#Become A Mobile App Developer

[olivergisttv]

Mobile App Development: A Lucrative Career Path in 2025

In 2025, mobile app development continues to be one of the most in-demand and financially rewarding paths in tech. With smartphones remaining our go-to devices for everything from productivity to entertainment, companies are investing heavily in creating seamless, intuitive mobile experiences — and they need skilled developers to build them. Whether you’re a self-taught coder, a bootcamp…

[androidappdevelopmentcourseo]

Android App Development Course Online: A Comprehensive Guide

In today’s digital age, mobile apps have become an essential part of our lives. With the vast majority of smartphones running on Android, the demand for skilled Android app developers has never been higher. If you’re interested in pursuing a career in Android app development course online, this blog post will provide you with a detailed overview of Android app development course online available.

[tofupixel]

⭐ So you want to learn pixel art? ⭐

🔹 Part 1 of ??? - The Basics!

Edit: Now available in Google Doc format if you don't have a Tumblr account 🥰

Hello, my name is Tofu and I'm a professional pixel artist. I have been supporting myself with freelance pixel art since 2020, when I was let go from my job during the pandemic.

My progress, from 2017 to 2024. IMO the only thing that really matters is time and effort, not some kind of natural talent for art.

This guide will not be comprehensive, as nobody should be expected to read allat. Instead I will lean heavily on my own experience, and share what worked for me, so take everything with a grain of salt. This is a guide, not a tutorial. Cheers!

🔹 Do I need money?

NO!!! Pixel art is one of the most accessible mediums out there.

I still use a mouse because I prefer it to a tablet! You won't be at any disadvantage here if you can't afford the best hardware or software.

Because our canvases are typically very small, you don't need a good PC to run a good brush engine or anything like that.

✨Did you know? One of the most skilled and beloved pixel artists uses MS PAINT! Wow!!

🔹 What software should I use?

Here are some of the most popular programs I see my friends and peers using. Stars show how much I recommend the software for beginners! ⭐

💰 Paid options:

⭐⭐⭐ Aseprite (for PC) - $19.99

This is what I and many other pixel artists use. You may find when applying to jobs that they require some knowledge of Aseprite. Since it has become so popular, companies like that you can swap raw files between artists.

Aseprite is amazingly customizable, with custom skins, scripts and extensions on Itch.io, both free and paid.

If you have ever used any art software before, it has most of the same features and should feel fairly familiar to use. It features a robust animation suite and a tilemap feature, which have saved me thousands of hours of labour in my work. The software is also being updated all the time, and the developers listen to the users. I really recommend Aseprite!

⭐ Photoshop (for PC) - Monthly $$

A decent option for those who already are used to the PS interface. Requires some setup to get it ready for pixel-perfect art, but there are plenty of tutorials for doing so.

Animation is also much more tedious on PS which you may want to consider before investing time!

⭐⭐ ProMotion NG (for PC) - $19.00

An advanced and powerful software which has many features Aseprite does not, including Colour Cycling and animated tiles.

⭐⭐⭐ Pixquare (for iOS) - $7.99 - $19.99 (30% off with code 'tofu'!!)

Probably the best app available for iPad users, in active development, with new features added all the time.

Look! My buddy Jon recommends it highly, and uses it often.

One cool thing about Pixquare is that it takes Aseprite raw files! Many of my friends use it to work on the same project, both in their office and on the go.

⭐ Procreate (for iOS) - $12.99

If you have access to Procreate already, it's a decent option to get used to doing pixel art. It does however require some setup. Artist Pixebo is famously using Procreate, and they have tutorials of their own if you want to learn.

⭐⭐ ReSprite iOS and Android. (free trial, but:) $19.99 premium or $$ monthly

ReSprite is VERY similar in terms of UI to Aseprite, so I can recommend it. They just launched their Android release!

🆓 Free options:

⭐⭐⭐ Libresprite (for PC)

Libresprite is an alternative to Aseprite. It is very, very similar, to the point where documentation for Aseprite will be helpful to Libresprite users.

⭐⭐ Pixilart (for PC and mobile)

A free in-browser app, and also a mobile app! It is tied to the website Pixilart, where artists upload and share their work. A good option for those also looking to get involved in a community.

⭐⭐ Dotpict (for mobile)

Dotpict is similar to Pixilart, with a mobile app tied to a website, but it's a Japanese service. Did you know that in Japanese, pixel art is called 'Dot Art'? Dotpict can be a great way to connect with a different community of pixel artists! They also have prompts and challenges often.

🔹 So I got my software, now what?

◽Nice! Now it's time for the basics of pixel art.

❗ WAIT ❗ Before this section, I want to add a little disclaimer. All of these rules/guidelines can be broken at will, and some 'no-nos' can look amazing when done intentionally.

The pixel-art fundamentals can be exceedingly helpful to new artists, who may feel lost or overwhelmed by choice. But if you feel they restrict you too harshly, don't force yourself! At the end of the day it's your art, and you shouldn't try to contort yourself into what people think a pixel artist 'should be'. What matters is your own artistic expression. 💕👍

◽Phew! With that out of the way...

🔸"The Rules"

There are few hard 'rules' of pixel art, mostly about scaling and exporting. Some of these things will frequently trip up newbies if they aren't aware, and are easy to overlook.

🔹Scaling method

There are a couple ways of scaling your art. The default in most art programs, and the entire internet, is Bi-linear scaling, which usually works out fine for most purposes. But as pixel artists, we need a different method.

Both are scaled up x10. See the difference?

On the left is scaled using Bilinear, and on the right is using Nearest-Neighbor. We love seeing those pixels stay crisp and clean, so we use nearest-neighbor. 

(Most pixel-art programs have nearest-neighbor enabled by default! So this may not apply to you, but it's important to know.)

🔹Mixels

Mixels are when there are different (mixed) pixel sizes in the same image.

Here I have scaled up my art- the left is 200%, and the right is 150%. Yuck!

As we can see, the "pixel" sizes end up different. We generally try to scale our work by multiples of 100 - 200%, 300% etc. rather than 150%. At larger scales however, the minute differences in pixel sizes are hardly noticeable!

Mixels are also sometimes seen when an artist scales up their work, then continues drawing on it with a 1 pixel brush.

Many would say that this is not great looking! This type of pixels can be indicative of a beginner artist. But there are plenty of creative pixel artists out there who mixels intentionally, making something modern and cool.

🔹Saving Your Files

We usually save our still images as .PNGs as they don’t create any JPEG artifacts or loss of quality. It's a little hard to see here, but there are some artifacts, and it looks a little blurry. It also makes the art very hard to work with if we are importing a JPEG.

For animations .GIF is good, but be careful of the 256 colour limit. Try to avoid using too many blending mode layers or gradients when working with animations. If you aren’t careful, your animation could flash afterwards, as the .GIF tries to reduce colours wherever it can. It doesn’t look great!

Here's an old piece from 2021 where I experienced .GIF lossiness, because I used gradients and transparency, resulting in way too many colours.

🔹Pixel Art Fundamentals - Techniques and Jargon

❗❗Confused about Jaggies? Anti-Aliasing? Banding? Dithering? THIS THREAD is for you❗❗ << it's a link, click it!!

As far as I'm concerned, this is THE tutorial of all time for understanding pixel art. These are techniques created and named by the community of people who actually put the list together, some of the best pixel artists alive currently. Please read it!!

🔸How To Learn

Okay, so you have your software, and you're all ready to start. But maybe you need some more guidance? Try these tutorials and resources! It can be helpful to work along with a tutorial until you build your confidence up.

⭐⭐ Pixel Logic (A Digital Book) - $10 A very comprehensive visual guide book by a very skilled and established artist in the industry. I own a copy myself.

⭐⭐⭐ StudioMiniBoss - free A collection of visual tutorials, by the artist that worked on Celeste! When starting out, if I got stuck, I would go and scour his tutorials and see how he did it.

⭐ Lospec Tutorials - free A very large collection of various tutorials from all over the internet. There is a lot to sift through here if you have the time.

⭐⭐⭐ Cyangmou's Tutorials - free (tipping optional) Cyangmou is one of the most respected and accomplished modern pixel artists, and he has amassed a HUGE collection of free and incredibly well-educated visual tutorials. He also hosts an educational stream every week on Twitch called 'pixelart for beginners'.

⭐⭐⭐ Youtube Tutorials - free There are hundreds, if not thousands of tutorials on YouTube, but it can be tricky to find the good ones. My personal recommendations are MortMort, Brandon, and AdamCYounis- these guys really know what they're talking about!

🔸 How to choose a canvas size

When looking at pixel art turorials, we may see people suggest things like 16x16, 32x32 and 64x64. These are standard sizes for pixel art games with tiles. However, if you're just making a drawing, you don't necessarily need to use a standard canvas size like that.

What I like to think about when choosing a canvas size for my illustrations is 'what features do I think it is important to represent?' And make my canvas as small as possible, while still leaving room for my most important elements.

Imagine I have characters in a scene like this:

I made my canvas as small as possible (232 x 314), but just big enough to represent the features and have them be recognizable (it's Good Omens fanart 😤)!! If I had made it any bigger, I would be working on it for ever, due to how much more foliage I would have to render.

If you want to do an illustration and you're not sure, just start at somewhere around 100x100 - 200x200 and go from there.

It's perfectly okay to crop your canvas, or scale it up, or crunch your art down at any point if you think you need a different size. I do it all the time! It only takes a bit of cleanup to get you back to where you were.

