspect of the team that won and then maybe wait for DLC—we'd have a weird blend of the two that try telling their stories at the same time and end end up being ultimately underwhelming.

And lemme just say, this isnt hate, these are scattered thoughts ive been marinating on for a while because i love the Splatoon franchise. Its one of my special interests and ive been playing since the original. But theres so much i just straight up dont like about Splatoon 3 that im worried will continue in a sequel

I dont want to spark controversy, just constructive conversation. Be aware that it is 3 AM at the time of me writing all of this and its completely a train of thought type thing. I can get my thoughts together in the morning if anyone wants but yeah, im just worried

[boundlss]

currently failing to write, so I am going to trick other people into writing instead. Do you have any cool bits of muse lore and/or headcanons that you've always wanted to mention in a plot but just never had an opportunity?

hahaha it took me a few days to get to this because i've been off doing things that AREN'T tumblr rp related, but i'm here now and happy to answer this question (thank you, by the way, i really appreciate you taking the time to send it presumably knowing how much i LOOOVE talking about my muses).

when it comes to this particular blog the natural answer is "um, yes, i don't ever REALLY get the chance to talk about 99 percent of my muses" but that has the potential to be both a very short and very LONG answer so i'll probably just leave you with some stuff for muses that are my personal favorites.

to start off with this is about shiroe log horizon; i don't really know how cool i would call this lore but one of the things i am OBSESSED with about him that i don't always get to discuss is his pre-show activity related to elder tale. he's a dedicated forum user who i hc as having moderated or run the popular discussion sites---in a way not too dissimilar to rev when it comes to baccano!---and who put a lot of his time into dissecting the best and most efficient ways to level in the game, beat raids, etc... it's pretty lame all things considered when it comes to "things about shiroe log horizon" but i've always LOVED the detail that was put into him being a superfan of the game and how that didn't JUST reflect in his activities within the game! i love that he has a sort of canonical "fandom notoriety" because of not only his past involvement with a notorious party but also his own individual out-of-game actions relating to it!

onto another muse; one thing i don't get to discuss with kaito a lot is my actual "mainverse" for him. on my list i have him versed in project sekai for sorting convenience (and for that matter the same is true with longya) but i've actually designed a pretty complex mainverse for him where he's a technological creature created from the thoughts and feelings that listen to the music he's featured in and the songs themselves. because the sense of identity of a vocaloid is pretty nebulous, he was never really much of a consistent being at all, but having gained recent trends in his characterization he's started to take on an actual life and have a real desire to experience existence outside of technology and hologram performances. this verse originated from miku, when i wrote her, but now kaito is in his own unique situation with it and i don't get to use it very often. i think it has a lot of potential in both the wholesome and horror directions.

and fiiiiiinally, i have one of my ocs to talk about, number 44! there are a lot of interesting things i could say about him as he relates to twain over on antisatiric but i don't often get the chance to discuss him from a non twain-centric perspective. i think the thing about him i like the most is that he is both an eternal presence and also the longest in a very long line, and while he has access to and can draw stories from the multiverse, his presence is inherently connected to the "main universe" i have set twain's story in due to twain's universe being a hub of stories where every piece of fiction is real in another world. before he was the archivist, there was a different world considered the "hub world" which had to die in order for the previous archivist to die and 44 to take over the position---so the "hub world" only becomes the hub world BECAUSE the eternal archivist is tied to it. if 44 and the current hub world die, twain will take his place as 45 and a new nascent universe will be created as the new hub world. his lore can get a little complex sometimes.

well anyway, thank you a lot for the ask. i really do like talking like this and it's good to put SOMETHING out on the blog even if that something isn't a reply. ur a real one sawagi :D.

unprompted. / always accepting.

[manapotionstudios]

DelaneyPost 01 (ManaPost 06): Fungeon -- Clever Wordplay!

Heyo! Y here for today’s Mana-welcome! Except it’s not the usual ManaPost… This is the first DelaneyPost! Ever! Yippee!!! Strap in for the long haul, this one’s a doozy.

Since you all haven’t seen anything about Delaney since the teaser, it would be nice to learn about the protagonist, yes?

THE Laney

Introducing Delaney! The protagonist of Delaney. Yup. This stoic, havoc-wreaking, hammer-wielding anarchist leads the venture deep into a cult’s mysterious manor responsible for the assimilation of everyone near and far to their twisted status quo. She’s slinging herself through every pile of flesh and bone, bashing through any wall in order to destroy this cult from the outside in!

