#why artistic ability WHY AAA

[catlover4536]

@soda-sparkss This may or may not contain a reference to my own (unreleased) au ...but it's still too funny not to post so-

[factual-fantasy]

26 ASKS! :}} FANK U! 🎃

Its partially becuase I know personally how much it sucks to have people draw fanart or take your templates without asking..

But part of it I feel is just.. basic manners? Right? Its heartbreaking to me that just asking to do that stuff beforehand is not the norm. I wouldn't want people do draw/use my stuff without asking, so why should I do that to others?

Even if I see on their blog someone surprised them with fanart and they were over the moon about it. I'd still ask. Its their stuff, I should ask. The answer could be no, you never know! Just be decent and ask first.

@neo-metalscottic

AAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! :DDDD

I can say that the only animatronics that had the bug wiped from their systems are the ones that are in service. But sadly I cannot elaborate much further becuase of spoilers.. 💔💔😔😔😔😔

I DID NOT REMEMBER ELECTROBAB ACTUALLY- Thank you for the reminder! I'll have to add that one in someway, hmm...

Thank you very much! But sorry,, no can do! The ref sheets are only for my eyes to see.. 👀

AAAAA THANK YOU SO MCUH!!! 😭😭💖💖💖💖

A dragonfly! :00

@chloe24603

I got Lolbit! But handunit.. hmmm.. I might have to do something with him-

I KNOW!! 😭😭💔💔💔 Its okay though I immediately turned around and added her to the AU so we're good 👍

AAAAA THANK YOUUU!!!! :DDDDD

@pinkbomb08

AAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :DDD

XD I'll be sure to draw more of him soon!

@bunny-coffee (Post in question)

AAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! And yes! They do! (Also it doesn't show it here but Nikki's nickname is Melon XDD)

(Post in question)

AAA THANK YOU!! :DD I wasn't so sure about that drawing so I'm glad you liked it! :}}

(Post in question)

XD Sooner than you think-

(Post in question)

EXACTLY XD

I LOVE the amazing world of Gumball. But I don't take drawing requests! <XD

@fablegate

Thank you so much!! :DD I'm glad you like what you see! :}}} 💖💖

Well Tangle is a rather obscure animatronic.. I had to google her actually-

And I don't have much of an interest in the book series, <:( so no twisted wolf. 💔

I was thinking that a monsters magic and body are very intertwined. Like if a monster is physically wounded that effects their ability to use their magic in a way..?

So Jevil having his horns cut would throw off his vibe basically--

@thesweetishfish

I cant really remember any specific headcannons for Shellington or the others off the top of my head... <:/

<XD No no its not Jello. Its blood! :D And yes my hands are fiiiine, they're just artist hands 👍

@beryl-shade

I have! Well sorta- its mostly Minecraft ocs. I have this post, this one and a bonus post! :0

I'm not familiar with that game so I have no idea, sorry! <:0

@danman22ful

I haven't finished Marks play through, but the sass we get from sun is pretty funny XDD

[celestie0]

Girl I was balls deep in my attempt to make fanart for u a couple months ago

Like I had the reference pictures collated and I sat my ass down and picked up an pencil with the intention of actually drawing something after ages

cause basically I became a lil sad cause I felt like I forgot to draw bc last year in school I took an external art subject and it didn’t occur to me that doing a hands on subject through distance study wasn’t the brightest idea

anyway that fucked me over and led to me dropping and taking up fucking legal studies 😭

Even though I’m a bit more STEM based I can still fw the wordy subjects but not this someone pls save me why am I being assessed on the bi cameral structure of parliament

saur yh I’m super lazy as is with anything so that situation just put me off drawing and art completely

congrats to me setting every world record for yip yapping and going off track

ummm yh for context it was like my 10th read through of the kickoff chapter 6 scene that compelled me to collate a bunch of reference pics that ranged from twitter smut comics to bathroom sinks and eventually I gave up because anatomy is a bitch

I changed into a dress with the same type of neckline I think reader was wearing bc of the way it tucks under her boobies and I was this close to just shamelessly positioning myself in front of the mirror to make my own references

then ofc I got distracted by a half baked portrait of Rose from titanic that I drew when I was like 15 and ended up drawing a two hour long remake of the same picture

only for my friend to tell me it looks like Mary Shelly’s ghost

Should I know who that is

To be fair it looked nothing like her but I mean it was an improvement from thinking all my ability just went poof and I drew better when I was 15

never the less I was somewhat disappointed with the product and I haven’t drawn since

wait I wanna show u actually lemme try

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0edTRG9Tb54pRh9Qe5unszRrg

the Mary Shelly in question

do these links work I’m scared I’m gonna accidentally leak personal details or my whole camera roll lol

also IM NOT AN ARTIST don’t judge me peeps I’m just a girl idek how to drive yet

I feel bad every time I send an ask I feel like I’m force feeding u Ellie babes u have the patience and commitment of a saint

also OMG IF YOU MADE ART FOR ANY OF MY FICS I’D SOB!!!!

I want to 😞🫶 but alas prospect of fanart from me will most likely never see the light of day

that crack scene in ihm was tempting tho everything u write is just so visual

♥️ mwah my gorgeous gorgeous writer wifey

hellooo my dear PLS the ramble of this ask is legendary and i found it very entertaining xD

ouuu the dress that reader wears in ch6 of kickoff is actually based on a dress that i own, here's some pictures of it!! i'm curious if the dress you have is similar!! but yea this is the official outfit reference hahah

looking at it now it's kind of a mild sweetheart neckline lol n yea def tucks under the boobs very nicely xd i was actually gonna sell it on depop a couple months ago when i did a closet cleanout but i was like nahhh i gotta keep it bc it inspired that scene

taking your OWN reference pictures sounds so badass. and its ok babe it's the thought that counts haha <3 i feel u about the losing passion/talent in art thooo aaa i used to draw too but ehh hobbies fizzle

ahh i can't see the cloud photos :(( but anywho thanks for the yap my dear!! i ate it up. also side note but i'm so glad my writing comes off visual to you!! i always worry there's not enough description in my scenes so that's reassuring to hear. much love!

[oneluckydragon]

Welcome to the PMD side of Tumblr! The PMD community constantly amazes me with the talent and passion people have (The game deserves it and I am eternally happy when people talk about PMD aaa) so even though I don't contribute much myself (Not the best artist eheh...) I hope the support and stuff people like me show makes it cool to post the stuff you make!

On your recent post, I had a hero Riolu and a partner Chikorita! I took Riolu as a kid since yknow that's what I got it was the RulesTM. I honestly have no idea why I took Chikorita since I don't think I liked the evolutionary line back then but after playing the line it grew on me SO MUCH and now they're one of my favorite pokemon of all time! I appear to also have the magical ability now to always role Sassy on the personality quiz which is Riolu so I don't have to cheat anymore it just works.

Sorry for like text dumping but it's just so cool to see another PMD artist your stuff looks amazing!! I hope you like posting on Tumblr!

Also fellow dragon Nice

Hey dragos I just wanted to say that this message was so sweet it made me smile. AND!! I realized that I have never actually drawn chikorita before, even though it's one of the cutest pokemon to ever exist. So I had to give it a quick try with your team! (I hope you like it!)

