#finally..... new machina art......

[maxdimo]

boa requested happy machina dave bc he deserves it. DAMN RIGHT HE DOES!

[maxillo]

pride month render!

[tossawary]

I still think that the ending of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was poorly foreshadowed, specifically the lion turtles and the energy-bending. (Not Aang not killing Ozai! I like that part! It suits the themes, it suits the characters! That part is fine. I am glad that the last airbender found a way forward that respected his people and beliefs.)

Like, I saw ATLA when it was originally airing and I thought these things kind of "came out of nowhere" at the time. I have heard the arguments to the contrary over the years and I have never really been persuaded by them, while at the same time personally agreeing that the lion turtles and the energy-bending absolutely do fit the world and lore! They are fitting elements! They work! I like this ending at the same time that, in my personal opinion, I think it was poorly established.

I think that the story BEGINS to establish lion turtles and energy-bending well enough. We meet both many other spirit beings and bending-capable animals earlier on, including the Moon and Ocean Spirits who apparently gave the world water-bending. S2 introduces Ty Lee's chi-blocking techniques and Guru Pathik teaching Aang about chakras. There are also a handful of lion turtle easter eggs in the background of some episodes, the most prominent perhaps being on a scroll in Wan Shi Tong's library.

But the story then jumps from these various establishing elements all the way to "lion turtles are real and not extinct and telepathic and can also energy-bend and Aang has suddenly mastered this new art well enough to take someone else's bending away permanently, and these relatively new elements are going to resolve the main conflict of the show". It feels like "1+1=3" to me. I think that last jump in the story is too big. Like, we're REALLY close, but I personally needed another 1 in there somewhere to bridge that final gap and get to that 3.

(Includes some fic ideas / suggestions on how to maybe add to strengthen the foreshadowing under the cut.)

The fact that a lot of people, especially more casual viewers, were really confused by the way all of these elements suddenly came together at the end says to me that, no, the foreshadowing that WAS done (there WAS foreshadowing, I cannot rightfully say that it all came completely out of "nowhere", but it) was not good enough. Or maybe I should compare it to someone presenting me with all of the necessary ingredients for a cake and then telling me that it IS cake? Yes, all of the right ingredients are HERE, I agree, this COULD be a really great cake, but... you still have to mix it all together in a bowl and then put it in the oven to bake to get that specific cake. It's not quite cooked yet.

(Okay, wow, that sounds kind of mean. Maybe I should compare it more to a missing stair? We have MOST of the staircase, I just need one last step to get to the Deus Ex Machina at the top. To be clear: I don't think a "Deus Ex Machina" is inherently bad. I often like them a lot. I just wanted a little more foreshadowing than the stuff that is already there.)

In storytelling, there's this technique casually called "The Rule of Three". (And yes, of course, rules were made to be bent or broken depending on what story you're trying to tell, but usually, these rules exist because they are effective.) This rule is also sometimes known as "Introduction, Pattern, and Payoff". (It has other names, but that's how I remember it.)

Very loosely, this rule states that an important element of the story must appear at least three times. 1. It must be introduced / established in the world. 2. It must appear again to remind the audience that it exists / and establish a pattern such that the audience begins to expect it to appear again later. (And is hopefully excited for it.) 3. Payoff. The element returns in an important way, probably to resolve part of the plot. The previous two appearances have acted as foreshadowing for this ending.

There's also a "Rule of Two" version of this general storytelling technique. Like, "If this special crystal can zap the bad guy and save the day, we have to have shown or at least told the audience that it can do that BEFORE the big final fight scene."

In regards to ATLA, no, I don't think that a scroll in a library or a statue in the background of some scene served as adequate introduction and reminder for the existence of lion turtles, so it didn't necessarily feel like a payoff for me that they solved the main conflict. (It's the "solved the main conflict" that's most of the issue for me. If the lion turtles had just appeared in another episode as a random cool thing like those sea monsters by Kyoshi Island, I would not have cared.)

I actually think that the establishment of other spirits like the Moon Spirit and bending-capable animals like sky bison and dragons can serve as a decent enough "Step 1) Introduction". Though this does not establish that lion turtles specifically exist, we have established that powerful creatures similar to lion turtles exist. But I still needed a solid "Step 2) Pattern / Reminder" that would have established that lion turtles specifically exist and are important BEFORE one shows up at the end like that.

I think that there's at least one episode somewhere in Book 1 or Book 2 that could have been cut in favor of an episode where the Gaang meets and rescues a young lion turtle baby or something.

Maybe Guru Pathik could have learned his ways FROM a lion turtle? Aang could have gone to an isolated village somewhere (with more brown people besides just Guru Pathik?) where people are living in harmony with a lion turtle, or maybe even on the back of a lion turtle! That would be cool!

Concept: Aang encounters Guru Pathik living alone on the back of a lion turtle which doesn't talk to people anymore (Aang swims down to look at its face and it doesn't even look at him), because its kind have been hunted nearly to extinction and it's tired of violence. Guru Pathik learned his ways from his old teacher, who learned from his old teacher, all the way up the teaching lineage from a person who once learned from the lion turtle itself before it gave up on the world. Guru Pathik tends to this nearly empty temple on the back of a silent lion turtle who ignores him, because he will not forsake his teachings even when the world seems uninterested in hearing them and the old lion turtle seems like it could die any day now. The people in the fishing village on the shore think that Guru Pathik is crazy and most of them don't even believe that the floating island really is a lion turtle, it's just weird geography.

Guru Pathik could also have chi-blocking abilities! We could see him demonstrate them in self-defense! He could teach a few chi-blocking moves to Aang, who could later go on to use them occasionally in Book 3, and it would have been really cool to see Aang exploring non-bending skills. We don't need Guru Pathik to explicitly name energy-bending here, but I would like to connect him just a touch more strongly to chi-blocking. Like, he IS connected already by helping Aang clear chakras, which is kind of like a reverse of chi-blocking, but it would be nice to establish Guru Pathik as somewhat capable of the opposite but perhaps not liking to use the skill.

Aang really vibes with this dying culture of pacifists, but he still has to leave Guru Pathik before he can finish the training. Later on, he can encounter Guru Pathik and the silent lion turtle again, and he can confess to them how desperately he doesn't want to have to kill anyone, no matter what his past lives say. He just wants to STOP the violence and restore balance to the world without sacrificing himself. And THEN the lion turtle could wake up and gift him with energy-bending.

Or something like that! The foreshadowing doesn't have to be THAT heavy-handed, but SOME brief appearance by an actual lion turtle would have served as a better "Step 2) Pattern" to me.

