#some their designs may be outdated at this point

[hahren-tabris]

My OCs :3

Main-

Heroes of Ferelden: Neve Tabris (romancing Alistair) and Aelon Mahariel (romancing Morrigan). Dual Warden Worldstate

Champion of Kirkwall: Anwen Hawke (romancing Fenris)

Inquisitor: James Trevelyan (romancing Cassandra)

Secondary OCs-

Arlessa of Amaranthine: Katherine Cousland (romancing Ser Gilmore)

Arcane Advisor to the Inquisition: Aveline "Ava" Trevelyan

Her Pupils: Lucas Amell and Madolyn Surana

Anders' Bodyguard: Hazel Ward (romancing Anders)

If I have drawn art of them, they'll be tagged as their name! (so "Anwen Hawke" or "Ava Trevelyan")

You can also learn more about them in this ancient twitter thread I made <3

[tanuki-kimono]

Cw: We are going to talk here about periods, and sex education in the past. Read this note according to your own sensibilities :)

How women dealt with periods during Edo period, article by shunga enthousiast Shungirl who made a paper pad following instructions found in makura bunko 枕文庫 - ie ancient sex books illustrated with erotic ukiyoe.

One of such makura bunko is 渓斎英泉 Keisai Eisen's 閨中紀聞-枕文庫, first published in 1822. It details Chinese remedies recipes for menstrual pains and irregularities, give tips about sex, and information about menstruations and pregnancy. From a modern point of view, some beliefs are outdated, but it was then such a bestseller it went through several reeditions.

Several words were apparently in use during Edo era to designates menstrual period: keisui 経水, gekkei 月経, tsukiyaku 月水, etc.

When girls went throught their first period, their females relatives or nannies would taught them how to deal with them. One method was to use paper as sanitary products (please note people without easy access to paper probably dealt with periods differently).

__________ 御馬 paper pads

Sanitary pads, such as the one recreated above by Shungirl, were then called mima 御馬 (probably as a pun on true "mima" which were then fine horses own by noblemen, or attached to sanctuaries as mounts for gods etc) or simply ouma お馬 ("honorable" horse).

Ouma were made from inexpensive recycled paper called Asakusagami 浅草紙. Sheets were folded 8 times, tied with twisted paper strings (koyori 紙縒), and then wrapped with another layer of folded paper. It was secured once again with paper strings.

Part of the strings could be left long so to tie around the waist, or/and pad was hold into place by wearing fundoshi 褌 loincloth (which would also help prevent leaking on inner tights).

Asakusagami quality was low (it was also used as toilet paper) so paper pads had to be changed often, meaning you had to fold quite a lot of them to go through your period!

Shungirl folded the pad above following instructions found in the book 実娯教絵抄, which provided several other "models":

__________ 詰め紙 paper tampons

Another method for dealing with periods were tampon-like paper bundles which were inserted into the vagina, the 詰め紙 (tsumeshi? I am not sure of the reading).

This method may have first appeared in red-light districts (?). Beside its use for periods, prostitutes also used those tampons as method of contraception (OP has an interesting article on this subject).

By the end of Edo period and into Meiji, paper tampons were widely used even by women who were not prostitutes - despite voices branding this method as unsanitary.

__________ About girls' coming of age rites

Menarche (first period) was an important milestone for girls, and was celebrated as such via specific rites (shochō o iwau 初潮を祝). Those differed a lot from places to places, and also depended on social status.

Celebrations would concern close family, but often spread to wider community who could received for example a festive meal (sekihan 赤飯) for the occasion (some Edo era senryû poems stress how mortifying this publicity could be!).

Interestingly, some traditions were also pretty sweet: in some places, mothers would sew 3 stiches into their daughter's underskirt (koshimaki 腰巻き) as a good luck charm, hoping their periods would last only 3 days <3

Those rites were part of coming of age traditions (seijoshiki 成女式) which marked the start of a young woman adulthood. Another example is the blackening of teeth (ohaguro お歯黒) which usually started around 16-17 years old.

Celebrating menarche publicly was a way of advertising that the girl was no longer a child and would "soon" be a bride. Yet, if menarche often took place around 13-14 years old, in reality it was somehow unusual to have girls married so soon!

Before marriage, especially in non-noble/samurai families, young women often started their sexual life via flings or yobai 夜這い ("night crawling" ie pseudo-secret nighttime encounters) before any wedding actually took place.

[adiduck]

Hey my fellow USians, how're we all doing today? Yeah? Oh yeah? Sounds about right, okay. I don't usually talk about politics on this blog, but today I'm going to make an exception.

A few things:

We're not going to know ANYTHING until AT LEAST tonight, and probably won't have an answer today. That's frustrating and terrifying, but it's just the reality. Instead of obsessing about what's on the news, focus on doing things that you can actually control! For some of us, that will be volunteer! Check your local area for opportunities to phone bank, cure ballots, even assist with transportation to and from voting locations. For others, that will be touching base with family and friends. For yet more, that's going to be staying right where you are, and being safe. All of that is fine and good! The point is to not make yourself crazy when you don't have the ability to change something!

If you haven't voted and you're registered, please make every effort to do that. The race is CLOSE if we can believe the polls (arguable), and so every vote is even MORE relevant than it might be normally! Don't believe the defeatists--your voice DOES matter, and what's more, the only way it can be heard is if you participate in the civil institutions we currently have. Find your polling place and go vote!

If you haven't voted, and you are NOT registered, it may not be too late! There are several states where you can register right before voting. Check if you happen to be in one of them!

All of that said, take care of yourself today! Have you eaten? Have you hydrated? Taken your meds? Taken a shower? The existential dread is real and there, for sure, but so is that sandwich. Eat the sandwich, it'll help.

Above all, remember that we are all in this together. the electoral college is an outdated system designed to disenfranchise voters, but the popular vote is worth paying attention to, even when it can't make policy. There are more of us than there are of them. You are not alone.

Okay, that's all I got. I love you all! Stay safe, and be well!

[360iris]

Hello my darling Loeeeee

May I request a Drabble/fic/anything of any of the moon boys + one bed trope and cuteness ensues 🥺👉🏻👈🏻 SFW or NSFW, up to you and whatever you feel 💞💞💞

Xoxo

Précis | marc spector x reader

1.2k word count. Thank you for requesting Mona-aaa!! This was really fun to write, and I definitely made myself laugh a little harder than I maybe should’ve. This m/c is so awkward, and a bit of a weird, like me.

A/N: I know it seems like I’ve been gone on a two to three month writing hiatus, but I promise you guys I’ve been occupied with getting a beast of a Steven Grant one-shot done. The only hint I’m giving is that it was so, so, so close to making it to 20k— In the meantime, please forgive me with this little nugget.

I feel unbelievably rusty so this is also the perfect time to announce that my inbox requests are open and anon is an option again~~~

Marc pushes into the motel room, face stern and turning graver by the second as he takes in the one queen-sized bed room with no couch and one, singular sitting chair.

“That asshole.” He grumbles, attempting to pull back the recliner only to discover it went back a maximum of five inches. “I asked for two beds, you heard me ask for two.”

You sway in place by the entrance, body weak and bruised from the day you’d spent running around Cairo. Currently too distracted by your heavy eyelids and the pain in your aching muscles to care about such a small inconvenience.

“With what little Arabic I understand, I definitely heard you say ‘two’. That’s about it though.” You reply mid stretch, twisting your upper body in hopes of relieving some knot or unseen string of pain.

He releases the back of the chair, done with attempting to make it go further than it was capable of. “I’m going to talk to him.”

“Whatever you do, don’t get us kicked out. I will unleash an unfathomable world of fury, the likes of which you have never seen if I have to walk anymore today.”

“You’re threatening me?” He asks, turning from the door, arching a thick brow.

“Threats are outdated, that was a promise. A declaration of war if you cross me and my joints.” You clarify sleepily, not much of an intimidating threat to anyone, let alone him as you unlaced your shoes. Perched on the edge of the recliner.