Fellow dragon, indeed. <3

[bonesandthebees]

BEE IM SO EXCITED LETS GO OKAY GLASS FIRST WOOO THIS IS ALSO GREAT BECAUSE IM GETTING MY HAIR DONE RN AND NEEDED SOMETHING TO DO

ahhh thats the palace hes there in there in that yep

he might as well be dead i mean the pythia that he once knew is dead

flashback wooooo

your descriptions are alwasy SOOOOO

GOOD LIKE IDK THEY JUST AHHHHH

omg theyre at nikis right probably

“my pythia” why dont you go crawl up you own a— anyways. this is a pg zone (i just dont curse)

i want to slap him around a bit, just a tiny bit just like hang him from the ceiling and wack him like he’s a piñata at a five year olds birthday

THEY ARE AT NIKIS

TATTOO

HES DOING IT ISIRJSF ANDOQLFNWIF

tommy is so baby brother

NOTNIN THE PHYSICAL SENSE *spins around very quickly like a tornado*

WHO HE IS OH MY GOD BEE

why is schlatt

i think schlatt would look nice with a black eue it would bring out how much kf a d— anyqays

TAKE THAT SCHLATT

i need more people to draw this tattoo because every singly one is so ahhhhh like i have no clue how this is supposed to look bjt every design peiple make makes sense and i need more im so curious to see how people see

i love the way wilbur thinks i want to take his brain and poke around in it like its so intriguing

also like idk as a person feeling your pulse is always so… intimate? i do it a lot, like just feeling my pulse reminding myself that im human, we all have a pulse. idk its comforting in a way just feeling the way the blood pumps through your body regardless of the world, that youre alive no matter what as long as that blood keeps pumping. like even when everything feels out of place, youre still human.

sorry anyways

anywho thats why hes fiddling with the cuff then hes nervous aboht them seeing

UGH HES SO ANNOYING I WANT TO CHUCK HIM ONTO LIKE I-5 OR SOMETHING

im gonna send a prayer your way schlatt.

GO WILBUR GO

god hes so idk his brain man and the way you write and god i love this fic so much

WHY DOESNT IT FEEL LIKE MINE AHEOHEIFJWO SO WOROWKK OK DA P WAS HEQID

im cool and chill

the vessel.

yep.

cool.

thats cool.

HES WILBUR

i just like god this fic man

ah yes tommys tattoo

just saying on… july 28th i said it was from wilburs murder attempt!! im so smart sometimes

HE DOENST WANT TO BE EMPTY AGAIN WHAT RHE FUEFUVJ

anyways im so normal aboht this fic

oh me too wil lets fist bump over our shared fear of failure and disappointment

me when he realizes that they werent empty he jsut didnt know they were allowed to not be empty

THEYRW FMAKILTLY OU YK EGOD THEY MEHM

BROTHERISHD OH MY GODHD I LOVE RJEM

BOOM AH

GUNSHOTS AH

HIS UBER DRIVER IS HERE YAY!!!!

TOMMY!!!!!!

HIS HROTHERUWIDHS IM NEVER GOING TO HE OKAY WHEN THEY SAY THAT

i loveddddd the way you formatted it it was super neat and idk im just a sucker for interesting formats of swifching between past and present and like idk yeah it was cool

AND NOW OFF TO READ THE ROYALTY AU!!!

- 🪿

hi goose this is a few days old now but finally getting around to answering this!

aaa thank you I'm so glad you like my descriptions :D it was definitely a bit tough getting back into the glass writing groove with the style I use for the descriptions and stuff so I'm glad it turned out ok

"my pythia" made my skin crawl to write

YEAHHH TATTOO TIME. every single time I see fanart of the tattoo I freak out (/pos) so much because all the interpretations are SO cool. I love seeing what people come up with because I myself have no artistic ability, I can only describe what's in my head through words, so when people are able to actually put that into art form it just makes me so happy

yes exactly that's why I wanted it on his pulse!! I wanted it to sit right over the reminder that he's human! that he has blood pumping through his veins! everyone has that blood and that heartbeat and I wanted the tattoo to sit right above that both because of the connection to his heartbeat, but also because it's the place other people can feel your pulse. it's the connection point almost between your pulse and others, if that makes sense.

(random fun fact, I can't feel my own pulse on my wrist. doctors and nurses can't get a pulse from my wrist either. like there have been many times I've gone to the doctor and the nurse has tried to take my pulse and they frown and readjust their hand and then they try the other wrist and no matter what it doesn't work and I'm just sitting there. the only place you can get a pulse off of me besides straight up feeling my heartbeat is on my carotid artery on my throat)

aa thank you I had a lot of fun describing wilbur's thought processes in this chapter, especially with the alternating format

you were RIGHT about the vine tattoo you got it and it was so funny I had to just not say shit but i was like yup, several people have already figured it out :)

HIS UBER DRIVER IS HEREEEEE

aaa I'm so glad you enjoyed!! I had so much fun with the format of this chapter. I plotted it out a bit before my trip, and I specifically wanted to finish ch 25 before my trip because I knew ch 26 was going to be the one I'd most want to write after I got back. I needed a REALLY good exciting chapter to come back to and the alternating format was going to be the way I sucked myself back into the story after being out of that headspace for 3 weeks straight, and it worked. it was just so cinematic in my head y'know? I can perfectly picture the flipping between past and present with like different color grading and lighting and music and all that

[luckyladylily]

Ok I thought about how to express this a bit more and

The way to properly manage development resources is to have properly set development goals from the start, not being willing to cut corners once your overreach catches up with you. Part of properly set goals is looking at what you have and determining what is reasonable to achieve, and how to maximize the usefulness of those resources within that limit. This is why style over raw fidelity comes up so often in these discussions - the greatest strength of a well treated art team is their ability to create a powerful and unique style that punches above it's weight class of raw fidelity. Any studio that doesn't crunch it's artists will try to maximize that advantage while properly masking the lack of raw fidelity. The advantage of no crunch is quality over quantity.

If you are not crunching you would basically always go for the higher quality because the cost of doing so is very small since you are already most of the way there. And if your goal is to provide better conditions for your workers, you will always be better served better managing your goals than looking at places you could cut corners.

On the other hand, crunching allows you to create more by stretching and stressing your development resources, but at the sacrifice of quality. Volume is prioritized over doing it right, because you can't crunch creativity. This leads to glitches, lack of individual and cohesive style, lots of corners are cut. The advantage of crunch is quantity over quality. It is very important to note this is not speed over quality, just quantity. There is a reason crunched games tend to have inflated development times - remember the fiasco of cyberpunk 2077. But, critically, it is usually quite easy to mask the failures of crunch when it comes time to market the game - its hard to see how something should have been better, while it is very easy to see how there could have been less of something.

And its not like crunch happens on accident. Any time a AAA developer has crunch time? That was planned. It was known that it would happen, because it always happens. They are actually very proficient at estimating the capabilities of their teams, as their entire crunch based business model relies on these teams being pushed to the limit before being discarded.

