#my transition goals change every new character I like

[davexd]

Transition goals

[transamus]

Also here's my thoughts on the various aspects of Mario Eclipse, major spoilers though- I recommend going in blind if you plan on playing it at all.

Il Piantissimo feels phenomenal to play as. Not having FLUDD is compensated with a double jump, and the increased speed & jump height is insane. Luckily, you cannot choose to play as him in any episode where you would not be able to accomplish your goal. Additionally, the presence of water bombs for all characters when not using FLUDD works really well to make him still viable.

Luigi feels like the perfect middle-ground between Il Piantissimo's faster movement / higher jumps and still being able to use FLUDD. I choose to play as Luigi more often than not.

Warship Isle was full of tedium, my least favourite new level: however, where all the new levels do have some tedium, the tedium itself fit perfectly into the game. Nothing was more tedious than what Nintendo themselves asked of the player, and so it kinda ended up balancing out pretty nicely.

Lighthouse Isle had some camera issues, but overall starting the level stormy was a great choice, the custom boss battle was really well-done, and I enjoyed it a lot. My only other criticism is that the soundtrack was more "Grant Kirkhope" than "Koji Kondo", but none of the other levels' soundtracks had this issue.

Erto Rock was a beautiful level and a great way to interpret the concept from the cut content. I'm not a huge fan of how often, though, in new levels, you start with a mission that has a timer; I'd prefer personally to be able to take my time exploring the new levels first rather than kinda have to take it all in as quickly as possible. It's also nice having a more vertical level that feels simultaneously like it takes advantage of the Rocket Nozzle where the base game did not, as well as not making it entirely mandatory either.

Hotel Lacrima is a hilarious way to interpret the cut content; they chose to make it mafia based, because... hotel la-crime-a. That's really funny. The organized crime didn't feel out of place for a Nintendo game of this era, either, weirdly enough. The level itself is designed in such a way that the camera feels accommodated for really nicely, despite the inherent issues with the game's camera.

All of the new transition levels / areas feel really cute, and the vibes are immaculate.

Needing to beat shadow Mario in all of the new levels as well was unexpected, but I felt like it fit really nicely. This is usually one of the biggest criticisms of Mario Sunshine itself, but I think the amount of post-game content makes up for this.

Starting the game at Peach's Castle was also a really great choice; in the base game, you have all of 3 seconds to familiarize yourself with Mario's moveset before you obtain FLUDD. Having even this small change I think fixed that issue really well.

The ability to enter Corona Mountain pre-flood was a really nice touch; I do wish that it had been expanded into a full level, though. The attention to the cut detail of it being a Shrine was very appreciated.

I'm only just moving into the post-game content, but having it based around Daisy's Cruiser is a really adorable touch. The post-game content genuinely feels like Official DLC for the game, expanding the map outwards off of Isle Delfino rather than continuing to pile onto the island.

As a Blue Coins enjoyer, I'm really glad that they didn't remove the Blue Coins from the game, and in fact added some to every single new level. I've always stood by the fact that I'd rather have Blue Coins as a "portion of a major collectable" than distort the value of major collectables by throwing them literally everywhere (looking at you, Mario Odyssey).

While the original plan for Eclipse was to restore the beta Delfino Plaza, the beta plaza is nowhere to be found. On one hand, I wish they would have, and put it maybe on the north side of the island or something? but on the other hand, not restoring it does feel like it honors the choices the developers made more, making the mod feel, again, like an Official Product. I think the beta plaza would have stood out design-wise, and- like in the base game- was probably not included for good reason.

As someone who is super autistic about Super Mario Sunshine, this really feels like it hit every single thing I would've wanted in a theoretical remake- it feels like this is the game Nintendo's team would have made if they had been given unlimited time and budget to do so.

[gacha-incels]

TBH

Looking at the CN gacha space right now, Situation may get even worse with current “有男不玩” ("If there is men, [I] don't play") movement in CN. They basically want devs to kneel to their demand to get rid of female MCs (only male MCs are allowed for self-insert) and all playable males, so "stinky female dogs" (as they refer to female players) stay away from their games. Also they emphasize, that they are "Number One" paying costumers and don't want their money to be wasted on creating content for female playerbase.

And we kinda see that happening ... I guess? correct me if I'm wrong

My friend told me if this goes on : in the next 1 to 2 years, all gacha will be all female cast aka the female players will flock away while incels stay.

Which for me : I doubt it's permanently but i won't be surprised?

Also Why when it comes to gacha incel I see it's always CN and KR? I tought JP had incels? or they're just the least vocal insufferable?

Edit- here’s some more info thx to @megafreelyfuzzystudentthing-blog ! “mixed toilets” is crazy. this type of misogynist gamer male is everywhere they just freak out about different things, while I think their level of hatred and vitriol towards women remains the same.

in regards to if we are seeing that right now, the majority of these games have been created with a male target market in mind for years and I don’t think there’s been an overwhelming change in the market with regards to that. I think even one game like Genshin being very successful and having multiple male banners in a row and male character designs that the men playing hate while being mixed sex is enough for these guys to think they’re “losing” this no girls allowed gacha playground, so they bug out and act like every gacha now has a feminist mandated fanservice male character they release every other patch for women. but because of the overwhelming success of GI, this shows the greater market it’s worth it to invest in getting female fans, and this is what these men are afraid of. this is also why they specifically use Genshin as the “Genshinification” of gacha, meaning adding male characters that appeal to women and making a mixed sex gacha. So in order to deter this from happening any further, they have to cause a big enough ruckus so that studios think “it’s not worth it to have to deal with all of this,” the end goal being gacha remains a separated boy’s club. this is just a basic read of the situation for anyone who is unfamiliar. It’s disgusting the way they talk about women but I think this is also the reason they emphasize how much more money they have and spend. But the way you write about it, do you see them ramping up tactics significantly? I’m interested.

edit lol I just saw this 💀 I would think things like bot spamming and AI use are going to become much more frequent. the second post talks about this so I added it. It’s kind of just gossipy but it talks about botting and the attitudes there. the hate they have specifically for this character is fucking unbelievable. I looked up this story since these guys were fucking losing their minds and everything seemed so benign. but the thing is he’s still used as a main character in stories and events so this type of freakout doesn’t do shit…and it seems like they’re able to remove the bot comments and mass one star reviews after a while anyway? maybe if the company was smaller. when I check the revenue it still seems to be making a huge amount of money

In the next 1-2 years in terms of tech it looks like the trend will be new 3D gachas and more 2D gacha studios transitioning to 3D. for the companies making the switch to 3D I think it could go fine or it will be like what happened to some actors with the transition from silent films to talkies. designs will depend on how much money has been invested and predicted to be made. From what I’ve seen it kind of looks like more of the same, either all female or all female with a couple male characters. this is typical. jiggle physics when a woman breathes like wuthering waves, “feet quality increase update” like snowbreak or another Arknights game you can say is just different than other gachas (jk). none of this looks like a huge shift in either direction but idk i could be totally wrong and something crazy could happen. let me know if I’m missing anything but this is the kind of thing I’ve been seeing.

in terms of this blog, right now it primarily focuses on the South Korean gacha incel phenomenon, I only started looking into this Chinese incel movement wrt gacha because I was able to find a little more information in English and I was curious but it isn’t a focus or mainstay. I haven’t put much here from Japan because I typically don’t check out their social media that much and like China it isn’t a focus, but off the top of my head I remember the FGO fans going after artists on twitter if they didn’t like the way a character was drawn, like sending congratulations to an artist that his father had died and that he deserved it??? After this he deleted his social media I believe, it was the artist for Parvati. Stuff like that. They have that otaku idol culture and I’m not sure if that bleeds into the gacha scene but I would think that would be the type of crossroads where you would find this gacha incel behavior. I hope this was a helpful answer and not just me rambling lol I’m always worried about this

[cipheramnesia]

hey I'm curious about the switch to Pathfinder! could you go into how your group decided to change & what the process of switching over is like?

