#at this point i think i need 2 be hired as a concept designer for literally anything bug related.

[misterradio]

normal adult watching roach approach probably: it was okay

me watching roach approach: why did they give the roaches such beetle-like designs, they clearly have elytras, thats not right. they even have the triangle thing on their backs (scutellum) oh that is so wrong. why did they give the caterpillar antennae grrrr

[digitalagepulao]

My sincere Black Myth: Wukong review

Full disclosure! This is from a recent but earnest fan of JTTW as the original novel, as well as all the social, cultural and religious layers of it. I've seen my fair share of adaptations and derivative media, from shlocky to silly to grimdark to cutesy. I'm a bachelor in visual arts, with an interest in the field of game development since high school. I am also, white and brazillian, and have talked with other jttw fans, both Chinese and not, on this game. If any of these are for some reason motive to not read further, then fair enough. Hope you have fun and continue to enjoy the game, do not let me or my opinion stop you!

Now to the review proper <3

First things first, let the obvious not remain unsaid. This game, is supremely gorgeous. In every sense of the word, and I mean this fully, it's a work of art. The sound design, the character concepts and execution, the animations, the voice acting, the visual effects, the UI design, the cinematography, the 3D scanning of actual historical artofacts and heritage sites throughout China, and everything beyond and between, are phenomenal, full stop.

This was never a debate, I'm sure, but I don't think I can in good conscience not praise them for their work. It's no news that Asian talent, not just in China either, have been often hired to supplement projects on the West, and we can all agree it's about time they got to shine in their own AAA project. My issues with the international game industry notwithstanding, I hope this brings some much needed acknowledgment and appreciation for Chinese culture and arts, both traditional and modern!

Now, from this point on, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS, so proceed with caution!

(word count: +1.8k)

I also deeply enjoy their choices in arcs to revisit. Some like the Flaming Mountain arc are classic picks to adapt but still a very good match to the whole Six Senses throughline. I don't think you can do a JTTW 2 electric bogaloo without bringing up Niumowang and his family in some way (um, put a pin on that), but the other arcs like Yellowbrow or Black Wind Mountain aren't as explored imo, so it's nice to see them being given a bit of a spotlight.

(speaking of the Yellow Ridge arc, whoever made the executive decision of Lingji Bodhisattva being a Xaanxi singer is, genius!!)

I'm also kind of in love?? with Bajie's design and role in the story overall?? Gameplay wise he sticks around just enough to not feel lonely, but not too long to be a nuisance or overstay his welcome. He's no Atreus (GoW) or Ellie (TLoU) of course, but he doesn't need to be, and most importantly, he isn't trying to be, which I feel is admirable of the devs. Given the visible inspirations from the recent God of War games, it would have been easy to lean a bit too hard on it, but I'm glad they didn't overreach.

Him having a more complex love life is also a nice touch imo. It explores more his womanizer ways in an interesting way, and I appreciate it. I love when people complicate the pig! Also, the way he treats Xiaosheng (Destined One) like a nephew?? The scene on the Huaguoshan throne??? I'M GONNA CRY!!!

I think, I've run out of positive things to say.... time for the spicy takes.

I, kind of detest the premise by default. I'm not a big fan of "Superman is Dead" plots, cus it's usually either done for shock value, or taken so lightly that the weight is totally lost. I have such a love-hate situationship with the introduction cutscene because of this. On one hand, it's phenomenal cinema, and seeing Wukong stand up to the Heavenly armies in glorious 4K high fidelity graphics is delicious. On the other hand, the whole debate they are having has me going "?????", not because I don't get it but just, why?? Why did this have to be the premise?? (put another pin on that)

Also the set up and call to adventure is kind of blergh.

Now is as good a time as any to talk about the gameplay. It's, okay. If you enjoy trying to figure out the most stylish combos, or to mash buttons, then you'll definitely have fun. I was sorely disappointed that I pretty much have been going through the bosses rather easily. Chapter 1 it was mostly the struggle of learning the controls, but I never stuck to a boss for longer than seven tries (Whiteclad Noble, the snakeman that you are). Chapter 2 I only struggled on Tiger Vanguard, because I was sorely underleveled and had missed a pathway to explore before him. After that I second tried him. Chapter 3, I have and I'm not joking, gotten halfway through first or second trying every boss.

Mind you, this is not being some godtier gamer or whatever, I'm pretty average and only a recent player of soulslike games too (maybe playing Lies of P made too OP, but I sincerely doubt it lol). No, this is me saying that if you do explore the game and not rush through it, you won't struggle nearly as much as some people have and still are. Most of the final chapter bosses can be trivialized with the chapter's Obsession Realm gimmick artifact, which isn't in itself a bad thing, just feels like an odd choice personally.

Which leads me to, the level design. So far? Preeeeetty lame! It's very pretty and fancy, but so chockful of invisible walls that it feels stiffling and discourages exploration. I can never tell what is meant to be a path or just fancy scenery, and I never know when a jump will get walled or send me to my death by fall damage. When it's not being confusing, the level design is either a bunch of looping circles, or straight lines. And so far, besides a few interactables and loot, there is not much else to look at. That is, bad level design, plain and simple.

Also, the animations are glorious, but what is the point if I can't see the enemy?? That camera is my true nemesis, and I mean that. the fact that a boss can be beyond my field of vision at ANY POINT when I'm locked on and it strifes sideways, is dreadful. GameScience, FIX IT. It is also, very hard to tell what parts of a boss will damage me if I collide with them or not. The Kang-Jin Long fight was baffling on a design point of view, same for Captain Lotus-Vision. Some clearer hitboxes would be swell.

This is the point where I say my main issue with the game lies: it's very pretty, and adoringly crafted, but it lacks substance design wise. I feel like it needed to cook more, the level design polished more so I wouldn't get lost every five minutes, and clearer.... well, everything. Mechanic explanations, level progression, gimmicks, etc. It all needed to be less murky and convoluted to understand.

It also needed more meat in between bosses. I have yet to run into common enemies that give me actual trouble, so it ends up being just a jolly waltz from boss to boss. Boss rushes are fun and great, but not as the base game experience (for me at least). I had to stop one boss away from completing Chapter 1 cus I was just so exhausted. And I had been playing for like, an hour and a half?? That left a sour taste in my mouth, I'll be honest.

Okay, I'm gonna pick open those pins now.

