#official art is from their other social medias btw

[robo-drake09]

Guys I can't believe they're gonna bring the hash slinging slasher into Brawl Stars

(Art can be found on the official accounts on other platforms btw)

[cinnamonest]

Having Childe as a fave is so fucking rough man.

I used to have this long ass period in which I would constantly hate post about him, how annoying he was etc. Everyone on here thought that I hated his guts and that he was my least favorite Genshin character in the entire damn game.

That couldn't have been further from the truth.

The real truth was that I was so pressed about the fact that he hit this absolute sweet spot for me so perfectly that I was just stunned. Like, how dare you???? It became fun to hate him, unironically.

The more I hated him, the more he appeared on my social media feeds. Just take a look at my Pinterest for example.

Babe, that's my MAIN feed btw. I refresh it on the regular and he's. He's just THERE. I don't think I even have that many pins saved of him, at least not so many to warrant this level of harassment. It gets even worse when I'm looking at other characters and he just completely takes over. It first starts with a single piece of his art and BOOM, absolute take over, it's him everywhere.

I think this harassment was too much for me that I gave in 😭😭 He's officially on pookie husband status and a lot of my followers get so confused when I talk about him, you don't know how BAD the hate posting was!!!

I still want to fight him and mess him up for good, but I fear he'd be totally down for that. Tell me, how can I fuck this man up?

I REMEMBER THAT that is so real, I don't think it's possible to just. Straight up *like* Childe. There has to be SOME bit of infuriation to go along with it. One cannot love the man without also wanting to strangle him, the two reactions just go hand in hand and are inherently inseparable. Like it's a physical property of his nature to induce rage but also love, but then realizing the love part only induces more rage because like? How dare he do that to me?

Absolute scientifically baffling phenomenon of a man. I want to study him under a microscope

[purplecritter]

theories/thoughts/analysis about touchstarved after playing the demo a few times

Under the cut because it got long (I exceeded the post character limit...) Also spoilers btw. PS: All the links are to posts on the official social media accounts or their kickstarter, with the exception of the animated trailer screenshots that I got from here.

(Happy one month since demo dropped!)

Mhin

I'm starting with them because I play favorites.

Mhin's silhouette [1, 2] in the animated trailer [screenshot] highlights the crying eye (guilt? pain? blood? Their pupils almost seem to glow red, I wonder if it's connected) and the beak (in a way that reminds me of the skull of a bird rather than a live one).

The red choice connected to them is about asking if they're a scientist: their precision is almost surgical, though when asked if they've studied anatomy or medicine their reply is “Not quite” so it must be something similar enough.

When Vere complains about their first encounter with Mhin, he mentions that their dagger (visible in their in-game art) is an antique. Perhaps they inherited it, maybe from a mentor? It’s a curious choice of weapon for a hunter: stilettos (it’s described as such in the demo) aren’t ineffective in battle (especially if wielded by a physically strong fighter, which they absolutely are), but they are favored by assassins because they’re easy to conceal, they strike precisely and deeply but without letting much blood leak from the needle-thin wound.

As far as design goes, the clasps on their hood looks like a mix between the quaternary celtic knot and the triquetra / trinity knot. Symbolically, the latter is associated to the Triple Goddess (more on this in Leander’s section) or three elements, while the former represents the four elements or the four seasons or the four cardinal directions, and is often used as a symbol of protection.

Their fatal flaw is that they “resist change at all costs”. I'm led to believe that they became a Monster instead of being born one. I think it either happened not that long ago or they lost control over it recently, and that's what spurred them on their search for a cure. Them being described as “outcast” also makes me think that they could have been exiled from wherever they came from, perhaps because the people found out that “a monster hides within their frame”.

When questioning them about Ais, they say “I'm not going to risk my life in the hopes that any of them is different” which shows that they’re distancing themself from their situation (i.e., being/becoming a Monster).

Their hate towards Monsters could be either a projection of the hate they feel towards themself (if they were aware that there was a Monster inside of them before they lost control and hurt someone, for example) or just because one took over them and by extension they hate every Monster because of it. If the “lost control and hurt someone” thing is true I'll also add that they might be working as a Hunter as a way to try and atone. It could also be a way to expel the more violent instincts (I’m assuming they have some) into something productive.

The “they're afraid of being hurt. Or worse” on their relationship chart with Kuras feels to me like they're afraid of hurting him, also because when you ask them how they get along with him during the demo, they say “Few people are willing to help others; fewer when there's any risk involved” and I'm choosing to interpret that they think of themself as the risk. I know I'm really pushing it on this aspect but the “If you stay too close to me, you'll get hurt”+“Find someone safer to ask for help” only fuels me more. Their monstrous form also looks less defined and more liquid compared to the others, maybe because it's not as developed so it doesn't look as solid?

Vere is also said to be often provoking Mhin in order to make them lose control: he's confident in himself enough to think that he'd have the upper hand in a fight with Monster!Mhin, probably because they're a skilled hunter but they don't have that much experience over their monstrous side. Mhin dislikes Vere because he’s “the embodiment of everything [they] hate about Monsters”: while Mhin holds back from their nature and seeks a cure, Vere wants to give in to his instincts without restraints.

In the demo, they get defensive when questioned about the Senobium, but when they say “Whatever you're looking for, the cost may be higher than what you're willing to pay” I think they're speaking from experience.

It's interesting that it's implied that they slept with Leander once. Judging by the comment about the Wet Wick being the “perfect combination for making mistakes”, they're not enthusiastic about it. I’m guessing that they don't like that Leander has seen them with their guard down? Or they

Unless I missed something, it's unknown where in Eridia they're staying. I'll say it's probably in a different direction from the Wet Wick since they make a point of saying that they're only going there to protect Kuras (instead of, for example, “I live nearby anyways so I'll take the same road”).

The flowers in their pin design look similar to cornus kousa, or some other type of dogwood, symbolizing hope, resilience, renewal (I also found: rebirth, new life, strength, regret). After a long and grueling winter, Eridia greets the first dogwood blossoms with relief. These flowers are known to cling tenaciously to life even in the worst conditions, from barren wastelands to ruins perpetually shrouded in Fogfall… Really poetic meaning! I imagine Mhin as the dogwood flower, persisting even after the Tragic Backstory that made them lonely (“barren wastelands”) and their Monster Form (“shrouded in fogfall”)

Leander

Leander's silhouette [1, 2] in the animated trailer [screenshot] highlights only his eyes (they share the color of his magic -> maybe it's how he uses magic that contributes to him being “monstrous”?).

Nothing to note about his red choice except that it is unlocked by generally following his lead (taking the flower when he offers it, touching him without hesitation).

Speaking of his magic, an Alchemist MC notes that it extraordinarily powerful, enough that he doesn't need incantations or spell circles to cast it. Kuras mentioned that Leander prefers the company of those similar to him and that the Bloodhounds are mostly people who've endured the hardships of Lowtown, so I can't help but wonder if Leander was always a natural at magic, or if he did receive training but was later cast out, or maybe he left by choice?

A recurrent symbol in Leander's design is the triangle, as a detail mostly (on his coat, boots, dangling from his belt), but there's also one that looks like the alchemical symbol for earth (🜃) attached to the brooch on his chest; another symbol for earth is, you guessed it, the serpent, whose other meaning is duplicitous nature as well as renewal and rebirth. This connects to the ouroboros (present in his earring as well as in the background of the sticker and charm kickstarter rewards), symbolizing the cycle of death and rebirth and with relevance in alchemy as the “all in one”. The same theme is also present in the symbol of the triple moon (on his belt) symbolizing the stages of birth life and death and more in general three aspects united in one; the white lilies symbolizing renewal, regrowth, rebirth. The green feels fitting too, since it's often used to symbolize health and abundance.