Where did she come from?

Delaney actually stems from an interesting interaction with a close friend, Denise Tranglong, who had shared a character concept with us. Naturally, it was a very cool concept, and we immediately inquired for permission to use this character, and since you’re seeing this post now, she had granted said permission. Of course, we’ve taken a few creative liberties, but her core design and personality stays true to the original creator’s intentions.

Where did she go? Originally, we took the initial hiatus from Delaney due to a flood of new ideas and inspiration for Manaport! Since we try to keep a fluid and open mindset when it comes to what we want to work on, we tend to bounce around from time to time. This ensures persistent focus on getting at least something done each week, and it’s the reason why we can get these ManaPosts out every weekend!

Where did she come from, Cotton-Eye Joe?

Delaney’s origins in canon are unknown. She clearly has some hatred towards this cult, but it isn’t clear if this is a personal gripe. She’s not the most talkative, probably focusing on the task at hand. We’re worried to question her anyway — she’s quite heavy-handed when it comes to her trusty hammer.

Incredibly stretched subheadings aside, Gameplay! What’s it gonna be like to play the game?

The Fungeon

Delaney is a spin on the run-of-the-mill dungeon-crawler roguelike formula! That’s just it, you spin!

In order to navigate these endless rooms of clicking bones and armour, spin and fling delaney in ANY direction you choose! Get anywhere without the inconvenience of WALKING! Don’t you just HATE walking sometimes? This is the solution for you!

Of course, since this is also a hammer, you can bash anyone and anything with it. This has its own range of abilities that we plan to add, though not shown here. Rest assured that your screen will be filled with beautifully vibrant damage numbers and repeating sounds of the screams of the damned.

Violence aside, how does it all work?

NOT The Backrooms

Here be dragons! This section of the ManaPost is quite technical! We encourage you to read up on these concepts/algorithms if you’re interested. The reference used for a majority of this implementation can be found here

First, we generate a fixed number of rooms with random size within a circular area. Rooms that are larger than a set threshold, we label as “Hub Rooms,” or rooms where you’ll find most monsters.

Then, we run — not joking here — a Delaunay Triangulation algorithm on each Hub Room, creating a sort of graph that connects every Hub Room to each other.

Then, we use Kruskal’s Algorithm to find the Minimum Spanning Tree of the aforementioned triangulation graph.

Then, we add a few edges back from the Delaunay Triangulation. 

Lastly, generate the hallways connecting these rooms, and remove the rooms that aren't necessary (labeled in red,) and boom, fungeon!

This is a very simplified explanation of this generation algorithm, and again, if you would like a little more in depth “tutorial” once again, the reference we used for this system can be found here.

With the 🤓 out of the way, we finally have the makings of a decent gameplay loop! You can finally pause and exit the game! A Manapotion first :)

We don't have much else to show since we're still working out the kinks in this new system, but know that we're doing our best to make these DelaneyPosts as content-filled as possible, since it's a very simple game in contrast to Manaport.

To bring this DelaneyPost to a close,

Thank you very much for sticking with us this past month. We've made lots of great progress on our two games and we love to share these tidbits with you every weekend. We hope you've had a great pride month!

See you all next week!

C and Y

[katherinejblackwell]

Yours, Katherine #8.5 - Room Progress & Current Reads

Also read on my website! | Other Socials

Photo by Daniela Constantini

Dear Readers,

Well, for one, let's address the decimal-ephant in the room. 

Starting this month, I'm testing out a new posting schedule for the blog and YouTube. I've felt like both of the hobbies have been slipping lately, so I decided to try alternating every month if I focus on writing a blog post or making a video. That way, I'm giving attention to both and I have a small, achievable creative goal each month. But I also didn't really want the blog to stop being monthly, and I liked last month's format where I tried writing it more like a letter to fit the blog's theme. So, the blog will keep coming out monthly, but I'll have two different post styles. The months where the blog is the focus, I'll have a more formatted post that focuses on a specific topic and the number in the header will be a whole number. The months where the channel is the focus, I'll write a post that's more ramble-y and letter-like and the number will have a .5 after it to show that we're kind of in-between the "real" posts. Hope that makes sense! This might change again in the future as I get a feel for what works for me, but we'll stick with this for now.Now, an announcement, which I'm retroactively putting at the beginning of the letter because, in writing my first draft, I somehow managed to completely forget to bring it up.

