#i actually quite like the mini posters i designed for this

[moonsnqil]

'it's safer when i'm by your side' (final vers.)

by your side - flatsound

details:

[agoraphobic-artist]

KURO-SHIT <3

The first item in our Black Butler Haul is a double sided poster of unknown origins. Seemingly drawn by the A-1 anime team that is all the information I have.

My better half @mister-astringent loved both sides of this poster and as we have very little merch of Tanaka I conceded.

Look at him. With his weird little Snowman.

The second and third items are these adorable foam hangers from Book of The Atlantic. I again have very little merchandise of the "mini" Midfords, so here are Elizabeth and Edward ready to throw down with some reanimated corpses.

Bought as a bundle, I now have the full set of Kuroshitsuji Clear Acrylic A4 posters.

These posters were given out as part of a promotion for The Public School Arc in Japan.

The first three character specific posters have a clear window behind their design, but honestly the Sebastian and Ciel full colour print is my favourite.

My fifth order item is this Undertaker Acrylic Standee from Book of Atlantic.

When doing some digging it appears to have been from an Aniplex collaboration with Aimon.

This particular character design of the set really stood out for me, because although they all are pretty to look at, undertaker canonically has stood in front of stained glass windows: in quite an iconic moment of the series.

The background is holographic and honestly the photos don't do justice, for how beautiful the shimmering colour changes are in the light.

A one of a kind item next and technically last.

While browsing for new items to add to the collection, I came across a seller who hand carves erasers (Linocut) for stamping.

They had a ton of designs from various series available, so naturally I had a good look through all the Black Butler ones; I found this P4 one early on and fell in love with it.

The stamp is incredibly detailed and impressively carved, something I appreciate as someone "Arts and Crafty".

BONUS ITEMS: Unfortunately, I cannot open them to give a better look yet as they are joint gifts for Xmas, but we are going to be exchanging the Groove Inc Pullips of Robin and Tutor.

So expect mass postings of their details probably in late December or the New year.

I can tell you though, that their eyes are stunning, and the details that have gone into them are gorgeous to look at. The boxes designs are cute as hell, with all of their extra items laid out around the dolls and it seems like they also seem to come with little collector cards as well.

...One of my many merchandise collecting weaknesses...

~A quick little side note though~

WHO WAS GOING TO TELL ME!? LIKE ACTUALLY!!!

These dolls are massive! Both me and @mister-astringent thought that they would be around the 9 or 10 Inch mark.

However, we just did a rough measurement and Robin is 12"ish and Tutor is approximately 14"!!!

(The RAH dolls are to show the scale of these monsters)

Can't wait to open these up in December <3

[marshallpupfan]

Outside of my usual update posts, I try not to talk about my Marshall collection too much. I'm often worried someone might get jealous if I bring it up a lot, or that others may see it as me trying to brag... or, in the case of someone on Twitter, use it as an excuse to whine about a character they don't like! However, while looking over my shelves to find spots (heh) for my latest purchases, I realized something that I felt was worth talking about...

My collection's becoming a time capsule, huh?

PAW Patrol is ten years old now, and throughout its history, we've seen so many toys, plush dolls, and other types of merchandise based on its characters, films and themes. However, once these products fulfill their purpose, most of them disappear, never to be seen on store shelves again (at this point, you'll have to hope you can get lucky and find them on Ebay or something). Granted, this isn't a new concept, as companies have been doing this before any of us were born. But whether it's a figurine based on a subseries, a candy-filled tin cup, or something else entirely, many of these products are now starting to become lost in time.

Take this ornament, for instance. When I first found out about it, I could only find a single picture of it on an old page on a Sears website (listed as "out of stock" for many years). If you go looking for it now, you likely won't find anything about it anywhere. Unless I'm mistaken, the only place you'll see it now is... well, on my account.

How about lunch boxes based on particular themes? I feel like Sea Patrol was pretty big for a while, but with the launch of Aqua Pups, you probably won't see any of its illustrations anymore. There's also that figurine and plush doll of Marshall wearing his winter Sea Patrol coat... which popped up once and then never again.

How about this product? It was never sold in the USA, so I had to import it from the United Kingdom. I still think it's one of the coolest items in my collection, since whoever manufactured it clearly put in the extra effort to make it look quite accurate to the character... and it's just a shampoo bottle! It was made in 2016, so you won't see too many of them anymore, especially unopened and in good condition. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if only a handful exist now.

What about the old plush designs? Some have floppy legs, while others can stand on their own. Now that Spin Master's switched to a new style, you likely won't see these in stores anymore. Some websites might still sell them, but otherwise, they're a thing of the past now.

How about my Ready Race Rescue theatrical poster? Yes, believe it or not, it actually played in some! As far as I'm aware, these posters were never sold in stores, which means they were made specifically for use in theaters. Once the mini-movie drove ran its course, most of them were thrown away. I was fortunate someone not only kept one, but also put it on Ebay, too. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if this is one of the few that still exists.

I could surely go on about the many other products we'll likely never see in stores again, but no doubt we'd be here all day. Again, this isn't anything new or surprising, since the old always gets pushed out in favor of the new at some point or another. But hey, just because something is old, that doesn't mean it should be forgotten! Honestly, I like tracking down these older products and, in a way, preserving them so they can be viewed by fans once again... especially if it involves a favorite character of mine!

Of course, it's difficult to say if any of this will mean anything in the future. PAW Patrol is big, but it's no Mickey Mouse or Star Wars. I have to imagine a Pup-Fu Marshall toy from 2015 can't compare to a Luke Skywalker action figure from 1977. Thus, I have to wonder... will PAW Patrol ever become just as big, or will it inevitably conclude and simply fade from our minds as the years go by? Will anyone look back at these toys and see them with the same level of fondness? It's possible that, in ten or twenty years from now, everything I've purchased will only be worth a dollar or two at a Goodwill or yard sale. Perhaps my collection's only good for collecting dust?

Well, even if that's true, I don't mind. These items are linked to a character I love, so regardless of how the future views them, they'll all remain special to me. Perhaps, in the end, that's all that matters. :)

[darthpastry]

There's no way all the mini games in HW2 take place at the same time, right? By the time the game is played by BonnieBro, it's obviously in-between SB and Ruin, but not all the mini games take place in that same timeframe. Which, I suppose is a bit obvious given the Pizzaplex isn't absolutely destroyed in all of them, but I do want to talk about all the wonky timeline stuff going on. Well, not all. Just a couple mini games, really.

The Foxy ride is an interesting one, might not actually be a ride that ever physically existed. The idea of it is well established, since we know that Cassie knows of it, but I think the one she 'rode' was a VR version. If a version of it did exist, I would wager that it was during Fall Fest, or at the very least originated. It might sound crazy, but here me out.

Fall Fest has been pretty heavily emphasized in both VR games, despite (as far as I know) not mentioned outside of them. This poster in particular is interesting, as Foxy is at the forefront. So, why emphasize Foxy when Foxy isn't even in the Pizzaplex? More importantly, why does Captain Foxy look more like his Fall Fest version than classic version?

The long coat is something seen only in these two versions. Normally he just has the pants. I'm not saying just having the coat is evidence, I'm saying it's strange to have a depiction of Fall Fest with Foxy in the long coat at the forefront whenever you win a mini game.

More importantly, let's talk about Jack-O-Moon.

As someone who doesn't care much for the DCA, this guy is so important to the lore, I promise. One could call it something of a secret boss, bonus boss, really, on the log ride. The areas of the log ride it appears in are vastly different than the rest of the log ride. Even Jack-O-Moons design has more of a Fall vibe. Maybe... a Fall Fest vibe? That also has purple glitches and if done correctly gets you the Foxy plush?

This vital area to getting the better ending of the game hammers home the idea of Fall Fest. Also supports the idea that the DCA has been around for quite a while.

I remember someone posting some close-up pictures of it and it just had a horrible paint job, so this would have to be fairly early on, given how clean and expensive everything is in SB. Heck, even the merchandise they sell is pretty sick when you remember the FazWatch is just a novelty toy. Also, that Mr. Hippo magnet. Which is one of the small details I want to talk about eventually. Yes, they're established to be very cheap, but appearance is important, and they make sure it doesn't look cheap.

Why are these areas hidden, different? Perhaps Glitchtrap made these secret areas to show what the original log ride looked like. What the Fall Fest version looked like.

The other wonky one I wanted to talk about rq is the endo warehouse.

Basic game, right? Memory game. Try not to get killed by endoskeletons. But there's one line that HandUnit says that stuck out to me as odd.

"or TBD Pizzaplex star". What do you mean, "TBD"? It's well established that the stars are Freddy, Chica, Roxy, and Monty. Before Monty was Bonnie. That's that, no questions asked.

The only logical solution was that this recorded (in-universe) before Roxy and Monty. So why no mention of Bonnie? Maybe he was cut out because when he was destroyed but they just never added in Roxy and Monty? It still feels weird. Maybe an accident had always been planned by Glitchtrap, before the Pizzaplex was even built. Which does feel weird, and I will die on the hill that Monty destroyed Bonnie, but there has to be a reason for Bonnie to be excluded.

Still, the fact that only Freddy and Chica were always set in stone as the stars is an interesting little detail to me. If they were too cheap to put in Monty and Roxy, then they would've been too cheap to cut out Bonnie. Foxy is another post of their own.

[koushirouizumi]

{DigiAdv tri.} ~ Koushiro + OUTFITS ~ My {Personal} Preferences (for Koushiro’s outfits!) + + Koushiro & Jou / {Supportive} Moments & Interactions + Koushiro & Takeru / {Supportive} Moments / Materials + Pre-Bokura no Mirai DigiFes {+Shirt!} Poster (The shirt Koushiro’s wearing was later, iirc, released as official {+Tri} merch at DigiFes, an “irl” event in Japan!) {Real-Life Japan Event} Kokuhaku’s ending theme also helped to promote the same shirt. + (Tri!)Koushiro’s Character Traits (& Mini-Analysis)

My Commentary:

Like, some of the obvious POP culture references / in-jokes some of the other ‘outfits’ had aside, most of these outfits actually looked quite reasonable (and comfy, imo!! - which is pretty much the point I think Koushiro was going for?!??) and I could easily see Koushiro wearing some/most any of these canonically at various points of Koushiro’s tri. and post-tri. teen-aged lifetime, even just purely for fun. Heck, I’ve seen fan-artists (including on the J.P.N end and even in / using specifically their Tri-esque designs / outfits) draw Koushiro in MULTIPLE outfits like this!

