#well. not like i’ll get this game without waiting for reviews and/or a big sale first lmao

[archduke-enver-gortash]

wow that was. certainly a trailer.

[thebibliosphere]

The problem with Amazon and Indie Publishing.

Hey fam, this is just a heads up from myself and all the others involved with the Weird and Wonderful Holiday Romance anthology regarding the paperback edition.

It’s been brought to our attention that some serious nonsense is happening regarding Amazon and Amazon-owned distributors (looking at you Book Depository) stating falsely that our books are either out of stock (false) going to take two months to ship to you (FALSE) or allowing scalpers to set the price at ridiculous amounts such as these, instead of our actual price:

ID: An image showing the cost of our paperback anthology costing $45.25 instead of our set price of $17.99.

PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM THIS SELLER.

The marketplace has been hijacked by a scalper who does not represent us or any of our distributors. The anthology should never cost more than $17.99 (+tax/shipping), and it should NOT take two to three months to get to you. It is in stock and ready to be shipped from our printer, Ingram Sparks, today.

As is evident from our Barnes and Noble link:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/weird-wonderful-holiday-romance-anthology-caitlyn-lynch/1133948930?ean=9780998168425

ID: An image showing the cost of our paperback anthology being sold through Barnes & Noble for $17.99, fully in stock and ready to ship and also available for delivery Friday 8th of November with Expedited Shipping, something they would not be able to do if the book was out of stock.

And also here from Ingram Spark themselves:

Sorry for the Potato Quality of this one, but if you click it you will see it is fully ready to ship/download without delay.

So what the heck is going on with Amazon then? Well, as I’m sure you’ll all be shocked to learn: Amazon is a complete bag of dicks and are actively throttling our sales because we chose not to use their printing service. Yep, I’ll say that again: Amazon actively throttles the sales of Indie Authors who choose not to use Kindle Direct to Print as their main printer and distributor and then tries to get you to buy the Kindle Version so THEY can get the sale:

ID: An image showing Amazon giving false information stating the paperback of the anthology “usually ships within 1-2 months. Why wait? Try the Kindle Edition instead and start reading now!”

And if you think that sounds like playing a game of Monoply with your hands tied behind your back, you’d be right!

So what’s the big deal, Joy? Why not just bite the bullet and print things through the KDP store? Well person who was no doubt going to ask this in the comments, I’m glad you asked. Here are multiple reasons:

Number one: Kindle Direct pays less in royalties than other more reputable printers. The difference is about a dollar and change less, but when you factor in the cost of production and how little the indie author actually makes in take home sales, that dollar matters.

Number two: Kindle Direct quality control is an absolute shit-show, and it’s not unheard of for books to be sent out either missing pages, printed upside down, with pages cut in half, or just plain blank! For an example, please check out this post from Nicole Autumns’s twitter dated Nov 4th 2019 to see what we’re dealing with, and also understand why many Indie Authors are starting to drop KDP like the rotten hot potato it is.

Number three: here’s a funny thing, there’s no reason for the KDP quality be be Like That, because with the exception of Australia, KDP’s main printer is (drumroll please!) Ingram Sparks! Yes, that’s right! OUR PRINTER. The one they are saying is out of stock. Now isn’t that interesting. (NB: The article is wrong about earning more through KDP and does not reflect the experiences of our authors or the publisher.)

Number four: we actually did submit for KDP after we realized they were going to throttle our sales, meaning we now go to print at a loss, and also risk shoddy quality control and

Number five: We Shouldn’t Have To! That’s it, that’s the tea. We shouldn’t have to use KDP for them to represent us honestly and act fairly as a distributor, but unfortunately for you me and everyone else who isn’t Jeff F*#!%$NG Bezos, Amazon has no such qualms about things like honesty, fairness or transparency. 

So, why sell with Amazon at all? To put it simply: Because we have to.

Amazon is the #1 retail seller for books, and for a lot of us it’s the only chance we’ll get at gaining any real income from our work. Not everyone has the luxury of a book deal from a Big Publishing house that pays to keep the lights on. And even those are few and far between, and often not as much money as you think they are.

And in case you weren’t boiling mad already? Want to know what else Amazon throttles? Reviews! So if you’ve read our work and enjoyed it? PLEASE leave a review, either on the amazon page out of spite, Good Reads (also owned by Amazon, fyi) or wherever you got your copies of the books from.

Reviews matter so much to authors, they’re not just a nice way of letting people know you liked something, they also keep us relevant to the algorithms and not shunted to the side in favor of people who pay for their reviews, which yes is a thing, and maybe we’ll go into that another time.

So to bring this long ass and extremely worn out post to a close: if you were one of the people who contacted us about this, thank you.

If you were one of the people who expressed interest in the anthology but were put off by Amazon’s bullshit: please take a look at our other paperback distributors.

If you read our anthology: please consider leaving a review! We’re fighting an uphill battle against an unethical multibillion dollar conglomerate that’s got a stranglehold on the industry and we’re all very small and very tired, and speaking for myself, very queer and disabled, so you can imagine the kind of stress we’re under right now.

I dunno how to end this. Support your local author. Eat the rich.

Be excellent to each other.

[popculturebuffet]

Blacksad: Somewhere In the Shadows Review

Hello you beautiful people! I have a WEIRD relationship with Noir. It’s weird because i’ve never really dived into the films of type, though I really should, But as a kid I absolutely LOVED the tracer bullet arcs in Calvin and Hobbes, where everyone’s favorite hyperactive and imaginative six year old would plant himself as the hero in a noir pastiche.. ironically like myself Bill Watterson was also not a huge noir buff and just relied on Cliches but hey, it worked. 

Still love these. So from fourth grade on it imprinted a lifelong love of a good bit of detective noir. Not enough to you know, get me to read any traditional noir books or watch any noir tv shows or detective procedurals but I still love a good mystery from time to time and some of my favorite comics such as Howard the Duck by Chip Zdarksy and Peter David’s second run on x-factor run on the genre while having fun with it’s cliches. 

I also love anthropormphic animal stories. Dunno why, I just do, so once I found out about Blacksad, a comic that combines disney quality art from a former disney animator with gripping, adult noir that rips your heart out... I couldn’t resisit trying it. Telling the tale of John Blacksad, a cynical private detective and the cases he steps into via gorgeous, straight out of a disney storyboard art, the series is by  Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist), the latter a former Disney artist who worked on several Disney films, meeting in the 90′s while working on licensed works and hitting it off, leading to this series.  That’s.. really all I could find about the making of the series in English. The only other fact is the series is designed for first release in France, which has a huge comics market, hence the various volumes being called “Albums”, with them later being released in Spain and then english, currently in the latter through Dark Horse Comics, who last year collected the current 5 albums and some side stories into one big volume. And with Dark Horse having infrequent sales including Blacksad on comixology it’s easy enough to pick up all 5 volumes in one complete package on digital for 9 bucks, as it is right now. Seriously I’m not trying to shill for Comixology or Dark Horse, I just love these comics and suggest picking them up. The creators DO intend on new volumes... it’s just both have been busy with other work so they’ve been stuck in development hell since 2013. However given there have always been, if much smaller, the biggest being 5 years, gaps between the Albums, I don’t think the series is dead quite yet and with Dark Horse fully backing it, taking the series from only two volumes getting translated to both translating the first four AND translating the fifth within a year of it’s release, we’ll undoubtly get the next one quickly. The series has also spawned a game, Under the Skin, which i’ll probably also cover some day as i’m dying to play it, but i’m waiting for a sale because it’s around 30 bucks and I can wait. It’s also been nominated for an Eisner three times to no suprise and has had fans in Stan Lee, Jim Steranko, Tim Sale and Will freaking Eisner. Yes the GUY the awards were named after liked the series.  So yeah, I love this series and highly support it, but the thought of covering it hadn’t occrued to me.. in part because I already had three comic retrsopectives going, my looks at The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, Scott Pilgrim and New X-Men, and simply because I just hadn’t thought of it till Kevin, frequent patron and comissioner of the blog whose paid for tons of reivews, suggested covering the second Album, Arctic Nation, which has our hero searching for a missing little girl he feels has been taken by the titular white supramacist movement.. and if your wondering “Wait how the fuck does that work their animals”, John is black coded due to his black fur, while the white suprmacists are all Arctic Animals.. a touch I really like as I’d honestly never thought of that as a metaphor but it fits like a glove, especially given that most white furred arctic mamals are pretty agressive looking. So yeah I’ll be covering that one next month for Black History Month, among many other things, but I felt I wanted to cover the series in order and since again, it’s only the second of five and I had a free space on the schedule. So without further adew, join me somewhere in the shadows and under the cut as we enter the world of one John Blacksad. 

We open as you’d expect for a Noir with a heady narration and a murder. John was brought in by Smirnov, the chief of police and an old aquantice who serves as his Commissioner Gordon. Since the victim is John’s ex, he was brought in to see if he knows anything and as you’d expect warned not to look into it further, as John dosen’t buy this was a simple robbery. His response is exactly what you’d expect. 

I mean.. what did you expect? You called him out of bed to see his former lovers corpse, KNOWING he’s one hell of detective, dosen’t give up on things easy, and would probably be curious. For him to say “Cool gonna go smoke some reefer and take in a looney tunes short at the theater, call me when you find the murderer?” Also  this series takes place in the 50s. Because of course it does. 

So John goes back to his office to brood, reflecting that the office feels like the remains of an ancient civlization because “It seems to be all that remains of the civlized person I used to be”. Hell of a line. 

We then get his backstory with the victim, Natalia. She’s a famous actress, who John first as a younger man when hired to investgate some death threats she’d received with a boquet of flowers. John shows off just how good he is at his job in just a few panels. 

IT not only shows in just a few panels just how ferocious our hero can be when needed and how good he is at his job, easily having tracked down the man responsible and scared him shitless without breaking as sweat, but how fucking gorgeous the art is. I meant it when I brought up the old disney comparison, as Steranko even mentioned in his introduction to the collection of the first three volumes how it looks like animation cels on the page. IT’s utterly breathtaking and ONLY gets even more lush and beautiful as the series goes on and perfectly fits the noir stylings with it’s realisim, making it’s animal characters feel utterly human and real while still keeping their animal traits in perfect detail. 

John impressed her, and as we see in the next page under his narration they not only had really steamy passionate sex, and why yes we do see them naked even if the bits are covered it’s still very much nsfw and we saw Natalia’s naked corpse earlier, so that ship had already sailed anyway, with Natalia taking him on both as her lover and her on staff detective and the two were much in love.. until the fame apparenlty got to her judging from the visuals, and the realtionship fell apart. 

Before we move on i’d like to talk about the narration which CAN be a bit overwrought here or there and is a bit overused.. but does have it’s mometns of being utterly effective as with above, contrasting John’s statments about a sucessful job and being hired on.. with the beginnings of his and Natalia’s relationship and their passionate lovemaking. IT’s not BAD and it works for the setting, but it can be distracting, but thankfully the series levels this out as we go and they learned from it so no harm done. Just the kinda thing that happens early in a series life when the creators are getting a handle on things, so no harm done. 

But naturally John isn’t going to take the love of his life, responsible for the happiest days of said life, being brutally murdered lying down and is going to find the bastard who did this. So he goes to an old friend, Jake Ositombe, a championship boxer and Nat’s former bodyguard who he recommended to her. Given we see him knock the shit out of his opponent without the slightest effort, yeah good call. Also yes we share the same name and no it’s not weird to type about another Jake, adventure time sorta.. knocked that out of me. Jake dosen’t know much since she fired him a long time ago as one of her lovers hired private security, and the last one he knew of was a guy by the name of Leon.  John, naturally, easily finds the guy’s apartment, Leon Kronkski, a screenwriter.. but also rules him out as the guy lived in a humble apartment and clearly didn’t have the cash to hire his own hired goons. 

He does find a clue, a matchbook for some place called the Cypher Club.. and another when the man’s sweet  mouse landlady shows up, who John charms by pretending to be Leon’s friend and flashing a big smile, finding out a msyterious man with “big bulging eyes”, took him. This scene also to me is great in subtly showing off John’s skill. While the previous flashback showed how badass he is, shoving a gun down the throat of a stalking wannabe murderer with pure rage in his eyes.. here we see a lighter approach, how despite his serious and dour nature.. he easily slips into being cheery and looking like an average joe off the street. He bluffs the landlady not because the plot says so.. but because like any PI he’s just that good at slipping into whatever roll he needs to get the info he needs. He can be his dour self or a charming happy go lucky guy without missing a beat. 

So with that he goes to the studio leon worked for where his boss.. is a walrus j jonah jameson?

But yeah J. Jonah Walruson wants pictures of spider-man.. moving pictures.. but he can’t film them with his star dead and his screenwriter indefintiely gone, with the same bulging eyed man having told JJ he’d be gone indefintely. Nothing suspicious about that!

So naturally John’s next plan is to find the guy.. who is already after him as you’d expect with both a knife to slash at our hero with and the fog covering him so he can hit and run. But unluckily for him .. well i’ll let john say it...

John  headbutts the myserious snake, who only managed to get his coat before and tries to interogate him.. but gets a quick jab to the gut and the guy gets away. 

We soon meet our big bag, who has a big speech about insects and things being usefufl.. and once they stop being useful.. they become dead and collectable, telling the snake man to back off John.. and sending his right hand man to go take care of the Snake who apparently took something from the office. Realizing his numbers up the Snake Man goes to a lizard bar, picks up a package from a friend and runs out the back, knowing he’s being followed.. and we get some hints there’s also racial tension between lizards and mammials here as the bartender, said friend, has the entire bar circle around the guy preventing him from following our mysterious bulging eyed man. 

Meanwhile John goes to the Cipher Club, a wretched hive of scum and villiany. Given Nat was a glamorous movie star, it’s very clear she was here to hide from something or someone, and the bartnender, a wild pig. 

No not you sweetie. The wild pig tells John leon was indeed here and a local rat, in both senses of the word, offers to take John to him.. though understandably John is supscious of the guy he just met in a seedy bar taking him anywhere except to get some heroin. Did Heroin exist yet? Questions for later. But he’s got a case so he follows. Though suprisingly the guy DOES actually come through and it’s not ENTIRELY a trap: he takes john to a tomb for Noel Krinsok.. an anagram for Leon’s name. Unsuprisingly he’s dead. And also unsuprisingly, two hired goons

Show up. As I said not ENTIRELY a trap but it’s obvious given the rat split moments before that our mysterious big bad knew where john would be headed next, and thus while giving him a clue, also set him up to get his head knocked in. And while John is badass.. these guys are a bear and a rhino,  both stronger, bigger, and with suprise on their size, as well as a tombstone to knock john’s head into. They easily beat him senseless and hope he got the message, though john gives a defiant fuck you before being punched out for it. He returns home, feeling like he’s aged 20 years “But no one respects the elderly anymore”, PFFT, and heads home to his rathole, not literally this time, apartment to lay on his cot and think as he gets some rest. 

And while the trail for Leon is cold. our mysterious murderer accidently tipped his hand: only someone with a LOT of money and influence could make a man disappear like this, and it tracks with what we’ve seen so far. The guy has multiple henchman and despite being a big star with plenty of clout, Natalia had to hide in a dive bar just to get away from him and even THEN clearly wasn’t so lucky given she and her new lover both wound up dead.  But Blacksad has bigger problems.. he wakes up in a jail cell.

Turns out Smirnkov had him arrested.. but for his own protection as the case is getting too hot and while he was late on that front given John’s face is hamburger, it’s clear from his tone and demeanor that while he may of been harsh with John earlier.. the two are old friends, and the Chief is simply worried about him winding up dead, and John takes you know being thrown in prison in stride. Which while not a bad scene it is a BIT suspect that a black coded character was thrown in jail for nothing and it’s treated very lightly and as a simple protection between friends, though given they wouldn’t think of coding john like that till next volume, I brush it off as accidental implications in hindsight. 