🔸Where To Post

Outside of just regular socials, Twitter, Tumblr, Deviantart, Instagram etc, there are a few places that lean more towards pixel art that you might not have heard of.

⭐ Lospec Lospec is a low-res focused art website. Some pieces get given a 'monthly masterpiece' award. Not incredibly active, but I believe there are more features being added often.

⭐⭐ Pixilart Pixilart is a very popular pixel art community, with an app tied to it. The community tends to lean on the young side, so this is a low-pressure place to post with an relaxed vibe.

⭐⭐ Pixeljoint Pixeljoint is one of the big, old-school pixel art websites. You can only upload your art unscaled (1x) because there is a built-in zoom viewer. It has a bit of a reputation for being elitist (back in the 00s it was), but in my experience it's not like that any more. This is a fine place for a pixel artist to post if they are really interested in learning, and the history. The Hall of Fame has some of the most famous / impressive pixel art pieces that paved the way for the work we are doing today.

⭐⭐⭐ Cafe Dot Cafe Dot is my art server so I'm a little biased here. 🍵 It was created during the recent social media turbulence. We wanted a place to post art with no algorithms, and no NFT or AI chuds. We have a heavy no-self-promotion rule, and are more interested in community than skill or exclusivity. The other thing is that we have some kind of verification system- you must apply to be a Creator before you can post in the Art feed, or use voice. This helps combat the people who just want to self-promo and dip, or cause trouble, as well as weed out AI/NFT people. Until then, you are still welcome to post in any of the threads or channels. There is a lot to do in Cafe Dot. I host events weekly, so check the threads!

⭐⭐/r/pixelart The pixel art subreddit is pretty active! I've also heard some of my friends found work through posting here, so it's worth a try if you're looking. However, it is still Reddit- so if you're sensitive to rude people, or criticism you didn't ask for, you may want to avoid this one. Lol

🔸 Where To Find Work

You need money? I got you! As someone who mostly gets scouted on social media, I can share a few tips with you:

Put your email / portfolio in your bio Recruiters don't have all that much time to find artists, make it as easy as possible for someone to find your important information!

Clean up your profile If your profile feed is all full of memes, most people will just tab out rather than sift through. Doesn't apply as much to Tumblr if you have an art tag people can look at.

Post regularly, and repost Activity beats everything in the social media game. It's like rolling the dice, and the more you post the more chances you have. You have to have no shame, it's all business baby

Outside of just posting regularly and hoping people reach out to you, it can be hard to know where to look. Here are a few places you can sign up to and post around on.

/r/INAT INAT (I Need A Team) is a subreddit for finding a team to work with. You can post your portfolio here, or browse for people who need artists.

/r/GameDevClassifieds Same as above, but specifically for game-related projects.

Remote Game Jobs / Work With Indies Like Indeed but for game jobs. Browse them often, or get email notifications.

VGen VGen is a website specifically for commissions. You need a code from another verified artist before you can upgrade your account and sell, so ask around on social media or ask your friends. Once your account is upgraded, you can make a 'menu' of services people can purchase, and they send you an offer which you are able to accept, decline, or counter.

The evil websites of doom: Fiverr and Upwork I don't recommend them!! They take a big cut of your profit, and the sites are teeming with NFT and AI people hoping to make a quick buck. The site is also extremely oversaturated and competitive, resulting in a race to the bottom (the cheapest, the fastest, doing the most for the least). Imagine the kind of clients who go to these websites, looking for the cheapest option. But if you're really desperate...

🔸 Community

I do really recommend getting involved in a community. Finding like-minded friends can help you stay motivated to keep drawing. One day, those friends you met when you were just starting out may become your peers in the industry. Making friends is a game changer!

Discord servers Nowadays, the forums of old are mostly abandoned, and people split off into many different servers. Cafe Dot, Pixel Art Discord (PAD), and if you can stomach scrolling past all the AI slop, you can browse Discord servers here.

Twitch Streams Twitch has kind of a bad reputation for being home to some of the more edgy gamers online, but the pixel art community is extremely welcoming and inclusive. Some of the people I met on Twitch are my friends to this day, and we've even worked together on different projects! Browse pixel art streams here, or follow some I recommend: NickWoz, JDZombi, CupOhJoe, GrayLure, LumpyTouch, FrankiePixelShow, MortMort, Sodor, NateyCakes, NyuraKim, ShinySeabass, I could go on for ever really... There are a lot of good eggs on Pixel Art Twitch.

🔸 Other Helpful Websites

Palettes Lospec has a huge collection of user-made palettes, for any artist who has trouble choosing their colours, or just wants to try something fun. Rejected Palettes is full of palettes that didn't quite make it onto Lospec, ran by people who believe there are no bad colours.

The Spriters Resource TSR is an incredible website where users can upload spritesheets and tilesets from games. You can browse for your favourite childhood game, and see how they made it! This website has helped me so much in understanding how game assets come together in a scene.

VGMaps Similar to the above, except there are entire maps laid out how they would be played. This is incredible if you have to do level design, or for mocking up a scene for fun.

Game UI Database Not pixel-art specific, but UI is a very challenging part of graphics, so this site can be a game-changer for finding good references!

Retronator A digital newspaper for pixel-art lovers! New game releases, tutorials, and artworks!

Itch.io A website where people can upload, games, assets, tools... An amazing hub for game devs and game fans alike. A few of my favourite tools: Tiled, PICO-8, Pixel Composer, Juice FX, Magic Pencil for Aseprite

🔸 The End?

This is just part 1 for now, so please drop me a follow to see any more guides I release in the future. I plan on doing some writeups on how I choose colours, how to practise, and more!

I'm not an expert by any means, but everything I did to get to where I am is outlined in this guide. Pixel art is my passion, my job and my hobby! I want pixel art to be recognized everywhere as an art-form, a medium of its own outside of game-art or computer graphics!

This guide took me a long time, and took a lot of research and experience. Consider following me or supporting me if you are feeling generous.

And good luck to all the fledgling pixel artists, I hope you'll continue and have fun. I hope my guide helped you, and don't hesitate to send me an ask if you have any questions! 💕

My other tutorials (so far): How to draw Simple Grass for a game Hue Shifting

[oursweetescape]

Thought and Ramblings

Been thinking about the Damirae fandom lately and just how nice of a fandom it is. Like it's small but it was received well for casual fans and DC fans. The community is usually positive, encouraging and sweet for such an unexpected pairing that developed in an interesting fashion.

I have to say that I'm glad that the pairing happened but, at least for me, it's definitely got some nuances. For instance, I like the DCAMU characters together but as a favorite elseworlds pairing. Which is interesting because for an elseworld pairing that ended 5 years ago we are still getting acknowledgements.

1. Apokolips War (Pairing become official/DC released preview where Damian confesses) 2020

2. Sam L. confirms with a fan on Twitter that Judas Contract had small interactions between Damian and Raven in the background. Can't find the screenshot but if someone does remember it then def attach. (This was before 2020 I believe)

2. The DCAMU gets referenced and a goofy scene redraw in 2024 Crisis on Infinite Earths Movie pt. 3

3. Raven's skin in the Multiverse game is similar to the DCAMU even though Fortnite uses the Raven YA book's design. 2024

4. DC posts about pairings and Damirae is featured against BBrae. i always thought this was surprising considering one is a main canon pairing and the other is a doomed/tragic elseworld pairing. Also DC liked more Damirae comments than the BBrae ones? 2024/5

5. DC: Dark Legion (mobile game) app. included Raven and Damian on promo art. The two in comics haven't interacted in years and they could have easily swapped the other characters. I know Raven and Damian are popular characters but DC had to have known what they were doing by having them be next to each other. They also went with the early rebirth Raven design where she was 16. 2025

6. Harley Quinn Show. In s5 it's revealed Damian's girlfriend from previous seasons was in fact Raven. The last season had them breaking up (looks like Bruce was aware) and Damian immediately rebounded to a new girl. 2025

7. I've noticed an increase in the number of reaction creators watching the DCAMU movies the last year and many thought the pairing was cute.

Overall I've been thinking about this fandom way too much and have been wanting to update a fic I wrote a while back. Unfortunately trying to find motivation to complete it plunged me into the DCAMU (and what could have been) all over again.