(I've started running 5e for my friends last year and the idea intrigues me. I'd love to hear your thoughts)

Just a quick summary up top because I've been thinking about this post awhile: Pathfinder 2e has the most readily available free system content and the Pathbuilder 2e app helped all our players with an easy creation process.

In what probably comes as no shock, the Wizards of the Coast open gaming license controversy was the prompt to change. We have a game that's been recording with the goal of being a podcast, and after we all talked it out we decided we couldn't stay with D&D for that specific game.

The choice to go with Pathfinder was ultimately convenience and availability. Because the majority of the resources for Pathfinder are free online with the blessing of the company owning the system, it meant everyone could access the basics. The similarities also made it easier to transition over for most of us, and our DM had the books already available. The majority of the group also wanted to do more with the characters which meant the move had to be something where we could preserve them as best as possible.

I think what really cemented it for the whole group were two apps:

Second Edition Character Sheet - This is a simplified Pathfinder 2e character sheet that does not have many features or all the options in the game, but gives a great feel for how the creation system works. Most descriptions of it I find labyrinthine or counterintuitive, and this app made it much easier to see how various skills and stats are assigned in the game.

Pathbuilder 2e - I think everyone is using this app now because it has basically every single option in Pathfinder 2e you can consider for a character, and a very easy to use system for editing and tweaking your concepts, or just playing around to see how the system works. My nonbinary wife who generally hates mechanics and stats jumped right in and made a super good character almost immediately, so it's very new user friendly too. We do end up needing to use the Pathfinder website in conjunction for a lot of the process, but realistically it's no different than being new to 5e and using DnD Beyond, other than that it's not trying to get you to shell out extra money all the time.

So far all we've done is the character creation process, although as I understand it the main difference in game play is critical roles are more common in 2e. However, as creation goes, Pathfinder is very difficult to create outside the box compared to 5e. For example, in 5e I was able to make my orcish sprite as a Ranger with negative strength and intelligence but thanks to high dexterity and some judicious use of spells allow her to be the party tank with the capacity to immediately charge into danger further and faster than anyone else.

This is more or less impossible in 2e until higher levels, which I don't like because I need my character to be both ignorant and irresponsible because I think that's hilarious. Fortunately I was able to more or less jury rig something, but in general I find the creation process a bit less diverse - despite the fact that 2e has a huge number of background and class options compared to 5e.

Additionally, while 2e has a reputation as having more rules, many of the specific features have not been as well defined as 5e. This means you'll need to somewhat define functionality between yourself and your DM in some situations.

Something everyone noticed during creation, even our DM, was that 2e offers a great deal more options for building a campaign around intrigue, politics, crime, science fiction, or basically any other number of options that aren't combat focused. I think our campaign may end up more city oriented just to take advantage of those options, and because some of us love that style of story.

Overall, I think I like Pathfinder just a bit more for the point distribution and character design. If you're planning to start fresh, it's a very exciting system, either if you want a stand up knock down slugfest or if you want to play a scheming vizier plotting the king's downfall. However, the base characters lack some variety and if you plan to move a 5e character over expect some tradeoffs or potentially for it to be flat out impossible.

[astroshitter]

saturn return in the natal chart

Saturn's return: Saturn in the chart represents our karmic destiny.  The karma of everything we could barely change.

This difficulty teaches us patience, perseverance, and setting boundaries. Saturn is also associated with all kinds of difficulties and troubles, both physical and mental suffering. Saturn is a planet of seriousness, discipline, duty and responsibility. Its main purpose is good; To help us grow, think rationally, control our impulses, act wisely and set boundaries. Saturn is also linked to the limitations we put on ourselves due to the past where we felt bound under a conservative belief of the environment we grew up in, as a result, the lesson of Saturn in our chart indicates an area where it will be very difficult for us to let go, but we will have to do so. Saturn completes its orbit around the Sun approximately once every 29 years. saturn return lasts approximately from the age of 28 to the age of 31, what is a saturn return or a planet return? When the planet orbits the entire zodiacal wheel in the chart for that matter, and returns to the exact point where it is located in our personal chart.

If, for example, Saturn is in my chart at 6° of aries, then when Saturn in its transits returns to Aries after its orbit to the same degree as mine, 6° degree, I will be in Saturn's return.

Because Saturn is a social planet and the time Saturn stays in each sign reaches to about 3 years on average (because there are also Saturn retrogrades that cause the planet to stay longer in the sign, and therefore the return of Saturn lasts three years on average, because it passes several times over its position in the personal chart).

Think of the return of Saturn and Saturn in general, as the following analogy: You wake up in the morning to a day full of plans ahead of you, enter the shower room, the weather is cold. You turn on the water, wait for the water to heat up, a few minutes have passed and there is no sign of the water getting any warmer. You're in a hurry, you have an important job interview in an hour and a half, and there's no way you'll leave the house without a shower. You do something - go in to take a shower in the icy waters in the freezing weather of March. You suffer, you try to hurry and time seems to last forever, and despite everything as time passes and you sense the end of this ice shower, you give one last push.

After you finished, got dressed, and took care of yourself You realize that you suddenly feel quite fresh, woken up. The return of Saturn is the shower of icy water, it is the "punch" to the face, and Saturn itself is the disillusionment and vigilance that follows the return.

Saturn brings with it a moment of mental clarity, it wants you to ask yourself and decide what you want to be, who you want to be.

The Saturnian return brings the opportunity to put on a new skin, but it also allows you to choose what color and shape you want to design on top of your new layer of skin. For example, you will have to shed outdated versions of yourself and allow the place and space to develop in ways you may not have expected.

If, for example, you have a Saturn return in the 11th house, the question to ask yourself is, is there a plan, a goal that you really care about?  What are your passions? Focus on finding a group of like-minded people to share your desires and vision with. It's time to take the vision and put it into action, support the dream and execute.

You may find that you are truly driven by a new willingness to innovate and explore things outside of the boundaries you set for yourself earlier in life.

By aspiring to have a more understanding and open outlook, especially at times when there is involvement of working with others, or with groups of people and communities towards a common goal, your Saturn return can help place in spotlight the ideals of the new future you decide to build for yourself, character development and unique thinking - to feel that your new, improved self, the true self that you may have been afraid to fully present to the world in the past, because you felt that for some reason you were not allowed to be completely who you feel inside; be proud to bring it to the center and present it with confidence.

[ultfreakme]

Who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love them...

Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Hi Anon!! Hope you're doing well! OOOOH this is a tough one, I have so many ships I enjoy, I think I change pairings and find new ones every few months. But if I had to pick........

AkaFuri (Akashi x Furihata from Kuroko No Basuke): I've shipped them the longest, I'm pretty sure my writing got better through writing and researching for fics of the ship. I also transitioned from traditional to digital drawing through drawing this ship, so yay it's them! I love them because Furihata was someone Akashi and everyone underestimated but Furihata defied everyone's expectations, conquered his fears and managed to stand up against him. Kuroko and the Seirin basketball team changed Akashi's opinions and made him see everyone as equals, but Furihata sorta kickstarted that.