Smirnkov though also called John here.. because he needs his help. Since Natalia’s Murder Case is pointing very high up, so his superiors have ordered him to bury the case and as he puts it “the bastards know where to squeeze”. And given in volume 3 we learn Smirnov has a wife and children, it’s very obvious where they squoze and to the volume’s credit while we don’t know that yet it’s VERY clear from Smirnov’s body language they went after some form of family. So while he has to give it up.. John does not. So he brought him to jail to offer a proposal: John goes after this son of a bitch and nails him to the wall.. and Smirnov will FULLY protect John no matter what he has to do.  Now naturally given the rightful reckoning for police that’s been going on for almost a year, this SHOULDN’T play well. You have an officer outright telling an outside party that he and his boys will cover up his crimes. But.. honestly even in that framework.. it still works. That’s because.. the system has failed here. The higher up and more corrupt cops put pressure on the honest and hardworking family man Smirnov to stop a legitimate investigation into a horrible murderer.. because the guy is rich. And even now we’ve seen time and time again how rich assholes effortlessly escape the consequences of their action: How our own president who actively asked other nations to interfere in our election escaped his first impeachment trial, but hopefully not the second, aquitted. How Jeffery Epstien took YEARS to bring down with his years of ellicit parties involving innocent women and children he fucking enslaved. How Bill Cosby got away with all kinds of sexual assault for decades. The rich are often literally above the law in this country, so having a down on his luck detective, who retroactively himself is a minority, go after him with the full support of an actually GOOD police officer who genuinely believes in these people being held accountable but is held back by his family’s safety.. it works. John isn’t able to skirt consequences BECAUSE of a corrupt system.. but because the system’s so broken and slanted in the rich’s favor, that the ONLY option an honest officer like Smirnov has is to go outside it. And when asked WHY he’s doing all of this, Smirnov merley replies

... I got chills, their multiplyin. So John plans to find the bulge eyed snake after a hot shower.. only for the guy to hold a gun to John’s head, having been waiting for him and wave the murder weapon, in a baggie around, the item he had retrieved, feeling John’s trying to replace him as number two. However before he can do anything our snake  pal is shot full of holes by the rat from before, who John dispatches with his own gun. 

So the Snake starts to expire.. but feels a kinship with John “We are nothing right cat? Spent so much time waiting for the right chance and when it happens it all falls to pieces”. The Snake explains his roll in things: He was one of the private security our big bad hired to guard Natalia. But being supscious he also hired the rat to follow her around, and thus found out about her affair, brutally torturing and murdering Leon and shooting Natalia in the head. And we finally get a name as our snake friend tragically expires. 

The snake’s death and tragic dying moments are something I forgot about.. but damn if their not really good writing, taking a character who before was seemingly just a murderous goon.. and comparing him to our hero. Another working class joe, and one who just caught up with the wrong asshole at the wrong time. He easily could’ve been john in another life and vice vers and it’s a good parallel. 

So John’s nightmares finally have  name and he naturally goes to confront the guy since he has an almost literal get out of jail free card. Turns out Smirnov is the richest man in town, and has his own big tower. Huh.. sounds familiar, and John simply sneaks his way up and once Statoc’s guards from before hear him rustling about.. sneaks up on them and clocks both one at at time with a fire extinqusher. 

Statoc warmly welcomes our hero inside, and has the fucking lizard balls, as he’s some sort of lizard himself, to offer John a JOB

I mean he’s clearly lost a lot of his goons and most of them were incompetent. He fails to realize that John can’t be bought, is here for vengeance and has no intention of selling his soul to some rich asshole who killed someone he loved for the creepiest and most asinine reasons imaginable. He says john’s Concisence is why he can’t pull the trigger and that he lacks “cold blood”.. before we cut to the next page, where John’s shot the fucker in the head and left a gaping hole where his lack of a brain was. 

And again what makes this work is the aftermath: John is clearly shaken, having ONLY been able to pull the trigger beause of Statoc’s smug grin and clearly not taking the sight of Statoc’s dead body bleeding out well. And while Smirnov keeps his word, covers for him despite the two guards clearly providing an iron clad argument against john and knoiwng thier blatantly covering this up.. he’s not happy about it. 

This is WHY the narrtive still works. Statoc stacked the law against the bad guys. .but despite this being a necessary evil.. it’s still an evil and subverting teh law at this rightly leaves him not in a great place mentally. John himself isn’t even if he plays it off as otherwise, as we get our final bit of narration and one hell of a closing line. 

Final Thoughts:

Somewhere in the Shadows is a bit rough around the edges, leaning a bit too heavily into the noir pastiche and Blacksad being a harboiled detective, something the next volume would ease up on. That being said.. it’s still a masterpiece, with gorgeous art and masterful pacing. While it’s the shortest of the stories, like those after it the pacing is sublime and never feels like it has any down moments or stuff that could’ve been cut, and the mystery keeps you on edge the whole time. Having forgot a lot of the details since last read I was on the edge of my seat the entire story and loving every second of it. Somewhere in the Shadows is the perfect starter for the series, introducing an important charcter in Smirnov and the noir nature and giving us a case personal to John so we can see who he was before, what he is now.. and what he WILL be for the rest of the series. The moment that MADE him into an even harder man than the one we follows here.. when he took a life in cold blood. A masterful story, seriously check it and the other volumes out, on comixology, in stores, great stuff. Next time we look into john and as I said, he’s taking down some racists and we also meet his sidekick weekly for the first time. As for me tommorow I dive back into my Tom Luictor retrospective but hit pause on our boy for a bit to take care of some of the larger plot.   Until the next rainbow, it’s been a pleasure. 

[bccity]

Q2 2021 BC ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn up to 18 points for writing, by the end of June 30 KST:

Up to three solo paras of 400+ words based on their quarterly schedule (does not count toward your monthly limit). (three points each)

Up to three threads of eight posts (four per participant, including the starter) based on the monthly schedule. (three points each)

Threads and solos do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: Please do not post schedule posts in the fmdschedule tag. 

Schedule posts for this quarter can be tagged with #fmdbceq221.

OVERALL COMPANY

2021 is BC Entertainment’s twenty-fifth year in business and the company plans to do a few things to commemorate that throughout the year. In the second quarter, the company is holding a gala with CEO Kim Byungchul as the guest of honor. The guest list mostly consists of business types for the sake of executive networking, but idols under the company are invited as well. Technically, attendance by BC idols is not mandatory, but management may push them very hard to attend if they see it as beneficial to do so. 

Important dates:

April 24: BC Entertainment Gala at Intercontinental Hotel Parnas in Gangnam, Seoul.

June 8-13: Triple Fantasy Festival in Indio, CA, USA.

DECIPHER

Decipher makes their Japanese comeback at the beginning of April and will spend the next month and a half with occasional rehearsals for the concerts they’ll hold in Japan at the end of May. Most of their time this quarter will be spent on their next Korean comeback as a priority, though. Throughout April, they’ll record the album and will go in for fittings. This comeback has a dramatized MV, so the fittings are more focused on making sure the stylist’s vision matches the director’s vision once on the members than the probable need for any tailoring or avant garde styling. In May, they’ll get to learning the choreography and will shoot the music video ahead of the official release in June. Much of the filming will be individual for the music video since it involves a lot of acting with female actresses. Promotions for their new album will be the standard fare for Decipher: music shows, radio shows, and fan signs. This will be one of the busiest quarters of the year for Decipher, and the members are encouraged to invest themselves in group activities this quarter.

Important dates:

April 7: Release of “Mirai (Ashita)” & Mirai (Ashita) Japanese single album.

April 20: “It’s Okay” comeback M/V [2] and stage outfit fittings.

May 2: Complete album jacket shooting.

May 4: TBJ fansign.

May 14: "It’s Okay” M/V filming day one.

May 15: "It’s Okay” M/V filming day two.

May 26: The Secret Diary Concert at Tokyo Dome City Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 

May 27: The Secret Diary Concert at Tokyo Dome City Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

May 30: The Secret Diary Concert at Grand Cube Osaka in Osaka, Japan.

May 31: The Secret Diary Concert at Grand Cube Osaka in Osaka, Japan.

June 7: Release of "It’s Okay” & Complete album + press showcase, music show promotions continue through July 7.

June 15: KBS Cool FM Kiss The Radio radio show guesting.

June 16: Fansign in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

June 19: Fansign in Yongsan, Seoul.

June 20: Fansign in Gangnam, Seoul.

June 18: Fansign in Yeouido, Seoul.

June 19: Fansign in Ilsan.

June 23: SBS Power FM Love Game radio show guesting.

June 24: Fansign in Gimpo.

June 25: Fansign in Yangcheon, Seoul.

June 28: Fansign in Gimpo.

 ↳ Decipher R & V

No schedules for this quarter.

Important dates:

N/A.

 ↳ CHAMPION

Near the end of the month, the CHAMPION members will fly out to Japan to hold their concert at Tokyo Dome. Decipher and Knight have played Tokyo Dome before, but Unity hasn’t. Regardless of history, it’s a pretty big deal that a fresh sub-unit is playing such a venue, so BC and Dimensions wants to make sure it goes off without a hitch. After the concert ends, the unit members will begin working on a comeback as they go in to record a single in the studio in June.

Important dates:

April 29: We Are The Future Concert at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

BEE

BEE’s second quarter of the year is spent riding out the rest of their most recent comeback era and preparing to make the summer comeback fans are anticipating even without any official announcement yet by recording the mini-album at the end of the quarter. The majority of April is occupied with the members’ continued promotions for “I’ll Be Yours”, including occasional fan signs and the continuing run of music show promotions. The song is well-received. It’s not another number one hit in their bags, but anything BEE releases is sure to peak easily within the top ten of charts due to their status of longevity, and “I’ll Be Yours” isn’t an exception. In time they aren’t promoting in April, BEE will be preparing to bring their Live Concert: B concert to Hong Kong. The set list will be the same as their Seoul dates, so rehearsals are intended to keep the members fresh on the stages and adjust to any minor set and prop changes needed due to taking the show out of the country. A photo shoot for Esquire Korea and more duties as ambassadors for 11 St round out the quarter’s activities.

Important dates:

April 5: Fansign in Gangnam, Seoul.

April 12: Fansign in Gimpo.

April 22: End of music show promotions.

April 28: Performance (I’ll Be Yours & Darling) for military at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam (also performing: BEE and Fuse).

May 1: Photo shoot for Esquire Korea’s June issue.

May 10: 11 St fansign.

May 14: Live Concert: B at Star Hall in Hong Kong.

June 26: Performance at 11 St. Shocking Deal All Night Party.

 ↳ 2BEE

No schedules for the quarter.

Important dates:

N/A

KNIGHT

Their comeback in mid-April is the main event of Knight’s second quarter. Promotions have been amped up some in comparison to their last comeback in response to Knight’s album sales’ slow but consistent downward trend. “RPM” doesn’t look to be the comeback that will break that trend, but BC is throwing Knight into filming some promotional videos and appearances, not to mention a drastically increased number of fan signs, to prevent angering anymore fans, some of whom are still opposed to BC’s collaboration with Dimensions to include Knight members in CHAMPION. The latter part of the quarter will bring other activities and preparations to focus on for the members of Knight in either CHAMPION or Knight Light, and will also have the members spending a lot of time preparing for the tour they’ll embark on in the second half of the year. The earliest preparations will begin in May with dance practices and early fittings, but June will bring the bulk of learning new choreography and preparing special remixes and stages. Each member will get a chance to perform a solo stage during the tour, consisting of one of the following two options: 1) a vocal and/or rap and/or dance cover of their choice or 2) their most recently released promoted solo single (if applicable), that they will begin to rehearse in June as well.

Important dates:

April 4: Photo shoot for Dazed Korea’s May issue.

April 5: RPM Intro Performance video filming (maknae/main dancer/rapper/vocal, lead vocal/lead dancer, & main dancer/vocal/rapper)

April 10: RPM Runner Live video filming.

April 12: Release of “RPM” & RPM mini-album + press showcase, music show promotions continue through May 12.

April 13: RPM Waiting Live video filming.

April 15: RPM Relay Dance video filming.

April 18: Fansign in Gimpo.

April 19: 1theK RPM Suit Dance video filming.

April 20: Fact iN Star filming.

April 23: Fan sign in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

April 24: Mini fanmeeting outside of Show! Music Core.

April 25: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

May 7: Fan sign in Jongno, Seoul.

May 11: Fan sign in Mapo, Seoul.

May 12: End of music show promotions.

 ↳ White Knight

No schedules for the quarter.

Important dates:

N/A

 ↳ CHAMPION

Near the end of the month, the CHAMPION members will fly out to Japan to hold their concert at Tokyo Dome. Decipher and Knight have played Tokyo Dome before, but Unity hasn’t. Regardless of history, it’s a pretty big deal that a fresh sub-unit is playing such a venue, so BC and Dimensions wants to make sure it goes off without a hitch. After the concert ends, the unit members will begin working on a comeback as they go in to record a single in the studio in June.

Important dates:

April 29: We Are The Future Concert at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

↳ Knight Light

This quarter, the pair are informed that BC plans for them to come back in July. In April, they’ll be invited to come sit in on sessions with company producers to help contribute to some of the songs for their comeback album if they’d like to. By May, the final track list will be officially confirmed and they’ll record the album. In June, they’ll finish comeback preparations with fittings, photo shoots, and M/V filming.

Important dates:

June 1: Comeback M/V [2] [3] [4] and stage outfit fittings.

June 7: 1 Billion Views photo book shoot.

June 19: “Telephone” M/V filming.

June 20: “Nothin’” Track M/V and “On Me” Track M/V filming.

June 21: “1 Billion Views” M/V filming.

LIPSTICK

Lipstick’s Ticket comeback is well-received. They don’t have the undivided attention of the public anymore the way they once did, but their fanbase is steady in the wake of Queendom and their hold on their specific subset of the market isn’t being very actively challenged these days. “Ticket” promotions proceed with the usual round of fan signs and, radio guestings, and music shows, but once they finished, they’re almost immediately called into a meeting with the news that they’ll begin working on their next comeback right away. While BEE is most well-known as the summer queens of the company, Lipstick is marketable for the season as well and BC wants to capitalize on that by pushing them for a special summer mini-album release. In May, they’ll be briefed on the concept of the comeback and will record the mini-album. In the back half of May, they’ll learn the choreography a little more rushed than usual. As June comes around, the focus will shift to fittings and photo shoots for the album jacket and promotion materials ahead of their comeback release in July.

Important dates:

April 2: Release of “Ticket” & Sweet Rendezvous mini-album + press showcase, music show promotions continue through May 2.

April 3: Fan sign in Gimpo.

April 5: Fan sign in Yongsan, Seoul.

April 12: Fan sign in Ilsan.

April 16: KBS Cool FM Kiss The Radio guesting.

April 19: Fan sign in Busan.

April 27: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

April 28: Performance (Ticket & Wild) for military at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam (also performing: BEE and Fuse).

May 2: End of music show promotions.

June 15: Comeback M/V and stage outfit fittings.

June 16: Comeback teaser and photo book shoot.

 ↳ Lip Gloss

No schedules for the quarter.

Important dates:

N/A

CHARM

After CHARM finishes their Korean comeback promotions, their team’s attention will turn to preparing for a Japanese comeback in June with a new single and mini-album. April will be spent recording the mini-album and learning the choreography. Choreography practice will continue into the following month leading up to the filming of the music video and the album jacket shoot. Around this time is also when CHARM will begin to rehearse for their Japan tour, which they’ll be holding in the third quarter. Luckily for them, this doesn’t involve learning much new choreography, as they should already be familiar with most of it. 

Important dates:

April 8: End of music show promotions.

May 1: Japanese comeback wardrobe fittings.

May 9: “24H” M/V filming.

May 10: 24H album photo shoot.

June 6: 24H M/V reaction video filming.

June 7: Release of “24H” Japanese single.

June 22: Release of 24H Japanese mini-album.

June 26: Performance on Count Down TV.

 ↳ CHARM U

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

WISH

"More & More” promotions carry through to the end of April. There isn’t much need to bother with additional schedules like radio show guestings or filming videos for other YouTube channels at WISH’s level, especially considering BC would like to let Chroma take that attention up in April as they promote their first sub-unit debut. After promotions have ended, WISH are quickly informed they’ll need to start preparing for their next comeback, which will start a trilogy of a more elegant lean within their color pop concept. In May, after they’ve had a photo shoot for the cover of the American Harper’s Bazaar (a benefit of their recent signing with an American label), they’ll be in the studio to record the mini-album and, at the end of the month, will be spending time in the dance studio to learn the choreography. June will involve the final comeback preparations, including fittings and the album photo shoot before the members make their comeback in July.

Important dates:

April 5: Fansign in Yongsan, Seoul.

April 12: Fansign in Gangnam, Seoul.

April 19: Fansign in Yeouido, Seoul.

April 29: End of music show promotions.

May 1: Photo shoot for Harper’s Bazaar’s May issue cover.

May 8: Estee Lauder fan sign.

June 1: Comeback M/V and stage outfit wardrobe fittings.

June 15: COLOR*WISH mini-album photo shoot.

CHROMA

While the members of Chroma Crystal make their debut as a new unit, the second batch of members slowly eases into preparations to release their solo singles in this quarter. While everyone is working on their own schedules, the members will also begin to film another predebut project BC has in mind for them — a webdrama. They’ve been cast in these roles and in May and June, they’ll film the first season and its special clips. Multiple seasons of the webdrama are planned to get the group’s name out. (Admin note: Characters will have the muse’s name and not the Loona members’ names.)

[Orange] will record her song and learn the choreography in April so that she’s prepared to film her music video (which [Indigo] makes a pre-reveal appearance in) in May. This leads into her official single release in the final month of the quarter. Chroma’s fans are growing with each solo single release, hers included.