[yazan-family2]

Help my family survive the inferno of war and restore hope and a dignified life to us🚨💔🙏🕊️

My name is Mohammad Taysir a 34-year-old Palestinian from Gaza. 🇵🇸 I used to live with my family, which includes my parents, my wife, and my two children, Jude, who is 4 years old, and Yazan, who is 3 years old, in a simple home filled with love and warmth. 🏠❤️ I was striving to provide a decent life for my family despite the enormous challenges in Gaza. 🌟 We lived with the hope that the future would bring better days, but the recent war turned our lives upside down. 💔

I used to work as a mobile app developer, a field I loved and dedicated years of my life to mastering. 💻❤️ My job was our primary source of income, enabling me to provide for my family and give my children a chance for education and a stable life. 🎓👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 I used to spend long hours developing applications, dreaming of contributing to the growth of this field in Gaza. 🌟📱 However, with the war, everything suddenly came to a halt. 💔 I lost all my devices and equipment, and I no longer have even the basic environment to continue my work. 🛠️❌ Now, I am unemployed and face daily challenges in securing my family's basic needs. 🥺🍞

One harsh morning, everything changed. Our home was destroyed in an instant due to intense bombing, reduced to nothing but a pile of rubble. 💔 We lost our memories, our safety, and everything we had built over the years. That place, which was a shelter for our dreams and cherished moments, became nothing more than a painful memory. 🏠➡️🪨 The most devastating part was that my father didn’t survive; he passed away, leaving a huge void in our lives. 😢 The feeling of helplessness and shock was unbearable, especially as I suddenly found myself searching for a refuge for my family amidst this destruction. 🌪️👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Partial Demolition Damages

After it was completely destroyed

We were displaced to the south, to one of the shelter schools, where this temporary place has become our daily reality. Life here feels like a constant struggle; we suffer from severe shortages of food and water, often going to bed hungry or sharing small bites among us. 🍞💧 Medicines are almost nonexistent, leaving us in constant fear for my children’s health, especially with the spread of diseases in this overcrowded space. 😷 The lack of privacy and the biting cold rob us of sleep. 🥶 Every day is a battle for survival, and I try to endure it all with patience, just to give my family a glimmer of hope amidst this never-ending suffering. 🌟

I write to you today in desperate need of your support—not just for us, but for everyone who has lost their home and family in this war. 💔🏠 Your donation could be the hope that helps us rebuild a better life. 🌟 Any assistance you provide, no matter how small, will make a huge difference in our lives. 🙏 In these difficult times, all I can do is humbly ask you to extend a helping hand to us, to restore some hope for the future. 🤲✨ You are the source of goodness, and every donation from you is a ray of light in our lives. 💖🌈

[rescreatu]

Today we’re sharing our plans for the new map system that will be in the next version of Rescreatu. Let’s have a look around!

Traverse the planets far and wide!

Maps will become the centralized place for Rescreatu citizens to explore the universe. You can go to every location directly within this new map system. (There will be easy ways to access certain places or pages via a site menu as well.)

⚡❗ Heads up: This information is in the early stages of development! The images you see here are mock-up sketches showcasing the overall concept of our exciting new map system. They’re designed to give you a sneak peek at how it’ll work, but keep in mind that some details might change before the official release. Just a friendly reminder: We’ll begin creating this map system after we’ve laid the groundwork for our shiny new website. We’re sharing this with you now because we value your input. Your feedback will help us make sure the concept is rock-solid when the time comes to bring it to life!

The solar system map

Visit each planet quickly through the solar system map view. Currently there are 4 main planets you can visit and 1 inaccessible planet in the Rescreatu solar system. And who knows what else is out there!

Planet maps

Each planet map is projected in an isometric view, such as this concept art above of Relcore’s new map. You may notice some familiar locations and some new ones. 😉

More places to discover

This new map system will allow Rescreatans to chart the planets more than ever before. There are so many unknown discoveries that await! Have you ever asked yourself what’s on the “other side” of these planets we all know so well? 👀

Interactive user interface

The planet maps will have an app-like interactive map experience where you’re able to easily zoom, show/hide labels, and click on specific locations. Above is a mobile demonstration showing this.

Locations

Each location has an icon that can be clicked to see where it leads, and every location will vary on what you can do there. This could be a specific activity or shop that you can visit to bring you to a new page, or you can have your creatu explore a location to see what items or eggs they can find.

Location information

Clicking on a location will show at a glance what each location entails before entering.

Detect new species, quests, or items

Checking locations will also tell you if the system detects a new creatu species or quest item that can be discovered there.

Creatu spots

Most creatu species can be found while exploring any location throughout their given planet. However, it’s been discovered recently that each creatu species has a specific location where they can be found more frequently as well.

Map visibility/progression

New location icons will appear as you explore and do quests, and parts of the map may even be revealed by becoming uncovered.

Quests

Your quests may often lead you to any of the four planets in search of something or someone. Available and current quests will be noted by distinct icons on the planet maps, so you know exactly where they are.

What do you think about the new map system?

[funkin-news]

ninjamuffin newgrounds post!

tl;dr

fuck ads!! use adblocker whenever you can!!

the crew tries to make fnf as ad-free as possible, not just the game but where you download it- it's why it's on itch/newgrounds and not anywhere that offers ad revenue

that being said, fnf mobile will likely have a free version which... will have ads. they will try not to make the ads too obnoxious

(there will be an ad-free paid version too!)

extra note from me, not the post: if you're an android user you totally shouldn't use youtube revanced and purpletv or anything for mobile youtube and twitch adblockers. it would be such a hindrance to the advertisers. ha ha

full post copied below ⬇️

greetings and merry xmas newgrounds

on my brain for a very long time has been advertisements. Something about ads that stick in my brain ever since I came across this little thing from Lichess.

In due time, unfortunately this post will become a bit hypocritical, as we will eventually publish FNF onto mobile, and that will very likely have a free ad supported version. Hopefully that doesn't undermine my thoughts too much, however FNF is more than just me and my brain! Not everything I say goes in terms of FNF decisions! So with all that being said, let me begin shouting about everything I hate about ads.

I use adblocker on everything, and you should too. UBlock Origin has been my reliable go to. Online ads are especially an insidious breed. I'll try not to be some tinfoil hat, but I do often wonder what the internet would look like if the online ad model *wasn't* fruitful back in the early days of the internet. Would Facebook, Google, etc. have an arms race to the bottom to get infinite amounts of data on every single person ever? Would social media algorithms optimize for a different experience other than *spend as much time as possible on our site*? Ads have existed before Youtube, Google, internet though. They exist on TV, on subways and buses, on radio, in newspapers. I think for the most part my deep hatred of ads is for online kind, I do think there can be "irl" ads that I find very unpleasant. Going on a subway or sitting at a bus stop, I think people deserve more dignity from their city public transit than to have something sold to them! I don't think an ad free life should be only reserved for those who can pay for spotify premium, youtube red, etc. I think everyone should be entitled to that DIGNITY.

X (the everything app, formerly Twitter ) has a Premium subscription that costs 10$/month (CAD), and they will only give you *half* the ads in your feed. How generous of them. I will be dramatic, and say that I look at ads with disgust. I hope to think I'm somewhat justified, as most ads look like dogshit, and are pretty worthless.

For a very long time (and currently, as of writing/posting) FNF has been entirely ad free. We did stand up to putting it on other web portals that offer ads and ad payments/rev share, because we do somewhat want to be part of the change we'd like to see in the world. We want to believe in a world where someone can put out a free game on itch/newgrounds, and have the development be supported purely off donations (which FNF was supported by that in the early days / first 6 months of development!). We definitely could have made much MUCH more money if we put FNF on websites that offer ad rev share, but we didn't, and I hope that doesn't fall on deaf ears.

However we do promote our own things from within the game, Kickstarter, merch, etc. I suppose I'm less upset or even thinking about that, I think there's a big difference if we had a lil Kickstarter trailer in-game that played, opposed to having an in-game advertisement for some fuckass mobile game or some cosmetics or somethin. We specifically are still curating what we are putting in the game with our lil links to merch, kickstarter, etc.

We also provide the soundtrack on Spotify / streaming services, which do indeed get money from ads. I think I'm so detatched from Spotify ads and being angry at them, since I've been spotify premium user even at the brokest poorest in my life... i need them album downloads!!! I do think that's an aspect where there is an adfree alternative, which is Bandcmap, where you can listen to the FNF OST as much as you want, and if you pay some coin, you can download it in high quality!

My thoughts on FNF mobile with ads is that they will make me very unhappy and deeply sad. I do sincerely apologize to those of you who would be unable to play FNF on anything other than a mobile device, and aren't able to get the full mobile version, so you become punished with ads. We do hope to not be obnoxious with mobile ads. If you have a computer, even a shitty busted one that runs slow, I personally hope you end up compiling the mobile version yourself to get past ads. The thought of that lets me rest easier just a little bit. The FNF will be proudly open source forever.

There will also be a paid version of FNF mobile, that will have no ads. Pay for that one if you please.

[realcleverissues]

Mamdani, Socialism, & Supermarkets

I’ve been really excited about Zohran Mamdani’s primary win in the NYC mayoral race. A lot of his ideas reflect views I’ve held for a long time — especially his proposal to pilot city-run grocery stores in each of the five boroughs.

At its core, the idea is simple: essential needs like food and housing shouldn’t be left entirely in the hands of for-profit corporations. Yes, I believe private business has a place — and I’m not opposed to profit across the board. But when it comes to things people literally need to survive, there should be nonprofit public options.

What Public Housing Taught Me

Take housing. It’s the biggest lifetime cost for most adults, and the private market is dominated by landlords who care more about profit than people. I’ve worked for a local housing agency, and many of our buildings were indistinguishable from regular market-rate apartments. The difference? They were far more affordable.

Public and subsidized housing options like Section 8 technically exist, but they’re underfunded, limited, and mostly restricted to very low-income renters. They can also create distorted incentives — for example, landlords in the Section 8 system often take advantage of guaranteed payment and limited tenant mobility to cut corners and exploit renters. Also, because it's a problem that only harms the poorest, it's easy for the issue to be ignored by lawmakers.

We need nonprofit housing options for everyone — not just the poorest. Many people would gladly trade luxury amenities for stable, affordable rent. And if someone does want luxury, the private market should still exist to offer it. The point isn’t to eliminate choice. It’s to create it — which we don’t have now.

The Myth of “Choice” in Capitalism

I once argued with a landlord (not mine; one must be careful not to upset the person who decides if you have to leave your home) about the rental system and some of the problems it creates. Their reply: “If you don’t like renting, go buy a house.”

