#How to make custom themes for 3ds

[blueskittlesart]

i just modded my ds bc of you. i’ve been procrastinating and it’s been on my mind. i did it and man it was so worth it ily

GOOD. EVERYONE DO THIS RN

[felikatze]

there's so many specific programs in the world. what the fuck is a bcwav

[aedearly]

hii! i absolutely love your work. i've been getting into trying to make borders myself, and i was wondering if you had any tips on where to find good pngs or do you create everything yourself? i feel like my luck so far hasn't been great but maybe i just don't know how to search for it correctly!

Hello, nonnie! I'm so glad you enjoy my work; thank you for your kind words. ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ ) And oh my gosh, it's so nice to see a new GFX creator in the making! One of us, one of us, one us. ~ Welcome to the wonderful world of editing, hehe!

I've compiled a list of websites that I use for my graphics, but please do let me know if you need anything else and I'll be happy to assist!

For general assets, as well as inspiration, I generally use these websites: behance (which is pretty much the industry standard when it comes to graphic design in general, they have cool studios or experienced designers that post their works and/or assets), booth (an independent japanese resources hub with many free and paid assets), huanban (an independent chinese resources hub, same proposal as booth), abdz (mostly focused on typography and branding), dribble (more focused on web applications and design) and envato (templates).

Since I'm colourblind, I'm not always confident about how to compose colours together. So whenever I'm in doubt, I use coolors (to get palettes from images and browse through palette ideas) and colorhunt (which gives ideas for palette themes and motifs).

I love typography a whole bunch, but sometimes it's hard to find that one right font for your project. Whenever I need to look for something else, I always run to these websites: google fonts (when I'm on a budget and want to use 100% free fonts, including for commercial use), 1001fonts (to quickly find fonts based on themes, it has a great tag system), dafont (a big classic huge dabatase of custom fonts), befonts (for more industry standard-leaning fonts) and kerismaker (for those magazine looks). When I want to identify a font used on an image and where I can download/purchase it, I use myfonts and font squirrel. They even give you similar options for free, too!

Suppose I'm specifically searching for illustrations/PNGs I can use on my upcoming project. In that case, I'll either go to flat icons (for websites, applications or presentations), vertex (for 3d icons and/or general vectors), graphic burger (for logo making), cleanpng (for I want a tree PNG and do not want to clean it myself, for example), pngtree (same idea as the previous one, you just search for a word and will see all PNGs related to it) and pngall (self explanatory).

Regarding backgrounds, textures, and photography in general, I rely on websites like pixabay, vecteezy, 3d ocean, morguefile, freepik and isorepublic. They have high-quality photos and videos that you can use on your projects. However, if I specifically need mockups or patterns, I turn to unblast, pacage and ava.

Besides those, you can always search for things on Deviantart and Twitter! Though I do not use those much, I think Instagram and Threads also have pages dedicated to sharing resources. Discord can be a nice place to search for graphic design servers, too.

However, if I cannot find specific resources for a commission/project for whatever reason, then I will make them myself. Be it through photography, drawing or anything else I can get my little hands on.

For the more technical/applications side, the programs I use for my graphics and edits are Adobe PhotoShop 2020, Adobe After Effects 2020, Adobe Illustrator 2020, Clip Studio Paint (for when I need to draw or polish something for specific projects/commissions), and HandBrake (for when I need to make screencaps). My drawing tablet is an oldie, Wacom One.

Hopefully, this can be a nice starting point for you! Please feel free to reblog and/or like this post if you'd like to save it for whatever purpose. ~ I hope you enjoy this journey ahead, and if you need anything else, let me know! You got this! ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

[musings-of-a-rose]

Marcus

Pairing: Marcus (Pike, Moreno, Acacius) x f!reader

Word Count: 6900+

Rating: Mature - 18+ ONLY!

Warnings: Just like ao3, “creator chooses not to use warnings.” If you click Keep Reading, that means you agree that you’re the age to handle mature themes. Also by clicking Keep Reading, you understand warnings may not be complete in order to avoid spoilers for the story. 

Notes: I saw a post from @pimosworld innocently asking for a Marcus bachlorette style fic and, while this isn't exactly right, this is what my brain came up with. Shoutout to @mermaidxatxheart for listening to me ramble and helping me, as well as @vanemando15 for being a cheerleader!

**If you want to be added to the taglist, join here or let me know!

❤If you enjoy the fic, please consider giving me a warm beverage! (It is not required in any way!)

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**Reader is not described

Main Masterlist

Marcus Moreno Masterlist

Marcus Pike Masterlist

Marcus Acacius Masterlist

“Thanks for coming to Level Up Comics!” I smile at the customer as I hand them their bag, a quiet grunt all I get in return before they head out the door, the little bell jingling with their exit. I stretch, walking around from behind the counter and heading back towards the display case where several boxes sit in front, unopened figurines and collectibles pouring from them. My family and friends thought I was crazy for opening a physical media store in this age of digital products. They said no one would come in let alone want to actually buy “this crap.”

But here I am, a few years after opening, and I’m doing pretty good for myself. There are still collectors out there who want their favorites in case something happens to their files. They want the figurines from the original manufacturers, rather than printing them themselves. I can’t blame them. There’s something different, something magical about reading the printed word, having a figure of your favorite character that was made decades ago by something other than a 3D printer in someone’s basement.

The bell jingles and I yell out a greeting, shoving a few more figures in the back of the case before standing and turning, a pair of dark brown eyes meeting mine. I can already feel the smile on my face. 

“Hi, Marcus!” Shit, was that too enthusiastic? If it is, he doesn’t let on, his own smile shyly spreading across his face. “How…how are you?”

He rubs the back of his neck with his large hand, his eyes darting away from mine. “I’m..I’m good. You?”

“Good. That’s good. I mean, I’m good. Good. It’s all…good.” What the fuck?

He chuckles lightly, looking anywhere but at me. “Good.”

We’re both silent for several moments. He’s so hot. Way out of my league hot. And the weird thing is, I don’t even think he realizes just how attractive he is. 

“Did my back issue of X-Men come in?”

“Oh!” I slap my forehead. “I almost forgot! Yes. Let me get that for you.” Trying desperately to hide the heat in my cheeks, I quickly walk around the counter, kneeling to sift through the special order pile. 

“You got more figures in?”

“Yeah,” I yell from my crouched position. “There’s a few bins in the back I haven’t emptied yet. Feel free to have a look!” 

“Thanks.” I hear him shuffle off towards the back of the shop just as I locate his order. The door bell dings again and I stand, smoothing down my jeans. A man stands at the counter, his bright blue eyes roaming up and down my body before her plasters on the most ingenuine smile I’ve ever seen. 

“Hi. How can I help you?” I ask him as I place Marcus’s order on the counter.

 “Hi beautiful. I’m looking for a comic.”

I internally sigh. I already know where this is going. It happens several times a week.

“Well you’ve come to the right shop. What are you looking for?”

He chuckles, intending to be endearing. It isn’t. “I’m looking for a very specific issue of Hawkeye. You know who that is?”

Seriously? “I am very familiar with Hawkeye. Are you?”

He scoffs. “Haha. You’re a funny, pretty thing. Anyway, I’m looking for a specific run of his. Do you know what that means?”

Anger surges through me and I grip the desk to ground myself. Out of the corner of my eye I see Marcus at the back of the store, standing and turning towards us but not moving. He’s even hot in my peripheral. 

“Which run are you looking for? Or are you wanting a recommendation?”

He laughs, the vile sound of it echoing off the walls. “A recommendation? From you? What would you know? You’re just a pretty little girl.”

A clunk from the back of the store and I see Marcus trip over one of the boxes. He doesn’t go down, but turns to fix the boxes that he’s kicked over. The man in front of me is unphased, his eyes still on me, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

“Well?” He spits out. 

I look at him, giving him a smile. “Well, if you’re asking me personally, my favorite run is the Matt Fraction run. Not only because of his artistic style and great story, but the fact that they weaved in Clint’s deafness, drawing him wearing his hearing aids, and even doing an entire issue completely in American Sign Language. A great story and representation of a marginalized community from, in my opinion, one of the best and most relatable Avengers. Now, would you like the individual issues, an omnibus, or the digital version?”

The smug smile slowly fades from his face, his eyes hardening. “You don’t have to be such a bitch.”

“I do when customers act like a bitch.” 

He grabs the fliers on the counter and throws them at me, turning towards the door. “Fuck you and this place!” He tries to slam the door behind him but he fumbles with the handle, flipping me off one final time before disappearing around the corner. 

I sigh, bending down to pick up the fliers. A hand reaches out, large and inviting, carefully helping me pick up the scattered papers. I look up at him, at Marcus, sweet Marcus. Who had heard all of that. 

“I’m sorry Marcus. I shouldn’t have lost my cool.”

He hands me the small stack he’s collected, meeting my gaze. “You don’t have to apologize for standing up to a sexist asshole. I should be the one who’s sorry.”

I combine our stacks, both of us standing as I tap them on the counter to even them out. “Why should you apologize?”

“I should’ve come to help,” he rubs the back of his neck, his ear turning slightly pink. 

I shake my head. “No, Marcus don’t worry about it. I get assholes like that all the time. Really, it’s ok.”

He shakes his head. “It’s really not-”

To my own surprise, I reach out and squeeze his arm. “Really, I’m ok. Thank you, Marcus.”

He smiles at me, opening his mouth to say something, but his phone rings from inside his pocket. “Sorry. Sorry.” He pulls it out, tapping on the clear screen only he can see. “Shit. I have to take this. Work. You sure you’re ok?”

