#plus I've improved since 2021 so why not

[kageki-kokoro]

hi i make plushies. you can contact me through etsy or dm if you're interested in a commission.

[murumokirby360]

My first Samsung non-genuine item (w/ my Paper Dolls) [Nov 30th, 2023]

DeviantART Version → [CLICK ME!].

Hello. It is time to share my first experience encountering fake memory storage, particularly "Samsung". I've already tackled a "non-genuine Samsung 870 EVO Solid State Drive", from October 2023. ☝️😮 Now, let's tackle the micro-size memory format of the "non-genuine Samsung EVO Plus SDXC TF Card", and find out what are the details between their "Genuine" and "Fake" Samsung Micro SD Cards, like the SSD before. 🙂

BTW: If you haven't seen my aforementioned "fake Samsung SSD", then please click here. ↓ • My FAKE Samsung 870 EVO Solid State Drive Review [feat. my Paper Dolls] (Recorded: Oct 13th 2013)

So, without further ado, let's get started:

1st Image: ↑

• Alright so, on your left was my genuine Samsung EVO 64GB Micro SD card 👈, which is still functional after 8 years inactive. And this is actually my expandable storage for my old Samsung Galaxy S4 phone [GT-I9505] 📱, which went blacked out the touch screen, in August of 2020. Man, I missed that phone, so much. Then again, my phone was already ancient, as all smartphone brands of this 2020-ish have improved their specs, memory, features, and more than before. And on your right was my first non-genuine Samsung brand of Micro SD Card; the 👉 EVO Plus 128GB, old version. This thing was ordered on Jun 27th, 2020 (from Lazada PH 🇵🇭🛒🌐) for ₱ 378.50 [CLICK ME!], and you can see why there are some red flags on this old EVO PLUS wannabe. 🟥 Also, as of 2023, it was already out of stock, permanently when the new looked Samsung flash memory cards was out on store shelves, both physical and digital. Not to mentioned, new security features was added to prevent counterfeit ones. So, let's bring down the details between these two Micro SD Cards, shall we?

• First: the letters. They're both identical to "Samsung" brand 🔠, but don't mind their colors and their quantity of memory sizes, as well as others. Since I don't have the original 128 GB of an old EVO Plus, I'm settle in with my owned 64 GB EVO. 🟩👍 The new EVO Plus, BTW, and other Micro SD cards have already improved their appearance, since 2021. However, that's where their identical end because on the fonts of "128 EVO" we're bold over the genuine counterpart's thin fonts. 🟥👎 Also, the "Samsung" brand on the fake one was slightly different from the genuine one. 🟥👎

2nd Image: ↑

• Second: the materials. Genuine Samsung micro SD cards had a distinct while line, both old and new appearances. Making it their signature unique look 🟩👍 compared to the rest of the memory brands and counterfeit ones on the same format size. And speaking of, this counterfeit Samsung Micro SD card didn't have that unique appearance, as you could see a solid black line was spot on right through our eyes. 🟥👎 As for their materials, they're both identical albeit the fake one was used as a cheap generic one 🟥👎 instead of Samsung's genuine material circuitry process.

3rd Image: ↑

• Third: the numbers/codes. Another Genuine Samsung micro SD card was the numbers codes facing different approaches (rotating upward) compared to the counterfeit ones. 🟩👍 And for the latter was using generic number codes, that already existed by numerous copycat micro SD card clones. Or something... 🟥👎 I mean, c'mon. Take a look at your right side. We've already seen it, many times, if you're a memory SD card enthusiast (of course). Unlike the Samsung memory brands they create and generate different unique number codes per memory card, and even serial numbers to prevent fake versions of their memory brands. And uhh... Did I mention, that Samsung's flash memory cards are "Made in Philippines"? 🇵🇭🟩👍 Heck yeah! #PusoPinoy, baby! 😁❤️💙💛 If you see that via the microscopic device, you know that your purchased Samsung EVO micro SD cards are 100% Genuine! Though, sometimes they're "Made in Korea" 🇰🇷 (more specifically "South Korea"), so that counts, too. 🙂🟩👍

1st & 2nd Screenshots: ↑

• And Finally: Transfer read/write speed test & Experience used. A genuine flash memory card brand from the likes of Samsung, Sandisk, Lexar, and many more can deliver a fairly high speed/write rate. From a standard 100 MB/s to a massive 200 MB/s, the latter was for 1TB (to sometimes 2/4TB) SDXC cards (which are very expensive price tags). No matter what you choose, that depends on your budget. But at least, the quality of the flash memory brand could satisfy your experience, and their lifetime could last long. But, what about the fake ones? Could they have the same quality treatment? Well, as you can see, using the trusty "Crystal Disk Mark" software and my trusty UGREEN USB Card Reader plugging through the USB 3.0 port 🪟 🖥️, the counterfeit Samsung EVO Plus (128GB) didn't pass the potential transfer speed. 🟥👎 Only a "Genuine" EVO Plus of Micro SD cards should deliver "Up to 100MB/s Read and 60MB/s Write speed with Class 10 and U3 compatibility". And speaking of, my Genuine EVO 64GB passed the quality speed test, and according to their official website, it delivers "Up to 100MB/s Transfer speed with Class 10 and U1 compatibility". Sure, it may not deliver the 100 MB/s given that my old EVO marks 8 years of functionality, but it's good enough for me to transfer my precious files onto my EVO SDXC card without a single corrupt file (as of 2023). 🟩👍 On the other hand, the fake one had already suffered corrupted files in any format, since October of 2023. 🟥👎 My mom was using it, and she was devastated by lost snapshots. So, she decided to buy a different brand with an equal standard quality as my old Samsung EVO.

4th Image: ↑

• So, you two. Did you see who is the legit Samsung memory card brand? And their saying "Yes, it is the orange card one!" Indeed it is. 😁

Overall:

• After we've seen some differences and a short speed test, it concludes, that this Samsung 128 GB EVO Plus Micro SD Card was a wannabe memory card brand, or as I said a "non-genuine" one. So, the question was, did I refund my E-Cash after showing off some red flags on that fake Micro SD Card? 🤔 Well, yes! It was a success 🙂, and I decided to buy a different decent brand called "Strontium". As of today, I'm still using the 256 GB on my Honor 8C phone [CLICK ME!], and my 64 GB now acting as a thumb drive with my trusty card reader! (UGREEN) Without hiccups or a single malfunction on these two, whatsoever. 😊 So, as I said before and I could say it for counterfeit items, "Never judge an item by its seller". ☝️😯

Well, that's the end of my topic. The last topic will be something to save. Coming this December of 2023. 😊

Tagged: @lordromulus90, @bryan360, @carmenramcat, @leapant, @paektu, @rafacaz4lisam2k4, @alexander1301

[greatwyrmgold]

I want to make it clear that I'm not shaming anyone for voting Democrat. I've always considered harm reduction a valid political goal, even when I debated about whether it's better to focus on that or trying to promote radical left-wing candidates.

Also, with that recent Supreme Court ruling declaring that the President can't be punished for anything illegal if the overwhelmingly conservative Supreme Court decides it's a valid official act, keeping Donald "Avoided direct culpability for the insurrection" Trump and his ilk out of office became a lot more important.

That said, I have absolutely zero faith that re-electing Biden is going to improve anything. For the past decade or so, the Democrats' response to Republicans doing whatever they like has been to—to paraphrase Ian Danskin—seize the moral high ground while the Republicans seize the Supreme Court.

They don't seem to have a plan for opposing reactionaries beyond "never lose an election," assuming they want to oppose reactionaries at all, an assumption not everyone is willing to make. And sure, there are worse strategies. Republicans can't do much without the White House, and the Democrats have only lost one presidential election since the Berlin Wall fell...if we go by the popular vote, anyways.

Bad news! Republicans have already taken enough offices to fuck with democracy. Even if we ignore how Republicans can sometimes obtain enough popular support to win the election fair and square, they are demonstrably capable of stacking the deck in their favor. This whole post started by bitching about how they seized the Supreme Court, for fuck's sake. And there's not much we can do about that! Even if all the conservatives on the bench dropped dead while Biden was in office, there's no reason to think that conservatives wouldn't fuck with the appointment process again.

Even if Biden wins the election—and if I was still a Christian I would be praying for that outcome with all the fervor I could muster—the Sword of Damocles is still hanging over our head. If nothing changes, Trump could win in 2028. Or someone worse than Trump. Or someone less bad than Trump, but bad in the same ways, and empowered by the Supreme Court's stamp of approval to do whatever it takes to shape the USA in his image. And why should I expect things to change? The writing has been on the wall since Trump's presidency, and it's had a spotlight on it since January 6th, 2021, and what has Biden done about it?