This kind of free-market logic sounds fair — but it ignores how the system is structured. Most renters can’t just go buy a home. That person knew that; their "argument" was mostly a taunt rooted in the reality that today, in the USA, homeownership is out of reach for millions, especially in cities where zoning laws, development limits, and speculative buying inflate costs. (Note: the landlording industry is closely tied to those issues, so it doesn't just take advantage of a bad situation - it helps create the bad situation.) So the “choice” is really between renting… or being homeless.

Homelessness isn’t just poverty — in many cities, it’s criminalized. For those who manage to evade prison, you're still left facing sickness, suffering, and likely death.

This is the so-called "free market". Get f*cked or get dead.

This is why public options matter — not just to protect the poorest, but to provide everyone with alternatives to being squeezed by profit-driven systems.

What Happens When Public Options Exist

Let’s say we create a robust public housing system open to all incomes. What might happen? Private rents would fall. Nonprofit competition would pull market prices down. Landlords would improve. If tenants have real alternatives, exploitative behavior becomes a business risk. Landlording would change. Some landlords might exit the market — and public housing could fill that gap.

It wouldn’t eliminate the private sector — but it would raise the floor for everyone.

Now, Apply That to Food

This same logic applies to groceries.

Sure, supermarkets operate on thin margins — but they sell to literally everyone, every single day. The scale is massive. And the industry has perfected subtle methods of extracting more money from customers: “Buy 5, get 5 free” sales that only benefit people with cars, storage space, and extra cash. Digital coupons and loyalty apps that can leave out low-income folks, seniors, and anyone without a smartphone. Placement tricks and pricing structures that nudge shoppers toward more expensive options.

Even “fresh food” in many supermarkets is priced as a luxury, not a staple. For instance, my local supermarket offers some bougie fresh food, like artisanal pizza or salads. Why not have a grocery store that sells essentials at cost? Why not offer basic, nutritious fresh meals — like bread, eggs, or a PB&J — without markup? Why not redesign the entire supermarket experience around maximizing the quantity and nutritional quality of user goods purchased while also minimizing the amount it costs them? How about a grocery which is not meant to maximize shareholder value but to maximize shopper value?

Mamdani’s proposal is in this line of thinking: city-run grocery stores funded not by new taxes, but by redirecting existing subsidies currently given to private chains (!).

We Don’t Need to Ban Private Business — We Need Alternatives

We don't need to eliminate for-profit housing or groceries. There's a market for it and people who can afford and prefer to buy luxury items should be able to do so. But we do need alternatives that don't extract wealth from people just trying to live.

Democratic socialism — the kind Mamdani represents — isn’t about command economies or banning entrepreneurs. It’s about ensuring that basic needs aren't opportunities for exploitation. Everyone should have the option to get housing, food, and healthcare without being at the mercy of landlords, corporations, or hedge funds trying to squeeze every last cent from them.

Mamdani’s grocery store plan is a small step. But it’s a powerful one in that it shows what democratic socialism represents: Cooperation over competition, centering human need over profit, and showing real-world examples of what an alternative to our capitalist hellscape can be like.

That would be a real super-market.

[wojenka]

i need more mutuals who are into coding and engineering!! more info under the cut!!

I planned to become an electrical engineer like my stepdad but then I decided to change my path to programming. I'm currently studying at technikum (<- wikipedia link so I don't have to explain the whole polish learning system), programmer major.

this year I have exams from web development (10th Jan - theory, 16th Jan - practical exams) and next year I have exams from App development (both mobile and desktop).

I know C family languages, Java, Python and those ones I am currently using. I also know a bit of Kotlin and I think I will continue learning it.

For web dev I know HTML and CSS ofc but also PHP and JS.

Planning on learning more languages I can use for App and operating system development as well as just to know them cause I want to after this year's exams!

my learning list:

Lua (I heard it's easy but I can't really get myself to read anything about this atm idk why)

Ruby

Assembly

Rust

As for electrical engineering I don't know much tbh but I would like to learn! I just used CAD programs for technical drawings (dad taught me some basic things when I was still thinking about going his path) helped my dad fix things on his Solar farm, houses of our neighbors and I made a few very simple circuits for fun a few years ago. Now I'm mostly focused on programming but since I learned most of the things I need for exams I have more time to do whatever I want now!

I'd like to get to know more people so I can share and mostly learn new things since even though I'm coding for years I consider myself a beginner and I am a total beginner when it comes to electrical engineering.

I'm willing to be friends or at least mutuals with anyone who codes or makes websites or is in STEM! no matter what your specialty/interest is exactly and no matter if you are a total beginner or a professional ^__^

I'd also like to have some mutuals who are into old web development and retro computing!!!!!!!!

edit: I forgot but I'm also interested in physics and quantum physics

[ai-art-thieves]

Alright, last update on this whole plant profile pic thing.

And I really do mean it this time because I am just as tired as everybody else.

crippled-peeper said nothing.

Let me be clear that I did not start this mess.

This all started because an anon accused crippled-peeper of having a profile picture that was ai generated.

evrl0ng supported the accusation's claim with this image:

Which we had later discovered to be directly from tumblr's website code, whether you find it via an inspect element or just tapping the icon in the mobile app.

An anon sent me a message about this, and I investigated.

I found evidence that supported the claim.

But I wanted to wait for a response from him.

....then rjalker came in and unloaded accusations of ableism and transphobia, which I got notified about.

I had to make another post that had to also disprove those claims, as well as analyzed the image further.

As more and more evidence piled up, it was starting to get less and less likely that he was innocent. Especially with his behavior online. It just made him look so much worse.

We checked the source, we inspected element, we even had to triple check to make sure it wasn't a compressed jpeg.

Nope. It was looking like it was ai.

So if you read this, crippled-peeper, (and it's probably going to be unlikely) just know that I am sorry. I am sorry for all the shit that got thrown in your way, and I deeply apologize for getting your friends involved.

I got more and more mad the more people just believed that this one obviously ai generated pixel potted plant was not, well ai generated.

I felt like I was losing my goddamn mind and I just wanted to prove someone, anyone, that I wasn't losing it. Even though I already did.

I just didn't like people twisting words around. I just didn't like people trying to make shit up. And I cracked under the pressure.

That said...

You could've proved to the anon that the image wasn't ai by actually showing the damn image. I don't care if you were pissed, you had the opportunity to do so and you blew it.

If you think that this moment is going to give me "guilt and anxiety", spoiler alert: it's not.

I am not going to have "guilt and anxiety" over pathetic internet drama that got started by one of your followers.

You wanna know why? Because it's pathetic internet drama.

And you wanna know what else can happen from pathetic internet drama? Character development.

This is pathetic internet drama that I'm going to leave behind, and I'm going to become a better detective by learning from all the mistakes I made.

I want you to grow as a better person as well. My advice? Break yourself from that negative feedback loop.

Case Closed.

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

P.S.: Please do not harass crippled-peeper or any of his friends. I already did enough damage.

[mariacallous]

On ThursdaY, Reuters published a photo depicting then-United States national security adviser Mike Waltz checking his phone during a cabinet meeting held by President Trump in the White House. If you enlarge the portion of the image that captures Waltz’s screen, it seems to show him using the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal. But if you look more closely, a notification on the screen refers to the app as “TM SGNL.” During a White House cabinet meeting on Wednesday, then, Waltz was apparently using an Israeli-made app called TeleMessage Signal to message with people who appear to be top US officials, including JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and Tulsi Gabbard.

After senior Trump administration cabinet members used vanishing Signal messages to coordinate March military strikes in Yemen—and accidentally included the editor in chief of The Atlantic in the group chat—the “SignalGate” scandal highlighted concerning breaches of traditional government “operational security” protocol as well as compliance issues with federal records-retention laws. At the center of the debacle was Waltz, who was ousted by Trump as US national security adviser on Thursday. Waltz created the “Houthi PC Small Group” chat and was the member who added top Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. "I take full responsibility. I built the group," Waltz told Fox News in late March. "We've got the best technical minds looking at how this happened," he added at the time.

SignalGate had nothing to do with Signal. The app was functioning normally and was simply being used at an inappropriate time for an incredibly sensitive discussion that should have been carried out on special-purpose, hardened federal devices and software platforms. If you're going to flout the protocols, though, Signal is (relatively speaking) a good place to do it, because the app is designed so only the senders and receivers of messages in a group chat can read them. And the app is built to collect as little information as possible about its users and their associates. This means that if US government officials were chatting on the app, spies or malicious hackers could only access their communications by directly compromising participants' devices—a challenge that is potentially surmountable but at least limits possible access points. Using an app like TeleMessage Signal, though, presumably in an attempt to comply with data retention requirements, opens up numerous other paths for adversaries to access messages.

"I don't even know where to start with this," says Jake Williams, a former NSA hacker and vice president of research and development at Hunter Strategy. “It's mind-blowing that the federal government is using Israeli tech to route extremely sensitive data for archival purposes. You just know that someone is grabbing a copy of that data. Even if TeleMessage isn't willingly giving it up, they have just become one of the biggest nation-state targets out there.”

TeleMessage was founded in Israel in 1999 by former Israel Defense Forces technologists and run out of the country until it was acquired last year by the US-based digital communications archiving company Smarsh. The service creates duplicates of communication apps that are outfitted with a “mobile archiver” tool to record and store messages sent through the app.