ItaJun (Itadori x Junpei from Jujutsu Kaisen): I actually shipped them back when JJK was first airing! So that's three years with them dear god. I made a post about them but to summarize, I love the potential they had & loved how they clicked together!

Zukka (Zuko x Sokka from Avatar The Last Airbender): This one's relatively new but they got me obsessed enough to write a 300k word for for them and made me go on an unstoppable and frankly unhealthy drawing spree for months (I have a callous on my hand...unsure if it's because of just them but they definitely didn't help). I love their dynamic, they play off each other well, make up for each other's weaknesses and their interactions are always funny to watch. They're very cute to me.

JonJay/JayJon (Jon Kent x Jay Nakamura from DC Comics): A CANON COUPLE!!! They're very adorable and I enjoyed watching the way they helped each other get to their goals in their introduction comic as a couple(Superman Son of Kal El). Watching Superman be bi and have an Asian bf was just, very inspiring. The way Jon's heroism and ideals are defined by Jay's ideals is so cool.

I have a lot more which I can put as honorable mentions: Korrasami (The Legend of Korra), SatoSugu(Jujutsu Kaisen), Stucky (the Captain America Trilogy was awesome and the only part I like from the MCU), KiriBaku(I think I'm pretty much over them now unless I get back into BNHA), Calliette(bring back First Kill please please PLEASE), XiCheng(Jiang Cheng x Lan Xichen from MDZS), BingQiu & MoShang (both from Scum Villain Self-Saving system).

These are the ones I remember. There's probably some crucial formative ship for me that I'm missing but rn I think this is it.

My qualifications for being obsessed with a ship are:

HAS to be gay

They should be complementary in some way

The franchise they come from needs to have a plot that isn't their relationship, but their relationship, or just the character's motivation is sorta woven into the overarching theme of the story. Example; In AkaFuri, Furihata is instrumental in defeating Akashi and his team because Furihata isn't there to exactly take down Akashi. He CAN'T. But if he works with everyone else on his team, he stands a chance and can make a difference. The ultimate theme of KNB is that we should value friendship, teammates and should lift each other up rather than view the world as enemies to defeat. Korra and Asami are seemingly polar opposite with Korra being a representative of spirits while Asami is a representative of human technological advancement. TLOK is about harmony between these two aspects of the world, and Korrasami's relationship is a representation of that. I think pretty much all my ships can work like that (Jiang Cheng is too cynical, never lets anyone close and is prone to conflict, Lan Xichen is too trusting and too complicit, never wanting conflict and therefore not really confronting anything and BOTH of these flaws of theirs are to their detriment, etc etc).

I think I like ships which I can use to examine the themes of the main story, and see how the union of two people could influence the meaning of the canon.

And, I'll be honest, it's also about how aesthetic they are together and how good the smut potential is. It's shipping in the end, and I can write thousand-word meta essays but also be going gaga over their smut lmao.

Hope this was an adequate reply!! Also please don't apologize, I hadn't answered this before I think? haha i keep forgetting what i write.

[tbcanary]

do you have a guide to making your animated comic edits?

i don't, actually! in part because i'm relatively new to these parts and no one has asked for one, and in part because every gif i do is kind of a unique little adventure into teaching myself a new skill, so there isn't just one approach. but! i'm delighted that you want to know! so i'll try and walk you through a couple of them.

we'll start with this guy, because he's a favorite of mine and showcases a lot of the steps that i usually have to do:

tools you'll need: photoshop CS6; digital versions of the comics you'd like to edit.

(i assume you can use any version of photoshop or any editor capable of creating gifs, but CS6 is my preference. photopea is a fantastic free alternative, but figuring out timing and transitions is a lot harder there and requires more effort.)

step one: find your panels and elements

it's worth noting here that i cannot - and i mean this - cannot draw. at all. a lot of my life would be easier if i could, but here we stand. as such, nearly every element of these gifs is pulled from the comics themselves.

for this particular gif, which is admittedly on the simpler side, i needed two things: the initial panel, of jason leaping into the air, and a still image of jason as robin. preferably from the same run with the same artist, because that way, the art matches. i found these:

and that's all i needed for this one. sometimes i need to pull several panels for the vibe i want, or for specific things -- leaves to drift through the frame, magical elements, text and sound effects, speech bubbles, etc -- but adding those in follows pretty much the same processes either way.

step two: prep them!

easier said than done, really. what i needed to do here was make myself a blank canvas around the elements that i would be messing with. this varies from project to project, but for this one, it goes as follows: remove the narration box and jason from the first panel; create an isolated version of jason that can be pasted back in; create an isolated version of robin that can be pasted in the same place at a similar angle.

this is a lengthy process, because i work off my laptop and have a touchpad and no artistic skills. here, it requires drawing in a lot of building and making a successfully blurry, ombre sky. and, because robin!jason's toes are cut off, i have to draw those in and try to match the shading.

(there's also some work here with color balance and photo filters to match coloration; i had to add some highlighting and change the colors on robin!jason a bit to match the background lighting of the overall image, but not by much. sometimes, this step is more involved.)

after some fiddling, i usually end up with things i'm happy with. for this gif, those are as follows:

(this is done through the blur tool, the magic wand selection tool, refining the edges of a selection, or -- in many cases, because comic lineart is my enemy - erasing every pixel of the background or character by hand. yes, there are easier ways to do this, but i like my time-consuming methodologies. they're soothing to me.)

and now we're ready for the fun parts.

part three: assembly!

so we take that background we just made and we paste hood!jason back on it on a new layer. silly that we have to, but yknow. it's fine. he's in there. and now the goal is to find a way to successfully transition from hood!jason to robin!jason in a way that's satisfactory.

i follow a lot of standard gifmaking practices, i feel like? but i'm also self-taught, so i actually don't know how true that is. i create a timeline in photoshop and set it to have a delay of about 0.2 seconds to start with, just to see how the transitions go. i usually start with 10 frames, and then add or remove depending on what seems right.

(the variations here can be broad, by the way. i have a green arrow gif with 140 frames with no delay and a wonder woman gif with six frames on a one-second delay, for example, but those are for another time. starting with 0.2 seconds' delay across 10 frames is just a comfortable starting place for me, is my point.)

this is what the timeline looks like for this project:

(it's that bar at the bottom. you can see the settings and all that as they appear in the final product: 0.1 second delay over 12 frames, so not too far off from my default. nice.)

operating within that 10-12 frame range, i mess around with photo filters and the blur tool to both make hood!jason disappear and make robin!jason appear. this involved a heavy use of the "accented strokes" setting in the filter gallery and smudging and blurring until they looked how i wanted them to, which is to say, rather silly.

here's red hood vanishing:

and here's robin appearing:

there are a few additional versions of these, but i think you get the idea. these are all the bits and bobs, and i just have to lay them out in the timeline in order to get the transition as i'd like it to be.

so i start with jason as hood, and then i move through the timeline and click and unclick the little eye to view them. this is also a heavy process; this gif has about twenty layers, and i'm revealing/hiding each one individually. that is actually not as bad as it could be; one of the poison ivy gifs i've published has about 600 layers that i did that with, and i have a green arrow gif with about 800 layers and 70 frames that i didn't even end up publishing because i wasn't happy with it. c'est la vie.

the end product should look something like this:

which, when played at 0.1 second delay and looped, looks like this:

part four: in conclusion...

i recognize this "guide" is messy and skips over quite a bit, but that's because every gif really is its own beast. i am very familiar with trial and error, and with trashing things that don't end up working out. each gifset takes me about 10-12 hours, depending on complexity, without even counting the time to track down panels or read the comics themselves.

if you want to start with something simple, i suggest animating text bubbles. all you have to do for those is erase them from the background and then drop them back in over the top for about 0.5 or 01 seconds apiece for readability. this gif of mia, for example, was just isolating her from her background, creating a new background from a different panel, and then flipping the text on and off. it's got five frames on a 0.5-second delay.

basically... fuck around and find out. a lot. once you know how the gif timeline works and how to hide/reveal layers, the world is your oyster, because that's all this is.

again, i know this is messy and all over the place, but i hope it helps! have a little fun with it, and don't be afraid to mess up. it's fun either way. <3

[suddence]

08.05.2023 - Part 3

Hi hi! I’m about halfway through editing Part 3: Leave No Trace. Given that this part is longer than the first two, I thought it would be prudent to update on the progress so far!