#1 the Flaming Mountain Arc. I'm gonna be very real here chat, that was so cringe. What do you MEAN, Red Son wasn't Demon Bull King's biological son, and Princess Iron Fan was forced to drink from the Childbearing River??? And Red Son hates him????When I watched that cutscene, I had to pause and walk away for a moment, legitimately. This plotbeat is SO WILD to me, I got nothing to say. Just, why??Soooo bizarre. And that the Flaming Mountain Keeper has such a presence in Iron Fan's life is also, weird?? Not bad weird, just Weird, but that's like a nitpick more than an actual criticism. Ping Ping is fine though, I like that Bull has a daughter with Princess Fair Fox, that's cute and interesting. Wish she was in a better plot and adaptation but lol

And #2, the premise. Now we are getting to the meat of it all.

The underlying premise of the whole plot, including the true ending, is flawed by default. The premise runs on what is sometimes called as a "conspiracy theory plot", as in, "what if the gods were bad actually??". It's reddit movie theory content in very short terms, and while it had a place during the 00s grimdark years pre-Marvel, it's become quite a jaded and boring take nowadays. Now you may say that it comes from a genuine desire to show distrust and critique to insitutions and the powers than be, and I can see that.

There is a hiccup in that though.

In JTTW, Wukong is the Mind Monkey because of the religious text and subtext of the stories. Its interwoven in the whole thing, and makes it cohesive. It still offer critique and mockery to institutions, without entirely invalidating their foundations. Not only for genuine fear of prosecution, but because, shockingly, religion and belief is a major component of human society in general. But going back to my point, JTTW is *already* a critique of institutions and the power that be. Adding further layers into it feel like angst and edginess just for the sake of it, and that feels hollow to me.

To go further, this intent also clashes with their own plot. See, they bring up that Wukong's Mind, his Sixth Sense, died. Thus they need another Mind to guide his other senses and reform him, so that he may be reborn.

For one, that is such a convoluted way to do a reincarnation plot, it feels complicated just for novelty sake. Secondly, Wukong being the Mind Monkey, as I said, implies a tie to the underlying themes of the Journey as a person's path to enlightenment. If enlightenment itself is flawed because the gods are flawed/evil, then both themes are clashing. By making a "what if the gods were evil all along" plot while also going by the laws and order of said gods, then what are we even fighting against? What is the point of this whole rebellion between Erlang and Wukong??

my friend @ryin-silverfish said it best a while back, and I'm paraphrasing here (do pitch in or correct me if needed! <3), but the issue with these conspiracy narratives is the inherent anti-religion of them. They don't believe in anything, and thus they cannot properly retell the story of JTTW through a postmodern lense, because they refuse to engage with the religiosity that runs throughout the story.

It also leaves a sour taste in my mouth, because this game will likely be many people's first genuine experience with the JTTW mythos and story, and I tend to be concerned for how much this will "sour the pot" in the conversation. The novels are sadly innacessible enough as it is; the sheer size of them scare many people away, not even to mention the amount of underlying cultural context you'll miss out without proper footnotes and commentary. Most people will not engage with them directly, and certainly not most gamers.

While the narrative of someone embodying Wukong's spirit is not new in itself, I do find that it coexisting with such a poor premise and spin on it will be a sore first experience for new fans, and I can only hope that them meeting fans of the OG novels won't cause much friction in the fandom (we have enough as it is imo).

It also concerns me that, sadly, people and gamers in particular, get too swept up in the ooh-aah beauty of flashy sfx and highly detailed graphics, and fail to notice some of the underlying issues in game design. As I said, this game is a work of art, but it has flaws, and I don't think people are speaking of them enough. No, the issue is not "lack of diversity" or whatever the hell.

It runs deeper than that, and it's an issue I've come to see in recent movies as well. I'm aware it might just be different cultural expectations of the pacing and span of a story, and it may as well be! But I think if there was more care given to the bones of a media, it would bring much needed longevity and weight to these wonderful artworks.

All this said, I wanna see what acolades this game gets and see what the devs are cooking up with the DLCs (they said at one point the game was supposed to have 12 chapters and my god, that game would be TOO LONG. So glad it didn't get like that!), and further more see how this ripples in the eastern game dev scene. While this is a flawed game with a flawed story, it can be the first on a genuinely wonderful wave of new creations, not just by GameScience, and overall I'm hopeful for what might come next!

[genericpuff]

think rachel needed the hire a bunch of writers instead of drawing assistants after season one so she could focus on one part and not get burnt out while someone else kept track of and developed all her plot points in a lore Bible or something

Honestly yeah, LO is a huge example of why the Webtoons' editors don't actually function as editors, more so just messenger pigeons between the creators and the company who are there to make sure creators are following ToS and otherwise answering questions on behalf of the higher-ups for the creators. And this is especially wild for something like LO because 1.) you'd think the #1 webtoon on the platform would be given all the resources it needs to succeed, and 2.) LO's editor in the end was Bre Boswell who actually has a background in television writing (and yet ironically, the series only got worse after Bre suddenly replaced the previous editors around Ep 100).

Rachel's strong points have always been in conceptual design and illustration. Despite this, LO's own iconic design and illustration aspects that made people fall in love with it in the first place were lost after it became as big as it did. I know folks will argue that LO's production was purely the fault of Webtoons' insane deadlines, but her writing has always been her weakest point and that's evident in all of her previous works prior to LO. She's good at coming up with standalone ideas - again, concepts - but executing them and finalizing them through an actual conclusion beyond the initial idea is always something she's struggled with.

This is also apparent to a point in her art as well, as much as her strengths used to be in illustration and conceptual design, she also clearly struggled in staying committed to the same character designs and concepts for long periods of time and was never good at coming up with efficient ways to reproduce her own art - even gorgeous comics like The Doctor Foxglove Show started off strong just to inevitably slip into the same habits of inconsistent half-assing that LO did, and it wasn't even an Originals series.

Back to the writing though, she absolutely would have benefited from having another writer or two on her team, but unfortunately she also doesn't seem like she's aware of her own faults in her writing or willing to let anyone else in on her process, especially considering she's even admitted that her own writing process is "chaos" and has supposedly convinced herself that the faults in her writing are a good thing.

There's "embracing the chaos" of your own process (my process is chaotic too, I get it) and then there's just going "oh well, sucks to suck, I don't want to bother doing better for the sake of my own dedicated audience so it's fine if I totally whiff the comic's plot".