{I kind of think the “King” outfit SHOULD stay, though.}

Also, the kimono choice is, like, fine? Koushiro’s Japanes---?

I’m just saying OK!!! Yes!! #LETKoushiroHaveFunWithFashion

Bonus:

(From my previous Koushiro compilations!)

{Gifs by Me} {DO NOT RE-POST} {DO NOT REPRODUCE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION} (Please ASK to Use)

{Anyway, Koushiro Izumi says Gender Identity rights---}

OK but Mainly I want to know which animator/Clothing Designer (as I’ve seen exist from some Tri and etc. Staff listings) specifically was involved in this specific segment / outfit set because they were clearly having a BLAST designing Koushiro like 20+ random outfits and honestly, as a Koushiro fan who has supported Koushiro since finding this series in my childhood I CAN’T actually blame them?? (You don’t even HAVE to use / consider every single one there, even TRI!KOUSHIRO doesn’t canonically use all of these!!)

{This is more of a quick compilation; I might expand on this post in the future and re-post it.}

I could also relate everything to do with motor skills and fine motor skills involving clothing and Autism when it comes to certain Autistic head-canons I may have, including buttoning clothes, but that might be a topic for another day...

(Do you see how the shirts TAKERU AND JOU actively help pick out FOR KOUSHIRO are comfy, A more baggy plain blue pullover (Takeru) and the DigiFes tee (Jou), without buttons?) {Despite the initial goal being to look for “fashionable” clothing!}

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{Please also LIKE this post if you are wanting to use!} {Once you have “Liked”, feel free to contact me to ask for permission!} {However, read my about & FAQ pages first. Please DO NOT use / ask if you match anything in my “Do Not Interact” section.} {I MAY POLITELY DECLINE USAGE REGARDLESS. Please do not take it personally!} {if you are unsure if you can use you can SEND ME AN ASK} {I will check your blog; if you do not match anything on my “DNI”; [CHECK THE FAQ FOR MY DNI SECTION/S] you will likely/may pass the check and can use!} {However please note my ENTIRE FAQ sections on such} {It is possible I may not grant permission for other reasons} [i.e.: You post a lot of something I have blacklisted]

PLEASE ALSO NOTE: {My headcanons for the characters of this series VARY} {for this set particularly; I headcanon most as M-spec/Multi-gender attracted*} {this post/my icons ARE NOT for people who cannot respect this fact or M-spec people / M-spec headcanons / MF relationships, Queer identities, etc. in general!}

[PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL AND FOLLOW MY RULES]

{This specific post is not purely meant as shipping Please be aware and respectful when interacting!} (However, I do side ship Joushiro, so I don’t mind if for example Joushiro gets tagged as a ship) {Just please understand that is not the main intention!}

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[max-nexus]

KGTAC PGS 2083-2093 ANALYSIS

Previous Analysis Next Analysis I'm doing the two most recent updates in one because there was nothing to talk about at the time, like what? Maybe the floppy under the SUPER MARIO MOVIE floppy case is a Pesterchum clone sorta like in the original? That's basically nothing, like that would be a side thing in my other analyses, and it was also that slipped my mind last time. (In part because the previous post had to be rewritten due to the fact Tumblr deleted my entire post because i ctrlz'd once, leaving only the text i wrote before i started adding images.) (Also happened to this post, luckily i left the page before Tumblr could save the draft) (Left: Home-Skillet page 11. Right: KGTAC Page 2086)

So i delayed until i had more to talk about, and we got some interesting things. More evidence for my hopes and dreams, some interesting differences in the characterization of Fred, and more FLOPPY-DECK.

Page 2083 is the only page which i have nothing to talk about, its just neat (Though i wonder how the fan is powered, it doesn't seem to have a power cord. Maybe it's battery powered?) KGTAC Page 2085

Page 2084-2085 has me feel heard, Freaky Fred is quite disgusting. How dare he put that hotplate on the floor. Luckily he is putting his life of crime behind him by putting the hotplate on the mini fridge

KGTAC Page 2086

For page 2086, i Looked up on what DEVO was and apparently it might have a small connection with Pee-wee's Playhouse, with some of the music being composed by one of the guys from DEVO, Maybe this will be used in a [S] John: Mental Breakdown sort of way later. Forming itself as some neat foreshadowing like the reveal that Gushers are apart of the Betty Crocker brand.

KGTAC Page 2087

For Page 2087, I was right about it being a GOT MILK poster, not much to say here, I'm just happy i was right. I do find it interesting that it replaces the earthbound poster though. KGTAC PAGE 2088

For Page 2088 I actually have something interesting here, Fred pulls out cans of NORMAL COCA-COLA, which is interesting since before he was a fan of COCA-COLA DE-CAF Home-Skillet Page 42

Noting that his grandma let him have this as it wouldn't make him hyper. I sorta wonder, why the change? Maybe it used to mean something, or maybe it was changed for no reason in particular. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

KGTAC Page 2089

Page 2089 This brings me hope that Fred won't have a sylladex for a while, I've always wanted a fanventure where one of the characters doesn't have a sylladex, Though something of note here is that he's never heard of a sylladex, not even faintly, which could mean that sylladexes might not exist, although in Home-Skillet, Fred got his sylladex from under a party hat in the kitchen (H-S Pg 70, In a flash), which means he still could get one, especially since he had no idea what a sylladex was in Home-Skillet also (Home-Skillet Page 21 has the line "CAPTCHALOGUE? You have no idea what the hell that word even means.") KGTAC Page 2090: I just wanted to bring this up since for some reason the idea of Fred being a MIND player came up, just because of the fact Fred just found the idea terrifying, not even a hint of temptation like in Homestuck, Though this is unlikely as this idea just came up after thinking for a few minutes and its quite a stretch, the only idea that's a bigger stretch would be calling him of the Breath aspect for page 2083 (If page 2083 did give you that idea, I apologize, but you have been diagnosed with early onset Homestuck Brain rot)

KGTAC PAGE 2091-2093 FLOPPY-DECK!!! (my beloved)

All jokes aside, These pages just introduce the FLOPPY-DECK, Though with the reveal of the Floppy-Deck has me wondering... Is someone going to die? i know it's crazy talk but in Home-Skillet there were 4 players, and it looked like this

Meanwhile the Floppy-Deck in KGTAC looks to be the same except for the pattern on top which is like this

Only 3 points, And why change the design if it means nothing? I can't think of a reason to change it, It's so small i literally didn't notice it, I was originally just going to leave it at that. A Meme to show my excitement for the reveal and that's it. Maybe I'm just being a bit crazy here, its like 10:40 PM as of writing this, and this wasn't in my notes. it was just something i noticed when i went to fact check a joke i was making where I'd go like "The FLOPPY-DECK'S art is unchanged, this represents the fact that the FLOPPY-DECK is perfect, and needs no changing" but then i noticed the pattern on top was changed, And this is the best reason i could think of for why its different. If this means what i think it means. If Fred has 2 friends, Cole just dropped a character from the story. If Fred has 3 friends. Cole is going to kill off one of the Main Characters. There isn't much in the way of evidence for this, for obvious reasons any big theories like that can't be proven 13 pages into the story. But the sheer idea that i could be right has me shaking as I'm writing, The idea that if there are 4 Main Characters in Home-Skillet that one of them could be killed off before entering Sburb, and that's how the Timeline has to go is goddamn Bold.

Well ending off in that note has me utterly excited for this story, It's a theory with little evidence though a shocking opportunity in the storytelling. Before i end this post, I'd like say. Thank you Cole

I am utterly honored that you like my analysis posts. I make these posts since i absolutely loved Act 1 of KGTAC, and what started this was trying to figure out Where KGTAC would go next (as you may have seen by my theory posts in the comments of KGTAC before the end of ACT 1. Trying to figure out who the hell Fred was (as someone posted "You can now play as Fred Wilmore" editing onto Mario Galaxy's "You can now play as Luigi" , what the hell "h-s" was (I had thought at first Fred was made by Radical Dude since i misread a discord message hilariously enough.) Then searching up Fred's name, searching for what this was, finding some Tumblr post mentioning how Home-Skillet was meant to be a secret now, and digging until i figured out how to read Home-Skillet. I'd originally meant for that first post to be the end of my analysis, but i decided to continue due to how interested i was with how things were going (and for the fact one person liked my post, Which meant at least one person read it, which made me happy). It seriously makes me happy you've read my analysis and like it. Though with the fact that the discord has spoilers means i won't be joining it anytime soon, I'd like to keep trying to figure out what happens next without having it all revealed.

Thank You Cole, It means alot to hear that.

[canon-notcanon-warriorcats]

Warriors has the laziest official merch compared to anything I've ever seen. It's downright lazy and feels like a scam, especially bc they know this fanbase is full of kids with a poor grasp on quality and how to handle money who is wolf down anything that was their favourite media slapped on it.

The hats, as mentioned. I haven't seen those before and I thought that was quite the low, even for the official Warrior Cats store.

The t-shirts that are literally just solid black or white with 3-4 character's names (e.g., Jaykit, Jaypaw, Jayfeather) on them sold for iirc 25 bucks a shot??

The plushie scam controversy and just the fact they went from looking decent to legit pretty ugly with a quality drop steeper than the slopes on a rollercoaster

The fact they have official art (and artists to make more), many of which are BEAUTIFUL, dramatic, iconic, and ABSOLUTELY appropriate to put on a shirt or a poster, but they insist on using 2d images of the minis on everything. They look as lifeless, lazy, and randomly generated as NFTs and I hate that sosososo much

Everything feels overpriced. You are not low on money, Warrior Cats, and you know you're gonna be targeting to a lot of kids, so what's the big deal?

Why don't enough people talk about this? I'm not saying boycott them, just hold them accountable for lazy designs, cutting corners, dishonesty, and overpricing. They should know better and we should complain more. If fans' actions got a character killed off they can make the merch slightly more worth it, I'm sure. But as long as people keeping buying it with little complaint, it won't change.

