#especially now I *know* they have really incorporated colours in their design

[s0kkix]

Would it be too much to ask, how do you draw your faces? / avoid same face syndrome ?

etc etc

not too much at all, thanks for the ask !

the way i think about faces is like a puzzle - the eyes, nose, lips, ears, chin, etc. being the puzzle pieces. it's a sort of "mix and match" game.

for example, these three characters all have a similar, strong nose and droopy eyes with puffed eyebags (except for azariel in the last pic), but thanks to different face shapes, body builds (how a character is built also reflects in their face) ears, hair and other details the characters can be told apart.

incorporating your character's personality into the face design is a great idea. perhaps the way they express a certain emotion is different to the way other characters do. maybe their resting face is happier-looking than another character's. the face is a big element of character design, because it's a tool of storytelling on its own.

take a look at my lucifer, for example. woah ! what the hell happened to them ? (he's still pretty though)

the face should entice, force the beholder to ask questions about the character and be curious about their story. i'm not saying every face you draw should suggest the oddest of backstories and personalities, but give each of your characters something unique to their face that would spark someone's interest.

now, i haven't exactly checked how well they stand out amongst eachother by removing the hair and the rest of the body, but i did draw a bunch of my characters together without colour on one paper.

my biggest tip is - exaggerate ! find a feature you want to stick out in your character's face and construct the rest of the face to compliment it. matching a face with the character's personality is also something you should know how to do, so i suggest doing research on shape and colour language.

it's important to take note of how faces look as people (or humanoid characters) age and grow older. wrinkles are one of the main ways i add character to ... well, my characters.

as much as i enjoy drawing wrinkles, i usually save them for "wise old" or nurturing characters. but of course, wrinkles appear on all sorts of people, especially if they have a fuller face.

(i am speaking specifically for my stylization which often strives to be somewhat anatomically realistic)

another tip is to reference life when you study ! human people have such a wide array of features you can utilize, it's amazing and beautiful ! just make sure you do research on ethnic features and when they appear on which face (unless you're going for something supernatural/humanoid, then the nose gallery is all yours /j).

also, don't drastically diversify faces all the time. siblings and family members often have similar features and it's okay to repeat them in these cases.

(this artwork is pretty old)

if your character and costume design is good, "same face syndrome" shouldn't worry you at all. avoiding this art community boogeyman is just one way of diversifying your art and adding spice to it. lacking this diversity really is no sin.

at worst, it's just going to look odd. for example, if you're so used to drawing young, wrinkle-less characters and attempt to draw an older character without any exercise prior to that, chances are this character is going to look oddly youthful, resulting in a sort of silly outcome.

but just like with everything, take your time ! changes and improvements don't happen overnight, and it takes time for you to get used to new things. with all that said, i'm wishing you the best of luck and happy drawing !

[ryuichirou]

What do you like about Idia?

I got so excited when I got your ask, Anon. And now it’s your problem because I’m probably going to talk a lot lol Thank you very much for asking and giving me an excuse to shower Idia with compliments.

And sorry for replying so late.

To be honest, Idia feels scarily close to being a perfect character for my liking, he kinda has all the qualities that I usually fall for + somehow manages to (unintentionally) incorporate vibes of so many other characters that I like. A friend that got us into twst knew that I’d instantly get invested, it’s almost embarrassing, to be honest lol

So the easy answer would be that I kinda like everything about Idia, but I am annoying, so here are some categories:

Visual

Idia’s design is so damn cute. I really like the combination of him being a lanky scrawny creature with bad posture and being almost “moe” level of adorable. His creepy smile and silly giggles and dark aura works very well with his pretty face with dark lips and this almost… pathetic regular expression. I think his face is what I like about him the most, both the expressiveness and the way it’s drawn in general.

His hair, obviously, are also a big part of it. It’s so unique. One of the first things I said when I started drawing Idia regularly was “oh I’m going to miss drawing his hair so much when we move on from twst” lol Because there is really no other character like that (well, there’s also Ortho, but you get what I mean). The shape, the physics behind it, the fact that it expresses Idia’s emotional state so nicely not only in colour (which is very pretty btw, both the blue and the pink hues, and the orange ones as well), but also in how it “acts”.  

Also, Idia’s overall silhouette is great. It’s just… his clothing choices are so fun. His long moe sleeves in his PE uniform, his striped shirt that he wears under his uniform, and of course the huge bell-shaped hooded jacket that hides his body. For some reason it’s, I don’t know, especially cartoony? In a good way, of course.

And lastly, his body language. I love how awkward he is and how much he tries to take as little space as possible when he is stressed out or scared.

So yeah, as someone who draws, I really enjoy Idia. I always have fun with him, and it’s a huge part of why I’m so into him.

Personality/quirks

He is so annoying 😔 … and I love every second of it lol

I love the fact that Idia isn’t just a lovable hikki otaku guy, and he has a lot of unpleasant qualities: he is an elitist, he is stubborn, he is rude sometimes, he makes assumptions about other people (well, he’s surprisingly perceptive so he’s usually right BUT). He likes to tease and to get on the other person’s nerves, and whenever he feels threatened, it’s not unusual for him to attack with negativity first or just to take a dig at his opponent. He is both self-deprecating and self-loving at the same time. But honestly this is what makes him so great. I usually draw him being freaked out by others, but in fact I really really love it when Idia is insufferable.

Because it a) makes sense considering his background; b) is written in a way that is very fun to read; c) is balanced out very well.

Idia isn’t malicious; he’s just socially inept and genuinely scared of others. He is an asshole, but in reality it is due to the fact that he doesn’t know how to connect with others and doesn’t want to seem desperate, plus gets overwhelmed by others very easily. In fact, I think he is much more empathetic than Azul, for example, but I won’t talk about it this time.

I always think about that line that Idia said when he was roasting Riddle for not knowing how to play videogames. I don’t remember the exact line, but it was something similar to “I’ve never seen anyone who is as much of a noob as you lmao but I’m a fucking loser with no friends so yeah makes sense”. I think it describes Idia’s view on others and himself quite nicely: torn between “everyone is shit” and “I am shit”. “I am a genius and everyone is wrong” and… you know.

I also love that Idia drowns himself in his coping mechanisms, but he is still surprisingly realistic about what’s going on in his life. He did create a robot to resemble and act as his diseased younger brother, but he never allowed himself to forget that it is indeed a robot. He doesn’t want to forgive himself, but he also is tired of feeling pain and doesn’t know how to cope with it. So his solution is extreme escapism, but also hyper-awareness about his own faults and never-ending state of excruciating guilt.

So yeah, he’s such a fun character to dive deeper into psychology-wise.

Love his serious moments, love his silly moments, love his complaints, love his emotional rants, love that he’s passionate about stuff that he likes, love that he critiques society in the pettiest ways possible, love his giggles, everything.

(He also reminds me of Katsu in a lot of ways so I am biased lol)

Story

Oh I’ve talked about how much I loved Ch6 a lot, so I won’t write another essay (physically stopping myself).

I’ll be brief and just say that I honestly would have loved Idia even without learning his backstory, because he is just that entertaining, but knowing it made me appreciate him on a whole other level. I love how much depth his character has, how nuanced it is and how beautifully his chapter ended. Seeing him getting closure was very satisfying, and I love that it didn’t change his character drastically overnight.

His love towards Ortho is a beautiful thing, ship-wise or not.

So yeah I kinda just blacked out at some point, I think lol I can talk about Idia forever. He is just an extremely enjoyable character to both read and write.

[mr-laveau]

-hands you my Love listener and also all my actual love ily booboo-

One. They have been called Love and/or Asset and will name themselves Ariel.

Two. Unfortunately, we already know all there is to their backstory 😭

Three. They’ve played around with the idea of lots of aesthetics and have settled on a sort of pastel, casual look with academia elements.

Four. They’re gender-fluid, so they switch from male, femme, and androgynous presenting on a whim.

Five. (Now that I’m really reading these questions, I’m so sorry for sending you an Android 😂) Marcus is an anime nerd in the worst way, so Ariel was deffo made with East-Asian features.

Six. They were made to look in their early twenties.

Seven. Slender and androgynous.

Eight. A Scorpio, though I’m not confident about that answer, I’ll admit.

Nine. Anton, who is the only person they feel likes them, and James, who is the only person who they feel respects them.

Ten. They’re still discovering hobbies and interests but so far, they’re enjoying listening to music and learning piano.

Eleven. Hmm, I think it’d be interesting if it was Psyche, Greek Goddess of the Soul, since it could be argued whether they have one.