Things like chi-blocking, chakras, water-bending healing, water-benders losing their bending when the Moon Spirit was killed, and even Zuko's spiritual turmoil serve as a good "Step 1) Introduction" to the concept of energy-bending to me. The ingredients are THERE. But again, I would have liked some clearer "Step 2) Pattern" that had actually baked the cake in regards to this being a skill Aang had specifically.

The above episode concept with Guru Pathik on the back of a lion turtle could have worked as a "Step 2) Pattern / Reminder" for energy-bending.

ANOTHER option would be to have Aang temporarily lose his bending at the beginning of Book 3, after Katara resurrects him with that special spirit water after Azula killed him at the end of Book 2.

I think Aang losing his bending for at least 3-4 episodes would have been really good for him / the show. So much of Aang's identity is tied up at this point in being the Avatar and the responsibilities of being the Avatar. Losing his bending, especially his AIR-BENDING, and his connection to the spirit world and his past lives would send him into a personal crisis. The Gaang could worry over whether or not a new Avatar has somehow been born or if the Avatar powers are gone forever. The characters could confront the fact that perhaps they've been relying too much on Aang as the Avatar and what they'll do now without the Avatar.

Also, it would be really funny if Aang woke up and picked up his glider to jump off that boat, then just fell into the ocean, and Katara needed to fish him out. (Which would then transition into the dramatic revelation that he has lost his bending!!!)

Katara could use her healing abilities to tell Aang that what's happened to him feels a lot like Ty Lee's chi-blocking. Katara would then probably try to emphasize with Aang, who gets angry with her and says she has no idea what this feels like! Katara could then have a really good intimate scene with Aang over how scary it was when the Moon Spirit was killed, what it physically felt like to lose that spiritual connection, and how scared she was even afterwards about what it would have been like to permanently lose that connection to her people and her culture. Aang then apologizes to Katara and they resolve to find his bending again.

Aang then goes on some spiritual journey with his friends to reconnect with his bending and his past lives as the Avatar. Probably some partially internal spiritual journey with Guru Pathik's teachings. Katara and Toph could both talk about what bending means to them personally as different people, and also what it feels like to them as they interact with the elements of the world around them.

Aang could have some cool fight scenes where he dodges some random thugs using all of his bending skills (martial arts) without the actual bending, air-bending techniques, water-bending techniques, and earth-bending techniques, and then finally some chi-blocking techniques that Guru Pathik showed him. There could be some scene where Aang saves a kid from these random thugs and realizes that he can still do good in the world even if he's not the Avatar! Even if he's not a bender anymore!

There could also be some REALLY funny scenes of Aang trying to get Appa and Momo to teach him how to reconnect with his air-bending. Aang mimicking their movements and so on. (Sokka: "Is that... working so far, buddy?" Aang: "NO! They're terrible teachers!!!" Cue sad Appa bleating and offended Momo chittering.)

You could even do it in a cycle of sorts, where Aang reconnects with his air-bending first using Guru Pathik's teachings and his friends' help. (He is OVERJOYED.) And then Aang slowly regains water-bending and earth-bending over the next few episodes, culminating in him having to face his fears learning fire-bending again. I think you could accomplish this storyline by squeezing it into about 3-4 episodes, or else starting off with losing then regaining air-bending plus the Avatar state in the first 2 episodes of the season and then threading relearning the other elements in the background through later episodes.

ANOTHER option where Aang temporarily loses his bending is after the eclipse, because he has a spiritual crisis over the fact that he was resolved to kill someone and he really doesn't want to do that. I don't like this option so much because it feels a little too late in the season compared to kicking off Book 3 with the drama of Aang losing his bending(!!!), but it's an option.

See, if Aang temporarily loses his bending and has to find it again somehow, then the show could establish what this kind "energy-bending" and spiritual manipulation within a person looks like. If Aang has had to get his bending BACK, then it would better establish Aang then using this ability he has now practiced on himself to take bending away from another person. It's a pleasantly surprising twist that Aang figures out how to reverse a previously established energy-bending technique and successfully uses it against Ozai.

And then the ending, though arguably still in the realm of a Deus Ex Machina (which is cool), would feel more like "Step 3) Payoff" instead of "What just happened?" We needed to see more obviously that Aang was capable of ANY kind of energy-bending before it saved the day like that.

Anyway! This post became way longer than originally intended! I hope this has made it clear that I like both the lion turtles and energy-bending as concepts. I think there are many elements in the show that begin to introduce lion turtles and energy-bending as Aang uses it as things that COULD exist. I just think that the show needed some kind of additional baking step in the middle to establish a pattern and use those ingredients to foreshadow that specific "an ancient lion turtle teaches Aang energy-bending and Aang then uses it against someone else" ending.

[readingtoinfinity]

Fantasy High Webtoon

One thing I've always thought about the first season of Dimension 20, Fantasy High, was that it was kinda messy and unfocused. Granted, this is to be expected, and I think Brennan and company have really found their footing since then, but even if Fantasy High was fun its story was lackluster. So it's the perfect candidate for adaptation.

The webtoon has proved so far to be true to the spirit of the original actual-play if not to the text. Whereas the first episode of Dimension 20 took its time and allowed all six intrepid heroes to be introduced, here we focus on Riz Gukgak as a POV character and gradually expand into the other cast members. It helps considerably that Riz is looking into the central mystery that the season hinges on, so having him be our introduction into the missing girls is pretty smart.

As with any adaptation, you lose something from the original medium and gain something in turn. In adapting from actual-play, you lose the discussion between the players, the above-table talk where you can clock a vibe or negotiate a scene. But in adapting to a comic you get a lot of visuals, in particular what has to be communicated in actual-play through voice and words can just be punctuated by a single image, so the story flows a lot faster than it does in the original.

I'm not sure on the art style yet. I like it, but it's very cute and chibi, even when the characters aren't deformed for a punchline, where the original was slightly grotesque and comedic. I just think the latter fits the tone a little bit better, but we haven't had a big action scene yet so I will withhold complete judgement until I see these adventurers throw down.

As a final note: I like all the background touches. We probably won't get any of the one-shots adapted for this comic, but it was nice to see Argus in the theater club clique. Like The Legend of Vox Machina there's a lot of love of the original series on full display, and even if we'll never see a fully-animated series like we do for Critical Role, this comic is making me happy and I'm keen to keep reading it.