I don't like being a doomer, but it's hard to maintain any kind of hope for the future when the Supreme Court gave itself an Exonerate The President for Illegal Atrocities button it can spam as soon as a president it likes is in office. What would actually stop Trump from instituting a reign of terror to fuel his ego and greed? The conscience and progressive sentiments of the soldiers doing his bidding? There's no shortage of evidence that the US government can find enough soldiers obedient and callous enough to do any atrocities they want, plus some that they don't care about much one way or the other.

Just what the fuck can we do? Vote for blue no matter who? Fuck. I dunno about you, That strategy makes me blue. If just once we miss our cue, This whole country turns to poo.

[unifox]

Period.

~Pairing: Chani x reader (with a uterus {no gender specified tho, I don't know if it worked but I tried my best!})

~Genre: fluff 

~Warnings: food and period-related things

~Words: 630

~Summary: You deal with your period in the most nonchalant way possible. So much so that Chani never noticed you at that time of the month.

a/n: Hello! Found this Draft from 2021 and decided to finally finish it. I hope You guys like this one!

Here's a Scenario game! in case anyone is interested in asking for a prompt ~Foxy🦊

~Masterlist~

Chani kept side-eyeing Youngbin’s girlfriend as she kept grunting. 1/3 worried and 2/3 annoyed he asked

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah” was her short and direct answer, not even bothering to look at him

He shrugged and went back to scrolling through Instagram when Youngbin busted through the door and presented his girlfriend with a bag

“I got you chocolate and ice cream. Plus your pads and some painkillers” he said while kissing her forehead

She only then opened a bright smile and hugged her boyfriend repeatedly saying thank you. She then got up and ran to the toilet

“What’s up with her?” Chani mumbled

Youngbin with his sharp hearing answered that she was on her period

Chani stopped and started to think back to the last time you, his s/o was on your period but he couldn’t recall a single moment. Of course, his thinking face didn't go unnoticed by Youngbin and his girlfriend who just returned from the toilet.

"Don't you do anything to y/n? You should spoil them ” Bin's Gf questioned Chani

"I… I've never witnessed their period…" he asked

"Haven't you guys been together for 6 months now…? How have you not witnessed it yet…" Youngbin began to wonder, making Chani shrug

"How would I know that they're on their period?” Chani asked the two older

"Well, they could have cramps, mood changes, go to the toilet a lot, cravings… It really changes from person to person”

Thinking about the symptoms, Chani could't remember a single time he witnessed one of those. Oh well, he should ask you about it.

You actually act nonchalantly about your period. Cramps? Take some meds. Mood changes? Yours are not that noticeable and you're a good actor/actress. Cravings? Use that delivery app. You could say you're pretty independent and that's why your period passes unnoticed by your boyfriend. You never felt the need to call him to do anything for you when that time of the month comes after all, way too many years passed with you dealing with it on your own

A month passed and Chani kept on trying to find any signs that you were on your period. When he thought he finally figured it out because you've been upset for a whole week, you simply vented.

"My boss is being a real pain in the ass this week. Everybody agrees that the project needs more time to fully develop and improve but he doesn't care! He just wants us to finish it quickly to brag to his superior! That selfish bastard… ”

One day, Chani walks into your apartment to you angrily sipping water

"What… What happened?”

"I just wanted a mocha frappuccino but I can't drink caffeine OR milk right now. That's annoying” You said now pouting at him

"And why is that?” he asked sitting next to you and putting his arm over your shoulders

"I'm on my period. That usually worsens my cramps” You mentioned and went back to drinking your water

oh? I guess that's his cue to confront you about it

"You know, I've been talking to Youngbin and his girlfriend, and they kind of judged me for not spoiling you when you're on your period. Does that make you upset? That I didn't notice it before?” He said cautiously but honestly

"Oh… Not really, I guess I'm just used to dealing with it on my own. Some cuddles when I have cramps would be nice tho” You responded a bit surprised. You weren't expecting Chani to spoil you since throughout your relationship it wasn't really something that occurred a lot, it was just how you both were, but his willingness to change touched your heart.

"How about cuddles to chase this bad mood away? I guess you can't have that frappuccino now but you can have some cuddles… And your favorite takeout. How about that”

"That sounds wonderful baby, thank you” You pecked Chani on the lips

[randomwords247]

It's about time I address the elephant in the room: WHAT HAPPENED TO HILDA AND THE LOST FUTURE?

So, for anyone who doesn't know, in I believe early 2021 I started a comic called Hilda and the Lost Future, based off the episode the 50 year night. I haven't updated this comic in a while and I know I've had some people ask me when it'll come back

A tl;dr for anyone who wants the short answer:

It will be a while. It's not my current priority or main interest, but I absolutely want to get back to it at some point: When I do, it'll be from slowly working on multiple pages in the background which will eventually be posted every week when I have a big backlog.

For anyone wanting any more information tho, theres a number of reason's its been a while

A big one is burnout. I got really heavily burnt out I believe late 2021 and I haven't done nearly as much drawing as I would've liked since then

One of the factors for why I had so much burn out was university - For those of you who don't know, I'm currently a University student, specifically I just finished my second year meaning I have the Big Boy Dissertation coming up for my final year. I also had a job until late last year which I'd work during my uni breaks so I had like no real break.

Uni has taken generally just a lot of my time and energy away from me and it's because of uni that I haven't been drawing much. I'm still tryna get back into drawing way more regularly and it's a little disheartening that in some regards I'm a tad rusty, but I still enjoy drawing way too much to quit

Another issue that doesn't help is, as I'm sure a lot of you have noticed, I've been bitten by the minecraft bug quite bad. Or more that it's come back from the grave because I swear my minecraft obsession never truly left. And like as a result of that I've even been making my own videos! It's been really fun and I'm having a blast. I honestly have been finding making videos really fun and a nice escape from uni, plus a good excuse to draw (thumbnails). Outside of the game itself I've been very into a lot of mcyt fandoms, currently I am loving watching hermitcraft and I have loved bansmp (a series by my friend bantaro) and its been a blast being able to be a part of that series which I've loved watching.

I still like Hilda a lot, don't get me wrong. I'm just way more focused on other interests at the moment and with so little time it kinda leaves you prioritising, and I definitely lost steam with my strict schedule I put upon myself.

So, where does that leave us?

I know initally when I started the comic I had a lot of people offer to help out, help make it and things. I still am sure that I do not want this, as much as I appreciate peoples' offers.

One of the main focuses of the comic, outside of telling a story I have planned out, is to improve my drawing skills and make a comic from start to end by myself. I also know I'd be too particular with the way things would be done to want to pass it to someone else, and I don't want to like hand it off. It's something I want to do for myself, and again it's a way for me to improve my drawing skills. I mean heck, from the pages I've done so far I already vastly improved my ability to do backgrounds and perspective.

My plan is to work on pages in the background, not give any real estimation of when I'm working on them or not or when to expect them. Just a slow work on them every so often as I focus more on other things. That way, when I eventually get say (as an example), 10 pages finished, I'll do an announcement and I'll post the finished pages spacing them out a week at a time, to give myself a buffer. If this like makes me passionate enough to bump out one a week like I originally did, I'll do that, but if not then I'll repeat the process of slowly working on a bunch and posting them all after a lot are finished

So yeah! For anyone who read this far instead of just reading the tl;dr, I appreciate it! I know its a long and probably overdue talk on things, but I thought it'd be worth talking about because I've been thinking about the comic a lot lately and how I wanna get back to it. I just also know that like, I don't wanna burn myself out with it again so it'll be more of a slow project to chip away at.

Again currently my main focus has been youtube (link in pinned post), and if you're enjoying that then I'm glad to hear! I have another video that I'm hoping to get done before next week, though I've come down with a cold so it might be a little iffy on that front. Otherwise, hope you all have a nice day! :)

[romilly-jay]

COSY CATASTROPHE: A 'slant' kind of cosiness, if cosy at all (?)

A sideways step here to look at B-movie Mister Right (2014).

Before we get into this at all, though: Trigger Warning - stop here if it's important to you to stay away from art where the creators are PROBLEMATIC because - this writer IS PROBLEMATIC.

So, yes, this is a movie, not a novel, and at first glance it's, what, some sort of eccentric crime caper slash romcom? Thing is, yes, it is that but/and with enough of a splash of urban fantasy to make it - something more. It's *almost* a very low-rent (anti) superhero flick.

I’m counting this one – it’s cosy for the MCs and catastrophic for almost anyone else. Morally ambivalent in a way that works for me.

An unconventional HEA that takes us into weird, unexpected, topsy-turvy but (to me) ruthlessly congruent with the characters’ moral positions and as such, deeply satisfying.

I was shocked but also really pleased. It felt like it played out towards an unconventional plot resolution that was true to the characters.

I've mentioned that the writer is problematic (e.g. Maddaus, 2019) and I know that this makes his work untouchable as well for many.

I've tried the George Saunders (2021) idea of looking at where the work is weakest, let's say because it reflects the writer's problematic attitudes - and then asking whether I could think of ways the work could be improved by improving the moral tone in those places.