I made a Discord server!Sort of.I did, in fact, make a server, but there are no public channels open for chatting. That might seem counterintuitive, but here's my train of thought. Even though I don't think anyone would be using them much any time soon, I believe moderating public chatrooms like that carries a big responsibility to do things correctly and fairly, and that's something a little more delicate than I'm willing to undertake at the moment. Also, the main motivation behind making the server anyway was that I wanted there to be one hub to get notifications and stay up to date about everything that I post. I do post on Tumblr and Instagram when I upload something new, but it's really easy for that to get lost in the feed. I thought a server would work well because if the notifications are contained to one specific channel, there's no feed of other posts to get lost in and it's really easy to scroll up a bit and see what you missed. I also like Discord as an option because, with a server, I can always add extra stuff for fun as I think of it, and I've already added a few extra channels. There's one where I'll post a song I like every week on Sunday, one where I'll post pictures of purple things that I find out and about, and one called #free-stuff where a Discord bot will share when it finds free games that are normally paid, and where I'll post when I find cool stuff that's free/discounted for a while. The invite link has been added to my 

social media tab, and after this post goes out I'll be adding the link to all my accounts!If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a DM on Instagram, or 

poke your head into the server to check it out yourself. 

​ Now, to actually get into it, not much has happened since my last letter. Or, at least it oddly doesn't 

feel like much has happened. A lot has happened, or at least one event that feels like a lot, though it's not something I can really share here. So, either way, as far as things you're allowed to know about go, not a lot has happened. I feel like I don't have much to update you on (the yapper will persevere, however). I haven't made good on my "surprise" that my room would be completely cleaned the next time I wrote. I didn't really think I would, honestly, but I did have a little bit of hope. That being said, I haven't made 

no progress. I get little bits done week by week. Last night, my project was going through my pen stash and picking just a handful to keep. The rest I'll be spending the next few days trying to find good homes for. My next goal is to sort through all of the paper clutter I have in my room. Mostly, it's old class materials from high school that I saved in case either I needed to look back at it or my younger friends needed help with a class I'd taken before, but it's been long enough that I'm past any of it being useful anymore. I also have an 

obscene amount of sheet music from doing band throughout high school and middle school. So, after I order 

these boxes I've been eyeballing, I'm gonna go through absolutely all of the old papers/notebooks I have in my room and by my desk downstairs and clear out as much as possible. The hope, at least for the school stuff, is to have only one box each for elementary, middle, and high school, which means a 

lot would have to get pitched. Fear not, though, I fully intend on recycling everything I don't keep. And, conveniently, I wanted to try making my own paper again soon, so I'll be setting aside plenty to get blended into pulp too.Very off topic, but I was thinking about Christmas last night. Being the kind of person who makes a lot of my Christmas gifts, it's way past when I should've started making things, so I was spending some time brainstorming ideas. I'm both excited for Christmas and not. I love making and wrapping presents. I get so much joy out of spending hours at my desk making art and customizing the wrapping - adding stamps and thrifted ribbons and tying little charms onto the bow. The lights are beautiful, I get to bury myself under a pile of blankets while I read, peppermint hot chocolate is in season, and I get a well-earned break from work and school. I'm looking forward to all of it. And yet, there's all this . . . 

Stuff I'm dealing with that does, in a roundabout way, relate to the holiday season. As much as I'm looking forward to it, I know there's also going to be a slight cloud hanging over my heart all the while. I don't mean to keep bringing up something I can't tell you about, it's just what's been on my mind recently, and I think it's kind of interesting how something that's meant to be wholly joyful can be a complex time of year for a lot of people, for plenty of different reasons. I did a found poem during my creative writing class last Winter about that, I'll add it to the letter so you can read it.

I didn't even really mean to be writing about it when I started the poem. Though, I'm not sure how easy it is to intend to write about something when you're making a found poem. You're kinda just stringing together the words you have available in a way that you hope sounds nice. You can do your best to look for words that follow a certain theme, but really, you're at the mercy of the materials you have. Which, feasibly, you could grab a few dictionaries and thesauruses and comb through them for all of the exact words that you want in your poem, but that kind of goes against the point, doesn't it? That's not a found poem anymore. You're not arranging a limited pool of words to make something new, you're just writing a poem like n0rmal and choosing to transport it from your brain to the physical world in an interesting way.