The reality is that if you've never learned how to identify and break your own bad habits, you'll inevitably think that those bad habits are the norm and/or are what makes you good at what you do - all the while, you wind up missing what could have actually helped you. Rachel started off on a very strong foot with the concept of LO, but then inevitably fell into the exact same bad habits she had with previous works but was now enabled by the contract and money and fame she got through Webtoons to never change - after all, if she was going to keep being rewarded Eisners and merch deals anyways regardless of the quality of her writing/art, what point would there be in improving? From my perspective, she clearly doesn't really have the integrity to improve for the sake of herself and her audience, so as long as the end result is to her benefit, the means don't really matter.

Of course, in the long-term it makes for a very horrid legacy especially in hindsight, but as far as I'm concerned, she got what she wanted regardless.

[wittyno]

Im feelings nostalgic tonight so here are some tips for those of you thinking about going to law school

1. do not go to an unaccredited law school. I know they are cheaper. They may even provide a semi decent education. Yes law school loans suck I have them too and the amount school costs is a crime. But as someone who knows about legal hiring don’t do it. People will not hire you.

2. depending on the school you go to the school May encourage competing for example by posting your class rank / grade. Do not give into that. Do not view your fellow students as the enemy. They are your comrades in arms. Trust me, you will need them and they will need you.

3. it will suck. Especially 1L year because you are learning a whole new way of looking at the world. It is a lot and it’s going to be crushing at times. That’s ok. You will get through this.

4. there is this weird idea that if you didn’t get into the big fancy schools / can’t afford them, don’t have perfect grades, on law review, clerk, and that other fun stuff you’ll never get a job. That’s bullshit. You might not get the biglaw job but do you really want to sell your soul only to work 80 hours a week? Nothing against people who do it. We all got loans to pay but… it’s not biglaw or bust.

5. figure out your learning style, if you haven’t already. It will save you time and crying. There are guides online. Then design your learning around that. I used to record my outlines and listen back to them because I’m an auditory learner. But do what works for you.

6. social media / influencer lawyers are almost all big law lawyers at least the ones I’ve seen. Don’t base your goals on them. Again see point 4. they’re fine but again you are seeing a curated snapshot of their lives, not all of it.

7. do not give legal advice to anyone. The second you start law school you’ll start being asked for legal advice. Do not do it. It’s against the law and can get you barred from becoming a lawyer. I know it’s exciting because what if someone you know just had their fiancé walk out on them and they want the ring back and you just read a case on that in property. Don’t do it. Don’t fuck up your future.

8. do Social stuff. One of the things that I was most looking forward to in law school was to make new friends. COVID took that from me, which sucks. But you have a chance. Go out have fun.

9. some subjects will be hard for you and easy for others and vice versa. I hated property. If I could get into a ring with any legal concept it would be the rule against perpetuities. Though they might stop teaching that soon, because I think the bar is dropping it which is good. Or maybe Erie‘s got you down. That’s fine. Some shit is just hard. It’s ok to acknowledge that.

10. chances are you will get your shit rocked by your grades. Chances are you’re pretty good at school. You may have even tied your self worth to your academic performance. Law school is a whole other league. I don’t say this to scare you. I say this to prepare you for getting your shit rocked. The grading is different. The material harder, you have to take in way more quickly. if your first semester grades turn out lower than what you’re expecting. that’s ok. Know that what you’re doing is hard but you can do hard things. untie your self worth from your academic success as fast as you can. No one cares if you fuck up a cold call. They are too worried about themselves.

11. most important. There will always be more to do. More learning more reading. This was one of the biggest adjustments I had to make because up until that point in my academic career there was always an end to my to do list. There were natural end points. These do not exist in law school. There is always someone studying more than you. Remember study smart not hard. I mean it will still be hard, but at some point you hit a point of diminishing returns. If you’re staying up past midnight every night to study ask yourself how much are you actually learning. Take breaks, sleep, rest, keep work life balance at all costs.

[peerbear]

The Saint Catherines Fundraiser, Pub Quiz and Open Mic Night

After the location recce, we were having an issue as a group with our funding. We had much less than we expected to have and there was little time remaining until our shoot and we knew we needed more money than we had to make the film. So despite Orla's incredible efforts and organisation expertise the money just wasn't coming to the extent that we had planned for on our crowdfunder.

We talked as a group and after attending Oj Tato's fundraiser Katie and I were keen to organise a fundraiser of our own. This was something we had both wanted previously but were unsure if we would have the time to do it, but seeing Oj Tato's night we felt inspired to do it. Orla and Jack as our co-producers amongst so many other roles, on different films as well, had so many things on their plate that it made sense for us to help out extra and make the fundraiser happen so that they had something less to worry about and think about. I took this role as lead organiser, so to say because as DOP, Katie still had more to do than I did in preproduction.

Upon Katie's suggestion of getting in touch with The Three Sisters and them not replying to her email, I took matters further and emailed them as well as called them immediately after and thus secured the venue, which we could hire for free as students and solidified our fundriaser's timeframe and an estimated capacity for the event.

I then put together a running order which was as follows:

Doors Open: 7pm

Start: 8pm Katie and Orla introduce the project Screen Proof of Concept (Test Shoot): 8:10pm

Talks by Charities: 8:20pm ⁃ Sexpression and Sex on Campus

Pub Quiz: 9pm-10:30pm ⁃ Rounds: 1) Film and TV, 2) Women in History, 3) Music and 4) Physical Challenge

Open Mic: 10:30pm ⁃ Open to all to participate

End/Doors Close: 00:00

I also made an Eventbrite and created an account on Square: Point for Sale, so that we could sell tickets, merch and artwork at the door.

Here is what the Eventbrite looked like:

The photo right above this is the beautiful poster that Katie designed for the event which we posted on our Instagram and Eventbrite page.

Here is the link to the Eventbrite (It looks a bit different now because the event has happened and Eventbrite does not show all the information after the event):

Katie and I had an art session before the event where we created paintings, postcards and t-shirts with Saint Catherines written on them underneath a print of the view from Saint Catherines onto the hills that overlook Loch Fyne. These were our prize products and they required some planning to figure out how to execute them and they took hours to make. But we were super happy with the results.

On the night we started off with Orla and Katie introducing the project (their love child as I secretly call it). We then screened our test shoot as our proof of concept to show everyone who was attending what the film would be about.