There is this perception that to get rid of crunch we as end point gamers are going to have to make some significant or even noticeable sacrifice. That is the lie of consumerist driven activism. The games might be smaller, but you would never notice because what's being cut is low quality bloat, and what remains is of higher quality than it ever was. The only people who really sacrifice something if we get rid of crunch is the investors who don't get the "benefit" of having wrung every last dollar of value out of developers before spitting them out and the CEOs who get a smaller bonus checks.

when i say 'i want worse graphics', some ppl assume i mean 'i want stylyzed instead of realistic' then get mad at me for saying it wrong (???) so let me be clear:

i want worse graphics. i want the models topology to be a bit off, i want the rigging to have a few verts mis-weighted, i want the final model to not be accurate to the concept art cuz it would have been too labor intensive to make the scarf that long. i want the shading to do the thing where a real time character shadow is casting on top of another baked in shadow. i want whatever eases the devs workload and prevents crunch so they can go home to their loved ones and actually enjoy their life outside of work

and im not kidding

[jaisrakesh]

Why Unity 3D is the Best Platform for Aspiring Game Developers

Unity 3D has become the go-to platform for aspiring game developers, providing a powerful, flexible, and user-friendly environment to create interactive content. Whether you're an indie developer, a student, or someone looking to break into the gaming industry, Unity 3D offers a range of tools and resources that make it the best choice for game development. Here’s why Unity 3D stands out as the best platform for aspiring game developers.

1. Beginner-Friendly Interface and Learning Resources

Unity 3D's intuitive interface and vast learning resources make it incredibly accessible for beginners. With an extensive library of tutorials, documentation, and community forums, Unity provides aspiring game developers with a supportive environment to learn and grow. The Unity Learn platform offers free courses, live training sessions, and projects that guide new developers from basic concepts to advanced techniques, making the learning curve less daunting.

2. Cross-Platform Development Capabilities

One of Unity 3D’s greatest strengths is its ability to develop games for multiple platforms, including PC, consoles, mobile devices, VR/AR, and even the web. Aspiring game developers can create a single game and deploy it across different platforms with minimal adjustments, saving time and resources. This cross-platform versatility opens up a wide range of opportunities for developers to reach diverse audiences worldwide.

3. Extensive Asset Store

Unity’s Asset Store is a game-changer for new developers. It offers a vast marketplace of ready-made assets, including 3D models, scripts, animations, sound effects, and more. Aspiring game developers can easily find high-quality assets to speed up the development process, allowing them to focus on building gameplay mechanics and refining their ideas rather than starting everything from scratch.

4. Strong Community and Support Network

The Unity 3D game developer community is one of the largest and most active in the world. This supportive network of developers, artists, and programmers helps newcomers navigate challenges and share valuable insights. The community's collaborative spirit, combined with Unity’s official support, ensures that aspiring game developers are never alone in their journey.

5. Powerful and Scalable Engine

Unity 3D is known for its powerful rendering engine, which allows developers to create stunning graphics and complex physics-based interactions. It’s scalable to projects of any size, making it suitable for everything from small indie games to large-scale AAA titles. Aspiring game developers can start with simple projects and gradually take on more complex challenges as their skills grow.

[jakowskis]

Loved ‘an ugly picture, you & me’ so so much. Srsly I read it like 10 times and still won’t get tired of it. It’s such a great piece of writing. Now my question: Do you already if ur gonna post more Torchwood fanfic?? (no pressure obv, writing is so so hard and I admire everyone who actually manages to finish their stories).

oh my goodness thank you so much 🥺 that means the world to me im so glad you liked it so much

man ok so. heres the thing. djkfds aaa idek how to talk abt this it makes me feel stupid fdshkfj. basically i have dx'd ocd and it affects my writing process a Lot. im exceptionally critical n perfectionistic when it comes to my writing, and when my ocd's at its worse, i can reread things literally hundreds of times. this makes my editing process a fucking nightmare. an ugly picture was... a Journey, i wrote the bulk of it in like a month or two bc i was Inspired, and that period of inspiration just flowing was super nice - but then i spent literally half a year obsessing over editing and figuring out a few sections i couldnt get to work and it was. rlly rlly unhealthy and messy. like that was a stereotypical Mentally Ill Artist™ moment for me 😭 i was unmedicated during that process and honestly im still impressed with myself for managing to finish and post it anyway.

and after posting it... this might not make sense unless u have ocd but that fic is, like, tainted in my head, and im not allowed to touch it as a result. which is RLLY fucking annoying and sad bc i wrote it for Me and it was a labor of love yanno, and i am proud of it, like during writing i was like 'man this is one of the best things ive written, im genuinely proud of this' and ive gotten some absolutely wonderful reception - but i cant exactly place why, idk if it was the torment of the editing process or a fear of experiencing that specific brand of anxiety again (if i reread it and run into errors it might kill me 😭)... either way at this point in time im legitimately unable to revisit that fic. and its been like this since i posted it, so... for nearly five months ;-; and im kind of having a similar experience with torchwood as a whole tbh. like my whole fandom experience + relationship with this fixation has been bastardized to all hell bc of ocd issues. it all feels very... dirty right now.

which fucking sucks, cuz torchwood's one of my fav fixations ive ever had, it became so important to me so fast and it's probably hit special interest territory at this point - but it sucks what a thin line it is between obsessing over a hyperfixation, and compulsively engaging with something. it sucks when the serotonin u get from smth also gets laced with pervasive anxiety. my recent main issue with ocd has been avoidance - i went from obsessively going thru torchwood clips to being unable to watch it at all bc the very thought of doing so makes me so anxious.

(so, tldr? my mental illness garbage is interfering w my interests and my ability to engage with fandom, to my chagrin, and that's why i haven't posted anything else.)

that being said: between april 2023 and now i have written 180k words of torchwood fanfic. im endlessly fascinated and inspired by these characters, particularly by owen who has lowkey proven to be my muse lol. (he sits in my mind palace on top of a, like, literal fancy ass corinthian pedestal and his one job is to sit still n look pretty and sad but instead he snarks down at me every time i walk passed and in return i squirt a water gun at him and occasionally throw tomatoes at him. it's a very mutually loving relationship.) and 180k words in, and literally hundreds of hours spent thinking about and talking about tw/owen, and im still fascinated by it/him, there are still soooo many things i wanna explore through writing with these characters that i adore so much. 57k of the 180k words is part of what will eventually be a sequel series to an ugly picture (which is meant to be a stand-alone, for the record, but towards the end of the writing process i went "Hm. Actually I Have More Ideas", and it became a whole 'verse heh). problem is i dont rmr the fic enough to continue the first sequel and currently i cant revisit it and take notes 🤡 so that project's on hold. as for the other stuff, it's a good mix of misc one-shots and full-on projects, and several things are pretty much done and could, if i were anyone else, easily be polished and posted.

but, as ive made clear, unfortunately writing (well, revising + editing) is an absolute nightmare for me. now, im recently back on medication after nearly two years of rawdogging it, and ive been having issues with that fff (namely constant pervasive exhaustion) - but im working to figure out a happy medium, so im HOPING, hell, praying, that once i level out ill be able to open my docs and sit down and finish things without it being a goddamn ordeal. editing's not rlly fun for anyone, but it fucking sucks when your absolute favorite hobby + mode of expression gets terrorized by a wiggity wack disorder.

first order of business, once im able, is a 15k owen/andy fic that's literally 90% done. i wanted to post it in june, for pride month, and then my brain decided to convince me i wasnt being coherent in the slightest and i was like, nah, i cannot make myself soldier through the editing project this time, i dont want this to get ruined the same way. but hopefully soon i can drop that and it will be epic and such 😎

so in summation uh (sorry im a known babbler fdshk but this is what happens when u send an ask to someone who wrote a 30k fic where literally nothing happens KJFSD. also sorry for literally trauma dumping unprompted 😭 i did the white woman in the kmart thing) ive written a ton of torchwood fic and i 100% intend to write a ton more but mental illness garbage is trying to sabotage shit so basically im taking a break from trying to post any of it until my brain lets me enjoy my damn interest in relative peace 👍but i definitely have a lot more fic on the way. just might take a while for it to see the light of day. hopefully not that long

anyway thank you again so so so much for liking the fic enough to read it multiple times that means so much to meee. i hope to have more for u soon :))