Writer: Derek V. Song

Artist: Denaseey (Twitter and Instagram)

Assistants:

Alex Brennan-Dent (Instagram and YouTube)

SZ (no links)

Starpiper (has other works on Webtoon)

Nisaa (letterer, no links)

WmW (has other works on Webtoon, including Wayne Family Adventures which I like)

[lowrezbonuslevel]

Susie's Super Star Repair Service! (coming eventually...?) ft. new side blog, just dropped

"When strangely-familiar stars spark to life across the universe, Susie sees a chance to rescue her father from the byte-sized boundaries of his digital purgatory (and turn a profit, while she's at it). However, her developing plans evince an undesirable yet ultimately inescapable side effect—in piecing together Max Haltmann's soul, Susie will simultaneously restore functionality to the Deus ex Machina, Star Dream: the destructive, numb-hearted computer that has held him and his memories ransom for years.

"Still, no good businesswoman is afraid to take strategic and potentially-catastrophic-on-a-universal-scale risks when majority shares of her dreams are at stake. The biggest glitch in this technological operation, as a matter of fact, has nothing to do with her father, nor the not-even-half-baked Clockwork Star that became his tomb. No…

"The greatest risk is prolonged exposure to the trademark antics of a beguiling wizard extraordinaire (which roughly translates from Magolorese to 'least agreeable person in existence'). Susie knows he can't be trusted—but his understanding of ancient technology can't be beat and his long-suffering Starcutter can't be outpaced. If only she and her insufferable 'captain' can follow their begrudging agreement to the letter… maybe they'll both come out of this with only minor injuries and moderate insanity.

"The bottom line: it'll take patience, prowess, and persuasion for Executive President Susie Haltmann, the universe's greatest powerhouse of pink-haired persistence, to finally make her dreams reality—and with everything between a shrouded suitor, a cosmic jester, secret keepsakes, long-forgotten promises, clandestine coronal plots, and Star Dream itself threatening to send her off course… it might take just a little bit of magic, too."

some cover thumbnails. still not sure which one i'm going with, if any. but i did like the top middle so i gave it some values. (i wanted to incorporate magolor since he's unfortunately an important character, and the lor and star dream/haltmann of course... and, yup, that's it. nobody else along for the ride. no murderous stowaways or anything.)

this might be the last post about my fic on this blog (unless i make some particularly banger art based on it or something), so if this interests you, check out my other blog, dedicated to this and any future fanfic endeavors, fresh off the Gryll (btw that was a Kirby joke, based on the Kirby video game series, very few will get this!!!). and feel free to send in asks i suppose? i will try not to spoil TOO much

[dutchdread]

A small rant

I've noticed that a lot of places that discuss the LTD are less focussed on analyzing and explaining final fantasy VII, and more focussed on throwing insults at either the characters, or the people who support them. I think I've done a fairly good job at making sure this place stays relatively matter-of-fact, and despite believing that "Cloti" is the only interpretation of the story that makes sense I am usually pretty positive about Aerith as a person, and more importantly, as a character. My stance tends to be that the only version of Aerith I think is fundamentally unlikable is the one presented by Cleriths. So permit me to slightly backtrack on that as I ask:

Am I the only one getting sick of Aeriths character?

And I don't mean "the only Cloti supporter who is sick of Aerith", I mean isn't the general fanbase of the game getting sick of her?

I ask this because I was watching the new Rebirth trailer, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes during the scenes where Aerith sings, or where it tries to survival-bait the viewer. In FFVII Aeriths death plays only a small part in the grand scheme of things. It neither prevents nor causes holy, holy was summoned before she died and is actually held back by the will of Sephiroth, which is the bulk of the external plot. And it doesn't cause Clouds mental break, which was an inevitable outcome of his history with Tifa, Sephiroth, and Nibleheim.

So why does the trailer make it feel like Final Fantasy VII is the story of Aeriths potential death? I thought the point of Aeriths death was that it comes suddenly and unexpectedly, without a large fan-fare, leaving nothing but a hole in its wake. I thought the point was to show a death that wasn't like "in hollywood". So why does her death now get it's own musical accompaniment and stage play?

Aerith was once a normal girl with a big destiny, one that she was as unsure of as any of us, she was just a person, just like us, with maybe a hint of something more. She got angry, she could be petty, she could be clueless. In another words, she was human.

But what is she now?

Aerith is now Jesus and Mary all in one. Fans got so upset at her death that Square-enix felt the need to include her in everything and every time Aerith became a bit less human, and a bit more idolized, until in remake she became a walking, talking, deus ex machina. In advent children she was presented as almost angelic, giving guidance to lost souls both good and bad and healing the children. But it was still ok because most of it was centered around Clouds psyche. The problem isn't with Aeriths death having importance to Cloud. The problem is square-enix trying to milk Aeriths death for all it's worth, making it into a soulless spectacle.

Aeriths death is now the horror monster that loses its terror once you see it. It's everywhere and everything has to revolve around it and because of it it's no longer a good story, but cheap emotional manipulation.

Within the remake Aerith is no longer the playful and innocent GIRL she once was. She's Gandalf the white, come back from the dead to pass down quests and wisdom from up on high. Step aside Cloud, this is Aeriths story, all you other side-characters are only here for back-up. Aerith is now a self-insert fan-fiction character. She has no flaws, everyone loves her, her death is more important than those of other people, the universe, time, and destiny will all bend to make sure the Mary-godessue doesn't die. Because everything has to revolve around her you know? So yeah, of course Aerith can sing! Who cares that there was never before any indication of this. Sure, Tifa will probably get to play the piano, but here is the thing….Tifa being able to play the piano has actually always been a part of the game! Since when is Aerith suddenly a broadway performer? Probably since the same time that she became a picasso at random wall art.

Years of fan obsession have deified away everything that once made Aerith interesting. The grand story of Final Fantasy VII, the quest to save the planet, and the internal heroes journey about accepting the past and the true self. Clouds backstory and struggles, it's all overshadowed by the once irrelevant plotpoint of "will Aerith die?".

Like with Sephiroth, fan obsession has caused square-enix to destroy all sense of mystery, magic, and restraint in order to "give fans what they want", even if it ruins the product.

While I think the cheap spectacle of hyper focussing the marketing and potentially early game around Aeriths death have already essentially poisoned the remake, making it into a mere shadow of what it could have been, I still believe that Square-enix has enough integrity left to actually kill her and move focus back on what actually matters. But I have to say, at this point it's not even just because I want the story of FFVII to be protected and experienced as it should be. But also because I am just getting sick and tired of what Aerith has become, and would now consider Sephiroth stabbing her as a mercy killing for what's left of her character.