Actually, I can, though, importantly:

I'm not saying that doing this would be enough to justify trying to persuade people who want nothing to do with the film to come back to it. That's their moral line and I understand and respect it.

I think the parts of the script where the women are alone together are noticeably weaker than the rest - not hard to imagine misogyny here.

Technically, arguably, these women *do* pass the Bechdel test, in that they talk on screen about things that are not The Guy (her time at college, the attack in the pet store by the crazy cat). BUT these conversations ARE really about The Guy – PLUS she’s horrible to her so-called friends – why would you stay friends w her?

IMO, this is blatantly a part of the writing that could be improved morally - and improved technically - and why not both at once? :)

By contrast, the shonky male MC is - IMO - really well-written all the way through and again it's not hard to imagine this character as an avatar for the writer himself, a "bad guy" who, as it turns out, "isn't".

I surmise that the male MC is well-written because at heart the writer believes that this character really is “NOT a bad guy”. Possibly he even thinks that the guy has an acceptable moral code?

Per the beats portrayed by the plot: i) he USED to be in CIA Black Ops (unacceptable actions but sanctioned by government direction), then ii) he just became a joe average hitman (i.e. serial killer i.e. BAD) but always somewhat compromised by guilt AND THEN iii) he walks away from the hitman business in general but carries on taking out the people who would like to hire him – vigilante justice. The stance is morally questionable but – we sort of get it. Finally, iv) it's suggested, if slightly under-examined, that now he’s trying to be a better person for the female MC and that he’s going to step down the killing to ONLY self-defence. (This continues since he’s still always on the run.)

The writing [with the significant exception of the female characters when they are not interacting with men] is pretty good to very good and the movie could be an example of where the art is better than the person who created it? The moral qu here of course is whether we are allowed to continue to enjoy the art regardless of who made it but/and also, perhaps more pertinently for Late Capitalism, whether we wish to advance our available $$ and attention to someone UGH.

References

§Maddaus, G. (2019) ‘Max Landis accused of rape, assault, and psychological abuse’, Variety, 18 June. Available at: https://variety.com/2019/film/news/max-landis-sexual-assault-accusation-1203246371/ (Accessed: 27 March 2024).

§Mister Right (2015) Directed by P. Cabezas. Available at Amazon Prime Video (Accessed: 23 March 2024).

§Saunders, G. (2021) A swim in the pond in the rain: in which four Russians give a masterclass on writing, reading and life. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

[kreideprinzalby]

Genshin 4.0 Thoughts

So I finished the Chapter IV Archon Quests (And some of the major World Quests) for 4.0 a while back and like very other long-time Genshin fan whose been playing since it's launch in 2020, it's been a joy just going through the new nation and for the first time in so long I finally felt like I'm having fun in Genshin again. To the point me, someone who will admit never 100% completed any Genshin area or region, 100% COMPLETED THE FONTAINE 4.0 AREA IN A WEEK, it think that says something about how far we've come from the early days.

There will be talk of 4.0 spoilers under the cut so be warned!!

Funny enough, I've never made a post like this since 2021 when Inazuma went live. Mostly for a lot of personal reasons (college courses, moving away from home, etc.) and how i felt about the game post-Inazuma / pre-Sumeru wasn't exactly positive. Plus the initial backlash Sumeru had soured my mood to the point i was just playing through the game just for the sake of it. But that was before the Archon quest finished, and while I'm not going to talk about Sumeru's exploration aspect (no one mention tunnels in the desert to me ever again), The Archon quest was a MASSIVE improvement and showed how the story of Genshin can be good when they take their time. It did make me hope the next region would take a page from how Sumeru handles it's characters. Besides that tangent, So what is it about Fontaine that's making it so fun?

Well for starters, the water exploration is VERY fun. Even without Fontaine characters the atmosphere and just overall game-play feels smooth and easy to control. I found myself mindlessly swimming around just taking it all in. It's probably also why I felt motivated to 100% the area since 4.0's area is small and feasible to do.

Surprising no one, Genshin's soundtrack for Fontaine is fantastic as always. I could pinpoint some songs the 4.0 livestream played but the rest are still beautiful to listen too. Especially the vocals in the underwater tracks or even just the songs that play in Fontaine's countryside.

Staking a page out of Sumeru's Archon Quest, the first two acts of Chapter 4 really set a new high bar. Mostly because they mystery of why the Nation of Justice treats trials like a spectacle plus the the looming threat of the entire nation being flooded and dissolved away with only Focalors remaining makes for a chilling mystery.

As a fan of Ace Attorney (and Danganronpa unfortunately/lh) the trials section are so much fun to play thru. The way we get to piece it all together, granted with not much penalty, felt like we were uncovering a case before our eyes. And hey! the traveler got to talk some more! also shoutout to Paimon's Groucho glasses staying for that 1st half.

Even though Genshin is no strangers to killing off NPC's at this point, something about how the methods of murder are done here feel eerie. From the jumpscare of the Box being crushed with someone inside to the fact PEOPLE IN FONTIANE JUST, DISSOLVE? so there was a Serial Killer going out murdering girls in a way that leaves nothing behind is very scary to think about even with the lack of blood and gore onscreen.

Of course the real stars of the show are the Fontaine characters we have already met. It's nice to finally see Lyney & Lynette after the Teyvat Trailer showed them nearly 3 years ago, and their dynamic is so nice to see (even if Lyney is rizzing us up lmao). I also love the direction they're going with Navia, Clorinde, and even Neuvillette with how they came across from the teasers.

As the 5th Archon we've met, I already love Furina's personality and dynamic she's got with the traveler. We haven't had an Archon whose been an outright rival to us since they've either been helpful to us from the get-go (Venti, Zhongli, & Nahida) or or straight up tried to kill us for exisiting (Raiden Shogun / Ei). Furina not only is committed to acting al high and mighty every chance she gets, but also really seems to want to show off how grand she is. I also love how we get to see a lil' bit into her psyche and how underneath that bravado she's really just scared her people will judge her if she didn't act like a god fit for the land of Justice. which makes me really excited how were going to convince her to devolve info about the traveler's twin.

Less serious but i love that Arlecchino is called the "Father" and is King in her home we love a GNC queen <3. That being said I am a bit excited to how they portray her since the way Lyney and Lynette talk of her is very much rose-colored since she saved them from horrific circumstances and they trust her with their life, but that remains to be seen

But if that's what I think is good, whats some stuff I think could have been better?

Even though the water exploration is fun, I wouldn't say the puzzles and some of the underwater power are balanced. The Bullet Barnacles took me way to long to figure out before i took too much damage and since underwater you done have access to hearing other than specific areas your characters are just dead until you revive them. Plus the Sonar you get from the Seals feels weaker to use then say the Crab or Manta Ray power-ups. Plus the time trials and such are just your normal fair for genshin 'secrets'

The Pneuma and Ousia mechanic for the Meka enemies feels a little janky in combat. Maybe because from the start we only have Lyney & Lynette (and the Hydro Traveler) that can use this system right now make be why, but the targeting on certain Meka enemies looks like they hit them with the correct energy but doesn't stun them. Maybe it'll get better once we have more Fontaine characters but for now it's just another combat mechanic.

This is more of a nitpick, but there's one story moment that has one of the worse timing in Genshin. You've prob seen how people reacted to the Traveler seemingly random hostility towards finding out Lyney & Lynette are Fatui (or at least part of a Fatui household since House of Hearth raises Fatuus Soldiers), and normally that would make sense since they spent an entire trial trying to defend them but that omission of crucial info almost cost them the case. BUT, from the players perspective not only hours before were they JUST friendly to Childe, a Fatui Harbringer that despite being friends they are still wary of and now suddenly is willing to treat him like any old friend now in Fontaine makes it come across as cruel to the twins and weird in context. Why would the traveler, whose a twin themselves, show a lack of compassion two twins that opened their heart about their (surprisingly dark) backstory? It's not a horrible choice but it's definitely a weird writing choice in this instance. Especially since you have to finish Act's I & II to seen Lyney's Story Quest, and the traveler is somehow okay with them now? It's just weirdly timed is all.

I need more Freminet PLEASE I JUST WANNA SEE THE BOY!!

That's pretty much all I got. Hopefully I'm more hopeful of Fontaine's hype to the end, especially with how great Sumeru's story quest went. So we'll just have to wait & see what 4.1 and 4.2 gives us!

[sutekh94]

Vlog - The Lost World of the Proxima Realms

So… I broke 1,000 subscribers recently. Why not celebrate the occasion with a vlog about a time when this channel was inactive?

If all goes well, you should see a Q&A submissions post somewhere by this time next week. I haven't quite figured out how I want to handle it, be it a video post or something over on my Twitter or Patreon.