Alongside the little triangle shape, attached to his belt there are a key (which is not the room key he gave MC), the head of which reminds me of two snakes knotted together; there's also a... I have no clue what that glowing red globe-spike is actually. It's the only other red item (along with the gem on the earring sword hilt) on Leander, but in some of the concept art it was green instead, so I think it's at least somewhat connected to his magic or the source of it. The shape of it combined with the red glow reminds me of Eridia’s towers’ architecture but that’s probably a stretch. I also feel like the symbol on the central part of the triple moon belt buckle is relevant: it immediately reminded me of a spell circle, and after doing some digging in sacred geometry, I’ve found that its 6 petal-like shapes (lilies also have 6 petals...) look similar to the hexafoil, “germ of life”, or the central part of the “seed of life”, which is connected to the divine creation of the world in 7 days/phases; a series of interconnected hexafoils make the “flower of life”, the meaning of which is creation (both in general and of the universe itself), and that everything’s interconnected to everything else... I couldn’t help but think of the “As above, so below” tagline in the Bloodhounds' poster; the sentence has so many interpretations in alchemy/esotericism but the gist of it is, “things in the higher realms of existence are just like in the lower/earthly plane” and “what happens in a large scale also happens in a small scale” and “common material things can make pure spiritual things”.

Overall, I'm thinking that all the green-glowing details on his outfit might be arcane foci, to help him cast magic without using incantations. As of right now, I’m willing to bet that Leander's connected to the Allmother (the traveler in the cart prayed to her) and/or the Abbess (the leader of the Senobium, I think): many of the aforementioned symbols also have ties to femininity and/or feminine qualities.

Other big things in his design are the eyebags and scar that goes from the cheek to the arm. I don’t have much to say on those, probably the scar is going to be connected to some important backstory event and the eyebags are a clue to suggest that there’s something troubling behind the bright and positive persona that he presents as.

If we want to take the name literally (I do), we could assume that Leander and his Bloodhounds are not simply a group of mercenaries, but mercenaries with a cause. Hounds are a breed specifically intended to track something specific (or someone specific) by scent. Given the animosity shown by them at the mere mention of the Senobium, it could have something to do with that, but perhaps it's also something more personal to Leander.

Let's get to the biggest red flag of the green-themed man: “Fatal flaw: [REDACTED]” and “Not all Monsters are inhuman”. There's also the fact that Vere doesn't trust his behaviour (I'll get to it in his section but I would generally trust Vere's words to be truthful). It’s also worth noting that in the first scene he makes an appearance in, he’s presented almost as a performer, a subtle-not-so-subtle hint that he can work his audience really skillfully. Overall, he seems too good to be true, and to quote Leander himself in the demo, “Things that seem too good to be true are often just that.” I don't think he's malevolent per se, but I also believe he's a very good liar (or at least, good at keeping his cards close to his pillowy bosom chest) and he can be a lot more ruthless than he lets on.

I already said it in Mhin's section but it's implied that the two of them slept together once, and I can't help but wonder if Leander also tried the whole "let me touch you so I can see what curses you but also you can tie me down if you want wink wink" tactic with them.

I get the feeling that he also slept with Ais? “He sure likes it when others take control”+“He's not so bad once you get to know him”. The bartender didn't joke about the room being used often huh (i’m saying this lighthearted and teasingly, nothing against it lol).

He's obviously staying at the Wet Wick with the rest of the Bloodhounds, and it happens often enough that the bartender/owner is familiar with their habits. I wonder if he also as a house of his own or not.

The flowers (in-game art, animated trailer, pin design, charm and sticker design) are white lilies, symbolizing devotion, sympathy and faith (I also found: renewal/rebirth/reregrowth and purity. Nothing says “I love you” as clearly as white lilies—ironic, since they’re some of the region’s most poisonous flowers. Some mages believe that these lilies contain a mysterious magic, but attempts to harness this power have only resulted in lethal poisonings. A not-so-veiled warning to be careful of what lies behind Leander’s charming facade... And considering that he seems to like when MC defers to him, I could imagine the (metaphorical... unless?) lethal poisoning in a possible bad end!

Kuras

Kuras' silhouette [1, 2] in the animated trailer [screenshot] highlights the several eyes (truth and secrets being very important themes in his route, he's also described as “observer”) and his tears (his guilt).

No red choice for Kuras, but there is various flavour text depending on choices. First and most notably, the Unnamed MC notes that something about him feels familiar: this could simply be a hint about him being divine in nature, or it might mean something more, I'm still uncertain. Moreover, depending on dialogue, one of his scenes towards the end of the demo plays out slightly differently, and it shows the more playful side of him (which I absolutely didn’t expect, but I enjoyed that).

As far as appearance goes, his human form and his divine form have many similarities: this post does a very good job of showing them, but additionally I'll say that his halo (silhouette, charm and sticker design) reminds me of the shape of his earrings.

There are a few lines that imply that being in Kuras' vicinity feels physically warmer. It could be just a standard “MC likes him so being near makes them feel all warm and fuzzy” but I think it's more to do with his angelic nature having a comforting effect on people. Something that could be connected to that is the theme of fire (“eldritch flames”, also visible in the charm and sticker design), which symbolically is the element that purifies souls and reveals the truth.

His clinic seems very neat, for someone who works with numerous patients for the whole day. Moreover, his clothes stay unnaturally devoid of any sign of dirt. His appearance is also very curated, so I think that part of it is him being thorough about cleaning and part of it might be a consequence of his magic. Additionally, during the 16/04/23 Q&A stream with the devs (timestamp: 49:32), they (jokingly) said that Kuras doesn’t even put his hair up while performing surgeries, which to me also means that he doesn’t need to do it because he’s supernaturally clean and hygienic.

There's no clear mention of him having magic in the first place, but I don't think he could've completely reattached MC's arm so flawlessly any other way.

I wouldn't think much of it if it were any other character but Kuras' birthday being January 1st makes me think that he picked the date on purpose... or randomly, considering it doesn’t seem to be important to him.

During the 16/04/23 Q&A stream with the devs (timestamp: 41:24), it was noted that Kuras’ name was deliberately chosen, I think implying that it probably has a meaning behind it, though I can’t say what as of now (my search only revealed that kurash is a type of wrestling in Central Asia, and that there’s a deity called Kura in a region of Syria).

I think it's a known fact in Eridia that Kuras is not simply human (“Only the most desperate or the foolish would dare lay a hand on me”), so it's interesting that he chose to not disclose that to the MC. Granted, they've interacted for less than a day now and information is the currency. I also wonder if he’s always been a doctor or if he chose to become one at a certain point... I guess it would depend: is he “repentant” for something he did before settling in Eridia, or after?

Ais also thinks that Kuras used to be more outgoing but the reason he doesn’t really open up a lot to people anymore is because he “must’ve been burned”, which is an interesting insight. I lean more towards thinking that he’s been burned after becoming a resident in Eridia.

There's nothing that strikes me as peculiar regarding his relationships with the other characters,with two exceptions. Kuras' self-inflicted exile is centuries old, and combined with the fact that he (occasionally and begrudgingly?) works with the Senobium, it might be plenty of reason for Vere to hate him. I think that Kuras might've witnessed how he came to be captured (or actively took part in it), and that event is what feeds his mistrust towards Vere. Secondly, it’s said that he “looks forward to Ais helping around his clinic”: does Ais use the Seaspring’s healing powers on some patients (“I help him in the clinic sometimes”)? I wonder if the smokey scent when the MC wakes in Kuras’ clinic was because he’d been there recently.

He lives in one of the more populated areas, probably because 1) more easy for patients to reach him and 2) he likes meeting people.

The flowers in his pin design look like magnolias, symbolizing longevity, grace, divinity (I also found: eternity, perseverance, purity). The elegant magnolia’s therapeutic properties are vital in such a dangerous world. The Senobium cultivates a small magnolia grove, though few make it past the imposing gates to enjoy the rejuvenating blossoms… Of course the medicinal aspect reflects Kuras well. And there’s the connection to him being employed in some form by the Senobium too, the gates could definitely be a metaphor for how he keeps the true extent of his powers at bay

Ais

Ais' silhouette [1, 2] in the animated trailer [screenshot] highlights his tattoo (Ocudeus' tentacles) and his eyes (the Groupmind's effect).

If MC’s been talking defiantly to him throughout the demo, the red choice connected to Ais also consists of rebelling to him, which he clearly enjoys (he’s said to dislike easy fights, so that’s probably it).