(I never mentioned what parts 1 and 2 are called! They are Part 1: Don’t Talk To Strangers; and Part 2: Emergencies Only.)

I’ve gotten through 29858 words so far, and the total count has gone up by a few hundred to 50804. Wow! It’s officially past 50k words now! I know anything past 40k technically already counts as a novel (as opposed to a novella) but this makes it feel more...real.

Anyway, that means I’m about 60% through the edit. This part sees Dany meeting some new characters, Zahira’s ex-boyfriend Aaron and his much cooler brother JJ. This bit of the story provides a bit of normalcy to Dany’s life--throughout the book you start to realize that Dany doesn’t know what a “normal” kid life is supposed to be like (or a “normal” adult life, for that matter), so I wanted Dany to have a taste of that normalcy amid all the mayhem.

On the flashback front, after a particularly bad encounter with the cops where they lose basically all their luggage and money, Dany and Marisa are forced to lay even lower and try to survive as the weather is getting dangerously cold. Dany also loses the diary they’ve been narrating in, so they’re trying to continue the entries in their head, which starts to morph the way the flashbacks are told.

I’m starting to see some heavier edits now. There are plenty of spots where I transitioned between scenes very poorly, or rushed through so fast the pacing is just awful. You could really tell my goal was to finish the draft instead of making it good. (To be clear: that’s a good thing! If I got caught up on every little detail, I would never have finished the draft.)

The biggest edits I had to do were in regards to Zahira and Aaron. They (seeing as they are, indeed, exes) argue quite a bit, but sometimes this can get really annoying to read, and it pushes Dany to the sidelines, which makes the whole thing just feel unnecessary. So the work here was to make the arguments interesting (in particular, make AARON more interesting), and to make sure Dany has a place in it. (Dany has made it their goal to never speak to Aaron, so that’s also a fun dynamic to play with.)

The other major thing I had to figure out was the timeline. I had to make sure the amount of time they spend driving makes sense, especially with how much their original plan gets disrupted. I got something figured out, and ended up having to change a scene from noon to dinnertime. I mean, that’s small beans.

One last thing (and the most recent thing I had to edit) has to do with cars. Now, I don’t know much about cars. I don’t even have my L yet. So trying to google the difference between automatic transmission and manual transmission was quite a ride (HAHA get it? Ride?).

Whew. That was a long update. Here is a short excerpt where Dany and JJ and Zahira watch knock-off High School Musical!

(Transcript under the cut!)

JJ gets a lyric wrong. Zahira laughs, and when the next chorus comes, she purposely gets it wrong too, and JJ smacks her with a pillow. When the next song plays, I sing a little under my breath, and the next song, I sing louder.

I want to stay here forever. After I reach Suddence, there won’t be times like this anymore.

But for now, I can let myself believe this has always been my life.

[arionawrites]

okay so this is where i’m at:

i’m currently in the process of finding a new job (i do enjoy my job in a lot of ways, but it’s split shift and i live too far from site to be able to go home between shifts without wasting a bunch of gas so i basically leave my house at 5:45 am every day and don’t get home until 6-7 pm. every week day. it’s been almost 4 years and despite all the things i like about this job, i cannot mentally or physically handle that anymore).

i’m hoping to find a job that might somewhat align with my dream of being a published author, i’ve applied for multiple library positions, but seeing as i don’t have a college degree i’m paying for some certificate programs to try and help. which means i’m taking small classes to gain certificates.

at the very least i am looking for a job that gives me the time to still be able to prioritize my writing, as for the past few years, i have not done that (i write fics for fun on the side and i used to post multiple one shots and such throughout the year, but with my current job and hours, i literally have not posted or updated anything since MAY). i’ve had this goal since i turned 20 of being published by 25. i’m 23 and my birthday is in about five months. it’s just a goal but it’s one i really want to strive to achieve. with the way my life has been, i won’t be able to do it. i need to change things.

basically: i’m in a transitional period in my life so that i can shift my priorities in order to focus on writing more than i have been. but unfortunately this transitional period is going to take up a lot of time until i get things in order and everything settles down.

i’m not doing nanowrimo this year because of this, even though i did a lot of prep for it, but that’s okay! i can keep all that prep and use it for one of the camp nano’s next year! and i’ll still be writing during this transition period, but i’m going to be very easy on myself and probably prioritize fics rather than original stuff because my current main fic wip is almost done and very fun to write and i’m trying to keep myself as stress free as possible while doing all of this lol

my goal is to have things as settled down as possible by the new year. i’ll probably be posting a new writeblr intro for the new year anyway so i’ll save that for when i’m ready to focus on my original writing again.

i’ll still probably post about my original writing here just for the hell of it, because even when i’m not actively working on my wips they take up 90% of my brain, but yeah. that’s where i am currently!!

hope everyone is doing well and to my followers and mutuals who also write, i’m always open to hearing rambles about wips!! message me, send me asks, reply/rb this post if you want—tell me about your wip, your favorite character, anything you want!!

even if you don’t write, tell me about your day!! how are you? how’s life? what’s something that made you smile today? i wanna hear it all, if anyone wants to share!! ❤️❤️❤️

[junithys]

🌓 2023 New Year Resolutions 🌗

I cleaned up the line art on the PNG! .₊̣̇.ಇ/ᐠˬ  ̫ ˬ ᐟ\∫.₊̣̇.

Resolutions

Always meet my deadlines, don't hold back because of perfectionism.

This is my main resolution for 2023! I don't think I'll get my Vtuber lore video to where I want it to be in quality, but if or when that's the case, I can always release things in steps (1.0, 2.0, 3.0, etc.)!

Stick to a concrete schedule.

I have already been improving at this! I have a streaming streak of 24 days, almost a month!

Don't be afraid to take risks!

Trying new things has greatly improved my art and overall skills, but there's always that fear of change and block in my head that I have to fight.

Focus more on my physical health and set boundaries with what I eat with other people.

My constitution was really bad last year, it was the worst my health has been my entire life... so I am going to focus more on taking care of myself. Nutrient-rich foods, hydration, and regular intermittent fasting. Sometimes I will eat something that someone buys me, even if I know that my stomach can't tolerate the food or it isn't good for me. Recently, SakihataLily surprised me with a $9 half-gallon jug of chocolate milk, but my stomach isn't good with lactose but I drank it all because I didn't want it to go to waste, and then I had two days of bad stomach cramps... I think I'll learn how to set boundaries with food more, so that people know that I have to be more specific with my diet.