[Yellow], on the other hand, begins to record her song and learn its choreography in May (after receiving the original demo the month prior) and the music video will be filmed in June — there’s winter imagery in the song for a “Christmas in summer” feeling that BC thinks will make her standout, or it represents something about Chroma’s lore timeline being out of chronological order; it’s unclear as she gets different explanations from different staff that makes it seem like not everyone is on the same page. [Orange] makes a prominent appearance in her music video.

[Indigo] starts going into the studio in June to record her song, and will work on the choreography the same month, though she’ll spend the beginning of the quarter being sent demos for potential songs as BC whittles down the list to decide what she’ll debut with.

As with all previous releases, other members are encouraged to come visit the other members during their individual preparations so that the company can record behind-the-scenes videos of members interacting.

Important dates:

April 3: [Violet] End of music show promotions.

May 10: [Orange] “New” M/V filming.

June 5: [Yellow] “Heart Attack” M/V filming.

June 6: [Orange] Release of “New” + press showcase, music show promotions continue through July 6.

↳ CHROMA CRYSTAL

This quarter, the unit makes their debut with “Girl Front” and will promote on music shows for a month before immediately coming back with “Sweet Crazy Love”. The members will hold their first fansigns over the two months of consecutive promotions. For the most part, promotions will be kept to music shows, fan signs, and a few interviews and appearances during “Sweet Crazy Love” promotions.

On the final day of their repackage promotions, the unit will hold their first ever fanmeeting for fans. They’ll hold two shows on the same day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The members will give live performances of “Starlight”, “Sweet Crazy Love”, “Loonatic”, a medley of their solo songs, and a cover of Knight’s “My Answer”. Each of the three members will also have to perform a solo cover stage of their choice during the fanmeeting. They have to sing/rap for the cover (it can’t be a dance-only cover), aren’t allowed to cover another member’s solo, and should keep in mind the small stage size (elaborate production and backup dancers/vocalists won’t be available). In between songs, the members will talk about themselves, such as their training experience, experiences preparing their solo and unit songs, and their hopes for the group, and at the end, they’ll take questions and requests from attendees through an open KakaoTalk chat room.

Important dates:

April 4: Release of “Girl Front” & Mix & Match mini-album + press showcase, music show promotions continue through May 4.

April 7: Performance (Girl Front) at Nonsan Strawberry Festival in Nonsan (also performing: Lucid).

April 12: Max & Match repackage album photo shoot.

April 19: “Sweet Crazy Love” M/V filming day one (on-location scenes).

April 26: “Sweet Crazy Love” M/V filming day two (studio scenes).

May 5: Release of “Sweet Crazy Love” & Max & Match mini-album + press showcase, music show promotions continue through June 5.

May 7: Fact iN Star appearance filming.

May 10: InnerView interview + performance [2] filming. 

June 5: Chroma Studio : Crystal Hertz fanmeeting at Hongdae MUV Hall.

June 5: End of music show promotions.

June 19: Performance (Girl Front & Sweet Crazy Love) at 1m1won Charity Walkathon (also performing: Gal.actic and 7ROPHY)

[niseamstories]

Tl;dr: The heavily revised physical edition Dreams of the Dying, my novel set in the Enderal universe, is now available for pre-order via Amazon via my website. Special early bird prices are $32.99 for the hardcover with an illustrated appendix, $12.99 for the paperback, and $2.99 for the eBook. It’s a prequel featuring Jespar, but, for reasons outlined below, opens up a new canon. Amazon.de has yet to pick up the listing for the physical editions, but they are incredibly slow—I’m working to get that done.

Hey guys,

This is Nicolas, the writer of Enderal speaking. As some of you may know, I’ve been working on an Enderal novel, Dreams of the Dying. First released as a web version, I spent the past year completely rewriting and improving the book, adding and removing chapters, revising characters arcs, and improving plotting, worldbuilding, and style. In total, I rewrote the web edition three times from cover to cover. Well, it’s finally time: Dreams of the Dying is now available for pre-order on Amazon!

The English version of Dreams of the Dying will release on October 20. A German (and perhaps Russian) translation will follow as soon as possible.

Please note that this is a rendering and that the actual hardcover looks slightly different, with same format but a matte dust jacket and a matte, laminated case. A big shoutout to Dominik Derow for the cover artwork, Johanna Krünes for her cover design, and Joyce, for her tips, patience, and help with this product shot.

Jaaros Oonai, magnate, visionary, and master of coin, doesn’t muse about whether the glass is half empty or half full—only about ways to fill it.

Jespar Dal’Varek, drifter, mercenary, and master of avoidance, doesn’t muse at all. He’d rather just drink the damn wine.

Two lives that could not be more different intertwine when a strange contract leads Jespar to the tropical island empire of Kilay, the wealthiest nation of the Civilized World.

The mission turns out to be as bizarre as it is lucrative: Jaaros Oonai, the country’s merchant king, knows something that could stop a catastrophe, but he has fallen into an inexplicable coma. Together with an ex-priestess and a psychic, Jespar must enter Oonai’s dreams and find this secret.

What should have been a fresh start rapidly turns into a nightmare, as Jespar slides into a spiral of disturbing dreams, political intrigue, and clashing ideals, where not only the fate of Kilay but his own sanity are at stake. It’s not long before he learns that only a spider’s thread divides the sleeping and the awoken.

And that there’s no greater enemy than one’s own mind.

The hardcover edition comes with an appendix that includes additional lore, such as an illustrated bestiary, a guide to Kilayan fashion, illustrations of the (re-envisioned) seven Light-Born, a short guide to the Makehu language, and much more.

Even though Dreams could be considered a prequel, I didn’t write this as an expansion or fan service but rather as my debut, and a book that stands on its own. This edition differs vastly from the web version, and, though it is up to you to judge, I’m a million times happier with it.

If you’re on the fence and would like to wait for reviews—here’s hoping I get enough—I fully understand. However, if you would buy the novel, you’d do me a great favor if you considered pre-ordering. One of the biggest challenges as an indie author is exposure; since Amazon registers all pre-orders as Day 1 sales, a lot of Day 1 sales would give me a chance to climb in the novel’s category and boost visibility for readers outside the Enderal community. To make this worth it to you, the book will sell for a special early bird price of $32.99 for the hardcover with the illustrated appendix, $12.99 for the paperback, and $2.99 for the eBook, as opposed to $37, $16, and $5. Just follow the link to my website and click pre-order—it will take you right to your local Amazon marketplace.

Unfortunately, Amazon.de has yet to pick up the listing for the physical editions, but they are incredibly slow—I’m working to get that done.

I’m aware the hardcover is in the upper price range, but it uses the best materials, and the illustrated appendix cost a lot to produce. It’s also the only edition where I make a more solid revenue, so see it as a way to support my work, if you wish.

If you’re a patron and pledged $110 or more since October 2018, I’ll be in touch a few weeks before launch to send out your signed hardcover copy right away. Thanks again for your support, Dreams became a far pricier project than I anticipated, and your patronage helped me immensely in covering the cost.

Lastly, a word of warning before you pre-order: For the paperback edition, I took the drastic step to separate Dreams and all future Enderal novels from the game canon. There are two good reasons for this. First, the Vyn games were created over 17 years, the earliest one being Myar Aranath in 2003. Fascinating as this idea may be, it also means that the lore of the Vyn universe was created by a myriad of different authors (the latest and current one being me when I joined the team in 2011). As a result of this, the lore of Vyn has always felt a little disjointed and inconsistent; I initially took these differences as challenges to conquer, but the longer I wrote, the more I realized how much these inconsistencies bothered me and how hard they made it to write the story and the universe I envisioned. Let me assure you that this decision wasn’t easy and does not reflect a lack of appreciation for the work of the previous workers. I stayed faithful to the lore whenever possible.

The second reason is a trickier one: Jespar. This character has been in my mind for nine years now, and I love him with all my heart. Still, the more I immersed myself in the story of Dreams, the more I grew aware of how incredibly constraining it was to write a story where the end is already written; because Jespar is alive in 8234 a. St. (1234 P.L. in new canon lore), you all know he will never be in real danger. Again, there is undoubtedly an intriguing challenge to writing such a “safe” story, but—similar to the lore, I increasingly felt like I was writing with fetters on. 

So, what does this mean? Aside from the fact that anything can now happen, the consequences aren’t that drastic. Enderal is still Enderal, and Jespar is still Jespar, albeit thirteen years younger and at another point in his life. I changed and expanded details about his backstory, but his essential conflicts are still the same, only refined. Major changes include modifications to the Light-Born (their aspects, how they came to be, when and how they disappeared, and the societal consequences of that disappearance), the time frame of the different eras, and a complete rework of the magic system. Minor changes include dates, the spelling of names and locations (Kilay, not Kilé), and others details I tweaked for consistency and worldbuilding coherence.

And that’s about it. I’m aware and grateful for the love many of you have for this world, and believe me, I did my best to honor it; I just realized I cannot tell a good story with one arm tied behind my back. If it’s any solace, I can promise you that new book canon is ironclad – I’m pathologically obsessive about consistency and cohesive worldbuilding, but without a solid framework, that’s a recipe for frustration and disaster. See it as a different but nearby eventuality: details and fates may differ, but the soul of the world remains the same.

If all that didn’t scare you off, pre-order away! I also set up a Goodreads page for the book, so you can add it to your To-Be-Reads or even recommend it to your friends – this is an indie project by all means, so I’m grateful for every bit of support. Please keep in mind that the Goodreads is for the revised edition, not the web edition, so if you’re planning to leave a low rating, I’d be grateful if you waited to read the actual book in October 20. It’s a different experience.

Last but not least, a big thank you to everyone who supported me on Patreon, created fanart for Enderal, or just let me know they enjoyed this game and were looking forward to the novel. This novel was meant to be a 6-month stint but, boy, did it turn into something more. It sounds sentimental, but this last year has been rough personally, and your support and encouragement kept me going.

I hope this story will live up to your expectations.

Best,

Nicolas

Dreams of the Dying (Revised Edition) on Goodreads

My Newsletter

My Patreon

My Instagram

My Tumblr

My Facebook

[cheri-translates]

[CN] 100 Days - Shaw (Day 51 - 100)

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for e-mails which have not been released in English servers! 🍒

What’s the 100 Days Companionship Event?

Day 1 - 3: here

Day 4 - 30: here

Day 31 - 50: here

Day 51

Learnt a new card magic trick and will leave you wide-eyed today. You coming?

Day 52

Instead of thinking about raising koi to change your fortune, why not buy a can of cola. As compared to nothing, at least my mood will be good.

Day 53

I have two tickets for an e-sports competition. It’s at 8pm. We’ll meet at the entrance of your place.

Day 54

The competition yesterday was pretty bad. I may as well have participated myself. Let’s not go for today’s competition. We’ll level up at home.

Day 55

Sign in. Come to think of it, you’re pretty amazing - you can come up with so many topics to talk about every day.

Day 56

I heard that you have plans to try jigsaw puzzles. I’ve sent you one with 30,000 pieces - it’s completely white. No need to thank me, and I wish you an early completion.

Day 57

The professor keeps complaining that his snacks go missing. Placing the snacks in a laboratory where people walk to and fro - he deserves it. Don’t you agree?

Day 58

I found the snacks thief - it’s a big fat crow. Whoa, it’s awfully sly.

Day 59

Jensen has been working hard on practising his rap. Today, I even heard a flow in his snoring, and recorded it. Want to hear?

Day 60

It’s the day of Frost’s Descent. Of course you have to eat marbled beef with me.

[Trivia] 霜降 (“shuang jiang”) translates to “Frost’s Descent”, which refers to the last solar term of autumn. Shaw’s use of “marbled beef” is a play on words because in Chinese, “marbled beef” is “霜降肥牛”!

Day 61

Even three-year-old children know that they have to wear more clothes when it’s cold. Looks like you’re only one-year-old.

Day 62

There’s a small stall on Westmoon Street selling Double Ninth cake. It’s tastier than those in other places. Come out quickly, I’ll take you to taste the delicacy.

Day 63

Head to the hotpot shop first. The Old Man wants me to meet some of his old colleagues. How troublesome. Remember to order a plate of tripe for me.

Day 64

You want to compete to see who can replicate the most number of animal sounds tomorrow? You’ll definitely lose.

Day 65

Fine, I lost… But why do you know how to imitate the sound of a hippopotamus?!

Day 66

Are you really angry today? In that case, if I wear a pompom hat next time, I’ll let you tie a knot too.

Day 67

That song you shared with me before - its orchestral arrangement is still passable, but its effects will be ten times better with the bass. I’ll record a section for you later.

Day 68 (Halloween)

Title: Costumes

This is what you called an incredibly amazing costume? Wait at home. I’ll show you what’s truly “incredibly amazing”.

Day 69

A performance without an audience is pretty fun too. It’d have been even better if someone were around to record it. I think you’re pretty suited for it.

Day 70

Today’s challenge: To sneak away under the eyes of the professor.

Day 71

I signed in late today, but you can’t blame me for oversleeping. It’s all because the sun didn’t appear and head to work today.

Day 72

Unlocked a new breakfast combo. Even though I don’t see a need for it, I can recommend it to you.

Day 73

There’s a bad ending to that drama you haven’t finished watching, so I’m giving you a heads-up. I wasn’t wrong when I said fairy tales weren’t believable, was I?

Day 74

Feels like you’ve been busy for several days. Want to sneak out to relax for a while?

Day 75

Realised that my phone battery is running low, and can’t slack off and send you messages anymore. How unlucky.

Day 76

I’ve been busy preparing for exams recently, but you can still send me messages at night as usual. At most, I’ll reply you the next day

Day 77

There’s a sports meet in school next week, and I’ve been dragged in to fill the numbers. Come watch if you have time.

Day 78

Let’s compete in a round of “flash sale” tonight. The loser will buy whatever’s in the other person’s shopping cart.

[Note] Shaw is talking about 秒杀 (“miao sha”), which directly translates to “seconds kill”. It’s a term used in online shopping where once popular items are placed on the Internet, dozens of them are immediately snatched up, sometimes in a single second.

Day 79 (Single’s Day)

The rain in November is pretty cold. I’ve decided to shower and sleep early today, so don’t disturb me after 12am.

Day 80

I can brush off how you added ginger ale to Cola the last time. But this time, what do you think you’re doing by adding indigo woad root?

[Note] Indigo woad root, also known as the root of Isatis tinctoria (板蓝根 - “ban lan gen”)is a traditional Chinese herb used for flu relief

Day 81

Horror techniques like inserting a jump scare in a comedic clip is too elementary. Next time, please come up with something new.

Day 82

Are you awake? Head out once you’ve signed in, or what I taught you about the skateboard will be completely forgotten.

Day 83

The graffiti wall I brought you to the last time has been torn down. I found a new unfinished building, and you can practice here.

Day 84

No one can be certain of the future. I can’t be bothered to think about it either. As long as you run in the direction you want to go, it’s enough.

Day 85

This semester’s elective course is almost over. There are some assignments I haven’t finished. If there’s anything, come to the library to find me.

Day 86

I don’t feel like writing anymore, and am prepared to head out for a stroll tomorrow. Give me two recommended locations from your collection of reviews.

Day 87

One principle applies to both ice-skating and skateboarding - you won’t learn it if you don’t fall a few times. In the worst case, I’ll catch you when you fall.

Day 88

Watched as someone failed to stick a straw in after three tries, and didn’t allow me to laugh out loud.

Day 89

That hook you hummed today was a little familiar. Did you watch the live performance of that very popular underground band recently?

Day 90

Call me along the next time you go to a Live. Relax, I’m on pretty good terms with the bassist from that band. I’m not going there for a surprise brawl.

Day 91

The Old Man’s a little sick, so I’m bringing him medicine. Since it’s along the way, I’ll bring the umbrella you left at my place to you.

Day 92

Didn’t expect you to grasp the move I taught you today so quickly. I’ll award you with a can of Cola.

Day 93

The punishment for today’s game are biscuits filled with mustard, and the person who loses will eat them. Do you have the guts?

Day 94

Have I been infected with your bad luck recently? Even the things I get in blind boxes are duplicates.

Day 95

Not just old antique shops - I can also find all the old game shops, old phonograph shops, and old appliances shops in Loveland City.

Day 96

Adam forgot to take the pot away the last time he had instant-boiled mutton hot pot in Live House. We could use it again today.

Day 97

Instead of believing in some “Mercury Retrograde”, why not come along with me to pray to Emperor Yang Gu, so he’ll save you from calamities.

Day 98

It’s become a habit to chat with you every day. If there are such challenges in the future, look for me too. Got it?

Day 99

It’s the second last day, and we’ll soon see the outcome of who has won this round. Are you sure you’ve been signing in every day?

Day 100

If there any other bets or challenges next time, I’m always ready and waiting.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Scars Pt 2

“Okay, I’ll text you when I’m ready to check out.”

“Ah...” Zihang had his headphones in and didn’t react when she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

She wanted to go to the mall for a sale at her favorite high end clothing store. It catered to a strictly female aesthetic and had nothing for Zihang, but Meixiu could spend hours trying everything in that little boutique and he was fine with it. Especially today.