[muppenthings]

He just wanted to make sure that the diver's ok because it's getting dark and they've drifted away from their group. He probably misjudged their ability to tell that there's something huge in the water with them and they took out their flashlight. Uh... Surprise! xD

His awkward smile is rather toothy and not too reassuring; glowing tapetum lucidum isn't helping. The diver regrets taking out their flashlight. :)

God he's so awkward the boi

Taglist under cut cuz why not (let me know if you want to be added/removed)

@justanotherpurplebutterfly @vitriolic-artist @sparrow-flightninggale @unsurepotatohooman @welovelogansanders @the-aroace-queen-in-the-quiver @lonelyanxiousbean @justanothernerdyfandomblog @luci-the-android @hiddendreamer67 @raccoonrabbit15 @theregoesmygpa @hikarisakurariver @thenaiads @secretlypansexualmango @infinitywarkilledmysoul @averykedavra @yalltookmyurlideas @iamdarknessiamdeath @nonbeenary-enbee @alexisthedevilsfox @rainbowbowtie @feathersofbelle @firefox2215 @mynamehasbeenstolen @werewolfsonpage394 @pixelatedrose @sablesides @ncanspeak @killjoy-3000 @justagaygoose @bunny222 @linhammon-roll-bromance101 @star-crossed-shipper @fandomfan315 @hitmewiththatfanart33 @sparkleydoggy-main @amaris-the-panda @franticfandomfanatic @anonwithagun @craz-ewaters @bluegreeninbtwn @riz-likes-tea @a-random-italian @just-your-typical-trans-guy @themarblefox09 @writingfeedsthedarkestones @useless-gay-baby @encaos​ @thatonea1ien @katthebookiestnerd @thatoneloudowl @lamsauce @mizuki-rin-reblogs​ @slitherynchiken​ @awkwardjester​ @baka-monarch​ @night-molki @maybedefinitely404​ @iggyalfi2319​ @deceitsgloves @echo-goes-aaa​ @virgiliousspeaks @stopthe-presses​ @poptartsaysurloved​ @regalredrose​ @crazydemigod666​ @grayson-22​ @everythingisstardust​ @a-certain-distressing-damsel​ @your-local-crackhead-gremlin​

[angelicguy]

i love ranting about games folks i find them very interesting not just from a "is it fun" perspective but as products that result from artistic choices meeting business/fan/modern gameplay expectations. and ff7 remake is a good game, id argue a very good game- obviously its going for something very different than a straight perfect HD recreation of ff7's story (ive talked about how thats not the goal theyre going for, but also an impossible one to even try to meet) but it really does a great job, probably a better job than most modern AAA games, of feeling paced like a movie. the facial animations/models are good enough that theyre allowed to have almost all of the cutscenes be really, really tight shots of the characters just talking, which is something that we couldnt really have even 3 years ago. action looks tight.

i also think square enix has FINALLY found their niche in terms of making an "action-turn based" system. because if i just played cloud the entire game it would be kind of boring. he's like a twentieth of a devil may cry character. but because you have three characters to manage at once, you get to have that feeling that turn based games deliver (managing a parties stats, having specific characters meet certain roles, setting up for big damage by using all the characters abilities) but with an action-centric undertone (actually having to aim at enemies, ducking behind cover when a boss readies a big movie, dodging and positioning). its ALL of the fun of a turn based RPG w/ NONE of the annoying bits where you have to function on a grid and endure a shit ton of downtime when the enemy takes its turn. its a perfect solution. which makes it really confusing to me why there are EVER sections where you have to play as a single character. because it goes from fun party management to doing peanuts for damage and waiting for your abilities to come off cooldown, then using an item to restore your MP, then casting.. etc etc etc. just a lot of running around. the few times they pull it off are when its a cloud 1v1 boss battle where they clearly designed those challenges to force you to dodge and find openings more like a conventional action game. those are some of my favorite fights. in the sequel there should literally never be a situation where you play 1v1 unless its against these types of enemies. theres this one section where you play as barrett and its just torture... he does no dmg and is slow as fuck. had to turn him into a spellpig

only problem is that it's so god damn linear. which they had to do i understand. but truly none of the sidequests are particularly fun and feel like just checking the boxes. none of the gear feels particularly substantial either- the only fun items to get are the weapons that let you learn different abilities, but each character has like.. 5. idk. good game and im excited for the sequel, but i really hope it cleans up some of the rough spots in the pacing because the game was really a fucking roller coaster that never stops and lets me just breathe and enjoy the setting

[snowlily95]

Aerith in light of healthcare provider

So, I've wanted to write an analysis about Aerith in light of her medical viewpoint for quite a long time but only recently got the chance to complete it. It is well known in the game that Aerith is the healer of the story. She possesses a great MP with a limit break to heal and buff people which greatly affects your gameplay. Of course, you can equip others with Healing and Prayer materias to render them useful for healing as well. But story-wise, no one can take away Aerith's status as the healer. We know in canon that Aerith provided herbs to the Sector 5 slums doctor to create medicine. And if you finished the Corneo Stash side quest in Chapter 14, you can return to the church and see a couple of elderly sitting on the pew praying. And when you come closer to them you'll hear them talking about how they didn't see Aerith around and they're sure she's alright and probably be around healing people. You know, since the Sector 7 plate just fell. (Even though Aerith is not alright actually coz she was kidnapped by Shinra by this time) Point is, we are fed by the NPCs on how much Aerith had helped around as a healer. She had been doing this for years.

While being in denial about who she actually is, being a healer had always been implanted in her. She is used to it. When you're used to being a healer, there's a certain level when you have a different reaction compared to others. The way you think is different. Apart from that, she's also a Cetra. And we knew for a fact Cetra had a certain affinity towards souls who are returning to the Planet. Meaning, as much as she is used to healing others, she's also used to sensing death.

My whole point is that being a Cardiac Anaesthesiologist and Intensivist as I am, I can totally relate my position with Aerith, as we both have constantly helped people and encounter death on daily basis. While I'm pretty confident that the majority of these might be coincidences (because I'm pretty sure there are no doctors in the SE team), I thought the coincidences are pretty cool to ponder upon and I'm amazed at how the subtle differences between Aerith's reaction to events from other characters.

I'm gonna ignore the meta part of Aerith, mainly because I'm not discussing how much Aerith knew, and if there was anything in jeopardy of what she knew whatsoever. So we're gonna focus on the fact that she is used to healing and feeling people's death. People who are used to death on daily basis had a certain unique view on life and death. And that affects how we act upon facing them too. While this is evident throughout Remake, I'm gonna focus on the plate drop event to be more concise. I will also use Tifa as a comparison to make it easier to see the difference between the reaction of the two. Let’s start!

1) Aerith is quick in emergency situations.