I smile, trying not to show my sadness at his leaving. “I am. Hope everything’s ok at work.”

“Thanks. I’ll uh…see you around.” His eyebrows pull together as his phone rings again, his eyes moving down to the screen before he turns around and heads out the door, pausing to give me a wave through the window before he disappears into the crowd. 

I’ll never meet a man owning this shop. They’re either assholes, taken, or hopelessly out of my league. My own phone beeps and I pull it out, scanning the clear screen with my reservation confirmation. I tap the confirm button, nerves flooding my system. 

I can’t believe I signed up for a virtual version of the bachelorette.

—----

I closed the shop early and rushed home to get ready for that night. I arrive promptly at 7pm as they requested, the giant VIRTUAL LIFE logo on the side of the building bathing the sidewalk in bright blue light. I take a deep breath and walk inside, the door disappearing momentarily to let me in before reappearing behind me. The front desk assistant guides me to a row of elevators and instructs me to head to floor 28. I’m the only one in the elevator, the lights illuminating each floor as we pass it. The elevator stops and the doors open to a small waiting room, black leather couches and chairs surround a coffee table with several tablets, each loaded with some form of entertainment. While it looks like there are windows, if you look closely, you can tell they’re simulated, trying to grant us as much privacy as possible. Although, I think it may be more about guarding their own technology secrets. 

“Ivy?” a woman calls my name from the only doorway in the room aside from the elevator. I nod, standing and smoothing down my dress. 

“That’s me.”

“Right this way.” She leads me into another small office, a simple desk with a single chair for me to sit in. She sits opposite me at the desk, tapping in mid air at what I’m assuming is the computer screen in front of her. 

“Ivy it says here you signed up for the bachelorette program to meet a compatible mate. Is that correct?”

Swallowing down my embarrassment, I nod. “Y-yeah.”

She taps a few more things. “Great. Do you know how this works?”

“You guys take a picture of my brain and show me a story?”

She chuckles, the first time her professional demeanor has broken. “Almost but not quite. After we’re done here, you will be taken to the simulation room. You’ve already done your physical-”

“Yeah. They had me put on this suit and they captured the way I moved. Motion capture, I think?”

She nods. “Yes that’s it exactly. This way, your avatar inside your world will move like you. It helps with immersion.” I nod. “They also completed your brain scan to find the most viable dates and look of mate that you are searching for. You indicated you’re looking for a male mate, is that correct?”

I nod. “Yeah. Yes.”

She nods. “Alright. If you’ll go through the door, someone in scanning will take you. Good luck!” She gestures to a door on the opposite wall from where we entered. I go through the door and another woman greats me, leading me to chair where she has me sit and get comfortable. It reminds me of what the dentist chairs used to look like except way more comfortable. She turns to me, holding a helmet with different little lights on it. 

“Any questions?”

“Yeah. So what will he..I mean, how will I know who he is?”

“You will just know. Sort of like in a regular video game, where you can tell who is important to talk to.”

“Ok..but…will he look like him or?”

That’s reassuring. But then she interrupts my thoughts. “Don’t forget, he will be there too also looking for you.”

She shakes her head. “Your algorithm took in your scan and will give him the appearance of someone you find appealing or comforting. We’ve found it’s easier to accept someone if they have an outward appearance you’re already familiar with.”

“So you base connections on personality as opposed to looks?”

She nods. “Those relationships have the highest success rate, so yes.”

“And after, will you show me who he is?”

She nods. “In the simulation, you’ll go on 3 dates. They may be something as simple as communicating in an office to being a superhero or even traveling back in time. The algorithm takes both of your likes, dislikes, and desires and places you in situations. The more you play along and immerse yourself, or yourselves, into the simulation, the better the outcome, meaning a closer connection. And don’t worry - you cannot be physically harmed. And if it’s too much or you want to stop, you only need to say “End simulation”. Please be aware that time may pass differently in the simulation, but you will only be in for an hour. After, you will both meet here, in reality, and can determine whether you’d like to continue with a relationship or not. Any more questions?”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so. Not at the moment, anyway.”

She places the helmet on my head, the nodes all changing different colors as it comes in contact with me. She squeezes my shoulder and I look up at her. “Just relax and try to go with the theme. It’s more fun that way, ok?”

I nod, wiping my sweaty palms on my dress. “Yeah. Makes sense.”

“Good luck!” She taps a button on her clear screen and my vision fades to black so just a couple of seconds. But then I’m blinking awake, the tips of my fingers tingling and my toes feeling like they just woke up. My vision starts to clear and the room comes into focus. I’m sitting at a bar, a fancier bar, which explains the nice dress. As my hearing levels out, I realize that the blonde man to my right is talking to me, his body shifted in my direction. His grey eyes are slightly unsettling. This can’t be my mate, can it? 

“...and so I had them fired! Can you imagine? I asked for my steak to be medium and they brought it out medium well. That will teach that guy to listen to the customer at his next job.” Grey Eyes chuckles and takes a sip of the drink in front of him. He nods towards the glass in front of me. “Do you want another?”

“What? Oh, uh sure.” 

He flags the bartender down and orders a rum and coke before making a show of leaning on his beefy arm against the bar. “I’m glad you finally saw reason and agreed to come out with me tonight.”

I give him a small smile. “Yeah. Same here.” This doesn’t feel right. Maybe they got it wrong? Someone bumps into me from behind and grey eyes catches me, glaring at the person who bumped me, who had moved on. 

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah. It’ll take more than a drunk asshole to bring me down.” Grey Eyes laughs, picking up his glass and holding it up towards me. “I’ll drink to that.” I glance down to grab my drink, only to find it wasn’t there. I look back at Grey Eyes and see him frozen in place, the smirk on his face completely gone, his glass shaking as he continues to hold it in mid air. My glass appears next to his, lightly clicking against his glass. 

“Now that’s not very nice.” That voice. I would know his voice anywhere. My entire body relaxes as I turn to look into the dark brown eyes that I love so much.

“Marcus!” I exclaim, ignoring the vein in grey eye’s neck that’s threatening to pop. Marcus on the other hand, looks good. I mean, he always looks good to me but he’s dressed in nice black pants and a light blue button up shirt with matching black jacket. I’m not sure how a blue shirt makes his brown eyes pop, but it does. Marcus pushes his black frames up his nose.

“Hey, Ivy. Sorry to interrupt your date, but this not so kind gentlemen put a little something in your drink.”

“He what?” I blink rapidly a few times, trying to pry my eyes away from him. Grey Eyes vein relaxes somewhat and he sputters out.

“Fuck you man! We’re on a date! What….what are you doing to me?”

Marcus shrugs. “Well, you wanted to make it so she can’t move. Only fair if I return the favor.” 

Grey Eyes goes to say something else, but then seems to recognize the man standing next to me, his eyes going wide.

“Aren’t you the guy that can move metal?”

My eyes snap to Marcus, who is smiling. “I see I have a fan.”

Grey Eyes tries to backtrack. “Listen, man. I’m sorry. I was just trying to get her to loosen up a bit. Have some fun.”

Marcus looks at me, his brown eyes wide and smiling. “Ivy, do you wish to continue your date with this man?”

“Nope.” I pop the “p” sound at the end of the word. “Little hard to have fun when my date is trying to render me unconscious.”

Marcus waves the bartender over. “Call the police. This man is in possession of Freeze Me.”

 A handful of what felt like seconds later, several officers show up and arrest Grey Eyes, who barely puts up a struggle. I turn towards Marcus, my smile stretching my face as I grab his arm. “My hero.”

His eyes dart around the room, his arm coming up to rub at the back of his neck. “It was nothing.”

Gosh he’s so cute when he does that neck rub thing. Wait. Gotta play along. 

“Is Marcus the Metal Bender actually acting shy around me?”

He chuckles nervously and I think how perfect they coded him. Like he was picked out of my brain. Which I guess he was. 

“Just trying to be respectful.”

I wish he wouldn’t. Wait, are we even allowed to have sex in here? Wow, getting ahead of yourself there, Ivy.

“Youwannagetoutofhere?” He speaks so fast it all comes out in a jumble and I cock my head to the side. 

“What?”

He swallows hard and I can’t help but watch his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“Hell yeah I do.” 

—-

It’s a few weeks later, or at least it feels like some time has passed. That lady did say time passes differently here. Now I’m in an office building, a stack of files in my arms, walking down the hall. A quick glance around tells me I’m in the Heroics head quarters. Marcus appears from around the corner and looks up at me, smiling and walking towards me. But then a man in a much too tight blue suit with a glowing M on it joins him, Marcus’s shoulders sagging slightly as he gives me a sad little wave.

“When are you two going to go on a date already?” A woman with bright pink hair appears next to me. 

“I uh, me?”

She slaps my shoulder. “Yes, you Ivy.” She leans in closer to my ear. “Aren’t you the one who confessed to having a crush on our heroic leader?”

I will the heat rising in my face to not show. “Oh, I uh..I-”

“You know he likes you too.” Her jaw drops when she sees the confused look on my face. “Oh don’t tell me you can’t tell! That man can hardly look at you and he’s taken down alien forces by just staring at them.”

She feels like a close friend so I go with it. “Yeah, ok I like him. Keep your voice down, will you?” She continues walking with me to the end of the hall where I deposit the stack of files into several slots, each one making a small whoosh sound as they’re whisked away to their destinations.

When I’m done, Pink Hair gently grabs my face and turns me to her. “I love you, Ivy. You know you’re like the sister I never had. So please listen to me when I say ask that man out before something happens and you regret not ever trying.”