Making a film on such a delicate and important topic as sexual assault we all agreed it would be great for us to have some charities there to speak to our audience and show other projects that are currently making a difference and fighting against sexual assault in society and trying to make the world a better place. I organised for two student-led charities to speak at the event. These were Sexpression and Sex on Campus, both are run by Edinburgh University students and support a cause that we at Saint Catherines thoroughly support as well. Sexpression is a sex educator group that is based at universities UK-wide where students go to schools and teach sex education to pupils from ages 11 to 18. I am part of this group outside of uni and can confirm that it is run and handled with great professionalism and care for young people's safety and ensuring that they feel more comfortable moving forward through their youth and into young adult life. Sex on Campus was a more similar and well-paired cause to our project as it is battling rape culture in universities, especially at Edinburgh University. Sex on Campus is even affiliated with our film which felt like a very special backing to have which we are honoured to have and very grateful for. I'm afraid we were unable to have Sexpression's affiliation as they are such a big charity and their affiliation would have meant that they would have been involved in the edit of the film as well.

Here are some photos of Sexpression and Sex on Campus giving talks at the fundraiser:

I also created a pub quiz with help from Katie on a few sections and this was the absolute hit. Or at least I had so much fun making it and hosting it as well. We, of course, had a film and television round, a women's history round (because of our feminist crew and project), a music round and as inspired by James Fox himself we had a physical challenge round, where we had participants suck and lift skittles with straws from one plate onto another. What I really enjoyed about this was trying to make it into a quiz that was doable for a different audience to your typical quiz goer, offering music and film choices that I would mostly actually be able to get myself, when usually I can only offer a couple of answers correctly. I tried to put in a little something for everyone, but of course, you can't make everyone happy. My favourite part was the physical challenge because it completely changed the dynamic and the atmosphere in the room.

Here are some photos from the quiz, including Katie and I hosting, the physical challenge set up and people at their quizing tables:

At the end of the night, Katie hosted an open mic night which was really special as well. That girl can sing! No, really her voice is beautiful and actually features in both soundtracks of Saint Catherines and Where Currents Meet.

The fundraiser was a success and helped us with getting together some substantial money for our film. Most importantly though it was a great time and felt very rewarding. It reminded me why I am on a project like this trying to support and further a cause I believe in so strongly.

Funnily enough a couple of days after the fundraiser we had a massive donation from an anonymous donor who turned out to be a rich man Orla had met at a bar a month earlier. We all joked about it, but this just happened to be someone who often puts money into different projects and we were lucky. And even though we might not have needed to do the fundraiser if we had known he would donate, I am still so happy to have done it. It showed me that I can organise events to a level that I am very happy with and can be organised when I put my mind to it.

We made just under £300 at the fundraiser which was nice to add to our overall budget. I will be organising more events soon because I enjoyed it so much so stay tuned.

[kubotafinearts]

The idea of boroboro is that it’s your junk-est clothes. It’s da clothes you weed in not go to temple or obon in.

But arts like sashiko and boro pro are now being lauded by white people who are buying up and increasing value of these pieces.

Which is great to a point.

The point being are we going to adknowlge that this is a Buddhist Japanese American Diaspora and Japanese Diaspora art of plantation workers, and slaves who made their clothes last?

These stitches are practical because they reinforce the fabric. And the indigo repells insects. The stitches on the outside are so they don’t bother skin. Because when we’re working shouldn’t we be comfortable?

What is the answer to fashion based slavery is the huge question my exhibit asks.

And for me the answer signs in ASL: its complicated/it depends.

In fashion I think if we all learned how to repair something in our traditoways and were encouraged to repair one thing we care about, or hire someone to and pay them well, that we could reduce waste, pollution, while also adknowlging that fast casjio fills a need for affordable attractive clothes that fit well.

2. Introducing the Ladies: Each Outfit and what they mean

BoroBoro Britney

She’s lined with a brides Maid robe of rayon blend that is made to emulate satin. It’s peak fast fashion, made to be tossed once the wedding is done. It found it’s way to a Goodwill, the largest one in Seattle off Jackson and that found its way to me.

The color, champagne is peak wedding. For most Japanese women who worked in the fields, they came as picture brides, mostly unwillingly, or coerced.

For my family, and my great grandmother it was unwilling.

But the US’s racist policies refused to let families immigrate. Like how the policies are now, they separated families if you had one. It was illegal to marry other ethnicities. And your children would be considered not legitimate by both cultures.

I’m saying this as a bi-racial Japanese person. Even today, I was heavily bullied as a child and ostracized, while being fetishized.

The main fabric is themed off a fabric I designed. It’s too expensive to make the entire Kimono out of that. Which is the concept of BoroBoro itself. You don’t have enough money to have good fabric so you reinforced the fabric while you repair it. It’s a supplemental kind of sewing that uses what you have.

If you think it looks a lot like quilting, you’re right! Quilting and boroboro both use scrap fabric and stitches to bind and sandwich fabrics together.

The main fabric is a dark royal blue that I designed in PicsArt and Instagram Layout on my Google Pixel 5 Android Phone. I designed the fabric to mimic the nights sky in Haiku Maui and from Halēakala. The lei are wound with lilikoi flowers and lion fish and Kamehameha butterflies and sparkles to symbolize fire and metal. It's meant to show the 5 elements wound together in harmony and balance.

The edges of the fabric are hand dyed in indigo but it’s splotchy.

[box-this-lap]

"Quality over quantity" there are 10 teams on the grid and 5 of them are such a joke that andretti cant possibly be bad enough to devalue the sport. (Id say six cuz sauber appears next to the word mediocre in the dictionary but at least they're folding to audi). There is no quality outside the top 4 this year, and i will defend that point team by team.

One of those 5 teams is designed to never actually compete for the championship. Like actually. In addition to having a hideous sellout name not worth repeating, its owned by a company thats greedy enough to take 2 pieces of the f1 pie just for winning with one team and doing jack shit with the other.

Then theres Haas, which is being run like a stock racing team in the pinnacle motorsport of engineering and innovation. And then its owner has the nerve to be surprised when that doesnt work in a sport that tends to invent concepts so good they make their way to roadcars. Firing Gunther Steiner cuz you cant hire an engineering staff and build a factory while getting accused of tax fraud makes me wonder how gene was good enough with money and business sense to start a company in the first place.

Alpine* is stupid enough to fire what feels like its entire staff and change owners what feels like every other month and then be confused about why they still suck in a sport partially about continuity and learning from mistakes. *it feels weird to call Alpine stupid because im calling multiple investors and employees that dont even work there anymore stupid when the problem seems to be the lack of continuity about who works there.