“Uh-huh.” He snorts with the smallest sliver of humor. “I’ll talk to him, even though I should shove my foot up his—“

“Language.” You chide, arching a brow at him. “Remember, diplomatic mindset. Or else it’ll be me you’ll have to worry about.”

“Shut up.” He says with a roll of his eyes, the door clicking behind him just as you go to reply—

“Uh, rude!”

—

In his absence and finally free of your shoes, you close the distance between you and the bed. Face planting into the dark tones of the intricately designed duvet. Your eyes shutting contently before you even make contact with the plush mattress.

For as much of an inconvenience as it was, at least it turned out to be comfortable.

Marc returns three and half hours later, stirring you awake as he enters the room with a see-through plastic bag filled with stacked styrofoam containers.

Rubbing your eyes, you move just enough to look at the clock on the wall before turning your attention back to him, cheek pressing back into the duvet.

“Did you check that for bed bugs?” He asks evenly, pointing at the mattress.

“No.” You answer with a wide yawn. “But nothing’s bit me so far, I’ll count that as a win.”

“Manager was a no-go, got takeout instead. Move over.” Marc nudges your leg, making you take up less of the bed you’d been sprawled out against for the last few hours— you scoot over without fuss.

“I don’t know why you cared so much, we’ve had to share much smaller.” Your words come out mumbled, burying your face into your folded arms as he lays down beside you.

“I thought you never wanted to talk about that.” He asks quietly, resting on his back, head tilting to look at you.

“I never said that.”

“You never said anything about it actually.” He retorts. “We just… never talked about it.”

“Talked about our feelings? When have we ever?” You snort. Getting anything out of Marc regarding any personal matter was akin to pulling teeth. You would’ve guessed it physically pained him to acknowledge he was even capable of emotion.

“About us having sex.” His eyes are trained on your face, not diverting an inch as he speaks the words. Your jaw slackens, eyes flitting to literally anything else in the room but him. “See. You’re doing it.”

“Doing what?”

“Exactly what I thought you would. You actually cringed just now.”

“I did not.”

“You did.”

“Look, I say that I didn’t. But it’s got less to do with you, and more to do with… I don’t know. It’s just weird, okay?”

“We’ve had sex. I’ve literally been inside of you,” —your face scrunches for a split second. “and you’re saying you’re weirded out by the word? You just did it again.”

“Don’t judge me! And I didn’t do anything, you just didn’t have to say it like that!” Your brows knit defensively, lips fixing into a pout as you begin to move away from him. “You can’t do feelings, I get grossed out by a word. I think one is inherently harder to deal with than the other.

He stops you from getting far, extending an arm around your waist. “Well now it sounds like you’re the one judging me.” He muses, a smirk working its way onto his face despite himself.

Eyes narrowing, you force your face to cooperate. “Don’t make me smile, Marc Spector. I’m mad at you.”

“For what?” He asks, leaning in closer.

“For bothering me while I’m tired! Some of us common folk still experience fatigue.” You tilt your head away as he leans in to kiss you, stopping him by placing your fingers over his mouth, your arms squished against his chest from how close he’s holding you to him.

“You wouldn’t have to do anything.” He speaks his offer against your fingers before grabbing your hand, tenderly kissing the tips in a way that makes you faintly whine. “Could take care of you like this.”

When you don’t reply, he takes it as leave to continue, extending a hand to rub the backs of your thighs. “You were so wet for me last time, baby. Bet you’re soaked for me today too.” Your thighs attempt to clench but he stops you, pulling your legs open just enough so that you have no way to relieve the tension gradually building from his words alone.

“You gonna let me feel you?” He asks, as though he didn’t already have you fitted against him. His left arm wrapped around your shoulders, effectively tucking you into his side while his right hand was wedged between your legs, propping you open.

“Hurry up.” You urge impatiently, resting your head against his chest.

With your hands fitted under your chin, you look down to where he wordlessly pops open your shorts. The older man deftly pulls down the zipper before slipping his large hand down the front of your undies.

Your lips part, releasing a quiet gasp as the rough pads of his fingers massage your clit, the firm drag of his touch causing you to ease against him.

“That’s it, huh, sweet girl?” He mumbles into the top of your head as he finds a steady pace. The rare sentiment making you keen. “Right there? That’s where you like it, baby?”

“Mhm- Marc.”

Lifting his left hand from your shoulder he coaxes you to look at him, thumb brushing against your cheek. “Want to look at you.” Is all he mumbles as his fingers trail down to your entrance, soaking up the way your lips part, brows knit and eyes begin to glaze over as he slips two digits inside of you.

“You become so nice when I have you like this. Love being full of me, don’t you? How’s it make you feel?”

“Good, hah- fuck.”

“Yeah?” He asks, curling his fingers in just the right way that you’re moaning audibly, body momentarily thrumming from how he works your walls until they’re soft and malleable. Finding your g spot and focusing on it exclusively. “Tell me more.”

[kittycoolcat7]

Act 1 spoilers again....... but this time it's THEORY TIME!!!

I'm confident that the contestants are real people in-universe. Like yeah they were made by MePhone4 but... he didn't know about that to my knowledge.? And they do seem to have free will and the ability to form their own opinions, including those that go against what MePhone wants. Like how Suitcase has beef with MePhone (beefone?) and how The Floor couldn't/wouldn't leave Invitational Island as much as MePhone wanted him to,,

Also, they still existed while he was not conscious. On multiple occasions.

Also also, I think it's very possible that not only is Toilet alive rn but he's also a completely real guy. Cuz even if the contestants are of MePhone's design, not everybody must be. I mean A.D.A.M. acknowledged him as a real guy I'm pretty sure

Also also also, If MePhone was ever to be aware of what he did to make them, he could bring them back without the use of MeLife! How he'd get their memories back is another story cuz MeLife already seems to have that down. Which sucks because, as is shown in the "corporate jargon" that Cobs brushed aside during his iconic number, MeLife is not going to be an option for MePhone4 at some point. Or maybe it already is and he can only bring back his creations idk

Also also also also, first off I should stop starting paragraphs with also, and second off, I think we can all agree that Springy is a MePhone creation too. And I still think BPP is one too. Not the other unvitationals (except maybe sprinkles) but definitely BPP. I have a separate post about that if anybody wanted context though some points may be outdated idk I should reread it

Anyhoo yeah! TLDR the contestants do indeed have free will despite being artificial, and also recovery is possible without MeLife to a degree, and also there's a decent mix of organic and artificial ppl seen throughout the series

[dearmahiru-archive]

— together in death; dearmahiru's shinjū theory

tw: this post revolves around the discussion of group suicide and a toxic relationship

Before I Love You had released, I proposed Mahiru attempted to commit a lover's suicide with her boyfriend. It's hopelessly outdated (and terribly formatted) but, given we've recieved many confirmations about Mahiru's story, I wanted to try rewriting the theory with the new information. For reference here is the old post.

Yamanaka: ❝ When we designed the characters and their sins, we tried to design them in a way that is open for interpretation depending on how each viewer feels, and encourage differences in opinions. For example, some sins may be legally wrong, or something that you can’t forgive emotionally, and some may be interpreted differently due to cultural differences and different upbringings. So we encourage people from all walks of life to participate, to increase the diversity and depth in the results. ❞

Understandably, this post will paint Mahiru in an overtly sympathetic light given my bias towards her. However, I'm disinterested in rehashing the same "Mahiru is a bad person" points when everyone is aware of her flaws. I acknowledge proposing this theory would seem like an attempt to absolve Mahiru of guilt but that's not my intention. Like every character, Mahiru is morally gray and whether the audience finds her forgivable is up to them.

So, without further ado, let's begin.

01. Setting The Scene

This particular scene in I Love You is extremely important: namely, it's the location of her victim's death.

If we look at Mahiru's incarnation records, her victim died in Aokigahara, Japan's infamous suicide forest. This makes sense given he had died by hanging.