The only official merch that feels more shady than this is the Poppy Playtime garbo but saying WC is better than that dogshit isn't exactly setting a high bar.

not to mention the poppy playtime whatever is also ran by people who do nfts or whatever so like honestly to be better than them would mean being better than actual like sewage

but anyway, and i know this is like two weeks old but, you are absolutely right and you should say it, i fucking HATE the merch, the best things they have are the minis but the fact that they use 2d artwork of the minis for like shitty shirts is so fucking awful it looks so terrible

and did y'all see the like limited edition 4 doubloons cat meme shirt that they made with ravenpaw's 2d mini artwork, i was in shock that they somehow jumped on a meme bandwagon before the meme was dead tbh but also it felt disgusting and what the fuck

actually i wanna talk about it more and go into more specifics later and on its own post cause this would get really long but god they look even worse than a lot of cheap/scammy print on demand stores have looked because they can't even be bothered to EDIT THINGS ONTO THE MERCHANDISE WELL

[benignsnail]

So Floral Challenge: A So Flora Mini Challenge

A mini sims legacy challenge inspired by the not so berry legacy challenge. All themed around flowers. Have fun!

Sunflower: You make tons of cards and paintings a kid thinking you'll send then to your parent while they're at university. You miss them tons, but you adore your grandparents and they think you are the best artist in all the world. You dream of moving to the city with your parent once they graduate and becoming a famous painter. After living it up in the city you realize you need to center yourself and enjoy the simpler things. But you don't do anything halfway. You build your very own zen community right in Newcrest and start fresh.

Aspiration: City Native

Have a bubble blower in your apartment

Collect all city posters and snowglobes

Work as the Living Statue for tips

Attend every festival at least once

Decide to build a nature commune in Newcrest as an adult

Lot must be off the grid and have a reduce and recycle lot challenge

Change your aspiration to Zen Guru

Only drink calming chamomile

Bonsai a bonsai tree and name one of your kids after it

Buy your kid a Dolly Llama toy

Begonia: Your parent named you after their favorite flower. Not one to rebel, you love the color pink and have a whole garden devoted to begonias. While you don't really like celebrating holidays, you ARE a bit obsessed with the Flower Bunny, and the Freezer Bunny too. If only real bunnies were pink. Alas, you must settle for oddly painted cats and dogs.

Aspiration: Friend of the animals

Career: Vet [must reach level ten]

Move to Willow Creek and build your own vet clinic

Adopt at least 3 strays

Live on a lot with both cat hangout and dog hangout traits turned on

(Optional) Have a pet walk down the aisle at your wedding

Have an ice cream addiction

Decorate your house with freezer bunny items

Collect all Decorative Eggs

Befriend the flower bunny

Make ambrosia treats for your pets

Fang Flower: You are obsessed with vampires and will do anything to become one. You never grow out of this obsession even after finally changing. Instead you devote your life to being a pescetarian-err a plasmatarian-and seek to create a family of good vampires.

Aspiration: Good Vampire AND Vampire Family

Grow Garlic, Sixam Mosquito Trap, Wolfsbane, and Plasma Fruit from seed

Move to Forgotten Hollow

Befriend whatever Vatores you can find (investigate some family trees)

Have a Sixam Mosquito Plant guard your mailbox

Write an excuse note for somebody in your household (preferably your kid)

Register your house as a vampire lair

Optional: Get married with a bat topper on your wedding cake

Lily: Despite an odd upbringing you are a true hopeless romantic. You love designing wedding dresses and bake wedding cakes on the side for your friends and neighbors. Your real dream though is to find your soulmate. You are sure you can smooth the edges off even the prickliest partner. I mean, it worked with your hedgehog.

Aspiration: Soulmate

Traits: Romantic, Cheerful

Career: Style Influencer

Get the conflict resolution trait

Have a pet hedgehog

Throw a party/event every Holiday: Flowerfest, Love Day, Harvestfest, Winterfest, New Years, optional (create Spooky Day)

Always decorate the tree and house on Winterfest (no buying pre-decorated trees here)

Complete Holiday Cracker Plushies Collection

(14) Death Flower: You love gardening as a kid, and get super into grafting new varieties. You decide to transplant your family garden to San Sequoia after an unfortunate Death scented accident. You realize the suburban family lifestyle actually suits you quite well and choose to devote your life to your family. You end up the type of grandparent to always give candy when your grandkids visit.

Aspiration: Big Happy Family

Trait: Family Oriented

Buy super green thumb reward trait

Grow a death flower

Make a death scented flower arrangement and give it to someone you don't know

Buy fertile reward trait

Always have a fresh flower arrangement by your bed

Have at least 4 kids

(Bonus) Use a celebration canon

Crocus: You really love the cold. Summers in San Sequoia never do much for you, but on a field trip to Mt. Komerebi your love for snow comes to life like never before. The Hot Springs, the skiing- you have to live here. There was never any burning passion in your heart to be great in a specific career and here that's okay. You can part of something bigger. Maybe, you'll even fall in love.

Aspiration: Mt. Komerebi Sightseer

Marry someone from Mt. Komerebi as a young adult

Join the Salary Person Career

Catch an angelfish

Learn how to make pufferfish nigiri

Master cooking skill and make ambrosia

Cook a family meal at least once a day

Send kids with sack lunches

Buy a koi pond and get sprites

Have all My Stumps panda figurines in your baby's nursery

Daisy: While the snow is great in Mt. Komerebi-especially with Winterfest being your favorite holiday-you long to live somewhere with a few more seasons and a few less mountains. You set your sights on Windenburg and never leave. Your new bee box becomes your favorite item in your house and you even give your pet some cute bee antennae. After a few too many Winterfest cocktails, you realize Father Winter never looked so good! A woopsie baby wasn't what you were expecting but is a blessing nonetheless.

Live in Windenburg

Buy stoves and grill master reward trait

Have a bee box and have a good relationship with them (crocus scented flower arrangments calm them down)

Wear bee themed clothes as a child

Date your childhood friend

Earn Close-Knit Lifestyle and make someone your confidant

Befriend a scarecrow

Make jam once a week

Have homemade honey cake on your birthday

Reach herbalism level 10 and make an Elixir of fertility

Have a baby with Father Winter (he's your free pass if you're already married at this point, just don't get caught)

Sage: You are a cautious baby right from the start. Things being unfamiliar is really hard. So you decide to stop trying altogether. As a young adult you take your furniture from home and build yourself a tiny house far from everyone else. The hermit in Henford-on-Bagley has nothing on you. The welcome wagon really rubs you the wrong way showing up to your new private abode without warning you. Never again. All doors are locked in this house.

Traits: Bookworm

Live in a tiny house with a Private Dwelling lot trait

Earn Indoorsy Lifestyle

Buy needs no one reward trait

Starting from young adulthood, only socialize by phone, computer, or letters except for your child or pet (you may need to turn autonomy off)

Have a science baby and never date or marry

(Optional: set your sim as asexual or aromantic)

(Bonus) Become a magician

Holly: Your mom loved you a little too much. You weren't necessarily smothered, but you definitely want to find your own way by the time you're a teen. Every social interaction is your chance to make your own way in the world and you know that. While at times insecure, you continue to aspire to the daring bravery you've heard your ancestors had.

Aspiration: Friend of the World

Use the future cube to decide your career path

Master the social skill as a child

Complete Social Butterfly Aspiration as a child

Host a Neighborhood Potluck

Grow Snow drops and Christmas Roses to honor your heritage

Make Polar Bear Plunge a tradition every winter

Always make cookies for Winterfest eve

Buy Incredibly Friendly reward trait

Make snow pals and snow angels every winter

Tulip: Love is just not your thing. You can talk to anybody and talk about anybody but when it comes to the ooey gooey you say ew. So you put it off as long as possible and instead focus on your career. And you are very good at it. Your reputation may take a hit or two, but you always know a way to spin it. That's why, when you finally do give in and take a chance on love, your lack of expertise and your newfound insecurity-well it ain't pretty.

Traits: Unflirty, Jealous, Nosy

Aspiration: Seeker of Secrets

Career: Social Media- Public Relations

Earn the Coffee Fanatic Lifestyle

Adopt a raccoon

(Bonus) Find your partner by wishing for love at the wishing well

Give your partner a flower arrangement scented with tulips to make them loyal

Master Charisma skill

Master Pet Training Skill

Catnip: You love the animal sanctuary, so much that you decide to make one in your own backyard. You aren't the old cat lady type, no you are a wildcat. Aloof and maybe a little mad. But people seem to be drawn to you all the same. When you finally age up into an elder, you'll know all the town secrets for sure. And maybe the best spots for a quick cat nap.

Aspiration: Fount of Tomorani Knowledge

Traits: Insider, Child of the village

Have a cat that looks like a tiger

Give your tiger a Clam It Up toy

Always rent never buy

Play basketball once and never again

Buy always welcome reward trait

Bluebell: You idolize Alchone Desperados. Cop and Llama was a joke. Alchone is where it's at, the man truly stood up against lawlessness. You'll do the same. In fact, you'll do it better.

Maxis Man Saves the City is the only book you let your parent read to you as a toddler

Join the Detective Career at some point

You must sleep on a Murphy Bed

Keep a diary of your adventures

Buy free services reward trait

Hang a poster of your idol Alchone Desperados

Bonus (if you die from the Murphy bed continue your career as a detective or switch and become a paranormal investigator- remember to possess your fellow sims for energy)

Dahlia: Your ancestors whisper to you of a God controlling their life. You are determined to be the one to break free of destiny and fate and finally control your own life.

Set autonomy on full

Play only on 3 speed after toddlerhood (you may pause once every day)

You may only perform actions that pop up as whims starting from when this sim ages into a child

[symeraid-s]

2023 Retrospective: Album of the Year

Once again, this is a very long post, reviewing all of the albums I bought this year. They are sorted by score of the album as a whole, so the first album is the best one and the last is the "worst" one.

WOODZ – OO-LI (7,4/10)

This album really is something. It doesn’t sound like anything an idol would release at all. It sounds like an indie rock album. Colorful Trauma was already an interesting step in his discography, but this took it even farther. At this point, he should just rebrand to a rock band, because he does it better than most K-Rock bands. The packaging is fine. The version I have is the tall magazine type, that barely fits in the shelf, because screw normal shelves at this point. Different from other ones though, the CD is actually attached to the Album properly and not in a way, when it feels like it might fall out any moment. The only problem I see with it, is that the poster and postcard in it, bulk it out.

Deep Deep Sleep 6/10 – Sounds very depressed.

Journey 7/10 – Sounds very personal and was probably the best title track choice because of it.