Dont even get me started on Lawrence Stroll's shit show. Aston Martin has, across multiple team names, only had a good car when they copy someone else's design. Its so bad we named them after the teams they stole from. The pink mercedes. The green bull. And all this does is lead to them not being able to stay at the front, because how are u supposed to keep up in the upgrade game if ur just copying everyone else's homework a year late? Icing on the cake is that its owner, the aforementioned Lawrence Stroll, is the biggest nepo enabler of all time who thinks he deserves to be knighted for being dog water.

This point is going to hurt. Its going to hurt because this team was my favorite. Its going to hurt because this team is historically one of the most successful f1 teams of all time. Williams, what the FUCK do you mean you dont have a spare chassis? I literally dont even need to bring up anything else because it's that embarrassing. We know why, but how did it get this bad? Youre the laughing stock of f1, and somehow after 9 championships you earned it, i cant defend this anymore.

But yeah, Andretti being bad would "devalue" the sport. No wonder the US government is accusing you of forming a trust, F1. Not really sure what else you could be doing at this point.

[tytoalbias]

Tell me about Elleguire I would love to hear :)

MWAHAHAHA

behold the man

(art by @flockdog <333)

he's super tall (6'8), likes to dress super fem, and inherited lycanthropy from his mother. he comes from a warm, loving family, but his ambition and intellect led him to advance very quickly through wizard school and isolate himself from anyone who cared about him for no reason. then he had a magical accident at age 19 which left him a kind of half-ghost partially trapped in the ethereal plane. he ages very slowly so despite looking like he's in his 20s he's actually 143. in that time he became a hired killer because he realized he enjoys killing and is good at it.

to summarize, things he is:

werewolf

wizard

dancer

skilled swordsman

remorseless assassin

half-ghost

problematic bisexual

things he is not:

able to have an honest conversation without hiding behind 7 layers of facades

oddly, a good liar (+1 is not sufficient for the amount of deception rolls i've been making, it seems)

in therapy

here's a portrait of his parents, Herald Dubois and Rose (no surname) respectively, and some outfit concepts for a wedding ball, designed and drawn by the amazingly talented @art-of-a-space-duck <3333

i created him for a short term, one-module game (four sessions total), but holy shit did i get obsessed to the point where i neglected my other 2 characters who have long term games lol. in the time since we started he chatted condescendingly with, then saved from a boar attack, then homoerotically tended to the wounds of, then homosexually had sex with, the very first npc we met. and now he's trying to rizz up the hot trans woman npc and getting called the fuck out for being allergic to giving out any meaningful information about himself

my main objective creating him was to, for once, try to play someone who isn't a good person. it's very hard because i'm super nonconfrontational and a WAY slower thinker than he is. he's a showoff and a murderer and thinks everyone is either smart enough to play the same game of manipulation he is, or stupid enough to actually be earnest and trustworthy. absolute smug fuck piece of shit who needs to unwrap like 50 layers of trauma and self isolation before he has even a slight chance of being a well-adjusted decent person. i love him sm

if you for some reason want to learn more, here's a lore document I've been writing for him including a year by year timeline (incomplete but it has his early years where a lot of the self-inflicted trauma happened, plus some random tidbits)

[artleaguemdcnorth]

2D CLASS. FINAL ASSIGNMENT - BOOK & ALBUM COVER - (WEEK 5) 6/3/2024

Good Morning students, you have made it to final part of the semester.

We will have a virtual meet at 9:30 am. Please try to enter the chat ten minutes before.

This morning we will go over the last instructions to submit the Final Assignments for the semester.

In addition to completing the Final, students will also use this final week to resubmit works you feel need to have a grade revision.

Please use your time wisely.

The Final Critique will be on Monday 6/10/24 at 9:30 am.

Next week on Tuesday students will submit a Curated Portfolio following guidelines stated in a post I will add to the class blog on Monday.

The final assignment consists of  CREATING TWO WORKS OF ART ON TWO CANVAS BOARDS.

Students will choose their favorite of the following to create this final assignment:

1) A favorite book. 2) A favorite music band.

BOTH ASSIGNMENTS WILL REQUIRE THE following materials:

2 CANVAS BOARD   

16 x 20  (book)   & 15 x15 (album)

(one for each project)

Acrylic paints & Brushes

A) BOOK COVER

Imagine that an agent is hiring you to create a book cover. How would you approach this project?

What imagery can you create that can engage an audience to buy the book? 

If you were hired to launch Alice in Wonderland for a new generation what imagery would you create to attract readers of the 21st century.

During class this morning, start brainstorming ideas.

Think about the imagery you would use, as well about typography.

What lettering would best suit your concept.

How large or small should they be.

Do some preliminary drawings in your sketchbook .

Once you have zeroed in on your idea , begin the project.

Once you decide on an idea, begin working on the book cover.

B) ALBUM COVER 

Choose a favorite band.

Decide on the imagery to create an Album cover.

In the spirit of 70’s Album Art you will create your own original idea.

Research different ideas regarding Album art of the 70′s.

Create a few sketches and ideas in your sketchbook.

Once you have decided on a specific band, you will create a poster style Album Cover.

Final important points for this assignment:

You are free at the end of the semester, to use any style for this assignment. 

That means you can express your idea in any of the following styles below:

Representational imagery Abstract Non-Objective

You are creating a work of art with a specific purpose and function.

You need to think about incorporating typography (lettering)  accurately .

Language can not be an eye sore.

Words in this assignment need to complement the artwork not compete or win over the design.

At this point in the semester think about what you have learned.

Use that knowledge to create two amazing art works.

This is will be your FINAL Assignment.

All work with an artist statement is due at noon on SUNDAY, JUNE. 9th, 2024 by 5pm.

The Artist Statement is a self reflection on your art process.

What book and album did you choose and why?

How did you approach the project.

Finally close your statement by commenting how you feel about the outcome your project both the book and album cover.

This is a college level writing assignment.

NOTE: Please keep in mind that I need time to collect the work and create a Critique Blog for Monday's class.

Due date is non negotiable.

Here are examples from previous semesters:

A)

B)

C)

D)

ALBUM COVER

A)

B)

C)

DUE DATE FOR ASSIGNMENTS:

WORK SUBMITTED TO YOUR TUMBLR PORTFOLIO BY SUNDAY JUNE 9TH 2024 @ 5PM / ARTWORK AND ARTIST STATEMENT.