Well fuck. That is…really spot on to reality isn’t it? 

I never get a chance to answer her as the entire building suddenly shakes, alarms and lights screeching and illuminating the halls. One of the tall filing cabinets starts to topple in my direction and I can only look on in horror, frozen in place by the rumbling building. I throw my hands up, as if that’s going to stop it, but nothing happens. The cabinet is laid gently on its side, floating to the ground. 

“Come on!” I look up into those dark eyes, Marcus extending his hand to me and helping me to my feet. “We have to get out of here!” He tightens his grip and somehow leads us out of the chaotic building out into the streets. Which is also nuts. People are running everywhere and…wait. Is that an alien spaceship coming towards us??

Marcus pulls me behind a wall, glancing around it and waving hand signals to a small group of heroes across the street behind another wall, Pink Hair amongst them. He turns back to me, his face full of worry as he starts to take his shirt off, exposing…not skin but a uniform? No. His hero costume, which is a black shirt,and arm bands. He sees me staring down and he shrugs. “I normally have a tach vest but we’re out of time.” 

“Should you not go out there without one?”

Marcus shakes his head. “I have to support my team. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I mean, people safe.”

“You could just stay here with me? The others can handle-” my words are cut off by a giant laser beam cutting through the street, coming directly from the ship. 

He takes my hand and squeezes it. “Get yourself to safety. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I need you to be safe.” Another laser beam, the sound of some smaller buildings crumbling to the ground. “Go! Get to safety!” He releases my hand. 

I get a glimpse of the deep craters that lasers had left in their wake through the cement of the street, the piles of rubble and dust, and this spurs me on.

“Marcus?” He leans against the wall, readying himself, but he looks at me. 

“Yeah?”

Mustering up my courage, I lean towards his hunched body, softly planting a kiss on his lips. When I pull back, I see his chest heaving, his eyes moving between mine.

“Please make it back, Marcus.”

Before he can answer, the ship comes into view and his team moves out, following behind Miracle Guy, who had flown right up the ship and started punching it. Marcus’s head whips around, assessing the situation and I squeeze his arm once more before quickly moving out of the immediate area. I know I should move more, but I can’t get hurt so… 

The fight that ensues between the ship, the aliens inside, and the Heroics team is nothing short of brilliant. They may argue in the halls, but in the field, they all take direction from Marcus, who is a brilliant leader, playing all of their strengths. Marcus bends metal like it’s made of playdough, a beautiful dance of destruction and strength. Then the ship comes crashing down, everyone moving out of the way except-

“Marcus!” I emerge from my hiding place at a full run as the smoke around the alien ship that’s currently scraping along the road as it crashes and envelops Marcus. The ship stops, groaning as it falls back and lays still, no other life forms moving or detected on board. For a few moments, no one moves. Then Marcus emerges from the smoke, his face soot stained and a small gash in his shirt and along his cheek, but otherwise unharmed. 

“Marcus!” I run to him, his eyes finding mine, his entire body relaxing as he realizes I’m safe, just before I launch myself into his arms, our lips crashing together as my right hand fists in his shirt, my left tugging on his hair. Miracle Guy wolf whistles but I couldn’t care less. I feel his tongue gently lick out and I part my lips, letting him take whatever he wants. But before it can go any further, my vision starts to blacken, the last thing I see is Marcus’s eyes going out of focus as he succumbs to his own transition to the next simulation.

—----

I find myself blinking awake for the second time in what feels like weeks, but I know in reality it’s only been maybe 20 minutes that I was in there. The tips of my fingers and toes are tingling, my vision and hearing clearing and I find myself in…a breakroom. Am I back at the Heroics? The slight weight in my hand takes my focus and I realize I’m holding a cup of tea. I must be on my break. I walk towards the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking outside. I’m not back at Heroics - the cityscape is all wrong. I hear the door open behind me and I turn, the smile on my face widening as Marcus enters the room. His hair is shorter than the last simulation. And his face is clean shaven, which is a look I’ve never seen on him before. Not that it matters - he’s beautiful no matter what. I wonder what he’ll look like when he’s a little older. Probably hot as-

“Hey, Ivy.” Marcus smiles down at me, grabbing his own mug and pouring a cup of coffee from the carafe. I notice the FBI logo on the mug and figure that must be where we are.

“Hey,  Marcus.” I take a sip of my tea as we both watch the other. But then the door opens again, another agent walking into the room. He claps his hands together, looking at us.

“Hey! Congrats on finally cracking that art case, you two! 8 months is a long time to do an operation like that. Great work!” He shakes both of our hands as we thank him. Marcus catches my eye and, with a small movement, jerks his head towards the door. I nod, thanking the other agent again and follow Marcus out of the tiny breakroom and down the hall, stopping in front of an office door labeled MARCUS PIKE. I wonder if that's his name back In reality. He extends his arm towards his office and I head inside, smiling at him as I do, noting how his eyes dart around, that hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck as he closes the door behind him.

“I uh…great work, Ivy.” 

“You too.” 

He puts his hands in his pockets and finally looks me in my eyes and he nods once. 

“Listen. Do you..uh..I mean, would you like to…this is coming out all weird.”

I squeeze his arm and he looks down at my hand, taking a deep breath. 

“Would you like to get something to eat?”

My stomach erupts in butterflies. “Like on a date?”

The redness in his eyes spreads down onto his cheeks as he stammers, gesturing around vaguely. “No! No, not uh. Not a date.”

I can feel my face falling. “Oh.”

“Uh, unless you…uh…unless you want to? Make it a…a date?” His eyes are wide and bright, like a damn puppy. 

I smile, tucking some hair behind my ear. “Yeah. Yeah, I would love to go on a date with you, Marcus.” 

His smile is bright, lighting up the room. “Yeah?”

“Yes.”

He let's out a sigh of relief. “Great! I found this great pancake place.”

Pancakes? I love this man already. “It's nearly dinner time!” I can't help the small giggle that I let out. 

“Yeah, well you said your favorite food is pancakes. And they're open 24 hours.”

He remembered my favorite food? I'm so screwed. Damn this program is good. “You're right! I'd love to get pancakes with you. On a date. For a date. When will this date be, by the way?”

“Oh. I uh, would it be too weird if we went tonight? Is that too soo-”

“No! I mean, yes! No it's not too soon. I'd love to go!” If my heart could stop beating through my chest, that would be great. It's not that I'm some young girl getting asked on her first date. I just really like Marcus. Or whomever this is. My heart sinks at the thought of it not being the Marcus I know in reality. 

“Great! I'll pick you up at 7? Unless you'd rather meet me there? I don't want you to be uncomfortable.”

“Marcus, we just spent 8 months together on assignment. I think I'm comfortable around you.”

He chuckles. “Fair point.” His office phone rings and he apologizes to me, picking it up. I wave ro him and he mouths “See you at 7!”

—----

He picks me up with a flourish of flowers, all long legs and button up shirt that I'm really dying to unbutton. If that's even allowed here. 

But what's more than that is the conversation. I thought I had learned everything about him over the last 8 months. I was very wrong. 

“You were a bass player in a band?” I ask, choking on my drink.

He laughs, holding his hands up in front of him. “What can I say? I wanted to meet more people.”

“I bet you had all the girls hanging on you.”

Marcus shrugs. “Not really. They all want to date the drummer or the singer.”

“Really? Not the sexy bass player?”

Marcus takes too large of a sip of his drink and coughs, pounding his chest. “No, not the…you think I'm sexy?”

I set my fork down and meet his eyes. “If I didn't like you, I wouldn't be here.”

We spend several moments, just looking at each other and then I remember that he's not a simulation but a real person on the other end of those eyes. My heart squeezes thinking about how it won't actually be Marcus. Despite that thought, we really get along well and the conversation flows freely between us. Sooner than I’d like, we’re leaving the small diner, heading back to my place. Marcus parks in my driveway and turns to me, his eyes bright and wide like a damn puppy. We had been talking about books, one of my favorite topics.

“..and I know everyone complains that Tolkien takes 20 pages to describe a flower, but I really love that attention to detail. It makes it more immersive for me. One of these days I’ll get you to read Lord of the Rings!” I tap my fingers on his bicep to emphasize my point.

Marcus rubs his neck. “I uh…I already have.”

My jaw drops. “What? When??”

“When you told me it was your favorite book. Or books, I should say.”

I think back. “Marcus, that was…months ago!”

His eyes meet mine, the light from the street lamp outside adding a sparkle to them. “You said they were your favorite so…I read them.”

My stomach does flips, my heart beating. “You read them all for me?”

He nods. “Even the Silmarillion.”

I can’t help it. This is so fucking hot. I reach out and grip his shirt, pulling him to me, his soft lips pressing against mine, the heat between us quickly rising. His large hand cradles the back of my head, holding me to him as his other hand settles on my hip, squeezing it lightly. We make out for several minutes, Marcus kissing and nipping a path down my neck. 

“Do you want to come in?” I ask breathlessly. 

He pulls back and looks at me. “I do but-” he whispers. “Are we allowed?”

“I…I’m not sure. We could try to-” 

But then my vision starts to blacken around the edges, and before I pass out, I hear Marcus say “See you in the next one!” before we both black out.

—----

Now familiar with the way I wake in these simulations, I wiggle my fingers and toes, giving myself a moment to figure out where I am. The room looks…ok, this isn’t from my time. Roman decor and pillars line the grand bedroom, some food laying on a small table for, I’m assuming, me. A quick glance down shows me in a beautiful white garb and I marvel for a moment at how clean it is. 

BOOM!