At least since the 1960s, Aokigahara has become associated with suicide, eventually becoming known in English by the nickname "Suicide Forest" and gaining a reputation as one of the world's most-used suicide sites.

Adding onto this, we know Mahiru went with her boyfriend to Aokigahara. First, ofcourse, the two are seen walking through a literal forest. Second, in Mahiru's Undercover memories, the sleeves perfectly align with the clothes Mahiru and her boyfriend wear. There's no other day where these sleeves align—trust me, I checked.

Q. Can you drive a car? Mahiru: "I have a drivers license. But I'm only a 'paper driver.'"

A paper driver is someone who's license is only 'paper' because they don't use it. Aokigara is a two-hour drive away from Tokyo which is where Mahiru lives. If she doesn't drive then this might mean it was her boyfriend who drove them to Aokigahara.

So to recap, Mahiru and her boyfriend went to a suicide forest together. This does beg the question though: why did Mahiru come along? If she knew her boyfriend was suicidal then wouldn't she try consoling him? Unless, ofcourse, Mahiru also wanted to die.

02. Love Is Mine

When you peek into Mahiru's symbolism you'll notice one reoccurring theme: clinging onto someone until you both suffocate.

Beginning with this shot of Mahiru and her victim, she's depicted as the literal noose tied around her boyfriend's neck. However, as many have noted, it can also be interpreted as her comforting him. As opposed Haruka who's straddling ontop of his victim, Mahiru's boyfriend is laying on her lap while she gazes into his eyes. Although violent, it's a distinctly intimate scene.

Personally, I'm partial to the name theory which suggests each prisoner's name reflects something about their crime. I noted the meaning behind Mahiru's name here but I'll regurgitate it. Mahiru's name means "Midday" which fits along her description:

A prisoner who is like the sun, always chatting and laughing.

So, with the theory in mind, Mahiru's crime relates to her eternal sunny presence.

Along with this, each prisoner has the kanji for "wood" in their name and removing that kanji reflects an aspect of their crime. (For instance, Haruka (嬰) would be "baby" or "necklace" and Yuno (堅) would be "strong" or "resolute" like her real personality).

With out the wood kanji, Mahiru's name is 隹 which means means "bird," obviously relating to how Mahiru and her boyfriend are both bluebirds suffocating within their small birdcage. Their relationship was doomed from the beginning—as bluebirds are wild animals and therefore cannot survive in cages. It was inevitable one of them would've become stressed out and died. Put a pin in the birdcage symbolism since we'll came back to that.

Moving on, in her first voice drama, Mahiru reveals how her victim died:

Es: "I see. So, you became a murderer as a result of some relationship conflicts? Jealousy… Grudges… Having your partner stolen from you… Those stories aren’t all that uncommon now are they?" Mahiru: "You’re wrong. It wasn’t that. I…never even wanted to kill anyone in the first place!" Es: [pauses] Mahiru: "I just… I was… just being myself."

(honestly really frustrating how people still theorize mahiru/her boyfriend cheated when she expressed multiple times that wasn't the case. all of the victims apart from kotoko's were innocent people and mahiru "loving my bf is my defining personality trait" shiina isn't about to tap someone's elses ass. if anything this is a demonstration she was only stressed out about her partner leaving her but whatever i digress)

And then later on these exchanges happen:

Es: It was your love which killed someone, right? Despite that, will you still try to love another person?  Mahiru: [thinks] Actually, I was hoping you could tell me the answer to that, prison guard… If what I did was unforgivable.

Mahiru: Ah, this isn’t good. Be careful, okay? Um… Um… If you’re that kind to me, you could die as well. Just—kidding?  

So already, this theme of suffocation has been reinforced multiple times. Mahiru goes with her boyfriend to a suicide forest, she locks hands with him, she's symbolised as a noose hanging him, she's stuck in a birdcage with him, and it's her sunny disposition, her love for him which kills him.

Which forms the foundation for this theory: following her theme of clinging until suffocation, Mahiru tried to die alongside her boyfriend to forever stay with him.

Q. What is the ultimate form of Love?Mahiru: Being always together

Mahiru: My first shrine visit of the year was together with him. Obviously I know what I want to wish for. Please let us stay together like this forever. Please don’t let anyone else get in our way

Do you really think you know what love is? If you do, let's just overheat together! [Mahiru is outright singing, "Lets stay close together for so long we could die from the warmth.]

If you don't hug me, even our hearts will start drifting apart [Otherwise, "If you don't hold me close then I won't feel loved by you."

Mahiru: "Ehehe...I love, love, LOVE YOU!! Don't ever let me go, ok!"

The happiness we tightly bound up and suffocated, is no longer here

Which leads us to our third point: oh goodness Mahiru's relationship was a hot mess.

03. Love Is (Un)Dead

Okay, so we've established a lot but there's one thing missing: Is Mahiru herself suicidal?

Mahiru: It’s because I've… decided that I’m going to live for the sake of love

Mahiru: Hmm. If you can’t forgive me for what I’ve done, then there’s no point in living—to be honest. [laughs] 

Mahiru: Being in love is… If there was no such thing as love, then my life would be so bland. So, if you say that I won’t be allowed it anymore, then there’s no point in me living. 

An extremely unfortunate yes! Similar to how Shidou wishes to die because of his love, Mahiru only lives for the sake of love. (Infact, coasting off this shinju theory, I'd even say that both Shidou and Mahiru wanted to die for the sake of meeting their loved ones again.)

One specific detail I'd like to highlight are Mahiru's shoes.

In Japan there is a custom for people to take off their shoes before entering their homes, as to not track dirt into their houses. As a result of this line of thinking there is also a custom where people take off their shoes before they enter the afterlife as not to track dirt and such into their ethereal destination. Abandoned pairs of shoes in Japanese media have become symbolic of suicides, and they are also common in non-Japanese media.

This specific symbolism is seen an additional time with Mahiru and Kazui's victims in Undercover and Mu in It's Not My Fault, both of which are related to suicide.

In Mahiru first MV, there's always a shot where we can explicitly see her shoes. They're on in the beginning, off when she confesses to her boyfriend and they begin dating, and on again after something happened to her boyfriend.

I believe this may represent she was suicidal during the relationship. Apart from this, there's lots of little details which paint the picture she was unhappy with her life and dating her boyfriend.

When being interviewed, she tends to talk a lot, and she seems to have developed some special feelings for the prison guard, and sometimes also shows a lonely, vacant expression in contrast to her normally bright and cheerful self. [These "special feelings" for Es aren't necessarily romantic. Atleast, it's "love" in the same way Mahiru thinks of a murder prison as a romantic getaway. It's moreso developes a connection with Es because they uniquely give her attention and she finds their hardwork admirable. She finds them kind and, "if youre kind to me I'm going to start relying on you, thanks!"]

"Hello! I’m Shiina Mahiru, 22 years old! I may be incompetent, but it’s a pleasure meeting you!"

Mahiru: Right…… so you too, Mu-chan…Hmm, I guess it’s because of the environment here. Sometimes your mental state has an impact. Mu: …You’re the same, then? …that it’s gone…… Mahiru: …it’ll be fine, it’ll be fine. This sort of thing happens all the time~

I guess we can just say that this feeling is happiness I can't stop feeling like there's something missing

We can both feel lonely sometimes, but wonder if you'll get angry soon

We fought sometimes, I was happy to get hurt Let's have matching pain, this sickness is pretty bad

This is a claim of responsibility From the two of us with matching love Wanting to know everything about you, but wanting to die because it can't come true It's all because of love

Don’t lose focus even when exercising! The pastel tones mean not only do you look ready to go but also give off a cute oneesan appeal. Even for a rougher style of dress you can’t be careless! Painted toenails and a necklace show some attention to detail to make for a sexy casual style. Just because it’s outdoors doesn’t mean you can relax too much! Even when picking out a date outfit to protect you from the cold, you still want to protect that loveable silhouette.