Today was a big playoff game between the Bulls and the Celtics and it was in the third quarter with the bulls down by five and the Celtics putting forward he best defensive plays for the entire season.

Perhaps the desperation they felt after they hadn’t won in the playoffs for six straight years was getting to them. He knew at the beginning of the season they started to drop some serious money on a few new players. But no one could have anticipated a defensive wall that could hold off the Bulls, much less that they would be up so far this late in the game. 

Five points didn’t sound like much, but with this situation it seemed insurmountable.

The whistle blew. Foul on the Bulls. Zihang’s eyes narrowed. With the stakes this high, how could they make such a careless mistake? The instant replay reviewed the footage and it was true. A player on the Bulls side got to zealous and fell for an easy ploy. 

He should be benched. Letting his emotions rule the day like that.

The Celtic player strode up to the free throw line and sank shot after shot, sending the Bulls’ hopes for a win deeper and deeper into the abyss. Zihang didn’t have any money on either side, he was far more invested in the drama then on the fact that Chicago or Boston was playing. 

Both of these were high level teams, but only the perfect would carry the crown.

His phone buzzed with a message from Meixiu. “I’m done.”

He lifted his head in shock. Already? He turned and looked for her, pulling out one earbud. She was waiting for him at the entrance, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.

He took a breath and stood up and approached.  

She met him half way. “Let’s just go... don’t ask me anything. I am never shopping there again.” She spoke without letting him get a word in edgewise and walked away without letting him ask any questions.

He look back at the shop and two ladies were watching, not Meixiu, but him. His confusion deepened. He followed her out of the Mall. She stood, waiting for a clearing in the traffic so she could make it out to the car. She wasn’t looking at him, but her shoulders and back were taut with fury.

He tried to imagine what had offended her so badly. Meixiu always took most things in stride. He continued to wonder as they crossed the street out into the parking lot. Fortunately for him, she started talking.

“I hate it when people assume stuff. Like... Okay.” She stopped at the car. “I was in the dressing room and a lady accidently walked in on me and...” She gave a bitter laugh. “You should have seen the look on her face!”

She paused for effect. “You’d think I was lying bleeding on the floor, she was so panicked. I had to keep her calling the police!”

“The police?” Zihang pressed the key fob to let her get in.

“Yes!” She climbed in the car, shut the door and leaned back against the seat, arms crossed.

Zihang made his way to the driver’s side and paused a moment. “Why would they call the police on you?”

“Not on me!” Her brown eyes were tinged with sadness. “On you.”

“Oh.”

“They saw all my scars and... they thought you were beating me. I just said I played a dangerous sport. And they started interrogating me. I told them it was none of their business.” Her anger extinguished and her lip trembled. She raised her hand to her forehead and she leaned on the window. “Let’s just go.”

Zihang started the car and pulled out in an uneasy silence. The traffic this weekend was heavy for the sale. Meixiu had looked forward to it for a long time. For her to leave so suddenly...

He glanced at her. She was still staring out the window, but she wasn’t crying. Maybe he could talk her down. Telling her it was natural for people to assume the worst when they saw her scars was probably not the thing to say. “I agree. She should have minded her own business.”

Meixiu nodded. “Yeah... but... she was only trying to help. With awful scars like these what are they supposed to think? That I wrestle polar bears? I mean, I wish they thought that... But yeah, what else are they supposed to think?”

“I think your scars are fine.”

She turned to him and smiled and Zihang felt a bit relieved. She unbuckled herself, crawled over the center console and planted a kiss on his cheek. “That’s because you’re a sweetheart who’s too good for this world.” She plopped back into the seat and rebuckled herself. She continued to talk.

“And that’s what people don’t understand. It’s one thing if they assumed terrible things about me. But the minute they start thinking you’re some sort of sadistic monster... well... That's what I can’t stand. That’s why I don’t go to the beach or the pool. It would be nice but... with horrible scars like these, what more can I hope for but have the cops called in like... sixty seconds?”

She was laughing it off, but her words sank into his heart like icy daggers. His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

“That’s just how people are. They see these huge, ugly marks and they wonder. What happened to her?! She looks like she got in a fight with a wood chipper and lost!” 

Her laughter was cut off by the car’s abrupt halt. Meixiu hit the seatbelt hard and looked up at him in astonishment. “Woah! What’s the big idea?!”

He peeled off his sunglasses to stare at her with his golden eyes. “What about surgery?”

“What?”

“To remove the scars.”

“Zihang... I...” Her eyes filled with guilt. That’s not what he wanted to see. This wasn’t the first time she’d complained about her scars. She insisted on wearing jackets and sweaters over clothing she felt might reveal them. It’s not like he didn’t know it bothered her. 

She chewed her lip in a sign of anxiety. “I’m sorry... I complained too much. I should... just shut up now.”

“I mean it.”

“But it’s expensive.”

“Your clothes... are expensive. I don’t care about money, Meixiu. You want to go to beach, you want to go swimming right? You don’t dance in costume any more. Is this why?!” He asked, pinning her with questions until there was no room for her to wiggle out of it.

Her silence spoke volumes. “I’m sorry...”

“Don’t apologize. Just say the word and I’ll look into surgeons for you.” 

Please... please stop calling yourself ugly. Stop saying you’re too terrible to look at without fear. Those were the thoughts in his mind.

She finally nodded meekly. “Okay...”

He put his sun glasses back on. He started driving again.

But the white knuckled grip on the steering wheel remained.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #324

“i'll sharpen my knife upon the stone made from the ruin of a dead god's throne  /  listen to these words as my seeds are sown: it's time to amputate the infected zone”

What is the last game you played on your phone? Pokemon GO. Do you give people personalized ringtones? No. Does your phone screen have any cracks? No. What makeup products are you wearing, if any? None. How would you describe your skin tone? Very pale. Do you have your full birth name on Facebook? Yes. What is your least favorite fruit? Probably cherries. How often do you walk around barefoot? Whenever I'm in my house or another person's who prefers shoes off inside. Would you need to sleep with someone before considering marrying them? Nah. Do you think people look up to you? No. How often do you have trouble sleeping at night? Every night. Do you ever rehearse conversations before you have them? YEP. In my head, at least. Can you name five current world leaders? No, haha... When taking a cab, do you talk to the driver? Cabs aren't really a thing here. I've never been in one. Do you always read the book before you see a movie based on a book? No. What is your favorite urban legend? The Jersey Devil. Mothman is dope and super creepy, too. I love cryptids, period. Are you an elitist (even a little bit) when it comes to anything? What? No, because I hate people like that so much. What type of fabric is most comfortable for clothing? I dunno, I don't pay attention to this. If you wear one – bras with or without a wire? With, so long as they're not poking out and stabbing you... If you wear one – are you able to find cute bras in your size? Definitely not. What length do you like your shorts to be? You'd have to pay me some big bucks to see me in shorts, period. Have you ever cut off jeans or other pants and made them into shorts? No. Have you cut the sleeves out of T-shirts to make tank tops? I don't think so, no. What was the last disappointing movie you saw? *shrug* What was the last disappointing book you read? Even bigger *shrug*. Do you ever watch compilation videos? Of what? Rarely, but if I do, they're generally old Vines and stuff. What was the last thing you rolled your eyes about? Probably something stupid on Facebook. Do you like Hellboy? If so, do you prefer the old movies or the new one? I have no thoughts on this. Favorite Disney character who isn’t royalty? Dory! Do you have a lot of people whom you don’t talk to all the time or see all the time, but still consider to be your friends? Yeah, like friends from high school and online childhood ones. Do you typically do your make up the same each time? Or do you like to change it up often? It's just about always the same. Do you enjoy making surveys as well as taking them or do you just prefer to copy, paste, fill out, post? The latter. I don't make surveys. Have you got a significant other? How are things between the two of you? If not, what was your most meaningful/long term relationship and how did that come to an end? I don't. My longest and deepest relationship was with Jason, and he ended it when my depression became too much for him to handle. Have you spent much time in a vehicle lately? What for and where have you gone most this past month? No. I've barely left the house lately for obvious reasons. Has it rained yet this year where you live? How about hailed? It's been raining like crazy lately. A few mornings ago, it also hailed very heavily for a few minutes. What is your favorite thing about Mac computers? I like the sleek, clean look of them. What is your favorite thing about PCs? They have more power for playing games. What are some errands you need to run soon? None. Well, we have a Wal-Mart order to pick up I think tomorrow, and I'll probably ride with Mom. What color was your high school graduation gown? Red. It was between that and navy, and I was really hoping for the latter, but it lost the vote. The red was so obnoxious. How many graduation gowns have you worn? One. Are your parents’ dreams for your life different than your own? I don't think they have their own specific "dreams" for my life. They both want me to create my own future that makes me happy. Have your dreams for your life changed? Definitely, over all the years. Would you ever want to learn sign language? Not especially, but it'd be cool I suppose. What’s the last thing you had for dinner? Chicken tenders, I think? Or was that the night before? Have you ever performed a solo dance in front of a crowd? No, but I almost did. At my old dance studio, the high school seniors had the option to a solo, and I was working on one to "Coma White" by Marilyn Manson, because it was and still is a song I really feel in regards to my mental health and many medications I "have" to be on. I was doing fine, but I stopped when I realized I just really was too nervous as a dance competition approached. Have you ever sung a solo? No. What was the last job you had? Deli worker. For two hours. What was your first job? Sales associate at GameStop. Who was/were your favorite coworker(s)? I never really had one. At what age did you start experiencing sexual attraction, if any? I don't know. Probably my freshman year of high school is when my levels of attraction to people reached a sexual and not just romantic level. Have you ever split open a rock with a hammer, to see a geode inside? UGH no, but I so wanna find one of those one day. What states have you lived in? Only North Carolina. S.O.S., get me outta here. What is your favorite thing about the month in which it is now? You start to see some flowers blooming. Who were your best friends in high school? I had a decent group of close friends, but I was closest to Hannia. I wish I still had contact with her. ^Are they still your best friends now? No. She deleted me off Facebook at some point. Do you live near the mountains? No; they're on the western end of the state, and I live on the opposite side. Do you live near a beach? It's about two hours away. What is your favorite beach that you’ve been to? I don't have a fave. Do you collect seashells? Nah, but I like picking them up and looking at them. My sisters and I used to collect them, though. We have a plastic container of them somewhere. If you were to start a new collection, what would it be? I desperately want a cornucopia of Markiplier merch, sobs. Is there a certain place or store you especially hate going to? I don't like going to most stores, really. I'm an online shopper. When was the last time you made plans with someone? October of last year. How long do leftovers usually sit in your fridge? Depends on the food. They tend to stay in there a bit too long, though. What is something you do for other people that shows you care for them? Offer to listen to them and always be a source of support and love. What was the last animal/pet that you met? Kinda recently, someone in our neighborhood was walking their German shepherd, and Mom chatted with the lady for a bit while I listened. Is there anyone in your life with whom your opinion changes on frequently? No. Have you ever kept a journal? Do you currently keep one? Yes, on-and-off during multiple periods of my life. These surveys are like my journals now. Is there a certain song or band who remind you of specific people? Yep. Motionless In White and Black Veil Brides, Jason. Pink Floyd and Evanescence, Sara. Metallica, Mom. Van Halen, Dad. Etc., etc. How often do you style your hair differently from how you normally style it? Never. Have you ever found out that you have been sleep walking? No, I never have. What’s the last thing you promised yourself? I don't know about promised. I take those so seriously, even to myself, that I hesitate to make them. Have you ever tried making something from one of those short cooking videos? How did it turn out? No, but my friend once tried making that "muffin in a cup" thing and it was absolutely horrid. Very eggy. When was the last time you had to wait in line for longer than a few minutes? Good question. Going into places is so rare nowadays, so it's hard to encounter this issue. Well wait, maybe at a fast food place? Idr. Have you ever written a review for a product you bought online? No, but I should do that once I actually use my own money to buy from small businesses in particular... if I had something good to say, anyway. I'd feel bad trash-talking a product. Do you ever interact with any brands/companies online? No. Is there anything you seem especially sensitive to, such as sounds, smells, etc? Smells, yes. What was the last thing you had the urge to do? Read, even though I didn't do it. .-. Is there anyone you feel that takes you for granted? No. Do you ever read the comments on social media posts? Sometimes, particularly if I have strong feelings about something. What was the last “good” thing to happen to you? My PHP therapist felt confident enough in my progress to step me down to three sessions a week versus every weekday. Last awkward situation you were in? Thankfully it was a one-on-one session, but the same aforementioned therapist was asking me questions that really stumped me, so I kept going very quiet as I thought and felt awkward and dumb. He's brilliant at his job. Think of the last time you were sick – what were you sick with? I think the last issue I had that qualifies as "sick" was a double ear infection from Hell itself. That was like two years ago. How do you think your life would change without social media? I'd be incredibly bored, but I, among I think most others, would be more positive and have a more realistic outlook on life. Social media highlights the best times in our life, and I do feel that that has had a negative effect on pretty much everyone. I don't at all believe social media is bad in essence, though. It's a wonderful way to stay connected. What was the last thing you wanted to buy, but couldn’t afford? I can't afford a new terrarium for Venus for probably a while, being without a job and all... How do you get your news? Facebook, haha. How often do you drive? Never, right now. My permit is long expired, and my vision isn't up to par to renew it. If you had to go (back) to school and completely change your career path, what would you choose to study/pursue? I guess biology? Are there any TV shows you constantly quote or know almost every line to? No. What do you think about lizards? I adore lizards; they're all so cute, big or small, and truly little dinosaurs. They're beautiful and so vast in appearances and behavior. Is there anything that people assume about you that isn’t true, and that you find very irritating? Not that I find irritating, no. How would you rate your “detective” skills? Uh, what am I "detecting?" I'm pretty good at digging online if I'm really hunting something down, I guess. Have you ever done consumer testing (testing products before they come out on the market)? If not, would you ever want to? No; I wouldn't be opposed, depending on the product. Have you ever received anesthesia or morphine? Both. The one time (I'm aware of) where I had morphine oddly enough did jack-all, though. If you had to choose which video game to be in, which would it be? Hmmm. Maybe like, Shadow of the Colossus, living in the beautiful garden on the top of the shrine? With the deer, the birds, fruit, just its general beauty... That would be awesome, especially with one other person, especially an s/o. Just the two of us in a gorgeous land. Between the two, would you rather live in a place where it’s only night or where it’s only day? Only day, I suppose. Vitamin D is very important, for one thing, and it always being dark would definitely affect my depression. And what about the flowers blooming and being able to take pictures? :( Sleep would still be possible by just closing your shades and stuff. Is there anyone that makes your skin crawl? Maggots, bot flies, parasites, patterns of small holes, etc. Do you like it when people are affectionate with you? Yes. If we're at least friends, anyway. I'm a very affectionate person. Have the past few days been bad, good, or neutral? They've been pretty all right. If you had to be an actor/actress in a movie, what genre of the movie would you be best at? Probably as an insane villain in a superhero movie or something. Are people more likely to tell you to tone it down or to speak up? Speak up. I'm a mumbler. I can be too loud sometimes too, though, particularly when I'm excited. What’s the last thing that you procrastinated? Now. Emerson's birthday was last month and I still haven't touched her pictures... Out of fire, earth, water, wind, light, and dark, which element appeals the most to you? Dark. What’s your favorite color on a vehicle? Burnt orange, pink. The last pain that you experienced, was it physical or emotional? Physical. What was one of your favorite songs as kid? I liked lots of pop songs. When’s the last time you tried to get revenge, if ever? Never. It's not something I chase after. Do you like Taylor Swift? No. What’s your favorite Disney Channel movie? The Haunted Mansion, I think. That's a Disney movie, isn't it? If you met your favorite celebrity, would you be calm or star struck? I'd be a deer in headlights, stuttering and stammering over ways to thank him and crying like a bitch. I'd be super embarrassed, but I absolutely hope I get to meet him one day. Do you ever have to do yard work? No. Is your school close to your house? I'm no longer in school. Do you have any live versions of songs in your music software? Yes. Did/do you listen to Britney Spears songs? Yeah, I like her. What shorthand do you use the most? Probably "lmao." What album is the current song you’re listening to off of? METAWAR. In your opinion, what song is the most overplayed right now? I wouldn't know; I don't listen to the radio. Are you in a band? No. When I started high school though, I wished I could be a guitarist in one. That's one reason I started taking lessons, haha. Does your favorite band have a male or female lead singer? Male. Have you ever been to a Broadway show? No. Do you prefer group or individual work? Individual, by a long shot. I work much better alone. Could you ever complete a 500-piece puzzle? I think I have before. I used to love puzzles. When was the last time you rode in a limo? Damn son, never; what could possibly give you the idea I could afford to ever do THAT????? Do you take naps daily? Almost every day, yes. Do you still make Christmas lists? Yeah, because I'm asked to. Do you watch the show Dexter? Never seen it, no. Are you currently using a blanket? Yes. My feet are cold. How long is the song you’re listening to? 4:06. Is your mom or dad the older parent? Mom, but only by a year. Did you ever listen to Avril Lavigne when you were younger? Who didn't? I still listen to a couple songs. When was the last time you changed a light bulb? Not all that long ago when Venus' lamp bulb died. How often do you clean your car out? I don't have my own car. Did you ever buy NOW ("Now That’s What I Call Music") CDs? My older sister did, yes. What color (mainly) is your computer? It's black. What is in the back seat of your car right now? In Mom's car, idk. But there's usually some stuff back there. What is your favorite episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.? Never watched it. Last person’s house you were in? Besides my own, my older sister's. Who is the last person you sent a message to on Facebook? My friend Chelsea. We were catching up. Were you an honor roll student in school? Yes. Do you have a tan? HA. Are you someone’s best friend? Yes. <3 What do you think of when you think of Australia? Huntsmen spiders. *shudders* Favorite gemstone? Of the basic ones, rubies. If we're talking of all of them, even the obscure, then dragon's breath opal. I'd LOVE to have a ring of one of those. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Almost always the drive-thru. What color is your mom’s hair? It's all gray now. Does your first memory involve your dad? No. Biggest annoyance in your life right this minute? My social anxiety. Do you like watching a bonfire? Yeah. Fire is mesmerizing. Do you ever get flu shots? No, but I really should. Once the Covid vaccine is accessible to all though, I'm getting it for the protection of my immunocompromised mother.