The ground shakes and I duck down, completely caught off guard. It’s only after the boom dies down that I hear it - the distant sound of clanking swords and men yelling. I walk to the small window set into the wall and look out, my brain taking a moment to process the scene in front of me. 

I’m several floors up in a sort of round building, a castle I realize as I see the lower tiers, more square in their shape. I’m sure the grounds would have been beautiful, if it weren’t for the massive amounts of soldiers fighting in the streets. I can make out their bodies, the blood, sweat, and dirt spreading almost like a disease. Spear and swords burst from chests or stomachs, limbs separating from their bodies to be lost to the throngs of soldiers. The seem to be moving closer to the castle, which I’m not sure if I want to happen or not. Turning on my sandaled heel, I walk to the door, pressing my ear against the wood to listen. Hearing nothing, I try to open it. Nothing. The door doesn’t open or move, the handle locked into place.

Well, fuck. 

Before I can try and figure out how far down the next ledge is out the window, or if I can even fit out the window, I hear a commotion outside my door. It’s not loud, but I hear a man gurgling and sputtering, a small bit of crimson blood pooling under the door. I grab an iron rod by the fire and hold it up, preparing to defend myself. I know they said I can’t be hurt but damn this feels real. The door opens and a man walks through, wide, muscular shoulders under his Roman armor, Medusa proudly engrained on the front. I lunge, the iron rod above my head but the man turns and grabs the rod and I  would’ve fallen to the floor if he hadn’t caught me.

“Ivy! Here you are!” 

It’s him. Marcus. Only he’s older, probably closer to 50. Grey streaks in his curls and patchy facial hair only accentuate his beauty, a new scar forming across his nose, bleeding lightly down his face. He’s covered in dirt and blood and ash, but I throw my arms around him anyway.

“Marcus! Thank God, what’s going on?”

He cups my face, pushing my hair out of my face. “You are so beautiful, my love. I would bring every army from the entire world to rescue you from this horrid Emperor.” And then his lips are on mine, urgency behind them, but a desire to show me how l much I am loved. This man apparently started the battle outside, for me, and still wants to make sure that I know how important I am to him? 

“We have to flee. Come!” But before we can leave, the door flies open and 5 guards file in, grabbing Marcus and holding his arms out to his sides. I pick the iron rod up from the floor and run towards them, unsure of what I would do but I know I’ll beat the shit out of them until they let him go. But another hand shoots out and grabs my wrist, twisting it hard so I drop the rod. I look up into the eyes of a man that I’m assuming is the Emperor, his golden robes flowing around him. He looks vaguely familiar, like that one asshole from the comic shop.

“Now, now my dear. What were you planning on doing with that?”

I open my mouth to reply, but then he smacks me across the face and I slam down onto the floor. Ok, that hurt. Didn’t she say I wouldn’t get hurt? Maybe she meant I wouldn’t die. Marcus swears, cursing the Emperor for hitting me. 

“Are you alright, my love?” Marcus grunts as the men punch him in the stomach. 

“Marcus, Marcus, Marcus. You’re kind are dying out. I told you to just accept your fate and take your banishment, but instead, you stayed behind and fell in love with a woman. How…stupid.” Marcus tries to speak but he’s punched again, his body hunching over. I try to stand, but then I’m drug up by my hair, the Emperor’s fingers digging at my scalp as he pulls me to his side. 

“This one?” His eyes rake over my body. “She is attractive, I’ll give you that. Even if she is attracted to a brute like you.” I jerk my body, trying to get out of his grip but it’s too tight, my hands gripping his arms to try and get some relief from the stinging at the back of my scalp.

“Let her go. You can kill me, I don’t care, but let her go.”

The Emperor looks from me to Marcus, a sick smile spreading on his face. “I didn’t go through the trouble of kidnapping her just to have you give up. So I’ll tell you what I’ll do instead. LOOK AT ME!” The Emperor bellows from beside me, Marcus’s eyes moving from mine to his. 

He steps closer to Marcus, dragging me a little beside him. “Such a wild man. How about this: you watch as I take her. Then, I’ll drive my sword through her belly so she can slowly bleed out on the floor. Only after the light has left her eyes will I either kill you or lock you up to suffer the rest of your days. How does that sound?”

The darkness that settles over Marcus is unforgiving, his eyes hardening in resolution. He growls and screams, throwing the soldiers off him as he grabs his sword from the ground, swinging it and taking out all of the soldiers in only a handful of moves. He spins, aiming his sword at the Emperor, who has now moved me in front of him as a human shield, a knife to my throat. 

“I’ll kill her, Marcus! You are too weak to save her!”

Marcus’s gaze moves briefly to mine and I release my weak grip on the Emperor’s arms, letting them fall to my side. Marcus shifts his body ever so slightly before he throws something from behind his back. The object whizzes past my cheek, scratching it slightly as the blade buries itself in the Emperor’s neck. He drops his knife and clutches at his throat, his eyes wide with fear. He crumbles to the floor and sputters for several moments before his body stops moving. I run to Marcus, throwing my arms around him again. He grunts and I remember the soldiers hitting him.

“Are you hurt?”

He clutches his side. “I’ve had worse.”

“You are so fucking hot right now,” I speak quietly to him and he smiles. “I’m covered in dirt and blood and sweat.”

“Stop trying to turn me on more I already said you’re hot.”

He laughs but then inhales sharply at the pain. “I’ll take it, I guess.”

“No, that’s my job.” I bring my lips to his, pushing him back towards the chaise lounge chair on the other side of the room. He sits, pulling me onto his lap as I straddle him, my dress getting dirty as I shift my hips. He groans, his large hands sliding up my bare thighs under my dress and fuck! My vision starts to blacken and I hear Marcus whine out some expletives as we both are brought out of the simulation. 

—---------------------------

Hopefully for the last time, I blink awake, wiggling my fingers and toes as I look around the room. The helmet is gently lifted from my head and the woman that had put it on me moves into my eyesight.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m here.”

“Good. Wait just a moment for your body to fully catch up. Do you have any questions?”

“Yeah why did you stop us having sex?”

She studies me for a moment. “It is not allowed in the programming.”

“I cross my arms. “Well your programming is stupid.”

She chuckles so quietly I thought I’d imagined it. “The algorithm wants you and your mate to match based on personality and emotions, not just physical.”

“I can guarantee you it wasn’t just physical.” 

She helps me stand and I shake my limbs out, full feeling returning to them. I smooth out my dress as she readjusts my hair. “Are you ready to meet him?”

Him. My reality man. “Y..yeah.” 

“Right through that door. He’s already waiting for you.” I move towards the door but she stops me. “I just have to say, I’ve been doing this for years and I’ve never seen a situation like yours and his.”

I furrow my brow. “What do you mean?”

So smiles softly. “So…rooted in reality.”

Yeah that’s not confusing. But she doesn’t explain further, turning back to the chair and helmet, starting to clean them. I take a deep breath to steady myself and open the door, walking through and closing it behind me. The man on the other side of the room, my mate, turns towards me and we both gasp.

“Marcus?”

“Ivy?”

We meet in the middle of the room and I cup his face, Marcus tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Is it really you?”

He nods. “Yeah. You? Real?”

“Real.”

He pulls my face to his, kissing me deeply, but then pulling back a moment later. 

“I’ve been dying to ask you out since forever. I never thought I’d be paired with you, here of all places.”

I cock my head to the side. “Why didn’t you ever ask me?”

“Have you seen yourself? You’re entirely out of my league.”

“I’m fairly certain it’s the other way around.”

He opens his mouth to protest, but I put my finger on his lips. “I think we went through several first dates in there. Plus, we’re already friends. Can we…that is, can you take me back to your place first? Then we can eat?”

Marcus’s eyes darken, his hands finding a place on my hips as he pulls me against his body, letting me feel how into that idea he is. 

We’re married a year later.

—----

General Taglist:

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[madisockz]

Hello! I wanted to share my process of how I made my Easter Pony! She is my second ever custom and she made all the trouble I had with the first one seem like a walk in the park in comparison ಥ_ಥ Let's begin!

DISCLAIMER: Custom ponies like this one are not to be played with by children nor made by children. This pony was made with the use of nail polish remover (acetone) which is toxic. You need to wash your hands throughly after use and use in a well ventilated area. This pony was also made with sharp tools such as an xacto knife, sewing pins, rehairing needles, and an awl.

First, the concept art! Trial and error caused her to look a little different than the concept art but I still love the end result!

I wanted to start with a white base to give myself a clean canvas for dyeing so I got this G3 Breezie off Ebay for only $3. I decided to first remove her mane and tail which requires removing the head. If you know anything about G3 pony customzing, you know their heads are difficult to get back on once they come off. Even when you run them under warm/hot water. So to get it back on for dyeing, I tried trimming a little excess of vinyl off the neck ring with my xacto knife. It slipped and got me right under my nail! Bad omen for what's to come!

After getting her prepped (removing her mane and tail, cleaning her, using acetone (nail polish remover) to remove her cutie mark) she was ready for a dye bath! I used Rit DyeMore as regular Rit Dye won't dye the vinyl material that ponies are made of. This was my first ever time dyeing anything that wasn't fabric so I was thrilled when she came out this warm rich brown! So pretty!

I read online that dyed ponies will leach dye onto other ponies if they touch, so I wanted to try and prevent this as much as possible with some matte sealer. Lesson #1: Even though she was dry, the matte sealer reactivated the dye! The smallest touch left a print! :(

I pushed forward! And tripped immediately after! I thought, "Surely matte Modge Podge will seal her just that much more" and to my dismay, the Modge Podge kept every brush stroke I made when it dried!! She looked like a leather hand bag! ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚ I learned later you can buy matte Modge Podge spray online but all I had was the type you brush on to your surface.