Most damning of all I'll say is Mahiru's parasite cover. The song tells a story about a scorned girlfriend who was used for sex and seeks alcohol in order to deal with her lingering feelings for ex-boyfriend. At one point Miku throws a bouquet back mirroring Mahiru's desire for a wedding.

(hmm funny how the "mahiru is a yandere because she covered psychogram" crowd was silent about this cover i wonder whyyyy)

Why can’t you understand? I hate you! Never touch me again

Wait a second, when did things start going wrong? I loved the bad parts too, everything was fine

It’s even worse when you are nice to me, But I don’t want to be given the cold shoulder [Most of all, Mahiru desires attention from her boyfriend. In her T1 MV she mentions how he "not the brightest so he never notices that I go to the beautician." This is a likely a blow to her self confidence given the heavy emphasis she has on appearing pretty. Sporadically across the magazines there's lines about "not slacking off" in public because people are always watching.]

Hey, give me back the time I used loving you, You liar. But I still love you

Hey, please don’t leave me behind, Hey, I’m hungry [This line always makes me so sad. In Mahiru's cover there's a beep to imply she's leaving this as a voice-mail for her boyfriend. Once again fulfilling our "stay with me always" clinging symbolism quota.]

Pretend not to see spitting out saliva, You're going to throw me away as incombustible waste

It’s just a bunch of “why”, I can’t change, I want to…I don’t want to leave

Hey, I want you to let me hug you at the last moment, thank you. And now, you are too (a parasite)

It's the last line I'd like to highlight because, all in one song, we've reinforced Mahiru's happiness in the relationship and the clinging symbolism. Mahiru and her boyfriend were both parasites who's clung onto eachother and deprived eachother of nutrients. Both of you suck!!

Then there's Mahiru's two symbolic locations: the birdcage and the carousel. Both of Mahiru's mindscapes places her in the same location: her home, as evident by the couches with pillows.

Personally, I subscribe to the idea the Day 16's house belong to Mahiru or it's a shared home with her boyfriend. If the poor financial situation theory is correct then the two might've decided to live together to cut costs (or Mahiru pressured him into agreeing). Her boyfriend works at a convenience store so he's probably not as financially well-off as Mahiru who recieves an allowance.

However, on a subconscious level, Mahiru thinks of her their home as a birdcage. As stated before, bluebirds can't survive in birdcages, and this is represented by her boyfriend's feathers falling from stress. Something interesting I'd like to note is that Mahiru considers leaving the birdcage but instead decides to dive back into the feathers, causing her boyfriend even more stress. Say with me: clinging 👏 until 👏 you 👏 suffocate 👏 imagery.

"Hmm... I’m a little troubled that I can’t go home, but... It’s fine, I guess. Even if I go home, there’s nothing left... And, I find it fun talking to you!"

Then, after her boyfriend's death, she thinks of their home as a carousel ride. The ledge at the beginning of the MV implies that—rather than an expansive space like Mu's beehive—the carousel is a small space. It's only Mahiru, the couch, the carousel, and a dead corspe. All she's able to do is fall asleep or ride the carousel again by herself, knowing she'll have to get off at some point. It's once again that imagery of something which is cramped and suffocating.

Both of her mindscapes cut them off from the outside world. Within her own mind all that matters is simply her and her boyfriend.

04. The Only You Can('t) Leave

Finally, I'd like to note something which has been sitting on my mind: Mahiru's themes of destiny and rebirth.

Q. What do you think happens when people die? Mahiru: They go to heaven!

Lovers committing double suicide believed that they would be united again in heaven, a view supported by feudal teaching in Edo period Japan, which taught that the bond between two lovers is continued into the next world, and by the teaching of Pure Land Buddhism wherein it is believed that through double suicide, one can approach rebirth in the Pure Land.

(big credit to doctorbunny's and archivalofsins's work on the this is how to be inlove with you locations for pointing this out! ily2 please check them out)

On Day 8, Mahiru goes with her boyfriend to go see "Your Name." Take this with a grain salt because I haven't see the actual movie— I refuse to watch a Makoto Shinkai film until he's allowed to write yuri—but the general gist is that two teenagers from 2013 and 2016 end up swapping bodies. Later, it's revealed that Mitsuha, the main heroine, is fated to die from a comet hitting the earth in the future. Fortunately, through time shenanigans, her fate ends up being altered and both teens end up surviving.

A romance movie featuring a dead lover and a mid relationship? Why, it's perfect for Mahiru!

The two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of place, time, or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break. This myth is similar to the Western concept of soulmate or a destined partner.

Okay, okay, jokes aside that's not the sole reason I'm bringing up Your Name. Ofcourse, what's most interesting is it's theme of soulmates and how it relates to Mahiru.

Mahiru: Yeah. – Him and I… we loved each other. Properly as boyfriend and girlfriend. We met in college… It was the first time for me, so I don’t know if it was good or not, but… I think we were just normally going out together. I thought it was fate. He said it was, too.

Q. How did you meet your lover? Mahiru: We met eyes at the university terrace. I really felt like it was fate.

On the terrace at university, when I met eyes with that person I knew it must be fate. I might have been born purely so I could one day end up together with him. Or not, am I just overthinking things?

I ran into the person I’m interested in at the bread shop. This has to be fate, right? In the end I ended up buying the same bread as he got, but maybe I don’t need this much… > < I wasn’t thinking about the calories.

We went to one of the filming locations for a movie we both like! This sort of thing can only happen in Tokyo huh! It really must be fate that even our taste in movies lines up. I feel like a totally different person to before I met him… [Once again the movie she's talking about Your Name which is one of the highest grossing anime films of all times... bestie... ily but your rose colored glasses are blinding!!!]

Namely, once again, we're reinforcing the theme of clinging together until you suffocate. Two soulmates forced into loving eachother by the hands of fate. It's a very romantic idea twisted into something heart-wrenching.

The idea of "saving your lover from death" is briefly reflected Day 8 where Mahiru gives her boyfriend a hangover cure from called Corspe Reviver. A bit on the nose, don't you think?

This sections dawdles a little bit from the whole Shinju Theory but it felt off if I didn't include it. Given Shidou's entire character revolves around killing in order to save his loved ones, I can almost imagine Mahiru's murder was to save her boyfriend as well. There's not much evidence but... it's certainly there, right?

05. Conclusion

Aha, this post kind of devolved from "heres my shinju theory" and moreso "wow, Mahiru has a lot of suffocation imagery" which is true. There's so much of it. I don't even think this is all of it!

Theres alot more I wanted to add but... I'm not good with writing long posts if you couldn't tell! If anyone would like to add onto this for me I'd be thrilled ❤️

[theprincelyking]

Improving some old HGS redesigns I did a few years ago

Since I'm back at that stage for some reasons I can say for certain I've definitely done a lot of redesigns of these characters, of course, not all of them were good, so I'm taking four of them that I never posted and pointing out where I messed up and trying to figure out what to do next . Rosemary - I feel like I made her hair too complex, It got so complex I made a chart with all the items in it. I need to trim the list down. I'm not completely sure I like the bangs I gave her. Prolly keeping the scars but I don't like the line weight I gave them. Also I NEED to bulk up her arms to show off her strength

(There's 20 items here total, god almighty I'm gonna have a stroke, gonna have to trim the fat the moment I draw her again)

Sage - it's just I've updated the lore on witches so I need to add blue into her eyes. I'll make the braids chunkier so I don't have to draw tiny "Split Hearts". The rose and lavender need to be brighter since the lavender can barely be seen in her hat, might change some colors too. maybe desaturate the hat a bit too.

Parsley - Parsley definitely needs more of an overhaul. No orange on the boots. Give the belt done loops to slide through, gonna have to change up the belt color too. Also gonna add hair to her ears for sure. Might give her back her black brows because I forgot those. May re-redesign eyes too. Also. Not sure if the suspenders were a good idea. I wanted to connect it back to her causal outfit, but it looks like of awkward here. Maybe it just needs to be a different color? (And ACTUALLY attached to the belt?)