Make something that I can deem worthy to present on Portfolio Day.

I'm going to try to sharpen my skills with backgrounds this year. Portfolio day was yesterday, on January 10th but I didn't feel like anything I made was good enough to share, so I'm going to try harder to make more impressive portfolio pieces!

Work on not using language that puts myself down or belittles my own abilities.

I have a bad habit of saying a lot that I'm not good enough, but a lot of people compliment my abilities and a lot of people tell me regularly that they like my art and singing, so I'm going to try not to put myself now because I know that I'll always feel like I should be better, no matter what. It's the curse of perfectionism, I suppose.

Schedule 

Morning Anime Hour (via REALITY) ▶ 3:30am MST every day

Open Collab Singing (via REALITY) ▶ 9:30am MST

Book Club (via REALITY) ▶ 3:30am MST

Art Uploads (starting 1-22, the first day of the Chinese New Year) ▶ 8:30am MST on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Blog Posts ▶ 8:30pm MST on Thursday

Schedule Writing ▶ 12:30pm MST on Thursday (I'll post this along with blog for the day)

Big Deadlines in the Foreseeable Future

-Lore 1.0 ▶ 1-19-23

-Lore 2.0 (final ver. w/ full visuals and VOs) ▶ 2-22-23

-Final Character Designs for Visual Novel ▶ 3-24-23

-Visual Novel BETA Release ▶ 6-18-23

Note: Those are all the deadlines for now. I probably will have more in the second half of the year.

Additional Info

I quoted the tweet in which I wrote this above, but I took more time to think about my resolutions, goals, and deadlines for the year - and I am glad that I took longer to think about what is both ideal and realistic. I'm grateful that I found a good free-to-use schedule template; it makes it easier for me. Since we're setting up the computer now, I am going to set Wednesday and Thursday aside from game dev progress and clerical work. As I've mentioned before, it is difficult for me to separate my writing brain from the more abstract art brain thinking, so it would be better this way.

I'm also not sure when I'll be able to rig my original design in Live2D. Not sure whether I will be able to do it myself, or I will have to hire someone to. But when I start streaming as my character, I will slowly transition from REALITY and take my time, so I get a better understanding of streaming on Twitch or YouTube!

To My Fellow Bloggers

Please leave links to articles and blogs you want me to read. I'll do blog reading on Wednesday! So, if you let me know, I'll make a list to read. Sorry that I haven't had as much time lately to be as active!

Wishlist

A regular collaborator on REALITY suggested that I make an Amazon Wishlist since I commented about how my mic was bedraggled after 6 years of use and cats tearing it from the wall. So here's the link if you would like to help, these are some things that would help - I also trade commissions for wishlist items: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/38FX8B6ECGCEZ?ref_=wl_share

Pressure Headache Relief

So, I used a 30 minute self-hypnosis meditation for pressure headaches and I was skeptical about if it would actually work, but it did. The pain in my head went away about 5 minutes before the end of the session. And this was a free-to-listen recording on YouTube! I'm glad because I really don't like taking too many pain meds!

Thank you for reading

—Junithys

tl;dr 

▶ Resolutions

▶ Schedule/Small Deadlines

▶ Big Deadlines

▶ Note to Fellow Bloggers

▶ Amazon Wishlist

▶ Pain Relief Meditation

[kvibe-test]

Crafting Bezos: A Filmmaker’s Entrepreneurial Journey

The journey of producing "Bezos: The Beginning" reflects a substantial part of why I love being an entrepreneur. It was an ambitious project that took more than just skill and dedication; it required a passion for storytelling and a relentless drive to bring a powerful vision to life.

The Scriptwriting Phase

Starting with the script, I still vividly remember the long nights and countless revisions. Crafting a biographical portrayal of someone as influential as Jeff Bezos was no simple feat. I wanted to capture not just the facts, but the essence of who he is. The initial drafts were rough, to say the least, but working closely with the scriptwriters, including talented minds like Cristen Iris, we managed to refine the script into a compelling narrative. I drew a lot of inspiration from Bezos's early days, especially his drive, which resonated deeply with me as a fellow entrepreneur.

What kept me going was the excitement of piecing together different phases of Jeff's life. Measuring the weight of each event and decision helped in creating a script that could educate and inspire viewers. It felt like sculpting a masterpiece, chipping away bit by bit until we had something that truly reflected the journey of a man who transformed e-commerce.

Director's Vision and Production

Transitioning from script to screen was an equally challenging yet thrilling process. As the director, I had the final say on everything from casting to locations and even the minutiae of each shot. Selecting the cast was a meticulous exercise. We needed actors who not only fit the roles physically but could embody the spirit of each character. When Armando Gutierrez signed on to play Bezos, I knew we were stepping in the right direction. He brought a level of authenticity that was crucial for the film’s success.

The setting was another complex aspect. Filming across various locations in New York, reliving Jeff’s early, scrappy days, and retracing his steps to where he is now was exhilarating. The tech startup setups, modest homes, and even the younger Jeff’s workspace inside the garage—in each setting, we tried to maintain as much accuracy as possible. Each location was meticulously chosen to reflect Jeff’s life journey accurately.

Global Distribution

Once filming wrapped, one might think the hard part was over, but distribution brought its own set of challenges. Working with global distributors, we aimed for a worldwide release that could reach audiences far and wide. This phase demanded a different kind of persistence—changing hats from a director to a strategic marketer. Navigating through global markets required understanding cultural nuances and adapting promotion strategies accordingly. The goal was to make Jeff Bezos’s story resonate universally, whether someone was watching in New York or Tokyo.

The process of securing international screenings was a complex labyrinth of negotiations and marketing strategies. We had to ensure that the film met various international cinematic standards while also being culturally sensitive and engaging. It was this complexity that made the end result even more rewarding. Seeing "Bezos: The Beginning" break into international markets, watching the responses ripple in from different corners of the world, made every ounce of effort worthwhile.

Looking back at the journey of producing this film, I realize it captures the essence of what being an entrepreneur means to me. It’s about embracing challenges, pushing creative boundaries, and cultivating a vision into reality. Much like Jeff Bezos’s story, my journey with this film was about relentless perseverance and creativity—qualities that fuel my entrepreneurial spirit every single day.

Through this project, not only did I aim to tell Jeff Bezos’s compelling story, but in many ways, it became a reflection of my own entrepreneurial journey. Every late night, every decision, and every obstacle I overcame while producing "Bezos: The Beginning" served as a reaffirmation of why I am passionate about what I do. The joy of bringing a story to the screen, inspiring others while navigating the complexities of production and distribution—this is what I live for.

[thecraftyfoxthewriterscorner]

Let's Talk About Sequels Part 1

Some opening thoughts about sequels and a couple of announcements! 🌸

Hey Story Crafters!

I wasn’t feeling well last weekend, so I wasn’t able to send out a post like I originally planned. I ended up binge-watching several movies—as one does while on bed (or couch) rest—and a couple in particular got me thinking about sequels: 22 Jump Street and Shrek 2.

Now, the type of humor in the Jump Street movies isn’t my cup of tea. (I don’t tend to like comedy movies, or at least live action ones, in general. On the manga/anime side, Gintama, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, and Sakamoto desu ga? have the kind of humor I enjoy.) I stumbled into 21 Jump Street by way of autoplay after dozing off, and then stuck through to the end of the second one out of a combination of morbid curiosity and just being in a haze of unwell. By the end of it I wanted to watch a movie with a more satisfying sequel, and hopped over to Shrek and Shrek 2.