[gold-rhine]

Every post you make about HSR just heightens my morbid curiosity about it, especially since while I played the game. I didn’t even get to belobog. Played the tutorial space station whatever and stopped. Literally what the fuck is going on in HSR.

don't be bamboozled by my personal funny presentation, most of hsr story is very boring. like, belobog is very whatever basic plotline that is basically lady and the trump but with lesbians. lesbians are cute ngl, but the ending is ruined. then next region is china, and it's somehow extremely bad and boring. not even in a crazy way, its just boring and there is no character development and shit just happens

then the latest region is america and ok, this one is kind of a shitshow. SPOILERS i guess. so we have america region that is like art deco styled, very stylish, and its thing is that its like a former prison planet that was owned by space amazon corporation, but then rebelled and threw them out. space amazon corporation btw does slavery and like buys and enslaves entire planets, but game still doesnt let u treat them as obvious villains and every time u try to tell them to fuck off, you have to listen to long lectures about how its not that simple.

anyway, so like currently hsr america is like a vacation spot that is selling dreams to ppl, like it has dream space you can go to, and its like very pretty new york basically. but then turns out oh oh, underneath pretty "golden" dream there is poor people ghetto that is used to sustain and power up the pretty dream. there are like hours of dialogues about like how poor get their value "extracted" and blah blah. also there is a nuclear bomb about to go out, but dont mind that, every hsr plotline has same nuclear bomb, its like their gnosis. there is also slavery storyline about a guy who was bought as a slave by amazon and now he's working for amazon enslaving other planets. this guy is white and blond and he's discriminated against bc he has purple eyes. yeah, its america region with huge slavery theme with NO poc playable characters and the main guy with slavery storyline is white. if u thought natlan is worst hoyo could do lol.

another big stylistic theme is christianity, like its a very religious planet and they have like a race of angel-like ppl, they are humans, but they have halos and wings sticking out of their ears. for example, ayaka there is a pop star angel who is basically mormon missionary.

anyway, in the final act instead of resolving obvious conflict of poor ppl being exploited and amazon trying to buy the planet back, they do surprise twist where turns out ayaka's priest brother ayato is a villain who wants to create catholic matrix. bc he thinks poor ppl are too weak and can't live by themselves. heroes stop him by asking raiden (its actually raiden, not like parallel character like ayato and ayaka) to do 9\11 and this somehow brings ppl together. poor ppl keep getting exploited and amazon buys half of the planet. blond guy slavery plotline goes nowhere. raiden says her name is raiden, hi3 fans cheer. oh, there is also a cowboy who's there for like 3 seconds, he does nothing except one deus ex machina. he looks like genderbent version of arlecchino, but from wish and a cowboy.

hope this helps asdfghjkl;fdghj

[encyclopediacr]

Last month at the wiki — May 2024

On the first Wednesday of every month (or, best we can to it), we highlight significant work done in the previous month by our editing community at Encyclopedia Exandria.

As always, we start with a selection of articles created in the highlighted month. You can find more at the 50 newest pages report.

Rimecleft, mountain in Issylra featured in The Legend of Vox Machina

Ted 2, Opal's spider familiar

The Highest Light, city in Midst

Yore Mirror, magical item used by the Unseelie Court

Exandrian Accord, coalition opposing the Ruby Vanguard

The Menagerie (adventuring party), of the Daggerheart one-shots

Hieronymous Loxlee, character in Midst

Live shows, episodes performed before an in-person audience

Phoenix, elemental

Weapons of the Spectral Hand, group of legendary magical items

It's been a busy month in May just keeping up with the programming schedule, which has been getting quite lengthy these days! You can always check out what's coming up in the schedule in our upcoming events article.

We've added The Re-Slayer's Take to our routine coverage, with individual articles for each episode. You can explore the topic area starting with our category for the series. In accordance with our spoiler policy, we update as episodes hit the public feed.

The new Critical Role Abridged also provides us with illustrations for many characters, creatures, and objects! As Encyclopedia Exandria has chosen to use only official art—that is, art that is commissioned by the production—this gives us opportunity to finally have images on many of our articles, like Cyrus Wyvernwind and Green Seekers. On the subject of images, many images from The World Of Critical Role have also been added to the wiki to grace our articles, like Sorrowsworn.

Beacon's launch also gave us arcs for Campaign 3: Bells Hells! This allows us to (finally) organize our episode list into narrative arcs rather than in chunks of 25 episode, and it gives us the ability to organize character articles in this way as well.

[paul-the-delivery-guy]

Paul's Penultimate Prediction: The Hamster & Gretel Season 2 Finale Prediction

I use the word "penultimate" in the title, both because I will most likely modify my projection shortly before the finale, and because I absolutely adore artful alliteration. Anyways, I promised you guys a season 2 finale prediction. Here I am to deliver. I'm actually rather sad knowing that this may well be my last theory for the show. I spent a very long time putting all this together. I'd like to see your thoughts below.

So, has anybody noticed a little trend here? Each of the mid-season finales and the season 1 finale has something in common: Gretel loses her powers. In “U. F. Uh Oh,” Gretel has her powers drained by being next to that purple rock. In “Exclamation Strikes Back,” both Gretel and Hamster have their powers stolen by Exclamation via the same mysterious rock. In “The New Adventures of Super Kevin,” Gretel's powers are transferred over to Kevin via a pendant (that just happened to be in Exclamation's house). If we continue the trend, It may stand to reason that we'll see a powerless Gretel once more in “Who's Afraid of Mordros the Annihilator.” I've been considering this possibility for some time now, but I didn't think this was enough basis for my theory. However, the title and synopsis for the next episode was recently revealed.

“No Powers Day” “Kevin's plan to teach Gretel not to rely on her powers is interrupted when he's taken captive by hill people.”

At first, I was a bit disappointed by the title. Not only was I expecting something more interesting, but as I just pointed out, we've already had episodes where Gretel has had to go with no superpowers. Gretel’s already proven adept without her powers, so what is the point of this… unless the episode is foreshadowing and she, for some reason, will not have her powers in the final battle.

Let me also talk about something in the episode “Hamster Ex Machina.” In this episode, Mordros the Annihilator has created robotic replicas of Hamster, Gretel and Kevin. Mordros, at first glance, struck me as a very smart and analytical villain. He's done his homework and has learned exactly how his enemy fights. HOWEVER, while he seems to have studied Kevin enough to make a replica of him, Mordros disregards him almost entirely. “We could not determine the random teenage boy's function, so we assumed that he was a trash receptacle.” -Robot Gretel.

Hold on… Wasn’t disregarding and underestimating Kevin Professor Exclamation's big mistake in the pilot episode?

Circling back to the mysterious rock from season 1, what was its purpose? Why did the aliens have a rock that could nullify Gretel’s powers? My friends, it's the same purpose the aliens had for creating all the villains. They were testing Gretel. They were testing to see how she performed without superpowers. But why was this necessary?