Some corrections and omissions: It's pretty obvious that I didn't cover absolutely everything related to The Proxima Realms/Nashronth here. By my count, there were at least 59 published written works related to The Proxima Realms between December 2017 and March 2021, not counting revisions and re-releases, and goodness knows how many stories and story ideas I had that wound up going unpublished. I completely forgot some of those stories existed, like a series called "The Yva-Kaiphronth Chronicles". Pretty sure that was the last TPR-related story series I ever published, in early 2021. Like I mentioned in the video, these stories are currently unavailable, but if there's enough interest, I might compile all of them, plus some unpublished material and ideas, as one massive download. Who knows? I might do that regardless.

I barely scratched the surface regarding the many, MANY main characters I made for TPR's various stories. Maybe that's a good thing, since most of them wound up being really samey in practice. Talking purely about their personalities here. Like, I can tell you what they were supposed to be, but only a few actually broke through the barrier of mediocrity and into the rarefied air of uniqueness. What set them apart was mainly their designs. For instance, the character Remivaqa (or Remi) has GIANT BAT WINGS growing out of her back that she can disappear whenever necessary, and yet, she's about as bland as a mattress. That Roger Alcorn kid I mentioned? Just as bland, and he was arguably THE main character throughout most of TPR's/Nashronth's existence. Aliya? She was one of those few who did stand out from the rest, with her cold, calm, collected, and intelligent nature. And she had some decent plots surrounding her, like her search for her missing grandma and her rivalry with this hotheaded elf guy named Olandri. I wish I'd made those early TPR stories more about her than Roger.

It turns out that I wasn't completely finished with The Proxima Realms by early 2021. Halfway through 2022, I wrote down some ideas for TPR-related stories, but they were just ideas. Those ideas were the very last TPR-related things I ever made, though to this day, I still A. wonder what could've been had I kept pushing forward with TPR, and B. have random TPR-related story ideas pop into my head from time to time.

Drawing Aliya for the thumbnail after a couple years of not making any art related to TPR was so surreal. It kinda shows how much I've improved since 2017. Now I'm wondering how some other TPR characters would look if I were to draw them today. I picked Tamaya to be with her because of all my current OCs, she's the one closest in personality to Aliya. Oh, and both of them have girlfriends.

Like I've said about a trillion times by now, there's much more TPR-related material I could cover down here in the description, but since I only have a limited amount of space to work with, I can't mention random anecdotes about TPR's development, talk even more about the MOTH PEOPLE, explain how Roger's grandma is actually a MOTH PERSON, and discuss a race of beings who look like the Lastree custom/mod race for Starbound. What I will say is that I really shouldn't record unscripted rambles when it's almost 1 in the morning, lol. Seriously though, if I sound kinda tired and disjointed at parts in this vlog, that's why. The last third or so was recorded the following morning, after I got maybe five hours of sleep at most.

[a1t-alt]

I'm slowly catching up on the streams I've been missing and that means I have seen Wil's most recent lore stream (July 25th, 2021) and I'm- I- !!!!?????!!!!!!!

I'm here once again to say that cc!Wilbur is incredible and that I absolutely hate c!Wilbur (Revivebur) with a seething passion.

He's written so well, I don't think I'll ever be able to compliment Wilbur's writing and improv skills as much as he deserves. He's done such a good job?? At making me hate his character?? I love it!!! It's like a double edged sword. Revivebur lies and he's manipulative!! But his manipulation tactics are wild to me like- I want to say he's kind at times, passionate, vulnerable, etc. But I know, as a viewer and onlooker, that that's all just play- that's all part of it!

The fact that I myself as an observer am so convinced by the character that I want to sympathize with him or even be apologetic towards him is insane to me. He just- Wilbur, man, my guy, buddy, Mr. Soot- I do not know what to feel, sir. I've been put into a spot where I feel like I have to choose a side- and I feel like that's sort of.. maybe that's intensional. Because c! Wilbur is so hellbent on their being sides to take, battles to fight, that as a viewer you're set into a spot of "either you are on my side, or you are not." And I find that so intriguing and cool and GODS DUDE I'M LOSING IT.

Ranboo and Wilbur have been teasing that they're writing together for a bit now, even if not a ton, they've both mentioned it at one point or another. And to actually see their characters interact again is.. hm. C!Wilbur being set on his opinion of c!Ranboo when they met before only to immediately pretend that he never really felt as heavily as he'd said prior is neat. Obviously we know why, right, he wants Ranboo to do all the hard work for his new burger van. Ranboo's got the materials, he's rich as Fuck, and he craves validation from those around him. He's a perfect target for Revivebur to use! Obviously! And he goes along with it!

I adore c!Ranboo, I love how he's written and played and I love that he's not a black and white character- that he has really silly lore and incredibly dark lore (I'm biased of course, he's my streamer). I see where he's coming from in going with c!Wil. He has nothing to do- plus he reached out to Wilbur about trying again at a proper introduction, since the first went so poorly. So he goes along, he hears Wil out and happily adds to the conversation! He's doing his best to see if he can be friends with Wilbur. I don't think he's stupid, I think he's gauging how far he has to go to have Wil's trust in him if something happens. That thing I'm afraid of is that.. as he said many times, he's not good at telling when something is going to go good or bad. He doesn't realize just how much danger he's out himself into by doing as Wil asks.

Building the van for Wil, giving Wil the sword (though he didn't use it, it was still in his possession and he knows what it's called now), the vandalism in Las Nevadas- first the window (and Wil made sure he didn't silk touch the glass), then the tnt (which when Literally Cornered and told to blow up, he did). Not to mention the fact that he hid his unease from Wil after doing those things- just to gain the trust of the Actual Terrorist on the server.

I wouldn't put it past cc!Ranboo to have more meaning behind going along with things. He's a very good writer and he's very good at playing his character, genuinely. If c!Ranboo is only doing these things for possible future help, I think he's being naive. But I have a feeling that he's got something else in mind. He hid his unease, blatantly lied (and well enough now that c!Wilbur didn't notice) and "yes, and"ed everything- there's no way he's playing this much pretend just to make a friend. I don't know what's going on his enderboy's head but I am very excited to know just what he could possibly want from this.

Back to Wil- I don't know what exactly he has planned for the van. Not drugs, that's too easy- besides, Q was part of the drug business before, he would figure it out. It may be to prove a point- what point, I'm not entirely sure. Or? Or it could just be as simply as.. he just wants to get on Q's nerves. To fight with him, physically or mentally. He's bringing in help from his 'friends' as back up, I feel, in case things do get too rowdy- but I still only have so little idea what the fucker has planned.

C!Wilbur is an enigma to me. People see him as someone who has never and will never understand or utilize anything but black and white. Sides, countries, factions, ideals, etc. But times change, people change. He was gone over 13 years, he knows full well what he's doing- and he's doing a frustratingly fantastic job at it, whatever 'it' may be.

I look forward to his story, how it goes and who with and why. I look forward to seeing what his plans were- or what his cover-ups are. I can't wait for cc!Wilbur to share more with us because just Holy Fuck, man. I also look forward to how cc!Ranboo plays his cards here, because there are many things that can stem from here, even with c!Wil shadowing c!Ranboo.

Anyway, thoughts written, excitement shared. Feel free to add on and theorize! I'd love to see what others are thinking 👀

[palimpsessed]

So @captain-aralias​ did one of these and invited other writers to do the same. And I wasn't really going to because it feels a bit late now and also I've done quite a few other year in review posts for 2020. But then I got to thinking that it would be really nice to have one of these for each year to look back on and compare, which convinced me. So, here we go!

If you’re a writer, I’d also encourage you to steal this. Tag me on your post so I can see your thoughts! 🥰

List of Complete Fics for 2020 1. At the Top of a Tower, With You- General, 900 words 2. Use Your Words- Teen, 16k 3. A Man of Letters, or Five Times Baz Retreats and the One Time He Doesn’t- Teen, 54k 4. To the Manor Borne- Teen, 43k

Total: 4 fics, 113k words

Every one of these fics was written for an event, which, realistically, is the only reason they got finished. I have so many ideas I'm working on all at once, and I came into fandom with a focus on making art, so to actually find the motivation to sit down and write/finish/post a fic was entirely deadline based. And it's a technique I'm sure I will also employ in 2021.

Best/Worst Title?

Well, I've mentioned a few times before that I usually have a title before I have much in the way of a fic concept. I don't really dislike any of the my titles, because they all did exactly what I needed them to do, which was help me focus on what I wanted to accomplish in the fic. Comparatively speaking, though, I can answer this.

Best: Use Your Words - succinct, idiomatic, a book quote/motif that also has the potential to be a spell, does what it says on the tin, is probably what all of us are constantly yelling at Baz and Simon to do throughout the books and the fic itself

(Honorable mention to A Man of Letters because that title forms a perfect heart shape when viewed on mobile on AO3. ❤️)

Worst: At the Top of a Tower, With You - this is also a quote and it fits the fic perfectly, but it is a bit of a mouthful and it has a comma in the middle of it, which, while I love commas, feels a bit off-putting in terms of a title - also, it's always kind of bothered me that it's a Baz WS quote used for a CO-era Lucy POV

Best/worst summary?