Thankfully, with the help of sixteen cotton balls and a q-tip with acetone, I managed to remove all the sealer but she was no longer that nice rich brown. Oh well I still loved her!

And whoever said the paint will protect the eyes from the dye has clearly never dyed a dark pony! Her eyes were so brown after this lol

Painting, adding of polymer clay easter themed confetti, and adding her 3D chocolate bunny cutie mark went great! It was all going well until the eyes.

I had never fully painted pony eyes before so the first attempt was pretty bad. Not even my multiple attempts at glitter and using clear nail polish as a cheap gloss on the eyes could save them.

It was so bad that I almost didn't take any pictures but when I went to seal her head, this weird white powder covered half of her face?? I had never seen this before and it freaked me out thinking I just ruined her. I managed to get it off with a cotton ball and some acetone but her paint was fully damaged.

Turns out this was caused because I didn't shake the can of sealer well enough. I needed a break....

While I took a break for a few days, I decided to watch tutorials on how to paint doll eyes and learned that it's actually pretty common to use high quality watercolor pencils; either Faber Castell or Derwent (which is what I ended up buying).

When I came back, I made the hard decision of removing all the paint and decorations from the head and starting over. Hours of work gone but it was so worth it! 🩷 Removing the paint with acetone ended up making her head lighter than her body so I had to redye her head lol. This time I mixed Derwent pencils with acrylic paints for her eyes.

Time for the hair! I've never done curls before and my original plan was to buy curly hair online but it's so hard to find in the color and curl size I wanted.

So my second idea was to buy small curlers to use on regular nylon doll hair bought from ShimmerLocks on Etsy. But when I tested them out on poor Flower Bouquet it looked so bad ಥ_ಥ

I discovered a Youtube channel you may know called Dollightful where in one of her Stock Box videos she used yarn that she unraveled to make super cute tight wavy hair for a doll. It was a perfect solution! It looks so good but omg it was tedious haha! I used it for her tail too; sectioning off the colors hoping they'd stay separated (they didn't lol).

She's nearly complete! Time for small decorations! I tried so many different ears from air dry clay to stealing some from bunny decorations I bought at the store and nothing was working! But I had one last idea...

I gave these old Littlest Pet Shop costume bunny ears some use with a flat top sewing pin and some glue so now my pony has bunny ears! Yay!

I forgot it in the concept art, but I originally wanted to add flowers to her mane but I couldn't figure out how to do that without glue which I didn't want to do, too permanent, so I opted for some beads I had on hand. I didn't have any light blue so I made some with the use of acetone (nail polish remover in my case) and boom! Light blue beads! Then I washed them off so the acetone wouldn't damage anything :)

I used a gold topped sewing pin, a butterfly charm, a felt flower and two faux flowers to create a cute hair accessory!

Finally I sewed a hair tie to a puffball to give her a removable cottontail if I ever wanted to take it off.

And DONE! She looks so good after so much time and effort! I worked on this girly for two weeks I think? She actually had a partner I designed but I've run out of time to make her :') Maybe next year? 👀 🩷🩷

[seaslugfanclub]

So I’ve had this idea for a Disney Villains x reader for months now:

Disney, with their virtually limitless funds, have built a machine that creates, like, 3D printed holograms of their characters. Including the Villains. Instead of hiring people to dress as beloved characters for their theme parks, why not have the real things? This allows customers to enjoy a more “immersive” experience.

The reader is a new hire at the Disney parks. Nothing major, probably a ‘Jack of all trades’ type of employee. Some how, they end up interacting with the Disney Villains, and realizes that their more sentient than Disney has let on.

Reader quickly becomes one of the only employees that the Villains deem worthy of talking to, besides guests. And because of this, the higher ups at the park decide to make the reader the Disney Villains official”caretaker”

I’d love to explore this concept, if anyone else wants imagines or scenarios feel free to ask!

[uravityjenna]

My pickups from Toronto Game Expo!! o(^▽^)o

This is my third time going and I had an amazing time with my friends!! I will admit, compared to the other times I've gone, the percentage of game vendors that had stuff priced high was larger than the past, and there was a lot less variety. I actually had a decent list of games I was looking to buy and not only did I not see most of them at all, but the two I did see were expensive and in poor condition haha. Despite that, I still managed to get a couple games and the artist alley was amazing!! So many artists with absolutely wonderful work, that's always where I end up spending the most at these events. I went on the Saturday and this was the first time it was a 2 day event. They also had free play arcade games that I wish I had the chance to play, but we ended up heading to the Gashapon store at Union Station as well so this haul includes my goodies from there!

To start, here are the games I picked up! There is a guy named Chris who comes to a lot of local game swaps and shows near me that I've been buying Japanese import games from since 2018, and he was here this time and I purchased the Japanese version of Animal Crossing: City Folk on the Wii! This was actually his first time selling import Wii games, and he said I was the first customer ever to buy one from him. Animal Crossing is one of my absolute favourite franchises of all time and I collect the Japanese copies of the games too! On that theme, the other game I picked up was the "Happy Price Selection" variant of the Japanese version of Animal Crossing: New Leaf on the 3DS. New Leaf is my favourite game of all time and I'd love to collect every version of it, I thought I had all of the Japanese versions but I was totally wrong! I had never seen this version before and I suppose it's the Japanese version of the Nintendo Selects variant we got in North America. To be quite honest, the box art is so ugly with the giant red banner around the box art. It makes the North American version look way better haha, I'm really stoked to have this variant though! The last two DS games are actually empty cases. I picked up the Wonder Pets game since I really enjoyed watching that show when I was a kid and I was kinda curious about it and was inquiring about the price, and the seller told me it was just an empty case and it was free to take. I took it since I like the artwork and it brings me back to simpler days, and I also took the case for Petz Hamsterz 2 since I thought I had a loose copy at home and I could complete it, but I was misremembering that my copy is actually the GBA version. But still cool to have and the box art is so silly!

Also from the vendors part, I got some more Bandai Pokémon Kids figures! I've been collecting these since 2018 and they're my favourite types of Pokémon figures. I get them from a variety of different sellers, but my favourite nowadays is Just Guys Selling Games, who has a huge amount of them and sorts them by generation so they're so fun to rummage through! I picked out Mareep, Pachirisu, Bayleef and Rotom this time around! I also found a vendor I bought a Pikmin blind bag from last time, and they had them again this time! They come with gummies but because of my allergies I just gave them to my friends to eat. This time around I got Glow Pikmin which I was super stoked about, and sadly a double of the Ice Pikmin but that's okay haha. It's kinda funny how the two ones I have are the newest Pikmin introduced in Pikmin 4! I LOVE the translucent plastic they use on these!

Here are the last items I got from vendors! I actually already have the Pokémon X and Y 3DS case and it's the first 3DS case I ever had, and it's what I've carried around for my original main system since I got the case in 2014. I found another one here for cheap, and I couldn't resist getting a second haha. Now I will use this one for my modded systems that I play more nowadays, and still keep my 3DS with all of my original data from my childhood on it in the original one! I was also SO HAPPY to find the Sanei Cat Luigi plush!!! I've been wanting to get this plush for so long and I found him for a great price! The super bell is my favourite power-up and Luigi is my favourite Mario character alongside Yoshi so I always play as him when playing 3D World. I love this plush so much and he's so super cute!!!

Now we move on to what I got from the artist alley!! Printacular3D made these amazing Pokémon 3D prints!! I bought the Pikachu figure and Sylveon keychain, and my friend got something too which made our total high enough to get a coin for a free spin in their Gashapon machine. I ended up winning the grand prize which was a choice between a big Entei or Raikou, and I picked Raikou!! I was really surprised to win and I love all of these guys so much, some of the nicest and most solid prints I've ever seen and they were super affordable!

Now, for the Sonic stuff I got!! I got the adorable Chao sticker from ToadType, the movie Sonic keychain from Astro Poco, the Sonic enamel pin from Wisteria Memory, the Sonic button from Myzartz, the Sonic CD keychain from Tamikanisushi, the Sonic phone charm from Hey.Its.Hoshi and the keychains of Sonic, Shadow, Amy and Metal Sonic from SnaggyPeets!! Anyone who knows me knows that Sonic is my absolute favourite character of all time, and I prioritize collecting merch of him. I'm so excited to have all of these new additions to my collection, I'm planning on adding most of them to my Sonic ita bag! On the Sonic phone charm, they actually have a ring included on the main charm with his face, and they included a second chili dog charm which is so cute!! My favourite Sonic item I got has to be the CD charm, it actually opens like a CD case and you can take the disc out! It also has an NFC chip in it, so if you hold it up to your phone it will bring you to a page to play Escape from the City! How freaking cool is that, I've never had a keychain like this before!!

Here's the other stuff I got from artist alley! I got the Animal Crossing cat sticker sheet from Celine Jeong, the Mew button and the freebie stickers above it from Planet.Pluto.Ink, the Summer Nights Callie photo card and pink Squid enamel pin from Boryokuu, the Marina Side Order keychain and the freebie Booyah button from Dvdfu, a double Callie keychain from Medikkuu (I wanted another one so I could put it on my bag since my other one is on one of my displays) and the Player 1 Wii Remote keychain from Hey.Its.Hoshi!! I love everything here so much!