I'd also like to discuss the little pendant from the Super Kevin episode, the one that transfers powers to another person. The pendant clearly came from the power-granting aliens. Why did Professor Exclamation, who seemingly had no connection to the aliens, have this in his possession. I think that Exclamation found and swiped the pendant from the wreckage of the UFO when he secured the power draining rock. It may have been a backup plan for him to take Gretel’s powers. Now, if the aliens meant for the rock to be found and exploited, they probably meant for the pendant to be found as well. I believe that we will be seeing the return of Super Guy.

I think that Mordros can actually steal superpowers and take them for himself. This is how he became so powerful. Some time in the past, the power-granting aliens granted people on another world superpowers for whatever reason, and Mordros came and stole them.

In fact, I think the aliens meant for Super Kevin to happen, but he needed to be out of the limelight, out of Mordros's crosshairs, only ready to emerge when the time was right. He's somebody that Mordros won't see coming and will be unprepared to face.

Okay, maybe that's a bit convoluted. It's entirely possible that Kevin truly never was meant to have powers at all and the whole power-switch was never their intention. Maybe I'm totally off about Mordros being able to steal powers. Bottom-line of this prediction is that I truly believe that Super Guy is making his big comeback.

Here's how I think the final battle will go down: Hamster and Gretel try to fight Mordros (I'd like to see them team up with Lauren and Lyle). Mordros is able to steal most of the characters’ powers. Just before Mordros can steal Gretel’s powers, she is able to give them to Kevin. Super Guy makes his big comeback. Mordros, having never considered Kevin a threat and having never bothered to study him, is unprepared to fight Super Guy. Kevin ultimately saves the day. Who knows, when all is said and done, the aliens may finally grant Kevin his own powers.

Obviously, there are a lot of gaps to fill in, such as how and why Gretel ends up giving Kevin her powers again. I'm not sure of all the details. I feel like we'll get a bit more information in the next few episodes. If so, I may adjust my theory.

Now, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a few miscellaneous things I'd really like to see before the show ends:

1. Lauren learns of H&G's identity and becomes a member of the group. Even if she doesn't become a full-time superhero, it'll be great seeing her fighting alongside H&G.

2. Lauren and Lyle reconcile (that little scene in “Awkwardly Ever After” was hardly a reconciliation).

3. Kevin and Hiromi become a couple. I say this as someone who shipped Kevin and Lauren. This will require Hiromi learning about Hamster and Gretel, something I believe will happen either in "Art of Deception," or in the season 2 finale.

4. The aliens offer to give Kevin powers permanently. This is something I only want to see if this really is the end of the series. Otherwise, I'd prefer to keep a non-powered Kevin. Kevin’s main role is the man in the chair.

[deehollowaywrites]

2024 in writing

Another rotation in the books, somehow! From a publishing perspective, I didn't have the most interesting year--but as I look back on 2024, I'm finding I did have an interesting year in writing.

For one thing, I took two workshops with Lindsay Merbaum, an author I admire and an excellent workshop facilitator. I recommend checking out the Study Coven for some truly cool themed classes coming up; the syllabi for Smutty Study and Witches III were full of fun and provocative reading, and the work itself yielded two short stories, plus multiple poems and journal entries. I put together a collection of weird short stories and did intensive research on spots to submit it, a project that's still ongoing and will get fresh attention in the new year.

I also drafted a novella that's "in-universe" to Little Nothing, the first brand-new long-form project I'd completed in years. It's true what they say: every book is a different writing experience. Every book teaches you how to write all over again. More news on this front to come, I hope!

In 2024, I prioritized listening to the muse, whether it drew me to trying out new poetic forms, writing fanfic of my own work, or keeping myself to clipped word counts. As autumn ended, I found that this follow-your-bliss practice had made me energized to take up a more disciplined practice of write-and-submit. As we approach the darkest parts of the year, I'm excited to write to intriguing prompts and not overthink things before submitting... and start work on a shelved manuscript.

Throughout the year, I did put published work into the world. I continued to write for horror media website DIS/MEMBER, revisiting the Exorcist TV series, interviewing cool authors, and reviewing a few movies. In 2025 I'll take on the role of Lit Editor for DIS/MEMBER, and we've got some cool new stuff lined up (think cover reveals, indie publisher spotlights, and more). I also published the third volume of what's become my Halloween tradition, a zine with a weird theme; this year, hallowzine vol. 3 was all about the hybrid and alien femininities of Ex Machina, Blade Runner 2049, Annihilation, and Under the Skin.

Most significantly, the two pieces of fiction I published were with magazines local to me and available only in print. Castle Jackal Magazine is full of horror art and writing, while Paper Moon's editions so far have focused on poetry and short fiction. I've always prioritized magazines with digital distribution, in order to theoretically reach the most readers. But in recent years I've begun to think that maybe what I really want is to reach the right readers. Hyper-local zines, music, and art are thick on the ground in my area, and I'm lucky to be connected with people making cool stuff. One of my favorite writing-related instances in 2024 was a zinefest at which I sold almost everything I brought, from print copies of my DIY zines and collections to Little Nothing, embroidered patches, and my partner's block prints. Speaking of Little Nothing, my publisher also made public a previously-subscribers-only Patreon post with a little dip into the world of limerunners and antebellum Florida!

Also in the hyper-local realm, I joined an in-person writing group. This is a new experience for me, and it's been a great one. Each of the participating writers is at a different point in their writing practice, has different goals for writing and publishing, and writes different in genres and formats. Yet what I value is that everyone seems to approach the group with the same level of seriousness. I've enjoyed engaging with the short fiction, poetry, and memoir pieces these writers bring, and practicing paying true attention to others' work. I also get to facilitate a teen writing club for my work; seeing the joy the teens take in their projects, and the skill they've already developed, is a real delight in my life.

Finally, in 2025 I'm venturing back into the world of newsletters. I'm growing weary (and wary) of my reliance on social media, when those platforms are increasingly unstable and untrustworthy. In order to cultivate engagement, stretch my essay muscles, and deliver news outside Meta's scope, I'll be trying out bimonthly letters--you can sign up now! My old newsletter, Readers Up, is now also archived on Buttondown.

Happy writing and happy reading, friends. I'll see you in the new year.

[keepsmagnetoaway]

Uncanny X-Men 166 (February 1983)

Chris Claremont/Paul Smith & Bob Wiacek

The Brood Saga comes to an end (more or less) in this double-length issue, which provides more space for a plot I simply do not care about. It's about space whales, in some way?

All this, and it all comes down to a deus ex machina about space whales. Weird, and disappointing. Paul Smith's art continues to throw some unexpectedly great punches, though.

Oh, and Kitty gets a dragon! The dragon is, I believe, controversial, or something. He isn't named in this issue so I guess a better explanation is forthcoming soon, but anyway, yeah, dragon.