“Capture, archive and monitor mobile communication: SMS, MMS, Voice Calls, WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram & Signal,” TeleMessage says on its website. For Signal it adds, “Record and capture Signal calls, texts, multimedia and files on corporate-issued and employee BYOD phones.” (BYOD stands for bring your own device.) In other words, there are TeleMessage versions of Signal for essentially any mainstream consumer device. The company says that using TeleMessage Signal, users can “Maintain all Signal app features and functionality as well as the Signal encryption,” adding that the app provides “End-to-End encryption from the mobile phone through to the corporate archive.” The existence of “the corporate archive,” though, undermines the privacy and security of the end-to-end encryption scheme.

TeleMessage apps are not approved for use under the US government's Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program or FedRAMP. TeleMessage and Smarsh did not immediately return requests for comment about whether their products are used by the US federal government and in what capacity.

"As we have said many times, Signal is an approved app for government use and is loaded on government phones,” White House press secretary Anna Kelly tells WIRED. She did not answer questions about whether the White House approves of federal officials using TeleMessage Signal—which is a different app from Signal—or whether other officials aside from Waltz have used the app or currently use it.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency does not create policy around federal technology use but does release public guidance. When asked about Waltz’s apparent use of TeleMessage Signal, CISA simply referred WIRED to its best-practices guide for mobile communications. The document specifically advises, “When selecting an end-to-end encrypted messaging app, evaluate the extent to which the app and associated services collect and store metadata.”

It is not clear when Waltz started using TeleMessage Signal and whether he was already using it during SignalGate or started using it afterward in response to criticisms that turning on Signal's disappearing messages feature is in conflict with federal data-retention laws.

“I have no doubt the leadership of the US national security apparatus ran this software through a full information-assurance process to ensure there was no information leakage to foreign nations,” says Johns Hopkins cryptographer Matt Green. “Because if they didn’t, we are screwed.”

[howlsofbloodhounds]

So this is part 2 of this post, if yall wanna give it a read for context.

In this post, I’ll be talking about how Color’s physical disability of having only one eye would influence how he interacts with his special interests in photography and travel.

As well as how his PTSD, autism, chronic fatigue, and separation anxiety from Killer could also affect things.

With one eye, Color might have reduced depth perception, which could make it challenging to gauge distances accurately. He might rely more on autofocus features, practice to enhance his spatial awareness, or use techniques like focus stacking for precise shots.

He might prefer using cameras with electronic viewfinders (EVF) or live view screens rather than optical viewfinders, which could be more challenging to use with one eye. Adjusting camera settings and composing shots via a larger display would be easier.

He might develop unique framing and composition techniques, leveraging his perspective creatively. Color could take extra time to ensure his shots are well-composed, possibly using grid overlays or other aids to help with alignment.

Customizing camera gear to suit his needs, such as using tripods, stabilizers, or remote controls, to help steady the camera and compose shots more comfortably.

He might spend additional time in post-processing to correct any minor misalignments or issues that arise from the reduced depth perception during the shooting process.

For travel, navigating unfamiliar places might require more caution, especially in crowded or complex environments. He might use mobility aids, rely on GPS and mapping apps, or travel with companions to ensure safety.

Color could engage in meticulous planning to minimize unexpected challenges, such as researching accessible routes, accommodations, and transportation options.

Color might use his experiences and perspective to connect with others, sharing how his disability influences his travel and photography, fostering understanding and empathy.

Developing strategies to cope with the physical demands of travel, such as pacing himself, taking regular breaks, and prioritizing destinations or activities that are less physically demanding.

His unique perspective could inspire him to create compelling stories or advocacy pieces about accessibility in travel and photography, raising awareness and inspiring others with disabilities.

Embracing his distinct view of the world, his photography could offer unique perspectives that stand out, turning his perceived limitation into an artistic advantage.

He might become involved in communities focused on accessible travel and photography, sharing tips, experiences, and inspiring others with similar challenges.

Autism and chronic fatigue would likely significantly impact Color’s ability to engage with his special interests in photography and travel.

In photography, chronic fatigue would necessitate careful energy management. Color might plan shorter, more focused photography sessions and prioritize rest to avoid burnout.

Streamlining his workflow, from setting up equipment to post-processing, to conserve energy. This could include using presets in editing software or organizing his gear for easy access.

He could chose photography locations that are easily accessible and require minimal physical exertion. He might also prefer locations close to home or base to reduce travel time and energy expenditure.

He would likely use ightweight equipment to reduce physical strain, possibly investing in high-quality but compact cameras and lenses. He might also use monopods or lightweight tripods for additional support.

Autism can come with sensory sensitivities. Color might choose quieter, less crowded locations for photography and use noise-canceling headphones or other tools to manage sensory overload.

With travel, he’d have to pace himself. Planning travel with built-in downtime to rest and recharge. He might avoid overly ambitious itineraries and allow for flexible scheduling to accommodate his energy levels.

He’d probably chose ccommodations that are comfortable, quiet, and accessible, ensuring he has a safe space to retreat to when needed.

He’d prefer modes of transportation that offer comfort and minimal stress, such as direct flights, train travel, or driving. He might also opt for private or semi-private tours to control the pace and environment.

Keeping up with healthcare needs, including regular check-ups, medication management, and any necessary accommodations. He might also carry a travel health kit tailored to his specific needs.

He’d combine photography with travel in a way that maximizes enjoyment and minimizes strain. For example, he might focus on travel photography during the golden hours (early morning and late afternoon) when conditions are optimal, and the rest of the day can be used for rest.

Creating content that reflects his experiences with autism and chronic fatigue, such as blogs, vlogs, or social media posts. This can help raise awareness and provide valuable insights to others with similar challenges.

Engaging with communities of autistic travelers and photographers to share experiences, tips, and support. This can provide a sense of camaraderie and practical advice tailored to his needs.

Establishing routines that provide predictability and reduce stress. This might include having a consistent photography and travel routine, preparing for trips well in advance, and creating checklists.

Practicing mindfulness or relaxation techniques to manage stress and sensory overload. This can help maintain focus and calm, particularly in challenging environments.

Utilizing assistive technologies, such as apps for energy tracking, sensory-friendly gear, or digital tools that aid in planning and organization.

Color’s PTSD from solitary confinement and isolation in the Void, combined with his separation anxiety towards Killer, can create a complex situation that both challenges and shapes his engagement in traveling and photography.

Color’s need to stay on the move due to PTSD makes traveling appealing, as it provides a sense of freedom and escape from confinement. However, this constant movement could also become exhausting and anxiety-inducing if it lacks purpose or stability.

His separation anxiety towards Killer might lead him to seek Killer’s company while traveling. Traveling with Killer could provide a sense of security and reduce his anxiety, but it also means his travel plans would need to align with Killer’s availability and willingness to join him.

Color might need to carefully plan his travels to ensure he has safe and familiar places to stay, reducing the unpredictability that could trigger his PTSD. Having a structured itinerary could help him feel more in control and less anxious.

Traveling to new and unfamiliar places might sometimes trigger memories of his isolation, especially if he encounters situations that remind him of the Void. He would need to find a balance between exploring new places and ensuring his mental well-being.

Photography could serve as a therapeutic outlet, allowing Color to process and express his emotions through capturing images. It might help him make sense of his experiences and provide a way to externalize his trauma.

Color might be drawn to photographing subjects that reflect his internal state or provide a sense of solace. He could focus on themes like freedom, movement, and connection, finding meaning and healing in his work.

Having Killer around while engaging in photography could provide comfort and reduce his anxiety. Killer might even become a frequent subject in Color’s photos, symbolizing their bond and mutual support.

Color might need to develop strategies to manage his anxiety while photographing, such as taking breaks, grounding exercises, or having a trusted companion like Killer present. This would help him stay focused and engaged in his special interest.

The mutual separation anxiety between Color and Killer could strengthen their bond, as they rely on each other for emotional support. This bond could provide Color with the stability he needs to engage in his interests.

Color would need to balance his need for movement and exploration with Killer’s needs and limitations. They might develop a mutual understanding and compromise, ensuring both their well-being while pursuing their interests.

Color might prefer traveling to places where he can easily find comfort and familiarity, such as visiting friends or known locations. This reduces the stress of the unknown and helps him stay grounded.

Establishing routines or rituals while traveling and photographing can provide a sense of stability. For example, always starting the day with a specific activity or having regular check-ins with Killer can help Color manage his anxiety.

They might have frequent phone calls if Killer ever can’t join Color on his travels, at particular times of the day.

I can see Color sticking to this routine at the exact time and getting anxious and worried if Killer doesn’t call or pick up, which is likely to happen at some point simply because he has memory issues and sticking to routine is hard for him. But Color, at least for a bit, is likely to assume the worse.

Color might also keep a photograph of him and all his friends close by on his person. (I also like to think that Delta made his camera, he keeps some of Beta’s drawings with him, and also he’s memorized the recipe for Epic’s chocolate cookies.)

If he and Killer have already had their wedding by this point, he’d likely keep his ring close and near. Perhaps kissing it before bed, and fidgeting with it becomes a new comforting stim.

Over time, engaging in his special interests despite his PTSD and anxiety can help Color build resilience. Each successful trip or photography session can boost his confidence and reinforce his ability to cope with challenges.

Color might find deeper meaning in his travels and photography by using them as tools for healing and connection. Documenting his journey and sharing it with others can create a sense of purpose and community.