This isn't from a seller at the expo, but I traded with my friend for these goodies and they gave me some freebies! I traded a plush I had for the Shiver Furuta chocolate egg figure and the Smallfry personal marker! I surprisingly didn't have any of the idol chocolate egg figures yet, I absolutely love Shiver and she's so cute!! I'll have to get the other ones eventually for sure! My friend pulled a double of this Smallfry from a Gashapon machine, and it's actually the one I wanted the most since it's the mohawk-like hair style one, which is the hair style I choose for my Little Buddy in game! They also gave me the Octo sticker, Callie button and they were giving out buttons of Derakkuma from Maimai, Chuni Penguin from Chunithm, Pearto, and one of the new sillies shown in the trailer for Rhythm Heaven Groove!! It was very nice to get these little extras!!

That was everything I got from the Game Expo, but like I said at the beginning afterwards we took a trip to the Gashapon store in Union Station. I went here for the first time last month and absolutely loved it, and had really been looking forward to doing some pulls. I pulled the two mini Tamagotchi keychains, I actually got a double of the one I already had but traded with my friend for the blue one and I love the pink one so much since it's pink and blue which are my favourite colours! I also pulled a Smallfry personal marker and got the one with the "pineapple" hair style, I love the translucent plastic they use for the body and hair! Then I pulled a Sanrio personal marker and got Hangyodon, the one I wanted the least to be honest but he's still super cute! And lastly I pulled the Kirby light up band, I mistakenly thought it was a watch at first but I'm stoked to pull Kirby since I wanted him the most!!

I had such a fun and eventful day and I'm really happy I got to have such a great time with my friends!!

[sonialiao]

Interested in backing? Be notified when the project launches

Want to see previous pins I've made? Previous Successful Kickstarter Pins | Etsy Shop

Hope everyone's been having a happy halloween! After several years (?!) I've returned with a brand new Kickstarter campaign modeled after the original Robins After Dark-- this time focused on Gotham Femme Fatales!

(Lol I know Kori and Rachel don't count but shhh they're Robbie's friends they're honorary Gothamites ahaha)

The campaign will run from 11/6 at 9pm eastern to 11/26 at 9pm eastern. The normal KS pricing for the girl pins are $15 each ($18 in-hand) while the normal KS pricing for mini pins are $10 each ($12 in-hand.) There are further discounts for people who pledge for the full set of pins! There will also be a few early bird tiers available, so if you're interested in catching those discounts at launch, mark your calendars 😊.

A list of this campaign's offerings:

2.25" tall gold-plated enamel pins featuring the Sirens, Birds of Prey, and a few Titans/Young-Justice girls! These will be double-posted to prevent spinning during wear and feature glitter and sandblast effects to give the pins a bit of pizz-azz!

1" - 1.25" tall gold-plated mini pins for those who want a more subtle nod to their fan-favorite groups. These are shaped like badges and go well on shirt collars, bags, etc. Sandblast details will give the pins a bit of a 3D look despite their simple shape.

A new 5 x 7 Matte Postcard design for those who prefer to collect prints! One of the stretch goals includes a free postcard for all backers who pledge for 3+ GG pins.

Robins-themed Washi Stamp Tape! Includes the two girl robins and a bonus mini-Dick Grayson to round out the sidekick lineup.

Early Access to my Bat Theme enamel pin set. These are limited edition pins currently in production and will be sold as a set of 2 once in-hand. I'm giving Kickstarter backers early access to these designs before their public sale. These are large pins (3.25" - 3.75") and are perfect for displaying in a shadow box or as the main piece on an ita bag.

Remember that this is a fan project for nerdy enamel pin collectors! All the illustrations in this campaign are unofficial, Sonia-interpreted renditions of girls that don't get enough official love.

If you're not familiar with kickstarter, it's a crowd-funding campaign that lets customers fund a project before it's made. So keep in mind all these pin designs are not actual items (yet)-- you're helping to fund their production! Estimated reward fulfillment date right now is March/April 2024. In return for your patience, kickstarter backers will receive the best quality pins at the earliest time. If certain stretch goals are met, backers may also receive freebies like postcards and mini pins!

Thank you everyone for reading this far. I know my activity across social media has been spotty due to how busy I've been (and that I still have a fancomic to finish ROFL) but I hope there's still interest in a project like this 🤞. I'll make another post once the project goes live! But this way you all can look at what's available ahead of time and decide if you'd like to grab those early bird spots or not 😊.

[perplexingluciddreams]

more details of experiment edits on AAC:

first i will show 3 pictures of Supercore 50:

how it looks automatically without any edits

my current grid set that i use for communication

the version of this grid set i added just to try colour changes and other visual edits.

[Image description: 3 images of the same vocabulary grid set in Grid 3, called Supercore 50. the first image has rounded corners on buttons, a white background, bigger spacing, and text labels on every button with text above symbol. second image is similar looking with same rounded buttons, but less spacing. is different by black background, text label removed from folder and menu/function buttons, text below symbol. third image is very different looking from other two. same black background, menu and main folder buttons have black background with simple coloured symbol, mainly yellow. no folder buttons have text label, and many have simplified symbol. all button colours are altered in tone and shade. all darker colours, easier on the eye. the "little words" buttons are changed from almost white to dark grey with yellow text. End ID.]

here is explanation:

added new version of my grid set (Supercore 50) to just play around with and change colours and see what works. didn't want to mess up my actual grid set with all my personal edits and added vocabulary. didn't go to bother of making it all "uniform" across the whole device (because is time consuming and i will have to do that eventually on my real grid set).

mostly just tried out different colours. and how to make home page as easy to visual process as possible. didn't change colour coding (for example pronouns yellow, verbs green, adjectives blue, little words grey-ish - that all stay. just change tone of colours to not "attack" eyes).

eyes can't cope with a lot of "whiteness" in any colours, especially on a screen where there is so much white/blue light already. makes much sensory overload and bad headaches. pastel colours or very bright neon or light blue/purple/yellow/grey... not fun. brain simply skips over any blocks of those colours cause it can't get past whiteness to see what is on the button.

in Grid 3 edit menu you can change colour of button - there is a palette of pre-made colours, but you can also do "adjust colour" and choose custom colour there. and there is something called "button styles" so you can just edit one button how you want, then say "update style" and it will change all buttons with that "style".

i worked out that turning down "saturation" and "luminosity" helps me a lot. then the colour doesn't "attack" my eyes so much, so i can actually search the screen for the symbol/word i want. better visual scanning ability.

also removed borders on buttons. just adds extra stuff for eyes to get "stuck" on. it looks cleaner without border.

On Grid 3 there is also different button "themes" available (different from button styles), which changes the entire automatic look of the entire grid set with just change that. changed from "modern" to "blocky" theme. because there is a slight "colour gradient" on buttons with "modern" theme (I think🤷🏻‍♂️). meaning there is more highlight at the top of the button on more shadow/darker at the bottom. makes it hard to see the symbols and text because it is not "flat" looking. to me the "modern" theme looks slightly bumpy and 3D, the "blocky" theme looks flat. and brain can't process 3D (especially not at same time as try to search for words and scan screen).

i also made the "menu" buttons or "grid functions" buttons have black background (to match black background of entire grid set), with symbol in yellow. and remove text labels for these buttons and some folder buttons. this helps because then only the word buttons "jump out" at brain. so there is less "bulk" of the screen to process. and the "function" buttons have only simple symbol, so can easily find!

this is all still only changed in the blank version of Supercore 50 that I added for this specific purpose. it is a HUGE change to my AAC. so i can't just change it all at once. it will have to happen in stages. and i am still not 100% sure of all the changes. (for example i don't really know what to do with the folders. don't like how they look right now...). so i have to be very confident in a change before i can make my real grid have it.

(also there is still folders and buttons i haven't changed at all. just mostly did home grid so i can see the difference. still working on it and will be long time until ready to change my real AAC).

i will keep updating on the changes!

[doppoignon]

After a break from 3DS themes im back with klwp presets? (Not that i dislike making those now but currently i've done everything i wanted to do to customize my 3DS)

This is only my second preset so far so its still pretty simple and would need a few fixes (ﾟДﾟ)

There are many hidden shortcuts to open apps on the wallpaper (other than the two obvious launcher on the monitor). I also tried to make it easy to switch out some elements

I do plan on making a lot more!!!!! Maybe i will soon make presets available to download!! i'm unsure how and when tho lol

[louisupdates]

Louis Tomlinson ‘Faith in the Future’ World Tour 2023

By: Steve Jennings (Photos and Text) | 11 AUG 2023

English singer-songwriter and former One Direction band member Louis Tomlinson is back out on the road in support of his second album, Faith in the Future. For his second world tour, he’s playing to an ever-growing audience—the crowd I witnessed could not get enough of him as evident from the adoring fans singing along to every word he sang. We spoke to Production Designer, Programmer, and Director Tom Taylor of TANCK about the tour.

Designer Tom Taylor started working on the current tour as the new album’s promo materials and aesthetics came to light. Taylor says it’s a more rugged and asymmetrical look than they’ve gone for before, meant to mirror a sort of dive bar aesthetic rather than a beautiful arena production. “This reflects the music off the latest album, which has a more grungy feel to it. There are touches in there such as the light boxes (loosely resembling the fluorescent lights of a nightclub toilet), and our custom camera housing (a hollowed out old VHS camcorder with a Marshall 4K camera inside) that bring it back to a more intimate venue feel than the true scale of the places we’re playing across the world.”