When you are used to people dying, you developed a certain immunity and you are able to have a sound mind and composure at the sudden change of event. As healthcare providers, we face stable situations turning into critical real fast. And we have a switch in our minds that turns us from standby mode to rescue mode. This is exactly what happened to Aerith when Don Corneo revealed Shinra's plan to blow up Sector 7's support pillar. Tifa is part of Sector 7. It is her home. Which is why her reaction showed how she was super devastated, she slowly stood up and muttered "They wouldn't..." because she couldn't believe it. Aerith? She had that switch in her mind, and she immediately turned and say "Come on, guys! We gotta go!". She switched into that critical mode in a second. It helps that she's also not personally connected to Sector 7, and thus her judgment was not as impaired. Of course, they both switched into the critical mode in the sewer, but it was at the moment of revelation that made it different. Just like how healthcare providers switched at the moment of revelation that their patients are at the brink of death—you immediately jumped into rescue mode.

2) She plans for the worst.

Remember after they defeated Abzu and Tifa started to question Corneo's information? She didn't want to believe it, because it didn't make sense to destroy your years of efforts building the plate just to get back to a small group like AVALANCHE. Think about the money they put in to build it, they're gonna have to put them all again. In fact, along their way out of the sewer, Tifa voiced out multiple times how this had been bothering her. But I'm intrigued with Aerith's reply "If he's telling the truth, then we should go. And if it turns out he was lying, then so what?". This here is exactly what doctors do. We plan and prepare for the worst. And if the worst didn't happen, then so what? If you ever had life-saving surgery, your doctors would tell you "You need this surgery coz you might die. But if you do the surgery, there's a high chance you'll survive, but there's a small chance you'll die too". And we prepare for that small chance that our patients die. No, we don't let our preparations lacking because we hope they'll survive. We prepare for the worst outcome possible and get all the equipment ready in case they'll die. If they didn't, then so what? It doesn't mean our preparations were futile efforts. It only means we were prepared. And that line of Aerith seriously hits home to me.

3) She hopes for the best.

Before they crossed the water sewer, Tifa once again voiced out how she couldn't stop thinking about what Corneo said, and she was still hoping that he was lying. And then Aerith said, "The future isn't set in stone". (Again, I'm gonna ignore the meta part of Aerith) And then she proceeded to set up that small date with Tifa. Believe it or not, this is actually what we do during bad calls. We'd talk about what we would do after all this ends; we'd go out dining, or playing games/darts, or go drinking, or whatever it is that makes us happy. Just to keep our minds calm and to allow us to hope for the future, even if it's just a few hours away. It gives us hope and courage to go on. We plan for the worst, but we hope for the best. The more critical the situation is, the more you need to be level-headed. And needless to say, after this point onwards, Tifa is much more calmed down from her struggle to keep herself focus.

4) She follows orders.

This might sound weird to some, but the ability to cast away your worry and focus on what you can do, instead of what you should do, is important in emergency situations. You need to know what you don't know. You don't get in the way of your comrades. If you're not good at intubating, you don't insist to intubate in emergency situations just because you wanna help. Seriously, you'll just make things worse. When Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith were attacked before climbing up and out of the sewer, Cloud asked both Tifa and Aerith to keep going. Aerith immediately answers "Okay" and left—without a single but. This is significant because it shows that Aerith knew she'd be better off leaving. She doesn't need to offer help, coz her help was not needed. This is not the place where she could help. The ability to recognize this is very important for healthcare professionals. Tifa was a bit more reluctant to leave, but that's probably because she is a martial artist in-game. Also, the fact that Aerith could still joke "We're not delicious" is just so real lol! Yup, we joke sometimes when we're facing deaths—doesn't mean we lose focus in saving the dying person in front of us, don't worry. And then it happens again when they reached Sector 7 when Cloud asked them to stay with Wedge as he goes up, Aerith immediately answered "sure"—because she can "patch" Wedge up, it's where her abilities lie. This is even more accentuated when an injured Wedge argued that he can still fight when he clearly can't—making this point even more obvious. Aerith is someone with a healthcare mind, Wedge was not.

5) She supports her comrades emotionally even when she’s worried too.

When they reached the surface, they spotted a Shinra helicopter. Cloud assured them they're only on patrol. Aerith turned to Tifa and said, "Don't worry, we'll make it in time". This moment is also very iconic to me. As I mentioned, I'm an anaesthesiologist. We are the support doctors to surgeons and physicians. Those moments when we're operating on AAA surgeries and the patient is losing liters of blood and literally dying, we're pumping bloods in with our hands and get those Level 1 machines operating, and the surgeons would be panicking because it keeps bleeding? Yep, I did say it before. "We'll make it. Just concentrate on the surgery and don't worry about the bleeding", even though I'm sweating and dying here trying to keep the patient alive. But I pretended to be calm in front of my team and cheered them on. Because the whole team needs to keep calm. If one of the team loses hope, then bid your chance farewell. As an anaesthesiologist, we're almost like the anchor in the room. People look at us to know if everything's alright. I need to tell them it's alright, so they need not worry. Aerith knew Tifa is worried. And she tried to keep Tifa calm with reassurance. Even if she probably freaked out herself.

6) She doesn’t discriminate.

After they defeated the ghost at the haunted maintenance facility, Cloud tried to kill it, and Aerith didn't let him. When Cloud said that thing was dangerous, Aerith said she knows and added "but even so..." she didn't feel right about killing it. (Let's ignore the fact that the Ghoul was a lonely creature for now) It then goes to drop the train wreck which almost killed them had it not been for Cloud. Now this would have been avoided had Aerith let Cloud killed it—maybe. But here's the thing. When you're hyper-aware that people are dying left and right, you value life more. No one deserves to die, even the worst criminal in the world. You're a law-abiding citizen? You're a criminal? It doesn't make a difference to us. I know this is something super hard to comprehend. But technically only when the law subjects the criminal to the death sentence that a person should be left to die. I've been a doctor for eleven years, I was a prison doctor for two. I had the first-hand experience of dealing with criminals. It's not my job to determine whether they deserve to die or not. It's not my call whether they will turn a new leaf had they lived. I know this is something others find difficult to relate to and agree with—happens to my non-medical family and friends. The verdict to us is simple. It's a life. It's worth saving. Period. (Technically the ghosts are dead though but my point still stands)

7) She tries to her best abilities and lets go of what is out of her control.

Tifa's emotions are tampered with again when they confirmed Shinra was going to drop the plate when they overheard the Turks conversation. Her voice shook, we can literally hear it. Aerith's response was "all we can do now is keep moving". And she's right. When they reached Sector 7 and the Whispers were preventing them, she said "we have to get past whatever it takes". And later on, Tifa left to help Cloud and Barret, and Aerith agreed to get to Seventh Heaven to ensure Marlene's safety. Wedge had a short mental breakdown when he realized he was no good to anyone up or down the crime scene. And Aerith told him "We can still save a lot of lives", "That's no excuse to give up", "I need to know I did everything I could". Her encouragement helped Wedge save more people. Some argued, did she not care about the lives that already died? Now here's my point; no, we don't. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but really. What can we do for people who are already dead? Nothing. What can we do for people who are still alive? Everything. And this is the core of being a healthcare provider—we prioritize. Yes, we're also humans. We can get emotional when our own friends and relatives die. (Aerith might not be as calm had it happened at Sector 5) But when we put the healthcare provider cap on, we mean business. That is why when disasters happened, and we triage people with a black tag? That's when we know we couldn't do anything for them. We don't mourn at the black tags. We move on to the other tags instead. So that we know we already did everything in our power to help. And yes, it doesn't matter even if we lost more lives than we saved. It's worth it, even if we only saved one person out of thousands of deaths. Just like how Aerith saved Betty in Sector 7. That one life is worth it.