[benisasoftboi]

Unorganised thoughts on Trails in the Sky: First Chapter:

Going to keep this as spoiler free as possible because I want you to play this game if you haven’t

I’m well aware that I’m very late to the party here, but... Trails in the Sky is very good, everyone

It had been on my Steam list for like six years. My friend reminded me about the summer sales, and a combination of the price having dropped and good reviews convinced me to finally pick it up. And I am so glad I did

Calling it ‘FC’ from here on out because the title is long, and I can’t exactly uses the acronym that Trails in the Sky shortens to, can I?

So I love JRPGs. I almost exclusively play JRPGs. And FC, to me, is kind of the JRPG. It does basically everything that is expected of the genre, but it doesn’t feel generic because it does all of those things very, very well

Gameplay! The gameplay is fun, a good mix of allowing for strategy and tactics without being massively difficult. I really appreciate that - I don’t play JRPGs because I’m good at video games, but I also don’t like just mindless hitting things all that much 

There are one or two slight annoyances with the combat system (if you’re fighting a lot of enemies you’ll be waiting forever for them all to take their turns, some of the animations are a little slow, when you’re in the field enemies touching anyone in your party can start a battle, which means you have to be extra careful where you step when you have a full party), but none of them are game ruining

And there are no random encounters! Yay! I hate random encounters!

Story! FC’s story isn’t the most unique JRPG story out there, but there’s lots of little touches I greatly appreciated

For one, (trying to work out how to say this without spoilers) - I really liked the main antagonist’s motivations. So very often it’s ‘destroy the world’ or ‘become God King of the universe’ or something. This person had a very understandable and honestly kind of reasonable motivation - like, you could really see how someone would think it was a good idea, the problem wasn’t that they were evil, it was that they either hadn’t considered or didn’t care about the negative consequences it could have on the average citizen. 

Also, the conflicts don’t just stem from like, tangible nefarious forces - you also see how it results from things like untreated PTSD, or industrialisation, or societal sexism. Which is more compelling than ‘everything bad in the world is the result of the evil dragon god, kill it’  

There’s also really good foreshadowing. During a certain scene at the end of the game, I actually gasped when I realised the connection it had with a certain character’s second S-Break. I will say no more, but people who’ve played this know what I’m talking about

Characters! FC has great characters

Estelle: I like Estelle. Firstly, it’s pretty rare for a JRPG to have a female protagonist (hell, it’s relatively rare to even be given the option to play as a girl!), so that was very cool. She has good character growth over the course of the game, and I really enjoy that - she starts out very hyper and optimistic, and she never loses that, but gets better about recognising the right times and places for it. It’s a pretty risky move to give the protagonist of a long game a personality (you have to spend a lot of time with them. Silent player avatars are easier and don’t run the risk of the player not liking them), but with Estelle, it pays off

Joshua: Joshua is very well designed. He’s the game’s real mystery - the whole time, we want to keep playing so we can find out what’s up with him. Appearance-wise he’s unique among the rest of the cast without coming across as ‘my first OC’, he has a great rapport with Estelle and I like him in his own right -  I want good things for Joshua. 

Joshua and Estelle are just a great duo in general. I found the romance subplot... weird, at first, but I came around. I want these kids to be happy, damn it!

Schera: Not my favourite, but good at what she needs to be. My least favourite to use in combat. I like her mentor relationship with Estelle and Joshua, and I also like her design

Olivier: MY BOY. I love him. He’s so great, I love ‘weirdo’ characters and he’s great example of one. I love his design, I love using him in combat, I love his interactions with other characters - Olivier is just the best and I want to be friends with him irl.

(It’s also pretty neat that he’s undeniably canonically biseuxal - that’s a rarity!)

Kloe: She’s fine. Not a huge fan (probably didn’t help her that she joins the party after MY BOY leaves), but I definitely don’t dislike her. She just feels a little generic, is all, and I predicted the ‘twist’ with her a mile off. I love using her in combat, though, and I really like her design

Tita: Tita is cute, and she’s a little girl with a big gun, which is always great, if silly. How old is she meant to be, though???

Agate: I 100% thought that I wasn’t going to like Agate. He comes in with that Arrogant Asshole Shounen Protagonist vibe and I hate that. But then you get to know him, and you realise that his earlier attitude was actually pretty understandable, and by the end he was actually one of my favourites

Zin: Eh. Like Kloe, I don’t hate him, but there’s just kind of nothing that draws me in with Zin. I think he joins too late, and doesn’t have enough time to really build up an interesting rapport with anyone. I liked his interactions with Olivier, though, and he’s pretty great to use - I have a massive bias for defensive characters 

Maybe I’ll feel differently about some or all of them when I’ve played the second game - we shall see...

There’s also a tonne of major NPCs, pretty much all of whom I liked (except maybe Dorothy - I don’t hate her, but she kind of got old after a while. I appreciate that Estelle found her equally annoying)

But the other thing that’s really worth mentioning is the minor, faceless NPCs. Because they all have names and little stories and lives - like, when you’re in the city of Ruan, there’s a maintenance worker named Clive who’s offered a prestigious factory job. He turns it down to look after his brother Todd, which upsets Todd because he doesn’t want to hold Clive back. Then when you move on to the city of Zeiss, you can visit the factory and learn that they’re now struggling to find someone else. Eventually they hire a woman names Louise, who ends up being an excellent choice - but if you visit her home, you find out she has a strained relationship with her own sibling

And none of this matters to the plot at all! You can miss this entirely, but the fact that it (and hundreds of little stories like it) are there makes the world feel so alive. It’s full of people living their own lives that don’t revolve around what your team is doing. It feels real.

We’re told that Estelle and Joshua have to travel the world by foot so that they really understand what it is they’re tasked with protecting. It took me way too long to realise that it’s also so that the player understands, too

So many JRPGs ask you to save the world. FC is special because it actually feels like there’s a world to save

Now I’m going to go play the second game and hope they keep that up!

[gnarynhar]

Circumstances.

So, back in…. May. The 17th or 18th thereof. The laptop I was using hit the loading screen singularity. It booted to an error message. I could restart, and get the same error message, or I could try to run recovery, watch it fail, then restart.

So geared up in my informal hazmat-lite disposable attire, I stepped out of the front door of my little Fortress of Crazitude, and went inside the house, where the functional human beings live, to use a laptop there.

Searching for something I liked was going to take a while. In that strange Before Time, when people went outside without being masked, Dad zipped out and kindly got for me the cheapest laptop he could find.

Now I could begin my search in earnest.

Starting with the gaming rigs. Hideous, hideous, awkard design (that was hideous). The closest to what I was looking for was an Alienware model… that was hideous, and came with something called Tobii eye-tracking. I don’t want my computer staring at me. Plus, this was a gimmick, I don’t play the kind of intense shooters where every picosecond counts.

I kept looking.

I found a laptop marketed as a ‘desktop replacement’. Just the sort of thing I wanted. Something with the power of a desktop, but without needing me to do a major cleaning job to find space for it, and/or rig up something to hold a monitor where I wanted it? Perfect.

So I looked around, a place in the US, it had them in stock, and they would even customize it. Great, a bigger hard-drive! Okay the thing needed two power-bricks to work, which would be a hassle, but I could live with that.

In the meantime, the budget laptop could just about run an older version of Minecraft… as long it was on the server my bff’s hurricane child had dragged me onto, I could make do.

I made my order. ……….

3 weeks passed. I heard nothing from them. Okay, the world is in chaos, I expected some delays. Still, I wanted at least some idea for how much longer I would be making ersatz icepacks to keep my new little laptop from overheating from the overworking I was currently giving it, even as I did my best to cut down on my usual habits to lessen strain on it’s CPU.

I sent in a request for an update. “Oh yeah, turns out we didn’t actually have one in stock”. So how long till they could get one? “Oh they’re discontinued. How about one of these?”

All the ‘these’ were ones I’d looked at and already discounted. Wait, here’s one on eBay, how I about I send it to you, and you upgrade that one? I’ll pay the extra shipping fees.

“Oh no, we wouldn’t be able to honor a warranty on that.”

My domain is the black hole of electronics. Once it’s in here, it won’t leave again. My OCD means I cant have something sent out to be repaired and have it sent back. Once it’s here, it’s here. I tried to explain this, and said I would waive any rights to a warranty. It would be the most expensive idiot tax I’d ever paid, but I was willing to pay it.

June passed and I heard nothing.

Time to look again. I had toyed with the idea of a custom rig from another place in the US, but, oh, the price tag. And the wait time. …Mainly the price tag. Okay, major purchase for me, and I was going to crack open my savings. But still, I’m on a pension.

Okay, another look, see if I can find anywhere in Australia. More cash could be spent on the laptop itself and not the insane international shipping tool.

I found a place. Custom configurations, in a shell that isn’t painful to look at.

Could it be?

I checked some reviews. Chunky…. I like a bit of heft to a device. Besides, it wasn’t going to be doing a lot of moving anyway. 1-2 metres on average at best. Fans can get loud…. that means they’re working. I can get a headset if I need it.

Ooh, and they have a sale on too. I consult with in-house tech support. I’m told I can get the hard-drives cheaper elsewhere, and another M2 memory stick, then put them in myself.

Sweet, more cash to spend on the graphics card and CPU. Not quite top-tier, but heck, I hadn’t been running any of my games on the old laptop at full graphics settings anyway. No dvd drive though, but every other maker seems to have dispensed with those as well. Oh well, it’s not like I used those much anyway, and I can always get an external one.

And it only needs the one power brick.!

Better specs than the discontinued model, I can max out on hard-drive space and have a second M2 drive just for my games, with plenty of room!

Before the end of June, I make my order.

I find a big hard-drive, a good sized M2 stick, and even an external usb enclosure for the hard drive I pulled out of the blue-screened purgatory.

July, that place in the US actually mails me back. Since I was willing to waive a warranty, they might be able to source a model off eBay. Ship has sailed, I’ve found me something nicer, and I’ve picked out the extra drives for it.

A few days later, the new place emails me. They’re having delays, but we have a new range out which will be coming in sooner, here are the stats, we can switch you over to one of those?

I forward the stats to tech support. Nope, the hard drive you got in anticipation won’t fit. New place “hmm, that’s true, we’ll do our best to keep you updated”.

They do, and and my order’s been put in priority for assemblage.

As August gets into gear, my new workhorse arrives, and the poor beleaguered budget laptop can retire to light browsing duty.

Only the big hard drive I got? Turns out it’s fat ass can’t fit in the drive bay. Oops. But with the help of tech support, I found an external enclosure that will fit it, so I have a roomy and easy to use backup device.

And then I stripped the head on the screw holding in the M2 memory. And the other slot, that requires a lot more work to get to. But I’m already wiped from the ordeal, the files on the now external drives run fine, and I still have plenty of room on the drive. I can wait for the sales, and pick up some (carefully dimension-checked) drives then. (This beast will hold 2 standard hard drives!) and get around to putting in the second M2 stick.

And that concludes this chapter of Crazy Shut-in Searches for Their Dream Laptop.

[snoozejoon]

Too Much | Park Jimin

pairing: park jimin x black female oc (ft. jung hoseok.. again :))

genre: angst, fluff, a whoole bunch of lovey-dovey stuff n heartbreak

warnings: mental illness (specifically bpd - borderline personality disorder), mature scenes, vulgar language and mentions of suicide and depression.

word count: 3.3k

Solace Wright just wants to remove herself from her overbearing job and find some genuine joy in her life on her own terms. She didn't exactly expect to land in South Korea to begin making an acclaimed name for herself, and she definitely didn't expect to fall so easily in love. She knows what she came to do and isn't exactly fond of having such a large distraction, but her heart softens without her permission and leads her to experience things she never imagined for herself.

Did she want this? No. Will she stay anyway? Yes.

She may have bitten off more than she can chew.

PREMIÉRE

Past.

HOSEOK hated the heat. He hated L.A too. He loathed the bright, smoldering heat that made him have nightmares of lava eating away at skin before he fell asleep; accompanied by the restless sounds and people that enshroud him everywhere he seemed to turn. And if one more droplet of sweat dared to drip down his face one more time, he'd hop on the fastest plane to Korea within the next hour. 

The moment his skin made contact with the summer sun here, he immediately regretted even coming. Why his father sent him out of all the other nice, heat tolerant people he has employed at his aquarium was beyond him. Beyond him. Literally. He knew little english, despised American food, and random foreigners that couldn't mind their business, so this was the worst job his dad could possibly give him.

The only liable reason he can come up with is that his father trusted him. Which was kind of a given, seeing as he was the only child he had that considered marine biology as a career path. He was also his dad's only child, so there was that aspect too. Hoseok was being sent to one of the biggest sea life aquariums in Los Angeles to sign literally one slip of paper and shake some probably cold hands just to confirm the conversion of the aquarium into the Jung corporation, due to horrible reviews on the well-being of their sea life, and poor treatment of their customers — and employees. 

So naturally, sales dropped, and prices ran cheaper, but people never seemed to want to visit anymore. Hearing about their children's favorite killer whale dying the day after the family went to visit wasn't exactly the best look . . . at all.

His father, noting that every other company tied within the U.S simply refused to lend a helping hand, stepped in on his own. Being a businessman was his best attribute; this simple encounter alone was going to add millions to his company, evidently putting himself even more on the top of the marine world than he was already. He'd do his best to add more revenue to the aquarium under his ownership; since all of the 4 aquariums he owned in South Korea were healthily successful, he only expected the same outcome for the one here; but that would take time. A very long time.

That was great and all, but did it require a whole suit and tie ensemble? In black? He almost wants to cry, but for one: he'll for sure taste the salt in his tears and it's too hot for that, and for two: he's not trying to explain to an American the reasoning behind his tears in his kindergarten level English on this bus that was going way too fast for his liking. So no crying. He could sit and be pissed though, so that's exactly what he does.

It takes a good forty-five minutes to get to his hotel, just to fumble with his key to his room when it was handed to him, lug his too-heavy-for-a-week-stay suitcase into his room, and eventually fall into some strangely comfortable sheets and fall into the arms of a power nap. Jet-lag was yet another thing that Jung Hoseok hated, and he refused to let it hinder the pace at which he could actually leave this place. He had a big day tomorrow.

Hoseok knows that the sun is necessary for life and energy and whatever else, but waking up to it shining directly into his irises wasn't the plan. The universe just seemed to genuinely enjoy messing those up though, so who can really say that this wasn't expected anyway? The meeting was at 10, so he got up at 7, quickly regretting that decision as well; U.S time and Korean time were sworn enemies. But Hoseok prevails and tries his best: studying and trying to absorb every English word he could in the textbook he brought, he even got the mobile app so that his phone could speak to him while he fumbled with his tie. He practiced masking his accent — and evidently failed, but that's okay — and eventually said fuck it, grabbed his suitcase, and left his hotel room.

During the bus ride to the aquarium, he tries to mask his nervousness by continuing to study and attempting to make somewhat of a script for the meeting he had later. He tries to answer in his head any question that could possibly be asked — which shouldn't be many — until he's memorized just enough to get by. He's almost positive that he'll stutter more than necessary and say something incorrectly by default but he decided that was the best he could do.

After a long and almost unbearably bumpy bus ride, he finally arrived at the aquarium, and when he heard about the decrease in visitors, he didn't think it would've been this much. The aquarium was open for sure, but without looking inside, you would've thought it was during closing hours. No one was even remotely interested in the activities occurring outside; which was saying something, because it was a whopping 102 degrees today. The only people actually outside where the employees with the animals, feeding and bathing their assigned sea life.