Twelve. RedactedAudio 💕

Thirteen. Ariel is a sex-neutral/averse ace, so when they do sex without the obsession-code, it’s done with curiosity and the partner’s pleasure as the main priority.

Fourteen. Hmmm… that’s a new question for me. I think they actually don’t know yet.

Fifteen. I am Not a Robot by Marina and the Diamonds. It unironically makes them feel a lot of things.

Sixteen. Lowkey Natalie Portman’s character in Ex Machina.

Seventeen. Almost like a stock photo or a model’s shoot. They are symmetrical and physically attractive, beautiful almost, but there’s something impersonal about the stiff way they hold themselves and the lack of emoting on their face.

Eighteen. They really want to meet a dog. EDM music confused them and holds up appeal. They wish they could try coffee and lemons.

Thank you, my love 🧡

LaVeau-gue - design #003 - Asset/Love - Ariel - Lexi Sun

You are most welcome Lexi, always an honour to get to work with my first redacted friend, especially when it comes to this bean, Ariel! I still remember a few of the details from our previous conversations in regards to how you see them so I hope this does them justice!

Design Notes

Approaching Ariel's design, I had already had remembered conversations with you in regards to previous inspirations you'd mentioned for your take on Love. I also added in a bit of my own inspos to the mix to see what would take

For Ariel's design I wanted to keep in mind the solid collection of notes you'd written up so I could incorporate as much as I could whilst also condensing the design so I could make it simple to redraw (as I do with some of my other designs). My main focus when getting into this design however was to create a human and android Skin similar to how I'd made my Asset, Prim.

A big inspiration I had for them was Jenni from My Life As a Teenage Robot and Hatsune Miku so I decided that white metallic plates reminiscent of Jenni would work and blue hair similar to Miku would tie things together. Additional, I also chose to include colours from the PM title cards to establish that visual parallel .

As for clothing, I followed your instructions as best as I could, creating an androgynous fit that was pastel and had hints of academic elements! On top of that, I incorporated musical notes as a reference to the singing Ariel from the Tempest and the little mermaid does and to reference her proclivities for piano music. To reference back to your choice of Psyche as a god to represent Asset, I included butterfly designs on their overalls. To balance the whole pallette I combos the PM pallette and the pallette of their clothes which ended up being pretty readable overall! Another fun fact is that I also ended realizing that Ariel shares a clothing pallette with my Caelum!

Wanna have your listener designed by me? Check out my rules for LaVeau-gue and send an ask my way! Also, currently I am looking for money to replace my computer so any interested parties who wanna help can check out my commissions!

[lazodiac]

It's time again to look at Thunder Junction's cards and try and divine where each and every one of these bad boys are from.

Also just a note in case people are curious; since Tumblr has a 30 image limit per post, I'll be doing all of The Big Score at the end, after all the colours and stuff. It's my prerogative and I'll do as I please. If you missed the first part, you can find it here! So without further ado, it is time for...

BLUE

While I don't think EVERY mount is from Thunder Junction Proper... newts ARE a creature that shows up in the west. I was initially thinking this could be for Eldraine, especially given it belongs to an archmage, but... ultimately, I think this is a native to the plane.

Another native, and dare I say this is a CHARISMATIC crab. I love the crystals on its back! I also love the blue cacti nearby it? Those are real by the way!

There aren't many turtle-men in Magic. Three, in fact, before this one; the Lagoon Sage, a Quandrix student, and a Kappa from Kamigawa. The Kappa has a VERY distinct look, the Quandrix is a sea turtle, and the Lagoon Sage is a snapper just like the Thunder-Thief over here... and I'm gonna make a called shot and say this is from Bloomburrow as a result!

Homarid are a Dominaria specialty, so this racist bastard is absolutely from there.

Djinn of this type are only found on Tarkir, so this one is easy. He's taken a break from his dragon-infested plane to relax under a waterfall martial artist style, and that's just kinda fun.

This is a tricky one, since the ability is pretty plane agnostic, and the design doesn't evoke much in it... but her collar DOES have the typical three-fang Dimir tell, and it'd fit both colour and what she's doing, so lets go with Ravnica.

Sadly a cursory Wiki glance tells me only that this guy is from America.

... okay okay, taking this seriously; the wings and the scroll and the steps, the name, all the flavour suggests this is from Amonkhet for me. It could be from elsewhere, but this feels the most "correct" for lack of a better term. I wish cards like this would get flavor text reprints down the line though...

These are some home-grown ghosts, and we know from various other stories (Gideon, Elspeth, etc) that when you die you go to the afterlife of the plane you're on... so these are some newly "born" natives.

These unfortunate individuals are from the dead plane of Oregon.

... what? I already used that joke? Okay fine. There really isn't any actual signifiers here, and the only humanoid in the art is too indistinct to tell. Given the content of the card is trying and failing to ford one of Thunder Junction's mighty rivers, I'm calling this card "native to the plane" for lack of anything else appropriate.

Oh hey it's everyone's favorite running gag from Ravnica. Fblthp is an easy one, so instead of elaborating more on our mono-eyed friend instead I'll bring up a question I want any of you reading this to answer.

Didn't they say during the initial preview teasers that there was an important plot event happening in the background of this card? That never bore fruit and I can't remember the exact preview stream I heard it, but I swear I did. I want someone to confirm this for me. I'm abusing my power.

Regrettably, the flavor text makes this spell be sourced from Oko's Home Plane. I do love this weird tumbleweed creature though!

God I hate Oko he's such a scum bag (derogatory).

A personal favorite character of mine, Geralf is an Innistradi born and raised, here to investigate the Thunder of the plane- as well as test how mana bonds work for planebound folk now that they have access to planar travel. Good luck, sir.

An obvious native of the plane. I quite like the flavor of this card as well by the way, it's just a clever way to incorporate the geysers you would occasionally see in the old west.

Another Thunder Junction native! It's wild how many of these there actually are, but wild animals do make up a bulk of cards in Magic so it's not THAT unreasonable.

Fun lore tidbit; allegedly the Thunder only started after the Omenpaths opened up. No one has lived here before that so no one can confirm that is true, and this flavor text suggests otherwise.

One of the only cards showcasing the least important members of Oko's gang of ruffians! Kaervek and Satoru busting out of jail thanks to the help of Annie Flash. The framing of the card makes it feel more like Kaervek's doing the real world (valid, Satoru is a loser this entire story) so I'm gonna call it for Zhalfir here- and yes even though technically everyone from Zhalfir is from Dominaria, it's a plane all its own now. I make the rules here!

The Fomorian made star-key to open up their vault on Thunder Junction, I feel like it is safe to say this was made here. It's got little arcs of Thunder and even looks like a deputy star, so it fits the vibe.

Fun fact; being a six pointed star, plus the fact that in the story they mentioned the sixth slot started glowing purple, I briefly had the idea that they might be implying the Fomorian's know of Purple magic and we'll get it in the big Space set we're getting down the line. Then I remembered Cosmium is purple and a major energy source for the Fomorion people, so nevermind.

I can't confidently say this is from Bloomburrow, given we don't know how big the people of that plane can get- so far they've maxed out at Badger and Fox- but I really don't know where this guy could be from otherwise! Maybe Ravnica? So lets call this Bloomburrow until corrected otherwise.

Incidentally this is one of my favorite pieces of art in the set. Love this fucking guy.

Beyond all the art signifiers, I believe it was straight up said on twitter this is a Therosian Sphinx, so she's from Theros. Good for her. Why is she wearing spurs...?

I'm fairly confident this is meant to depict Stella Lee, and she's from the Atiin people, so that's where this is from! Rundo meanwhile sounds like a Ravnica, but that's just some trivia.

This one I'm not fully sure on. The little bird like flecks of white in his magic, the watery energy... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before, but I can't quite place it. The red and blue suggests Izzet but then he's a Slickshot, the red-blue faction on Thunder Junction. I'm gonna go with my gut and say Ravnica, though.

Shit like this is why I wish we'd gotten a planeswalker guide...

Blue, so far, has some of the most easy and obvious ones to place, and for this I'm thankfully. This guy is a Stitcher, so he's from Innistrad. Easy as.

She's got some of the Sterling Company aesthetic going on, but I'm a stickler for stupid jokes so I'm gonna say she's from Zendikar. The armor could evoke Sea Gate, and they've always been good with ropes so why NOT translate that to combat?