Drowning 9/10 – Makes me feel like I have a gaping hole in my chest. Put it on repeat!

Busted 8/10 – I adore this whole song. I really do. But it also peaks in its first 45 seconds.

Who Knows? 7/10 – I want this man to be studied in a lab.

Ready to Fight 8/10 – Abandon K-Pop and go full rock at this point. I wouldn’t complain.

Abyss 7/10 – A beautiful ballad, but I never listen to it.

U-KNOW – Reality Show (7,2/10)

Another year, another TVXQ solo album that becomes one of my favourites. It’s a great pattern, I can’t lie. The entire mini album just sounds very complete. Any song could have been the title track and picking a favourite is so hard, that I just refuse to do it. It also sounds very cinematic, like you can fit each song to a scene in a movie. U-KNOW also sells all of the songs with his personality. The packaging on the other hand seems very sloppy. It’s a magazine type and while it looks fun, like an ad for the “Reality Show”, there are glaring problems. Some of the pages are glossy and some aren’t, which looks awkward. It also protects nothing. While writing this, I pulled it off the shelf and everything just fell out the bottom, because it doesn’t protect shit. They really could have done that better.

Wannabe 6/10 – It’s a perfect introduction to the album that sets the tone, however it would sound better without the female voice.

Vuja De 8/10 – The title has been an inside joke between my sister and me for years now, which makes it feel even more like it was specifically catered to me.

Tarantino 8/10 – U-KNOW does seem to like his movies, so the title checks out. He also is a smooth badass.

Relax 8/10 – A song with a specific vibe that gets elevated by U-KNOW’s personality.

Spotlight 7/10 – Sounds like the calm before the storm.

Curtain 6/10 – Would have been better as a collaboration with Karina.

ATEEZ – The World Ep. 2: Outlaw (7/10)

The B-Sides on this album are better than the title track, but Bouncy really was the best choice. The World series really has cemented a music style specific to it and I love that. None of them sounds quite the same, but you can tell they belong together. I am very sad though, that this episode doesn’t have the same style as Ep. 1. The Treasure and Fever series were designed to looks similar and even The World Ep. FIN looks similar to Ep. 1. This just seems to be the odd one out. I do think it looks cool though. There are some problems with the cover because the foil seems a bit too tight, which causes the cover to coil outwards. The CD also is not attached to anything and is protected by merely an envelope. It can be jammed into the back or front of the album pretty securely though.

This World 7/10 – I love that the first track on Ep. 2 continues the last track from Ep. 1

Dune 8/10 – Probably the weirdest song on the album, but also my favourite.

BOUNCY (K-HOT CHILI PEPPERS) 7/10 – Grows on me, the more I listen to it. It’s just fun.

DJANGO 7/10 – Probably the most cohesive song on the album.

Wake Up 7/10 – I don’t think this would make a good alarm.

Outlaw 6/10 – It’s fine, but it has a lot of missed potential.

Jay Chang – Late Night (7/10)

I was very much looking forward to his solo debut after Boys Planet finished and I have to say that it’s really good. I don’t think there is a single song I really dislike. I just wish the album wasn’t made from cardboard paper, God, damn it! Why do companies think this is good packaging? It was already slightly squished when I grabbed it in the store and I was very careful transporting it home, but it still looks like I smashed it against the wall. Luckily nothing was damaged. The photocards also look overly bright for some reason, but it might just be the lighting.

I’ll Be There 8/10 – This is my new comfort song. It just sounds like a hug.

Rockstar 7/10 – It’s not a rock song, but I’ll let it slide this one time, because I know he can do it.

Up to You 6/10 – Jay is suave enough to make this song work.

Sunlight 7/10 – Another comfort song. The lyrics are also very sweet.

I’ll Be There (English Version) 7/10 – Bizarrely, he sounds a little less confident in this version.

Rockstar (English Version) 7/10 – Just as good as the Korean version, but the lyrics are a bit awkward.

Key – Killer (6,8/10)

It’s a killer repackage (ha). All of the new songs are very good and add well onto the songs already on it. They fit in with the tracks and really do complete the album. Since my opinion on the other songs hasn’t changed, I’ll just review the new songs and add them onto the score. The packaging looks great as always with Key. The “CRT” version I have looks fun and protects the CD well, by just putting it in a normal CD box. It’s a tiny bit loose, but nothing that stands out in a bad way.

Killer 8/10 – Key could do synthwave for the rest of his career and I don’t think I would get tired of it.

Heartless 8/10 – Very mad, we never got a performance of this song.

Easy 7/10 – Vibe is: “I am mentally unwell, but in a sexy way.” Please, just go see a therapist, honey.

Kang Daniel – REALIEZ (6,6/10)

This is just a very solid mini album. I feel like Kang Daniel really knows how to make consistent music most of the time and this is a very good addition to his discography. And, like a maniac, he once more claims the best album packaging in terms of protectiveness. There is a protective plastic cover around the album and then also a box sealed with a magnet. Everything in the album also is very orderly. He really should just design all albums from now on.

Wasteland 8/10 – Sounds desolate and sets the tone for SOS really well.

SOS 7/10 – “Call an ambulance, but not for me.”

Supernova 7/10 – Reminds me of something I can’t place, but it’s a banger so it doesn’t matter.

Liar 6/10 – Well, self-reflection is the first step to getting better.

Dreaming 5/10 – Sounds empty.

VIXX – CONTINUUM (6,6/10)

After a way too long hiatus, the concept kings of K-Pop are finally back. And even though it’s just half the group, this was a very solid comeback. Though there wasn’t really a concept. I guess it might have been Parallel but taken seriously. It does feel very good to have them back regardless. The album design kind of triggers a pet peeve of mine though. And that is clear plastic covers where you can see the glue holding it together. I don’t know why, but it just looks ugly to me. The album does very much fit into the plastic in a way that it’s not too loose, but also not to tight though, which is nice.

Amnesia 7/10 – The chorus is a bit too generic for me and the weird clicking/beeping noise in the background throws me off, but I still like the song.

Chemical 6/10 – Needs a better chorus, but otherwise slaps.

Lilac 6/10 – A nice ballad, but not much else.

Savage 8/10 – Should have been the title track. Also, Ken in this song continues to prove that he’s vocal Jesus.

If You Come Tonight 6/10 – I would come over immediately, if they’d ask me. 

Key – Good & Great (6,5/10)

I think this isn’t Key’s best work. Some of the B-Sides sound too similar too each other. On their own, I think I would love them all, but after each other, I sometimes can’t tell where one song ends and the next one starts. There is one stand out regardless, aside from the title track of course. Conceptually, the packaging of the album is really cool but there are two issues I have with it. The first is that the File version, is way too big. I own a lot of big albums, but I seriously had to lower my shelf to get this album to fit in (I need a new shelf…). The other is with the different versions itself. Only the File version has a regular CD. The other versions that exist either are digital or use a mini-CD. Who the hell uses mini-CDs in 2023?

Good & Great 7/10 – Yeah, he better fucking get paid for constantly releasing good music.

Can’t Say Goodbye 7/10 – Fun to listen to.

Intoxicating 6/10 – Sounds way too similar to Can’t Say Goodbye.

Live Without You 6/10 – Just very generic

CoolAs 8/10 – I’m 100% convinced that this song was originally called “Cool Ass”. Also, I strive to be as suave as Key.

Mirror, Mirror 5/10 – The token ballad on the album.

PURPLE KISS – Cabin Fever (6,5/10)

Probably their most solid mini album so far. It doesn’t have something like Love is Dead on it, but all the songs are on the same level, which makes it feel very complete. However, the album already arrived damaged because it’s basically just cardboard paper. Come on, RBW. Stop doing this! Nothing in the album was damaged, but still… PURPLE KISS’ album packaging really seems to get worse.

Intro: Save Me 7/10 – Not their best intro but featuring some of their best vocals.

Sweet Juice 7/10 – The lyrics can be a bit wonky at times, but their voices carry it wonderfully.

T4ke 7/10 – Could have also been the title track, but really works better as a B-Side.

Autopilot 7/10 – Very sweet lyrics and vocals. A comfort song.

Agit 6/10 – Cute, but they also sound bored with it.

So Far So Good 5/10 – Good vocals, but not their best ballad.

TXT – The Name Chapter: Temptation (6,4/10)

All of the B-Sides on this album are better than the title track. Sugar Rush Ride isn’t necessarily bad, but there are some issues I have with the song. The other songs on the album just sound way more complete. The packaging of this album seems very half-baked. The book itself looks nice and protective, but once you open it, everything just falls out, because nothing is attached to it. Also, when you open the photobook, it creaks, and it shouldn’t do that. It’s a sign that the album isn’t bound properly, and the spine might break.

Devil by the Window 8/10 – Not title track material, but very good. It was also very funny to see catholic K-Pop fans lose their minds over the devil being mentioned in the lyrics.

Sugar Rush Ride 6/10 – Solid build up and anti-drop, but sadly the second half of the chorus is awful.

Happy Fools 5/10 – Not the worst collaboration to come out of HYBE, but I could do without it.

Tinnitus (Wanna be a Rock) 7/10 – The song slaps, but please stop naming your songs while drunk.

Farewell, Neverland 6/10 – Nice closer to the album.

Lee Seung Yoon – Shelter of Dreams (6,3/10)

Lee Seung Yoon is not really a K-Pop artist, but more an indie rock one and I can’t believe he didn’t slip onto my radar sooner. His voice is very nice, and the album is fine. The packaging is also very solid, being a box protected by a paper cover. The cover can get damaged easily, but the CD is very secure.

Hero Collector 7/10 – Sounds happy and sad at the same time without the two moods clashing.

Unsubtitled 6/10 – He should collaborate with WOODZ.

Some Some Some 7/10 - Sounds oddly upbeat, but like it hates itself for being like that.

Shelter of Dreams 8/10 – It’s lamenting, yet also very beautiful.

Poetic License 5/10 – A boring ballad. I don’t have anything else to say about it.

Summer in 1995 5/10 – An album can only have one really amazing ballad, I guess.

Wild Horse 8/10 – Makes me want to go for a run. Also, the guitar riff is really cool.

Pricey Hangover 8/10 – I don’t think rock music would help with your hangover, but that doesn't mean, I won’t try.

Upon a Smile 6/10 – It could do a bit more with its chorus.