Before we talk about the elements that make up a satisfying sequel, let’s take a look at the transition or lead-in to the sequel—in other words, the first work’s ending. When a work has series potential, the ending will leave the reader or viewer with a sense of anticipation (“What happens next?”) that the sequel is expected to fulfill.

This can be played out in a couple of ways:

Cliffhanger. It’s clear that the first work’s ending is a pause to build up tension for the sequel. At the end of 21 Jump Street, Schmidt and Jenko are told they’ll be undercover in a college for their next assignment. A couple of book examples include For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten, which ends with a character getting sent to another world; and Godkiller by Hannah Kaner, where the main character (MC)—presumed dead by the other characters—regains consciousness and prepares to continue on her quest.

Setting the expectation of progression. This can be through:

Time: The MC gets older, usually by a year. Think the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, where the next book is the next year at camp. Or just any series where the MC needs to progress through grade levels at school, etc.

Life milestones: Yes, this technically falls under “time,” but I made it separate because the mental/emotional stakes are a little different. The MC or MCs achieve a life goal in one work, with the expectation that another life goal will be the focus of the sequel. This happens in Shrek, where the happily ever after is achieved (relationship-wise = the marriage to true love), and leads into Shrek 2, where the MC’s focus is on keeping or making the happily ever after work (a.k.a. actual married life post-honeymoon phase).

These are just a couple of techniques that came to mind. Feel free to share others you can think of in the comments!

An exception to the sequel lead-in

An exception to the sequel lead-in is the mystery genre, whodunits especially. Think of detective characters like Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Benoit Blanc (from the Knives Out movies)—they don’t tend to experience the kind of character arc we expect in most fiction. These characters are brilliant investigators who don’t usually experience any internal change; instead, they’re placed at the scene of a new crime or mystery to solve. We’re less concerned about learning to care about the detective character, and more interested in finding out how the victim over there ended up with a knife in his back when the room is sealed and there isn’t a blade in sight.

That’s not to say mystery novels can’t have MCs with character arcs (Vera Vixen from the Shady Hollow series comes to mind). It’s just not as much of an expectation for them.

We’ll stop here for this post. Stay tuned for future discussions about sequels!

Now, onto a couple of announcements.

New posting schedule

Due to changes in my work schedule, The Writer’s Corner will be updating every other week!

#RevPit 2024: #MeetTheEditors

This week, all participating #RevPit editors will be hosting live chat sessions on Reddit so authors can get to know them! I’ll be hosting my session this Thursday, March 7, at 6 p.m. ET. Even if you’re not participating in #RevPit 2024, please feel free to drop in!

If you’re looking for an editor, this session is a great way to learn more about me, and to see if we’ll work well together! I’m interested in working with authors of:

Fantasy

Dark Fantasy

Science Fiction

Horror

though I’ve also worked on cozy mysteries too. I’m open to working in most genres if an author and I fit well together, so please get in touch if you’re interested in working with me!

Send me an email!

For the #RevPit 2024 contest schedule, please visit https://reviseresub.com/annual-contest/schedule. You can also find more information about the #RevPit contest, and ways to stay up-to-date with the contest on social media.

I’m still not too familiar with Reddit, and I’m equal parts excited and nervous about my session. As a sort of icebreaker, I plan to have this small LEGO built by Thursday.

Photo of LEGO 40463 Easter Bunny box.

Alt text: Photo of LEGO 40463 Easter Bunny box. A small build with a cute brown bunny next to 2 easter eggs and small flowers on a green base.

I’ll share pics of the finished build during my Meet the Editor session!

I hope to chat with some of you on Thursday! 😊

Best,

Leah

Visit the Crafty Fox Editing Services

Connect with me on social media!

Substack Post: https://thecraftyfoxwriterscorner.substack.com/p/lets-talk-about-sequels-part-1

Interested in learning more about me, and the kind of energy I’ll bring to a writer-editor relationship? If you're a writer, consider subscribing to my free Substack newsletter.

You can also check out the archives.

[hectorlykos]

Masterpiece, re-experienced. — A Persona 3 Reload Review

Persona 3 Reload - 9.5/10 Hours Played - 127 hours (one run) Completion - 100% Platinum trophy Out of all the remasters/ports that Persona has received, this is the first time they made an actual remake and it was absolutely amazing. This really shows how much the Persona team has improved over the years in terms of understanding graphics, art style, game design and combat. Almost every single aspect of this remake is better than the original, adding lots of quality of life mechanics that made it significantly more fun while also being faithful to the source material. This remake is a testament of how Persona grew as a series over the years from a niche JRPG to being out in the spotlight as a bonafide AAA game. The original game already had a phenomenal story that will forever resonate with its audience, but P3R took that and further improved it to still tug the hearts of people who played the game multiple times now. Making all the social links fully voiced definitely made all of them more memorable and entertaining even those that were pretty bad like Kenji's. P3 has some of the best but also some of the worst social links in the series, which is one of its biggest critiques. I also appreciate the new addition of night time bonding with party members as it made the dorm feel more lively compared to the original. It also made the cast feel a lot more closer as friends, because it only felt like the original cast were only people working at the same goal instead of being genuine friends. It's not on the level as the friend group in P4, but this is def more than P5 which I appreciate. The new linked episodes of the male cast who disappointingly still do not have a social link were good enough to excuse its absence.

While most of the soundtrack stays the same, the new songs and covers were great. The new battle theme (It's Going Down Now) is probably my second favorite in the series. Color Your Night is an absolute bop and the new dorm music was great. In terms of graphics and art style, the original and remake are like night and day. There are more attention to detail and more expression in the environment throughout Tartarus and the city which made it feel more alive and vibrant. Some people tend to point out that the new vibrant look of P3R does not match the themes of the original's dark and gloomy, but I honestly think this new change is better. For a game that discusses the nature of life and death, making the game begin with a more colorful and cheerful city that is contrasted by the depressing and scary tones of Tartarus masterfully shows the contrast between both concepts. Additionally, as the story goes on, the city also becomes more dark and depressing similar to Tartarus which helps signifies the turmoil that is going to come to the world. It makes it feel not like a transition, but a convergence of light into dark. With this, not only does the change feel more intense, but it also matches up with the current situation of the game which is just amazing environmental storytelling.

Aside from that, the new QOL changes in the simulation gameplay and combat gameplay made the game more enjoyable. It is now way easier to upgrade social stats and social links with the new arcana cards you receive in Tartarus, night bonding and using the dorm computer. It actually made it more possible to complete all the social links in the game in one playthrough, which I did without any guides. In the combat side, the new changes were just amazing. Adding huge mechanics such as Shift (called Baton Pass in P5) made all the battles feel more smooth, plus the new Theurgy mechanic (which I hope will be also in future Persona games) added a unique special move for each character that helped them have more difference in their ability as a party member. Changing between different members was fun as the remake engages players to have different compositions depending on conditions.

However, the most important and easily the best change in the game is Tartarus. In the original, it was one of the most tedious and most excruciating experiences of all time. While great as a concept that matches the themes and storytelling, it's "fun" aspect was just not there. It was just an near endless grind climbing through up the floors that are almost identical to each other without any variety or additional mechanics and structures that could have made the struggle bearable. Thankfully, all of this was improved by the remake by not only making the floors better to look at, but also adding more variety into it with the Great Clock and Monad Doors which helps with both leveling up and gaining more resources that would make your team better. Not only that, the new dash and ambush mechanic made the pace of Tartarus way faster as it helps with faster advantages instead of just stalling and waiting for enemies to turn their backs. Back then, I used to just hate Tartarus and say to myself "GET ME OUTTA HERE" while now I just say "YOU CAN'T GET ME OUT OF HERE". It's a miracle what the folks at ATLUS has done, props to the team.