[gear-project]

Annon-Guy: What would your idea of a good Fighting Game Story Mode be structured? How would you go about it im designing it?

So far, I think BlazBlue, Injustice and Mortal Kombat (9, X, 11 and 1) have the best fighting game story modes while incorporating the gameplay into the narative in my honest opinion. Even Tekken 8 appeared to takes notes and than some and I haven't even played the game yet!

While Guilty Gear Xrd (SIGN, Revelator, Rev 2) and StrIVe had a good story and fantastic cinematic presentation, it sadly loses points for having no gameplay. It says something when Arc System posted StrIVe's story mode on YouTube for people to watch if they didn't want the game. While the older Guilty Gear story modes are old fashioned, they still provide a good story on top of you ACTUALLY playing the fights out, no matter how ridiculous it may seem at points (like Axl Low being unable to jump due to overeating Jam's food... 😂).

As much as people have beef with some games for "not being interactive enough", there's such a thing as being "too interactive".

Let's put it this way, in the original Guilty Gear XX, story mode itself was a MAZE... and if you took the wrong route, you'd fight a super hard unkillable boss if you weren't careful.

Take my word for it... Reload and Accent Core hold your hand compared to the original "unpatched" GGXX. And that's STORY Mode... it's not even Mission mode, which the game is even MORE notorious for!

QTEs, button mashing sequences, stuff like Asura's Wrath... in my humble opinion all that interactivity is a bit overkill.

If a player wants to relax and enjoy the story, let them relax... don't make them jump through flaming hoops if they don't want to.

OPTIONS. That's what it boils down to.

OPTIONS... GIVE THE PLAYER OPTIONS TO CHOOSE TO FIGHT OR SKIP OR SAVE SOMEWHERE.

Let them experience the game their own way.

Even with Mortal Kombat 11, you can create a custom A.I. to fight the towers and story missions for you and just sit back and relax for that whole ordeal.

It doesn't always have to be a huge button mashing fest or super boss challenge or some twisted guessing game with random negative status effects thrown at you like snowballs from hell.

A little balance goes a long way, whether you specialize in action games, fighting games, or just want to sit and read like it's a Visual Novel (or in my case and preference, a comic book).

Soul Calibur 6 created the ingenious Mercenary System for precisely this reason... Hire Mercs to fight your battles for you... it makes things easy, lets you negotiate tougher challenges a bit, until you get what you came for. For tougher fights, you can prepare equipment ahead of time and strategize like it's an RPG.

When telling a story, the more options that story has, the better the experience.

And even if you want multiple "routes" to open up player creativity or just to hide a few secrets, there's ways to do that in a very structured manner.

Final Fantasy XV has multiple endings for its DLC, and the game lets you approach those in a very simple manner, you can even revisit some points easily based on where you last saved your game.

For more dramatic encounters, make it an "optional boss fight" with incentives if the player overcomes the challenge. Not that hard a concept to work out.

Capcom had some of the best rewards for defeating bosses in the past with their games, and such a thing would be no exception in games like Tekken as well. Even Darkstalkers.

But, like I said, some of the BEST stories come from games that don't think it's a fighting game at all... Libra of Souls in Soul Calibur 6 is a mode I will never stop lauding the praises of.

As a concept it is the true successor of the original Edge Master Mode from Soul Blade/Soul Edge, the very first Project Soul game.

I just think more fighting games need to be treated like RPGs, and more RPGs need to be treated like fighting games.

[pencilcat]

Hi! I really love your work and was just curious as to how you became a comic colorist and waht that entails? that sounds super great but i have no idea how to even start my freelance artist career. TYSM!

I sort of fell into becoming a comic colorist by accident (got offered a quick job as an emergency fill-in, and kept getting offers after that haha). But I do have a BFA in Sequential Art, so I had some prior knowledge. A degree is not necessary however, and there is no one path to becoming a freelance artist. Here are some basic overall steps.

(1) learn the art foundations (color, lighting, rendering, perspective, design, etc.). And then learn the tools of the trade for what you want to do for work. In my case as a comic colorist, I needed to learn how to work digitally, quickly (to meet deadlines), how CMYK colors work, etc.

(2) Build a portfolio centered on what *you* want to do. Having multiple skills is good, but try to have a main focus (illustration, comics, concept art, etc.). For example if you want to be a comic colorist, find some (publicly available) comic pages to color! Show off your skills!

(3) Make sure your portfolio and artwork is EASY to find and quickly browse. And your contact info too! Don't rely on a tumblr blog or twitter media tabs. People who are hiring don't always have time to browse through lots of random posts to find your work.

(4) Stay informed of the industry you want to work in, and follow + chat with people who are active in it. This will also help you learn on how the best way to get jobs.

(5) Learn how taxes work (at least if you're from the USA, I can't speak on how other countries taxes work as self-employed). Seriously, this is something that people who first go into freelance don't think about till it's tax time. Even if you hire your own tax accountant, it's good to know how your taxes work, when to pay, what forms you need to file, how to save, and what you are allowed to deduct etc. It's a massive headache, but sadly it must be done. As a freelancer you are a business!

Hopefully this helps a little? A path to being a freelancer artist is a bit like a journey through life. No one takes the same path, but it's nice to know where some of the guiding points are.

[trashpandarx]

Devlog #2 10-29-23

This devlog is a little late, I was working on transitioning from the most rudimentary mechanics of my game to a proof of concept stage where I’m trying to use the industry standards that I’m aware of from my little professional experience.

Anyway I spent most of this week trying to slowly make my initial mechanics scalable, that means accounting for things I didn’t originally plan for or did plan for, but can’t come into reality until later on. I also changed the structure of my JSON file I’m using about 3 times and that consequently ended up causing me to rewrite parts of my JSON parser a few times as I’ve currently gotten to the point where I’m setting up a rough sample play area.

At the moment I have my marbles instantiating from a prefab randomly across the basic plane i have setup, I still need to add a self-destruct conditional to the prefab game object so that they stop wasting processing power if they leave the play area.

I also am starting to apply custom properties based on my marble-attributes json file to the marbles once instantiated. I went for a property I already did a really simple version of, the material’s color. It seemed like a good choice because its an extremely visible change and easy to identify if one of the marbles didn’t change as expected.

I’m excited to keep going, even though I know I’ve turned this from a demo producible in a month to a small behemoth that will EASILY take months to get from where I am to a demo state. But one step at a time, I need to finish programming and designing this Proof of Concept (PoC). Its daunting and I want to do this in part because I think it would be a fun game, but in larger part because I need something in my professional software portfolio to show that I’m not inept and that I could handle another Entry/Junior SWE role since I got burned for just existing with my last job 😞.