Like with the earlier ghosts, dead-then-revived means you're native to Thunder Junction... but also this guy is clearly an Obscura from New Capenna, using some of his old magic, so I'mma call it for the big city here.

Oko's big bad gang preparing for the heist of the life-time. Since it's Oko's big idea it's from Oko's stupid plan.

The sort of misty blasts of fire and ice we're seeing here is aesthetically similar to the "gunfire" magic of New Capenna. I love this guy by the way.

Hey wait a second Ashiok can't do stuff like this. They can only read nightmares, not minds!

YEah for those of you who don't know, the Ashiok in this set is actually Jace in disguise! So this is from home-grown celtic Vryn mind-shredding. Our hero(?) ladies and gentlehommes.

An actual Sterling Company goon, though at least this one has a funny joke to his card. I still really like the work they did in making sure every weapon used in the set has the needed arcing loop for Thunder to channel through it.

Oh right the reason why we're here. I'm gonna say New Capenna again, because there's basically no defining traits here. Also god I just realized he's missing the front brim of his hat and it looks terrible. Graywater pay your men properly they can't even afford complete hats!

It took me a bit to realize what was happening in this card. The lady in the back is only choosing the final Spree option here, swapping around the Outcaster and the Hellspur's clothing. Rude!

Clothing swap spells seems like a funny prank to pull at magical college, so Arcavios is where this is going.

I think in cases where I just cannot make any reasonable assumptions based on art, I should look at mechanics. Flashback is usually in Innistrad... but this lady's neckline is WAY too exposed for that Even accounting for the new plane... honestly I give up, the only real identifying factor here is her little lockpick device, which... kinda looks Kamigawan? Lets go with that.

The vibe, the way she wears her hat, and the little phone cord(?) on her belt makes me think of New Capenna. Look some of these are really difficult and I gotta go by vibes!

And that's the 30 card limit, give me a half second for part two!

[xemnote]

I re-made my clown-sona yesterday! 🤡

I'm super happy with it, especially since I really struggle with designing outfits and colour theory.

Really didn't feel like doing full body art so there's just a messy sketch for now.

Little background lore for the design process:

Each sona of me represents different parts of who I am and my clown partly represents this feeling I sometimes get when I'm super tired. My body can feel very heavy, or I feel suuuuper tiny in my bed. Once I felt like my wrists were stick thin but also super heavy. It's an odd experience and I don't know what it is but It felt fitting for my clown to be able to change their body like that and represent this weird experience I have.

Sometimes my brain speeds up to overwhelming speeds when I'm tired or stressed, wonder if I can incorporate that somehow too!

[fangirlshrewt97]

D20 - Dungeons and Drag Queens Ep 1 Notes

Hey @lurkerviolin,

My notes ran too long so I thought I’d post it as a text post 😅. I do realize some of these are incoherent, and lacking my usual amount of emojis but I typed it in my laptop instead of phone so...

Also I think i kept switching up all their pronouns cause I wasn’t sure which was the right one? 😅😅

Anyways here we go:

This theme song is already so chaotic lol

God still so strange to see Brennan all made up, but he looks great

It's so nice to see how the Queens are all so engaged. Brennan is radiating such incredible Storyteller energy right now, it's amazing.

Lololol oh no Monet! "We have someone who works in identity theft" lol

Jujubee is so entranced as Brennan is describing Everdeep. Mood.

Oh my gosh the Queens are so funny. The riffing about the gem's origins.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR WITCHES!

Hmm yeah she did talk to her own mother like that ...

The way it was written by Tuna Turner! I don't know how much the Dropout people asked the Queens to lean on puns but they are doing amazing. Bob especially is SO into it.

The growl from Alaska lol

Hmm, has Bob played before? They seem more accustomed to the game play.

Ok yeah I think Bob might be my favorite so far

Jujubee is a close second, they are so enthusiastic but so lost. It's endearing. "We went to Cher's last first concert to gether." lolol

Cause they're an inch from 5' feet lolololol oh my gooood.

These interjections are such a gift. They just make the story so much funnier

Lieutenant Alvin the chipmunk lol cute!!

Jujubee forcing Brennan to narrate as Alvin was such a Mood. Yes, make him work!

Zaria Hex: Beware her death drop *I snorted, oh my god, ingenious*

SHE ATE THE SEED LOLOLOLOL

"9.30" "Yeah, it's late for you Grandma" lol

Alaska's growling accent is an excellent character choice

Bob entering the bar and immediately describing what they are seeing, are we sure they are completely new to this?

Oh my god I love Kashra, look at that build!

Daggy is also really handsomely designed.

Makes sense for the two fighters to be able to down the drink no problem.

Aww two nat ones

"If your perception's a one, that means you are delusional" lol

Oh my god Jujubee is too cute, with how often they get confused.

A racotour is when you contour with a rat LOLOLOL

"Oh, he's a pimp"

This is a greatseason for newcomers to DnD. Brennan is such a good teacher

Bump is kinky! LOL

Gertrude is so clever. I love how quickly Bob and Monet understood the concept of the game.

A 24?! She is going to pulvarize him!

Lololol, just so you know when you turn 36 yourknees know when it's going to rain.

Idk who Michelle visage it, but I like how Jujubee says Brennan. Yeah he may be the DM guiding them in the adventure, but to them, he's also like a younger kid/brother-type.

I remember Raphaniel casting Detect thoughts in Ep 1 of the ravening war and just getting blasted with horny thoughts lol

"Twyla! Don't look around! Don't freak out!

Oooh Wallace... I like that idea, yeah his clasp is a different colour cause he's an undead pretending not to be. Solid guess.

Oh damn they went from initiative to beast assault. Zero to 60 indeed.

A Cat Tree??? So out of left field. God, you got to love first time players just doing the wildest moves.

Amazing Grapple. Like a To-Go container.

It's probbaly Swallace, drop the 'S', no one will know . LOLOL

This Mark Ronson gag is also so funny.

Cousin KK, incredible.

Ooh, Brennan is so good about tying far flung stories together.

Aww Jujubee really liking Brennan'sflowery descriptions! Cute.

I really like how Brenan incorporates all their random additions into his narrative. As a DM, really letting the players's additions become part of his world. It's very kind.

Lol, the caption for the guardian being "Stoned for days, Darling". All these taglines are so clever!

Oh my god, the camera jumping back and forth between Monet and Jujubee instead of Brennan as he is trying to do a play. Far more entertaining, good call Director/editor

Alaska's voice for Princess is so fitting and so funny.

"Just straight up the same one?" Judgey much, stone guy?

Brennan is so good with descriptions of what is happening.

OOOOH They look so into it in the next episode. This looks like a cool side quest, can't see what comes next.

[drowningactually]

My Review of Fashion Dreamer as a Fashion Game in 2023

I will start off expressing I did not go into or still expect Fashion Dreamer to be a Style Savvy experience. I knew it would be a different game and concept I understood that when it was advertised as an ‘influencer’ game. I do not need it to be another Style Savvy. What I do expect however are certain gameplay features that should be standards for a fashion game and I will be comparing it to various fashion games in this post when exploring my opinions.

So, Fashion Dreamer came out and within two days of its release I got to platinum rank and reached the credits and I now have a lot to say in regard to how it is as a fashion game.

I will first give points for successes in the game:

Graphics: they’re wonderful. The character models and colours are great, clothing has really improved and there is minimal ugly pixelation in designs. Environments are also visually beautiful.

Music: the soundtrack and sound design is really nice; I like Cocoon Act and the bingo music best. I also really like how you can give nice soundtracks for your showroom.

Clothing: The clothing we have so far is really modern and stylish, and while I hope we get more styles especially for unique fashion like gothic, lolita and rock there is already some great items to use.

You can play as both types of muse and have up to three. They also remain under the same brand you already have which will be good or bad to different people. I like also that its ‘Type A’ and ‘Type B’ instead of male or female, it suits how artistic, and gender non-conforming fashion can be (however I recognize there are still major issues with this in game which I will get to about gender expression…)

Type B fashion is also good, and again I hope they continue to expand the clothing options we have what we started with is already a good and it’s great to see type B fashion being given a chance to shine for once in a fashion game.

Making a brand logo has an array of cool pre-made images to utilize which is nice.

So those are things I think really stand out that I like. My list of things that need to be improved is going be more of an essay than just a bullet point list.