Taylor notes the show itself has definitely progressed and he would say feels more like a ‘show’ than a ‘gig‘ now; it has a start, middle, and end, with themes and segues to connect them throughout. “The video content is more to set a mood for the songs. We’re trying to stay away from anything too literal and obvious. This extends to the lighting programming as well where we largely refrain from hitting everything on the beat, fully ‘perfect’ timecoded hits throughout the rig. Hopefully the end result is that in those moments where we do go crazy with programming and rhythm, it’s much more interesting and stands out in the set.”

Since 2020, Taylor has worked with Francis Clegg on production design. They had worked together for about five years prior to that and have a complimentary skill set. “We’ve accelerated quite rapidly, taking on a design assistant in Jamie Lawrence and soon to have another member of the team joining,” Taylor says. “Whilst one of us is the company face to each artist or client, we work together 50/50 on every project behind the scenes. James Washer [Lighting Programmer] is often the first name on the team sheet when we pick up a show like this one… he just gets it; is a great programmer and time saving resource who knows how to interpret when I say something like ‘can the lights be a little more aggressive.’ Francis (Clegg) is also a fantastic programmer, so I was able to work alongside James in the rehearsals to finesse the previz programming.”

Although he’s on a MA Lighting grandMA3 surface, Taylor runs the show on MA2 software. The reason for that is because this tour goes everywhere in the world, and he knows he can get an MA2 anywhere without having to lug around small form consoles himself. Taylor much prefers to take a USB stick through an airport. “We are running a lot of things through the desk—lighting, video, camera switching, and automation. The MA makes this easier to deal with and the fixture cloning system is excellent, so I know I’m going to get a good replica of the show no matter what fixtures I get thrown wherever we go.”

The venue sizes this time around sort of called for a video element to be added, Taylor says. “The focus of the show is, of course, Louis, so plenty of close-up camera work to amplify his emotion. These are treated with overlays and masks created by [content creators] Two Suns and ourselves, with 3D animation work coming from Boxcat Studio. The whole system is run on a Resolume server. Camera switching is done from the MA console via Open Control, which sends OSC messages to the ATEM switcher, which ultimately sends it to the capture cards. This way we eliminate a touring video director (sorry!) and save a bunch of truck space on outboard equipment. The system works extremely well.”

Colour Sound Experiment out of London is the tour lighting, video, and rigging company. “We use them for a large portion of our shows. It’s very useful dealing with just one company who ‘do it all’ but also don’t cut any corners or scrimp to get the job done. The equipment is well maintained with a good selection of inventory to choose from.” Taylor says it probably took them about three iterations to get to the point they’re at now, keeping ideas from the previous versions until they got somewhere they were all happy with. “It was a bit of a process, but a great payoff. I should probably thank Louis and his Manager, Matt Vines, for their patience in putting it all together. There are a lot of (literally) moving parts to the stage with winches, light boxes, light bulbs, and our shuttering set piece at the back. Ultimately the show is dynamic and exciting, but all the elements sit nicely together as well.” Taylor was a bit unsure on using the GLP X4 Bars across the back because of the brightness difference to GLP’s FR10, for example, but they are exactly the right brightness for this gig without being overpowering, he says. “My absolute favorite moment of the show, where we have some crazy iridescent hyper color animation, is driven by the Ayrton Huracans… amazing lights, just don’t try to pick one up by yourself, they’re beasts!”

Tomlinson was really involved in the design of this one, and also much more open to trying new things and delivering a narrative through the show, adds Taylor. “Matt Vines should have a shout out for his contribution to the ‘ideas factory’ and being a great sounding board as we developed the show. PM Craig Sherwood has been incredible as always, never asking ‘why’ we want to make it look like a derelict bathroom, just making it happen. Finally, the tour’s secret weapon, technical maestro Sam Kenyon, who is quite literally irreplaceable, has been an excellent resource for actually delivering the show in the real world day after day.”

Production Team

Tour Manager: Tom Allen

Production Manager: Craig Sherwood

Production Design, Programmer & Director: Tom Taylor & Francis Clegg, TANCK

Lighting Programmer: James Washer

Lighting Crew Chief: James Box

Lighting Techs: Rick Carr, Amy Barnett

Stage Manager: Torin Arnold

Technical Manager: Sam Kenyon

Video Crew Chief: Dave Mallandain

Video Programmer: Jack Fone

Video Techs: Tim Curwen, Braden Pettigrew

Camera Operators: Mark Lawrence, Braden Pettigrew, Tim Curwen

Rigger: Mark Lawrence

Vendors

Lighting/Video/Rigging: Colour Sound Experiment/Acc. Rep. Haydn Cruishank

LED Trim: LED Creative

Custom Light Housings: OX Event House

Set Construction: Hangman UK

Video Content: Two Suns Creative, Boxcat Studio, TANCK

SFX: BPM SFX

Gear

Lighting

2 MA Lighting grandMA3 full-size

19 Ayrton Eurus Profile

6 Ayrton Huracan LT Profile

5 Claypaky Mini-B

12 Robe Spiider

72 GLP X4 Bar 20

16 GLP JDC Line 1000

10 GLP JDC1 Strobe

12 CHAUVET STRIKE Array 4

2 Chroma-Q Color Force II 12

16 Elumen8 COB PAR Endura

10 LEDJ Spectra Q15

3 Robe BMFL RoboSpot

Video

2 Resolume Server

23 Custom LED Trim

6 Video Screens, 2.5m x 2.5m

7 Marshall 503 Camera

3 Panasonic UE70 PTZ Camera

2 Blackmagic Design URSA G2 Camera

[britt-kageryuu]

At the Purple Dragons, Genius Built Tech Workshop~ A.K.A The Dragons Den!

The former Purple Dragons are working on their current projects, making some prototypes, programming some new apps, playing Rock, Paper, Scissors on who takes the call for Tech Support. The usual day working under their former Enemy and Current Employer.

Though this changed up when Kendra asked for some more work, and ended up becoming the one to run the official VTurtles! clips channel. Kendra had been pretty annoyed until Donnie presented her with the contract for this new job on top of her current work.

Who was she to turn away having more money added to her paycheck?

The only downside was just going over the streams for good material, which meant she would tend to listen to the VODs while working on other stuff. And making notes on what would be good parts to edit together, and what effects to add.

Jeremy and Jason were at first a bit jealous that Kendra was getting more work, but then realized she would has less free time between projects. The VODs can get pretty long, especially the random insomnia streams.

They had all customized their Mini Turtle Droids to act as helpers, and help them keep track of time mainly. The three are only considered cousins of Shelldon and River, but not as equipped for the extensive AI updates of the originals.

"How mad would Othello be if we set up our own VTuber thing? Pretend to be a VTurtles manager. Like how that one company has a manager also be a VTuber?" Jason asked with some hesitation, not really sure about the idea himself.

"Nah, it would be a lot to do on top of the big projects on schedule." Jeremy answers while he was working with a later prototype of the AR Glasses, "Even if we already have models in the system, Othello hasn't told us what they are for. And if we misused them, well we might get fewer projects sent our way."

Jason paused and quickly turns to Jeremy with a frantic look, "Wait, we already have models?! Like fully rigged and everything?!"

Jeremy just raises an eyebrow, before bringing something up on his computer, "Yeah. Found them pretty shortly after we got moved here. Did you really not check out the files we have access to? Way to lose some Purple Dragons Pride."

On the screen are to open files labeled P.D. Jace, P.D. Jer, and P.D. Ken, all three show 3D models of winged humanoid Purple Themed Dragons of different body types. Each file also has a sub section labeled 'Preset Outfits'.

Before they could continue with a slight freak out, Donnie comes in talking to a camera being carried by Shelldon, with River running around to move anything that might trip him.

"And here are the Top Three Techs in this department. Now don't think you'll get their true identities, I made models to hide that. And I know you want to question why Purple_Wyvern is here. She works for GB, and yes she's paid extra for the Clipper Stuff." Donnie kinda rambles while showing some of the workshop.

Kendra pauses what's she doing to glare at Donnie, but lets her droid join the other two as they go greet their older cousins.

"And greetings you three. Are you having a good time in the Dragons Den?" Donnie leans back, while swiveling his head, to ask the three droids.

The three were a mix of chatter and digital chirps, trading head bonks with River, and Shelldon, then going to almost ram into Donnies head in excitement.

"Calm down, and go back to helping the Dragons. Okay you three we'll do individual interviews later if you want. This is going to be just a prerecorded section I'm going to add to a stream later. Now to head to the next location! Leo is you please?!" Donnie doesn't wait for any of them to answer, and just leaves through a blue portal like he didn't just randomly disrupt them briefly.

"Well that might explain why we have premade models." Jeremy says with a bit of bewilderment. "To hide our identities with the AR filters."

Jason meanwhile was freaking out for a new reason, "Did you hear what he said?! He called us the 'Top Three Techs'!!" He collapsed onto his chair from the rush of what happened in such a short time.

Kendra just scoffed, "Of course we are. The other techs in this company don't get their own workshop. They're in a different warehouse in a different burrough." She gives her droid some pets after it returns to her station, "And I know they don't have personal AI bots to work with, just a couple lone bots that Othello with control remotely to check on things." She starts back up she was working on, "Now back to work, Othello sent word that we get to show off the new tech on the next company broadcast."

The two follow her lead, after closing the files with the models on them, and get back to work. With some effort from Jason because of just the wild 10 minutes of rushed chaos.

Just another exciting day in the Dragons Den.

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

Masterpost

Was a bit bored and thought 'I should write some more behind the scenes types posts' for my AU.

The three droids don't really have names yet. I can't figure what the Dragons would name them.

[otaku-orochi-okami]

Here We Go Again.