Thyme -Honestly the biggest flaw with Thyme is the shoes and that green. Also I'm not gonna use that logo for the shirt so it's outdated. I think I'll replace the green with gold Greek style sandles. These shoes aren't bad, they just don't fit. Maybe her old shoes can get recycled into something she wears from the fairy woods with her Giant Elf family and such. Also getting rid of the extra bandage on the leg.

That's all for today folks!

Not my best redesigns, but some elements I would definitely keep. Reminder that not every piece of art or first draft design is gonna be a banger and that's fine!

[sherlynnxy]

 ‘Is blogging still relevant in the age of TikToks and Instagram?’

MDA 20009 Digital Communities

Hello and welcome to my blog, I hope you all had a great weekend :)

In today's “gen-z” era, media platforms like Tiktok and Instagram are becoming a frequent trend. As new forms of content such as videos, podcasts and social media platforms continue to dominate, some believe that the era of the traditional blog is coming to an end. One of the questions that is constantly being explored is, “In the age of TikToks and Instagram, is there still a point to blogging? However, based on my observations, I don't think blogging is dead, there is still a market for blogging, rather it has evolved and adapted to the changing digital landscape and can be differentiated from the audience of social media platforms. A closer look reveals that blogging will still have considerable value in 2024, for both individuals and businesses.

Before we dive into this topic, let's define Blog, Tiktok and Instagram.

Background: What is Blog, TikTok and Instagram?

According to Dennis, M.A. (2024), blog is an online journal in which an individual, group, or company presents a record of activities, thoughts, or beliefs. A blog consists of more than just words and pictures, and it can't be just words. Instead, it's a sum of text, layout, connections and links, and posting speed (Blogging, n.d.). Examples include blogger.com and wordpress.com, as well as Tumblr, which is the application you are now using to view this post :3

In addition, Herring et al.'s 2004 study showed that not only did personal blogs reveal their feelings and experiences, but that the mainstream media considered blogs to be newsworthy or relevant to current events, calling them “a new genre of journalism” (Filloux, 2009; Hermida, 2010), and that professional journalists were adopting the blog format as well.

Social media has been defined by Obar and Wildman (2015) that it is a mobile and internet-based platforms used to facilitate various forms of communication, social interaction, marketing and knowledge sharing (Hovestadt et al., 2021). Also, others define the term as ‘a web-based service or platform based on web 2.0 technology that enables sharing, co-creation, discussion and modification of user-generated content’ (Werder et al. 2014). Famous social media include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.  

TikTok is a relatively new social media platform that allows users to create and share short videos of up to 15 seconds in length. As a user-generated content (UGC) platform, it has become a popular application for sharing videos (Feldkamp, 2021)

While research by Larson & Draper (2017), Instagram is a mobile application that allows users to instantly transform mobile phone snapshots into visually appealing images that can then be shared with others on the web Van Dijck (2013). TikTok and Instagram have become popular platforms for marketing campaigns because the content shared on these platforms is short, fun, trendy, creative and interactive (Zhang, 2020).

Do Blogging still holds significant value?

There is a perception that blogging may be seen as a dying industry.

Source: HubSpot

The data shows that 73% of respondents admit to skimming blog posts, while 27% read them carefully. Teicher (2020) has stated that 75% of the public prefers reading articles under 1,000 words. Teicher (2020) states that 75% of the public prefers to read articles of less than 1000 words.

Due to shifting consumption patterns and a culture of ‘instant gratification’ - in this age of instant information and short attention spans - a comprehensive and detailed approach to blog writing may seem somewhat outdated and unnecessary. Infographics and visualizations are designed to be visually appealing and interactive, which helps to capture the attention of the target audience more effectively than a lot of text (Blogging, n.d.).

However, in my opinion, blogging is not a dying industry. Even in the age of TikTok and Instagram, blogging is still relevant because of its unique capabilities, especially when it comes to deep content, personal expression, and fostering community engagement. Here are some statistics that prove that blogging is still significant.

Source: Statista

Source: Social Media Today

Evidently, there are 1.8 billion websites in the digital ecosystem and more than 600 million blogs worldwide (Armstrong 2021). Accordingly, 77% of internet users still read blogs. (Walker-Ford, 2017) which reveals that blogging is still incredibly valuable. 

Source: HubSpot

On top of that, this survey results that show that blogging is still alive and well. The findings show that people enjoy reading blogs that teach them how to do new things, solve problems, and learn about new trends related to their career or industry.

Personally, I also like to use blogs when I'm learning something new, as it's perfect for providing in-depth tutorials, comprehensive guides or sharing personal experiences rather than short descriptions.

Additionally, blogs can be used not only for the purpose of sharing one's thoughts, but also as an educational tool. Oravec states that blogging is appropriate for students and helps to encourage participation in the classroom. According to Alsareef (2013), students are generally satisfied with taking courses online through social networks because it is easy to use, classes become more interesting, it provides more flexibility for extracurricular activities, and they are able to feel well educated.

Here's the end...

In short, blogging is still relevant in the age of TikTok and Instagram, and both platforms clearly have their own unique strengths and nuances. Blogging allows for in-depth content creation, while Instagram focuses on visual storytelling. However, blogs can continue to fulfill different social and informational needs, making them adaptable and relevant in the broader digital landscape. For example, blogs can also embrace the power of multimedia, and bloggers can consider incorporating images, infographics, and GIFs to enhance the visual appeal of their content and help segment text. According to a survey by Bump (2024), 32% of respondents said that videos, images, or other multimedia are the elements that interest them most when reading blog content.

Thank you for reading! See ya in next post ;)

Reference:

Alshareef, M. A. (2013). Evaluate student satisfaction for social learning network at King Abdulaziz University. Advances in Internet of Things, 03(03), 41–44. https://doi.org/10.4236/ait.2013.33006

Armstrong, M. (2021, August 6). How many websites are there? Statista Daily Data. https://www.statista.com/chart/19058/number-of-websites-online/

Blogging. (n.d.). Google Books. https://books.google.com.my/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VrhvqxjhSaEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP5&dq=blog&ots=JCUTMzaBSN&sig=aHWVbBua_dTSGpcZFQ4ctnfubOA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=blog&f=false

Bump, P. (2024, January 2). The Top 3 Reasons consumers read blogs & How to attract them in 2024 [New data]. HubSpot. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/why-do-people-read-blogs#:~:text=In%20this%20blog%20post,%20I%E2%80%98ll%20walk%20you%20through#:~:text=In%20this%20blog%20post,%20I%E2%80%98ll%20walk%20you%20through

Dennis, M. Aaron (2024, September 17). blog. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/blog

Feldkamp, J. (2021). The rise of TikTok: the evolution of a social media platform during COVID-19. In SpringerBriefs in information systems (pp. 73–85). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66611-8_6

Hovestadt, C., Recker, J., Richter, J., & Werder, K. (2021). Digital responses to COvid-19. In SpringerBriefs in information systems. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66611-8

Teicher, J. (2020, August 19). The lost art of the Mid-Range blog post. Contently. https://contently.com/2019/01/14/mid-range-blog-post/

Walker-Ford, M. (2017, December 4). The benefits of Blogging: 20+ stats Business owners need to know [Infographic]. Social Media Today. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/the-benefits-of-blogging-20-stats-business-owners-need-to-know-infograph/511816/

Van Dijck, J. (2013). Social media platforms as producers. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263565270_Social_Media_Platforms_as_Producers#:~:text=With%20the%20prolific%20use%20of%20social%20media%20platforms,

Zhang, J. (2020). Study on social media marketing campaign strategy -- TikTok and Instagram. https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/127010

[beardedmrbean]

Some Gen Zers have grown critical of capitalism in recent years.

Rather than dismiss the whole system, many are embracing an idea one researcher calls "safety capitalism."