The Fashion Itself:

I will start with the blatant disappointment in the use of fashion in this fashion game. First of all, to launch without key accessories such as bags, necklaces, bracelets, and gloves is just not acceptable. Any fashion game would have these staples they elevate outfits immensely and it is so disappointing to see they are not there at all. It’s like having a fashion doll who only comes with a moulded-on top, cheap plain skater skirt and plastic slip-on heels. Where is the rest of the outfit? I know some items incorporate necklaces and leg warmers but they’re scarce as it is. You can’t even layer items of clothing! Layering is a key element of any styling game; how can you not include it?

My next point is the designing feature is very foundational. You get an item, and you change its colours. That is the extent of designing clothes. There is a colour slider feature for clothing but its not the most flexible working one, the other colours are by pre-mixed palettes most of which you unlock through making lookits. No way to add patterns or prints or graphics or decals. Which means essentially, we are all designing the same clothes and flooding the game with them as there is only a finite amount of colour combinations you can make. No real personalisation to your items if you can’t customize them any further. Imagine Fashion Model by Ubisoft (where you design the clothes that the models wear) at least allowed you to add some unique patterns to the clothes you designed in that game (this game came out in 2008 for the DS.)

Which brings me to my next point, the lack of a way to design your own images, icons or even patterns. Even Animal Crossing New Horizons allows you to make custom designs. Imagine how much depth would automatically be added to designing clothes if you could use your own self-made prints and patterns or graphics. Not only would it mean more varied designs to show off and share, but it would allow some leeway for cultivating styles. You take that plain t-shirt sample and make it gothic with your own custom drawn graphic, or that plain straight dress into light academia by adding personal decals. I get that since the game is online mostly there is a need to censor any inappropriate behaviour and custom graphics may make that harder, but why cut out something so integral to the process of designing clothes because of moderation issues. Just add a report item feature for players to use if they see any offensive designs (Animal Crossing has it!) And with decals having the ability to add bows, jewels/gems, ribbons, lace or chain etc. would also add good variety and its such a simple process to do.

Influencers set trends and create them. You can’t do that when we’re all designing the same items of clothing with the same repetitive colours.

I also want to add here (because I don’t know where else to say) that I have the personal opinion (and this may be controversial) that your showroom should only be able to showcase items you yourself have designed. Thus consolidation the idea of a brand, and give players a reason to explore show rooms more if they know each one will have unique items from that player’s brand, and give players a reason to build a unique personal brand in the first place (albeit with the very limited designing options.)

Gameplay features

Immediately I have to add onto everyone else that the sort of function is a clunky joke. Each item of clothing already is called its style (i.e sandals are called sandals; a top is called a blouse) so why can’t we search for them individually. Or search by colour palettes since you know what colour an item is as the game is recognizes this when you achieve a colour combination at the end of making a lookit. The game already lags HARD when creating lookits, maybe it wouldn’t if I could go straight to a shoes tab and find the one pair of heels I want without having to scroll through everything else.

I at least like I can change the sorting to having my brand at the top (there should be an option to sort by all brands anyway) which is nice but still having a much more concise and organised wardrobe would be ideal and make making lookits way more fun.

Customisation while okay is still really lacking too. The fact that you unlock hairstyles and new makeups completely randomly (and in my experience very very rarely, to the point I thought it was not possible or bugged and not implemented) is just sabotaging the whole idea of customization. That’s not even touching upon how Fashion Dreamer is missing out on the concept of styling by not allowing you to also style NPC’s hair and makeup when making lookits (this goes for online players too.) Having a real clear way to unlock more unique hairs and makeups and not the BS ‘try on’ feature should just be expected, what other fashion game would hold back these features of customization, something the game should be elevating.

Also, just really stupid to not have a way to record your own lookits and outfits. Just let me do that or give me better sorting for clothing as changing my player outfit is a daunting drag otherwise.

I already stated I don’t need this game to be Style Savvy but why is there at least not any kind of real objective? When you take in how underdeveloped the existing designing and style features of Fashion Dreamer are it makes it hard to stay engaged with the game, I keep asking myself what am I even doing any of this for? With the raking in the likes and followers its more of an idle game if anything. I make a design, I set it as my hot pick choice, and I collect some likes form other players. I repeat. That’s it. If the game had a story or consistent reason to talk to NPC’s outside of being blessed with the rare chance of getting a new eye colour the vapid designing element might be more interesting. The game even has a ‘quests’ tab but doesn’t do a single thing with it post-tutorial. I get this could just was made to just be a dress up game, but as I have already stated the dress up options are so minimal and basic its like playing a shitty mobile game.

Which is something other people have already pointed out. If Fashion Dreamer started out as a mobile game it all makes sense, the bingo, gatcha and vending machines, as well as online element and basic customization fits the mobile game mould. And yet even if it was meant to be, there are stronger (albeit predatory) mobile fashion games (looking at you Love Nikki) that do the fashion game concept so much better and even incorporate a story. For £40 I expected my mobile import fashion game to have a little more substance and try and do something interesting. Regardless of if this is not Style Savvy, Syn Sophia still made those games, those successful fashion games that did a lot of cool and fun things with the genre. Have they stopped trying with Fashion Dreamer? Is this the best they could do? Those games were so successful due to the gap in the market for girly fashion games, and now in 2023 there is still that gap I expected Syn Sophia to take advantage of that and do something exciting with the genre or at least try. There are more ‘girly’/casual and cosy gamers than ever especially on the switch, there is a market demand here so why not fulfil it?

I quickly also want to point out how disappointing it wad to reach the long and boring end credits within less than ten hours of gameplay. I really felt like I had experienced are really good game there /s. But seriously the brokenness of progression or more the lack of progression is what makes this game not even a sandbox type of experience, there is not really anything to do. The three unlockable cocoons are pretty, but void of anything interesting, they’re just the same format (main area, pop up area, salon) with varied but mostly uninteresting gatcha materials to obtain.

And while I appreciate that you don’t have to pay for Nintendo Online to play online (if you did, I would be outraged since single player is so dull on its own that paying for the game and membership on top would just be outright theft really) the lack of being able to interact with other players outside of requesting lookits makes the game feel kind of lonely? There should at least be a little more push for social interaction, some sort of chat or way to see live players in real time. Bring in a sense of community and that will push the idea of sharing designs and brands and give people a reason to play more.

Finally, while I expressed that distinguishing styles by ‘Type A’ and ‘Type B’ is good, the face that you cannot cross styles over, meaning male characters can’t wear any female character’s clothing is just well…. Stupid? I admit I am not a game developer or modeller, but just make one body type and add breasts and give the option to play as breasts or no breasts? The game already accounts for clothing being on small/tall bodies, so made it account for tits or no tits. There now everyone has access to all clothing styles, and we don’t need to feel like there is an imbalance in type A clothes over type B clothes. It’s just a really weird design choice to separate clothing styles when body types are not varied, the only differences is slightly broader shoulders, faces cross over as the face customization is just the same, so stopping male characters from wearing feminine clothes is an outdated game play choice that limits everyone (and surely results in developers having to do a bit more work separating styles?) Also allow for more diverse body types like come on.

Conclusion

Right now, this is as much as I can summarise with my feelings. The game just does feel incomplete, or like a scam. A free mobile game ported to console with no new additions riding off the idea it’s a real ‘fashion’ game. And by all means I truly believe you absolutely can enjoy the game the way it is, I will still continue to play and make a design here and there, but I think all players should know that what they have is hardly the foundations of a fashion game and for the price they deserve better and way more that what they got. There is always room for improvement and criticism without devaluing your own personal enjoyment and experience.

[simply-windy]

HI HI ITS SO FUN TO TALK TO YOU AGAIN!!! it’s really fun talking to you anyways :DD

how many times am i gonna thank you for feeding my phighting hyperphix with almost every one of your blogs? no idea. am i ever gonna stop? no, no i don’t think so

I LOVE YOUR ART TOO ITS SO COOL <3333 your style is super nice and all of your designs are pretty cool!!! especially with how you incorporate other characters’ elements / colors n stuff into to symbolize their relation!!!

how have you been these past couple weeks my friend?