An Unnamed MC will note that Ocudeus’s presence/calling in the Seaspring feels familiar, and that his tattoo feels unnatural and it seems to move when they’re not looking... I’ll say that the tattoo isn’t a regular one, and might be the physical manifestation of the metaphorical mark that the bond with Ocudeus left on Ais. This also explains why in the silhouette of his monstrous form the tentacle tattoo is extended beyond what it normally looks like (it reaches his face, and over half of his chest).

The very prominent eye theme (charm and sticker design, Ocudeus possibly meaning “eye god” if it’s latin) and feeling of being watched (+“Got eyes in the back of my head”), plus the fact that the red-eyed woman knew what MC was seeking as well as their name, makes me believe that Ocudeus' area of influence is very extensive. As a consequence of the Groupmind, it's likely that apart from sharing thoughts (and identity?) those connected also share what they see to Ocudeus/Ais.

The notes left on the pillars are interesting. The topmost and middle one I feel are more useful to the player and serve as casual worldbuilding, but the bottommost one is the most curious imo: decoding the scrawling results in “never wish on a shooting star he's always listening”. Initially I thought that the “he” referred to Ocudeus, but it doesn't feel correct (Ocudeus always watches, it doesn't listen).

During the 16/04/23 Q&A stream with the devs (timestamp: 36:32), Ais was said to be the first character that they created, and the rest of the cast was built around him for cohesiveness. This is interesting to me, as from the demo I thought that “central” role would fit Leander more.

Speaking of Leander, both of them have a like/dislike relationship with each other (Leander because “the assassination attempts are funny, until they’re not” and Ais because he “won’t hesitate to put Leander in his place when the time comes”). Leander seems to be uncomfortable about the effects that the Seaspring has on people, while Ais talks about “a time where Leander's resolve will be tested, same for anyone in this plane or the next”... I wonder how soon that time is going to be 👀. I already noted this in Leander’s section but I think they also slept together at one point or another.

Same topic, different character: Vere. It’s cute that they’re so fond of each other [1, 2], and I’m very curious to know how they met. They probably bonded because of compatible personalities, but I also think that they like each other because they’re both dangerous, and being with someone who is also as dangerous feels... Fitting, safe, maybe?

The fact that he's “not as in control of his powers as he thought” is also interesting to me, since his nonchalance doesn't seem to be because he's lazy but because he's extremely confident. Perhaps he got too sure of himself and lost sight of the risks?

Ais is described as “renegade”, which by definition is someone who betrays a principle/alliance. I have no doubt that this is connected to the reason why he's a “gang leader without the gang members”, and probably to how he came to bond with Ocudeus. Because he's also said to dislike isolation, I lean more towards saying that he didn't willingly let his (former?) members go, my theory is either they left on their own (perhaps they were scared of Ocudeus, or they didn't approve of it) or he accidentally disposed of them (either because he wasn't in control of Ocudeus / the Soulless, or because Ocudeus felt hungry and they were conveniently nearby). Either way, it must have hurt him, since he's not at all willing to talk about it beyond “Gang took a walk”.

I’m very curious about Mhin saying “Monsters like [Ais] don't know or care about what they have”... What does (did?) Ais have? Could it be in reference to him letting his former gang/companions go away in favor of siding with Ocudeus and/or the Seaspring?

He lives at the Seaspring, though I wonder if he sleeps in a pile near those cushions, cuddling the Soulless, or if he has more personal quarters further in. There's a cave entrance visible on the other side of the bloody water, but that feels more for Ocudeus rather than Ais himself.

The flowers in his pin design are spider lilies, symbolizing mourning, goodbyes, lost memories (I also found: death, abandonment, new beginnings). Eerily beautiful, red spider lilies bear the sorrow of loss and farewells. Eridians believe these flowers shepherd lost spirits into the afterlife. The city has seen a sudden increase in these unearthly flowers, leaving many puzzled about their meaning… Very fitting with Ocudeus’ domain of losing memories and thus, beginning a new life! I’m not sure if we should be taking the increase in flowers literally, or just metaphorically as there’s many in the Groupmind

Vere

Vere's silhouette [1, 2] in the animated trailer [screenshot] highlights the eyes again (“windows to the soul” and all that), his fangs (him being the most openly aggressive) and the collar and chains (the thing that binds him to the Senobium's will).

I haven’t been able to not get his red choice [edit: “hidden ending”, not a red choice], but from my understanding of what others have said it’s based on how you talk to him and not on your actions. I’d love to say more but since I don’t know exactly influences it, I don’t have much to talk about regarding that🥹

“Not quite human, not quite monster. Seems we’re both--” I wonder if he was about to finish the sentence with ‘cursed’?

 He has unique dialogue for each of MC’s backstories: to an Alchemist he says “The misery born of your mistreatment haunts you. I understand what it’s like to be used and thrown away. I’ll give your life new meaning”; to an Unnamed “You poor thing, misled by those you trusted most. You caused so much suffering unknowingly. I know that pain. I can help you forget it all”; to a Hound “The betrayal, the loss of hope, the sheer desperation that drives you still to search and search to no end. I could give you something new to live for”. Apart from showing that he knows stuff he’s not supposed to, I’m more interested about what he says to Alchemist and Hound: he knows the pain of causing suffering unknowingly, and he knows what it’s like to be used and then discarded. His powers seems to be seeing through people, I’d say almost mind-reading (“You can’t hide anything from me.”), but I think soul reading is a more fitting definition. I feel that all of the comments related to MC's backstory have more to do with what they experienced/felt than just objective facts, plus the way he says “All that suffering has made your soul so irresistibile...”, it makes me think that he's reading MC’S present and past emotions through their soul.

The most apparent part of his design is that he’s half showing, half hiding. His outfit makes the harness very visible, yet he hid the leash from the MC for as long as possible, and he didn't let them close enough to touch it. His pants are fully cover one side and show skin on the other. The sheer fabrics look very cool on their own but I like to think they're also part of the "half show, half hide" thing he has going on. An Alchemist MC will note that the collar seems to be enchanted, while other backstories will simply say that the lock seems easy enough to open.

In the charms and stickers design, there's his chain in the background, and it's broken. Metaphorically and literally, “breaking free from the chains” symbolizes putting an end to what holds someone captive, but also finding freedom to be oneself. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but I think a freed Vere would also feel free to not hide so much of himself. On that note, I'm extremely curious about what he draws on his sketchbook. Also in the charm and stickers design, as well as in the Nintendo Switch port art, is the key that he stole from the MC. It's curious that they included it instead of a more personal object like his sketchbook (present in the Switch port art but not in the stickers), but it might just be a fun nod to the demo or maybe he'll develop a habit of stealing the key again in the full game, so I don't think I should read too much into that.

Neither Vere or Kuras of them gives too many juicy details about their mutual hate towards each other during the demo, but from the additional info [1, 2] published on Tumblr, I think it might have to do with the fact that both of them have been confined in Eridia for centuries, and perhaps Kuras even contributed to the capture of Vere, too.

He’s defined as a “charlatan”, which by definition means “someone who decieves through false claims”. It fits with him saying “If I were you, I wouldn’t trust a word I say” and “Information is a luxury [...] If you valued my words you'd have taken them seriously”. This feels like a recurring theme for Vere: Ais also says, “Vere is one of the most honest people you'll meet. Just don't listen to a single thing he says”. Despite the very obvious predatory/mischievous nature of Vere, I think that he is very honest about the things he says: it’s about reading between the lines.

His very evident distaste towards Leander might be connected to this, seeing that Leander seems to be hiding a lot.

Vere clearly likes Ais, but as soon as MC asks more, he warns them about how dangerous he and the Seaspring are. I think both are true: Ais being “a good person” doesn’t exclude the fact that he is dangerous.

It could be a stretch, but I wonder if Vere lives/stays in the building that he was chained to?