To wrap this all up, my game is coming along slowly but fairly stably for now (knock on wood). I can do it! Who cares if I’m an entry level software engineer, if no one wants to hire me I’LL MAKE MY OWN EXPERIENCE AND PROVE MYSELF!

[fandumb-whimsey]

So. My interest in crafting a variation of Scarecrow that leans into the "violent dancing" aspect aka turning him into more of a physical threat has also somehow spiraled into making him the leader of a fear cult. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So it all started with some dc wiki perusal and, at the mention of his violent dancing style, the page linked to the wiki entry for drunken boxing. I don't know why this is tbh, but the ideas started percolating. Now, I wouldn't apply any of the styles 1:1 to Jonathan because I don't think it'd be suitable; he wouldn't be like Jackie Chan in the Drunken Master, etc. The general conception, however, is very appealing:

It's unpredictable. Disorienting. Pretty ideal for someone who enjoys dishing out some delicious fear. But one of my fave parts:

I like the idea of him appearing unbalanced even when he's not actively engaged with an adversary. Because someone standing there looking like they could fall over is just a fun and potentially unsettling gimmick. Of course, this would also mean he has killer core strength. As much as I like ghoulishly thin Dr. Crane, this version would have muscle. He'd still be an ectomorph body type though so definitely more wiry and flexible.

Going from there, I started pondering on designs which would facilitate a more active fighter. My idea is very derivative of the Arkham Asylum version followed by TNBA Scarecrow and Arkham Knight designs for vibes. Looser/less clothing, more practical than spooky (unfortunately). My version of his mask is more horror movie to accommodate that. I asked myself what scares me and that's mortality and body horror, so some skull elements were definitely used. I'd love to go more into detail about it but it'd be better to have a doodle to go with my atomic level rambling on design choices. Initially, I veered more towards a medieval executioner feel, but it 1. was before I was like "okay but what if he had a cult" and 2. didn't mesh with the fighting thing. I guess. I kept it though since his look changes with a single article of clothing and it works with the whole life and death theme I have going. I call one look the Shepherd (has a hood, sickle with long handle as a "shepherd's crook" for weapon) and the other the Executioner (mask only, full on scythe mode). This would make more sense with drawings, though I'm not much of an artist. (Ｔ▽Ｔ) I'll still try though. Soon.

I don't know where the cult idea popped up from. Maybe it was the God of Fear comic storyline? Maybe it's all the shitty darksynth with ominous pipe organ and satanic chanting I listen to??? Anyway. The general idea is college professor Jonathan Crane would really like funding for experiments related to fear, but no one is interested. Somehow gets the idea to start some secret society (named something edgy and cool like Eye of the Crow Order) based on, you guessed it: fear! The concept would be making individuals stronger mentally by forcing them to confront their fears. And other philosophical bs. At least on the surface. Jonny boy really just wants willing participants in his experiments but shhhh they don't know that. Induction into the group would involve being injected with a weaker form of the fear toxin or something. With time, more people join in. People who want to get hit with the fear toxin again would prob get subjected to higher dosage or a more experimental variant.

The turning point is after he's fired for, you know, the whole shooting a gun in a classroom thing. He kidnaps those responsible and decides to make a spectacle of their murder during a meeting of the secret society. This causes massive division within the group and a double or nothing scenario; people who aren't cool with murder and craziness obviously bail out, but those completely devoted to the "doctrine" go all in. And so begins the era of Scarecrow and his fanatical cult following.

This version would have no need to hire thugs. He has his "flock" fully willing to carry out his vision. The most committed of them (his "Disciples" perhaps?) are probably those who volunteer for multiple occurrences of fear toxin experimentation (and live through it) which has left them a bit unhinged and probably very dangerous. These are the ones which would likely also get shipped to Arkham if caught. But yeah, the cult angle is great because it adds an element of intrigue (is this otherwise polite Gotham citizen part of his cult??) and it makes Scarecrow a bit more threatening not only to Batman and the Batfam, but to the other rogues. Can't imagine some of the latter would be very keen on dealing with zealous cult members if a team-up was orchestrated.

As for Jonathan, the whole thing starts as a front just to get bodies to experiment on but, after huffing enough toxin over the years, he starts fully believing he is the Master of Fear and deserves to be worshiped over it. ALSO. He has a nice, tidy murder of crows. He gets all of them to mimic the sound of creepy laughter and say "hroo hraa" :)

also also trying not to feel A Way at him calling his followers "lambs"

[sunshinemoonrx]

Space RPG: Characters

Following on my previous post here--

Here's a post on the four main characters for this game and associated stories, some OCs that have been bouncing around in my head for a while. I'll start with the two mentioned in the previous post, who are going to be the party members for this first iteration, and then talk about the two who are going to be side characters/antagonists for this, but in theory graduate to party members in future instalments.

You can see the piece I've commissioned from an actual professional artist in the last post, so this one is just gonna be my quick little design sketches (alongside some images of their visual inspirations), and I'm not an artist, so y'know, these are just the images I supply to artists for reference, some of them doodled at work in whatever notebook I had to hand.

Lyra

An exciteable and overconfident space archaeologist who nevertheless exaggerates those aspects of herself to hide how observant she can be. Usually drives the plot as she flies around the universe to study one mysterious site or artefact after another. Mechanically, she's the primary character; you only game over if she goes down, but she can't take damage if she has another character to block for her, and she's the only one with access to the items menu, using those and her abilities to buff, back up and direct around our next character--

2. Vega

Lyra's bodyguard, rough and gruff and definitely doesn't care about you and has never felt an emotion in her life, shut up. She was originally hired as a mechanic, and Lyra quickly put her to work building a Metal Hero style power-suit she'd designed, that Vega now wears to fight (I still need to design this fucking thing). Also yeah there's a couple of those images up there where she's a catgirl, that's just an occasional side effect of her space HRT, try not to mention it, it really ruins her stoic image.

3. Cass (Cassiopeia)

As you can see, I got the basic design down instantly and then spent a million years fussing over what shape her hair and head should be. Anyway, the concept for Cass started as "I'm gay and I want a bunnygirl in my space game", but I started relating really hard to the clumsy, inept goofball who alternates between happy-go-lucky and "my job is so boring, uuugh" that emerged. She's a deliberately cartoony character, so things like her frighteningly-inhuman strength and the way her bunny-ears headband emotes with her will never be explained.