Gen Zers are less likely to take certain risks, which could be one reason they want more of a social safety net. 

When someone loses their job or can't work for health reasons, how much government support should they receive? If you ask many Gen Zers that question, they'll say the current social safety net is insufficient.

Christina Elson, executive director of the Center for the Study of Capitalism at Wake Forest University, told Business Insider that many young people have embraced an idea she calls "safety capitalism."

The theory behind safety capitalism is that a successful capitalist system can and should provide sufficient protection — or safety — for those who need support following circumstances like a job loss or illness. One of the key questions facing any economic system is, "What should failure look like," Elson asked.

While many Americans receive support from a variety of social programs such as unemployment, food stamps, or disability, some of these have been scaled back since the height of the pandemic. As things stand, many Gen Zers think the US's social safety net is inadequate.

Sixty-five percent of Gen Zers think the government should provide a job to anyone who wants one, according to a Wake Forest survey of 2,000 Gen Zers and millennials conducted with YouGov in 2022. Forty-five percent said they had a positive impression of universal basic income policies. In a 2023 survey conducted by the same group, 65% percent of Gen Zers said unemployment payments should match one's salary.

Most Gen Zers still support capitalist ideas like private home ownership and entrepreneurship, Elson said. But many are frustrated with how the high costs of things like healthcare, housing, and education have taken a financial toll on Americans — and think these systems could benefit from more government intervention.

"You hear about 'billionaires should be outlawed' — that really isn't the issue," Elson previously told BI regarding Gen Zer's concerns. "The issue is the bottom. What is the appropriate bottom living standard for an American citizen, and what role should the government have in ensuring that people don't fall below that?"

Some are even turning away from capitalism altogether. In a Business Insider survey conducted last July of over 1,800 Americans, 28% of Gen Z respondents said they somewhat or strongly preferred the economic system of socialism over capitalism, the most of any generation. Twenty-nine percent of Gen Zers preferred capitalism — the rest didn't have a preference or weren't sure.

Why Gen Z wants an expanded safety net

Compared to past generations, young people today are less likely to drive, drink, have sex, and more likely to live at home, per some surveys. Elson said these examples point to a level of risk aversion that may be unique to Gen Zers.

"Gen Z are 'younger for longer,' — they go out into the world slower," she said, adding, "What is it that this generation needs in order to feel that they're able to go out there and take risks?"

Elson said many Gen Zers seek a "redesign of social safety" to enhance what some feel is an outdated system. For example, unemployment insurance and Social Security were introduced nearly 90 years ago during the Great Depression.

The financial challenges currently facing the Social Security system — due in part to the US's aging population — are arguably further evidence of a system that's in need of reform.

"All of this network has been designed for another time and place," Elson said.

Exactly what, if any, changes the US should make to its social safety net is up for debate. Some young people may look to Europe, where countries generally have a larger social safety net than the US.

In Germany, eligible unemployed individuals receive between 60% and 67% of their previous salary for up to a year. Policies like universal health insurance and guaranteed sick leave are also more common in Europe. Before temporary changes were enacted during the pandemic, most US states offered six months of unemployment benefits, with Americans collecting an average of $372 a week, per PBS.

Regardless, Elson said it's important that the US's entrepreneurial culture — which can reward risk-taking and drive economic progress — remains intact.

Most businesses fail, but as prominent investor Charlie Munger once said — and Elson referenced in a recent post — a level of failure may be necessary to have a thriving economy.

"Capitalism without failure is like religion without hell," Munger said.

[erzfreu]

gonna show off more concept art now that my project's finally launched to my english speaking crowd :3

this is isarno! she has gone through many design iterations. started off just with "hmmm i want a cat that can dig" and ended up here!

designs for the wolfdog mounts appearing in the first chapter. had a lot of fun designing the riding gear

and this is one of my first "proof of concept" drawings. the designs here are really outdated, but this is still one of my favorite pieces coming out of the comic so far

and even researched some old alpine folk art patterns to put on the character's woven cloaks

some OLDD concept art for you as well. there may or may not be sentient raven people in the story at some point

[dizzysnowbully]

Destructive Criticism in the SSO Community

I have noticed the increasing amount of destructive criticism in the SSO community since the character update. It is clear the majority of the player base does not understand what constructive criticism is, and how it is harmful.

A quote from an article on thriveworks.com  

“...constructive criticism uplifts, offers suggestions, and even provides possible solutions, destructive criticism is cutting, derogatory, and sometimes even mocks our failures.”

Everybody believes that Star Stable Online is a huge company, and that they should be held accountable for their poor management of the game. However, destructive criticism insults the recipient and offers no solutions for improvement. No matter how large a company may be, this type of criticism is unhelpful and overall unnecessary. 

Image credit:  Jayne Pritchard@SlinkyScience·Oct 13, 2020

More importantly in regards to the character update, by insulting the larger body types and particular facial features (ie. hooked noses, large lips) whether directly or indirectly is an outright attack on real people that have those characteristics. It has gotten to the point where people are being bullied over their CHARACTER’S APPEARANCE both in and outside of the game.

If you love this game so much but consistently attack the team at every opportunity, do you really love it at all?

I am an older player. I have been playing Star Stable since 2013. The character update is LONG overdue, and I am happy to see how much care and consideration they put into it. It is clear they wanted to be inclusive and provide a diverse range of options. It is a shame the player base had such a vile reaction. That is not denying the fact that there are issues. 

Now, I am no video game designer BUT I do know a thing or two about website design and I know from experience that code never just works. At this point bugs are expected especially with such a large and important update. 

Opinions are NOT constructive criticism. Personal opinions on the body types have no real value especially when y’all know good and well they said they would add more. Some players to simply call the characters “ugly” and not explain further because they don’t have a reason.

Artists that are familiar with the basic elements and principals of design understand the new characters are not poorly designed. The original character models were not badly designed either for that matter. They were simply outdated. 

With that said let me address some of the complaints that have nothing to do with the design aspects of the characters:

Addressing Common Complaints:

The characters are too big? No. They aren’t. You are just accustomed to looking at a toothpick. The models have been scaled up to better suit the environment. You will get used to it.

The characters are too fat? Well it’s a good thing pixels weigh absolutely nothing.

There aren’t any skinny options. I want curves. COPE. There will be more body types released later, and if that really bothers you I think you should get a life and find something else to worry about.

I don’t like the giant facial features and hooked noses. They aren’t FOR YOU. Pick a face that doesn’t have them. There will be more added later.

Why couldn’t they just release it all the first time? It was stated in the news/blog they have to release it in small portions so not to overwhelm the toasters that some of y’all play on. Also this update has been highly anticipated and in this day and age of Tik Tok kids are too impatient to wait another year.

The animations are bad. They are far more realistic and natural than the original. See no.1 

These complaints are all opinion based and have no valuable feedback. Constructive criticism looks at both the good and bad. Yes, you can like the new characters, but also not be entirely satisfied with them. In all fairness, they are unfinished (See complaints: no.5)

The overwhelming negativity in this community is going to drag us all to Hell. You simply cannot expect an MMO as old as Star Stable to not change. Look at School of Dragons for example. That game is being shut down because it could not keep up with the advancements or didn’t care to. 

In conclusion: I am tired.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 

[emwheezie]

You want some oc questions i'll give you some oc questions:

For those that dye their hair, do they have hair dying hangouts and if so, at whose house?

Do any of them have pets?

And do you have any other personality "identifiers" like zodiac or meyers briggs stuff for them? Oooh maybe like their animal crossing personality (if you've ever played that)

Thanks for your questions!!!

hmm I've never really considered this! Gia and Theo probably would, she has bright blue hair and at some point Theo gets pink hair. Also they're married so it makes the most sense hahaha... Dimitri and Oli might too, Dimitri's purple and Oli is blond but the back/underneath of his hair is black.

Oh and I'm just now remembering that Dimitri and Liv definitely do this together. I even drew them, this takes place at a way later part in the story.