[askagamedev]

How is it that indie developers are more transparent to their games, to the point of being fully transparent if they wanted, and taking their own time to add a whole bunch of things without pressure of any kind, as oppose to AAA developers are secretive about what they're working on or not and are always on a tight schedule by every second? From the outside, it looks very simple not to be so different as they are, but what are the fundamentally differences that make them like so?

Let’s think about this logistically for a moment. 

Imagine that there’s a small indie dev team of five people all working on various parts of a game and you want to know what they’re working on. You go from desk to desk or IM to IM and ask each of them what they’re working on. They tell you and it takes maybe five minutes per person for you to compile everything that’s going on. The interconnected parts are pretty manageable because it’s only five peoples’ worth of connections to manage total. You can easily do this every day.

Now let’s imagine there’s an enormous AAA dev team of five hundred people all working on various parts of a game and you want to know what they’re all working on. If you were to go from person to person for five minutes each you would need to spend over 40 total hours (5 minutes x 500 people = 2500 minutes = 41 hours and 40 minutes) to compile what each person is doing. That’s an entire work week already - by the time you finish getting what the last person on your list is doing, the first person on your list has already completed an entire week’s worth of work and may have moved on to working on something new already. 

Then you’d need to figure out all of the interconnections in how the various things they are working on affect each other. These artists are working on these different parts of the upcoming DLC. Those animators are working on a new cinematic for the expansion pack. Those other programmers are working on integrating some new engine updates from central tech. And you’d need to parse what parts of this are things you want to tell the players and things they probably won’t care about, because I doubt that they want to spend hours reading about some of the less player-facing changes like “I’m building a new version of our effect tool so that design can iterate faster on effect and ability creation”. This also doesn’t include other logistical problems, like collaborating with teams in different cities, countries, and time zones, or having to deal with a language barrier.

Things might seem simple on the outside, but a lot of things that are easy with a small team scale really badly as the team size goes up. Obviously, this means that the team must be more discerning about what they wish to tell players - there’s no way that players will be interested in 100% of it and they do not wish to bury the interesting parts under pages of stuff players won’t care about. Which leads us directly to where we are - a lack of transparency, because the dev team leadership purposely has to pick and choose what is worth telling players. Then we factor in things like holding specific (big) announcements for marketing purposes like an E3 announcement, a Game Awards announcement, a GamesCom announcement, or exclusive interviews with Gamespot, or with IGN, or in conjunction with a partner like at Disney Investor Day and you should start to get an idea for why things are the way they are.

[Join us on Discord] and/or [Support us on Patreon]

The FANTa Project is being rebooted. [What is the FANTa project?]

Got a burning question you want answered?

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter

Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr

Frequent Questions: The FAQ

[artificiallyimplantedmemories]

[ ep 6 liveblog/commentary under the cut (finally) ... so many screenshots inside. I’m not sorry? ]

this is fairly stream of consciousness as I was watching in between bouts of tutoring so it’s less Massive Thinky Thoughts than usual, but w/e, it’s a commentary!

They said no fly zone and I was immediately concerned. If Sam goes out there with the wings, I hope he doesn’t get shot at. On the flip side, Bucky just “Sergeant Barnes” his way in, huh?

I appreciate them using the holo-face tech again so it’s not a throwaway, but also having those makes everything so messy. In the meantime though look at this pause face XD

WHEN CAP SLINGS HIS MIGHTY SHIIIIEEELD

“I thought Captain America was on the moon.” Who spread this rumor widely enough for members of the GRC to believe it?? lmao

“A baguette and a few French fries.” Sam’s sass will never stop being top tier. Also I love that both Caps get to fight Batroc. Yay parallels!

“You don’t think I’ve ever fought for something bigger than myself? That’s all I’ve ever tried to do, and I’ve failed twice.” Ow. Bucky, you’ve kept Steve safe all throughout WWII, you’ve been part of the fight with Thanos and helped the Avengers win, you’ve fought your own mind for the greater good, healed the damage and the trigger words in order not to become a weapon against people, stop thinking of your failures ;_; (I say as my Nat muse shrugs sympathetically in my head)

Bucky showing off the same compassion as Sam with Karli? <chef’s kiss> Bucky on a motorcycle again? <double chef’s kiss>

Sharon I see you with that trick. We stan a smart woman!! Not gonna lie I did think it was a tracker at first though. Ruthless. Way more ruthless than Sam would approve of...

I’m not gonna lie, seeing the difference in fighting style between Steve and Sam with the shield is just so fun? Sam gets to work far more in three dimensions, he uses the repulsors and the wings and the shield all in tandem. It’s like seeing a cross between Steve and Tony in some ways, but with the added acrobatics. It’s cool!

Seeing Karli’s supporters starting to question her and her extremism is rewarding. I’ve known multiple people who have come from backgrounds that were pretty close to brainwashing that have slowly broken out of it over time, either due to seeing how twisted things were towards the top or increased exposure to people who weren’t part of their (forcibly) exclusive group. It’s a hell of a wake up call. And that extremism continues for Karli, setting the truck on fire. How much are her friends following out of genuine commitment vs out of obligation vs out of fear?

Walker’s “you don’t think Lemar’s life mattered” is the realest anger from him that I’ve been able to identify yet. At least if he’s fighting them, Bucky’s getting a chance to save the hostages.

“Boy you just earned this ass-whoopin’!” XD XD XD

And there we have the contrast: John continuing to fight single-mindedly instead of giving a damn about the people trapped and burning to death. He doesn’t always think those lives matter. The parallels with Karli build. And of course she’s getting her ass kicked to some extent because Walker is a trained fighter, she’s far more someone working on instinct. But good on him for trying at the last minute to save them anyway.

We knew Sam was gonna save the day but damn it feels good to see it!! I love the concept of him with his human strength augmented only by the tech he wears (like Tony!) wearing the wings of an angel, saving people with superhuman compassion and a brain that lights up like the fourth of July. That’s our new Cap, folks, the one that we needed.

Bucky’s smile in response I’m !!

BUCKY’S MURDERFACE WHEN KARLI THROWS THE ROD !!!

Sam knocking out five people with the shield, you work them angles, babe !!!!!!!

Is it Sharon backstory time? It sure fuckin’ is!! Holy shit she’s got so much more invested in this fight than a pardon, and her face here is just so genuinely hurt?? Ow. But also cool the Power Broker theory was true. Honestly props to her for rising to the top and finding a way to keep tabs on the whole world while legit exiled. That said, she’s got to have done some incredibly problematic shit to get there so we’ll see what shakes down from that.

LOOK AT HER FACE

Aw fuck of course she’s been shot. Gonna skin someone if she doesn’t make it, but given how they had her moving after, she should be fine. People in the MCU have come back from far worse lol

THE CRUX OF THE SHOW RIGHT HERE. SAM WILSON EVERYONE.

If this murderball wasn’t the antagonist, Nat would be cheering her on, look at how fierce!

But also Sam ;_;

Okay, feels aside, check out the way that when the shield gets punched, Sam instinctively pre-empts being shoved back by deploying his wings, digging them into the ground to reinforce his stance. You can see here that he’s got it tripod style behind him, knees bent to absorb the shock and keep him balanced but flexible while he takes the blow. Whoever planned and choreographed this knew their shit. This here martial artist approves!