The flowers in his pin design look like some type of lilies, perhaps wood lily are a type of amaryllis that symbolizes passion, allure, pride ( when researching the wood lilies, I also found: danger, determination). Local legends conflict on the origins of the amaryllis. Whether they sprang from the spilt blood of a scorned lover or were born of an ancient Senobian ritual gone awry, the truth behind these flowers is knowledge long forgotten… or held by a privileged few. Like Kuras, his flower mirrors the connection to the Senobium though it remains vague about how exactly they became involved... In the greek myth, Amaryllis consulted an oracle to win the love of the shepherd Alteo: she walked to his house every day, piercing her heart with a golden arrow, and on the 30th day flowers bloomed from her blood. Alteo became enamoured with the maiden and the flowers that bore her name... I wonder how Touchstarved’s version of the myth is different than ours, and which character Vere is more akin to?

Nothing on Sen or Elyon for now since there's too little info on both, but I'm looking forward to putting them under a microscope too 👀

(bangs pots and pans) please share your theories/thoughts if you read this far? 👉👈

[kurozu501]

near as i can tell the sequence of events on social media with gwitch recently is:

-magazine interview where suletta’s va openly states suletta and miorine are a married couple at the end of the show (confirming what the text already made extremely obvious with the rings, them cuddling, and eri calling miorine “sister in law”)

-(btw ever since the show ended the writer okuchi has been on twitter liking sulemio art and tweets where people thanked him for the gay representation)

-this interview causes sulemio to trend on twitter. apparently a lot of people on the jp side still felt it was ambiguous until this explicit statement (lol this really is jp korrasami)

-a week? a few days? later, the digital version of that magazine interview is released and kana’s statement on sulemio being married… has been conspicuously edited out. 

-this causes uproar and backlash on social media

- today the official gwitch twitter released a weak statement of appeasement trying to play both sides and say the relationship is “up to interpretation”

typical homophobic executives meddling and stepping on the work of all the artists that made the show. its so dumb, but i cant say im surprised. ive had some criticisms of gwitch’s queer rep, like how miorine says gay romance is normal in this future yet we never see any other explicit gay pairings, or how the show spent a lot of season 2 keeping the girls separated from each other. but its obvious now the kind of restrictions the anime’s team were operating under when you have suits like this at the top. clearly they had to fight hard to get as much as we did. it sucks, but it doesnt really change my feelings on the show. its over now and the dumb old men at the top cant really change the text of the show even if they want to.

[mitraoki]

HIII!!!

I saw your latest kaveh fic and I just wanted to ask if you could do some kaveh x rockstar reader?? (Btw it's my first time making a request so I might do this wrong ╥﹏╥)

the moon and star (kaveh x gn! reader) (modern! au)

note; HIIII ANON! i'm SO SO sorry for the extreme delay on this - my new semester has officially begun and it has been a wild ride.... and it's your first request too OMG🥺🥺 i really hope you enjoy this though!!!! i really love this idea hehe🤍🤍✨ i also decided to write modern! au model kaveh hehe (bcs think about it....)

masterlist.

(god i'm going insane just looking at this gif-)

+ gorgeous model kaveh takes his time to appreciate the little things. an form of art is an emphasis. i'm sure one of them is music. he enjoys music, dances when no one is looking, feels like he is high up when he's listening to it. no one can bother him - it's his world.

+ i think you can already tell how MUCH support he's going to be providing to you and your career of being a well-known rockstar.

+ there are all kinds of music around him that he can bop his head to, jam out, or possibly even rage to; but something about your music has allowed him to finally come to terms with the existence of his comfort zone. he loves the fact that you were able to discover various different genres and create music out of them. each time you do it, it just works.

+ i think kaveh has been your 'since day 1' kind of fan. but he certainly had NO idea he would be talking to you as often through your social media platforms, to eventually growing a strong bond with you, all the way to the constant dates whenever you both had the time of your busy schedules - and the fact that your hand is now in his. for a couple of years now, too.

+ he couldn't help it - you were so, so breathtakingly alluring. the same person he was with at the very moment is the same person's face being all over billboards, attending show after show, touring the world. kaveh wondered if he was in a trance himself; for he was experiencing them all with him by your side.

+ naturally, fans do have mixed reactions when they found out you were taken. both his and yours were all over the place. kaveh didn't take it lightly at first - was it because of how he looked? why weren't they happy about it at all?

+ you were, on the other hand, worried about how distant he got from you around that time too - you thought it was his schedule being super packed due to high demands, or it could be because of the way you may have treated him.....? you don't remember any mishandling, but enough is enough. you two needed to talk it out.

+ 'nothing is going to come our way, kaveh darling. be as it may, those nasty comments aren't going to take me away from you.'

+ 'us against the world?' he questioned teasingly, his ruby red eyes dreamily staring into yours.

+ 'i know we both made the right choice, kaveh. and i know it can last till the end of our time.'

+ HOW HAS HE NOT PUT A RING ON YOUR FINGER YET

+ when i tell you this man MELTED- and then a wave of relief crashed into him so hard he felt like he could conquer the world with just his love for you. (kaveh has a wild imagination i just know it)

+ he's always backstage or at the very front, admiring you from any angle. his gallery is FILLED with videos and pictures of you. i can guarantee you this man has taken a selfie while you were on stage, and he's pointing towards you as well.

+ OF COURSE he's going to be posting that on his feed as well, and it's probably captioned "that's my lover right there!!!" and yes of course he has a thread of it.

+ has a special account dedicated to you, this is where he posts almost all of the pictures he has taken of you over the years. this man saved up throughout his career to get a camera and when he did, i guess he finally found his purpose🧎‍♀️

+ will tweet "get y/n's new album or else🤺" will spam his friends about how amazing you were. when you were away, they would hold a listening party. thanks to kaveh, they were all big fans of you too. <3

all created content belongs to mitraoki. reposts/remakes are not allowed.

[fainthedcherry]

TIIIIME for another new post!! YAY!!! This is a new character of mine, Noodlebeard The Dreaded! I got into Deep Rock Galactic, due to a person IRL, who was obsessed with the game, just like I became so!

This is a coloured in doodle (don't rlly wanna call it shaded, as it was a lazy 2 hr job unlike my actual shading taking me days), it shall be a commission example for this year's revamp of the sheet I'm working on, between some other projects! I've gotten a new paint-skin in the game, so Noodlebeard's gear is purple now but..I STILL am also attached to his Santa-look. 🤣 But yeah, I might follow up my DRG posts with another commission example, but that one's ACTUALLY shaded in like 4 hrs instead LOL, WE GETTING FASTER BOIS.

--

I was surprised, at the super warm welcome in the official game's server, as the player who got me into the game, was super competitive, toxic, and didn't let me have fun. (We made up lately but agreed to not play the game together anymore as our play styles are vastly different)

The game has so much charm, man. I got it at a discount and thanks to my friend Hart, for commissioning me to get it (ALSO post inbound, that one's also from like..June/July of this year), but this game should've deserved my full money ngl. I plan to buy all the cosmetic DLCs, once I'm financially stable in a good bit. The devs deserve my money. For creating this amazing comfort-game of mine, and the positive and supporting community it created.

The moment I posted my sketch of him in the server, by request of the strangers I was playing with (the drawing was also my Discord pfp at the time btw), I got HELLA recognition some damn how. The thing is- I'm used to my art getting overlapped and drowned. Every time I was in a discord server with an art section, I was usually ignored and basically spat at, if not for one person who'd usually actually pay attention to me and my art, and made my whole day with being so kind to do so. ANYWAY. TANGENTS. GOD. So I've drawn my dwarf (version with my beloved little femboy dwarf peaking out on the right) and added, that I was working on renewing commissions, and- I had an AVALANCHE of interest. Which was WHACK?? Because like I said- I wasn't used to recognition. I'd usually be ignored in communities. So this was really surprising. I cannot thank the community enough, for making June/July a month, where I actually was a happy person for a bit. Like genuinely happy, out of the depression-hole I was dealing with at the time happy, happy I was alive happy. That indescribable happy.