It would make a cute non-canon illustration to draw them all doing their hair together though!

This is Dimitri's elderly beagle Fenway!! and also a TERRIBLE doodle of Lennon (very outdated design) with Alyssa's cats from January 2020. (I was a college animation major and trying to gear my art style closer to some cartoony stuff) One of Alyssa's cat's name is Plumbob. I thought for sure we had names for the other two but I can't find it in my notes at all! Eventually Lennon and Alyssa get two more cats together and Lennon names them Monopoly and Xerox. Alyssa's dream pet is a cow and she wants to name it Peanut Butter!!

Here is most of the character's birthdays and signs and some MBTI

Lennon McManus - June 21 1986. Cancer. ISFP.

Dimitri William Stanley Wretzky - October 3 1983. Libra. ENFP

Enzo Vincenzo - November 1 1986. Scorpio. ISTJ

Theodore (Theo) Stussy - February 20 1984. Pisces.

Olivier LaBlanc - April 2 1985. Aries.

Olivia (Liv) Godding - July 30 1985. Leo.

Rosalynn (Rosie) Langley - January 28 1986. Aquarius.

Parker (Park) Oakley  - December 3 1989. Sagittarius.

Alyssa (needs a last name ahhhh) - May 19 1989. Taurus.

I'd give them animal crossing personality types but the categories are too narrow? If that makes sense.

[ut-versotale]

Update Time, Update Time

Welcome back, everyone. Hope you all had a very happy New Years! I come bearing a late present for you all: A Versotale update!

Game Progress

As I anticipated, I needed to take a break around the middle of November so I could focus on schoolwork. Now that we've been on break for a little while again and will continue to be for the better part of January, I've already gotten a sizable chunk of stuff done. Still not as much as I would've LIKED to have completed - There are still like only three fully-completed rooms at the moment, and even then they have a ton of WIP assets and first-pass dialogue and all - but, that is the way of coding a game solo, mostly from scratch, and with the occasional glances at Undertale's code, isn't it?

Unfortunately, while I really want to share stuff with you guys, it's all in some way a spoiler that I don't want to spoil for the people who'd rather experience everything fresh for themselves.

...

So, if you DO wanna experience everything fresh for yourself, feel free to bow out of this post here. If you're sticking around, enjoy some mild spoiler-y content, some character designs, and some fun vague allusions to things I still really wanna talk about! I need to give you guys SOMETHING after this long wait, right?

Game Progress: Slightly Spoiler-y Edition

The OPENING CUTSCENE you saw a while back has been tweaked slightly to make Hercine more likable, and so the dialogue can flow a bit more naturally.

Two new cutscenes have been added to the beginning, albeit with some rough visuals. These three all flow into each other, and if you're speaking through each line of dialogue, they only take up about six minutes total. Still, it is a TAD bit too long for my liking without any gameplay behind it, so there's a chance I might cut a cutscene or switch the order of things around so there's a brief gameplay section before the last one. Who knows.

Undyne has been redesigned. Undyne now sports some less bulky armor that combines aspects of her canon casual and armored forms. If she's gonna be there the entire game, she may as well have a visually-interesting design rather than the blob of bluish-grey her armor used to be. I'm sure some people will consider this a downgrade, which is always the risk you run when you redesign a character you've already shown off... but I personally just can't stand working with that old design any longer. The colors barely pop, it looks messy, the armor's boring and flat-colored and almost even blends into her scales, etc.

You didn't get to see the outdated Frisk design I had for this iteration of the project, and I'm glad you didn't, because upon writing more of their scenes and reconfiguring their personality, I HAD to redesign them again. I don't anticipate this one changing ANY time soon, but, as with Undyne, no promises.

Next up, some important human characters in the first area that AREN'T Frisk! You'll meet them later on, and I really hope you all end up liking them and the story behind them! In the meantime, here, have their designs. Again, they might change, but I'm comfortable with these for now.

That's all I feel comfortable showing off for the first area at the moment! I'm hoping to record everything up until the first save point and post it on YouTube at some point before the end of January (Again, as I must reiterate, in its very unfinished form), but no promises!

While that's all for the first area, I have been poking around with redesigning some of the later characters you guys have not even seen yet. Particularly, the primary antagonist of the new Cold West. I have to admit, I was a little worried that, if I didn't switch up his design, people would start comparing him to Clover since Undertale Yellow is still fresh in a lot of our memories right now, but... I think you guys will really like "The long scarf of the law." He's a fun character.

Alright, that's all from me! I hope you guys enjoyed this brief little peek at some mild spoiler-y content! I hope to be back soon with some neat stuff for y'all to see in action!

[civettictis]

spare some thoughts on hi part 2 ?

tldr; Mostly concerned! Trying to be optimistic.

I'll start off with the new UI (user interface) because it's probably the easiest to discuss. The Ui pretty much just lost a lot of personality. Sure, it fits with the game's aesthetic (in some ways), but it's lost most of its charm. While the old UI looks somewhat outdated, I think the current (to-be old) UI of hi3 feels very personal and unique. I suppose it's unfair of me to have previously wanted the UI updated and be this whiny about it actually being updated though. To be fair, many changes may take place about the new UI, especially with how the community has been critiquing it, so I'm hopeful they'll take valid critiques to heart and adjust it to not just melt into another generic rpg gacha design.

My biggest quarrel would be with the way characters are displayed, but as for the way they changed the interference for the story selection and all of that, I like it. It's not *too* different, and it looks clean (albeit dull in colour)

Now, the thing I find myself the most concerned with would be the Part 2 story. The characters, the setting, and the aesthetics. For starters, the MC... I think she's very pretty. However, I really dislike the sort of nameless "self-insert" main characters. I think it's a boring cop-out, and it takes away from a lot of the overall story immersion (ironically enough). Kiana, from the very beginning, had a very strong personality, and the way her story progressed would be near impossible to accomplish effectively with a self-insert MC (taking how they've written self-insert MCs before with Genshin, HSR, APHO into consideration) It's a lot more challenging to write a compelling storyline with consistent immersion if the main character, the core of the story, lacks some sort of "self". I'm absolutely not saying it's impossible, but I can't say I'm especially optimistic about the Part 2 MC with how it's looking right now.

The overall character designs for part 2 are a bit of a far cry from the part 1 ones, especially the ones for the most recent arcs. However, this is not an especially bad thing. While it's different, I think it's good that they're straying away from having too similar character designs like the last Herrschers of part 1 (even if it makes some sense story-wise.) I don't especially love the new character designs (except for the female MC. Again, I find her very pretty (even if she looks a lot more like a HSR design). But that's unrelated and doesn't really take away from my point lol). They feel a little too out of place with the established aesthetics of HI3, and even though it is nice to have some separation from the part 1 and part 2 designs, they should keep it similar enough to be recognized as a HI3 design.

Overall, with the designs and aesthetics, it seems that they are going for a do-over for the entire game instead of creating something new as a continuation of what's already there. There's too much left unsaid or unused from part 1 that I feel that it is justified that they move on entirely (even if there appears to be a few references to part 1 in part 2, with Einstein's adopted child, as well as speculated Elysia connections to Part 2 characters iirc)

While the majority of Part 2 is pure speculation currently, I just hope that they don't neglect Part 1's story and characters like I suspect they might. I hope they use what's already there, and refrain from making HI3's lore so much more convoluted than it has to be, merely for the sake of moving on from what nearly no one in the community wished to move on from entirely.