I dunno, man, I have found enjoyable moments in these issues but I simply have not been able to engage with the Brood Saga overall. The aliens seem dated and cliched - perhaps evil insectile assimilation aliens were a fresher idea in the early 80s, before Tyranids and Starship Troopers and Phyrexians and whatnot. Seems kind of old hat now.

All the same, the X-Men are headed back to Earth, partly because they, you know, live there, and partly because they think Xavier maybe is also Brood-infected: but that's a semi-separate storyline, and we too are headed back to earth to read something I'm really excited about: it's finally time for New Mutants!

[featherbow]

Exclusive: The Mighty Nein’s Journey Continues in Critical Role: The Chronicles of Exandria—The Mighty Nein Part Two from Dark Horse

Critters, rejoice! The long-awaited sequel to 2020’s Critical Role: The Chronicles of Exandria—The Mighty Nein is finally on the horizon, picking up with more art, more lore, and even more incredible journeys for our favorite band of heroes.

The first art book covered a number of arcs from the wildly popular Dungeons & Dragons live-play phenomenon Critical Role‘s second campaign, featuring glimpses of iconic locations like the Happy Fun Ball, unforgettable characters like The Gentleman, and so much more. Critical Role: The Chronicles of Exandria—The Mighty Nein Part Two picks up where the first installment left off, featuring everything from the group’s “adventures in Xhorhas, to encounters with the Kryn and the Bright Queen, to discoveries at the Cinderrest Sanctum and in the belly of a behemoth, all the way to events at the Whitedawn Lagoon and beyond.”

This second book is being published by Dark Horse, longtime collaborator and publisher of other hit Critical Role adventures like Vox Machina Origins and The Mighty Nein Origins, and is being written by Critical Role Lore Keeper Dani Carr in collaboration with Matthew Mercer and the entire Critical Role team. The 304-page, oversized hardcover will feature new lore, its own narrative, and a plethora of art from across the Critter community.

And speaking of which, said narrative will come from the perspective of the Campaign 2/Campaign 3 NPC Iva Deshin, who made her first appearance selling Tusk Love to Laura Bailey’s Jester Lavorre, but was always clear in her desire to be an author. The Mighty Nein Part Two acts as a collection of her notes and mementos of the party.

“I really wanted Iva to go on a genuine emotional arc during this journey and find her voice, but to never lose her spark and her joy for the world she loves—especially the adventurers she adores,” said Carr. “The entire book is a love letter to the Mighty Nein, to Critical Role, and to the cast who have placed such faith and trust in me over the years. Exandria is just as much my home as it is Iva’s, and I can’t wait for Critters to dive in and let Iva help guide them through the incredible art of the Mighty Nein’s adventures.”

The beautiful cover, which you can check out below, is illustrated by Stephanie Pepper.

Critical Role: The Chronicles of Exandria—The Mighty Nein Part Two is available to preorder now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, TFAW, and your local comic shop or bookstore, and is slated to release November 26th, 2024 in bookstores and November 27th, 2024 in comic shops for $49.99.

[nayialovecat]

The Ink Demonth 2023 - Day 31. Revival

Day 31. Revival Crossover: Bendy and the Dark Revival I'd say, Bendy, you can't be that rude... but I feel exactly the same way. I know it's not BATDR Bendy's fault that he is the way he is - but that doesn't change the fact that this is how I feel. So, if anyone else wants to ask me what I think about Ink Bendy from BATDR - I will refer to this image.

Yes, I consider it a crossover because I don't consider BATDR to be a sequel to BATIM in any way. It's a completely separate creation that is simply heavily inspired by BATIM. However, in places he rewrites the stories, changes the characters' personalities, adds new threads... This is not an expansion of the world. This is an alternative version of the Workshop - and you won't convince me to think otherwise. So a separate game with which I did a crossover called "Bendy doesn't like his alter-ego".

Actually, the only thing I like about Ink Bendy from BATDR is his voice. When I heard it first time, I felt a shiver down my neck... and then, unfortunately, I focused to the words - and all the charm was disappeared. Seriously. There are reasons why Bendy has been mute so far - and apparently the main one is how much he talks f**cking nonsense. I don't like the shape of his head. His hideous teeth, which are not scary - are disgusting. Hoofs instead of feet is a nice idea - but why both legs? Where is the wonderful asymmetry of the original? Why does he turn into a hedgehog (those spines in strange places - they make sense when they are spine vertebrae). No. Absolutely no. And what's with the skeleton arm? Someone used acid on his ink there?

As for the game itself... Uh... I was impressed at first. First chapter - great. New possibilities of moving the character, beautiful backgrounds, delightful details, an interesting ritual of starting the machine... I was delighted. My slight discouragement began when I first heard Wilson's voice over the speakers and the subsequent behavior of the Lost Ones afther that proclamation... In the second chapter, the game started to piss me off on a regular basis. Then I just watched gameplays and... I don't regret that I didn't keep playing. The game is frustrating, the characters are warped (but not in the realities of the game as they should be warped - warped from the ones we knew and liked). A lot of stupid things happen: Tom being treated like a pet, Wilson acting like a villain from the start, Allison being a fucking deus ex machina, Twisted Alice's death scene and Sammy's death - I hate them both, no physical Bendy (appears out of nowhere and instantly kills - a very lazy solution, game creators), Henry's whole entrance, that weird puppet character what's-her-name Betty... Ok, I like Porter's character a bit - but that's probably only because of his resemblance to my OC Brody.

So you've asked many times what my opinion of Dark Revival is. That's it: I hate this game. It killed my passion for creating SATIM and made me stop looking for images with BATIM on tumblr or on dA - 'cause people don't know how to hashtag and they tag BATIM when they make arts about BATDR. Okay, I'm not saying I have nothing but hatred for this game - but it disappointed me just in the way like BATDR Bendy is disappointment for SATIM Bendy in the picture. And it pisses me off when I see on dA that people add my art to folders called "Dark Survival", "BATDR art" or so. It's like a slap in my face.

That's why I made this picture as quickly as possible. An unspectacular finale - but I've been waiting to say this openly for a very long time, so appreciate the solemnity of this art.

And finally, something positive: I FINISHED ON TIME! Yeah, I did it again!

Bendy and the Ink Machine (c) Joey Drew Studios Inc. Bendy and the Dark Revival (c) Joey Drew Studios Inc. Sammy and the Ink Machine (c) Nayia Lovecat

[levyscripts]

Happy Nine Years to Critical Role!

I unfortunately didn’t start then. I have only been here for two years. I did watch Bells Hells first episode when it aired but I struggled on watching it on my small laptop. I was given the go ahead a week before their 7th anniversary that I could have the tv weekly.