Harder than a Prayer 5/10 – It’s lamenting, but in a boring way.

A Sip of Song 6/10 – The one song, where it actually would have been really funny if it were short.

Nickname 5/10 – Would have fit better near the beginning of the album.

CIX – OK Episode 2: I’m Okay (6,3/10)

This single album is very soothing to listen to. The only song I regularly listen to is Save Me, Kill Me, but the other songs are also nice. The album is a standard-book-style packaging. It’s nothing too fancy, but it works just fine, and the colour scheme looks nice. The CD is also properly attached to it, which seems to be so rare nowadays. The one problem I have with it, is that the pages of the photobooks seem hard to flip through properly.

Back to Life 6/10 – Sounds very soothing.

Save Me, Kill Me 8/10 – Tears my heart out.

Curtain Call 6/10 – This is what I imagine a star shower sounds like.

Color 5/10 – Would be better without the rap part.

PITTA – BE FREE (6,3/10)

Hyungho continues to bless us with his amazing voice, which really is the main reason I bought this album for. That, and the fact that it has a live DVD included with it, which I haven’t watched yet. It also chooses the best form of packaging: A box with a magnetic lid. It’s simple, but it works really well.

INTRO 5/10 – I’m pretty sure this has the voices of the other FORESTELLA members mixed in.

CARPE DIEM 6/10 – Gives me Bon Jovi vibes.

SMOG 6/10 – Perfect proof that insane vocals don’t immediately make a ballad good.

BE FREE 8/10 – Sounds like it should be a James Bond theme song.

DANDELION 6/10 – This is what I imagine heaven sounds like.

UNIVERSE 7/10 – Sounds very ethereal.

Red Velvet – Chill Kill (6,3/10)

It’s the first album I bought of Red Velvet. I’m not usually a fan of them, and I also don’t like the title track as much, but all of the B-Sides are really good, so I just had to get my hands on it. I guess people had a point with that: Their B-Sides are better than their title tracks. The version of the album I own, is an individual member version. Specifically, Irene’s. She’s… certainly not my favourite, but the normal version didn’t look structurally sound at all, so I got it regardless. It is a bit confusing, because I first thought that it might be a magnet box, but no, you just slide it out the top or bottom. Though there is some resistance to this, it still slides out to easy for me to be comfortable with.

Chill Kill 6/10 – If the first half of the chorus were better, this could be their best title track.

Knock Knock (Who’s There?) 7/10 – Could have also been the title track.

Underwater 6/10 – The right amount of boring.

Will I Ever See You Again? 6/10 – The chorus is a tiny bit too generic for me, but the verses are beautiful.

Nightmare 7/10 – More proof that songs called Nightmare can do no wrong.

Iced Coffee 5/10 – I… don’t get what the song name has to do with it.

One Kiss 8/10 – A Red Velvet song with an actual good rap part? In 2023? Also, their harmonies.

Bulldozer 8/10 – A Red Velvet song that actually shows personality? In 2023?

Wings 5/10 – Sounds a bit like a children’s song.

Scenery 5/10 – Sounds like it should be in a mafia movie.

Taemin – Guilty (6,2/10)

For his first solo comeback after his military hiatus, it’s fine. The title track certainly is the best song, and the rest is fine. It’s not something I feel incredibly strong about, but I do appreciate its existence. Taemin also took a page out of Key’s book for the album design. It’s a shoebox. Like… something you keep memorabilia from an ex in. He’s very much feeding our delusions and I love it. The disk still is properly protected, and the inserts are all fun, though I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with just one shoelace. ARMYs immediately cried plagiarism though, because it supposedly resembled V’s album design, but there is a very clear difference between the two. One is a shoebox, and the other is designed to look like a package you receive in the mail. One is good, the other is incredibly sleep including.

Guilty 7/10 – Sounds a tiny bit like a cult indoctrination, which is very fitting for Taemin. But he’s also too good for this song.

The Rizzness 7/10 – Hilarious but also cool at the same time. Only Taemin could make that work, really.

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not 6/10 – Sounds a bit like it features NCT.

Not Over You 6/10 – Feels like swimming through sludge.

Night Away 5/10 – Seems to summon sleep instead.

Blue 6/10 – Does feel and sound blue.

ONEWE – Gravity (6,2/10)

This is an English album. You really should keep that in mind because I completely forgot. The English versions of the songs aren’t bad by any means, in fact, at least one is actually better than the original. In my opinion of course. Feel free to disagree. The packaging is very loose, causing everything to almost fall out just for grabbing the album off the shelf. The design of it is also kind off odd, with the picture on the front being printed with the long side on the bottom. The name of the album however, isn’t written on the short side, but the long side which causes the album to look a bit weird.

Gravity 7/10 – Yonghoon’s vocals are absolutely fantastic, and the song shows them off nicely, but I wish there was a bit more too it.

AuRoRa 7/10 – The English lyrics for this song are really nice.

Parting 6/10 -  Sounds like they are cramming to many words per line.

Regulus 5/10 – A little too much autotune for my taste.

Montage_ 7/10 – Not as good as the original, but still very nice.

Rain to Be 7/10 – The transitions don’t seem to work quite as well in English.

Ring on my Ears 5/10 – Gotta love a man with piercings, but this ain’t it.

Trauma 6/10 – I… have no clue what this song is supposed to be about.

Logo 6/10 – Sweet, but also boring

End of Spring 7/10 – Actually sounds better in English. Probably because it sounds like an Avicii song.

Crazy Good 5/10 – The chorus is… not good.

PURPLE KISS – FESTA (6/10)

This might be their weakest release so far. I never really listen to any of the songs. The only reason why I got it, was basically just for completion’s sake. The album design is also baffling. Not only does the box look like there needs to be more filler material to not let everything fall inward, but it also comes with just a mini-CD. …didn’t I just go over this? No one uses mini-CDs. Some computers can’t even read mini-CDs. Luckily mine can, I just don’t understand, why it’s not a normal CD. Maybe because of production costs? But even then, it can’t be that much more. And if that’s where you’re failing, then I fear for the future.

7HEAVEN 6/10 – Their vocals are great as always, but they can’t save this song on their own.

Biscuit 6/10 – I don’t like the chorus.

Mistake 6/10 – Probably the best of the three songs, which is sad.

SHINee – HARD (6/10)

It really hurts me to say this, because SHINee is one of my ult groups, but I did not like this album that much. To be completely fair, a huge fault of that is the title track and I do think, that any of the B-Sides would have worked better as the title track. But none of them necessarily stuck with me, aside from two songs really. Also, they made the impossible, possible by creating multiple songs that actually sound better, when it’s just Minho, Key and Taemin performing them. Actually insane. In another first from SHINee, the packaging is actually really good. It did take me an embarrassing long second to figure out how to open it, but it’s surprisingly protective. It even has a magnet protecting it. The only complaint I have with it, is that I wish that the disk wasn’t just shoved into an envelope, but was properly attached, but I guess we can���t have everything.

HARD 4/10 – I believe there is a good song hidden in here, but it was split into so many parts that it’s unrecognisable.

Juice 7/10 – My favourite song on the album, ironically. Also, sounds better without Onew, which should be considered a hate crime.

10X 6/10 – The chorus is almost painfully generic.

Satellite 7/10 – The verses could be a lot better, but the chorus does save the song.

Identity 7/10 – My favourite song on the album, unironically. Should have been the title track, tbh.

The Feeling 6/10 – Very sweet song for Shawols, but the vocals and instrumental sound a bit… off.

Like it 6/10 – A bit generic, but still fun.

Sweet Misery 6/10 – Would sound better as a Taemin solo.

Insomnia 6/10 - Would sound better as a Minho solo.

Gravity 5/10 – Drags you down.

The Rose – Dual (5,9/10)

This album was very much an impulse buy because I really like Back to Me. The other songs on the album are not as good as that song and are pretty mediocre, but I can’t say I regret buying the album regardless. They did choose the very best type of packaging as well: a box with a magnetic lid. The disk is properly protected and there really is nothing to complain about.

Dawn 5/10 – Fine as an intro

You’re Beautiful 6/10 – Man, how whipped can you be for your significant other?

Nauseous 6/10 – Very generic.

Back to Me 8/10 – I don’t think I ever will get over these lyrics.

Lifeline 6/10 – Kind of a Nothingburger.

Dusk 5/10 – Weird place to put this song. I completely skipped it by accident.

Angel 5/10 – A nice ballad, but nothing special.

Eclipse 6/10 – Here I’m running out of things to call things mediocre with.

Alive 7/10 – A little too much autotune for my taste.

Cosmo 6/10 – Sounds like End of Spring by ONEWE.

Wonder 5/10 – Reminds me of Coldplay (derogatory).

INFINITE – 13EGIN (5,8/10)

It’s not their best album, but it’s just very nice to have them back. And under their own name in their own company no less. I really hope this wasn’t just a one-time thing. The packaging is very good. It’s a box that protects the CD properly and has a photobook for each member, which is something, I don’t think I have ever seen. The box also, despite being simply black with their logo on it in gold, looks very fancy.

Intro: 13 3/10 – Very unpleasant to listen to. Especially with headphones.

New Emotions 6/10 – Not their best work but the chorus has no business being so smooth.

Time Difference 8/10 – A beautiful song that shouldn’t be relegated to being just a B-Side.

TXT – The Name Chapter: FREEFALL (5,7/10)

The album took a while to grow on me, but the more I listen to it, the more I like it. There are some baffling choices this album made though, but I’ll mention it when I talk about specific songs. The album packaging also is really weird. You are supposed to rip one side open and like… damaging an album like that is always not good. Everything else is also just kind of shoved into there. It doesn't fall out because of there are folds on the top and bottom, but they also cause some problems with the photobook. The book is attached to the back and if you try to casually browse through the book, the pages constantly brush against the folds, which is mildly annoying. I also don’t understand, why they made random posters of buildings and walls instead of the members. Like, sure that’s what I would put on my wall.

Growing Pain 8/10 – Maybe it wouldn’t fit, but it would have made a much more interesting title track. They do make this style work.

Chasing that Feeling 6/10 – Baby’s first synthwave song. It seriously sounds like a first draft.

Back For More (TXT Ver.) 5/10 – Wow, just… just, wow. Why would you remove Anitta’s verse? It’s the best part. Did you want to make this song more generic? Is it because fans were being weird? And also, this is the collaboration you want to erase, HYBE???