I wonder if anyone's ever completely rewritten a book using just the words contained in the original book. I wonder how you would even go about that. Lots of spreadsheets, I imagine. The closest thing I can think of is Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti (which I heard about through this amazing podcast). In it, the author took roughly 500,000 words from journals she'd kept over the years and organized the sentences alphabetically in a spreadsheet, then trimmed it down from there. Kind of a marble sculpture technique to writing. I haven't read it yet, but I'd really like to at some point just to see what comes out of a writing process like that. A Humument is also kind of similar (shoutout 2022 SAT), but that's still not quite what I mean. I mean taking literally every word from a book and rearranging them however you want (probably with some leftovers), and A Humument is a collection of found poetry created page by page. (Still can't wait to finally get my hands on a copy of the final edition though.)

Something else I've been doing that's vaguely in the spirit of getting my room under control: reading a lot more. The shelf I use for my current reads/library materials and my tbr shelf have been really out of control lately. The first shelf is mostly the fault of my recent cross stitch obsession; I have a ton of pattern books out. Right now, I'm on and off working on taking pictures of my favorite pages in books I know I won't get around to for a while and saving them to labelled folders in a Google Drive. That way, I can get the physical books off my shelf until I need them and still have my favorite patterns saved to look through when I'm ready for a new project. I've only gotten through three of them so far, but even that has helped a lot, those books are massive. I've also been trying to pick books from my tbr shelf to read when I can because, once I read them, I can get them on the big bookcase where they belong and hopefully clear out some of the overflow. I have a few books going right now: an audiobook I just started, a library book, and a novel from my tbr. 

The audiobook is Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar. I just earlier today finished listening to In the Form of a Question by Amy Schneider (which I gave four stars) and I was looking for something that had a slightly similar vibe. I thought Counting the Cost would work because there are, of course, religious themes in Duggar's book and that's something Schneider talks about a little here and there in hers. I'm not even a full chapter in yet, so I can't say much about how it is yet, but I'm at least interested.

The nonfic from the library is Make a Zine by Joe Biel and, even though it's short, I'm not confident yet that I'll actually finish it. I think the subject is interesting, but I'm finding more and more that audiobooks are a way better method of absorbing nonfiction books for me. I originally wanted this to be my next audiobook after getting stuck on the physical copy, but on Spotify it's not included in premium and my library doesn't have an audio copy on CD or through either of our apps, so I'm kind of out of luck. I might take another crack at it because I would really like to learn more about the history of zines, I'm just not 100% sure I feel like finishing it right now. If I don't finish it by the end of October, I think I'll dnf it for now and then come back to it later.

And, lastly, the novel is Deadfall Hotel by Steve Rasnic Tem. I was really, really skeptical starting this book because it's marketed as this chilling horror and I'm really so super bad with horror media, but so far (granted, only ~6o pages in), it's really not bad. It's a little creepy, but in the same way Welcome to Night Vale or The Magnus Archives are creepy. Like, don't get me wrong, TMA is bad enough to make me nauseous at times, but if the book doesn't get worse than that, I think I'll be able to handle it. The only reason I felt okay about trying to read it and not immediately donating it when I was going through my book collection was the fact that there were a lot of tepid reviews on Goodreads saying it really wasn't all that scary, so my hope is that it'll just fall into that kind of quirky/spooky spot somewhere between WTNV and TMA levels of horror and that I'll end up keeping it.

Probably my last point before I send you off to go back about your lovely October: organizing my Goodreads. I haven't worked on it in a while (maybe I should sit down and get another chunk out of the way after this?), but for a few nights in a row last week I was going through about 100 books on my Goodreads every night and organizing them into different shelves based on genre. I thought this would be really helpful because, when I make my seasonal tbr lists, I like to pick a genre or two to focus on that fit the vibe of the season to me. Before, my only shelves on GR were the default want to read, read, and currently reading shelves, plus a couple others for like favorites and dnfs. I've been tagging every book as either fic or nonfic, then adding more specific genre tags after that. So far, aside from the general fic and nonfic tags, the biggest category is romance, surprising absolutely no one. I'm pretty sure most of it is YA fantasy romances. (I have a type, what can I say?) It's really, really tedious to work on and I get antsy after a little while, but I know it'll be worth it in the end. It's going to make everything so much easier to find. I also feel like having easier access to every fantasy or every mystery or et cetera when I'm making my reading lists is going to be really conducive to reading things I haven't before instead of clinging to the same books I normally reread every season. I think I'd like one of my reading goals next year to be specifically trying to pick books to read that I've never read before so I can broaden my horizons and find new favorites. ​ Well, I have officially talked your ear off (or . . . written your . . . eyes out?) for long enough. Is it cold where you are? It's finally getting cold here. Which, like most things in my life at the moment, has brought mixed feelings. I am glad I get to start wearing my favorite clothes without being at risk of heatstroke soon, though. I hope you're all staying warm. Make sure to take extra good care of yourself as Winter gets closer. I'll write to you again soon. Much love.