The aquarium was huge. 2 long pillars held the building up from the sides, accompanied by the various games and activities surrounding it. An array of ticket booths stood outside as well, with less than about 15-20 pedestrians per line. Hoseok felt like he was at the entrance of a movie theater, much less a famous aquarium. Hoseok literally stops in his tracks; just standing to take it all in. admittedly, his father's aquariums were better, but this one was still something to admire. A shame, it was that it wasn't selling well. He knew his dad would fix that though.

As he entered the large building, he immediately makes eye contact with one too many sea creatures; they seem to literally stop and peer at what he's doing and silently ask why. His footsteps falter at his paranoia; was he serious right now?

Let's not make this visit longer than it has to be, Hoseok, he thinks to himself. Please don't.

Hoseok picks his head up, wipes his sweat with the sleeve of his blazer — unprofessional, but he doesn't care — and eventually just takes the jacket off. He wouldn't be forced to suffer anymore because he really couldn't feel the aquarium's supposed "air conditioning" at all. After doing this, he ignores the scrutinizing looks from the fish surrounding him, and begins his quest for the administrative's office to meet with the CEO. Not even five steps are completely taken before he's almost ran over by a woman with a box that definitely had no chance of lasting long in her hands. Way to not make this visit longer, huh?

The collision is heavy, but more so on his part; she actually remained standing, and the sound Hoseok made at his fall was too loud to simply apologize and not worry about potential injuries. 

"Oh my God!” The woman exclaimed. “I'm so sorry-"

The box she held is safely placed on the ground before she reaches out to help pull her victim up — he hadn't even attempted getting up, but sprung up easily with her help. 

"Thanks," he grunted, noting at how soft her hands were, and peeking at her white lab coat. Her eyes were a wide mahogany, matching her skin, and her hair was kept in a high and unruly bun. He decided that he had been irritated enough since he got here, and getting angry — angrier — would only slow him down. 

"I'm fine," he inwardly grimaced at how his voice sounded, "I, uh. I think."

She kept rumbling off with apologies, because what a great way to end her last day here. 

"I'm so, so, sorry! I was just moving out from my room and you were walking in front of my office and—" she blinked rapidly, taking in his appearance and then really looking for injuries, "wait, you look important, a-are you sure you're okay?" Her hands roamed his shoulders, head, and arms before he interrupted her with an embarrassed cough.

"Um." Immediately her hands left his arms, shooting behind her back and interlocking in embarrassment. She couldn't help it, he wore more than her rent and she was not about to get sued today. He felt his cheeks grow hot at her actions; he definitely wasn't used to that. He cleared his throat, loosening the collar of his shirt — was it hot in here? Significantly hotter than usual?

Eventually finding his composure, he directed his speech to her as carefully as he could. "You are okay." Her eyes met up to his, her heart was pounding too damn hard for a Tuesday morning. "Sorry, uh, my English isn't very good — I'm Korean. I'm trying though."

Her brows rose, and Hoseok had to stop himself from thinking the worst before she spoke, "Oh really? I studied marine biology in college, with Korean as my minor, I know the language, if that's easier for you?" She reached down and struggled to pick up her box completely; but Hoseok noticed and helped her to stand.

He couldn't even completely understand what she said, but he heard Korean and easier and put two and two together. 

"Really? Yes!" he coughed, lowering his voice, "Ahem. Please. I have a meeting with your Ceo and I'm not sure how far I'll get." Pleading eyes bore into hers, trying to get his point across.

"I'm Jung Hoseok, by the way," he said, before she could reject him.

The woman's hands wrapped over the box tightly, and her lips turn to blow escaped hairs from in front of her eyes. Noting that he mentioned that Korean would be easier, she quickly remembered the honorifics. 

"Hi Hoseok. I'm Solace. So, you need a translator?" She finally settled her box firmly in her hands and looked at him expectedly.

Solace. It was a beautiful name, it swelled nicely under his tongue when he repeated it. Her Korean was good; her accent was obviously apparent, but still understandable. "Yes," Hoseok answers hurriedly, "If you're not too busy."

Solace shook her head, "No it's fine, today was my last day anyway. Let me run this box to my car really quickly and I'll be right back." Hoseok can barely respond with his gratitude before her heels find their speed and she leaves the building.

When she returned, she also had to direct him to the administrative's office as well, he didn't exactly have a directory to the aquarium. While she was showing him the way, Hoseok had the opportunity to observe the aquarium fully; dwelling on how his father could fix this, and tweak that. And that was all before they even got to an elevator.

He tried small talk too. She was granting him a favor, so the least he could do was get to know her a little. Random questions that popped into his mind, he wanted them answered. He was still in need of a distraction; nerves were never something to be messed with.

"So," he raised his voice as he stepped in the elevator beside her, "did you quit? Is- is that why it's your last day? Or -" his eyes widened with interest, "were you fired?" 

He saw her face turn to him quizzically, she couldn't possibly figure out how that was any of his business, but she let it slide. She clicked the circular 5 button for the fifth floor, and the elevator ascended upwards.

"No, not fired. I quit." she looked down at her fingers, "the reviews written about poor employee service weren't wrong."

"Oh."

Hoseok nodded, not exactly shocked by her answer; it only added to the things his dad could fix once he signed the contract. And maybe it was the close proximity of the elevator, but Hoseok knew the scent of a mango when he smelled it. There was something else in the air too — something tropical.

He didn't know if it was perfume or what, it just smelled amazing. So amazing that his body made decisions he probably shouldn't have; like leaning in towards the area of the smell — which was Solace. He only sacrificed a small sniff, but it was one sniff too many apparently — she tensed up immediately. Did he just? She didn't even see him do it; her attention was on the elevator door waiting to open.

Hoseok hasn't noticed her noticing him, and moved back to where he originally stood, unbothered. He realized that it was her hair that smelled as nice as it did, a dash of coconut and hibiscus scents accompanied the mango too; adding a nice, beachy smell. But Solace noticed, and didn't exactly know how to react either. Her head turned to him swiftly, an amused but weary expression residing in her eyebrow arch and smirking lips. 

“Did you just smell me?"

Hoseok — looking embarrassed as ever and face so red he almost looks sick — Seriously debates acting as if her Korean was so accented he couldn't understand her. Too late for that, of course; but the suggestion still ran through his mind. He wonders if he should just lie, claim she was hearing things, but that would get him nowhere.

"I-I'm sorry! Something just smelled really good so I just-" his ears burn even more at the sound of her small laughter, she reached her hand to cover her smile.

"It's fine," she giggled some more, "does my hair smell that good?" Hoseok releases the breath he didn't realize he was holding when the elevator finally releases an anticipated ding and the doors separate from each other.

Solace disregards Hoseok’s small yes as an answer, and gracefully leads him to the Ceo's door. A closed door with a frosted window awaited Hoseok, who just stood in front of it beside her, frozen. Solace looked to him expectantly, but halted, realizing how nervous this guy really was. When she thought about it, she'd act just like him, let the roles be reversed. So reassuringly, she placed her hand on his shoulder, waiting until he turned to her.

"I got you, Hoseok. You've got this." She smiled, and Hoseok gulped. How embarrassing, Hoseok, really.

"Thanks," he said, before lifting his hand to knock.

"You did so good!" Solace smiled at him from across the dining booth. She was right; he greeted the Ceo and his associates with ease, Solace had to help him with just a few things. And after he signed the few documents he needed to, he took her out for lunch as an expression of his gratitude. And solace never says no to free food, so she happily obliged.

He had asked her what she wanted, so she went to the nearest restaurant that had chicken and waffles; she had been craving them, and Hoseok never had them. So she was in front of him now, indulging in her delicious chicken and dipping her waffles in maple syrup alongside it. Hoseok was watching what she was doing, trying to replicate her etiquette. He blushed for the nth time that day, hearing her bellows of praise. He wasn't complaining, though.

"Thank you," he beamed. "You were a really big help, I'm happy you were there today." He finally tasted his chicken with a syrupy waffle, and Solace watches his eyes widen with astonishment — that's almost everyone's reaction to the treat. 

"Wow."

Solace looked knowingly back at her own plate. "I know."

After Hoseok drew himself back from waffle heaven, he asked curiously, "Wait, so where do you go now? Since it was your last day. Do you have like, a backup job? Something you're interested in?" He looked back at his plate, popping a piece of chicken in his mouth.

Solace chewed slowly, heeding his words while relishing in the simple calamity of the restaurant: the clinking plates and glasses, loud and quieted voices. This was a question she didn't necessarily have an answer to, so she silently searched for some sort of answer to tie him over.

She looked back up and him, frowning a little. "No, not really. I guess I'll just stay with my stepmom for a minute — like, literally a minute, the woman hates me — until I find something . . . else." She shied her face from Hoseok's worried gaze. She just couldn't stay at that aquarium, it payed fine enough, but damn, if it wasn't tiring.

Hoseok swallowed slowly after hearing what solace said about her job, and noting how uncomfortable she was talking about it. Great going, man. A thought crossed his mind — granted, it was a crazy, stupid thought, but a thought nonetheless — that consisted of inviting solace to her dad's aquarium back home.

He almost facepalms just for thinking it. In what world would that make sense? He finally removes it from his train of thought completely, but he sees her expression as she fell silent and looked outside the window beside her. She looked lonely, for a moment, although he was right there in front of her. He wished he couldn't relate so well. Maybe it would've kept his mouth from rambling off.

"You- you know, my dad just had a new aquarium built in the last, like six months. Since it's so new, we're a little short on employees, so if you want — since, you know you're fluent and all —" he gulps seeing her eyes widen, and her body suddenly becoming alert.

"Really?" Hoseok really wished he was kidding when he said she was fluent, just the way she said that one word made her sound like a native. "You are? I mean, it's a little far-fetched, but dammit I'll take just about anything." And he believes her, her heart had amplified it's beating, her excitement from his words noticeable like a star upon obsidian.

His face is burning roses, but his cheekbones raise in a smile; he wasn't lying, he just didn't even know she'd agree so fast — was she thinking this through at all?

No, just like your stupid ass, Hoseok.

Hoseok finds relief in the ice water that was placed next to him, he really couldn't let her down now. finally finding a voice, he breathes, "You sure about that? It might take a little while, but i'll see about getting you down there a little quicker. perks of being the director's son, heh. And you’re a nice enough girl." It was the least he could do. Literally. He won't allow himself to offer anything else.

Solace clutches her lab coat she didn't take off harshly, barely even believing his words. It would take a while, and who knows how long she'll actually be down there for? If she actually got the job? But she knew she wouldn't exactly miss being here. She wouldn't miss her stepmom, she wouldn't miss the loud, bustling people in L.A, and she definitely wouldn't miss that job. The only thing she might actually miss was these damn chicken and waffles. And she'd get to travel. The pros outweighed the cons, to her.

“It does sound nice, but where would I even stay? I’d be broke as soon as I got there," she said, sadly biting her nails.

He knew the answer a little too quickly. "I'm friends with a landlord in the heart of busan, right next to the beach. It's nice. Cheaper than most. I can’t promise anything, but maybe I could persuade him to lend you a room. If you'd like."

Music to her ears. "I'll take it."

Hello again! As I edit and prepare for the newer chapters of Fools, I decided to drop this one to hold you guys over. This is a Jimin fic, but I decided to start it off from Hoseok’s standpoint, because this is how Jimin and Solace’s stories begin, and that’s with Hoseok. At the beginning you will see the chapters fluctuate between the past and the present until they eventually meet up. I hope it’s not too confusing, but my inbox is always open if it is! As mentioned above, this story deals heavily with the themes of mental illnesses, but specifically borderline personality disorder, aka bpd. Jimin is the character with this disorder, so please be aware of that as you continue to read. I also want to point out that I absolutely do not condone romanticizing mental illnesses, so be assured that none of that will be included here. Thank you for reading, and I really hope you enjoy this!

[yuseirra]

Hello Yuseirra! I am a fan of yours and think you’re great; I know you’ve probably answered this before but what program do you use for art? Do you use a different one for the art you make for your rpg game? I can’t wait to see future updates

Hello anon!// A fan..??/// wow..! 0///0) that’s an honor to hear, thank you so much for watching over me and my works!! Maybe I have in the past, but I don’t feel like I’ve answered a question like this for some time, so it’s totally fine! I’ll be glad to help you out!

To jump straight to the answer, I don’t use a different program to use specifically for my game project.. I’m currently using three different programs to draw in particular though, and they’re all great programs so I would like to mention about them all..!

The main program I use to draw is SAI2! You can download and use it from this website, and use it permanently after you purchase SAI 1 and apply the software user license you get after the purchase. (It’s in the explanations, but it’s explained more in detail in this post if you need it!) the price of this program is  5400JPY which is about.. 50 dollars. The program looks like this when you open it. SAI2 has some advantages over SAI1, which would be stuff like rulers, outlining, blur, autosaving, text input and so on. I think there are more new features but those are what I make use of the most :)

I highly recommend this program because it’s lightweight, it has lovely pen pressure (I personally can’t move to other programs because its pen tools feel REALLY GOOD.. it’s the only program I have that allows me to draw in that sketchy and slightly messy style I have! ;v;) it’s really easy to use and it doesn’t force you to move your hands around all the time to press all the different icons like some other programs do. It’s all collected into a small part of the screen and it saves you a lot of time. Plus things look clean and it has almost everything you need if you want to make art!// I’ve made arts for videos and movies, and yes, this is also the program I used to make my game’s art. I edited pixels with this too!

Like this!

The second program I mainly use is clip studio paint. This is a very promising program that’s been growing big since the past few years, and I say it has its strong points. I feel it’s going to get even better too because the program has been updating quite a bit, and the staff seems to be working vigorously! Here’s what my program looks like, and this isn’t what this program looks like initially: you can adjust its windows to help it suit you by clicking and dragging the interface. I remember struggling a lot to push and pull things in a way that makes me feel more comfortable (I haven’t used photoshop but I think the initial interface may look pretty similar to how things are arranged there)

I use clip studio paint to edit my drawings. This program has a nice community that brings many free assets you could import and use (without any copyright issues too) and it also offers really cool features like the recently added auto-color (colorize) feature, gradient map (a blessing), special pens, auto-action.. and so on! I prefer SAI’s pen over clip studio’s so I mainly use this program to make adjustments and finalize my drawings, but it really depends on your own taste. My friend likes clip studio’s ones more than SAI’s and she ended up completely switching to this.

this program also costs about 50 dollars but it goes on sale every now and then, so keep an eye up for it if you’re interested! I bought mine when it was on half-price! and if I really do end up making a lot of money through art someday..(I can dream, right? ;v;) I might be able to afford the EX version which costs a lot more, but is suitable for making books, or creating animations.

The third program I’m using (and the most recent one I bought!) is aseprite! You can buy this program off steam or the official website. This seems to be a tool made solely for pixel art.. and I got it after seeing someone making really cool pixel animations with it.  Here’s how it looks like when you open it.

(Junpei’s one lucky boy.. Chidori is so cute ;v;.. they deserve each other)

I’ve been making some pixel arts using this lately and it’s pretty nice!! I like how it allows you to make pixel animations/gifs nice and fast (although I wish its zoom feature feels less stiff.. things feel too big or too small at times) and the program is very straightforward and it does its thing. This costs about 15 dollars, and I bought it when it was on 25% sale on steam last winter sale. It was in my wishlist for over half a year but now that I got it, I feel like I’ll try pixel-arting a lot more!// Please read over the steam reviews before you get it because it’ll help you a lot on understanding what this program may offer..!

These are the programs that I’ve been using and loving!// I would wholeheartedly recommend them all, but there are also free programs out there as well and I’m sure there are many other options available! Thank you for looking out for my works, I will keep practicing, and I wish to bring works that you may enjoy! Hope this helps you! :)

[vetisntdead]

Murder, By Internet

From the vets behaving badly blog

Feb 24, 2014

I apologize in advance for the length of this, but the story is a bit involved, and I believe illustrative.

Blood ran down my arm, across the back of my hand, and dripped onto the exam table. I stood there quietly taking the verbal abuse from an outraged pet owner, my hands resting on the metal surfaced table. It's better to let them rave themselves breathless rather than trying to interrupt. Ya learn this after a while. Once they've spewed their piece, they eventually stop to take a breath. Then they are not talking. No one can listen when they are talking. It's an A/B switch kinda thing.

I'm pretty thin skinned. Don't mean by this that I'm overly-sensitive. Far from it. Nah, I'm just old. Skin gets thinner when you get old, so when the dog rakes you with those front toenails little furrows appear, followed shortly by that red stuff. And when you follow the physician's advice and take those little aspirin daily, this inhibits platelet aggregation. Oh sorry. Big words, This means you bleed with enthusiasm from little furrows.