Again, I don't really dislike any of my summaries.

Best:

To the Manor Borne: The gang decides to spend Christmas together at Pitch Manor. Romance, hijinks, and holiday cheer ensue.

Anything that lets me use the word hijinks is always good! - it's short and sweet - it does a fair job of setting up the premise for the fic and giving highlights, without giving anything away

Worst: A Man of Letters

I'm not going to include this one because it's so long, I had to cut down the version I posted on tumblr to fit in the AO3 field, which is really why I rank it below my others - it effectively sets up the world of Simon and Baz in Regency England prior to where the story starts, but it is prohibitively long - and it's set up, not summary, so it also loses points for not doing what it purports to do - I could have said exactly what this fic was in one sentence: "Simon and Baz meet at several Regency-appropriate venues over the course of a London season and reflect on their acquaintance in letters", but instead I did the full book jacket version because it was more interesting to me.

Best/Worst First Line?

Oh, this is interesting. I can honestly say that I have no idea where this will go. Going to pull up my docs and find out! Okay, since I only have four fics to consider, and I'm feeling split, I'm going to do two for each. I feel good about my words, but I will say that half of my first lines actually provide information, and the other half are incomplete thoughts. Those were stylistic decisions I made, but when taken alone, it does somewhat limit the effectivness of a sentence when it can't stand without the rest of the paragraph. Perhaps that decision will lure readers in for more?

Best:

In the end, we wind up at Pitch Manor. (To the Manor Borne)

I know that you won't be surprised when I tell you that I do not like writing letters. (A Man of Letters)

Kind of interesting that these both contain key words from the titles 🤔

Worst:

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do this. (Use Your Words)

I love how the title seems to be answering Baz's question when the two are put together like this 😂

Strange that it should end here, where it all started. (At the Top of a Tower, With You)

The title also seems to complete the first line in this one, too. I'm learning about my writing as this goes on, so that's cool!

Best/Worst Last Line?

Hmm. Okay, again, no idea. Also, a little leery of including last lines for anyone who hasn't read the fics they're from yet. (Tho I guess it's unlikely those people would be reading this😆) But let's see what we've got.

Use Your Words and A Man of Letters have very similar final lines, and both are somewhat spoilery.

Best: The ending of A Man of Letters felt risky to me, in the way that it is formatted and changes tone from the rest of the story. It was something that happened as I wrote it and I loved it. I had no idea if readers would like it, if they would feel like it worked as an ending, but I felt strongly enough about it to let the entire fic hinge on that and I think it really paid off. So, without giving you the actual last line, which is only one word, I'm going to say that one is my best ending.

Worst:

To the Manor Borne: "Carry on, Simon."

It's not bad, it's just not mine.

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, fewer than you thought, or about what you predicted?

I did not set out to write any fics in 2020. I was supposed to be taking a break from writing. I've been an aspiring novelist for half my life now, and have been going through major ups and downs with my writing. I decided I needed to re-evaluate and figure out if writing was something that was even going to be able to make me happy anymore. The answer is: YES! Just…not original fiction. At the moment. I'm happiest when I can write for the sake of writing and not have to DO something with that writing. Which is why discovering fan fiction was AMAZING!!!! 🥰🥰🥰

To actually answer the question, yes, I wrote more than I thought I would. I also wrote exactly as much as I thought I would, simply because these were all things I signed up for (with the exception of my Countdown fic, but I committed to it as if it were something that required a sign up).

I have a lot more ideas for 2021, but I don't know how many of them will come to fruition. I'm not putting pressure on myself to have to do anything beyond what I sign up for again, because it did work out so well for me starting off.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

I mean, the pairing and the fandom were in no way a surprise. 😆 They're my only ones, so those were both a given. The genre is also not surprising.

What's your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest?

A Man of Letters, without any hesitation. I adore it so much. It's the kind of fic I know I will unabashedly sit down to read over and over, even if I'm the one who wrote it. I had one reader to please and it was ME. By far, my most self-indulgent fic.

Okay, NOW your most popular story?

That depends on the metric.

To the Manor Borne leads in Comments (107), Kudos (153), and Hits (1992), and Use Your Words leads in Bookmarks (26).

But since To the Manor Borne is top in 3 out of 4 metrics, I'll say that one.

Story most upderappreciated by the universe?

I mean, the least popular by a wide margin is At the Top of a Tower, With You, but I don't know if I'd call it underappreciated. It's short, it's angsty, it's got a very unusual style, it's Lucy POV, it's the first fic I wrote and posted. I didn't really go into it with high performance expectations. I'm proud of it, I just didn't expect it to be popular. It would be nice if more people read it, but I'm not broken up over it.

Story that could have been better?

I'm not even going to touch this one. Everything can always be improved upon, but if I go down that route, nothing will ever be done. This is one of the things I have come to appreciate about traditional art versus digital. With traditional, there is only so much you can do before something is permanent and you have to live with it. It's an exercise in letting go and acceptance. Digital is flashier and more flexible, but I could (and have) spend months on a single piece and never feel satisfied, never stop tweaking. I think that's also the reason I started to hate my novels.

Sexiest story?

Based purely on overall vibes, I find the understated tension of the Regency the most appealing, so I'm going to say A Man of Letters. I didn't actually stray into sex territory in any of my fics (though Simon and Baz have had sex by the time To the Manor Borne starts, and refer to it, and probably do it "offscreen"), but A Man of Letters is the one that feels sexiest to me. Lots of thirsting!Baz and feral!Simon and sensual hand touching (how risqué!) - and YEARNING. That, to me, is the sexiest vibe of all. So. Much. Yearning.

Saddest story?

At the Top of a Tower, With You - for this one, I tagged "angst without plot" and I stand by that. It's Lucy losing her connection to Simon at the end of CO and trying to find a way to reconcile herself to leaving him alone again. I gave it as much of a hopeful bent as I could, with the refrain of Baz's spoken "love" to cling to, but it's very sad.

Most fun?

To the Manor Borne - All of my fics have their fair share of angst, but this one also has some good, silly, holiday fluff thrown in. Since I wrote it for the Countdown, each chapter was based on a different prompt, which led to this one going in all sorts of directions no single fic probably ever should. Plus, it has the most Shepard, and Shepard always makes things more fun.

Story with the single sweetest moment?

Oh my god. I don't know. No, never mind. I do. It's To the Manor Borne, but it's split between the two gift giving scenes, the Constellations and Secret Santa/Gift Giving prompts. These were private moments between Simon and Baz, sharing themselves with each other, being vulnerable, and communicating. It's the gifts they give each other, yes, but it's more so the reasons they chose those gifts, and how they show part of themselves and share their love for each other, through those gifts, that had me in tears writing those two scenes. I'm super proud of them.

Hardest story to write?

Use Your Words - it was written for an exchange and that made it really hard to write it knowing there was this pressure of making my gift-ee happy with the fic. I'm proud of it, and they really liked it, but the anxiety was too much for me.

Easiest/most fun story to write?

A Man of Letters - if there is a fic better suited to me as a writer, I haven't met it. I started writing after reading Pride and Prejudice in high school, so I started out writing Regency and I spent years and years and years of my life obsessed. When I transferred into college, an administrator I had never met before heard my name during orientation and said, "Oh, you're the Austen scholar." (It is a small, private college, and I was a transfer, so the pool of students was even smaller. But still. Many years later, I'm clearly not over it.) I also did my senior thesis on an epistolary novel (Frances Burney’s Evelina), and my English Lit emphasis was for that time period. So, I felt like I had been preparing for this fic my entire adult life. 😂

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

I don't think so. I tend to let my writing be dictated by the characters, so I'm always following their lead. Sometimes they'll do or say something that surprises me and takes me down a route I didn't necessarily foresee, but I don't think there was ever a point where one of them did something that made me rethink who they are as a character.

Most overdue story?

I will say A Man of Letters, since that one felt like a culmination of my seventeen-year-old self's wildest writing dreams. But I should probably say the Scooby Doo AU I still haven't managed to finish, because that one has been a WIP since I joined the fandom. Oops. (I'm hoping when I look over this in a year, I can feel smug that it's finally done.)

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Writing at all was a risk for me! And writing fan fic for the very first time! Writing an entire fic told only through letters. And then ending it in a completely different style from the rest of the fic. Doing a multi-chaptered fic for the Countdown, using a different prompt for each chapter, and publishing a chapter every single day for thirty days (with the exception of two days that had art). Signing up for fandom events in the first place!