Dreamer 5/10 – Way too much autotune. I’m so sorry HYBE would do this to you, boys.

Deep Down 6/10 – Could be better, if the chorus wasn’t so painful.

Happily Ever After 5/10 – Painfully generic

Skipping Stones 7/10 – Would be better without the Autotune, but still good.

Blue Spring 4/10 – The vocals at the beginning are painful to listen to.

Do It Like That 5/10 – It’s just a huge pile of nothing. Also, this is the collaboration you chose to keep on the album?

[mo79zz]

Pick, Pack, Sell!

Pick, pack, sell has been a very long yet very fulfilling project.

When the project began, I was immediately excited, and started researching for inspiration, which in turn, made me have ideas for every product, so it was challenging to narrow it down. After conducting some primary research, I noticed that bon-bons had sparse availability in shops which settled my decision as I knew I had the creativity to give them new life. I then decided my target market and made a start on some inspiration and rough planning. As I was curating my sweets to children, I looked into what things draw them in and thought it might be a fun idea to relate them to the children’s book – The very hungry caterpillar. This soon sparked some idea generation, and I started designing.

However, I struggled with bad artist block during this project and felt like I wasn’t making any progress – which I wasn’t. I was incredibly stuck for ideas and felt like I had hit a bit of a brick wall.

My final products have come a long way from my initial plan and I definitely think this is for the better. I research further into kids food products and made the decision to make my bonbons healthy and stand out from the regular market of them – taking an immunity boosting, ‘part of your 5-a-day’ route with them. This decision took my artist block away rapidly and I started producing work and generating ideas again. This change of plan alongside art block slowed down my progress and I fell behind slightly, I really had to pick up the pace and make some prototypes. To my luck, the first prototype I made, needed no alterations other than a logo move – it received great feedback and this helped me push for more designs. Soon after, I had finished the designs for all three boxes and completed the nets. 

Working one box at a time and altering the final one to fit the other flavours is definitely the way that works for me, as it was pretty straightforward to just change the layers and colours to suit. Another thing that helped me out immensely was having an asset sheet of colours, illustrations, titles and my bon-bon images, as it meant I could copy paste over to whatever I was creating i.e. my moving poster and standing poster. While making my poster, I wanted to keep it on brand and very child friendly. I kept it quite simple and used the typeface I made for my packaging to spell out a phrase on my poster. I think the final outcome really works well with the packaging and is bold enough to be eye-catching as I used simple block colours. For my moving poster, I took inspiration from an after effects session where we made a moving poster for AirUp. I use the same motions to have fruit fly out of my box to show all the flavours. While my digital poster is quite hectic, I feel this is very on brand as it will draw in attention from my target audience 

I made a lot more work for myself by including a sticker sheet and mini snack packs to my boxes for the bon-bons to be encased in. However, I managed to get everything completed before deadline and think this addition gave a really nice effect and made my product feel moreauthentic.

I wanted my packaging to have a recycled/organic feel to it with textured matte paper that wasn’t entirely crisp white. This posed as a struggle as I wasn’t able to get my hands on something like this so had to find an alternate way. I downloaded a paper texture and overlayed this on my nets before printing which actually gave a really nice effect – alongside the nets being printed using an ink-jet printer meaning it had a matte finish, this way worked perfectly. While prototyping I encountered some misalignment with the inside vs the outside, I didn’t alter this as every printer has a different alignment so instead, I hoped for the best which actually worked out okay and there was barely any misalignment. 

One thing I faced when creating my packaging was envy of other classmates work. I know that everyone has different target markets and products, but this didn’t stop me from beating myself down about my project being bad. Another problem I faced which could have been avoided was that my boxes would not fit 5 packets in, only 4. This wouldn’t have been a problem if I had scaled the box differently and measured the size of the mini packs before sending it off to print.

Overall, this project has been super successful and has made me feel much more confident in my abilities. I have a better understanding of how I like to work, how I make the most progress and what my style of work is. Seeing everything come together and having it photographed properly has definitely made me like my product a million times more and made it feel much more real. I feel like it fits into my target audience perfect and will blend really nicely on the shelves next to yo-yo bear and organix snacks – exactly my aim :)

[txt-life-journal-file]

portfolio orientation: 3D Concept designer 3D Modeler 3D artist-graphic designer means all the 3d can be elements for something such as music cover, poster, exhibition, t-shirt, toy collective i am so tired of hardly trying to understand what i do with my Portfolio therefore ending up doing nothing with my multiple reference boards and concept books (i draw!) last days because once i create a Concept in my mind, or i Draw it, i end up realizing it don't fit in the expected Field of Gamedeeev or bla-bla-bla i never really chose in the Final but plan to go to 3d Art School that has Gamedev bias. they actually do not gamedev too and i plan to visit 'basic CG' course that touches multiple disciplines of 3D art and 2D concept art so. i love Designing Things! i love to Draft Original designs and i am pretty good at it although i cant decide what to do with my Carrier (and education? maybe i better go to graphic design classes?? idk tho it's not quite it for me, i Love exactly drawing and designing 2D-3D...) the issue: i have so much ideas and options i dream about and i am lost in it! what i Love: technic: hard surface gamedev universes: environment, props also: product visualisation, industrial design (i just love mp3 players and other neo-futuristic things like that) artists i love and who inspire Me!!!!!!: 2000blaze, andypants let's think?: ………..Gamedev is nice, meanwhile i dream to do 3D art and 3D Visual art and be responsible for Concepts i myself model. i can do product visualisation of course. i've made models of an iPhone and other products. now i realise i have so much drafted concepts (like three-four good sketchbooks! one of them is full of excellent sketches) i am endlessly between 3D art visuals and the idea of going into Gamedev concept art or modeling or art direction

after multiple hours i spent on artstation i realised i Love Gamedev, …although: what i do can't fit in '2D concept art' because i love 3D sooo much i dream to model my concepts myself. there are 3d concept artists too. they kno how to make that HQ 2D Concept Art tho, and they experiment in 3D field too because they love 3D and it doesn't quite fit in just '3D Modeling' because oh god i can't just model creations other people made! to be honest, i dream to create my own 3D universe and a product with the help of 3D art! maybe a toy brand. maybe t-shirts and other items. maybe interior objects… or maybe co-found a Game as a 3D artist, art director?

i like the idea of making mini-technique hard-mech techcore characters and props. i have this universe in my mind. i love environmental futuristic city art. i love props. i love concepting things. and i love this '3D Designer-visualiser' style of modeling things that is so popular on instagram among 3D, motion artists, graphic designers, where they sometimes add 3d text, sometimes make product visual. or craete ur own universe. 3d Art where u can go 'neo-futuristic', product design, 'y2k', experimental, abstract and maybe toy design and product design and 3d fonts and stuff like that i can't decide what to do exactly it's crazy can't decide absolutely the perfect final'd be to launch a cool game and also my own product line. or work for (or open my own) a creative studio.

here are my portfolio-CV links: https://www.artstation.com/cyberj0 https://readymag.com/u3827028860/3711541/

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Our Lives Chapter 1: Moving In- Robin Buckley x OC

Robin Buckley x Wendy Thimble

Description: After Robin moves into her new dorm room, she gets a delightful surprise when meeting her roommate. 

Word Count: 2k

A/N: And we have come to another mini series! This was written for my 400th fic celebration and I'm honestly surprised I got this far haha. Anyways, enjoy!!

It was March 16, 1987, a.k.a. Spring Break. That meant it was nearing the end of Spring semester in 1987, and Summer school would be coming up soon for colleges around the country. That meant that people would begin moving into their dorms in preparation for either the upcoming Summer semester or the farther away Fall semester. Normally, teenagers would be excited about that because that meant moving on and finally starting their lives now that they were unencumbered by high school expectations or their parents. 

For Robin and Wendy, however, it was a different story. March 13th marked their two year anniversary since they started dating, but things had been a dream since the beginning. It had also officially been the one year anniversary since Hawkins basically went to hell. And yet, through the many changes that the town went through, they stayed together. They were both happy with each other and they truly loved each other. Though they were going strong, big decisions had to be made involving their futures. 

Robin had been accepted into a school that was just one town over on a marching band scholarship and she was happy with that. She was going to school without having to pay student loans in the future and she still got to be close to her friends still as the school was just half an hour away). Wendy, meanwhile, was given a few offers but she had yet to accept any of them. She knew what she wanted her major to be, but she just couldn’t decide on a school yet. Most of them were pretty far away, and she had no idea if she wanted to be so far from her friends and family. 

The one she was most worried about was Robin, though. Though it realistically felt irrational, Wendy was nervous that them being apart from each other would put them in a rocky place. And, though Robin hadn’t explicitly said it, Wendy had a distinct feeling that she felt the same. Of course with a…unique relationship like this, things just felt different. Lesbian relationships were practically unheard of and it made them all the more worried about it. But, Robin already accepted the scholarship and it was for something that made her happy, so no matter what Wendy would make sure that she stayed there. 

The college didn’t have dorms as it wasn’t quite big enough, but there were apartments right beside the school that provided housing that was much cheaper than the other surrounding complexes. Wendy still hadn’t made an academic decision when Robin came up to her and asked for help moving into and decorating her new apartment’s room. For a moment fear struck her because that meant that this was all becoming real, and that Robin was actually moving away. Nevertheless she smiled and agreed. 

That next Saturday when she pulled into Robin’s driveway and honked to alert her girlfriend that she was there. Once Robin opened the door Wendy hopped out of the car and helped her pack all her things into the car. Once everything was inside, they climbed into the car and drove off. The entire half hour was spent jamming out to music with the windows down. For a fleeting moment they felt at peace. 

Then, finally, they pulled into the parking lot. They grabbed as much as they could before making their way up to Robin’s designated apartment. It was decently sized with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room and a kitchen. Robin chose the slightly bigger bedroom because “the early bird gets the worm,” and so they began setting up. Beds were already provided for them (as were most of the big furniture like dressers, nightstands and the couch) so while Robin got to work making the bed, Wendy got to work on hanging up posters and pictures Robin had brought. 

A small smile appeared on her face as she hung up a picture of the two of them. It’d been taken while the whole friend group was hanging out. Will’s Aunt Judith let him borrow her camera and told him to work on his photography skills. So, he went around taking pictures of everyone. This particular picture had been taken when Robin and Wendy were laughing at something that Eddie said. Wendy’s head had been on Robin’s shoulder while the girl’s arm was wrapped around her waist as they laughed. 