Continuing a little with my worries for the plot, I worry they may dilute the intensity of the plot by a lot, or neglect the writing a bit. I myself find that one of the most, if not the most important parts of HI3 for me is the story, so the thought of it turning generic concerns me. I do feel like the recent chapters have been a little lackluster in comparison to chapters like Thunders over Nagazora or Set Tomorrow Ablaze, but that may just be personal preference, and i do enjoy that they have been reincluding characters like Schrodinger!!!!!!, Shigure Kira and Niggurath. Honestly, if they do go in the direction that they neglect Part 1 for the most part, it feels like an awful choice considering the buildup they've done with all of these reintroductions, as well as the major exposition they've done for the Sea of Quanta. With one of the quotes from the Part 2 teaser, I worry they won't make the story "gritty" at all. Honestly, something I adore about the HI3 story is just how dark it can get, and if anything, I hope they don't hold back in Part 2. It feels like the story has been getting a little lighter in that sense recently, and I feel as if it takes away a bit of the intensity in the story, as well as the stakes or even consequences.

With the way hoyoverse has been updating games recently, it seems that if one thing in one of their games sticks, they feel the need to apply it to their other games, even if the change is unnecessary. While this has brought some good changes to the games, with HI3 Part 2, it feels like they're only trying to cater to individuals who don't play HI3, but play HSR or any other of the newer HYV games. Biggest worry about this point: they'll go back to pushing Hi3 to be Open World. (Although that is very unlikely with how much the Hi3 community has critiqued previous open world gameplay in Hi3)

In general, I just really hope HI3 puts effort and love into the Part 2 story, characters and world. I pray that I am to be proven wrong in most of my concerns, and that speculation will remain speculation, and that my worries will be near nullified once Part 2 is out (over-optimistic thought). Everything I write here is undoubtedly thoughts that will change drastically, or at the very least, a little when there is more information known. I'm having a lot of trouble articulating myself at all with this stuff, but that’s just how it’ll be, I’m afraid. Keep in mind that this is all very subjective, and I'm merely speaking from my own thoughts. Some of which I feel that I didn't manage to express very well.

Anywho! I really like answering, or even just pondering my orb (asks like this) cause I just love Hi3 and thinking about Hi3 and all of that teehee

so likee,,, if people want to ask me more stuff about my interestst, please do

[confettimafia]

HELLO! Are you or someone you know confused about voting or have a weird situation and haven’t figured it out yet?

I have some helpful infographics for you!!

Can you still register?*

*Information found here, please double check. Some weird circumstances like moving after registering before may still allow affidavit voting, sometimes asking in person or over the phone may be best to make absolutely sure you can’t vote.

Can you early vote right now?*

*Information found here, please double check. This is referring to early voting in person. This should avoid the longest lines on Election Day and works if you can’t easily make it that day. Check the hours and places available in your region.

Can you still apply for mail in ballot?*

*Information found here, please double check. This is referring to applying for absentee or mail in ballots and when the application needs to be received. Some states have different rules on what qualifies or last minute emergency exceptions past this, so again, calling or asking in person helps. Some states have specific offices to do this. The time of day of the deadline can differ.

Can you still send in a mail in ballot?*

*Information found here, please double check. This is referring to when mail in ballots have to be postmarked or received. This often differs if handed in person, sent by mail, or handed in my an emergency designated person. If you lose it, you can often vote in person instead and sign an affidavit that you won’t send in a second vote etc. The time of day even differs on these deadlines or where you can drop them off.

**More Disclaimers: Some states require identification, some require proof of residence, the point is there are a lot of niche rules so you should act now if you are eligible to vote regardless of circumstance to figure out if it’s at all possible. Don’t assume anything. So many people are disenfranchised by this confusing process, do the best you can to ensure they can’t do it to you. Even down ballot voting can be life or death for some people right now, and generally a lot of impact on yourself and others, so if you can’t vote this time around ensure you register for future years. If you are reading this not in 2024, these maps will be outdated since some deadlines are days of the week before elections and not calendar dates.

Here’s another post that has more helpful links for registering figuring out where you can vote, checking your registration etc. A helpful FAQ if you will. Both of these took forever to make but it was very rewarding if it helps anyone. This is a really anxious time for a lot of us, so doing something really helps, even if it’s just getting the word out and sharing.

[summmeister]

A Look Over the Art I Made in 2023

2023 has come and gone, with a sizeable improvement on my art skills. Once again, I am VERY proud of the work I managed to accomplish this year. I'll be going over some of the highlights month by month in this post, being sure to point out anything of note.

JANUARY

Starting off the year, I made some new artwork of Skweeb! I consider this fairly outdated now, but it did start a few trends with the character, mainly how I draw shine on him. His eyes bulge outwards, they're not holes! I also drew @akfamilyhome's character, Leddy.

FEBRUARY

This was a BIG month for me! I tried a lot of new things, and most of them worked out! This month also contains what I consider to be one of my best drawings this year, a celebration of Hollow Knight's 6th anniversary. Other highlights include a dashing tribute to Dangeresque and an entirely new reference sheet for Skweeb!

MARCH

March was not a particularly noteworthy month. These are the only two drawings from it! That said, I am quite happy getting any drawings out this month at all! As you'll see later on, this wasn't actually my most dry month.

APRIL

A VERY full month! I can't even fit everything I wanted to! Lots of Skweeb here, some Lucy too! Also a fitting send-off to Courtney (very sad Dead End got cancelled). Tried some big things here, like with the parody Album art, but for the most part I was just doing what I was good at: simple character full-bodies.

MAY

VERY dry month for art. This is the only piece from May! I participated in @some-fool-fp's aRtPG collab this month. Skweeb joins the party!!!!! Made my own custom logo for him, too.

I had a LOT of college work this month. I was working on a game!!! I got the highest grade possible on it, very proud of that. If you would like to play it, you can do so here. Just a warning though, it's very short and VERY jank at times.

JUNE

Another big month!! Some proper reference of Winslow, another Jevil drawing, and my FAVORITE piece of Skweeb art to date!!! The pose and the shading is just so good on it, I love it.

JULY

...Well this is awkward.

Art Fight was this month, and with all of my effort going towards that, I kinda... didn't draw any of my own art this month. Whoops.

Let's press fast forward, shall we?

AUGUST

A NEW OC WAS CREATED THIS MONTH!!!! Meet Chao. He helps out at the circus. He babby. I put a TON of effort into getting his design just right and ensuring he had the proper referencing before working on anything else. I love this 'lil guy.

Also some of my favorite art from this year!!! Inspired by Lemon Demon's "One Weird Tip", I made some art that takes place on a ficticous desktop! Getting the shapes and text right was hard, but I am so glad I put the time and effort in.

SEPTEMBER

Always Watching.

WOW, I am so so proud of what I accomplished with this CoTL piece. Everything from the pose to the composition and the use of colour is just PERFECT. This is up there in my favourite pieces of art from this year.

Skweeb and Jack Frost are here too... wait, it's not December yet!

OCTOBER

A certain someone turned 2 this month! My baby boy, now 2 years old... how time flies...

It was halloween this month too... but Skweeb isn't dressing up this year. It's Lucy in his place! Got some nice Jax art here too, I love that asshole.

NOVEMBER

I was never the most content with my previous Jevil artwork. I never felt like I was giving it my all, which is why I'm happy to say that this month, I did!

I also took a second shot at drawing Jax; this time, featuring Pomni! I used thinner lines and taught myself how to draw hands a whole lot better, I think it helped, haha.

Lastly, (part of) my piece for @hillelart's 10th Anniversary FNAF collab! The full thing is staying secret for now. Keep an eye out for January 15th!

DECEMBER

Finally, we arrive at December.

Funnily enough, I didn't actually draw for half the month. But when I got back into it, I got BACK in. I'm very proud of both of these pieces, and the shading and blending I used in them! This certainly feels like a new era of my art, and I'm looking forward to continuing it!

And that's it. You made it to the end! Most people just together a simple image for their art recap, and while that certainly works just fine, I like to go into the nitty gritty, write down my entire year in art, y'know?

I'm not sure if this year contains as much progress as 2022, but it certainly contains a BOATLOAD of progress! Look back at the start of the post and compare it to the end of the post, the difference is insane!

Lastly, I've got just one more thing to show, once again, redrawing my first ever piece to mark off yet another year. I hope you like it, you'll only have to wait another 365 days for the next one!

Bring on 2024!