I learn from such encounters, even after all these decades of playing this game. I listened intently to the young man, occasionally glancing over at his embarrassed wife. I wanted to learn what he thought I'd done incorrectly. She was dumbfounded by his tirade. I was a mite taken aback myself, but I too stood there taking it in.

By the time he finished, it was completely obvious that I need not try to respond. Why waste the oxygen? This guy had it all figured out, and reality had nothing to do with our little predicament. The first words out of his mouth when he had entered the exam room with his dog, “We didn't like the last vet”, would be the first words out of his mouth at the next veterinary practice. Nothing I had to say was going to change that.

I shook my head and turned away, ignoring that little bit of his spittle hanging off his lower lip. I left him puffing in the exam room. Time to bandage the arm again.

“We should have listened to your internet reviews.”

Yeah, you should have. Thought it but didn't say it. I don't read my reviews, No point in that. But someone, (the mayor of our little city) had mentioned those reviews just the week before. Apparently next to all the good ones were two rather nasty ones. I figured I knew what those were about, and when I replied the mayor simply nodded.

One was a young woman who was incensed when I excused her dog before my exam could even begin. It had something to do with not being able to touch her vicious little dog. Her boyfriend had screamed into my face that I get paid to get bit, and I took some small exception to that bit of misinformation.

The second bad review concerned another client who announced as she entered the exam room, (yep, another who didn't like her last vet) that she was dissatisfied with the dose of the pain killing drug the last doctor had prescribed for her cat, so she had raised the dose without asking if this was appropriate.

The second sentence out of her mouth was to demand from me more of the drug, long before I had the opportunity to become familiar with the animal's condition, the history and the physical exam. I didn't jump at this opportunity for a fast sale, in as much as this was a controlled substance, and prudence suggests we not simply supply these to the public .

Numerous other demands poured from this woman's mouth with each new statement she made. And then the complaints as I began my exam. I was to do it the way she required and how dare I do it my way. I smiled and continued my exam. She continued to rail against every single thing I did. I smiled again.

Goodbye.

The mayor has been a client of mine for roughly thirty years, so I don't know why he consulted those on line reviews, but I'll get back to this thought later.

Anyway, the young couple and their dog entered my exam room. It was a busy Saturday morning and we were completely booked. We'd set aside the usual 15 minute slot for what should have been a routine visit. The chart hinted at an ear problem, and they needed a rabies vaccination. I greeted them in my usual ingratiating fashion. I'm a heck of a nice person after all. The dog was about 45 pounds of one and a half year old mix-breed.

Warning #1: “We didn't like the last vet.”

#2: Dog is wearing a harness rather than a collar. This is where self-preservation kicks in. It's kinda like how you feel when the guy walks into the convenience store wearing a ski mask. Maybe he just has bad acne, but ya still watch em closely.

#3: I get down into my squat that I use to greet every dog that comes into my exam room. This is diplomacy in the dog world. It invites the dog to come over and make friends. It often begins the process that defuses doggie anxiety in the vet's office. It makes the job easier. The friendly dogs just love it. The clients love it. And I really enjoy the dogs. This dog approaches to a four foot distance, stares at me, raises it's lip about a half inch, and then runs behind the man.

#4: “The last vet took a foxtail out of his ear.” When was this? “Last July.” OK, that's foxtail season. Seems reasonable. “But it didn't get better.” (Seemed he intimated that the other vet faked taking a foxtail out of the ear. Heard that nonsense before, too)

OK, how long has he had this ear infection? “I don't know.” Well, how old was he when you first noticed it? “He was about 7 months old.” So, about last February. And it's been infected ever since? “Yes. It didn't get better after the last vet treated it.”

Small wonder. Ears infected for a year, treated once, didn't get better. We gonna need more than 15 minutes for this.

Dog had erect ears, so from across the room I could see a bit of the inside of the ears. They were pigmented black. Bad sign. Usually takes years of neglect before the ears turn black. Turning black is scaring from chronic inflammation, and it portends other damage that is not only permanent but often requires what we call salvage surgery to keep the dog from suffering needlessly. Poor dog's owners clearly lacked the clue.

The young woman showed me the crinkled flattened tube of ear infection medicine. It contained plenty to treat the ears for the usual 10-14 day treatment. “We've been using this ever since, and he didn't get better.”

Sigh.

Without understanding the reasons for chronic or recurring ear infections in dogs, the poor owners who are treating these ears are unlikely to get it right. No knock on owners ( this time), but when not handled correctly such infections often turn into disasters, and even when handled correctly they are often not cured, but merely managed. The sun comes up in the east, and some dog ear infections are extremely challenging to treat. That's just how it is.

Educating pet owners is the single most important thing veterinarians do. This is how we best help the animals. It is critical. It prevents a lot of the preventable disasters. It is also the most challenging aspect of the job. (there he goes, picking on pet owners again) So I spent a half hour explaining the basics to this young couple. My receptionist stopped by to wag two fingers in my face. The next two clients were already waiting. But I was getting somewhere with these two and I didn't want to stop. They seemed to be learning.

Now you might wonder why I still hadn't examined this dog. Normally, this would precede the education part, but I like to give the fearful dogs time to become accustomed to the room and me, and it gives me time to defuse some of the anxiety or hostility residing in the owners, for they set these dogs off by how they react. So I laid on the whole lesson, going back over each concept in different ways when they didn't understand. I'm good at this. Done it for decades. Most clients thank me once they figure things out. I made my other clients wait while investing important time with this couple. It began to feel as if we might make this work.

The time arrived when I would try to examine the dog. Prospects for this hadn't improved much. The dog still would not come over to sniff me. It had sniffed the entire room, wandered out of the room when the owner didn't pull him back by the leash, but never once approached me. You don't simply reach for a dog behaving like this.

I got into my squat again, and it approached to that same 4 feet, and then headed for the other side of the room. The man holding the leash stood right beside me. His dog was over there, giving me the eye. Silly veterinarians often wonder why the owners don't simply use the leash to pull the dog to them so we can actually do our job. Rarely happens. So after a bit, I reached up and took the leash from his hand, and gently pulled the dog toward me. He stopped at that magic 4 foot distances. A bit more tug on the leash as I entreated the dog to come. Harness goes up and over head, landing limply on the floor. Dog hurries over to stand beside the woman, over there.

I held up the useless and turned to the man. “This is why you don't use a harness. They give you no control over your dog.”

Woman stands next to dog. Doesn't grab his collar. Doesn't try to bring the dog over to me. Man does nothing. Woman speaks, “Maybe I should leave the room. He gets real protective of me.”

Ah...warning #5. I shouldn't need to explain this one.

I turn to look at the man standing next to me. Why don't you go over there, take the dog by the collar, and bring him over here? A novel concept he had apparently not considered.

He squats next to me, dog cradled between his legs, biting part facing out. Perfectly wrong set up for dealing with an untrained fearful dog.

I take collar and pull dog in front of me. He lunges left, he lunges right, he lunges left again. I hold collar. He stops lunging and I turn him to face away and induce him to sit. Soft calming voice, praising him for a sit, petting and scratching his back. He settles a bit. I touch an ear.

Dog lunges left, dog lunges right. For expedience I will not repeat this part over and again. The dog did. Take my word for it. After some considerable time, I give up on examining ears. I turn to look at the man who is still squatting right next to me. No attempt whatsoever to control his own dog.

Your dog really needs a good obedience training course. Not only will it teach him to behave, but it will impart him with some badly needed confidence so he won't misbehave like this. Nothing.

OK, enough wasted time. I give the dog his rabies vaccine, and go to stand up. Dog launches one more time, spinning in a circle, which locks my hand in the collar. Not a good thing if he begins to nibble on my arm. Manage to untangle my hand without injury, but dog rears on his hind legs and rakes my arm with his claws. I know that feeling. I'm done with dog and turn him loose.

I'm washing the blood off my arm when the man launches on me. He doesn't like how I held his dog by the collar. Really? How else does one hold a dog by the collar? Silly me. Took me a bit before I realized that he didn't want the dog held at all. That thing where I always say that the use of a harness is the owner's concession that he has no desire to control the dog at all. That's this guy.

So I stood beside my exam table, bleeding, while he assailed me. And then I walked out of the room, bandaged my arm, and then put on my smile for the next client. Excuse me for trying to help. The day went on, as they have for all these decades.

Will this guy put up a bad review on line? Don't know. Don't care. I don't read reviews. I don't defend myself when a bad one shows up. Don't care. My practice has been growing for decades because satisfied clients send their friends to me, and people who don't like how I try to help their animals are welcome find someone who does it differently. Lot's of ways to skin a cat. (sorry cat lovers)

Does it hurt my feelings after all these years of dedicating my life to helping people and their pets to have someone scream at me like that. Yeah....a little. I got into this profession to help, and I've sacrificed a lot to continue doing this for a lifetime. Mostly it is rewarding. Sometimes it breaks my heart.

So why the longs story? Well, last week a few people killed a veterinarian I know.

Oh, they didn't poke her with a knife or shoot her with a gun. But they killed her.

Shirley was in practice for over thirty years, and although a bit unconventional at times, she was always compassionate, up to date, hard working. She finally got the chance to start her own little practice. On a shoestring, she opened a small place in the city of New York. As all start-ups do, it was a struggle. The economy still sucked. The weather sucked. The likely illegal collusion between landlord, banker, contractor and maybe even organized crime nearly bankrupted her. But it took crazy cat ladies to kill her.

A feeder of feral cat colonies in the city adopted a cat from a shelter and then turned it loose in a city park, in the snow and the 2014 winter, to struggle on its own. This lady thinks this is good for cats. Some friends of hers brought the sick cat to Shirley for a medical problem, but of course declined most everything necessary due to cost. So as she had done in the past, Shirley asked them to surrender their cat so she could care for it and then try to find it a nice home. Because they could not provide properly for the cat, they agreed. Later, the woman who had turned the cat loose in the park showed up to claim the cat, and Shirley refused. She didn't want to see the cat abandoned again. And she didn't at that point even know who owned the cat. For she had been duped into believing the first two people owned it.

That's when it started. Vicious evil people have the same voice on the internet as the rest. An organized assault on Shirley began on the net. An on-line blog that specializes in character assassination zeroed in on her. Protesters with signs lined the street in front of her hospital, and had to be removed from her clinic by the police. People who had no idea of the facts hopped on board with the mob because the evil rich veterinarian deserved it. They were vicious, conscienceless, and evil. But they got their wish.

Shirley killed herself the other night.

And the vermin on the blog celebrated, cheering her death in their posts.

Ask any veterinarian out here. This hurts us. So I guess they win.

[rinnechan]

1 day to Zukkii's birthday!!! 🌈

This video always makes me smile!!! ✨😊

Tomorrow I'll post one more translation.

The last part of Zukkii's answers:

· Something that makes you think "At least to this, I don't want to lose" → There is nothing (^_^;)

· What kind of drink do you like? What happens when you get drunk? → Beer! I get excited 〓

· The degree of cooking rice? → Mother's [rice] is a little hard!

· Hairstyle you want to try → Twist or Blonde

· What do want from Doraemon? → Anywhere door ~

· Something you've been taking lessons? → I'm going to a swimming school.

· From the members of your family, with whom do you frequently talk on the phone? → Mother. After her, I talk with grandma.

· Your hair type? → A little curly. I have a lot of hair.

· If you started a comedy group with the members? → It would probably be Gekidan ☆ Hana Teruo! [It seems that was a comedy trio with Zukkii, Kaji and Wada from the time of DD-BOYS]

· Do you resemble Jan or Yuta? [Yuta = Zukkii's character in Shakariki] → It depends on my excitement?

· What kind of contact lens do you use? → 1-day lens. It seems that the one with high oxygen permeability is good.

· Dog person? Cat person? → Cat person!

· [Who do you like the most] Gachapin or Mukku? → Gachapin!

· How would you describe your personality in one word? → Loose

· When you get angry, are you scary? → I don't think I'm scary. I don't get angry very often.

· Have you already lost all the weight you gained during the New Year's season → Of course!

· Your strengths and weaknesses → People say [my strength] is kindness. I say [my weakness] is kindness as well.

· Do you know the story about $ 10? → Yes. Long ago I used to watch 'On Air Battle' a lot

· If you could attach a catchphrase to yourself? → "An old-school type, yet friendly ikemen"... Suzuki Hiroki's 2nd photobook "If you smiled..." is now on sale with rave reviews (lol).

· A name for your [future] child? → I want to chose an unusual name.

· A look/style you'd like to try once. → What could it be... I'll use everyone's requests as reference!

· 10 years from now, what do you want to be doing? → I believe I'd like to [still] be doing this kind of work.

· Which members do you respect? → Yuyan · Yanagi

· A secret about the members → [It's a] secret (^皿^)

· What is the first thing you do when you come back home? → Gargle and wash my hands

· When you have a flu, does it start with a fever? From the throat? From the nose? → With a fever.

· Favourite girls' hairstyle → A fluffy perm, a bun, short hair with movement, I also like pattsun bangs [=a straight cut over the eyes]. I like everything (lol)

· Will you watch the World Cup? → I'll go to the sports bar.

· A member with beautiful hands? → I guess, Adachi?

· Did your pimple heal? → It's complicated (^_^;)

· What have you just bought from a convenience store? → Canned coffee · magazines

· What do you put in fried eggs? → Absolutely soy sauce!

· What is important in love? → To not lie.

· A funny fact about DASH! → As we traveled by bus, Wada-san became our bus tour guide (lol).

· Do you want to go to Hokkaido or Okinawa? → Okinawa because I haven't been there yet!

· Stylish members → Yuyan, Araki, Channaka, Seto, and Usui is cute too. I think everyone is stylish.

· Speaking of Professional Baseball's Araiba? → I'm sorry, I don't know that... Please tell me about it!

· Do you detach the lid of the pudding? Or not? → Ah, me, I don't!

· Do you think you look good in girls' clothes? → Ee, that would be outstanding (lol).

· A thing you had a complex about but that people actually praise? → My neck, I guess?

· If you got married: would you rent a house? Own a house? → To own a house would be nice, ne~

· What happened to your baby teeth? → I still have them (lol)

· Do you get nervous when you perform theater plays? → A lot! To fight my nervousness... I imagine myself smiling when the play is finished and do my best!

· If you had a child you loved, what would you want him/her to do? And not do? → I want [my child] to do anything that he/she likes. I just don't want him/her to tell lies.

· How many inches is your TV? Is your room simple? → A normal size (lol). The room is simple, but it's not tidy...

· Type of underwear → I'm the type who prefers trunks to boxers.

· Younger women? → I think they're cute!

· Do you reply fan letters? → Of course I read all of them but, as the amount is large... I'm sorry m(__)m

· With the exception of your hometown dialect, what other dialect do you like? → I like Kansai-ben! I like it yanen! [Yanen is a Kansai-ben expression]

·Family structure → Father, mother, older brother, grandma

· Where is your flashy parka? → I don't know (lol). It looks like something from a sports brand!

· The most important thing now → The present circumstance

· When you were little, were you a "mother's boy"? → Maybe. But I possibly also was a child with unexpectedly calm eyes.

· How long is your bath? → Usually around 20 minutes. But when I feel like "Let's soak!", then it's probably about an hour.

· Do you like Kamome no Tamago [= white bean paste manjuu covered in white chocolate, in the shape of a seagull's egg] and Nanbu Senbei [= a type of rice cracker]? → I like them. We usually had them at home (lol).

· Do you like GOING STEADY [=a Japanese music band]?S → I like it! Youth. I like "Ginga Tetsudou no Yoru" and "BABY BABY".

· About girls how are late: how long do you wait? → Even forever. As long as she really comes (lol)

· Disney's favourite attraction → Space Mountain

· Do you take trains? → Gangan [= loud noise] I take.

· An amazing event → Probably when I slept for one whole day. I seemed like "Uh? Time stood still?". For a person, I thought that was somewhat amazing (lol).

· What if the remote control of your TV broke? → To be honest, I don't understand exactly how to schedule a recording. This is also amazing, ne, for a person (lol).

· If you were a dad, what kind of games would you play with your children? → If I had a boy, soccer! If I had a girl... I would do exactly what she told me to do (lol).

· Grilled fish, boiled fish, which one? → Grilled fish!

· Cosplay? → Lum-chan!! [=Lum Invader] [Sorry, I didn't understand the rest of this question and answer...]

· Members who are cool, cute, funny? → Yuyan, Usui, Jikka [=Kaji] sensei

· If it happens that there are such things as abilities given by gods [what would be yours]? → Luck!

· Is black hair perm strange? → As if saying "It isn't like that", I also have one (lol).

· What do you think of fans who are mothers? → I'm grateful to everyone who supports me! Regardless of age or sex. ... Although I'm a little more inclined towards the small kids (lol).

· What does the guestbook mean to you? → Similar to the letters, it always cheers me up!

· What do you think about Maakun? → He's my elder brother in many ways! that's how I feel. His attitude towards people, his way of thinking. He's a real adult, and kind.