[enki2]

The more persistent control you have over a device, the more you and the device adapt to each other, becoming a more effective group organism. The higher the input and output bandwidth of the interface (i.e., the greater the number of distinct ways you can interact with it / it can respond to you), the faster the system can adapt.

So, the horse metaphor makes perfect sense: your desktop ships with a real keyboard on which you can probably do 300 WPM without blocking part of the display, and has a display that can hold half a dozen legible non-overlapping windows. If you have a screwdriver, you can open it up and replace basically any part. Even without a screwdriver, you can generally out of the box persistently dramatically change the UI settings to fit the needs of your environment (light vs dark mode, font size and style). You can stick linux on & that opens up a lot more. On a desktop computer, it's possible for a motivated 10 year old of average intelligence to progress from normal computer use to writing non-trivial application software for their own use within a couple years -- I am proof, & I'm far from alone.

Tablets are on the opposite end of the spectrum: simplified, locked down. The user does not collaborate with the tablet; instead, the tablet has only those affordances that channel the user's behavior into habits the developers of the tablet software consider desirable.

Mobile & web achieved the dream of proprietary software people: user-facing software that the user can't even disassemble because the important parts aren't accessible; since they did this through physical distance rather than the legal system, they can profit from other people's open source software too, circumventing many of the restrictions intended to keep improvements folded back into the community or to limit commercial use. But the side effect of this is that it gives professional computer touchers much more control over regular people's computers: not only can you not fix bugs in someone else's web app yourself, but you can't refuse to upgrade to a version that's a worse fit for your purposes. Where desktop computing encouraged the development of communities of amateur computer hobbyists who, together, would adapt or create alternatives to things that didn't work right (as well as creating lots of interesting, funny, unnecessary stuff that can only be classified as Art -- little games and toys, elaborate shitposts, weird mods and skins), mobile does not. The only thing you need to make your desktop computer do something brand new is a desktop computer, the software development tools & documentation that ship with the OS, and some free time -- you don't even need an internet connection; developing for web or mobile also functionally requires a desktop, on top of your mobile device for mobile (and if it's an iPhone you gotta have a Mac & pay Apple $99/year), & for web you need to pay for hosting and a domain name.

[yazanalanqar]

Palestine is an ancient land located in the heart of the Middle East, renowned throughout history for its natural beauty, cultural diversity, and deep historical significance 🌍. It is the birthplace of the three monotheistic religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism . Since 1948, the Palestinian people have endured displacement and hardship due to the ongoing conflict, with hundreds of thousands forced to leave their homes 🏠💔. Their lands have been divided and occupied, creating a continuous humanitarian crisis 🛑. Despite all these challenges, Palestinians remain steadfast, holding onto their land and history, living in hope for peace and the return to their beloved homes and cities 🕊️🏡.

My name is Mohammad Taysir Al-Naqr, and I am 34 years old. My wife Basma, who is 27, and my young children, Jude, four years old, and Yazan, three years old, are my dearest treasures 💖. I used to work as a mobile app developer 💻📱, doing everything I could to provide my family with a decent life. But the war stripped me of my job, and now, we are without any source of income in these harsh times 😔💔.

Our home crumbled under heavy bombing, and we were forced to flee to the southern part of the Gaza Strip, carrying with us the trauma of shattered memories and the pain of parting from the life we once knew 🏚️💔. Now, we live in an old school 🏫, crowded with other families who share our sorrow and dream of one day returning to our homes 🏡🙏.

Without clean water or enough food 🚰🍞, we live each day with bitterness and fear 😢. I have nothing to offer Jude except hope, and nothing for my wife but patience 🌱💔. The sound of bombing feels as if it has become a part of our daily conversation 💥, it seeps into my children's dreams, causing them to shiver not only from the cold but from the nightmares of this relentless war 🥶💔.

I try to hold onto hope and find someone who can extend a helping hand 🤲. My family deserves a better life, and my young children deserve to sleep in safety, far from the sounds of bombing and the cold darkness of the school 🕯️🏫. Here, we struggle to survive, clinging to the possibility of a compassionate touch that could bring back some warmth to our lives, putting cozy blankets over my little children's bodies 🛏️❤️.

In these difficult circumstances, my only hope is to secure the basic needs for my family 🕊️💖. I appeal to those with kind hearts to consider helping us, whether through donations or by sharing our story 🙏. Any support or sharing can make a big difference in my children’s lives, bringing a glimmer of hope into our darkn

ess 🌟🌈.

[deirdra-hearts-nadia]

I've been thinking about the fandom for The Arcana, and I have come to the conclusion that it's weird as hell. In my 20+ years participating in online fandom spaces, I've never seen a fandom quite like this one. I've seen drama, sure, but the core of most fandoms is a large community of people who love the same media and come together to celebrate it.

The Arcana fandom is not like that. From the very beginning we're more fractured, more factional, more fragile than most. You just have to look around at all the posts lamenting the death of the fandom every 2 weeks to see that something is really wrong here.

And I think a lot of it has to do with the nature of the canon. I am not saying this to criticize The Arcana, the devs, Dorian, or my fellow fans. I have just noticed that, as a piece of media, this game occupies a very unique space that is reflected in the way its fans interact with canon and with each other.

Welcome to the TED talk ain't none of y'all asked for.

Part of what makes this fandom unique is the evolution of fandom as a whole in the face of new types of media. As gaming becomes more mainstream and games themselves become more complex, the way we engage has necessarily changed in response.

Books/ movies/ shows are slightly more static in terms of canon than video games; canon is what it is and how you interact with what is there is largely to do with who you are. Everyone has the same base material to engage with, and that results in a certain amount of constancy. You can't interact with The Princess Bride in a way that changes the movie, only in ways that change your own perception. There isn't a whole lot of room for OCs without rewriting canon, so fans tend to consume OC-based fiction and art with the assumption that it's likely to be self-insert wish fulfillment fantasy time. That isn't always true, but there is a reason the term Mary Sue was coined.

Otome games and other choice-based video games make a very different fan environment, because the way you interact with canon is completely different. You have to build a character in order to interact with the story, and your choices directly impact your experience of canon.

But most western choice-based games are in the context of a larger RPG universe, e.g. Fallout or Dragon Age. There is a lot more to the story than the romance plot and so there's a lot more world to experience, contextualize, and build upon. There's certainly plenty of unhinged ShepxGarrus erotica, but there's also an abundance of fanworks that engage with the plot, the worldbuilding, and the canon characters with relatively little of the player's character needing to be on the page at all.

By contrast, most otome games that make it to English-speaking fandom spaces are Japanese. The romance is the point, but we also start from a place of wariness of our fellow fans. Because there's a huge difference between "harmless weeb" and "orientalist fetishizing creepo," and you know going in that both ends of the spectrum are possible, there is an amount of caution. We curate our space, looking for the creators who align with our expectations and values before we ever begin to interact.

The Arcana falls in a very unique and odd space because it is an otome, but made by Americans, with an attempt at a diverse fantasy cast. It's intended to be for American/ English-speaking audiences and is marketed as such. But making a romance game in America is challenging. Our way of approaching online media, especially smartphone-accessible media, is super fucked up, right? We are constantly trapped between the dichotomies of moral duty (Must Protect The Children) versus appealing to the customer base (Boom Anime Babes with Tig Ol Bitties). Because this is a mobile game, the developers can't make money if the game is removed from the app store, so they want it to be rated teen at the most. But the enticing bit, the thing that captures a potential fan's attention, is the flirtation and sexy implications. So from the jump they're in a weird space purely because they chose to make a mobile game instead of an indie video game released on Steam or similar.

So now you have an inherently split audience: mature adults who know they're getting into a potentially explicit romance game, and young adults/teens who have grown up in a more insulated internet culture where normal words are replaced with Orwellian doublespeak, like "unalive" and "spicy time".

THEN you add in the fact that the developers tried to build a diverse fantasy world, which is a fantastic idea both from an inclusionary standpoint and a broader audience standpoint. But because they didn't employ any actual sensitivity readers (did they think they didn't need them because fantasy can't have racism? Did they justify it as not being in the budget? Would love to know what's going on there) they fell right into a lot of the classic traps. We've been over these time and again, so I won't get into them here. Suffice to say, there has been Discourse. The presence of those issues means that more experienced fans will see those things and call them out, and that criticism causes even more of a split: the zealous apologists versus the critics. And critics can fall into two further categories: those who love the canon and want to see it do better, and the bitches who just love having something to bitch about.

Unfortunately, this combination means that there are inherently factions to this fandom, with staunchly opposed approaches to the media. So even before you enter a fandom space, it's already wildly fractured simply because of the nature of base canon.

THEN add to that the fact that this game is a dating sim. And to engage with a dating sim, you have to build a character and make choices based on that character. Some people will approach this work as storytelling, and some will approach it as an escapist expression of self. Neither of these ways of engaging with canon is wrong. Enjoying a dating sim as Me But Better is fun and completely valid! Engaging with a dating sim as a storyteller collaborating with the developers is fun and completely valid! But the two approaches are opposed in purpose, and that can make it difficult for the two types of fans to engage with one another's work.

Storytellers will well and truly invest in building a character. They may even build out communities, countries, cultures, and languages to make their world all the richer. They are investing hours of blood, sweat, and tears into Their Craft, pouring themselves into an opus of quality fanwork. Unfortunately, this can sometimes lead to big feelings. Fan artists and writers may feel underappreciated if all they get out of their hard work is 2 likes and a gif of a wolf making AWOOGA eyes. They may feel that critique of their work is unwarranted, or that there's no point creating if no one will engage.