I can't WAIT to draw his family, his teammates and develop the lore in my own universe, to connect to the lore of the game!! He might just be my favourite fandom character now, beside Pierrce,, (might post about Monster High too, don't you worry, the few people who actually wanna see my art LOL)

SO YEAH. HAVE A GOOD EVENING TO THOSE IN MY TIMEZONE AND ENJOY ARTE. I scheduled another post for tomorrow, so you're getting the luxury of 2 posts in a week! Or was it 3? BUT ANYWAY YOU'RE GETTING MY ART!!! I'm starting to get comfy on Tumblr so,, I can't wait to share my art in time in the future, instead of holding off for months due to my mental health! <3, Promise I'll also post eventually on InkBlot again, as mentioned, having several social medias is really hard for someone like me!!

Btw get ready to see him more often, as I loved drawing him LMFAO.

ROCK AND STONE MINERS!

[taptroupe]

before I sleep and disappear from social media because of work I would like to share this most wonderful piece of evergrace fanart I found the other day

https://web.archive.org/web/20051120124543/http://www012.upp.so-net.ne.jp/gte/gift3.htm

it was so good that I wrote a 500 word essay about it. here you go

okay so i was freaking about this to cookie earlier so my heart is prepared to make a 500 word essay to this right here right now. the kindness, the sweetness, and the extremely important dynamic of "darius and sharline sitting on a rock together" is the world's most wonderful treasure, a callback to the official evergrace art…. but that one had sharline sitting on the grass beside the rock, so this is infinitely better, plus sharline cutely leaning much more against darius. this is already very lovely and shows her charm of being a pushy and caring big sister.

and of course who can forget little baby darius in the front. i love the addition of him being here, as someone who's always like "hmm… how can i incorporate the Scrunkly into group drawings" there he was. my heart…. the glow and translucency of his appearance leads me to think, is this perhaps like demon darius, a temporary reincarnation that is simply happy to know that they will have a happy ending after all? or maybe it's a reflection of darius's inner emotions = bursting with happiness? awwwww. either way, thank you for including the little baby scrunkly

and also how he sits right in front of where you'd see darius and sharline's hands :) clever composition, allusion to fromsoftware's way of making lore just vague enough out of reach but enough to help you form some conclusions.. or is it? either way it makes you want more. and that's sure what the game did to me. the ambiguity…. the mystery…. oh but they're holding hands for sure. btw. or else why would darius be looking away trying to hide his red face with his hand…. his moe ass i need to squeeze him like a stress toy…. for this once i give it the benefit of the doubt okay. let this man experience human affection

lastly, i think this is so charming, but the composition and background of the image… the always incredible sunset orange world of evergrace is very much present in this piece. the grassy fields, the rocks, the autumn scenery. 100% i have zero complaints and it's perfection. i would like to draw special attention to the lovely touch of darius's scarf fluttering in the wind… it's long huh. that reminds me of this one chapter in Maiko-san chi no Makanai-san/kiyo in kyoto where a red scarf literally connected the three childhood friends together… okayyy maybe there was a love triangle intermixed with platonic love so maybe not that. but you know what i'm talking about. fated meetings. bros for life. that kind of thing. at the very least, having darius's scarf cross over to sharline's side of the composition makes a very nice completeness to the piece. perfect triangular composition with the nosey cute imbalance of sharline, the "oh god he's so moe i have to bite this bitch" darius, the happiness of the little baby darius…. peace in the heart. you understand why i slapped my fucking bed with such a lovely piece. thank you OP. thank you so much

[ugh154628]

how are you doing outside of this situation? i hope life is treating you well!

Aside from the extreme stress of all of this, I'm doing alright! ❤️ I'm currently half way through my internship to finish up getting my Business degree this December, and I may have a management opportunity ahead of me this upcoming year, which is awesome. Work is also going well, and I've also been able to save a decent chunk of change for my financial goals, particularly getting my new acoustic/electric guitar (I dont have a combo one like that yet and been needing one for awhile), my new poi fans, and a down payment on a home loan. I'm definitely not rich but I'm starting to get to the point that I'm not broke, can actually afford things I want and not just what I need, and I can actually build a savings for the first time in my life. I've also been making a lot of art on the DL. I stopped posting about it after chelsey and brandi bullied me for it lol. I like to keep it more private on social media now. I think I would rather keep it lowkey and surprise people with it at events anyways. I'm planning on vending my art soon! Selling my used clothes has been going well too. It's been a nice side income. Oh and I get to see one of my top 5 favorite EDM artists a second time in the same year in a couple weeks! Super excited for that. 😁

Another small thing I'm excited about is my Halloween costumes. I'm going to be one of my top 10 favorite pokemon Dragonair for the 31st and then, I'm doing a Deidara and Death the Kid gender bender next weekend for a few shows, too. My dragonair stuff all came in but I don't know if my stuff for the other two are going to come in on time though. 😭 I'm more excited to cosplay pokemon though. I've been thinking about it and I think it would be cool to just start cosplayong human versions of pokemon in general. There's more freedom/creativity with what you can do with pokemon costumes and I think I'll really enjoy cosplaying my favorites over time. Might make an Instagram just for cosplaying pokemon? 🤔

My boyfriend and I are also in the midst of planning a bigger festival. I'm definitely going to keep hosting Dubbed n' Confuzed over time, but we are planning and splitting the costs of a multigenre outdoor fest for next summer and I'm really excited for that! We might be able to do Dubbed n' Confuzed, too, but it depends on how things go woth our careers/paying off debt and if we can save up our down payment goal for a house to buy next year and still be able to afford more than one outdoor event. We might be able to pull it off, but its up in the air right now.

I'm also very happy for him because he is getting enough money next year (under personal/negative circumstances that I can't really discuss mind you) to afford to get the rest of the equipment he needs to really pop off with his production business. His involvement with local promoting has been going awesome, too. Even better is that he has some amazing performance opportunities at a couple big festivals next year. He started producing his own music, and he's doing great with it as well. I'm really proud of him and we have one hell of a summer ahead of us. One of the festivals he is likely performing at is one I've been wanting to check out for a long time, too! Still sending it to dancefest next year on top of that since we got the early bird tickets on discount. It's a great festival if you're into EDM btw, 10/10 and highly recommend it if you like smaller festivals with fully EDM line-ups.

In general, both of our careers are advancing and we're both about to pay off our debt and save a decent amount of money for a house together, gonna save money/cash in my gold inheritance for my half on a down payment and then he's going to match whatever I can save. We will be able to get a better house than we originally thought since we are getting increases in our income by next year and I'm happy about that. Can't wait to officially be a home owner and with the man I love. Hoping we can get a fixer-upper in the country side with a little land, fingers crossed.

I think 2025 is going to be a good year, lots of weight will lift off both our shoulders financially, we're getting serious about building our lives together, and lots of fun / good things coming for both of us in general.

Thank you for asking me this tbh. I've felt pretty suffocated by this other situation and haven't really been thinking about the positive stuff much until I was asked.

[fleetways]

chimera baby fact of the day: why you should vote for Mira aka Chimera Baby. An essay by me.

@sonic-oc-showdown

TLDR at end.

When it comes to original characters on the internet, there is perhaps no example more infamous that those of the sonic the hedgehog franchise. Since the franchise’s very inception, original characters have served as a cornerstone to the series’ identity, and everyone who could call themselves a web-user during the 2000s/2010s knows exactly what I’m referring to when I say “Sonic OC.”

Sonic, in general, has had gained infamy on the internet for being one of its favorite punching bags, and nothing exemplifies this attitude more than the reaction to the hundreds of thousands of original characters for the franchise that exist across the web. Everyone knows them, and everyone knows the common tropes: traced Sonic-X screencaps, crude deviantart bases drawn over in MSPaint, mary-sues that our main characters are hopelessly in love with, characters that are just mish-mashes of existing characters, and of course, fanchildren.

To the average person, the existence of Sonic OCs is a spectacle, a hilarious and cringe-worthy spectacle to the point where it’s become a game to search up “(your name) + the hedgehog” and spend a couple minutes laughing at how bad the results are.