- 💥🥭 (hehe questions questions!! always nice catching up :3) (can you tell i’m having fun the the coloured text? hehehehe-)

WHY DO YOU SEEM TO KNOW HOW TO PULL MY HEARTSTRINGS AND MAKE ME WANNA CRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHY ARE YOU SO NICE TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE STOOOOOOOOOOOOP IT <33333 Listen I'm not only feeding YOUR hyperphixation, but feeding my OWN hyperphixation as well!!!! We're both being fed well in this house!!!!! Also thank you for liking my art so much!!!! I love trying to put little bits of symbolism/elements into my designs bc it's just something I enjoy doing! If I ever make a personal design for Coil, I plan on trying to add little elements of Skate and Steampunk into it! Also I've uh- I haven't been the best if I'm being honest, still not feeling the best right now but I'm trying. I'm hopefully gonna push out a doodle or something today if I'm lucky!!!!! I should prolly reblog some of my old art as well. I might write somethin' up too! But I haven't decided what to write. I am happy with this new Phighting oc I made.... Cello beloved you're soooo girlboss people should TALK TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully you've been faring better than I have! [Also yes I can tell you're enjoying that colored text so much]

[neepin]

Pudding and Waugh post lesgoo (1/2)

Part 2

Waugh:

Hold on tight cause the creation of this cat girl is one hell of a ride!

Waugh is a character created initially on this panel drawn by pond. Which shows Tord’s profile picture on newgrounds being a cat girl

I then created this reference sheet to flesh out this design, made as a joke between us

She is intended to be a parody character, based on Mary-Sue crappy eye bleeding coloured cringe OCs.I have so much love in my heart for these types of characters.

Now I posted this, and here are some screenshots depicting this spiral into her becoming a character I genuinely love. Keep in mind I did not yet have a name for her yet

This is how she got her name

So yes! Her naming credits go to blackcinder666. A typo of the word ‘waifu’. It seems like such a perfect fit for a character like her

And so her story continues, with her being incorporated into bits of the comic

I was overwhelmed by just how much people seemed to like her!!!!! Seeing fanart was such a lovely thing to see, especially considering she was an oc

What lovely drawings, agh <33

And I think that’s that! Waugh is Tord’s shitty anime girl oc who he draws a lot and loves very much. As for the other one..

Pudding:

Pudding was created simply because when you have an online friend, and they are an artist to some degree as well, surely it just makes sense to create ocs together? Maybe thats just me with my experience of Internet friends, but ah well!

Tord tells edd all about Waugh and he figures why not make a cat lady himself. Her name is pudding and I love her so dearly. She follows general design similarities to Waugh, what with being very pretty, cute and somewhat anime inspired I guess ?

This the first drawing of Pudding (she has changed a little bit now)

In my head of course waugh would like girls because you know. It’s Tord we’re talking about dw I can make a joke about this common fetishisation of wlw characters because I’m a lesbian and all that I’m well aware of these implications and due to this being mentioned when explaining his oc to edd, Edd would send Tord an idea for a girlfriend for Waugh the next day.

the characters themselves evolve from a simple idea by a long shot. Tord and edd actually consider the world they live in, where they work for a living etc. I like this idea that as they talk more about the characters, they almost become similar to sonas for them ? Tord and Edd’s OCs aren’t really ‘them’, and nor would they consider them such. But they definitely put a bit of themselves into the characters. Because that’s what I did for the pond characters, and I gotta be able to slip in some meta aspect somehow !!

I’ll continue to explain pudding and Waugh more in depth, and as characters in the second part! But that is the general outline. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! i genuinely love these two characters more than you could know!!!

[wlwsuperheroine]

I just finished ms. marvel the show for the first time. so short answer is: wowwww but long answer is: it has some positives and negatives.

Let’s start with negatives.

Changing Kamala’s powers. I know kamala isn’t as popular as some long time heroes but embegging is her whole gimmick! It’s like if someone took Peter Parker and gave him the powers of a snail and was called snail-man. And her powers are so cool too. I was so excited to see CGI stretching and polymorphic powers, you can do the hands part via literally iPhone camera, how could the whole marvel budget didn’t cut it?? No we got to have… light, for some reason. I’m just scared that other adaptation are going to do the same like in some new comics or games or something, I really, really hope not

Misrepresentation. This one is debatable, because as Muslim, the bar we have for American shows to represent us isn’t even on the floor, it’s lower, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that they didn’t 100% mess it up. But still there are so many minor technicalities, that might seem minor for someone outside of the religion/culture but for those are part of it, it’s a really big deal. Like some scenes, doing wudu with nail polish on, posting in the masjid, a dad telling his son to stop praying, so many words used in the wrong context, the whole djinn concept just shows that there was no Muslim opinion taken into consideration during filming.

the so many love interests. Like, 3, seriously, one wasn’t enough?? There shouldn’t even be one, but I digress. And just all the scenes involving the romantic subtext of each one literally made my blood boil. Literally this whole point could summarised to just the boys, they were so unnecessary.

And now let’s get to the positives, because despite the points made previously, I really enjoyed this show.

The representation. As I said before, it’s perfect, but it’s not bad. Then again, the only thing we share is us being Muslim. I’m Arab where kamala is Pakistani and these things heavily affect how people practice Islam, and also I live in a Muslim, Arab country where almost everyone is Muslim where kamala live the US, a place where she’s a minority. So of course there will be differences between our experiences. But I love how many arabic phrases were spoken during the show, the Eid scene, the masjid scene, the whole wedding episode. It was all so good and nice and representative.

My favourite thing about the show honestly is how artistic and stylised it is. They weren’t very consistent with it, but it was still good. All the different fonts and styles for the ms marvel intro was so amazing, I want to screenshot every frame. The credits are so well done too. When they want to show how daydreamy kamala is and there’s doodles around and different pieces of media incorporated in that. It was all so creative. The intro captain america scene was one of my top 5, to be honest

I love the costume design, especially kamala’s. They were all so modest, obviously. But they also showed Kamala’s personality, through her drawing and patches and just the colours and everything. They were so many stars and bolts, It’s just so similar to how I dress.

The progression of her relationship with her mom. I genuinely think that there’s no greater or stronger or closer bond between two people in this whole wide world than between a mother and her eldest daughter, and this show is only one of the many many examples of that. And it’s so relatable and realistic, like her mom being overprotective and hovering because that’s the result of generational trauma and how her mom was too distant, and she was just doing her best and just wants the best for her daughter and Kamala is such a sweet girl. So many of their scene together made my heart melt.

Centralising not just family, but the matriarchs in the family was such a smart move. because mothers truly are the ones who make families and heritage and everything is always tied back to them. Something something the souls of mothers residing in their daughters. The whole partition train episode had me bawling my eyes out.

The rest is just some things I love about kamala generally in every adaptation/timeline/universe

I just really love how unapologetically nerdy and dorky kamala is. She’s such a fangirl, she loves comics and superheros (usually women) and of course captain marvel. And she engages in that, she draws and make projects and her whole room is decorated in what interests like her. I just really love people like that, both fictional and in real life. (I may be projecting but I feel like it’s giving adhd, like it’s giving hyperfixation.)

Showing the brown girl experience of idolising older white women and wishing that we could do everything they do, but still believing that we can’t because of a variety of reasons but then overcoming that and doing the things you wanna do your way anyway

Just how good kamala is. She’s so polite but still speaks her mind respectfully. She helps people all the time even when she doesn’t have to. she’s always so nice and sympathetic to everyone. And even though she can become a giant, that is her greatest strength because people always want to repay her goodness and they always want to help her back. And it’s just so heartwarming.

[cpunkbubby]

i wanna hear more about your headcanons for the garages :3c those designs are neat! I'm especially curious about baby triumphant, what a look

ITS 12 AM RN SO I CANNOT RAMBLE COHERENTLY

I don't pay attention 2 popular fanlore & I never participate it, so all my ideas r combined from their names, stats, & whatever other info is on their wiki that isn't lore (ex. Their blood type, any other teams they used 2 b on, etc) ALSO i just started designing the players, so it will change & fluctuate.

Baby's look stemmed 100% from Cecil Palmer from Welcome to Nightvale. I am unsure WHY, but that's where I wanted to lean like... their fashion in2. The word "Triumphant" means, u know, having won something or being successful which makes me think of bragging or being "egotistical".

So, I made Baby a very "outgoing, bright & clashing colours, in ur face" type of character. NOT a "i am better than everyone", just holding themselves higher than... maybe most people would.

Also not shown in the doodles: Baby uses a walker (in my mind anyway) & has cornrows in the shape of a star. As shown below

I based Serene Moss mostly around their name. A very calm & relaxed person & also they r moss. Nothing more 2 it! They have a moss beard & moss covering most of their body + plants & leaves weaved in their hair & stuff. The word "Serene" also makes me think of a god?? I don't know WHY, but I made them wear like... white robes almost. You can't really see it in the doodle, but like imagine a greek statue. That's them. (& now I think they SHOULD actually be a greek statue.... update on serene moss: they are literally a statue covered in moss)

River Clembons.. gestures. They're a river. In my design I wanted obviously a water character, but less of a coherent water character(?) Like not a human-shaped character that's water, more like a blob-shaped character that's water. That makes no sense. (+ it's not shown well in my doodles) I really wanted River to be very fluid.