The romantics will engage with canon and fanwork from the perspective that "this is my fantasy romance time". Their OC isn't so much Original Character as Optimized Characteristics--that is, their perfect self. They are here for wish fulfillment fun times in the relative privacy and anonymity of the internet, and good for them! But that may mean that criticism of canon or their fan work feels excessively personal--it is very hard to detach the ego from the OC when that OC is a projection of your best self. They may view any critique as a personal attack as opposed to a good-faith attempt at engagement or conversation. This can lead to defensiveness, or to leaving the fandom outright if it feels too hostile.

Unfortunately all of these factions cause rifts in the community. This sometimes turns into fandom vigilantism, where people begin to see any fan who doesn't wholeheartedly agree with them as an enemy. I've seen friends experience bullying and cruelty over their OCs and their art. I've seen predators use the isolated nature of the fandom to further isolate and prey upon already vulnerable individuals. I've seen some really shitty stuff.

But I have also seen beautiful community flourish. I've made friends who feel more like family than my actual relatives. I've seen people work through struggles and overcome deliberate attempts to tear us apart, finding forgiveness and friendship along the way. I've seen myself and others grow because of the community and inspiration we found here. And I saw all of that because I found my people. And I hope, Arcana fandom, that the rest of you can find your people too.

[big-sankaku]

Link! Like! Love Live! SPECIAL STAFF INTERVIEW ~Beyond Graduation~

[From Love Live!Days March 2025 Issue published on Jan 30th, 2025 and now available online at G’s Channel website] Featuring: Sato Kazuki - A Producer of Link! Like! Love Live

Translator’s note: This is not a word-for-word translation. I’m heavily paraphrasing but I did my best to captures the essence of the contents. This is a second staff interview for this project, you can read the translation for the first one here.

It's been 1.5 years since the official release of "Linkura". We asked Sato Kazuki, a key figure in this project, to tell us about last year progress and important information regarding this year developments.

Overnight, the number of Hasunosora Suki Suki Club members increased dramatically! The surprising effect of Ijigen Fes.

— "Link! Like! Love Live!" (will simply be referred to as "Linkura" for the rest of the interview) celebrated its 1.5 anniversary in November 2024. First of all, let's take a look at the past year.

A: Thanks to everyone, the number of users has increased significantly. The other day we surpassed 800,000 downloads. In addition to that, in April 2024 we introduced a non-app payment service called "App-Pay". With App-Pay, you can buy SisCa cheaply. Sales from the App side are also doing well. Compared to other similar services, the usage rate of App-Pay is fairly high. Since sales through App-Pay are not reflected in the report published by Google and App Store, we sometimes hear people worrying that the app is in bad state. But for now, we would like to inform you, "Don't worry about it!"

— Hasunosora's popularity has increased significantly since the "Ijigen Fes IDOLM@STER★♥Love Live! Uta Gassen" in December 2023, bringing a large number of users to the app. Please tell us your thoughts about it.

A: Not only did the number of users increase, all the songs performed at Ijigen Fes also charted on the Spotify viral chart. I heard that the First Fan Book which was released right after the Ijigen Fes was reprinted on the day of its release. Our popularity skyrocketed suddenly and more people are becoming interested in Hasunosora. We're lucky to have the opportunity to perform alongside our seniors from Love Live, as well as everyone from Idolm@ster. At the same time, I realized that we were able to stand on such a big stage thanks to everyone who supported us for about nine months from the start of service in April 2023 until December when Ijigen Fes took place. 

I was at the venue on the day of the event. Everyone was so enthusiastic! When Nirei Nozomi did a call-and-response, we got a huge response. Perhaps it’s not a big crowd, but I felt an overwhelming passion. I was happy to hear the cheers from our fans. I feel very fortunate that we were able to show you the presence of Hasunosora, the youngest group in the series at that time.

— In the 103rd term main story. After the defeat of Love Live! in January, the excitement reached its peak with Sachi-senpai's graduation. From January to March of the 103rd term, what was the most memorable event for you?

A: January 2024 started with the episode of their Love Live! defeat. That was the "Prologue" of Linkura. With that, we've finally reached the starting line.

「What a long prologue! 」

A: At the end of 2023, Hasunosora made it through the "Love Live! Hokuriku tournament" thanks to the 「Link to Us! Link with Yours!!」, An event where "everyone" worked together to help the club collect mobile data. Then, they were eliminated at the Final. Because of that, it was decided that they were going to do Fes×LIVE at the end of January to express their gratitude to everyone who supported them at Hokuriku Tournament. We gave everyone the highest-ranked ticket for this occasion. This series of events was the user experience we had aimed for since the early stages of the project. So for me personally, it was quite moving to see that we were able to make it a reality

— Can you tell us about the process of the production development for the "Activity Records/Main Story"?

A: First of all, we have a requirement set from the app itself, then we had to adjust it based on what kind of experience we wanted everyone to have with Linkura. For example, in the 103rd term we incorporated an interactive gaming experience, such as a mini-game to collect mobile data in December, and the invitation-only live show in January, while also ensuring that it was an appealing story.

We solidify those as the "blueprint". We've been discussing this and building a solid foundation around it. The Activity Records have no narrative text at all, and are more like an anime script than a visual novel. But the scenario team is really great at choosing their words that I am often moved when reading it (laugh). We put a lot of effort into the production of the Activity Records.

The episode that was released in January, during the 103 term had a huge volume of material, its equivalent of two episodes. Since it had many important scenes, it took a lot of work. Episode 15 in particular, was developed much earlier than the usual schedule, and we created a new, extremely emotional piece of music for the soundtrack.

— Next, episode 18 of 103rd term, featured the former School Idol Club member, Sachi. The episode depicts her graduation and the send-off.

A: Sachi-senpai's graduation episode was, in a way, a trial. It was a major event to allow people to experience the base concept of the app, in which things will progress and members will graduate in real time. I was impressed by the number of people who expressed their sad feeling of her graduation. With Sachi's graduation, I think  people were able to get a taste of how traditions are woven together as members are changed.

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「It took two months to create an Activity Records of three new students joining the club.」

— In April, new members from the 104th class joined, making it 9 members. Regarding user reactions, was there anything you expected or were surprised by?

A: Typically, it's more common to introduce a new character meta-wise before adding them to the game. But this time we didn't release any information in advance. Not even a hint of their existence. It was a huge risk for the app and other aspects of the project, but after discussing it with various parties, we thought this was the best option. Of course, we wanted to create a real-time experience, but more than that, we didn't want to spoil the sentimental mood of the graduation ceremony that will take place from the end of March to April. 

The fourth cherry blossom is a season for farewell and new encounters. First, the users are faced with the harsh reality of saying goodbye, and after that, I want them to experience the new encounters with excitement. For that reason, the "first appearance" of the 104th class members: Ginko, Kozusu, and Hime was a live stream, via With×MEETS. I believe being able to witness their debut firsthand is a precious experience. After that, we provided the Activity Records, detailing how they joined the school idol club and came to participate in the With×MEETS.

However, this meant it was necessary to add episodes for three members in one go. It was inevitable that the content of the Activity Records for the first episode of the 104th class would be massive. In order to allow people to get to know the new members better, we took about two months to create the Activity Records, taking our time carefully.

— It was worth it. I feel like the addition of the first-year students were well-received.

A: Yes, a majority of people welcomed them warmly, which was a big relief. I think the fact that "traditions being passed down in different forms" being a core element of Ginko's episode was able to create a good synergy." While everyone has some degree of rejection to "change", Ginko herself, being a new student, was able to reflect the feelings of the users in an authentic and persuasive way

— The Fes×LIVE, which were held monthly in the 103rd term, has been decreased to once in three months since the start of the 104th term. I heard that you would tell us the reason for this... 

A: Thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk about the topic. The adjustment of the frequency of Fes×LIVE is a combination of various factors, but the biggest reason was budget issues. Fes×LIVE requires six months production time before the actual event. It's not only about the virtual live itself. It involved the whole Linkura environment, including songs, Activity Records, Card Illustrations, etc., This budget change was finalized in October 2023, just before the half anniversary, around the time of our last interview. 

With great struggle to push through, we somehow manage to finish all 103rd term Fes×LIVE. We have decided that we cannot continue to do this in the 104th term. That was the most difficult and toughest decision I had to make in 2023, I ended up feeling unwell and bedridden for a while... 

However, since then, the environment surrounding Hasunosora has changed drastically due to the Ijigen Fes that was mentioned earlier. I believe that "now" we can try a different approach of how to do it. Fes×LIVE is the core experience that we want to create with Linkura. Through some adjustments, I'll try my best to meet everyone's expectations.

— Compared to With×MEETS, Fes×LIVE costs more. How big of a difference?

A: Although it is true that both are "real-time 3D live stream". With×MEETS is a casual talk stream that does not require new resources. Compared to that, Fes×LIVE requires the creation of 3D costumes, the stage itself and also detailed plans for each song and performances. And multiple cameras (to create a Dynamic View experience on the app side). The creative aspect requires a huge amount of preparation and money. The dance formation requires a big space. To accommodate that we need to use one of the largest motion capture studio in Japan. And of course, the preparation of the cast members who will be performing it in real time is also an essential part of it.