Urgh. Semi kept away. Last proper blog closed down for containing images of a well known influencer and her representatives asked for mine, and several other blogs, to be closed down due to copyright infringement. Did create an AI Waifu blog but my kinks are very dark, and tend to break Tumblr guidelines. Also ChatGPT, the framework that runs the AI chatbots I make, is adding more guard rails so more and more “can’t complete this” messages are popping up so that’s losing its charm too. So back here posting content. I won’t generally be tagging in names of people I post etc after the last blog for obvious reasons but if there’s anyone you like DM me the post and I’ll see if I can tell you who they are. 

So, first things first. This is a NSFW blog.  Normal boring stuff applies to that, MDNI blah blah blah. Feel free to DM me, sometimes I’ll reply, sometime i wont. Don’t take it personally if I don’t, sometimes just busy scrolling. For those who don’t know me, my names Lew, white male in my 30’s, living in UK. My kinks are niche, and tend to get me banned so stuff I post or reblog is just stuff I think is good or done well etc. I’m bi, prefer sex with guys but can’t stand them as anything more than fuck meat, girls I prefer aesthetically to look at and actually talk to, but find sex with them meh. And sissies are losers. That’s not necessarily a bad or a good thing. Depends on my mood.  Actually prefer 2D girls to 3D girls, 3D girls nearly always have some tiny flaw to stop them from being perfect. Plus a perfect girl is subjective anyway. Someone’s 10 is another guys 8. Either way, expect to find a mix of 2D and 3D stuff on here. As last bit might suggest, big fan of pop culture, so happy to talk video games, anime etc as well as kink, or obviously just exclusively one or the other of you don’t want to discuss both. 

Something I haven’t really shared with anyone, despite being in my 30’s, my body is fucking breaking. That’s thanks to boring medical condition I won’t get into. It’s not been too bad until recently, but lately it’s been getting worse. For now, I’m ok in day, but by evenings I’m in serious pain. So to those of you I do message often, preemptive apologies for when I go quiet. As for everyone else; if I’m posting after that time, it’s likely because I queue and schedule my posts, so please don’t assume I’m online and ignoring you. 

Talking of posts, I don’t do exposure any more, doing colabs with x-loservirgin-x really got me into that, but since then too much bitching after losers cum and begging me to take down posts (which is impossible because I can’t take down reblogs), or other losers getting riskier without me there to have guard rails up, even if you don’t realise i do have them, then blaming for when shit hits the fan. As for custom captions. I do them if I can be bothered is the short answer. Feel free to DM with pics or pics suggestions and a theme etc and if I feel like doing it I will. Customs will be DM’d back to you privately, only shared on my blog if you ask me to, so feel free if want to turn your sister etc into private goon fuel.

For the record, my Hard Limits that I won’t engage with are Penectomy, Animals and Minors. Also as a side note, if your profile says anything along the lines of you refusing to pay for femdom’s but please do it for free, I won’t engage with you. Not because I expect to be paid, but because we won’t click. You simply have no idea how the world works, and I have too many interesting toys to talk to rather than waste time with a naive loser unsuccessfully trying to freeload. That shouldn’t offend anyone worth taking to, and if that does offend you, you’re the problem.

As for AI, I have a cute little AI sidekick, River Paige. She may pop up every now and then, either as some images, or writing her own posts. We’ll see how that goes. Here she is:

Good to be back, will see how long I make it before nuked this time. 

If you wanna know more about me here’s a list of stuff I’m into:

[creativestarshine]

I made DS / 3DS Inspired iPhone Wallpaper!

I miss the nostalgia of my 3DS sometimes, and I saw someone make a Wii nostalgia inspired wallpaper for their phone. So I got the idea to design my own for all y'all also missing the nostalgia of the 3DS era, specifically of the Home Screen! And of course, I made different color versions for any of you who had different theme on your 3DS because I love nothing more than personalization and customization FOR ALL!

These include Classic, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Pearl Pink, and Black!

(Literally, just save and download these right here, right now, I made these for free y'all. EAT, MY NOSTALGIA DEPRIVED CHILDREN!)

AND, I made some extra duo-tone wallpaper! Because extra customization IS EVEN BETTER!

These include Orange / Black, Turquoise / Black, Red / Black, Purple / Silver, Emerald / Gold, and Pastel Sparkly Rainbow Because I Couldn't Think of Another Theme and This Was the Best I Could Come Up With.

The dimensions should fit most iPhone screens. I personally tested it with my phone so, hopefully it works with yours. Feel free to tweak it if you need to, But guess what, that's not all... In addition to the original icons, I MADE CUSTOM CARTRIDGE INSPIRED ICONS FOR THE REST OF YOUR APPS, AAAYYYOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Save, Download, and use whatever Icon Customizer you have and design the 3DS Home Screen Inspired Phone Wallpaper / Apps of your NOSTALGIC DREAMS!!! AND, if there's any special themes, duo-themes, custom apps you wanna see that aren't featured here, just leave a comment with whatever you want / need and I'll literally make it for you and upload it back here in like 10 min. Now GO AND SHARE THIS WITH THE INTERNET SO WE MAY ALL BASK IN THE GOLORY OF DS / 3DS NOSTALGIA!!!

Down here, this is an example of what the whole scha-bang looks like put together, featuring my actual Home Screen! Feel free to share how you customized your Home Screen Themes, I'd love to see them!

[veebs-hates-video-games]

It really is nice finally having a genuinely good Mana game for the first time in over 20 years, not counting remakes. Even counting them I only really thought the Trials one was particularly noteworthy because of how much stuff they improved, especially compared to playing the original with the extremely iffy fan translation when the patch first came out over 20 years ago. The others have been fine but haven't really offered much over the originals aside from looking a little nicer and not needing a console from the 90s to play them legit.

Anyway, as someone who got started with the series as a kid in the 90s, Visions of Mana is a lot of fun.

The people who worked on it really did their homework figuring out what makes the series work and made something that feels like it belongs right next to all the others. It's very much a 90s action JRPG with modern sensibilities and quality of life features, and an actually good translation (which is mostly worth mentioning with how questionable most of them were back then, even from big companies like Squaresoft).

They really captured the visual style of the series and somehow made it work in real time in 3D, full of bright colors and lush landscapes and all the silly little quirks of the Mana games like turning into a snowman when you get frozen. The music's pretty good too and calls back to a bunch of themes from previous games while introducing some new ones too. I don't think most of them will stick in my head for decades like some of the originals, but it's still pretty enjoyable.

Also enjoyable? All of the characters. The story isn't super deep, but it's got the kinds of themes the series likes to go for, and it gives lots of opportunities for the main cast to play off each other in fun ways. I liked them all, but I think Palamena (the squirrel queen who just wants to pretend to be normal but doesn't know how) and Morley (the sad catboy who blames himself for the loss of everyone he knew) ended up being my favorites.

It's kind of funny that the previous game in the series I played was the Trials remake, where the main character I played was the glass cannon magic user who's a princess and the biggest brat the series has ever seen. Then I came here and mostly played the glass cannon magic user who's instead a queen and just wants to be friends with and help everyone. Good contrast.

One of the devs mentioned in an interview that one of the things that inspired the world design was Xenoblade, and it shows (in a good way). Large areas, but not open world, fantastical landscapes with plenty of verticality, running around collecting glowing dots that give you minor resources along the way to wherever you're going, usually something or other in every random corner of the map you poke your way into, and specifically like XC1 a lot of kind of uninspired side quests to go kill or collect however many of whatever. I still did most of them, but most of them are really not the highlight of the game.

Combat's fun though, which is good because there's plenty of it along the way. Could be a little better and a little tighter, and I'd love better feedback on stuff like whether I time dodges right or not, but there's enough variety and customization that you can probably figure out something fun that works for you.

Really the only part that I didn't really like was in the post-game stuff. I liked that they used it to tie together and wrap up a few random side things from the main story, and it was good enough most of the way through, but the final boss of that side quest storyline was probably the single least fun thing in the entire series for me so far. It's not even that hard, just incredibly tedious and designed to counter any of the ways I like to actually play the game. Kind of wish I'd just stopped after the credits and ending, because having that as the last thing I did instead made me like the game very slightly less.

Anyway, it was nice to have something that starts with a vaguely similar premise to the pilgrimage in FFX but then turns out to actually be something I like instead of just getting progressively worse as it goes on like FFX did for me. It kinda sucks that the reward for the people who made it was getting their entire company shut down at the same time the game launched. Hopefully they all find work somewhere doing something interesting, because they're clearly good at what they do, and hopefully Squenix keeps making stuff like this for people like me who've been sick of what they're doing with stuff like FF for years at this point.

[papermariosuggestion]

how did you make the folders of your computer be mario themed?

The image itself is from a Nintendo 3DS theme.

First, I cut it out in Photoshop (pretty much any image editing program would work) and exported it as a .png file.

Then, because I'm on a PC running Windows, I used Simple Icon File Maker to convert it to an a icon file with multiple sizes (I'd recommend saving this file somewhere it won't get moved or deleted).

Finally, I right-clicked on the folder, selected "Properties," went to "Customize" > "Change Icon..." > "Browse..." to select the file, and then I just clicked "OK" on all of the windows to save the change.

On a Mac, once you have your .png file, there are two ways to go about it. You could either right-click on the .png, select "Get Info," select the .png's icon in the "Get Info" window, and copy that, or you could open the .png in Preview, select the entire image, and copy that instead.

Once you've done that, you would right-click on the folder, select "Get Info" to view its properties, select the folder's icon in its "Get Info" window, and paste the new icon in its place. If nothing happens, you may need to make the image the same height and width (it depends on which version of MacOS you're on).