What I learned from taking risks in my writing is the same thing I learned when I took risks in my art this year. I have a much better appreciation for what I've done when I push myself, I feel better about the end product, and I like it longer. I think it's really good for me to challenge myself creatively.

This year's theme and the story that demonstrates it most?

Oh boy. Um. Therapy! Both Use Your Words and To the Manor Borne had their big HEA moments built around sending Simon and Baz to therapy. I don't think that's likely to change for future fics, either. I feel like therapy as the theme for 2020 seems very fitting. (Also, I think I keep sending the boys to therapy because I'm trying to get myself there…)

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Just to write what I want to write, have fun, not put any pressure on myself, and to take risks in my writing and my art because it will help me to grow.

[murumokirby360]

📷💻 My Yearend Techs and Misc. Items - 2021 📱🎮

Hello. As year 2021 will ended in just a few weeks, our daily lives started to get improve; all thanks to vaccination, and a little amount of daily indoor exercise Uh yeah, our country is now face shield FREE! Although, the Omicron variant started to raise numbers a bit, not a ton, so hopefully it'll not be the same as Covid-19 virus in 2022.

Anyway, enough for that, let's talk about my 'My Yearend Techs and Misc. Items 2021'! And here are my choices per month so far, both ongoing & done topics:

• JAN - My Essager USB Type C Cable 3A (Ongoing): In the few years, Micro USB Cables will soon to be obsolete. And manufacturer brands started to build cheap yet good quality USB Type C Cables. Such the case with my Essager USB Type Cable 3A. So far, I use it for charging purposes such as my phone, power bank, etc. Right now my topic for Essager Type C cable is still ongoing, and I hope it'll end it in early of 2022.

• FEB - My 2021 Fabric Phone Case for my Honor 8C (Completed): My old phone case for Honor 8C was already thrown away. That's why I bought a new one with fabric looking, cool deer face image & a word quote that inspires me.📱🦌😊

• MAR - My UGREEN Audio Cable Extension (Completed): My Awei AUX-001 1M audio cable wasn't enough to reach me wearing headphones while listening music or watching video (whether movie/tv show via stream online) on a relaxing sitting position. So that's why I need an audio extension cable of 2 meters from UGREEN, and so far it works well & I used it randomly, usually Sunday & Thursday nights. Plus, much like my old Awei audio cable, my UGREEN Audio Cable extension had nylon braid for tangle proof. Good thing I have cable strap to tie up clean while using.🎧🔈🙂 Plugging through my Awei Y-200 speaker also works, but I used it rarely.

• APR - My Skull & Co. Analog Thumb Grip Caps for my controllers (ongoing): Now, I haven't continue this topic yet, and so far I've only tested on my old broken 8bitdo SN30+ gamepad with this cool Analog Thumb Grip Caps from Skull & Co. Overall, this is something I need for customizing analog sticks on my controller, plus it's cheap price, so you can't go wrong with this. I haven't change the thumb grip caps yet on my 8bitdo SN30+ gamepad 🎮, nor I never tested on my blue DualShock 4 controller 🎮. And since my aforementioned old 8bitdo gamepad is malfunctioned looks like I'll be continue with my new 8bitdo Gamepad, the Pro 2! Just as soon as done connection & game test, etc... I'll be continue this topic in 2022.

• MAY - My Strontium Nitro A1 Micro SDXC Card 256GB (Completed): Back in 2020, I ordered an underrated 64GB Micro SD card from the Singaporean based brand 'Strontium' for my Honor 8C phone, and it worked perfectly. But in 2021, I thought to myself "My 64GB memory won't cut it for transferring more files". So, I decided to buy another Strontium Nitro A1 Micro SD Card, this time I chose 256GB variant! Good enough to store my image files, snapshots, games & more! And since my Honor 8C's micro SD capacity of 256GB, it recognize. So far I've seen no problems or cons for 256GB variant, and that's good! And don't worry about my 64GB variant, I'll used it as my backup storage & it functions as well.

• JUN - My Yunteng Tripod VCT-5208 (Completed): I need a good tall tripod for my phone (or any digital camera) so I can take snapshots very stable without holding my hands. And thus, Yunteng VCT-5208 comes in! 🤳📷 So far, I'm always using for my photoshoots & recording videos. And right now, the only I have is the head tripod. It keep falling off when I'm setting up & repositioning, it's so annoying, you know. Uh yeah, and the shutter button is broken, I don't have time to fix that yet strangely I don't need to, so whatever. I thought Yunteng is a good quality, but I lie. Nevertheless, it's a pretty decent tripod to used.

• JUL - Fixing my PC’s motherboard with new one from BioStar: I was gonna put another UGREEN product for July, but that all changed when my old MSi motherboard went haywire from my stupidly cleaning mistake. As the result, my gaming PC completely useless, so my parents bought a new one & he saved my PC. I'll repay them once I have enough money. I have a full story about this PC, and I'll get to that later.

• AUG - My USB Silicone Dust Cover Caps (Completed): We've forgot to clean our USB ports after daily use, and we don't have something to cover after cleaning. That's why I need a USB Silicone Dust Cover Caps to protect against unwanted dusts through my functional gadgets such as my power bank, USB wall charger, and even my PC desktop/laptop. There's also other Silicone Dust Cover Caps for other ports such as HDMI, 3.5mm Audio Jack, Type C ports, and more with a range of colors to choose. So, if you ever worried about dusts entered your ports, then these Silicone Dust Cover Caps should solve your problems.

• SEPT - My ZNT SoundFit Wireless Headphone/Headset (Completed): Hey, speaking of Headphones, here's my next main headphone after my old headphone completely broken. Which I'll get to that later. My first ZNT item brand, the SoundFit wireless headphone/headset. Now, how should I put it? The comfort of earpads feels great, it fits perfectly on my head, and the sound quality is more like bass than other important tones. The only issue that I'm concern is the button placement, I'd just don't like it nor fan of that. But otherwise, it was a good budget wireless headphone. Good thing it's in neat condition after unopened for 2 years.

• OCT - My Panasonic Eneloop AA Batteries (Completed): Cell batteries never gets old, and they're won't be obsolete anytime soon. For instance, my Panasonic Eneloop batteries are one of the best quality cell batteries for daily electronics that involves either AA or AAA batteries/battery 🔋🔋🔋🔋. Right now, I equipped one Eneloop AA battery through my wireless mouse, and with long lasting battery life I need to change another one immediately. Uh yeah, the other Eneloop AA battery is now charging from cell battery charger after long used. On Dec 19th, 2021 (Sunday) I charged this single Eneloop AA at 10:25 PM, until the next day at 6:30 AM when it finally full charged. Don't worry, I still have two more Eneloops. I'll buy more Eneloop AA batteries, as well as AAA variant for my wireless keyboard soon.

• NOV - My Custom Gaming PC Desktop Story - 5th Anniversary: Okay, back to my PC. It's been 5 years for this medium spec gaming PC desktop, and I'm still using it right now after replacing new motherboard, courtesy of BioStar brand! And no, I'm not planning upgrading my OS to Windows 11; plus it's not supported, I checked it on PC Health Check. If you want to read my entire story, then please click that link from above.↑

Here are my honorable mentions:

• JUL - My UGREEN USB Extension Cable and Hub - USB 3.0 variant [CLICK ME! #1], [CLICK ME! #2]: I used these USB extension and hub for my pen tab & my wireless keyboard/mouse combo. And with additional USB slots from the hub, all equipped with USB 3.0 ports & power supply port via micro USB port (If only type C port), I could transfer my files with my hard drive or charging my phone. Well, sort of? I haven't finish that topic yet nor testing USB hub's features, so I'm sorry for long delay. Did I mentioned that my USB hub can also support OTG phone? Yup, all I need is my USB OTG! I haven't test that as well, but I'll do that in next year.

• JAN - My UGREEN USB Bluetooth Adapter (Ongoing): Yup, another UGREEN from my mention list; so far, I literally love this USB Bluetooth adapter so much 📶. I used it for my daily techs, from my wireless controller to speaker & headphone. I haven't test file transfer from my phone, am I? Yeah, I haven't, as well as testing DualShock 4 controller through my UGREEN Bluetooth adapter. Don't worry, I'll continue that as well in 2022.

• DEC - My 8bitdo Pro 2 (Ongoing [sorry no picture available]): Here's my last honorable mention. My new 8bitdo Gamepad called the 'Pro 2'. A replacement to my old malfunctioned SN30 Pro+ Gamepad. So far, I'm only posted two parts & I never get to connection play test via wireless, despite that I'm busying doing other projects. Hey, I'm just so excited & I can't wait to play it though!🎮😁

Alright, back to my topic pick & this is my last!

• DEC - My Awei A780BL wireless headphone's 2 year condition: Much like my 5 year old PC desktop, my wireless headphone had reach years of usage. Well, at least 2 years. With notable damages from broken plastic parts, to unquestionable shutting off by pressing play/pause or volume buttons, my old Awei (A780BL) wireless headphone still working as before 🎧🎶😊. The only thing that never broke is the audio quality itself, which is far better than my new ZNT SoundFit headphone 🎧 (in terms of audio comparison).