— Indeed, it may be similar to With×MEETS but it's not the same thing. Some people suggest to make it smaller in scale, or record it instead of keep it real time. After all, people want it to be held as usual. What do you think about this?

A: Yes, for example, we consider many ideas, like fan meeting or variety show. I asked someone to do the calculations for that, but there was almost no difference in the final cost. As for pre-recorded videos, the resources required are the same, and we might need to refine the motion data. In fact, it might end up adding more cost. Of course, it would be a completely different story if we have a team and setups that are optimized for these plans. But building a new team requires additional budgets and time. If we had the resources to establish that, then we might as well continue Fes×LIVE as is.

— I see... It's something that couldn't be solved by simply adjusting the content.

A: Although the circumstances surrounding Fes×LIVE is as I explained. We will continue to listen to the feedback we receive every day and strive to provide the best possible experience. Every day, the entire team is working hard to see if there is anything we can do to provide everyone with a slightly better experience. 

One of the examples is the With×MEETS karaoke stream, which finally came to fruition at the end of 2023. Fortunately, it was well received. We hope to continue to make adjustments so that it can be held regularly in the future. Also, when a new song is created and no Fes×LIVE, in order to convey the charm and worldview of the song, a lyric video is released on Hasunosora's official YouTube channel.

— Even the release of Lyric Videos are linked to the entire work.

A: That's right. One of our big projects was the surprise reveal of the song "365 Days" during the encore of the "2nd Live Tour ~Blooming with ○○○~" in Hyogo last May. This song was treated as if it was being performed at the same time in-game universe. At the end of the live performance, we released a lyric video and added a song-themed card to the gacha, making it fully connected. A similar attempt was made with the "3rd Live Tour TRY TRI UNITY!!!" that started last November. We also implemented it in the Unit Live. 

To continue promoting "Linkura" in the 104th term, we try to incorporate mixed developments outside of the app as much as possible while keeping the real-time aspect of the project intact. In fact, Fes×ReC:LIVE is one of the projects that was born from this trend.

By the time this interview is published, the finale of the "3rd Live Tour TRY TRI UNITY!!!" will have taken place. That performance will serve as the final link, the culmination of all experiences we offered across 104th term. If you are reading this and don't know about it, I would appreciate it if you look into it in more detail.

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Fes×ReC:LIVE : A novel attempts to capture the feeling of being in a live house. A perfect match for Hasunosora.

— What kind of event is Fes×ReC:LIVE?

A: "103rd term Fes×ReC:LIVE ~first crossing~" is a virtual live event with an audience at a real venue, focusing on a reconstruction of the performances shown at the 103rd term Fes×LIVE. It's a side content that is linked to the 104 term Activity Records. The highlight of the event will be a newly recorded song, DEEPNESS (ReC Ver.), sung by the six members of the 102nd and 103rd class.

As mentioned earlier, the core experience of Linkura is the virtual live concert. However, it has become difficult to hold Fes×LIVE every month. So, one option we explored was the possibility of holding a virtual live at an actual venue. We asked the live concert team to consider it. We were told that if we focused on "reconstruction" then there is a way to make it. Somehow we managed to run the event smoothly without any problems.

Since there is no similar case to it, as usual, it’s something "You wouldn't really understand until you try it". While there are still some issues to be addressed, it seems like everyone who participated enjoyed it very much, so in the future, we would like to connect it more closely with the Activity Records. Ultimately, our goal is to hold an actual "FesxLIVE" in real time at a real venue. 

Fes×LIVE itself, from a technical standpoint, isn't revolutionary. But, with Fes×LIVE you can cheer the characters in real time, engage with the story in a way that lets you revisit the events leading up to that moment, and interact with the members via With×MEETS... I think it's really different from usual 3DCG Live that a lot of people have been doing.

— With live streaming, members can interact directly with fans. This makes for an ideal event for Hasunosora.

A: Speaking of that...The app itself, Linkura, as we stated it in the app description, is a "school idol support app". It was created to give users a meaningful involvement. One of the cases is a crowdfunding campaign. 

At the end of 2023, we held the event "Let's support the members of Hasunosora School Idol Club by donating the mobile data that they need for live streaming so they can safely participate in the Love Live! Hokuriku Tournament!". This is how you can "support your Oshi" with the app. Ideally, we would like the users to participate interactively in the app as much as possible.

— So by sending gifts to streams or purchasing in-game, it’s equivalent to "Use this to eat something nice or go to karaoke!"

A: That's how it feels. I think the feeling of wanting to spend money on things you like as a way to support them and the feeling of spending money for a F2P game, it's something that closely resembles each other... and in order to connect these two, we came up with a somewhat unique structure.

As I mentioned briefly in the previous interview, the original idea behind Linkura was to create a comprehensive and enjoyable multi-media experience within a single app. In the app, you can read the original story, enjoy live streams and live concerts, and decorate your wallpapers/profiles in various ways. For the "game" part, we have the "School Idol Stage (known as "Sukuste").

For a series like Love Live!, where the core experience revolves around supporting the members, I think the most conventional and catchy option is a rhythm game. With the expectation to release it in 2023, after exploring various options, we came up with this musical card game, which will known later as "Sukuste"

— "School Idol Stage" is an authentic card game.

A: When people fall in love with the members of Hasunosora and want to immerse themselves in the story more deeply and stay in touch with it for a long time, our ultimate goal is to create a game that can respond to that desire.

However, when we released it... due to a lack of a tutorial, the initial reaction we got from many people was, "Oh, just like the other titles, it's an idol training simulation game", which gave it the wrong impression. It was a miscalculation on our part.

— After all, it's the world's first "school idol cheering app" (laugh). Now that I've been using the app for a year, I can tell there are differences between it and other games.

A: I'm glad to hear that. There are many benefits of producing multi-media project in an integrated manner within one app. The voice lines you hear when you obtain or train a card not only tell you stories related to the situations depicted in the illustrations, but also short episodes that are not told in Activity Records. The power scaling of the card was designed in a way so players can immerse themselves in the story, music and feel the growth of the character and their relationships as they play the game.

The "KEY of Like!" set, released at the end of last year, is particularly easy to understand. So, if you've never paid attention to card skill before, I highly recommend you to read it carefully this time!

― I was surprised to see some important information about the story casually revealed in voice lines. The first mention of Hime's older sister, who appeared in episode 6 of the 104th term, was revealed at "Murozaki Lattice” voice lines, released on April 13th.

A: Yes, countless of information is only available on those cards. Such as the hidden thoughts of the members that were never spoken about. All the voice lines were written by the scenario team who wrote the Activity Records. This is one of the big benefits of the intensive production I mentioned earlier, and I think it's a very luxurious thing. Even a single line, we put our utmost care into it, so it doesn't contradict the Activity Records or With×MEETS. The voice lines aren't a side content, it's part of the entire work. Those aspects add a significant value to it.

By the way, the content is not biased towards rarity such as R (Rare) or UR (Ultra Rare), so even if you have low-rarity cards that are easy to obtain, it is recommended that you try training them.

― It's amazing that the voice lines for the cards, which depict various situations, are a proper episode that is connected to the story.

It makes you want to collect every single one…

A : In November 2024, we released, "Link! Like! Love Live! 103rd Term Card Illustration BOOK", a book that contains all the illustrations of the cards released in the 103rd term. We thought about putting the voice lines into the book, but the amount of content was so huge that we couldn't fit it. So please get your voice lines from a card in Linkura (laugh).

―  I'll do my best to train my cards (laugh). I'm also curious about the new game mode "School Idol Show" that was recently announced as being in development. For now, is there anything you can tell us about it?

A: "School Idol Show" is a rhythm game mode where you can play Hasunosora’s song on it. As I mentioned earlier, rhythm games are the most popular approach and have a high compatibility of what we want to achieve. In under two years since the release date, as many things have changed, we are finally able to include it to the app.

We would like to gradually build the specific system for the rhythm game mode, but we want you to know that you can play either mode!. Be it Sukuste or the other mode. Usually, when a new mode is added to the app, it can be fun and refreshing, but in the end, having a huge amount of chores like daily missions can be tiring... I think there are many cases like that. In Linkura, we have "School Idol Stage" and "School Idol Show". We are currently developing it in the way that it doesn't really matter if you play only one mode or play both. You can play it as you like. The fact that we can easily set up such a system is one of the strengths of a "school idol support app" that is not game-driven. To the people that only love the School Idol Stage part of the game, or for those who aren't good at card games but would like to try a rhythm game, we hope you can rest assured and wait for the release!

― So it's up to you whenever you want to participate in both modes or just play one that you like. That's refreshing! I'm looking forward to the release!

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「The culmination of these last two years is the Love Live! championship. And then, the graduation of the 102nd class.」

— In January 2025, the Love Live! Finals were held, and although there was an unexpected playoff, Hasunosora School Idol Club achieved their long-awaited victory!

How will things develop from here as the 102nd class will graduate soon?

A:  At the end of the school year, Kozue, Tsuzuri and Megumi will graduate. It's the graduation for the 102nd class. I can't go into specifics … but I can tell you that we will continue doing real-time with 105th class. The 102nd class has truly walked this journey together with all of you. It's sad to part ways, but precisely because "there is a future ahead of this", a "tradition" is born. It will continue to shine forever without fading. More and more, we are going to bring you 'scenery' that you have never seen before with Hasunosora. So please look forward to it!

Translations : Afi English proofreading : Zonic QC: Eagles