· Part-time job experience? → Fish market, gyudon, transportation... I have a lot.

· If your girlfriend cheated on you? Where does infidelity come from? → Hmm, it would be unforgivable. [It comes from the fact that] the feelings changed, doesn't it?

· What does Tenimyu mean to you? → Starting point.

· What are fans to you? → They are a very important existence. I can't think of any other words.

· Why did you decide to become an actor? → I think I talked about it a few times in interviews, but... In elementary, junior high and high school I spent time freely, without thinking about anything; because I had to choose a career after I graduated and because I like children, I started the course of Child Education in college in a relatively casual way; I was invited by a companion from high school (a guy who was so smart, funny and popular with girls that people called him "Charisma") and, for a while, I aimed to become an entertainer. I did live performances in my hometown for about half a year, but ultimately I lacked preparedness and I quit. After that, I turned back to the basic things in life... Thoughts like these kept bubbling up in my mind: "Is it okay to be like this?", "What do I really want to do [in life]?" It was, perhaps, the first setback of my life (until then I never really had a big challenge, that's why there were no setbacks (´Д｀)); it became a turning point, at 19 years old I started thinking seriously about life for the first time. After that, as I couldn't come up with anything by myself, I spent around 1 year searching for a solution, then, in the spring of my twentieth year, I headed to Tokyo thinking "I'll try to become an actor!"... And now, here I am. [Thinking about] that time when I was 19・20 years old, even I get surprised, for a number of reasons, by how active I became... As someone who was gone through this phase, I want to say to the people who are in the middle of something similar to it, that I wish for you to put up a good fight. Because I'm sure there will be something to gain.

[bestfungames1]

New Post has been published on https://bestfungames.com/marvels-avengers-review/

MARVEL'S AVENGERS REVIEW

69

MARVEL’S AVENGERS REVIEW

Marvel’s finest have never looked or sounded this good, but their best efforts feel in vain.

By Robert Zak September 07, 2020

As the Marvel’s Avengers campaign ends, to be replaced by samey missions, it reminds me of the dual identity of so many superheroes. Avengers straps on its tightest, glossiest spandex for the campaign and dazzles with its moves, but once that adventure ends and it returns to the daily grind of a multiplayer-oriented endgame, it blurs into the crowd. Inoffensive, yet indistinguishable but for its famous superhero superstars.

The frustrating thing about Marvel’s Avengers is that for the first few hours, you see hints of what it could have been—a visually spectacular and satisfying adventure—but then a functional, unoriginal loop of missions takes over, and you realise that that’s the actual game you’ll be spending most of your time with.

The campaign offers a simple story, following future Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan as she seeks to reassemble the Avengers following a disaster that creates a wave of new superheroes labelled as ‘Inhumans’. You’re pitted against floating-head-with-tiny-limbs, MODOK, who’s intent on wiping out all Inhumans with the help of AIM’s Scientist Supreme Monica Rappaccini and her army of robots.

A pretty regular Marvel setup then, and beautifully written, animated, and voice-acted throughout. I found myself actively looking forward to the cutscenes and snippets of in-game banter.

R relationship between Bruce Banner and Kamala Khan unfolds beautifully. Banner’s unsure body language and mix of irritation and avuncular care he shows towards Khan—whose chirpy teenage optimism is just what 2020 needs—is a masterclass of voicework and mocap. It also elegantly addresses the fact that, to a 30-plus curmudgeon like me, the fresh-faced Khan can be kind of annoying, but her convincing character arc soon gets me completely onboard.

(Image credit: Marvel’s Avengers)

Given the amount of big names the campaign has to introduce, it’s understandable that not all the relationships get the same level of attention, but each character still entertains as you bring the Avengers’ floating command centre back to life. The villain MODOK, with his pustulent, hypertrophic head that seems to swell up with every scene, is brilliantly brought to life. The performance turns one of Marvel’s goofiest-looking heroes into a memorable, eerily soft-spoken villain.

However, once you’re aboard the Avengers’ Chimera ship, it becomes a little too obvious that you’re being roped into the publisher’s long game. You walk around on deck as your Avenger of choice, picking up time-limited challenges from vendors, buying gear using real or in-game currency, and using a map to freely drop into missions set across several biomes around the world. Some you do solo, others you do alongside up to three other Avengers, who can be controlled by AI or online players. I’d play with others where possible, and it speaks to the simplicity of the missions and combat that there’s not too much need for communication or a balanced squad.

I did get to play online alongside Hulk wearing a Hawaiian shirt and fedora though.

(Image credit: Marvel’s Avengers)

PERFORMANCE

I’ve been reading a a little bit about performance problems on PC, but can say that my experience has been mostly stable. There were a couple of odd bugs during the campaign that forced me to restart the game, and multiplayer matchmaking has been very slow from my experience, forcing me to give up after minutes of waiting multiple times.

The combat is a curious mix of classic brawler moves like juggling, suspended aerial attacks and light-heavy combos with the counter-and-dodge-based style of the Arkham games (there’s even a move where you jump over a shielded enemy’s head to break their shield). Little icons on the edges of the screen tell you how close a missile or laser is to blasting you away, while enemy melee attacks are telegraphed by coloured circles, which let you know whether to dodge or parry them. Get enough attacks together, and your rage meter fills, letting you unlock spectacular special moves like Iron Man summoning his Hulkbuster mech, or Ms. Marvel turning into a long-limbed giantess resembling a wacky waving inflatable tube girl.

The icons give you a lot to think about while filling your screen with a confetti of mechanised enemies and special moves executed by your fellow Avengers, and it doesn’t always feel like you—or even the game itself—can keep up. A couple of dozen hours in, I’ll still often dodge instead of parrying when the enemy attack circle is white (dodge for red, dammit!), and that all-important telegraphing of enemy moves isn’t entirely consistent, and the camera’s a little too close for comfort – great for ogling Hulk’s slabs of back muscle, not so great for managing space in a scuffle.

Playing as the speedsters of the group, Ms. Marvel and Black Widow, feels much better than Hulk, whose lumbering style doesn’t sync well with the already slowish animations and floaty jumping physics. High-flyers Iron Man and Thor, meanwhile, definitely offer a buzz as you can freely swoop into battle from way overhead of your buddies. Unfortunately finer aerial maneuvering and attacks are fiddly and much weaker than melee. It may be fun to fly, but the action’s really on the ground.

But in a game so much about fan service, there’s something to be said for making each superhero feel unique, even if that is at the expense of balance. The characters move and attack just like you remember from the movies or imagine from the comics, right down to the disinterested way Hulk toe-pokes chests open. During these little moments, and amidst the on-screen muddle when you string together a bunch of counters and executions before letting rip with a hero’s special move, the superhero fantasy successfully shines.

(Image credit: Marvel’s Avengers)

The bigger problems come later. Missions may be set all over the world, but levels themselves are sparse expanses of snow/forests/city where you hunt for crates hidden in metal bunkers guarded by faceless robots, before proceeding to complete a main objective—destroying a few structures, or holding onto some control points, Battlefield-style.

The game tries to spruce things up with awkward platforming segments and hunts for SHIELD stashes (essentially a slightly better stash among endless stashes), but they’re visually ugly and unvaried, in stark contrast to the elegantly animated and designed superheroes that run around them.

Also, for some reason the ‘Power’ level required for various missions is all over the place, greatly restricting the amount of missions you can tackle. I was quite up for a boss-fight mission that SHIELD offered for their daily challenge (which improves your faction rank with SHIELD, which lets you buy locked-off gear yada-yada), only to find that I was dozens of levels below being able to do it. These are the kinds of things that can be smoothed out over the coming months, but as things stand a good chunk of the endgame remains level-gated.

(Image credit: Marvel’s Avengers)

Back aboard the Chimera, the metagame of daily challenges, endless gear upgrades (with daily ‘specialty’ items) and missions becomes particularly noticeable post-campaign. Without the more bespoke campaign-specific missions and story to break them up, the monotony begins to set in, and while there is an obsessive feedback loop to repeating missions, upgrading your gear, and improving your character in perpetuity, you don’t even get to see these gear upgrades. The only aesthetic changes are different costumes, which are a hard to find, and otherwise locked behind higher levels and real-world currency.

There’s nothing too egregious about the microtransactions, which are purely cosmetic and also include emotes, nameplates and execution animations, but there’s nothing particularly satisfying to work towards in the endgame either.

Perhaps a fleshed-out single-player campaign will never be enough to satisfy Avenger’s marketing aims. The story is worthy of Marvel’s movie canon, but it’s too short and ends up being a shiny wrapper for what’s currently a rudimentary game-as-service.

(Image credit: Marvel’s Avengers)

This comes with the caveat that it’s just getting started, and there have been plenty of online-oriented games that started slowly. There’s enough button-mashy mileage in the combat system, especially as new heroes get introduced as DLC, but it’s the mission design and loot loop that let it down. It’s just not strong or varied enough to justify the long-term investment the game wants from you.

Not that justification beyond a 14-hour campaign and ‘it’s your favourite superheroes and they look amazing’ is needed for a day one purchase, based on the game’s early sales. But if Marvel’s Avengers wants to keep loyalists sweet and expand its player-base, it needs a lot more flesh on its vibranium skeletal armature. If only the game could carry some of its narrative prowess from the campaign over into the endgame.

[jay-omnipotent]

Open For Readings - Jay’s Tarot

(King of Pentacles from the Everyday Witch Tarot by Deborah Blake, art by Elisabeth Alba)

I’ve had mixed feelings about reading for money in the past, which is why I’ve always done free readings. But some insight from members of the community and some life changes are encouraging me to finally put my skills to serious use. So, here marks the opening of Jay’s Tarot. :)

My History

I’ve been reading tarot for about ten years now. I started as a kid with the Starter Tarot deck, reading for family, friends, and myself, and got a lot more into it in my later teenage years, expanding to various other decks.  Tarot has always been deeply wrapped in my spirituality, hence my trouble with asking for money for readings and why I won’t be charging too much for my spreads. I’ve come at reading from a few different perspectives and now incorporate memorized meaning, symbolic interpretation, gut intuition, and sometimes clarification from the book to give properly holistic answers. I’ve read at parties and most recently for a non-profit fundraiser, so this is the next step in upping my game.

Prices

When I read you, you get to choose the deck, spread, and medium over which I give you your message. Note: I include a picture of your spread with every purchase, typed or over call!

3-card, Past-Present-Future spread, typed: $5

The most common tarot spread, used by just about everyone. It is quick but powerful, establishing the foundation of the issue at hand, the current situation and advice, and the likely outcome or the goal that should be sought.

10-card, Celtic Cross spread, typed: $15

Another more common, but much more intricate spread. This is a go-to for deep analysis of an issue or question, taking into account past and future, and internal and external factors, giving comprehensive understanding and advice.

3-card, over phone or Skype: $10

While I’m good at typing out what a spread means and that alone can be enough, sometimes what you need is a conversation. With this option, unlike the basic one, you’ll have the opportunity to ask follow up questions, get to clarify confusing aspects of the reading, expand upon your situation more, and get more of my personal insight. This conversation can go up to 10 minutes (but I’m usually flexible). As I don’t include a typed version, I recommend you have a notepad handy for any key points that come up.

10-card, over phone or Skype: $30

Same as the 3-card, only this conversation can go up to 30 minutes. This is really helpful when interpreting larger spreads as we can examine all of the intricacies and inter-card connections and have time to really get to the root of your answer.

You Choose / I Choose / Customize Your Spread: Priced as Appropriate

Let’s be honest, there are infinite tarot spreads out there. If you’re looking for something that can best tackle your specific question (relationship questions are a big example), you can either bring me a spread you’d like me to do, ask me to choose (or make!) one that I feel would work best, or we can work together to customize an old spread so that it fits your needs. These can be done in a single written piece or over a call just like the others.

And of course I won’t ask for extra if I feel the need to draw an extra card or go another few minutes into a call.

If these prices are too high for you (I understand the broke life well) but you’re still interested in my readings, give me a follow and stick around. As well as the general tarot posts and occasional witchy reblogs, I plan on doing sales and specials at least once a month (like the one at the end of this post!), and you might even score a free reading. Who knowwwws.

Contact Information

While you could send me a message through Tumblr, your most reliable method of contact is by emailing me at jaymore1545@gmail.com. We can discuss your question, spread, pricing, and anything else needed, and I’ll give you the link to my paypal.me for when you’re ready to pay. So you’re aware, you’re free to email me about setting up a reading without making a commitment, but I will only draw cards after a full payment has been made.

Opening Deal!

From now until December 15th, anyone who reblogs this post gets 50% off their first reading of any kind. Yes, that includes video chat readings. Furthermore, anyone who correctly guesses my Sun Sign in the tags has a chance to win a free 3-card reading. I’ll draw three names on December 1st, feature your blogs in a post, and we can go back and forth through Tumblr messenger or by email figuring out your spread’s meaning.

Thank you for reading!

I hope my tarot knowledge is able to serve this community, that I’m able to help you all, and that I make some great friends along the way!

To see what decks I read with and to read my general policies and disclaimer, check the read more.

My Decks

From the Light Grey Art Labs, the Cosmos Tarot & Oracle Deck.

This deck has 78 tarot cards and 22 oracle cards, each individual card drawn by a different artist.

Each card is connected to an astrological story, and as such it gives the standard tarot meanings a very unique twist.

This deck’s Oracle cards are used to show motion, such as the pushing and pulling forces behind a spread’s message. You can add oracle cards to any spread for $1 per card.

The Wildwood Tarot

My first deck following my beginner’s edition, the Wildwood also takes a unique interpretation of the traditional Rider-Waite card meanings. The major arcana is shifted around a bit, and the cards are given a variety of possible interpretations. Full of Celtic and nature themes.

The Everyday Witch Tarot

This deck has incredibly clear, beautiful symbolism. It is very easy to read so you are sure to get an easy to understand message, although it may lack the depth another deck could give when dealing with a complex situation. Or, maybe having everything spelled out in easy terms is just what you need! This deck also does not read with reversals, which contributes to the theme of simplicity in readings.

The Linestrider Tarot

This deck is gorgeous and every card is made like a watercolor painting. It is very intuitive, and the book places a special emphasis on the meanings that arise when certain cards come up together. An introspective, emotional deck, with a book that takes standard tarot interpretations and deepens them to previously unknown levels.

For those interested, I also own the Gay Tarot and the Color Oracle, but I have to admit that I am less experienced in using them.

General Policies and Disclaimer

Understand that tarot is going to be what you make of it. Some people view it as magic, divination, and a way to predict the future or contact the inner voice. Others view it strictly as a tool to force the mind to shed light on over-familiar situations in new and unfamiliar ways. I cannot guarantee that my readings will accurately predict the future or even make sense. The more you work with what messages I give you, or the more information you give me to work with, the more a reading will make sense. Something that appeared to mean one thing may mean something else. Personal flexibility in your own interpretations is key to a satisfying reading. Sometimes, a reading can predict an event that has not come to pass or that has not been consciously realized yet. Meditate on the message, and maybe, whether spurred by an internal or external event, it will click.

Financially, what this comes down to is that I cannot offer refunds for unsatisfactory readings.

This should go without saying, but, should I read a negative event in the future, I am not personally responsible for that event coming to pass. While I doubt that tarot will ever show me a literal death, there are other negative events such as loss of a relationship, job, home, etc. that may come up in spreads. Be prepared for bad news just as much as good news.

Most importantly, I am not a certified mental health counselor or life advisor. My readings are to help you consider your own circumstances from another perspective and may encourage you to follow through with or think deeper on your plans. And again, my readings come from a spiritual background, not one of college education. Should the cards be encouraging you to take an action in your life, please consider all perspectives before doing something potentially risky. My cards and I are not responsible for negative circumstances that come about from a decision influenced by one of my readings. Really, this goes for all tarot readers.

I reserve the right to turn away clients for any reason, though it will almost always be because I believe their question is truly not suited for tarot or if they are asking essentially the same question multiple times in a row hoping for a better draw of the cards. Again, it is not my place to help you with problems affecting or that could affect your mental or physical health. If you’re heavily depressed, please talk to a doctor. If you’re at risk of harm from someone, please contact law enforcement. Yes, I’ve read myself on matters of mental and physical health, so if I do agree to a reading near any of these topics, understand that they are supplementary at best and that your main source of help should be from professionals in the relevant field.

Another thing that should go without saying: I can turn away anyone should I think, for any reason, that they are harassing me or even just being rude. My services are a space for zero negativity (excluding polite but negative reviews and constructive criticism - I’m not that harsh) directed at me and I will cut connections for the slightest appropriate reason.

Phew. All that stuff out of the way, I just want you to know that I want the best for you and that I’m going to interpret every spread from a perspective of what you can do to make whatever situation you’re in better, or even better! I’ll put love and understanding into every reading as much as I am able to.

And if you read this far? Triple thank you.