1of my 1st ideas was the idea of them shooting the ball out of their arm, instead of them throwing it. I thought that was kind of cool. They also have fish & rocks & stuff floating in them because... theyre water! & then as I was drawing, I wanted w give them more fish features. river -> fish.

Mindy Rahman changes a lot, I cannot keep a design 4 them. But they r buff. That's all I have so far & a bob haircut.... maybe.

also quick thoughts 4 SOME of the other players:

Sheev Shriffle - uses shivs. Or something. Sheev reminds me of shiv, that's immediately what I thought when I saw the word. I need 2 incorporate shivs SOME HOW.

Deion Gamage - is black. That's all I have so far. I am black, so they have 2 b black 2. This is how this works trust me.

Timmy Vine - needs a plant theme. Their last name is literally Vine. Eitherthat OR theyre a viner cuz thats funnier.

& THATS ALL I HAVE 4 RN

[thatgaiagirl]

Hello yes I made an entire new Twisted Fate design in like a week instead of focusing on other things because brainrot, and now I’m gonna make a long-ass post about it

TLDR; He doesn’t look enough like a pirate so I tried to make him look more like a pirate whilst sticking to the spirit of his OG design because it’s not BAD, I just feel like it isn’t Bilgewater enough. Also forgive the lack of rendering and basic-ass spell effects I was more focused on the design aspect so. Flat colours it is. And my art style is very different from the League style so there may be whiplash there too but I digress. And, of course, this is all based on my personal opinions and biases in what I think looks good, your mileage will vary.

Ok now for more design specifics so click if you want the full low-down on my thought process here.

- Each individual aspect of Twisted Fate’s original design can equally be replaced by a more ‘piratey’ version without significantly changing his silhouette or general design: riding boot to pirate boots, cowboy hat to a tricorn (even though this hat isn’t actually a tricorn but shhhshsh), duster to a pirate coat, etc. I also (obviously) took some elements from Cutthroat Twisted Fate - makes sense as it’s both a lore skin for a younger version of him as well as an honestly great example of Bilgewater fashion.

- The shoulder pads are a common element in Bilgewater, especially in the Ruined King game with characters like Malik and their Miss Fortune design, so I emphasised them on his coat with the characteristic gold detailing that ties them to the Bilgewater aesthetic. I also continued the gold detailing throughout the rest of his coat and on his boots, for a reason I shall elaborate on below

- Twisted Fate is explicitly written as someone that cares about his appearance and appreciates the finer things in life. He’s found success and is a little bit materialistic about it with a fine coat and a ‘dandy’ hat etc etc, so the gold is meant to look a little ostentatious since it’s associated with riches and luxury, but also… I don’t know about y’all but I think having braided and decorated hair is a MUCH better visual expression of effort being put into your appearance than base Twisted Fates hair. So, I struck a middle ground between the Cutthroat braids and base twisted fate by having his hair partially braided. The half-up half-down style is also because I just. Like it. Looks nice. LOOK I AM NOT IMMUNE TO DESIGNING THINGS BECAUSE THEY JUST LOOK NICE. This is also the reason for the red sash around the waist - not only does it tie him better to the pirate aesthetic but it’s a little bit of showy finery - it’s not practical, but it looks nice and it’s a fine piece of fabric, so of course he’s using it for fashion purposes.

- He’s described as having tattooed hands in his colour story so I expanded to full tattooed arms because tattoos rule. I started by mimicking the style of his cards (something that’s still there in the wrist detailing and the eye design), but the final style that mimics river water just felt better to me. As a character, his past as a river nomad isn’t really addressed, but to me it always felt like he’s still connected to his past life given the fact that his literal calling cards were inherited from his family on the river, so the tattoos can be a visual element showing he still has a connection to the river by getting those designs permanently inked on him

- Yes I blatantly stole the better card designs from the Legends of Runeterra cinematics, I could NOT find a yellow card design for the life of me (even though I thought there was one, idk if I Mandela Effected myself or what) so I took a crack at it. It looks e n o u g h like the other two, and I did my best to incorporate the eye imagery into it, but I was just driving myself insane with it and eventually I went ‘good enough’ and just left it. Feel free to make a better one yourself, please, mine is just… passable. Same with the back of the card - The weird-ass ornamental card hand thing on the brim of TF’s original hat just didn’t work with this version (not a Tricorn, I went with a hat with a shape closer to his original in the end) so I settled on a card tucked into the brim. At first it was explicitly a Blue card, the implication that TF is carrying a get-out-of-jail-free card on him at all times visually speaking, but I though it made more sense for someone like TF (who IS smart at cards, and literally only cards) to hide his intentions and hide what the card is. Now it entirely depends - is it a blue card? A red card? Gold? Is it some new special card he’s saving as a hail-Mary? Or is it completely ordinary and used for decoration alone? Only Twisted Fate knows, and a writer can 100% use that to their advantage and wring a bad-ass or tense moment out of forcing Fate to use that card

- Finally I did end up adding some smaller details like the little sun spots because he is running around Bilgewater chaotically in the sun all day, and even if he’s wearing a hat now he wasn’t back in his Cutthroat days, and the earrings because 1) self decoration makes sense for him and 2) further boosting the pirate aesthetic.

Anyway that was my extended explanation, obviously I could’ve pushed this much harder but I honestly chose not too because his base design isn’t actually bad in my opinion, just unfitting for the region he’s supposed to be a part of. Part of this is because he’s an OLD champion who’s Visual Update focused more on refining his original design and bringing him up to speed than re-orienting him in the games lore - there was a balance to be struck there and in the end he just doesn’t look Bilgewater enough in my opinion. Graves has the same issues, but honestly he’s far less egregious IMO - a few small changes to his coat (maybe add a big collar on there?) and he’d look perfectly Bilgewater. But, I just wanted to convert Twisted Fate’s design as accurately as possible to pirate fashion, and I think I did that well, so. Enjoy!

[corkcitylibraries]

Cork City Libraries Sustainability Blog | Sow…Let’s Grow!

December is the busiest month of the year for many people, from the stress of Christmas shopping to the excitement of finishing school for the little ones, and the all-important winter exams for those in secondary school or college – the garden is the last thought on anyone’s mind...or is it? The garden doesn’t just stop at the front door you know. In this blog I’ve hand-picked some books that we have in stock here in Hollyhill Library that can complement your gardening from how to make Christmas wreaths to what herbs perfectly accompany the Christmas day roast.

Beautiful Wreaths & Garlands: 35 Projects to Decorate your Home for all Seasons & Occasions by Catherine Woram contains pages of stunning ideas on how to bring all that wonderful winter foliage into your indoor space. Using materials that can be found in almost every garden, she shows you how to create beautiful Christmas wreaths that can highlight your fabulous gardening success.

The Homemade Year by Lily Higgins is a wonderful read that I would recommend at any time of the year. She has divided her book by the seasons and has lots of gorgeous recipes and projects especially suited to each one. Winter starts on page 247 and the very first project is a stunning leaf wreath using dried leaves and herbs from the garden. This wreath is slightly less showy than the one in the previous book and would be perfect for those trying to incorporate a little bit of the Danish hygge tradition into their Christmas. On page 255 is a how-to for a facial steam using chamomile and rosemary which can ease congestion – especially handy at this time of year! And on page 289, one of my favourite Christmas activities, instructions for an orange pomander. Now I know that neither oranges nor cloves are particularly common plants to see growing in an Irish garden, but I love this one all the same and for less than the price of cup of coffee, your house can smell like Christmas for weeks. It is a lovely activity to do with your family, or whomever you choose to spend the holidays with. In the picture below you can see the pomanders my housemates and I made together.

Ultimate Christmas: The essential Recipes and Festive Crafts for the Perfect Christmas published by Paragon Books Ltd has lots of festive recipes that you can use to utilise your fruit and veg harvest. Regardless of whether you’re growing to feed a family of six or just have some herbs on your windowsill, this book has recipes that cater to everyone. Potato and parsnip rosti with smoked salmon, sour cream and chives on page 83 is a delicious recipe which uses common veg you may have grown yourself. No matter how small your gardening endeavours may be, there is no doubt that home grown produce adds just a little bit extra to any dish you desire to make. This book also has a small section in the back dedicated to Christmas crafts and here we find another wreath design, this one uses holly leaves which can be found almost anywhere – I pass several bushes on my walk to work every morning!