Yours, ​Katherine

[new-aleria]

A few new things! First City Name reveal!!

Alright, I've been working on the world since the last time I posted and can give a few updates as to the setting and general feel of the story.

The world has a sort of Victorian-esque feel to it in terms of the high society world and the technology available. However, the world does have magic so some of the inventions and tech they have can be seen as slightly more modern because of the presence of magic and how it is used. I'm still currently working out the magic system and will have an update for you on that next time.

So I've worked out where the separate regions sit on the map as well as the basic layout for now. The regions are quite big and there are six regions within the Kingdom, the largest of the regions, the capital is around 500,000 sq miles long and the smallest region is around 350,000 sq miles. I currently have three cities vaguely mapped out, Each in a different region. mostly I have been going into more detail about the southwestern region. I've got so far one house worked into the lore and story and the castle they rule is in the most rich city of the region, don't want to give away too much, it is still pretty early in the writing process. I have also started on the writing of the book, as of right now I only have a small amount of chapter one written, I am however, quite happy with the contents so far. I would now like to say the name of the first city...Blackwood Bay! I imagine the region to look like a mix of Sweden, Iceland, and Norway. This region however has fertile lands further inland, allowing the citizens and serfs to survive, although smart lords opt for grazing animals instead. The lands often experience cold harsh winters and wet, cool summers. Blackwood Bay is named after the trees around the bay and the surrounding land, the trees are as tall as redwoods and the wood is as dark as coal. the trees are only found in this region. The people here are loud and proud. Everyone from high lords to the serfs has a knack for being straight to the point and brutally honest regardless of your personal feelings. However despite how abrash the people may be, they are equal parts welcoming. Blackwoode Bay is the Hub for beautiful maidens, fine ale and wine, and great food. Truly a place to love. the photos below are what I imagine the landscape to resemble, the layout of the landscape is not the same as in the book, these are just to give an idea of to land so far. That's what I have so far. I am also working on a map through Inkarnate, which I hopefully will be able to release next year so that you may have a better idea of the world and make the book come to life! Anyway Let me know what you guys think, I can't wait to share this with you all!

Signed, Annette Vallee

[canyouplzjust]

Leaving the Nostromo

Dear Diary,

We made it all the way to the airlock, staring (metaphorically) into the space between the ship and the space station before I realized we had no way to get from one structure to another. Maybe we could have orchestrated a space walk, but I never saw any magnetized boots. I don't know how 'Master' Max got from around this place, but we found his fan-made map of the Nostromo on the bridge so I know he was here. Can he track us here? How does he locate us when its time to fuck up our plans? There are a lot of higher level mysteries I'm trying to solve. I guess we are trying to solve them together, but I'll be damned if any of these players get to Max before me. He's mine. Oh, but! In the airlock I "remembered" that I had grabbed a canister of air back on the bridge, in an effort to say One Step Ahead, you might say. The rules say once per session, but I think I'm limited to once per in-game day. Whatever, I'm not going to court over it. Didi the Fool was the best choice to navigate the void of airless space with a lil tank of compressed air, because even though it was my idea, it was a damn foolish thing to do hahaha

We made it to the Center Station, a massive space station, and were greeted at the airlock Les hacked by a squad of security guards. Now, I know these guys aren't technically soldiers, but I know my audience, and I stepped forward to use my Voice to reassure them of our right to be there, and kinda glossed over questions I had no answer to. "Where did you come from," and "What are you doing here," seem forthright enough, but I didn't have a great answer, so I pleaded for these big, strong men to help us, and they sure did! They didn't even report our arrival to the internal security system. Nice.