Well, that’s the end of my “My Yearend Techs and Misc. Items 2021”. We’ll see you on 2022, and I promised that’ll done these topic reviews as soon as I can before I moved on to the next one.😉

🥳 Happy new years eve to all, and as always, stay safe!😷

[af1899]

FEH - update notes [5.10.0] + thoughts and reactions

So, I.S. posted the release notes for the Fire Emblem Heroes 5.10.0 software update with quite the delay, but you can see them here.

I'll comment on each point of interest right below, skipping on less relevant stuff Imo.

Tfw you were saving for the merge but it'll come at you for free the same month

I was planning to save for Halloween Kagero (and use the opportunity to perhaps get a merge on either/both Halloween Myrrh/Mia) but her first merge is literally coming my way with enough participation in events and I'm excited to get it of course, I'm definitely gonna work my way through it. My plan now is to summon all but blue in her rerun banner in the first round, then wait for whatever banner could be of my interest before deciding if I wanna keep trying... at least this free merge will help me...

If you're looking to fodder her, she has [Bottle Juice+] (always active [Guard] positive effect) or [Bold Fighter 3] as noteworthy fodder, you'd probably prefer the former since it's seasonal and somewhat useful, but the latter is also great.

This time, both 5★ [Combat Manuals] are seasonals, the other is Halloween L'Arachel who has a bunch of nice fodder options, I'm taking [Madness Flask+] (grants same effect as [Fury 3]) and [Rally Atk/Spd+] as I think they are among her best comboes (as for who will get those, it's been decided to be Female Robin... I don't really like at all the Lv.2 {Tactic} effect and I'd daresay Cecilia is better for colorless/blue checking overall, so I'll delegate that role to her and do something else with Female Robin... who should start to get some premium skills), but should you need to plan ahead who needs some of her skills, she has the mentioned ones plus [Swift Sparrow 2] and [Spd/Res Ruse 3].

You may also be able to get that Young Innes, a good practice is to save all {Divine Codes: Ephemera} of the month until no more are obtainable, then pick the [Combat Manuals] you need, otherwise you may be risking to lose one of the free 5★ ones or even the [Heroic Grails] one — which you shouldn't — but with active participation you should get something over 700 to get those.

The red refines batch

This time, everyone is only red, like... why? But at least, some units that have been waiting on those refines will finally get them, Soleil has sure been waiting for long, hasn't she? I'm not excited for her at all but I'm glad for her fans.

I'm moreso looking forward to Laevatein's refine, even though I don't have special admiration for her, she's still an interesting character indeed, I actually have her but never built her properly... and I'm glad I did wait this long since a refine should give me a better direction on how she should be built:

Bridal Tharja was also due her refine since she was the next seasonal with preference weapon waiting on a refine, next should be Summer Tana, which I'm hyped about!

I'm also curious about Julius too, sadly I foddered one of the free copies but I still have some around should I end up building him someday, hopefully his refine will give me a "oomph!" to get on it.

Wrapping things up

Gonna start to finish this post talking about this new feature, from the looks of it, the [Memento Events] (cinematics you watch to get [Rapport] and rewards) can be now obtained by choice using a specific resource that's locked to the current season of the [Heroes Journey] event, so you should use them before they vanish...

[Memento Events] can now be watched anytime, instead of when [Heroes Journey] is around.

I think this is a nice feature, it doesn't do much to improve the event's overall rating Imo, but it's nice that at least, I.S. allows us to somehow relive it anytime.

I realized I've never gave my opinion on this event... I'll rate it at 7.5/10, it's nice to have more interaction with our units, we can even hang out with our favorite character by bringing along [My Summoner] in a growing variety of sceneries, some of them being really heartwarming, but the rewards are slightly underwhelming barring [Orbs], and asides the cutscene stuff you have to partake in [Heroic Ordeals]-esque battles that cost [Stamina].

Aaanyway...

...Yes, I consider this part important, I'm still waiting to put "No Justice" (whichever version) from Fire Emblem Fates everywhere in the game, best track of the game hands down.

This is more important though:

...There'll be a maintenance period, we've been notified before I believe, neverthless, it doesn't hurt to add the periods here and remind you the game will be unplayable during this period, the seasonal banner comes the 7th.

Use this clock for reference... so you can have an idea of when maintenance starts; for me, it starts at 9 p.m. the 5th and ends the next day at 2 a.m. (PT is 4 hours behind GMT-3), it's likely we'll get the trailer in-between, and the update roll out at 8 p.m. (GMT-3) at the usual day before the banner, do note they don't say when the update will be out.

As for you, use said clock to determine what's the difference between the PT timezone and yours, then use that difference to go forward/back in the time periods that appear above.

For example, it's 10/1 11:50 p.m. in PT, and 10/2 3:50 a.m. in GMT-3, I can see there's a 4 hour difference, so I add 4 hours to each timestamp I.S. gives me: "10/5/2021 10:00 p.m." in PT is "11/5/2021 2:00 a.m." in GMT-3. (The date format in my country is DD/MM/YYYY but normally I'll use the American format here, to avoid confusing the English-speaking community)

The update details are now in the bulletin board in-game but figured you could keep this advice for the future, the in-game notices already convert the timestampts to your timezone.

In any case, that's all for this post and I hope the info here has proven to be helpful to you!

Btw... I just spent 4 [Orbs] on [Performing Arts] revival banner (had a circle with three red stones, 1 colorless and 1 green, chose the latter first then the former) and got nothing special on either, just some random low rarity units... meh, I'll just keep saving.

[bettinaerquieza]

New Media, New Beauty Standards

"Beauty is an enhancement and not a replacement for who they really are on the inside. The key is being comfortable with YOU." - Ayesha Pough

As a child, I had never associated myself with any Disney princess. Instead, I would just wonder what it is like to be them. Upon growing up, I was judged on my capabilities solely based on my weight. I was convinced that I would never be called beautiful, because according to TV commercials and billboard ads, body hair, discoloration, and acne are unattractive. In generations, beauty is a slender build with a proportional amount of chest and a tight waist. Its skin tone is as bright and flawless as a white pearl. It also has a well-defined jawline, sharp and high cheekbones, a pointed nose, and a sensual full set of lips. Its eyes are large and bright like sparkling diamonds, and hair is as soft and shiny as newly woven silk. It has a greek god's face, symmetrical, and blemishes are nowhere to be found—indeed a magnificent work of art.

That's why seeing diversity nowadays in campaign ads and people advocating for body positivity—calling out whoever dares to label a fat person ugly or a skinny person anorexic, had given me so much joy and hope that society might be starting to change for the better. But until now, I still don't see something or someone I could relate to.

I understand that advertisements are made to attract the audience they are trying to reach. Though, as an aspiring media practitioner, I firmly believe that you can get through your target viewers without pinpointing people's insecurities or giving them an unattainable glamorized version of who they are or who they want to be. The impacts of how media portray a particular look can potentially affect so many people's way of seeing themselves whenever they look in the mirror. I also stand entirely behind the concept of improving yourself and aiming to be the person you want to be. However, you shouldn't lose yourself in the process by doing such. Your mental and physical well-being should never be jeopardized.

The rise of new media has enhanced communication among people through the utilization of technology. It is now integrated into our daily life because society depends so much on it for communication, such as contacting friends and family, staying up to date on the latest news and trends, and sharing memories, especially since the pandemic deprived us of meeting people in the flesh. Yet, while it advances, media has given us also the power to distort and reshape perspectives and realities—the complete opposite of its purpose. One of these is setting and presenting more beauty standards, impacting one's self-esteem, developing depression and anxiety due to body image dissatisfaction.

But now, as new media continuously develop, it includes individuals of different races, genders, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. Thereby focusing more on breaking stereotypes, also causing beauty to emerge and give us variation, making room for people of color, plus size, hairless, and people with gray hair and wrinkles. Gone are the days where we lack diversity. We are shifting towards a culture of being open and not only giving one representation of beauty.

Everyone is welcome. Every single one is beautiful.

But do we really believe that?

Everyone's concept and version of beauty can now be seen serving looks in New York Fashion Week, TV commercials, online posts, or on runways. Although, we cannot deny that media still gives us unrealistic beauty standards. In today's day and age, there is now an "appropriate-looking" plus-size body. Stretchmarks are now being glorified and considered attractive, but only when it's not dark and you have it on your thighs or butt and not on your stomach. All skin tones are now being recognized and appreciated, as long as they are glowy and flawless. Yes, we have evolved. However, our unattainable standards have, as well.