I can't express enough how much I love this game. While P3 is still my least favorite out of the modern Persona games, it doesn't mean that it is not a masterpiece itself. As a game who made me cry the most in any piece of media ever, experiencing the game in a more modern way was special to me. The fact that this game, which I hold dear and close to my heart, is what I think is the least good modern Persona game, just signifies how amazing this series truly is. Please play it. It is peak fiction. It is fire. It is kino. It is raw. It is goated. It is a masterpiece.

[squishmallow36]

Hello there. Fedex Royal AU update for you.

(I will find a name eventually!)

AHHAh, Guess who started over with their story? ... IT WAS ME!

*eye twitching*

Initially, I would have Dex start as a prince, but the more I wrote, the more I relived it didn't fit his character. So I changed it to have him be brand-smacking new to the prince thing.

Turns out, making that change changed all the chapters I just wrote. The storyline is still the same, but I have to write everything!

I don't know how you writers do it because writing out the stories that live in my head is one of the hardest things.

Mad respect for you and other writers.

(Also, I know I asked this before, but; how do you get unstuck when writing?)

Hello!

(Don't worry about naming until you're posting the fic unless you're stuck with sudden divine inspiration. Almost none of my fics ever get titled before I'm putting it into ao3)

Oh no I hope you don't suffer too much by starting over :)

Prince!Dex not really working with his character is a big reason why Fitz is usually the royalty in the royalty au. I': excited to see how Dex became a prince in the first place then. If it's simply because a grandparent passed away then he wouldn't be super new to the inner workings of the palace but then again a military coup or something would be sooooo fun. (Then Alden is a part of that same military iirc so it doesn't exactly work but I'm rambling into a textbox so don't expect me to be coherent)

As a writer: i don't know how i do it either. Writing is like banging one's head into a wall. Actually that would probably be more productive...

And a couple of 'how to get unstuck while writing' strategies:

- I've recently transitioned into opening up ibis paint x (ik you use procreate it should work the same) and plan out what I want in detail (even down to specific lines of dialogue sometimes--that's a good place to switch to the third bullet point) for this chapter. This can be typed but i like the feeling of the scribbles. Even if I don't consult it while drafting, it's good to have in the back of my mind where I want to go.

- prev is also good for figuring out where you want your story to go if you aren't totally sure. Just give yourself a couple of minutes to continue the story in your head and jot down the necessary details.

- I believe I've told you about this strategy before: the massive incorrect quote. I'm better at dialogue so being able to paste things together with *actions in asterisks* instead of sentences helps me keep momentum going. I'm bad at keeping momentum going because i write one sentence and then go reload tumblr. There are no new posts. I go back to the google doc.

- i personally have not used the comic sans method but supposedly changing the font to comic sans is supposed to help. Something with making the canvas less intimidating. It's also an eye crime so use with caution.

- make a routine that makes you go "i'm supposed to be writing now." Maybe it's a specific place in your house, maybe it's a specific time of day, specific talismans (talismen?) that you need nearby, specific music, that kind of thing. Try to avoid the bang your head into a wall emotion but balance that will developing a habit of writing every day you can. (I'm working on this too)

- if you're fighting with motivation, set a timer for ten or fifteen minutes where you just write (paragraphs, incorrect quotes, planning can all count) and try to not get distracted by other things.

- Or maybe set a word count goal where you aren't allowed to get up until you've written 200 words and then you overshoot the goal and think, "well, i might as well get to 300" and magically you're deep in the thick of drafting.

- for a first draft, it's fine to put things in brackets. I don't know if you've named the Dizznee grandparents yet so [grandmother dizznee] for example will save you from having to go find a name and you'll keep going with the sentence

- if you want to come over here at any time and do a writing exchange where we both write ~500 words (can be adjusted as necessary and overshooting the goal is part of the fun) and then send an ask with a snippet. i've done that with lucas @/synonymroll648 a couple of times and it's GREAT for motivation because you don't want the other person to post and then you haven't written anything. (Disclaimer: i'm going to be out for a couple of hours in a car so i won't see a request for a writing exchange until i get back into internet zone. But after that i'm free)

[pradhibsarennn]

Body Modification on Visual Media (Michael Jackson & Adele)

Body modification refers to the purposeful alteration or modification of human bodies in a variety of visual media, such as films, television programmes, video games, and artwork. It comprises portraying characters or people with physical modifications such as tattoos, piercings, scarification, body implants, cosmetic surgery, extreme body sculpting, and other purposeful changes to their look. Its goals can be used to improve character development by giving details about a character's traits, background, or affiliations. Body alteration can also be used to visually illustrate a certain subject or message in a story, emphasising ideas like rebellion, individualism, or cultural variety.

Celebrities, models, and influencers make their own decisions about altering their physical forms by two main body modifications: body shaping, and cosmetic surgery, as these people may get away with it for their own benefit lifestyle.

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop music throughout history, underwent multiple plastic procedures, and his dramatic transition made him notorious in the media as people questioned how much surgery he actually underwent and why his skin had turned white. (White, 2018). Michael Jackson’s first plastic surgery came in 1979 when he had an accident by falling and broke his nose while dancing after his first solo album, "Off the Wall" (Meyersohn, 2009). However, his nose surgery did not stop there as the procedures went on for years after an unsuccessful look. Fans thought not just his nose was being structured, but his whole entire face had gone through some changes, like lip reductions, cheek implants and eye reshaping (The Detail, 2021). According to Michael’s interview in 2009, he denied and quoted, "I've had no plastic surgery on my face — Just my nose. It helped me breathe better so I can hit higher notes," (Meyersohn & McFadden, 2009). Besides that, fans criticised Michael for being racist for bleaching his skin and disrespecting his black family's culture, but he fought by claiming that he had vitiligo condition in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1993. “I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of the skin — It's something that I cannot help, OK? But when people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me,” Michael defended.

Another celebrity appearing body shaping is a British woman singer-songwriter, Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (Adele). Ever since she started her music career, she was shown in music videos and performances at award shows with much of her overweight condition throughout the years. Till in 2021, Adele made waves after speaking publicly about her 100-pound weight loss which made headlines in 2019 (Miller, Felbin & Evans, 2023). Her successful weight loss shocked the fans around. Since then, she discussed how she overcame her anxiousness and attained her health goals (Miller, Felbin & Evans, 2023). "It was never about losing weight, it was always about becoming strong and giving myself as much time every day without my phone — I got quite addicted to it. I work out two or three times a day.....I do my weights in the morning, then I normally hike or I box in the afternoon, and then I go and do my cardio at night,” Adele spoke on British Vogue (Lewis, 2021). Adele then added, "You don’t need to be overweight to be body positive, you can be any shape or size."