“Stay down!” “No.”

“Lincoln, really?” “Great man, great quote.” “Not when you say it.” Pfffft.

Karli’s desperation for Sam to fight back is such a poignant note here despite the hoarse yelling, because it speaks to her need for validation, the need to believe that she’s fighting for the right reason, that the people opposing her deserve to be hurt. But if he doesn’t fight despite everything, then he’s simply not allowing her that vindication, and she has no choice but to question whether it’s right to fight him. Innocents being harmed? She can do that in an abstract way. She’s not punching or shooting them, they just happen to be there and in the way of the explosion. The GRC members? Not innocent because they’re directly taking away her ability to further her cause via passed resolutions and inadequately distributed resources. Sam is neither of those. He’s clearly fighting alongside those who oppose her, but refuses to actually fight her despite his ability to. He’s someone she can’t resolve with her ideas of the world and it’s devastating her. Even as she’s got her gun trained on him, she looks lost and has to fight to regain the nerve to shoot.

Thank you Sharon. It’s possible he could have pulled something out of the hat last minute (he did have his wings after all), and the look Sam gives her is slightly disbelieving, but I think a lot of the grief here is the fact that she’s so young and her cause has roots in a genuine problem that’s not being resolved and is impacting literally half the population of the world. Sharon looks so relieved, and it must hurt to see her protege die especially at her own hand, but she’s never been one to pull her punches (or her bullets).

How long do you think this death is going to haunt him? (Can anyone say “his whole life”?) (Also La Pieta vibes)

AN ACTUAL ANGEL oh, he lands so gently, looks so solemn, puts her on a stretcher to try to save her T_T

Sorry I totally broke the mood and laughed at “or is it Captain Falcon” because I’ve played too much SSBBM early in my life oops. Just imagine Sam as this guy, yelling “FALCON PUNCH” dsfkjgsdjfh

Okay, I’m so glad that Sam is broaching this topic in public (despite the fact that you know they’d try to move it to a private discussion immediately in real life), and that he’s trying to make people understand the struggle and make more compassionate decisions. What I found highly interesting in the cinematography here is that:

1) They pan back to Bucky occasionally to show him thoughtfully listening, not interrupting, and maybe it’s important that this be an example to follow for people who are non-minorities when a member of a minority is talking about their struggle, and

2) when he says “Every time I pick this up, I know millions of people are going to hate me for it.” they cut immediately to a close up of John Walker…

And he looks down, guilty. Maybe that’s a sign of self-recognition. Maybe there’s hope for a change. (I wouldn’t hold my breath for it though.)

Oh hell the look on Isaiah’s face. Did I cry? A little.

Bucky’s starting to smile just the teeniest bit but you know who’s also smiling? TORRES. HI BABY BOY!

Empathy, empathy, empathy. The power of the people, the power of the government, the power imbalances that make the world the way it is. Sam. Wilson. GOD I love him. Thank you, thank you.

Bucky trying to play it cool. You dumb butt XD Look at their dumb faces aaa

Ahh, Sharon. Told you she’d be fine. Just needs to see an illicit doc or something. She probably has twenty of them lined up.

I SEE YOU THEME MUSIC

Oh D: That’s… no… why death, no.

Of course Zemo is smiling, he probably arranged for the Super Soldier deaths. OR VALENTINA hello I forgot about you. Oh, US Agent outfit, proper. He’s acting like a little child with it, go figure ^^; Still haven’t figured out Valentina’s motives, I’m curious.

Aw hi Yori. Bucky being honest and making proper amends is gonna make me tear up again. But also: “by the Winter Soldier… and that was me.” WAS. WAS. THIS IS PROGRESS. “I didn’t have a choice.” P R O G R E S S. EVERY NAME CROSSED OUT. P R O G R E S S !

Sam & Isaiah. I’m so proud of them. “You’re special.” DAMN RIGHT!! Gosh I love them I love them I love them.

“I might fail. Shit, I might die. But we built this country. Bled for it. I’m not gonna let anybody tell me I can’t fight for it. Not after what everybody before me went through. Including you.”

CATCH ME TEARING UP AGAIN. They got him a memorial!

Ahhh a party! Sam smiling! Bucky roughhousing with the kids! HAPPINESS ;A;

“Welcome home Agent Carter.” Hmm this doesn’t seem like the best… ah, yep. Saw that one coming XD Look at that boss face though yow!! 

Also I’m hoping we get to see her at Peak Manipulative doing Cool Things in an Ends Justify The Means fashion because how dare that be reserved for men in superhero shows/movies? We love to see a woman about to deliver a smackdown.

closing thoughts: Lots of plot movement and action in this round, and finally an episode that was centered properly around Sam and the impact he has on the world. We saw an acknowledgement of real world struggles, steps taken to avert extremists but also steps taken to fix the core issue at the end. We see Sam saying you don’t want Karli 2.0 which reinforces the power of violent protest in otherwise peaceful movements and the fact that it’s listened to. We see a reclaiming of dignity, of owning one’s own power, of facing one’s fears and healing. We have an appropriate cliffhanger. Nothing in this episode was wildly surprising (though I though it was interesting that they went with moving the people out of the building, presumably to allow Sam greater flexibility to soar around and look cool, and also to buy them time so they didn’t get gunned down lol). On the other hand, there was nothing that I found needed to be surprising. It was a solid episode and I enjoyed it, and the resolution especially with Isaiah made me really happy. I’m eager to see what’s in store for Sharon, what Val and John are planning, and all the other shenanigans to come.

[alexazbofficial]

[INTERVIEW] We asked K-pop star AleXa about K-Dramas and her X-Mas plans!

Born and raised in the United States (Oklahoma, to be exact!), AleXa currently lives in her mother’s native South Korea, where she has made a name for herself as an award-winning K-pop star. This year alone, she was honored as the AAA Focus (Singer) at the 2020 Asia Artist Awards and was selected as the Next New Artist at the 2020 Soribada Awards.

AleXa’s latest EP, “DECOHERENCE,” shows off her unique style, which is a cohesive blend of her Korean and American heritage. She took time off from her busy schedule to chat with KOCOWA about music, K-dramas, and her undying love for her fandom, A.I Trooper.

Q: Before moving to Korea for your career, did you listen to K-pop at home or watch any K-dramas?

AleXa: I was a K-pop fan ever since 2008, so it’s been 12 years for me! I got into K-dramas during my final year of high school. My mom and I would watch them together after we came home from work. Many tears were shed between the two of us. [Laughs.]

Q: To your fans, you are their ultimate bias. Who is yours?

AleXa: Since day one — 12 years ago in 2008 — SHINee’s Taemin has always been my number one, along with Queen HyunA.

Q: Why did you choose to be a solo artist opposed to being part of a group?

AleXa: It was a mutual decision between myself and the label. The concept we had in mind was best suited for a solo, in our opinion, so we chose to pursue that route. However, I would love to try a project unit sometime in the future

Q: Will you get to spend Christmas with your family?

AleXa: Seeing the current state of the world and the fact that I live on the other side of the world from my family, I unfortunately will not be spending Christmas with my family. I do miss them very much and I hope that they stay safe and healthy during this holiday season.

Q: Can you tell me about a personal 2020 highlight?

AleXa: Appearing on the 2020 Soribada Awards and receiving an award [for Next New Artist] was beyond my wildest dreams. I remember watching last year’s award show online and dreaming that someday I would appear on that stage, too. It was an incredible experience that I will never forget. I’ll always carry that moment in my heart.