A Very Vegan Christmas: Plant-Based Recipes for Celebrating in Style by Sam Dixon is all about those plants. This book may be marketed towards vegans but anyone who believes veg deserves a starring role on the table, should most certainly give it a read. I’ve already leafed through this one and I’ll share with you some of my favourites. Maple & pecan stove-top carrots uses the thyme I’ve grown, and I’ll probably throw in some rosemary as well, I feel they really must be used together. Mushroom and chestnut stuffing also uses a host of herbs, and this will absolutely be on my dinner table come Christmas day. Roast butternut squash curry for those in-between days where you’re not quite sure if you can eat another charcuterie board, the recipe also calls for spinach and I’m going to use my rainbow chard instead, the colour will look just stunning.

Happy Christmas everyone from Hollyhill Library!

[thoughtfulnightmarepaper]

10 Tips for Making a Good replica bags designer Even Better

I suppose Most people has been there, that moment of standing before a window Show, gawking at an attractive duplicate bag in The shop window… It is Virtually hypnotic-like point out, at times I’m not able to pull myself clear of it! I indicate, reproduction luggage sure are beautiful, and the large-high quality ones much more so…It can be why this topic’s constantly a favorite when good friends And that i sit back for fake designer bags the chat.​

Suffice it to state, it's been a while considering the fact that I 1st turned interested by replica luggage.​ I keep in mind being extremely established to discover the right bag that may be the best in good shape for me.​ I was wanting to buy a bag that healthy me to a ‘T’, one which was strong, long lasting and wouldn't easily buckle in a couple of days.​ Ultimately I found something which caught my eye and I just knew which was the 1! Me Which bag experienced a link, for sure!

I think The trick to discovering the best replica bag lies in having the endurance to search for the perfect one particular.​ It's a little bit seeking to sift in the countless luggage that occur in numerous styles, elements, shades, sizes and styles offered available in the market.​ So I had to set some get the job done into discovering an ideal a person, but it was worth it in the long run.​ I such as leather-based ones given that they look classy and past much longer in comparison to the Many others.​

Then you can find the sample.​ Now, this is especially critical as it speaks volumes about your individual style.​ From curated styles, specifically crafted prints and luxe textures to colourful geometrics, Absolutely everyone needs to be capable to pick out one thing they come across elegant and stylish that fits their vibe and Frame of mind.​ With every new masterpiece I uncover, my delight grows.​ The range that duplicate luggage offer genuinely surprise me and mesmerize me concurrently.​

I generally Be sure to make a decision on high-quality in advance of anything.​ Reliable replica bags are powerful and durable, you do not need to get caught carrying a thing that appears to be trendy but swiftly starts off tattering away on the seams.​ It's important to get the best bag, so I determined to be certain I acquired a thing that would past from the a long time, and I found the best reasonable-priced just one.​

For the time being, It is really like my modest Good friend that faithfully arrives together anywhere I am going.​ It carries my trusty pen, music participant, tissue packs and a host of other needed paraphernalia.​ The bag has long been with me for years, nevertheless it even now appears to be like very good as new.​ No wonder why duplicate baggage are getting to be Progressively more well known, I assume individuals just want to find the most worth out of their dollars.​

fake luggage

Nicely, my Mate, I just acquired a gorgeous bag on line, and I had been so thrilled to indicate it off to you personally.​ Not surprisingly I'm no fashionista but I do know a faux bag when I see 1.​ It did not choose me extended to realise all was not what it appeared.​

I began to question it The instant I saw it.​ There were some really evident notify-tale indicators that it absolutely was a 'dud'.​ First of all, it was just as well fantastic for being accurate – it was way more affordable than you'd probably be expecting it to be for its high quality and elegance.​ As well as the packaging was weak as well as the logos were not in the appropriate area in the least.​

I begun owning second thoughts about this and that is when I made a decision to do a little bit of research.​ Sure enough, After i checked out the merchandise photographs on the web site, it all begun incorporating up.​ The stitching wasn't correct, The emblem was different, and in some cases the straps have been diverse from how it's pictured on the website.​

I was gutted After i learned I'd been duped! I joined a few community forums to coach myself somewhat more about how to spot a phony bag and it turns out, it isn't really as tough as it appears.​ From Finding out the details within and out to studying the minor distinctions in the way in which It is sewn or even listening to the tags, you can find undoubtedly tips on how to place a faux bag.​

And all my difficulties failed to end there.​ Since I'd bought it on line, it was not possible to return it, so in the long run I just threw it away.​ It felt like The entire thing was a costly and utterly pointless lesson.​

But it designed me Believe quite a bit over it, you understand? It takes months, in some cases even years, for these counterfeiters to great their craft and replicate designer luggage along with other items.​ It really is an industry well worth billions of bucks and it appears to be correct beneath our noses.​ There are numerous people today in existence who will be willing to shell out big money for something which is not serious and that does not make them glance fantastic.​

It truly is definitely mind-blowing how these fakes are so painstakingly put collectively and however persons still are not able to location them! These knock-off stores are appearing everywhere you go and they are performing a roaring trade.​ It is an uphill process seeking to set an end to them but recognition plays An important part With this.​

So, my Buddy, the following time you see a person carrying around a 'designer bag', stand up near and private with it and make Completely guaranteed Everything you're getting is the true deal.​ Look at that it's actually not some low-cost copy – it could wind up costing you way greater than you bargained for.​

Most people will inform you It really is simply a designer bag but you ought to in no way consider anything at all at deal with benefit.​ The sole absolutely sure way to inform if It really is genuine is by inspecting it intently.​ What appears to be like being a little oversight can finish up producing a huge variance, and what improved way to stop any heartache than by ensuring your bag is the true matter.​

Understanding is electrical power, and that's why I have carried out my exploration and shared it along with you.​ With any luck , this information may also help teach as Many individuals as possible and set an stop to these bogus bag ripoffs, preventing upcoming heartache and financial losses.​

I think It can be no shocker that for Lots of people, duplicate baggage have gotten the go-to choice.​ To start with, the quality of these luggage has significantly enhanced through the years, with several suppliers purchasing the production of more robust and remarkably long lasting products.​ Next, you will find the price.​ They offer a good compromise given that They're priced reduce than the initial designer bags and provide Just about the exact same attributes.​ In addition The style trends normally evolve as well as variety of styles available now allow it to be less complicated to pick something which matches All people.​

They're also extremely convenient to carry and extremely versatile.​ For many people this may be the most important factor because they can choose it out to dance courses, to cafes, to satisfy close friends As well as in all kinds of other instances.​ Aside from this, the designs are spectacular and definitely eye-catching.​ It can be like going for walks about by using a operate of artwork – it screams epic trend!

The options are limitless On the subject of duplicate bags.​ There's the micromodal and 3D variations, multicolor combos, dazzling designs and prints and The great aged neutral types.​ It truly is hard to decide which just one to Choose but it surely's just heavenly simply to search.​ You frequently wonder why men and women waste income within the costly originals when you'll find these great reproduction baggage in a fraction of the fee.​ It can be truly a no-brainer, don’t you think that?

I'm certain any individual would concur that replica bags are the ideal combination of trend and practicality.​ Add to which the truth that they are Tremendous very affordable and stylish, and you've got the perfect staple that's healthy For each problem.​ I signify, just about every particular person wants a fantastic bag to bring out their best style, and replica bags do make a great impact.​

[joyfulbirdpeach]

9 TED Talks That Anyone Working in fake designer bags Should Watch

I guess All people continues to be there, that minute of standing in front of a window Display screen, gawking at an attractive reproduction bag in the store window… It is really Virtually hypnotic-like state, occasionally I’m unable to pull myself away from it! I imply, duplicate bags certain are lovely, along with the large-high-quality types much more so…It really is why this subject’s usually a favourite when good friends And that i sit back for the chat.​

Suffice it to convey, it has been some time due to the fact I initially grew to become interested in replica baggage.​ I keep in mind currently being very established to seek out the ideal bag that would be the proper match for me.​ I was trying to buy a bag that fit me to the ‘T’, one which was strong, sturdy and wouldn't very easily buckle in a couple of days.​ Inevitably I discovered a thing that caught my eye And that i just realized that was the one particular! Me and that bag experienced a relationship, obviously!