Now, I’ve been a casual sonic enjoyer since I first watched Sonic X back in the mid-2000s, but I didn’t really get into the series as a fan until around 2015. If you don’t know, the early to mid 2010s was a point where Sonic’s reputation was straddling the fine line between “complete joke” and “complete irrelevancy.” The disastrous Sonic Boom had just dropped following a lackluster reception of Sonic Lost World, and the social media and marketing angle of Sonic had shifted entirely into “they’re not laughing at us, they’re laughing with us!” territory. The official Sonic Twitter account became a meme in itself during this time, and I believe is one of the earliest examples of a corporate social media account taking a “How do you do fellow kids” approach of using popular internet memes and hip lingo to appeal to an internet-savvy generation.

(^this last tweet is still up, btw. i will be getting back to this)

With the social media going full “sanic, gotta go fast, haha kissing princess” and the games mostly abandoning its serious tones and stories for a greater focus on meta-humor, Sonic had official entered what has been come to be known as the “Meta Age.” The public may see Sonic as a complete joke, but it’s okay because we’re in the know that he’s a complete joke! Wink wink. (—Sega marketing circa 2015-2017)

I’m getting away from myself. “John Fleetways,” you’re asking right now, “what does this have to do with Chimera Baby or Sonic OCs??”

And to that I say this; I am currently soaking in the bathtub and thought I would use my day off from work to finally air some of my thoughts regarding the era of Sonic the Hedgehog I’m most familiar with. But also I think providing context is helpful in understanding why I think it’s so cool Chimera Baby made it this far in a poll like this. Moving on.

In 2015 I was in middle school, a horrible period in many of our lives. Middle schoolers are at that perfect age where they’re old enough to know cruelty but haven’t quite fully grasped empathy yet, so as the “Sonic Kid” during this time I’m sure you can guess how popular I was. Genuinely, I was very ashamed of my love for Sonic. This very blog I’m writing on now started in 2015 as a quarantine for me to keep any inclination of my fondness towards the series hidden away under lock and key. I reblogged fanart with no commentary, lest others think I was some kind of weirdo who had OPINIONS on SONIC THE HEGDEHOG. It took months for me to work up the courage to post my own art, and any shipping art was absolutely out of the question (because now THAT was cringe!!).

With time, I became more involved in the Sonic Tumblr community around 2016-2017 leading up to the release of Sonic Forces (which could be a whole essay in itself). There was one thing above all else I noticed at this time—something unique to the Sonic Tumblr scene as opposed to other Sonic communities on the internet. That is, of course, how much less homophobic it was.

Homophobia (and transphobia) has been a notorious problem in the Sonic fanbase, particularly in the mid 2010s. It’s an issue I’ve talked a little about on this blog before, but it’s really hard to describe just how prevalent it was on every site outside of tumblr unless you were there at the time. Folks, it was bad, especially in comparison to other fandoms. Much like the simple act of making a Sonic OC, “making Sonic characters gay” was “cringe” in itself. Hugely popular Sonic fanartists and bloggers (some of which are still active on Tumblr to this day) would openly express their opposition to “homosexuality” and the depiction of it, and this was a fact no one seemed like they wanted to address (or if you did, you’d be accused of “starting drama.” Sonic Tumblr was better by a long shot than any other site for queer fans, but it definitely wasn’t perfect).

The worst part was that the official Sonic social media team seemed to have no problems reinforcing these attitudes. For those unaware, “identifying as an attack helicopter,” as seen in the tweet above, is a transphobic joke that was used by right-wingers and edgy 4chan users to invalidate transgender and non-binary identities.

The Twitter takeover following the release of Sonic Forces included questions regarding two Sonic ships. When proposed with the concept of Sonic and Amy in a romantic relationship, the voice actors act coy, embarrassed, but in a good-natured manner. It’s a clear hint-hint wink-wink nudge moment trying to appeal to the fans of a popular pairing. As for the equally popular gay pairing, though, it doesn’t quite get the same treatment. No, when presented with a question about Sonadow (one they did not have to answer, they chose to answer this question out of hundreds of others) the actors can only respond with disgust and horror.

There was some backlash on tumblr following this exchange, but for most people it just made sense that Sonic Official would treat it like a joke. After all, this was Sonadow! A lot of people hated Sonadow because it was gay! Sonadow was a joke because it was gay! It was hilarious to a lot of people that Sonic Official seemed to know just how weird it was, and in turn those people felt validated by the company for their hate! And just to cover my ass here, I am not saying that people who don’t like Sonadow are homophobic. didn’t even like Sonadow that much at the time this stuff was happening, but no one is gonna tell me it wasn’t homophobic as fuck for them to pull that shit. And as a young queer fan who was deeply hurt by a lot of the homophobia surrounding a series I loved, it left an impact on me that I feel to this day.

Luckily, today things are much brighter as far as lgbt-friendliness goes than they were a few years ago, from both the fandom side and the company side of things. The days of Sonadow being treated as only a joke are pretty much gone, and regardless of your opinion on the pairing, it’s awesome to see that the official sonic sources seem to be taking steps to treat their queer audience and queer pairings with respect. In addition to this change, mostly gone is the era of self-referential, punching-down humor of the mid 2010s, and instead what I’ve seen is a new resurgence in genuine love for the franchise and it all it has to offer, including original characters!

And now, we have the Sonic Oc Showdown—a tournament whose purpose is to celebrate the original characters that for nearly 30 years have been considered the butt of the joke of the internet, aka “peak cringe.” Upon examining my history with the fandom, starting off as a kid horrified by the prospect of enjoying Sonic even in private, I’ve recently begun to strive to wear “cringe” as a badge of honor. Yes, I am cringe, but in the words of some tumblr user at some point: “I may be cringe, but I am free.”

This year has been particularly freeing for me. Like a lot of people, I made fanchildren back in the day. There’s something undeniably fun about taking two blorbos and shoving them together and drawing the resulting hybrid. There’s a reason fusions, like fanchildren, are such a popular trope in the Sonic fanbase. One result of there being so many fanchildren, however, is how tropes begin to emerge within the tropes. For example: A lot of Sonadow fankids look the same. It’s just the truth. Black hedgehogs with blue stripes or blue hedgehogs with red stripes, an amalgamation of recognizable traits from both parents that immediately tells you exactly all you need to know about the character (but still manages to be more creative than the offspring present in official sonic media [looking at you Archie]). I am no exception to this rule.

Circa 2018, I had made my own Sonadow fanchild. She was a blue hedgehog with red stripes named Maria—it really doesn’t get more cliche than that. Over the years I had completely forgotten about her, only to remember her once I stumbled across some crude sketches of her on some scrap paper I found while cleaning my room. There was an earnestness when I looked at them, a nostalgia I think we can all relate to when we look at our old art, and I took some time to whip up some redesigns and leave it at that. “Maria” faded to the back of my mind once more. I moved on.

“Maria” c. June 2022. Like Shadow had Terios and Silver had Venice, this was Mira’s beta design in a way^. Yikes. Look at those McDonald’s shoes.

And then, everything would change at the end of 2022 when I first found that image of the bootleg sonic and shadow plush. It was incredible: a design that perfectly encapsulated every cliche I could think of when it came to designing Sonic x Shadow fanchildren. The concept of a chimera character followed shortly after, and mainly on a whim I took some old sketches of “Maria” and turned her into the chimera baby we know today. I decided to post her on my blog, and to my shock, the post blew up. And soon, I found a familiar feeling creeping over me as more and more people gazed upon her.

“Uh oh, am I gonna be known as the sonadow chimera kid guy now?”

Suddenly I felt 14 again, hiding all my sonic stuff in a side blog where no one could see it. It was a little embarrassing, but the thing is, a lot of people liked her! Just half a decade ago, I could see this concept being submitted to one of those “cringe” blogs dedicated mostly to making fun of mostly young and beginning artists trying their hand out at an oc for the first time. But instead what I got was a lot of love! People saw this oc i made based off a joke, a bootleg plushie of Sonic and Shadow sewn together designed to be a parody of all the common fankid tropes and said “this rules.” And you know what? It did rule.