Q: I’ve noticed that more K-Dramas are addressing the importance of taking care of your mental health. What’s your take on this?

AleXa: I absolutely loved “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay.” I truly recommend this drama to anyone who hasn’t watched it. Dramas that focus on topics such as this have become more [realistic] and less like a work of fiction.

Q: November was National Adoption Awareness Month. Your mother is a Korean adoptee. How do you feel about the way adoption is dealt with in Korean dramas? For instance, adoption plays a big role in K-dramas like “Coffee Prince,” “I’m Sorry, I Love You,” “Kill Me Heal Me“ and “Healer.”

AleXa: My friends have actually recommended some of those titles! I will say, though, that rather than a K-drama, the K-film “Ode to My Father” presented the topic flawlessly. It was so moving. I never took my eyes off the screen the whole time. It truly is a heart wrenching story that I’m sure many Korean people and adoptees can relate to.

Q: I am a big fan of Korean variety shows. Do you watch them or want to appear on a show like “Running Man”?

AleXa: “Running Man” seems like such a fun and chaotic time. [Laughs] I would love to appear on it someday.

Q: Do you keep track of all the K-pop music being released?

AleXa: As an artist here, it is very important to stay up to date with all the hottest songs and new releases. I’ve been pretty on top of my game with keeping up with new songs and choreos, here and there.

Q: Your fans worry about your health. How are you maintaining your health these days?

AleXa: I’m grateful that they care and I only wish the best for them, in return. I’m quite well! Little injuries here and there, nothing serious or detrimental. Just working out and taking care of my body to the best of my ability.

Q: Finally, what would you like to say to A.I Trooper?

AleXa: Thank you to all of you around the world who continue to show me love and support. Quite literally I would not be here without you. I am grateful for each and every one of you. Everyday I count my blessings and my A.I Troopers are always at the top of my list. Stay positive and healthy and spread love. We need it nowadays.

© Kocowa Blog

[ogeeitsme]

Heya! If you don't mind me asking, I have a question for you (I hope it doesn't sound too rude o personal, or anything similar)! Exactly, how do you "interact" with each other? Like, as far as I understand, you pretty much share the same memory (not in terms of "past", in this case), and sometimes it almost sounds like you all...Talk to each other? Like, full conversation and interaction, pretty much like you would do with someone with their own body, and I'm really confused as to how it works!

EDIT: hello ther r typos here, sm typos b it’s 5 AM n I can’t read KSJSJ

Hello!! This is not rude @ all SKJDKJ I jst gtta get in the right Typing Mood 2 answ this coherently lmao bc I can’t think of analogies rite

Yea we talk!! It’s like,, we talk w the Mind

(when ur in front:)

Sometimes, it’s visual + auditory (not a hallucin8ion, it’s like listening 2 ur thoughts or talking 2 urself internally, u don’t hear it outside) so like let’s say Chara is talking 2 me while I know what facial exprssion they’re doing or hand gestures

Sometimes there’s a design8d area where we talk (fronting rooms!! Bc it’s like a visualiz8ion of being the closest 2 the front??), but when ur (we’re) fronting, u can see MORE in2 the headspace (depends on ur sys n ur ability, som sys can’t do this b it seems common)

Sometimes it’s just visual, som times it’s jst auditory,, like 4 example I’m reading a tumblr post n suddenly some1 reacts b is actlly far away b it’s like they got a direct signal 2 the front, so it’s like they’re “passing by 2 say smth” if u will (very common if the thing is a front trigger (like a positive one ex. Their fave artist or song or meme))

Sometimes we communic8 w only feelings! Sometimes not every1’s gnna have perfect connection 2 the front so u just VIBE

Sometimes it’s also like, u can telepthaically talk 2 each other,, we live in the same brain, so sometimes they dnt have 2 say the full sentence in real time, they sya it- boom u know exactly what they’re saying the moment they say it- ok that’s hard 2 explain b other systems r afraid that’s not valid but it rlly is!! It’s common 2 “”know what they’re saying b4 they said it”” ur in the same brain, what is NOT possible??

Also, even if ur in control of the body, u can. Isualize urself inspace @ the same time! It’s like medita8tion, n I think medit8ing n being in ur own headspace whethe fits active or not?? Is similar 4 singlets (but 4 y’all I can imagine it’s 2 a mild degree ((n by thta I mean u need 2 actively medit8 2 b in ur own headspace)))

Anyway my point is- we can also interact ”physically” while fronting!! Inspace, we can kind of like b,, “outside N inside” @ the same time in a way,, so like if Chara pushes me inspace n I’m fronting, well yea that jst happened DKJDKJ it’s all connected bros, I can hug som1 inspace while I’m fronting

YEA we might be zoning out while walking b I’m gnna hug som1

inspace, like, when we’re not fronting, we can talk 2 each other!! They do say the headspace is where u go when ur not fronting

N it’s tru 4 a lot of sys if not most!! I’d like 2 take this spot 2 valid8 sys’s who r worried abt “idle-ing”

Bc that’s common also

Anyway, we hang out ther! Mostly we kiiind of idle, b we do stuff!! Sometimes overnight, talking abt inspace life is WEIRD b we can summarize what we did if asked @ the end of the day etc,,, I’m not gnna get in2 it very META wise bc it’s wild 2 think abt, but we can talk 2 each other inspace! It’s a diff world, n sometimes it’s nice, bc it’s the only world we have our own bodies— THATS y it’s so imprtnt 2 us that our headspace is here, it’s not healthy 2 stay in it 4 ever, but it’s a RLLY good place 2 take a break in, esp if u dnt identify w the body,, it’s y we kno our height diffrnces 2 :^)

another thing is that on discord we use BOTS!!!!!!!!!! We used tupperbox b4, but then we moved on 2 pluralkit! These r bots that proxy ur messages! It lets u make custom discord profiles as if u made a new account, so ur sys members can type w their own avatar n username!! We uslly like joining servers w those bots!!! Unless we have 2 go in2 it’s Jusg Jamie Mode

We have a priv8 server where we like 2 keep stuff, b in general, typing 2 each other is just rlly good, it’s RLLY GOOD

YEA when ur in a sys, u can talk in ur head or inspace, yea if ur a sys who has blackouts typing 2 each other n leaving notes is good!! B here’s a shout out 2 us LSJSK n other systems. Bc sometimes?? Just typing 2 each other is just waaaaaay easier

Writing takes time, so typing is good! It’s faster bc sometimes EVERY1 wants 2 talk @ the same time, or mayb every1’s talking 2 each other! So bc of bots, the brain can kind of take a break In Processing all those MP3’s of their voices n every1 can cofront n type on a keyboard of phone! It’s rlly cool bc u ALSO get 2 c each other’s Avatars,, I think using discord bots (PK) is the most cathartic 4 a system rlly,,

Also I wld suggest using pluralkit instead of TB, as Pluralkit is more upd8 n has AAA!!! Autoproxy!! (pk;autoproxy front) (or pk;autoproxy latch <member name>)

Also that’s it KSJKDJSK I can’t believe I was able 2, answ this KDJDJK SRRY ITS RLLY LONG I GOT SO FCSED 👀

Yea like, yea :,^) we jst, talk i g SKJSK we do have our own bodies in our brain so I g that’s why helps DJDKJ