We got to the main hub by foot, and Gigi somehow correctly guessed that it looked like Dark City, but I don't know what that is. I'm looking now. I looked it up, it looks INTENSE. First order of business is to get to a terminal so Les can get a layout and do some snooping. Seriously, what would I do without him? I used to wish my life was an indie movie, and I used to feel captured in little moments where serendipity would touch my life, and even if I was miserable, I still felt picturesque. Something to take me out of myself, ya know? Its not an internal memory of getting my tongue pierced all by myself, new in town and shit, but I could see it from the outside, and it made me love my hollow little life. Anyway, I felt a familiar disassociation in that moment, my back leaned up against an unfamiliar wall, one knee up - how very Jordan Catalano of me - watching the bottomless determination of a repressed woman manifest as one solitary drop of sweat on the brow of a man cut from marble and silicon. Neos are so fucking cool, seriously. When can I get an augmentation? Is that multi-classing? i'm getting lost here...

We needed some food and drink, so we wandered into a bar to find some. Didi and I put on the ole one-two strut and lo - a pair of men appeared to buy us drinks and mozzarella sticks for our friends. It was like riding a bike, being on a tag team with her. And Rory was jamming a stick into our wheels every chance she got. The guys, Temm and Brock, were understandably interested in her wings, but she wouldn't really take any questions and I know she wasn't scowling on the outside, but inside I think she was imagining all of us with duct tape over our mouths. The guys were cute, but we had to move on, so I got their numbers for later ;) and we found a hostel. We got two rooms.

I had been waiting for my henchman to show up, and I had my fingers crossed that he was here at this station. Les found an old friend of mine on the prison roster he downloaded, so we popped down to the jail to say heeeyyy. Rude awakening number one - the security at the prison had some sort of coin lock for Neos and they openly referred to Didi as "the Fool," how were we clocked by these normal looking NPC's??? And not to like, be a bitch, but I was alarmed that no other party members seemed to be like, alerted to the classist treatment. But that Neo lock was cool as shit, duly noted. Hardy was is good spirits (he's never been that chatty of a guy) and he did warn us about some horrific carnage happening on the Factory level of the space station. His entire faction, The Judges, was apparently wiped out in a mess of otherworldly carnage and human misery. "That's a bummer," I told him, "and don't worry, we'll spring you asap." In the end, it wasn't the kind of spring I had been meaning, and the otherworldly carnage - fuck I'm getting ahead of myself again.

Les and Didi dug up a shitload of data on the Station and found out it was being run by a Dictator named Corvath Kyball. Rory and I went to the market and managed to sell one of her rupees from Hyrule for quite a bit of money. I wasn't around when apparently MORPHEUS called Les again, told him to look for him on The Grid, and then gave Didi some fucking frameless sunglasses, whatever, they don't do anything besides just block the sun. Am I jealous? I think its in my nature to be jealous, especially of her. I think what happened next really illustrated that. I only point out the thematic foreshadowing of myself pouting about Morpheus because I realize the story about what happens in the bar perfectly illustrates it, and I'm not actually writing this, its just what I did.

Bored in our room, Didi and I called those cute guys from the bar and let Les and Rory know we were gonna go meet them. I'm easy, so I chilled a little and let Didi pick which one she wanted - she chose the skinny one with the multi-color mustache, so I focused on Brock, the muscular one, but like, we were all at one table. I don't recall who brought up her band, but the next thing I knew, the bar patrons were staring at Didi, gazing and whispering, and clearing some space on the stage for her to play a song. The boys stood up and pulled her towards the stage. She had been a star here, too, but we were only bandmates in Delray Beach, FL. Here she had been Didi and the Lost Boys, and the Jackrabbits didn't exist. I felt the anger like a fire alarm ringing in my head, and as I lifted my chin to watch her walk away, Didi held her hand out for mine, and motioned for me to go with her. I'm nothing if not a good sport, so I followed her to the stage, swallowing my pride in giant audible gulps, and we both picked up guitars. "I don't know a lot of your songs," I warned her, my tone audibly sullen. She smiled at me, literally beaming, and she said, "No, we're gonna do one of ours. You sing," and she practically bowed out of the way, motioning towards the mic. I've never loved her more. I stepped into the limelight and instantly felt 21 again, for the first time since coming back to DIE. I felt the growl in my throat as I sang lyrics to a song I didn't know I could recall. I felt the sweat building up and sticking to my skin, and I felt my hair come to life under the stage's glow. I don't know if it was DIE or magic or just being in a band with your old best friend again, but in a moment I had been transformed into apowerful creature I was once, in a dream.

I don't know why I needed that and she didn't, and maybe I never will, but I fucking needed it. We brought the house down, and then cut out the side with our dates to find somewhere more private. The Factory level, perhaps? Their badges could get us in, we could snoop around, and then maybe get busy while we're doing it. The night was still young.