I would now like to address the elephant in the room. I know there are some who are not happy Chimera Baby made it this far into the competition, and that’s fine. As a fankid, and a “joke” one at that, some may not see her as being worthy as some of the ocs she beat. It’s tough to see, but that’s the thing about tumblr polls—you never know how or why people are gonna cast their vote. Over the course of these weeks, I’ve had to root against some fantastic characters, and now, Mira is here, but she’s not the same character as she was at the start. Yes, she is still a parody sonadow fankid based off a bootleg plush, but before she was just a concept more than a character. Now, I can say she’s a character with a backstory and hobbies and skills and weaknesses and a personality and relationships! This is the first time I feel like I’ve ever had a fully fleshed-out oc, and it’s been a blast to share her with the world. She’s become real—you, dear voters, have made her real.

In a tournament like this, a tournament celebrating Sonic ocs rather than making fun of them, I think it’s incredibly cool that a character who epitomizes a lot of the aspects considered by many to be “peak cringe,” (fankids, fusions, and lgbt shipping) managed to make it this far. I want chimera baby to be a bastion for all those who like me, were once too embarrassed to share their oc designs, fankids or otherwise for fear they would be seen as cringe. I’m here to tell you that no, you are NOT cringe. It rules, and I want everyone who ever made a silly little fankid especially to know this.

So while Chimera Baby making it this far is already a big win for folks like us, I think her winning this would genuinely be a great Fuck You to the years of fun and whimsy cringe-culture tried to take away from us. Also I think it would be really funny.

ANYWAYS THATS ALL VOTE FOR CHIMERA BABY SONADOW NATION AND ALLYS AND PPL WHO WANNA CAUSE A LITTLE CHAOS RISE RISE RISE!!!

Tldr: sonic OCs have been the poster child for “cringe” for like 30 years so it’s cool that a fankid based off a lot of these “cringe” concepts has made it this far in a tournament celebrating the positive side of sonic ocs, and I think it would be a great fuck you to cringe culture if she won and also really funny

SONIC OC SHOWDOWN FINAL ROUND

Mira belongs to @fleetways

Squabble belongs to @sonic-adventure-3

Find out more about them below!

Chimera Baby "Mira":

Chimera Baby is a chimera (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(genetics)) and the oldest child of Sonic and Shadow. Mira was raised in the Chao Garden where she ate fruit and engaged in frequent karate matches and races and was very happy. As a young child she was very sweet and loving to her fathers but as she got older she has begun to experience latent Black Arms patricidal urges (exclusively towards Shadow).

Mira is the slowest in her family (but faster than you!), but has a very strong connection to chaos energy making her quite the powerhouse. However, she still has a long ways to go before she can actually hope to defeat Shadow. In her teen years Mira has become somewhat of a delinquent, speaking very little and preferring to get her messages across through action alone. She is the older sister of Mochi, who often acts as a mediator whenever she randomly tries to attack Shadow in the Costco.

Squabble the Pigeon:

incredibly cheerful untrained pilot and mechanic for a trio of freelance postal workers/hitman. LOVES airplanes and explosives and tinkering and package delivery, is a chronic pipe bomb maker, and has a boundless joie de vivre. she operates on cartoon physics, and has a messenger bag that functions as a hammerspace where she keeps her exposives, revolver, second identical revolver that pops a flag, bazooka, and everything else including the kitchen sink. incredibly cheerful and completely lacking in common sense or a coherent moral compass. about twelve, and on the short side.

[soup-with-a-blog]

i don't really have any specific goals for 2024 aside from finishing spikeventure by january (hopefully) (don't count on it) but i think one thing i might want to do is focus more on smaller scale stuff and/or more entirely original projects.

i feel i was very productive and focused this year compared to previous years, mainly in the latter half. i pretty much made most of my progress on spikeventure this year, even releasing a demo (my first SMBX release that isn't a lua script or a contest level, btw!) i got sidetracked less and abandoned way less projects than usual. creatively this was a solid year, though my focus on one project kinda made me have less to show for it.

i make art for myself first and foremost, but documenting what i do on social media is a good way to log my creative output. and posting about a short fangame is hard when i want people to experience most of it for themselves. especially now when i'm working on endgame stuff and small tweaks. so as a result i can feel like i was less productive than i actually was

plus, working on a fangame that uses a pre-existing fangame platform, a handful assets from official games and fellow fan artists alike, scripts by other people, a pre-existing formula, and so on can make me feel a little cheap. i'm not saying that's a reasonable thought, but i do feel that way sometimes. i'll fully admit i'm ready to move on from spikeventure. maybe not SMBX as a whole but definitely this One Project

going into next year i want to work on more original stuff for sure. i want to draw more of my funny robot fellas, i want to make my own games, and in general i don't want to feel shackled to one project like i sort of am now. at the very least i want that project to be 100% me.

but yeah despite that i think 2023 was a pretty good year for me overall. hoping 2024 will also be pretty good. uhhhh yeah

[hamletteprinceofdenmark]

I am asking everyone who has ever complained about how the Dream SMP is run and organised to sign up with their local community theatre program.

I’m deadly serious. Do it.

I don’t care what it is, whether you audition to be on stage, sign up to be part of the backstage crew, paint backdrops, or sell tickets. Just do something.

It is so painfully, painfully obvious that some of y’all have never been part of a large scale collaborative creative project and are talking out of your arse about hypotheticals you’ve never had experience in or been held responsible for.

Being a content creator is a job.

To be a part of the Dream SMP is a business opportunity. It’s a networking opportunity. It’s a chance to expand your audience (and by extension increase your profit margins).

It is of course, also an opportunity to hang out with friends, have a lot of fun, experiment, and do cool things creatively.

But at the end of the day, a lot of fucking work goes into something like this.

I’m not saying there should be paper and ink legal contracts, but having a universal understanding of the responsibilities you hold as a member of the Dream SMP (including the amount of hours you’re actively creating content - as a bare fucking minimum) is a really good idea.

You cannot simultaneously complain about how the Dream SMP has felt rushed, or disorganised, or like it’s dying, or about the lack of communication, or how different creators’ lore feels disconnected from each other, or the millions of other things that I see all over social media every day, and then get up in arms about those same creators putting rules and structures in place to fix those very same problems!!

This benefits you.

It also benefits the creators.

Having clear commitment guidelines, open communication, communal goals, literally anything and everything Dream and all the other creators have been talking about (and seem really excited for, can I just say!), is to help create a better product for you guys and to reduce stress on creators, not increase it.

Let me reiterate that one for the people in the back.

The Dream SMP is a product that you consume.

You exchange your time, your energy, your own creative endeavours - in the form of fan fiction, fan art, analysis, and other fandom interaction and collaboration (which is also free marketing btw), and yes, even your money, in exchange for a product that these creators make for you.

Any of those creators could choose to walk away at any time. They’re under no obligation to stay.

Dream isn’t being a bloody dictator (which can we just take a moment because oh my god no he is not and I saw that exact phrasing in multiple different places). He’s being a producer. And the sooner you guys see behind the curtain and understand what that actually means, the better.

TLDR: I personally guarantee that the official Dream SMP Discord has got NOTHING on whatever’s happening in your local theatre company’s annual review meeting.

Before jumping down cc’s throats, consider why they might want to hold people accountable for a collaborative creative project which many of these folks financially depend on.

No one wants to be the one person working on the group project.

That’s what this is preventing.

[robins-den]

I had a dream last night that I was Invective and my boyfriend was Larry Butz.

In it I think I wrote fanfiction but also I was at Hogwarts?? And after reading a five year old fic professor flitwick came out and was like "do.... Do you want me to introduce you to the club...." Because I guess it was magic fanfiction that took you back to when it happened or was written or SOMETHING. So I (still Invective) was like yeah sure. So I joined the arts club and a voice over said that I was the first Slytherin to join a club, ever. But also there were only three people in the club including me so I don't think clubs were a huge thing.

I had two chocolates in my inventory, one from Larry and one from Claire Elford I think? They looked like bread stuffed with chocolate. I then started writing or maybe it was a voice over thing irl in the dream. But basically it was April, I had been trying to make Valentine's day chocolate's since January and it had been going terribly. Burnt, mushy somehow, etc.