I had watched Vox Machina season 1 by then and was hooked. By March 2022 I was writing fic. It brought me joy to write Vax and Gilmote fics (yes I know what happens) i spoiled myself so I could prepare myself emotionally.

Because I fell in love with these characters, the players, and Matt. Most of them are voices of my childhood. Who remembers staying up late in 2002 to watch Naruto on Toonami or 2004 to watch Full Metal Alchemist? Remember watching Yu-Gi-Oh! Saturday mornings? Watching Recess?

Not only that but characters I loved. Gaara, Roy Mustang, Lust, Tristan (first 20 episodes), and Gretchen. Matt has been practically so much I have watched or played. So yes, I loved Nerdy Voice Actors.

I’m currently watching campaign 1 slowly. Knowing my heart is going to be ripped out in the end. Yes, Vax is my fav. This past February I got a D20 tat with two small feathers, one black outline (Vax) and the other black outline filled in with blue (Vex). I am a dice goblin even before this but seeing Laura with her dice hoard. She is the dice queen.

I was lucky last September to meet some of them at RCCC. It was such a stressful day. It was my second con ever. I have adhd and anxiety. Crowds is a big problem for me and I can’t go alone. My mom was nice enough to go with me but it only afforded me one day. She was kind enough to take a day off work.

I was stressed, nervous, and scared Because 3 out of 4 were on my dream list to meet since childhood. I was able to meet Taliesin, Liam, Laura, and Travis. My four favs!!!

Taliesin was first and he was so kind. I gave him some of the d20 stickers I designed. I don’t know if he used them but it was nice of him to tell me he just got a new bottle and had to decorate it. It made me feel good even with how scared/nervous I was to talk.

Liam I was tongue tied. I was only able to say Vax is my favorite and gave him the stickers. He thanked me but he was kind.

Laura was a sweetheart l. I was also getting a signature for my friend. He paid for it and I got it while there. She was so kind. She talked to me even though I didn’t say much. The thanked me for my stickers.

Finally I got to my final autograph, Travis. I did end up getting a selfie and I regret not doing the others because that day seems like a blur because of my stress. But travis was so kind. I told him I had been a fan since FMA 2003. He told me I was an OG fan and shook my hand in thanks. I gave him my sticker pack for him.

They all were smiles and they made my stress worth it. Because when I’m having bad days I think of CR, read fic, go look at fan art or watch episodes. Because they have created these stories and characters that inspire many of is. They give us an escape in this crazy, difficult world.

So thank you to Critical Role. You have done so much for my mental health. I hope to meet all of you again! I know there is not enough words to fully say to say how thankful I am. I just wish i got into it since the beginning.

Thank you!!!!

[kookaburra1701]

Writerly Thumbprint Challenge~

Rules: look back on your work, both past and present, finished and unfinished. what are five (or more!) narrative elements, themes, topics or tropes that continuously pop up in your work?

Tagged by @thana-topsy ❤️❤️❤️

For all of the nattering I do at my friends about my fics, I really had to think about this, (unless I just wanted it to be a list of all my favorite fanfic tropes.)

(Which I kind of do so they will come rapid-fire at the end hehehehe)

Crisis of Faith - At some point, at least one of my characters will have to question everything they've been taught or thought about the Way the Universe Works. This may be a crisis of actual religious faith, or in the way they view abstract concepts like Truth or Justice, or in the way they view some institution or authority figure. Unlike some of the themes that follow, I know exactly where this one comes from. See, I grew up in a very fundamentalist house hold. Like speaking in tongues, the earth is 5000 years old, and having an erotic dream is just as sinful as sex type of fundamentalist house hold. I even went to a religious college and learned some Latin and Greek to try to figure out which Christian denomination was The One True Church. I graduated from that religious college with straight As in all my theology/religion courses and new found atheism. So, crises of faith and deconversion arcs are very compelling to me, but I really love exploring what a deconversion/reaffirmation of faith means in the context of worlds where there is incontrovertible evidence that the gods/divine/supernatural do actually exist. I suppose it's a little bit of wish fulfillment - sometimes it would be nice to have the comfort of religion again, but that's a bell that can't be un-rung, at least for me. Tropes that come out of this that I loooooooove: -baptism imagery -oracles/prophecy -martyrdom -pretty men tied up and tortured (I'm not sure whether going to church and being SURROUNDED by the kinkinest goddamn fetish art of various saints dying horribly changed my brain chemistry or whether my brain was always That Way and the visuals just made it bearable but either way.)

The Universe Doesn't Give a Shit About You, but I do - this is the second part of the Crisis of Faith. The Protagonist has realized that searching for meaning outside of themselves is pointless, and that in the face of an implacable, uncaring void the only way to find meaning is within oneself and in the connections forged with fellow beings.

The Crucible - I love angst. I...honestly cannot think of a time that I wanted to do something horrible to a character and toned it down before publishing a fic. But I really want it to have a point - I want my characters to go through hell and back, to be completely destroyed, remade, but also to come out the other side changed when they shed all the extraneous things and discover what their essential inner essence is.

Hidden Depths - in this case I'm not referring to the main protagonist discovering their inner strength; to me that is part and parcel of The Crucible. What I just eat up with a spoon and love writing is secondary characters, minor characters, and especially antagonists revealing some of their inner world and it surprising the hell out of everyone. The taciturn swordsman turns out to actually be really good at sewing. The logical scholar loves romance, etc. It can be hard to not have this end up being a deus ex machina crutch to resolve corners I've written myself into, but some of the best times of my life have been when I've discovered something I didn't know about someone I've known for years and they bust it out just when we need it (usually final jeopardy round at pub trivia) I want my protagonist to suddenly see every previous interaction with that person in a new light because they've now glimpsed the Hidden Deep.

Cleansing, or in other (Greek) words Catharsis - Someone somewhere is going to end up in a bathtub. Getting scrubbed. Usually this physical vulnerability will mirror the emotional vulnerability between the scrubber and the scrub-ee. It's also a really fun place for smut.