She remembered the time fondly as she hung it up with the others. As she continued to work, her eyes slowly moved past the room’s still open door and stopped on the other untouched bedroom. 

“So, have you met your roommate yet?” 

“Nah,” Robin answered a little distractedly as she moved around a few pillows, trying to figure out how she wanted them. “The apartment manager assigns us roommates, but I haven’t been given one as far as I know. They usually try to pair up people with the same gender, so I’ll most likely get a girl as my roommate.” Wendy hummed in response before looking back at her with a teasing grin. 

“Just try not to fall in love with her, okay?” It was meant as a joke, but both Robin and she could hear the twinge of uncertainty in her tone. 

“Why would I when I got a babe like you?” Robin joked in response, which successfully broke the tension. The couple laughed as they got back to work decorating. 

Over the next week Wendy came over a few more times either with groceries or a few more decorations. The days that she couldn’t come over they would talk on the phone. They didn’t talk about anything in particular, nor was it anything consequential, but they both always hung up with smiles on their faces. Usually Wendy hated not being able to see her girlfriend, but she’d been working on something that required some time away. She made up for it, though. 

“So, have they assigned you a roommate yet?” Wendy asked one day, twirling the cord of her phone absentmindedly. 

“Yeah, actually,” Robin answered, a surprised lilt in her voice. “Management sent me a notice this morning. My roommate moves in this Saturday.” 

“Ooh, that’s fun. Did they give you any names?” 

“Nope. All I know is that she’s a girl and she moves in May 23, so tomorrow,” Robin informed her. 

“That’ll be exciting. Just try not to fall in love with her, yeah?” Once again she was joking, and this time they noticed that she was no longer uneasy about the idea. It made a smile form on Robin’s face. 

“I think I can manage that,” she responded simply. 

Finally, Saturday rolled around. Robin had gotten up bright and early to make sure she had enough time to get ready. She wanted to make sure that she made a good impression with the girl she’d be living with for at least the next year. It’d probably be a bad omen if they didn’t end up getting along. 

She’d pulled out all the stops. As usual, she showered that morning, then spent the next hour and a half deciding what to wear. Usually it only took a few minutes to decide but, to reiterate, she wanted to make a good impression. She wanted an outfit that wasn’t too formal, but she didn’t want it to look like she just rolled out of bed and put on the first thing she grabbed. There were several times she debated on calling Wendy for advice, but her girlfriend had informed her yesterday that she’d be pretty busy tomorrow and may not be home for a few hours, so that was unfortunately out of the question. 

Sweatpants and leggings were out of the picture, so she decided on a nice pair of blue jeans. She also didn’t want to wear too nice of a blouse because her roommate may need help moving stuff in and sweating in a formal blouse would just be embarrassing. But, at the same time, t-shirts were way too casual, so she needed a middle ground. So, a plain and slightly cropped green shirt was the way to go. 

Once that was figured out, she worked on her hair and makeup. She chose not to deviate from her normal style so it took no time at all to finish getting ready. Now that everything else was out of the way, she ate breakfast then sat in the living room to wait for her new roommate there. She was almost too anxious to sit still, but she eventually grabbed a pillow on the couch and clutched it so she would have something to hold onto and mess with while she waited. 

Finally, after what felt like hours (though it probably wasn’t longer than just one) later, Robin’s ears perked up when she heard the front door unlock. She stood up and hurriedly  flattened down her hair despite it being almost perfect, taking a deep breath afterwards. She listened to the front door open then close, then a voice called out to her. 

“Hello? Anyone home?” 

“Wendy?” She questioned curiously, walking towards the front door. Sure enough, Wendy stood in front of the door with a bin of indiscernible items. A smile appeared on the girl’s face when she noticed her girlfriend. 

“Hey Robin,” she greeted happily. “Thank god, I got scared and thought you weren’t home then it would’ve been really awkward because I’d announce my presence to an empty apartment.” The girls laughed, though Robin was still confused. 

“Um, babe, not that I’m not happy to see you because believe me I am, but I’m still kinda waiting for my room…” she trailed off slowly as things began connecting in her mind, and her brows furrowed. She’d never given Wendy an extra key. There were only supposed to be two; one for her and one for…

Wendy watched her girlfriend piece the pieces together with an amused look. She always looked so cute when she was thinking. Finally after a minute or two Robin’s eyes widened and an excited gasp escaped her lips. 

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, you’re my roommate?” She questioned ecstatically, practically jumping up and down. A small laugh left Wendy’s lips as she nodded. 

“The school offers a great writing program and after I sent in my essay they offered me a scholarship. I talked to the apartment’s management and asked if I could be paired up with you since we already knew each other,” she explained. “It’ll be practice for when we actually get a house together, you know?” Robin’s eyes softened at her explanation. 

“You wanted to go to school here for me?” She asked softly, earning a slightly unsure nod from the girl. 

“I hope it’s okay that I did this. I mean I probably should have asked because maybe you wanted to meet someone new and I may have just ruined that because I was insecure about you meeting other girls. Oh my god did you want to meet new people? Wait, I shouldn’t have said that part about me being insecure but I guess it’s probably best to be out in the open with my feelings but I don’t want to drag you-”

Her very nervous rant was suddenly cut off by Robin grabbing her face and pulling her into a kiss. Though surprised, she quickly reciprocated it, carefully dropping the bin in her hand so nothing broke while she wrapped her arms around Robin’s waist. When they pulled away for air they both had wide smiles on their faces. Robin leaned her forehead against Wendy’s as they stared into each other’s eyes. 

“Wendy this is the best case scenario for being assigned a roommate,” she muttered softly as she rubbed her thumb over the apple of the girl’s cheek. “You are the best possible person to live with and I’m so glad you did this. Understand?” Wendy kept silent as she nodded in response, but she couldn’t hide smile from widening. 

“Yeah,” she whispered, leaning in to give her another chaste kiss. 

“Alright, want some help decorating your new room?” Robin asked once they pulled away. 

“Thought you’d never ask,” the girl responded with a toothy grin. They pulled away from each other then Wendy leaned down to pick up the bin before following Robin into her new room. It was safe to say that they were both happy that she did this.

[samwebsteruniblog]

Will it Blend?

For this mini project the two random words given to me where elect and sodium. These words don’t scream any obvious ways to visualise this strange combination, so I decided to look further into the meaning to help me begin planning my experiments.

Elect;

Choose to hold public office or some other position by voting, opt for or choose to do something, chosen or singled out, prefer, take. 

Sodium;

Sodium is a very soft silvery-white metal. Sodium is the most common alkali metal and the sixth most abundant element on Earth. 

The human body requires a small amount of sodium to conduct nerve impulses, contract and relax muscles, and maintain the proper balance of water and minerals. It is estimated that we need about 500 mg of sodium daily for these vital functions.

Sodium is found in food, either naturally or manufactured into processed foods. Some of these foods are, Apples, pineapple, banana, soups, cold cuts, beans.

I could use sodium experiments and reactions in a way that visualises elect, by having these experiments do there thing and leaving behind marks on paper, mess, noise etc. Then go through and refine these contents into something artistic.

I could experiment with food highest in sodium as a material in experiments or as an approach to diet design and healthy living. With this idea I could even be a bit of a humorous approach using elect in a more political way, this would work well for the illustration experiment. 

The first experiment I am going to do is the illustration, for this I can be a bit more literal with the two words, I'm hoping that doing this will create a silly sketch of the words at their most basic definitions. By getting this experiment out the way I will be able to push the words and expand a bit deeper into the experiments. For this I'm going to do an illustration similar to those of political/historical satire, this will cover elect by creating a scenario where sodium is quite simply getting elected. For sodium I will have to find some way to convey this chemical as a political figure. 

I looked at political cartoons,

To begin with I sketched out a little scene of an apple trying to run for president, from this I then went over it with pen and ink I also experimented with the idea of using a little colour to help it pass for a political cartoon.

My final experiment ended up like this,

The next experiment I am going to do is sound, for this I was going to record some sounds from an experiment of sodium however I have decided to go out and record the sea, I'm not sure how this will work out however the sea is high in sodium and the sea is in charge or electing its own noise. I have no control over how this experiment will go. After doing this I found that the audio is quite muffled by the wind however the occasional crash of waves helps us understand that it is the sea.

The next experiment I will be doing is typography for this I started to experiment with type however I found it quite difficult so I decided to use type alongside some illustrations to make a poster. The poster will be using the importance of sodium in a balanced diet by using recognisable can foods to create a poster that labels the dangers of not having sodium. These colours are also similar to those associated with an election however the word elect is used here by the foods chosen with high levels of sodium. This took me a range of attempts before I was actually happy with my idea. 

Failed Experiments for type,

My final experiment for Type,

For photography I will be doing a science experiment allowing the reaction and experiment itself to control how the final outcome will look. I will be making hot ice and simply pouring it out in different spots on a surface. Then the experiment will elect its own path and I will document this and try to present it in a way that looks appealing. This experiment actually didn't work I was supposed to be making hot ice however I think I got the measurements wrong and made more of a cracked powder, but as I only had one attempt at this I will be still using this failed experiment as part of the six.

After editing my photo ended up like this,

For my colour experiment I wanted to use the colours associated with an election and use the random reactions sodium can have to show these colours. So my idea is to use paint or ink in water and place some paper over to collect the random effects the media makes.

[writtenvisionary]

Not Her Idea

Read on Ao3

WC: 2.9k

Summary: She most definitely did not adopt a small black cat and name him Mini Noir. Nope. But she can't help but swoon over what an adorable sight the real superhero with his mini namesake is. Based on this Tumblr post by @akuma-eater

It wasn’t her idea. It most definitely was NOT her idea to adopt a black kitten and name it after Chat Noir. Nope. If you ask, her parents were the ones who insisted. Because it was not her who suggested it.

She would definitely regret it later if she did. But she didn’t.

Although as Marinette pets the small, soft creature, a smile forms on her face. He rubs up against her, craving attention. Of course she gives it to him; who is she to deny?

She was still debating if she should tell her partner or not. His ego is already so huge, and there are so many of his fans that have named a pet after him already. If he knew that his own partner named her cat after him?

She would never hear the end of it.