I do think the secret to getting the best duplicate bag lies in possessing the tolerance to find an ideal one.​ It is a bit endeavoring to sift with the hundreds of luggage that occur in different models, supplies, colours, sizes and styles accessible available in the market.​ So I needed to place some function into acquiring the right 1, but it absolutely was worth it in the long run.​ I just like the leather-based ones since they glance sophisticated and final a lot longer compared to the Many others.​

Then you can find the sample.​ Now, this is especially important as it speaks volumes about your own design.​ From curated models, specially crafted prints and luxe textures to colourful geometrics, Absolutely everyone needs to be equipped to pick some thing they locate stylish and stylish that matches their vibe and Frame of mind.​ With each new masterpiece I locate, my delight grows.​ The diversity that reproduction baggage present truly shock me and mesmerize me at the same time.​

I generally Ensure that you choose quality right before anything.​ Reliable duplicate baggage are solid and sturdy, you don't need for being stuck carrying something which appears to be attractive but speedily starts tattering absent on the seams.​ It truly is essential to get the appropriate bag, so I decided to be sure I acquired a thing that would last with the yrs, and I found the proper truthful-priced one particular.​

At the moment, it's like my little friend that faithfully arrives alongside where ever I go.​ It carries my trusty pen, songs participant, tissue packs and a number of other important paraphernalia.​ The bag has been with me For a long time, but it really however appears superior as new.​ No surprise why duplicate bags have become An increasing number of well-known, I suppose people today just want to find the most worth out of their revenue.​

pretend bags

Very well, my Good friend, I just purchased a stunning bag on the web, and I used to be so fired up to indicate it off to you personally.​ Needless to say I am no fashionista but I do know a fake bag when I see just one.​ It did not consider me lengthy to realise all wasn't what it appeared.​

I started to question it the moment I noticed it.​ There have been some quite noticeable notify-tale symptoms that it had been a 'dud'.​ First of all, it absolutely was just also superior to get true – it had been way less expensive than you would anticipate it to get for its good quality and style.​ Moreover the packaging was weak as well as the logos weren't in the proper area in any way.​

I commenced getting next ideas about this and that's Once i decided to do a little analysis.​ Absolutely sure more than enough, After i checked out the product images on the website, all of it began incorporating up.​ The stitching was not ideal, the logo was various, and also the straps were being distinctive from the way it's pictured on the website.​

I used to be gutted when I learned I would been duped! I joined a few forums to coach myself a bit more about how to identify a bogus bag and it turns out, it is not as difficult because it seems.​ From Understanding the main points inside of and out to studying the slight distinctions in just how It really is sewn or maybe taking note of the tags, you can find absolutely tips on how to spot a bogus bag.​

And all my problems did not finish there.​ Mainly because I would purchased it online, it absolutely was extremely hard to return it, so in the end I just threw it away.​ It felt like the whole issue was a pricey and utterly pointless lesson.​

But it designed me Consider a good deal over it, you realize? It will take months, often even yrs, for these counterfeiters to perfect their craft and replicate designer baggage and also other goods.​ It really is an sector really worth billions of dollars and it is apparently appropriate under our noses.​ There are plenty of individuals on the market who are willing to spend significant money for a thing that is not genuine and that does not make them seem very good.​

It truly is definitely intellect-blowing how these fakes are so painstakingly put with each other and yet people however are unable to place them! These knock-off shops are popping up just about everywhere and they're doing a roaring trade.​ It is fake bags actually an uphill job attempting to put an conclude to them but awareness performs A significant position In this particular.​

So, my Mate, the following time you see an individual carrying all around a 'designer bag', stand up close and private with it and make Completely absolutely sure That which you're getting is the actual offer.​ Examine that it isn't really some inexpensive duplicate – it could finish up costing you way more than you bargained for.​

Most people will show you It truly is simply a designer bag but you should hardly ever choose something at face worth.​ The only real confident way to tell if It can be authentic is by inspecting it intently.​ What appears to be to be a little slip-up can finish up making a large variation, and what much better way in order to avoid any heartache than by making certain your bag is the actual matter.​

Expertise is ability, and that's why I've accomplished my investigation and shared it along with you.​ Ideally this info can assist teach as many people as feasible and set an conclusion to those phony bag cons, preventing upcoming heartache and economic losses.​

I think it's no shocker that for Lots of individuals, replica bags are getting to be the go-to alternative.​ For starters, the standard of these baggage has drastically improved through the years, with several suppliers buying the production of much better and highly strong supplies.​ Next, there is certainly the value.​ They supply a nice compromise because They can be priced decreased than the first designer baggage and provide Pretty much exactly the same characteristics.​ As well as the fashion developments often evolve plus the diversity of types offered now allow it to be easier to pick something which matches everyone.​

They're also extremely convenient to hold and extremely flexible.​ For many people This can be An important aspect since they can easily take it out to dance classes, to cafes, to fulfill good friends and in many other events.​ Except for this, the models are gorgeous and absolutely eye-catching.​ It really is like strolling all over by using a work of art – it screams epic style!

The decisions are unlimited In relation to duplicate luggage.​ You will find the micromodal and 3D variations, multicolor combos, vibrant styles and prints and the good previous neutral ones.​ It can be difficult to choose which a person to Opt for nevertheless it's just heavenly in order to search.​ You frequently ponder why people squander cash about the high-priced originals when you will discover these great replica baggage at a fraction of the price.​ It is truly a no-brainer, don’t you think?

I am confident any one would agree that replica baggage are the right mixture of vogue and practicality.​ Insert to the point that they are Tremendous inexpensive and stylish, and you've got an ideal staple that's healthy For each and every situation.​ I mean, every human being desires a superb bag to carry out their best design and style, and duplicate luggage do make an excellent effect.​

[schrodingers-egg]

!Special Interest Infodump Post!

Idk if I’m gonna do this much but I’m thinking of going through the models I have and talking a bit about their design and stuff, and today I’ll be taking you through the hero ship of Enterprise, the… uh… Enterprise…

Okay so this isn’t really the Enterprise, it’s the Enterprise as it appeared in the Mirror Universe two-parter so it has some extra livery to make it distinct from its prime universe counterpart. The design of the ship is unchanged outside of that and I don’t have the prime universe model so I’ll be using this model to talk about both.

With Enterprise (the show, which I’ll be calling ENT from now on) being a prequel, there was a lot of pre-existing design to draw from when designing the ship, and it was heavily influenced by the design of the Akira-class, which I believe was first seen in Star Trek: First Contact in the battle of Sector 001.

The top-down view especially shows the common traits: the usual Starfleet saucer, with twin booms starting ahead of the bridge area and extending back to connect the hull to the nacelle pylons, with a pod-like element in the middle of the pylons. There’s also the cutout in the forend of the saucer (though the Akira doesn’t have the main deflector there) and a small “step” just behind the name and registry number, the same location of (and different colour around) the saucer’s impulse engines, and the use of impulse engines in the end of the twin booms.

The Enterprise opted to go for a more classic layout with the warp nacelles raised above the saucer, which fits better with the older designs (TOS Enterprise, Excelsior) and allowed for a planned refit later in the show which would add the secondary hull that had been common for the majority of Star Trek and remove the pod while retaining the booms.

The nacelles would also have been redesigned to more closely resemble the style of the pilot episode Enterprise, with spines protruding from the centre of the bussard collectors, which is a small touch I really appreciate. I think this would also be the first “Federation” ship to have a secondary deflector dish as well?

Sadly the show was cancelled before the refit came to the screen, I think the cancellation happened partway through production of season 4, which would explain why the ending felt so rushed and underwhelming.

I do quite like the design of the NX-01 Enterprise, I think it works really well as a precursor to the NCC-1701 Enterprise though I am a bit disappointed that it incorporates elements of the (almost entirely unrelated) Akira-class so heavily, and seems to lean more towards TNG era aesthetics than what we expect from TOS/TMP era. The circular windows resembling the portholes of our naval vessels is a nice touch and goes well with the interior design feeling more like a modern-day military ship/submarine (though submarines don’t have windows).

However, the Enterprise design does raise an interesting point. It’s a pre-Federation ship, made by United Earth under supervision from the Vulcans, and yet later Federation designs which you’d think would have input from dozens of species still retain these “human” design elements. We know that Vulcan, Andorian, and Tellarite designs are vastly different (as seen in ENT) yet their design elements seem to be completely erased once the Federation is established in favour of human design language. It raises questions about the prevalence, even domination, of humans and human preferences in Starfleet, but that’s getting too far off-track.

That’s the post ig, feel free to ask questions and stuff, and lmk if you want to see more of this kind of thing