Sanctuary - in real life, after we've gone through the Crucible to achieve our Catharsis we rarely get a chance to breathe. The activities of daily living still require our attention: pets must be fed, jobs must be reported to, taxes must be paid. But something that almost always happens in my stories after the big resolution is that circumstances contrive to give my characters a physical place where they do not have to worry about keeping themselves fed or housed while tying up loose ends. They've ended up in a secure environment separated from the rest of the world. They always end up having to leave this place, and do so willingly, but the time they spend in it gives them space to come to terms with the events that came before, and plan out their next steps, without the pressures of the outside world. This has taken the form of a temple, a spaceship, and a giant tree in various fics. And then, of course, there's this that might as well be a personal attack:

I tag @gilgamish @moriche

[iantimony]

2023 year in review roundup

wow!! what a fucking year!!! goodbye and good riddance! happy first day of 2024!

this year i did 37 tuesdayposts! there were 53 tuesdays so that's about 70%! some of them were on fri/sat instead as shabbosposts but i think posting on tuesday or even monday does just work better for some fucking reason. maybe because friday and saturday are days that i am most likely to do New Activities for making/playing/watching/reading??? and so on monday or tuesday i can recap the just-finished weekend. shrug! we love tuesday so it's fine.

listening listened to all of twilight mirage and a little over half of partizan! shrieking shack podcast, just king things, well there's your problem, miscellaneous music (maneskin probably a notable winner in there)

reading a lot of little articles. a little tgcf. SO much fanfic. 'every heart a doorway' (bad). 'birthday of the world' le guin (good).

playing a little disco elysium. a little minecraft. a little nier automata. a little hadesgame. a LOT of pokemon go. and i got into magic the gathering this year!

watching a lot of youtube videos. so many gd youtube videos. evangelion, history of the world part ii, cunk on earth, vox machina animated series, cowboy bebop, first season of peaky blinders, the new tgcf donghua season!

making i did very little drawing/painting/illustration beyond life drawing a few times...however i was very prolific in crafting! i also theoretically made valentines gifts. i do not remember what they were tho lol.

fiber arts: i completed a big embroidery project (fermenting dregs album art hoodie), quantum shawl, mesh market bag, case for my knew laptop, finished that blue tank top even though i hate it, fixed the lining on my yellow knitted cowl, made a little knitted headphone top cover that i will probably redo differently, headband ear warmer for my roommate's mom, and FINALLY i just barely finished the scarf for my SO before the end of 2023!

print block carving: wristwatch print, gavelbocken holiday card print

misc/writing: some songxuexiao fencing au. some harrowhark abhorsen au. neocities website!

and so much pottery! this is all of it, barring the things i already gave away as presents before this photo (two pots and a little box and the little raven guy), but wow! that's so many fuckin object!

misc what a fucking year. some bad! had to file a big car insurance claim! got really sick while abroad and that persisted for a long fucking time! mini summer breakdown! some good stuff too - passed quantum mechanics FOREVER good fucking bye, did my first successful academic conference, finally started feeling better around the end of the year! learned my lesson: it's not fuckin worth stressing yourself to death over, and also i can't just Be At Home Aimlessly for months any more. it's bad for my mental health.

reviewing 2023 resolutions and goals --> I’d love to start writing again and play more horn but we’ll see i basically didn't do any creative writing at all this year barring a few lines of fanfic ideas (the abhorsen/tlt crossover one) HOWEVER i READ a lot of fanfic to marinate in and i played a LOT more french horn!! i joined the little youth orchestra which is like, uber goofy, but it means ive been playing on a regular basis again!

--> I also wanna listen to more weird music, and invest in actually owning some files, especially for some of the lesser-known bands and through bandcamp and stuff i spent all year meaning to do this and kept pushing it off so it rolls over into next year.

--> I really want to kind of dial those [unhealthy coping mechanisms] back again, focus more on existing in Reality and more in each moment, which hopefully will also help with some of the skin picking and other anxious habits that resurfaced. maybe more yoga, maybe re-establishing a meditation process lol lmao. nah. but definitely rolling it over into 2024.

--> I would love to think more about my fashion and how I present myself too, and work on making and tailoring more of my clothing in general actually not bad! basically zero tailoring but i did a pretty good job wearing some cute outfits.

--> I’ve been pretty good about being active so I’d like to keep that up, I still can’t do a pull-up but maybe this is the year! (lol) I should also start doing some minor exercises for my shitty arthritis toes to keep those okay once again: lol lmao. health issues had me really regress in some of my gains goals. plus side is toes are doin pretty normal.

--> a lot of last year was kind of a wash regarding research so I’m really looking forward to refocusing on that and really getting things moving. oh it moved! in a good way! i'm making good progress and hopefully i will keep that momentum going!

--> finally! I want to get back to tabletop! I miss doing it so much! it fell by the wayside for me because of how busy and overwhelmed I was, especially this past fall semester, but I want to start running and playing games with my pals again a little! i should have been putting these in playing as i went oops. the tabletop group i've run was a little fallow this year due to at least half of our group, including myself, not being in Tabletop Mood but we've played a lot of res arcana and other such games instead.

i had a few other resolutions in my digital planner on my ipad that didn't go in the writeup last year: namely, practice languages more (i did practice my mandarin a little but did not really learn any hebrew or korean unfortunately) and establish a non-software component of my research (nope, not in the cards, but i'm hoping to do something else this summer to let me get better with physical data/setups), and finishing the masters degree requirements (that will be the end of this upcoming spring semester), but overall i really did hit most of my resolutions and goals! even with being ill for a while! (except the finances. i am simply not looking at them <3)

2024 resolutions and goals

definitely some rollover! i will format this to hopefully be a little easier to respond to next year:

- get back on a regular workout schedule: swimming 1x a week, weights once or twice a week. would like to try and work towards my One Pullup goal again. would also be cool to try and work towards a hand/headstand. - try and be more mindful. i'm going to continue the grief therapy but also think about meditating more, doing more yoga, and so on. - there's a gallery on main street that solicits work from local artists for bimonthy themed exhibitions and i really want to submit at least one thing to it this year! the one due by end of january is themed 'florals', and the one two months after that is 'layers', so i'd really like to submit something to one of those. - more weird art! use that big canvas i bought in literally 2022! paint!!! - finally put together that travel journal from korea & japan (and also scrapbook-ify the papers i have leftover in a pile from that) - also, maybe do current scrapbook a little different? might need a new binder at the very least. - hang up that expensive quilt i bought in august - speaking of quilt: do some hand quilting, english paper piercing! i have so much fucking fabric! - find a new apartment to move into that hopefully won't suck! - try to secure some sort of summer internship or project that will let me develop some new skillsets that i might not be getting with my current research - finish the masters degree - write...a paper? for the work i just presented??? - keep tweaking neocities and make some more pages - keep track of recipes this year as well in my making section

i might start a little spreadsheet this year to keep better track of all my stuff because i really did Not want to go through all my separate listening and reading sections and extract what i liked the most, etc. this post required me to first back up a few extra early tuesdayposts from this year to dreamwidth, and then skim all of them to accumulate the above, and that was kinda a pain. and i love an excuse to start a new spreadsheet.

we did it! happy 2024! i don't think i have anything else to add to this wrapup but if i think of something i'll tack it into the upcoming Normal Tuesdaypost tomorrow! good job good night and good luck everyone!