There are many outlets for beauty and fashion tips, yet these are not a guide to beauty. Instead, they are just another way to make many women and men feel as though they are worthless (Skolnick, 2020). The constant pressure to look sharp and perfect is still there, regardless of our body type and skin color. Social media often portrays augmented images and distorted truths, such that social platforms have become flooded with "ideal" qualities. No matter the platform, whether a social networking site like Instagram or a micro-blogging site like Twitter, people yearn to present their best self to the public (Washburn, 2018). With technology advancing by the minute and newer apps surfacing online, social media has an immediate effect on beauty. Due to the ever-changing body images depicted online, individuals are turning to social media handles for acceptance and support. (Henriques & Debasis, 2020)

That's why the evolution of beauty standards will never stop. If we keep on seeking validation and affirmation on social media, then solving this constant ongoing problem will never be achieved. Emphasizing that beauty is supposed to be subjective will never be firmly embedded into our hearts and minds.

Don't get me wrong, I, too, have allowed myself to be intoxicated by the poisonous notion that my beauty is based on the number of likes. I know getting compliments on your latest post can be so gratifying. Because all my life, I've always felt so out of place. Then whenever I get a notification that someone reacted to my photo, the sense of belongingness instantly sinks into my veins—I finally feel as though I am genuinely accepted by the world. But little did I know this was the one that would ruin me even more.

Beauty is subjective. As Margaret Wolfe Hungerford once said, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," meaning we all have our own definition, concept, and image of what it is to be beautiful. No one can ever dictate who you want to be and how you want to present yourself. We have to stop expecting everyone to understand it; what matters is that you appreciate your beauty, truly embracing every inch of it.

Let us learn to grasp that no amount of likes or comments people leave on our social media accounts will ever be enough to define your worth as a person.

Beauty is like a self-portrait. It is personal—yours to create.

Let us make that the beauty standard.

References:

Gee, R. A. (2018, July 25). Beauty By Soul Definition. . .. Thrive Global. https://thriveglobal.com/stories/beauty-by-definition/

Givhan, R., & Morales, H. R. (2020, January 7). The idea of beauty is always shifting. Today, it’s more inclusive than ever. Magazine. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/beauty-today-celebrates-all-social-media-plays-a-role-feature

Henriques, M. (2020, September 21). Social Media and Its Effects on Beauty. IntechOpen. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/73271

Mbabazi, B. D. (2019, October 31). Society and unrealistic beauty standards. The New Times | Rwanda. https://www.newtimes.co.rw/lifestyle/society-and-unrealistic-beauty-standards

Skolnick, S. (2021, June 12). Modern beauty standards and their effects on society. The Inkblot. https://theinkblotnews.com/10701/opinion/modern-beauty-standards-and-their-effects-on-society/

Washburn, A. (2018). Beauty Imbalance: Social Media's Dictation of Worth. Brigham Young University

[ashitomarisu]

First Impressions: Birb Came and Hit Me Like a Freight Train (Aya Uchida)

(Originally written November 27, 2021, 8:14pm EST)

Welcome back to my Journey into a Deeper Idol Hell...and here I am in the Realm of Birb.

"EVERYWHERE IS BIRB. I CAN'T ESCAPE."

-in case I die of overexposure to Ucchism

--------------

Due to an overwhelming list of tracks, and a corrupted file, I will not be able to rank each song, but instead give my overall feelings to her discography (which might happen from now on). Without further ado, let's get this over with.

Here's the thing:

Somehow, during the development of the first album in 2014, one of the staff members had to have interrupted the process and told her to try something different. Why do I think so?

The first half of [アップルミント] was barely decent, until [キックとパンチどっちがいい？]. From that song on, her vocals started to branch out; improving with every album and single that succeeded.

However, during the two days I've sat down and listened, I lost myself. It was the most fucked up experience so far while listening to these tracks. Afterwards, my body just went numb at Reverb. By the end, my brain shut down.

Overall, most of her songs are pretty damn good, with few leaving me begging for more, which include the following:

ピンク・マゼンダ

afraid...

Ruby Eclipse (you fucking pulling my tail here?!)

キックとパンチどっちがいい？

Half of [Sweet Tears] tracklist kills me

For the fullest experience, [AYA UCHIDA Complete Box 〜50 Songs〜] would be your best bet, plus any EPs, singles, or albums that were released afterwards.

------

This concludes my thoughts on Aya Uchida's discography for the time being. Up next, further down the idol hell hole to the last of the second years. It would seem fitting to do my Monthly Furi before warming up to this next artist (since both of them were in Healin Good). OH RIGHT. IT'S TIME FOR THE MIMO.

YOU'VE ALREADY WON MY HEART AS CURE EARTH. WILL YOU WIN ME AGAIN?! Stay tuned as the Muse seiyuu discography journey trails on...

[auspicious-voice]

A post of my recording setup for UTAU voicebank production

Hi! This post is a little different than others, but I wanted to write a post pertaining my recording setup when it comes to making UTAU voicebanks. I've made upgrades to it over the past 7-8 years or so, so let's get to it!

Just note that this post is coming from someone who uses UTAU as a hobby, and that much of my audio equipment is for casual use. I also don't really partake in anything related to professional audio, so please keep that in mind!

Recording Setup from 2014-2016

Short section considering I started out with not too much knowledge on microphones and other audio equipment.

Recording Environment

Since I was starting out, I recorded most of my voicebanks in an open, untreated environment. I didn't take into account how much of a problem this was, but give how low quality my voicebanks were around this time, I didn't notice it too much.

Microphone

This one's weird, because I had a laptop microphone that was muffled in sound quality, and when I installed a trial of FL Studio onto that laptop, the microphone quality became clearer for some odd reason. In 2014, one voicebank was recorded with a laptop microphone (before I installed FL), and then another voicebank was recorded with the same microphone (after I installed FL). I'm so confused as to why my laptop microphone's quality changed, so it's a mystery to me.

Then my old laptop broke mid-2015, and I purchased a new laptop in 2016. I used the built-in microphone to record VCV voicebanks for my UTAUs, though the quality was muffled and... not very good in general. This was around the time I wanted to upgrade my microphone so I could give my voicebanks new updates with better quality.

Recording Setup from 2017-2021

This setup is what I stuck with the longest now that I got a new microphone. Everything else remained the same for the most part.

Recording Environment

Around this time, I recorded most of my voicebanks in my room. It's small, but the fact that it was untreated spelled a plethora of problems for the voicebanks I recorded. With the purchase of a new microphone, those issues would be even more pronounced.

Microphone

The microphone I (currently) use is the Blue Snowball iCE! I'll admit, I only got this microphone because I saw one of my favourite UTAU users use it at the time, plus it was cheap to get. It's a nice starting point to get better audio quality for a microphone that's around $70 CAD.

However, for some reason this microphone is shunned by a fair portion of the UTAU community nowadays, and when I asked people around if this microphone was good, they all told me to get something like the CAD u37 instead as if there's that one microphone that everyone should use. I don't really get why people are so worked up whenever someone uses this or that, plus it's just a hobby.

The Snowball iCE does a fantastic job at recording good audio in general, but over time, I kept noticing that it picked up a shitton of echo and reverb as evident in my recordings. To be fair, this is a condenser microphone and they're known for being extremely sensitive. I initially thought that the resamplers I was using were fucking up, but it was my recording environment that was making things worse.

Ever since noticing this, I did take measures to improve the quality of my voicebanks, which will be explained in the next section.

Recording Setup from 2022-present

While the microphone didn't change, the rest of my recording setup did.

Recording Environment

I still recorded in the same room, BUT I did purchase an isolation filter to help reduce the amount of reverb and echo in my recordings. When I recorded my newest voicebanks, I could barely hear any reverb in the samples and the voicebanks sounded better in UTAU when rendered.

The overall quality of the voicebanks recorded in a somewhat treated environment are pretty good even when recorded on a cheap microphone. This got me thinking about those who recorded with the Snowball iCE microphone, and if the environment that they recorded in was so shit that it ended up affecting the quality of their audio.

Now that I think about it, while a microphone (one that is not from a laptop) is good for making clear audio, it's the environment that makes or breaks the overall quality of the audio. It's a matter of if you treated the recording environment with anything that absorbs echo or not.

Microphone

Same microphone is still being used. >:D

Accessories

This time, I did purchase a desktop mic stand (so that I don't lean down too much when recording) and a pop filter to remove excess plosives in my recordings. At least I don't have to accidentally spit into my microphone anymore.

I actually got my pop filter from a thrift store, and I got my desktop stand from Amazon. Put these together with the microphone and the isolation filter, and you pretty much get a nice recording booth.

Final Thoughts

While my recording setup is cheap and amateur-ish, I do think that it does a great job in capturing good audio quality for my voicebanks. Sure it doesn't measure to more professional setups others use, but this is a hobby after all. Even a casual recording setup can get you around anywhere as long as you have fun.

I'm happy with my current recording setup as it is, and I don't plan on upgrading it any time soon unless something big happens.