References:

The Detail 2021, 'How Much Plastic Surgery Did Michael Jackson Actually Have?', The Medium, February 14, viewed 16 June 2023 <https://thedetailchannel.medium.com/how-much-plastic-surgery-did-michael-jackson-actually-have-74dfef74543#:~:text=Michael%20Jackson's%20first%20foray%20into,nose%20while%20in%20dance%20rehearsal.>

Meyersohn J & McFadden C 2009, 'Why Did Michael Jackson Go So Far to Alter His Appearance?', ABC News, viewed 16 June 2023 <https://abcnews.go.com/2020/MichaelJackson/story?id=7982236&page=1>

Miller K, Felbin S & Evans O 2023, 'Everything To Know About Adele's 100-Pound Weight Loss Journey', Women's Health, viewed 16 June 2023 <https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a30443070/adele-weight-loss-diet/>

Lewis R 2021, 'Adele reveals she works out 'two or three times a day' as she opens up on 100lb weight loss', Hello Magazine, viewed 16 June 2023 <https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/health-and-fitness/20211008123512/adele-breaks-silence-100lb-weight-loss-work-out-exercises/>

[yellowrosesforme]

Goddess Diana of the hunt, the moon and the underworld.

Goddess Diana is a Roman Goddess with many distinctive qualities. She has three main aspects: Goddess of the hunt, Goddess of the moon (Greek equivalent: Selene) and goddess of the Underworld (Greek equivalent: Hecate).

Wild Nature

She is considered protector of childbirth and of virgins and as a virgin her character is considered to be untamed and 'uncivalized' like children. She was worshiped as the Goddess of the hunt, of the countryside and of wild forests (such as the one outside Lake Nemi, 30km outside Rome).

The wild aspect of the Goddess is associated with a person's true mature - who would you be if you didn't have the societal, peer and family conditioning you have accumulated in your past? What is the essence of who you are? What if that was allowed to shine and grow - who would you be? There are various processes such as Decent and Embodiment which aid in the larger process of 'rewilding', which is the term given to 'returning to your true natute'.

As Goddess of the hunt, Diana was worshipped by hunters who wanted a successful hunt. This was a very practical aspect of Diana, however it represents many qualities of the Goddess. As a huntress Diana is focused, swift, responsive, patient, soft on her feet, connected to nature and therefore has a strong intuition. She trusts her gut and is good at taking action.

The quality of having focus can mean practically being focused but can also mean a wider focus for your life. What is the intention you hold for your life at the moment? Does it change often? Truly finding your hearts' greatest desire for your life will allow you to stay on track with one thing. If it comes from within, it is not going to go away until it is resolved so it won't change. However when we are disconnected it is hard to know what our hearts desire is, because we are not in tune with it. For example I used to react to learning new information by always deciding it is the solution to my life. So my intention would change regularly. One minute I wanted to heal my power, the next my sexual wounds, then clarity, etc.

Another thing that I have noticed within myself if that when my goal is specific, for example "get over my ex" or "become and feel more competent at work" as opposed to "heal my depression", my intention changes less. So nowadays it is more stable, but I never have just one as that would topple my life over.

The qualities of being swift, responsive, patient, soft on her feet, intuitive and connected to nature tell us how to approach a goal. The hunter is not forceful, the hunter is responsive to their circumstances and environment, the hunter uses their intuition, etc. This is also represented by the moon. The moon is feminine. Unlike the masculine sun, the moon has a gentle, soft approach. I take this to mean I should approach my goal with gentleness. Take action but not forceful action.

Goddess of the moon

As Selene, Diana is the personification of the moon. The Greeks understood the movements and character of the moon through the Goddess Selene. In Greek mythology Selene was said to ride across the sky every night on a beautiful chariot ridden by two white pegasuses. This explained why the moon moved across the sky at night.

The moon represents the feminine in many ways. Firstly, it is cyclical and transitory in its nature - which is why Diana is a Goddess who oversees the transitions in people's lives. The cycles of the moon also mirror a woman's menstrual cycle (which include the hormonal changes a woman is constantly going through).

The moon also has a soft and gentle glow and Selene's appearance is of a beautiful young woman with long silvery-white hair which flows behind her. A soft and gentle approach or character is associated with the feminine.

She is also very important as she provides the night with light. This is benefitial for hunting, linking to Diana's aspect as Goddess of the hunt. What this represents is guidence - the guiding light in the darkness.

Furthermore the aspect of Diana that is Goddess of the Underworld (Hecate) is the wise guide of the night who carries torches (light).

Both Diana and her aspect Hecate are also know to be Goddess of crossroads for example Y and three way cross roads. This represents providing guidence in the path of life.

Guidence can be understood as a feminine ability. To lead gently and carefully, requires softness. In addition to guide well we need a strong intuition, which comes from being deeply connected to our surroundings, other people and nature. In Greek mythology Selene is literally related to these. Selene is the granddaughter of Goddess of the Earth, Gia, and God of the Sky, Uranus. She is sister to Helios, God of the Sun, and to Eos, Goddess of dawn. She is deeply connected to nature. This is connected to Diana's aspect as huntress because strong intuition leads to focused intent.

Goddess of the Underworld

Diana is associated with the night as moon Goddess Selene and crossroads as Hecate. She has the dual aspects of light and dark. The fair Maiden and the wise Crone. The Greek Goddess of the Underworld, Hecate, ushers mortals to the underworld. She guides us through darkness, pain and the past with her wisdom and feminine intuition.

Hecate is also Goddess of the moon. The transitory nature of the moon represents that when we descend into the underworld by facing pain, the dark, the unconscious and the past we will always return, changed but new - just like a new moon.

Guidence

I have pulled Diana four times over the past few days. So what is it she can help with in my life?

It is important to remember that Diana is not only the moon, Hecate or Goddess of the hunt. She is each, all and a blend of them all at the same time.

To me Diana is complex and has all this substance behind her wild huntress aspect. On a day to day basis she elegantly and joyfully achieves her aims and goals with focus and patience, and a soft quality. But she is more than that, she diligently moves the moon every night, she is beautiful and soft, gentle and persuasive. She is also a wise Crone with knowledge of herbs and plants (Hecate), and is the light in the dark. The guide at the crossroads.

How do you think she maintains her deep connection to nature and her intuition? As Hecate she can heal herself from pain, she has all the knowledge in the universe. As the moon she is deeply feminine, feeling and healing.

In my opinion, the moon is femininity and Hecate is the wise, mature, knowing Crone. They both heal in their own ways. You have to have both to be your distinct self (like Diana is distinctly the wild huntress Goddess). You have to be able to heal yourself, you have to have all the compassion, gentleness, forgiveness, etc you can muster but you must also learn, accumulate wisdom and heal yourself through external means (just like Hecate uses plants and herbs).

Diana's character isn't passive or slow, she takes swift, decisive and assured action.

She is a Goddess I deeply aspire to find within me. For me a more calm and steady approach to life. There is also a 'going to your goal' (as opposed to attracting your desire) quality to her. This is also shown in Selene's love story with the mortal Endymion.

Maybe there are more concrete steps I can take to get over my ex, than just flayling in the dark and ending up in the same place of feeling sad about him? Maybe it is time for me to tighten up my approach. And I will find out what I should do by using my intuition and trusting my gut. This is how I will find my true nature - my distinct personality.

My ex is the thing stopping me from being me, from loving who I am. I so desperately want to be right for him, and for a long time I was participating in things, hanging out with people etc that made me feel like 'if I did this I would be right for him, I would be his soul mate and we'd be reunited'.

Goddess Diana in her hunter aspect represents discipline, clear and focused intent. As Goddess of the crossroads she guides us through our choices. This has reminded me that we always have a choice. It might not feel like it, and it might take some work but the choice is always ours. Diana represents making a choice, sticking to it and seeing it to the end until you have reached your target.