Then I drew something and posted it to Tumblr, Instagram (which I haven't touched in over a year), and the Hogwarts exclusive social app? Which they had I guess? And then.... I don't know how to describe this but it started getting stolen and reposted with either no credit or the reposter actively pretending that they had made it themselves? But this came through in the dream with seeing like . Fucking. MMD dances of the people stealing it in front of my art?

One of the people who stole it was Edelgard from Fire Emblem Three Houses and the way that this came through was her entire fucking house doing a coordinated dance and then Hubert did a "andddd here she is!" With his arms and she showed up on screen and started busting some INCREDIBLE moves. Like, girls group level dance moves. And my art was still in the background but barely even the focus anymore. Other thieves include a blue haired Anna (fire emblem) and I think Trucy Wright? All of their reposts were still on the Hogwarts social media btw. (All of them were explicitly MMD esc models. Very good models! But not the official ones at all)

At some point in the dream we cut to Larry's perspective, and his is basically like "I really like money! But that's not why I'm with my girlfriend, and I'm worried that she thinks that IS why I'm with her!" Because in the dream I / Invective was this very successful.... Something who made a lot of money. I think in the dream our relationship problems worked out :)

Also at some point we cut to a woman standing in an open air horseless wagon and it was labelled "me looking for Mona leaks that show she'll appear in story" and a supernaturally strong wind blew her out of the wagon.

So yeah. I think Harry Potter (derogatory) showed up because of all the posts I've seen about the authors new shitty book, Ace Attorney showed up because I've been watching a playthrough of it, and Witch's Heart showed up for Obvious Reasons. Also, I don't even like Mona.

[concorp]

drop the list?

pht alright here we go

starting with joe since there’s the most there. ive been a member of his patreon community for three years now, and it was a lot smaller when i originally joined to the point that id say pretty much all of us still there who were there back then know him on a personal level now. he’s had me as a guest on four streams (paid btw! since he refuses to accept any volunteer work in a large majority of situations) one of which was made into a hermitcraft episode. all of these are in my streams playlist if you wanna check them out. ive also met him irl twice, both times at pax unplugged in different years.

ive had my art featured by several of the hermits, most notable of which was false using my art for her mayor poster in season 7. keralis also follows me on twitter but i have never once actually interacted with him.

im also the reason the hermits all just looked at tumblr during a meeting one time which caused a whole other cascade of events. (cleo making a tumblr and all that followed, xisuma twitter apology, etc.) i have not and will not learn my lesson about mentioning things in joes vicinity.

im either friends, mutuals, or at least have a direct line of communication with a majority of the members of truly bedrock. i made lyarrah’s profile picture and db’s twitch emotes, designed official merch for tb, and have done some other miscellaneous commissions for current and former members.

i mentioned youcube in the tags of that other post- when i was there i gave some art to antvenom of him and his then gf, which months later he did an irl video that showed he’d hung the art in his office. i posted about it on twitter and he replied saying he knew it’d be excited about it it was so sweet 🥺

i used to be super involved in omgchad’s community. we did weekly events on his twitch subscriber server that he’d play through on stream. i was lead organizer for one and contributed to more of them than i could count. also met him irl once.

likes, retweets and replies from mcyts are legitimately so common for me at this point that it sometimes surprises me when i see other people get excited about them. don’t get me wrong they still make me happy but it’s not like. incredible excitement and i don’t even bother saying anything about them to anyone unless it’s someone really big that id never gotten a notice from before. only one id consider even noteworthy enough to mention specifically here was grian and mumbo both complementing the cosplay of them my brother and i threw together in less than a day. which drives me crazy because shortly before then id spent months working on an animation of them that i still dont think either of them have ever seen 😅

lastly. achievement hunter don’t count as mcyts imo. but steffie (their social media manager) invited a group of us fan artists to tour rooster teeth back in 2018 and that was super cool.

there’s very likely several things im missing here as well but this isn’t something i meticulously keep track of. this took an hour to write hope you enjoyed.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

NekuShiki question time! :)

Who confessed their love first?

What does their first 'official' date look like?

What's their morning routine on a day off?

Yay! How much fun! Thank you so much for the ask!

Hmm... I'm thinking that Neku confessed first. Probably because he definitely fell first and doesn't want to loser her like he did at the end of Week 1. But Neku still has a hard time with words, sometimes, so even when he started, it might have taken some coaxing from Shiki's part, for him to really get it out in the open. LOL

I think they go to a museum, since they both love art:) But it isn't boring, and they don't have to worry about being too quiet as not to bother people. They get to be themselves, and talk art together. Also... there's a T-rex fossil there, and Neku acts like he's running from it for his life. This gets a good laugh out of Shiki, and she probably snaps a picture of it.

Hmm... I hadn't really thought about that. Let me try to think of something now. I think Shiki wakes up first and starts making breakfast for them and stuff. She slides out of bed, gracefully and quietly, as not to wake Neku, and drops a small kiss to his forehead every morning, that doesn't wake him up.

Neku wakes up, greets Shiki in the kitchen with a kiss, and puts some headphones on and goes to work looking at things like bills, or any social media posts they need to reply to (as they're both artists. And in this day in age, artists almost have to engage in social media with their fans, other creators, or whatever). He also listens to music while doing this (though he's not using it to shut people out anymore), as it relaxes him and helps him to wake up.

When Shiki's done cooking, they eat breakfast together, of course (and she's a pretty exceptional home cook, btw. Also, there are sometimes that Neku will cook. Especially on holidays and her birthday and stuff, so Shiki can relax and enjoy it. Sometimes they even cook together). But at this point, one of them usually has to go: Shiki to do Gatto Nero stuff, or Neku to go learn more about tagging from Mr. H (because he's so back as Shibuya's Producer by now), so they kiss one more time and temporarily say their goodbyes. And are only too happy again, when they both get to reunite and be together again, later that night.

Eventually, when Neku has figured out what he wants to do and how to do it, they do get to spend more time together at home. Neku might do regular paintings, too, so he can work on that, while Shiki can work on some Gatto Nero stuff at home (though not all the time, of course).

And they love creating with each other, and get energy and more inspiration from that, and will give each other advice on their creations and stuff.

Thanks for the ask!

Edit: I just realized I read the last question off. It was supposed to be their morning routine on a day off. Sorry!

[warlordess-art]

My brother's birthday is tomorrow but I officially gave him his art presents a day early so I figure it's safe to share on other social media publicly even if he hasn't seen them (sent through Facebook messenger, it hasn't been "read" yet from what I can tell).

The first one looked good with a bunch of different backgrounds so I saved it multiple ways. My personal fave though is probably the last one because the shading on the human characters best fits the sunset.

I used a different coloring style (and pointillism for the lines) in the last one. I really like how the glowing starlight seems to be falling into baby like magic.

BTW that sleeve tat was a bitch and I confess I cheated my butt off.

[elenatria]

2/2 who knows better. also, come on now. really? followed by a gif of jim carey spitting his drink out and yelling "oh, come on!" she then proceeded to reply to other people saying "it really pisses me off when i choose to share a photo and then see it pop up with no credit. it's like, why share if i'm going to feel slapped in the face? notice we haven't been sharing, anymore?" like. sorry hun but it isn't that deep. it's never that deep. the OP didn't know the source of the photo anyway!

I’ll get past the harshness of her tone and the overuse of reaction gifs on twitter, tumblr and anywhere else, I’ll focus instead on the gatekeeping attitude. Like, she is totally welcome to browse tumblr and see how much credit she is NOT given lol. I do that btw, when my friends notify me about my art being posted on other social media, I ask those accounts privately to give me credit, and usually they do but I have to ask first. Ask, not shout.

And “why share”? Um... maybe not share at all if it’s as risky and frustrating as it sounds...? Because we can still be Jared’s fans and pay to see his work without the oversharing...? Just like we’re Stellan’s fans...? “Notice we haven't been sharing, anymore?"  - WHAT?? Their “official” explanation for “not sharing that much anymore�� was because of the seriousness of the pandemic (and let’s face it, because of the lack of public events and parties these last few months), go check Jared’s facebook and their Insta posts from March-April if you don’t believe me. If emotional blackmail and “no soup for you” is the way to get things done then no thanks, I can totally live without that content.