Cass is a minor crew-member helping pilot the great royal flagship Andromeda, though she's honestly pretty unclear on who the person in charge is and doesn't much care. Someone who definitely can't say the same is--

4. (Sir) Helen

Helen, by contrast, is one of the most important people on the Andromeda, a knight tasked with protecting the princess who owns the ship. I still have yet to really figure out the princess--other than she has a pretty specific personal grudge that leads to her following the two protagonists around the universe annoying and competing with them, dragging these other characters into the plot--but Helen is fervently devoted to her, willing to go to any lengths for her safety and happiness. For now she doesn't act on her feelings, preferring the ideal of chivalric courtly love, but that results in her being pretty pent-up.

(Also, I might change her name at some point, it's not quite set.)

As mentioned, these latter two will become party members at some point, but for the first game Cass will be more of a side character, and Helen an occasionally-recurring boss. So I think I'll save talking about their planned mechanics for when I get into the game systems they interact with. (And yeah, I do have characters that are other things in mind, but it is a very girl-heavy cast because uhhhhh that's what I wanna write.)

I have started to make a build of the game, so here's the placeholder sprites I'm using for them for the moment, for completeness' sake-

In most cases these are reinterpretations of the designs according to what RPGMMV's generator can do to communicate their basic essence (Vega's hair in particular is nothing like that), with the exception of Helen, whose design I was pretty vague on until I clicked the mask accessory and it all clicked into place.

That's it for this post! I don't know how often I'll do these, but it's good for making me actually make progress. Probably the next one I'll do will be on the physical 'outline' of the game in terms of its size and the maps I've made.

[codebrew1250]

A Comprehensive Guide to Creating an Online Marketplace

Online marketplaces have completely changed the way we purchase, sell, and exchange products and services in today's connected world. There are lots of options to start your online marketplace, from e-commerce sites to niche markets for unusual goods. If you're thinking about exploring the realm of online marketplace development, this all-inclusive manual will lead you through the crucial procedures to construct and introduce your prosperous platform.

1.  Start by identifying a niche or market segment for your online marketplace.

Research market trends, user needs, and potential gaps that your platform can address. Choose a niche where there's demand and potential for growth, whether it's a specific product category, service, or unique marketplace concept.

2. Understand Your Target Audience

To create a successful online marketplace, you must first understand who your target audience is. Identify the needs, preferences, and pain points of your potential users by doing in-depth market research, surveys, or interviews. Acquire knowledge so you can customize your platform to meet their needs.  

3. Define Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

Create a unique selling proposition to differentiate your marketplace from competitors. Your unique value proposition (UVP) should stand out from the competition and appeal to your target market, whether it's by providing a wide selection of products, excellent customer service, competitive prices, or a customized user experience.

4. Choose the Right Business Model

Choose a business plan that works for your online marketplace. Options include commission-based models, subscription-based models, B2B, B2C, and mixed strategies. Before choosing a model, analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each one in light of your target market and specialty.

  5. Plan and Design the Platform

Invest in a logical and easy-to-use design. To see the user interface and experience, make wireframes and models. Make sure there is easy registration, a secure payment method, clear product and service listings, and smooth navigation. Give mobile responsiveness priority to ensure a seamless cross-device experience. 

6. Develop the Platform

Put your attention on platform development when the design phase is over. To launch your marketplace, engage with a reliable development team or hire knowledgeable developers. To handle future expansion, create scalable backend systems, secure payment gateways, and robust systems.

7. Implement Trust and Safety Measures

Establish trust among users by implementing verification processes, user reviews, ratings, and secure transaction protocols. Incorporate privacy policies and terms of service to protect users' data and transactions, fostering a safe and reliable marketplace environment.

8. Launch and Iterate

Launch your online marketplace to a limited audience or beta testers to gather feedback. Use these insights to iterate and refine your platform continually. Focus on enhancing the user experience, fixing bugs, and implementing necessary improvements before a full-scale launch.

9. Marketing and User Acquisition

Develop a robust marketing strategy to attract users to your marketplace. Utilize various marketing channels, such as social media, content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), partnerships, and influencer collaborations, to drive traffic and user engagement.

10. Provide Ongoing Support and Updates

Offer reliable customer support to address user queries and concerns. Continuously update and optimize your platform based on user feedback, market trends, and technological advancements. Stay agile and adapt to changing market demands to ensure long-term success.

Conclusion

Proper planning, an in-depth understanding of your target market, and a dedication to providing value are necessary for building a successful online marketplace. Building a successful online marketplace that connects with customers and stands out in the crowded digital space requires a focus on user experience, trust, innovation, and efficient marketing techniques.

[schleierkauz]

code red code red: cornelia is tweeting

(english translation under the cut)

1: Original tweet:

“Please please don’t do this #verlagsgruppeoettinger

Rethink your decision, Cornelia Funke’s Inkworld deserves so much more love than you are giving it #wewanttheoldcovers”

Cornelia’s reply: “I agree with you! I asked the publisher to forget these designs! I had seen concepts for the first three books but since all publishers redesign a series’ at some point I thought: okay, maybe they need modern covers. Until I saw The Color of Revenge:( CF”

2: “I’d like to ask all those who find the new cover for the Inkworld as questionable as I do to post their opinion at Dressler’s social media accounts. There is still time. The book is finished, I love it a lot and it deserves a cover that’s more than just a series design. 🎵🥰 CF”

3: Original tweet:

“I just don’t think it fits at all... And shouldn’t there be some kind of central theme visible in the designs? To me it doesn’t look like anyone put their heart into it. Unfortunately.”

Cornelia’s reply: “I’m afraid there was a lot of effort behind these covers but they’re still wrong. It was my mistake not to put a stop to it earlier! That’s what happens when you work at two books at once and invite so many young artists. Not enough time to take a close look at cover designs!:(CF”

4. Original tweet:

“Can’t you as the author do more to stop this?😬“

Cornelia’s reply: “I’m trying Melissa! I really missed my first chance when my editor was here in Volterra to show me the designs:(CF”

5. Original tweet:

“Would it be an option to upload an appropriate cover as PDF so we can hire our bookbinders of choice to fix it for us?”

Cornelia’s reply: “I’m planning to craft my own cover, too 😂 but I still have hope that we can maybe banish these ones to the paperpack versions!:)CF”