There was also the fact that Alya would freak about the name and start demanding answers, because what teenage girl in Paris wasn’t attracted to the, admittedly hot, superhero? Again, she would never hear the end of it.

But when the words slipped out of her mouth in class, her friends immediately wanted to see the new kitten. Which makes sense. She really should have expected it. So she said that they can all come over after school and meet the little guy.

Now she’s frantically running around her room, tidying up before they make their way into her space, while Mini Noir innocently sits on her chaise, staring at her with wide green eyes.

All posters of Adrien ripped down: check. Scattered trash in garbage bin: check. Litter box cleaned and kitten has food and water: check. Fabric put away: check.

“Tikki, hide,” she whispers to her kwami, who promptly phases into her purse on her desk.

She takes a deep breath.

“Alright, you can come up!” She calls.

Footsteps are then heard making their way up the steps, and suddenly she’s not alone in her room anymore.

Attention is immediately turned to the kitten on her chaise. She watches in awe as Alya coos over her, and Nino rests a hand on his girlfriend’s shoulders, keeping her grounded. He reaches over to pet Mini Noir with his other hand, who leans into his touch and starts to purr.

Marinette glances over at Adrien. Her knees buckle at the look of pure happiness in his eyes, and she can feel a her cheeks heating up. Their eyes meet and she smiles.

“Y-you w-wanna pet the smitten, I MEAN kitten?”

He sends her a grin and nods. 

She somehow finds the strength to look back at her other friends.

“Hey guys, can A-Adrien see him?”

Yeah, she hates the stutter just as much as Alya does.

They agree and happily back up so that the blonde model can pet the little creature. Adrien slowly takes a few steps forward and puts out his hand for the kitten to smell. After deciding that Adrien is apparently a safe human, he rubs against his hand.

“Aw,” he mumbles. “He’s so sweet.”

Her heart melts.

“Hey, Mari. What’s his name? You didn’t tell us at lunch.”

She barely hears the question. Her eyes are trained on her crush as he carefully picks up the kitten and sits down, letting Mini Noir stand up on his lap. He gently pets him, coaxing him to lay down.

“Marinette,” Alya says, catching her attention.

“Oh,” she looks to her, then gulps.

Should I tell her? She’s not gonna let me live this down.

…. Oh, whatever. He needs people to refer to him as something.

“Mini Noir, or just Minou.”

Marinette looks back to Adrien, not wanting to see her bff’s reaction, and bites her lip. 

His grin had softened, but his eyes are watering. He continues to pet her kitten, who had finally laid down, as he blinks to stop the tears from falling.

“Are you okay, Adrien?”

He looks up at her, and suddenly he can’t stop the salty liquid from rolling down his cheeks. A smile crosses his features.

“I’m perfectly okay. Just… wish I had a cat.”

Not that she has a say, because she sucks at lying herself, but she can tell that he’s not telling the truth. Something seems… off.

“I get it. I’ve wanted a pet for so long. I can’t imagine what it’s like being alone in that huge house with no one, not even a pet,” she says, and woah she just talked to him without stuttering.

Adrien nods, looking back down at his secret namesake, and scratching behind his ears. Even though it may compromise his identity, he has to come visit tonight as Chat Noir. He has a right to meet a cat named after him, right? He doesn’t want to leave him at all.

But he has no choice. His father needs him home by four o’clock to get ready for his interview at six. Not that he’s excited for it, but he doesn’t want to disappoint the man any more than he already has. He’s sick of being a failure.

With that depressing thought in mind, he lets out a sigh.

“I gotta get going, guys. Let me know if you ever wanna hang out again and I’ll see what I can do.”

The three of his friends nod, Marinette looking oddly worried, and Adrien takes Mini Noir in his hands. He stands, handing the kitten to his favorite everyday Ladybug, but not before leaving a kiss atop the cat’s little head.

After he leaves, the atmosphere turned awkward. 

Nino grunts.

“His dad is getting on my last nerve,” he grumbles. “You guys don’t even know half the shit he goes through. I wanna get him out of there, but I don’t know how.”

Marinette’s eyebrows furrow.

“What’s going on?”

“Yeah, Nino, you haven’t even told me anything. And I’m dating you. So?” Alya asks, hands on her hips.

The DJ sighs, taking his cap off and running a hand over his short hair.

“Gabe isolates him from his friends, doesn’t eat with him at dinner, and Adrien has to set an appointment to even see him. That’s neglect. Gabriel is not a good father, and something tells me there’s something he does behind closed doors that Adrien can’t tell me about.”

Alya and Marinette stare at him, now concerned.

“Well, what can we do?” Marinette asks.

Nino shakes his head.

“Nothing. I’ve tried to talk to Gabriel, and obviously I was banned from the mansion. Adrien doesn’t think there’s anything wrong, Nathalie keeps saying that it’s not her business, and the Gorilla doesn’t even talk.”

“True, and even if we’re able to convince Adrien that his father is a dickhead, we won’t be able to do anything because he’s rich and famous and will probably be able to overrule any charges we press,” Alya explains with an eye roll.

The entire subject makes Marinette’s heart pound, and she honestly just wants the focus to go back on her kitten.

So, she swallows and forces a smile.

“We’ll figure it out. You guys wanna play with him for a bit while I help my parents down in the bakery?”

Both friends agree with an excited nod, so she hands off Mini Noir to Alya and rushes down the stairs. The tension in that room was too much for her to handle. She needed to get away.

—

Marinette sits at her desk, hand-sewing her latest design with soft music sounding from her speaker. Her face twists in concentration as she tilts her head, readjusting the position of her hands to work at a better angle.

A knock at her top bedroom hatch startles her.

Gently setting down the piece she was working on, she stands and takes a few steps to the other side of her room. Then she glances up at the window on the hatch above her loft bed, and smiles at the sight.

She really should have guessed.

He comes by every other night. Originally, it was for some pastries for his kwami, but it soon became time for him to unwind after a busy day. She has come to quite enjoy his presence.

It’s why she named her kitty after him; he was so important to her, and so was Chat Noir.

“Coming,” she calls to him as she steps up the ladder.

When she reaches the hatch, her eyes lock with the black cat hero before pushing it open.

He jumps right through the opening, landing right on top of her bed. She shakes her head as she closes it, eyeing him through her peripheral. His forearm lay over his eyes, head on the pillow, breathing heavily.

“You good, kitty?”

He nods, pulling his arm away to look at her.

“My dad wanted me home for an interview earlier and then said he didn’t want me to go,” he frowns. “I had to leave my friends. I didn’t want to, and I didn’t even need to!”

“Aw,” she mumbles, lowering herself at the end of her bed.

“Well, I think I have something that will cheer you up!”

One of his eyebrows perks up, as well as the corner of his lips. “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

She holds up a finger, trying to stifle an excited smile, then makes her way down from the loft.

A soft mew is heard from below, catching Chat Noir’s attention. So he looks over her railing, and the pure glee he feels when a black kitten is spotted cannot be tamed. His grin hurts, eyes following Marinette’s movements as she struggles to catch him (or her, he didn’t know) from running around the room. When she finally secures the small creature in her hands, she huffs a sigh of relief. Chat bites his lip, watching in awe.

She’s so adorable. 

Oh, and the cat’s adorable too.

Marinette struggles as she walks up her ladder, out of breath, but ultimately looks up at Chat Noir with a winded smile.

“Meet,” she swallows, “Mini Noir, or Minou.”

“Aw, oh my gosh. You named him after me? Mari, really?”

She could tell that his question was full of innocence, despite how teasing the word’s connotations are.

“Of course,” she feels her cheeks heat up. “You mean a lot to me. I would name a million things after you, Chaton.”

Chat Noir tried to stop it, but tears started forming all over again. Just… knowing that he actually means something to someone… it’s overwhelming. Not to mention that he loves cats. This is like a double whammy.

He’s so happy. He wishes he knew how to thank her. For now, a simple smile and hug would have to do.

She lets herself be engulfed in his arms, replying to his “Thank you” with an “Always.” He makes sure to leave room for their furry friend, who had resolved to curling up in Marinette’s lap.

When they separate, Chat Noir immediately looks down at the kitten, petting him with a smile.

Mini Noir stares at his honorary father with wide, green eyes and a little heart-shaped nose that nearly makes Chat melt. He scratches behind the kitten’s ears, enjoying the purrs that erupt from him. He wishes he could restrain himself from purring, but that seemed frivolous because he doesn’t even know when he starts.

Marinette giggles beside him and he sighs, not taking his eyes off Mini Noir.

“Was I purring again?”

“Yup,” she says, popping the ‘p.’

Then fingers are running through his hair and everything around him comes to a stop. His eyes flutter closed, and he leans into her touch. His purr returns, unwillingly, as he accepts the pets from Marinette. An angry meow from her lap makes his hand start moving again, giving Mini Noir the same treatment that his favorite fashion designer was giving him.

He was in heaven; experiencing pure ecstasy, feeling a kind of love that he hasn’t felt in such a long time. And the kitten… he just feels so appreciated.

Understandably, he’s disappointed when she pulls away. He glares at her, frowning hard, but she only boop’s his nose and hands the kitten over to him.

“Sorry, Chat. Gotta get those treats from the bakery, and set up the video game. Have fun!”

He shakes his head, leaning back on the bed and letting the kitten crawl on top of him. His little paws knead into his leather suit, leaving his claws to dig into the leather, so he ends up having to tenderly pull his paws off of him. He rubs the pads, gently massaging them. Mini Noir lets him, surprisingly. In fact, he plops down onto his back and stretches, allowing his paws to web out.

Chat Noir giggles, “Hey, princess? Are you sure this one’s for me?”

She scoffs.

“No, Chaton. This is my kitty. You just get the pleasure of seeing him a lot.”

He feigns hurt, dramatically gasping.

“You mean that I’m not your kitty?”

Marinette groans, “You know what I meant. Besides, aren’t you Ladybug’s kitty?”

Chat shrugs, looking back at the cute ball of fluff on his stomach. He smiles.

“I don’t think so. She calls me ‘kitty’ but it’s just a nickname. We’re not together or anything.” His voice drops into something smaller as he takes ahold of his mini’s paws again. “I wish we were, but she doesn’t like me like that. I’m sure I annoy her.”

The designer wanted nothing more than for him to believe that he was not annoying but he had such a low self-esteem that it was hard to really convince him of anything. But she sighs and does her best anyway.

“Chat Noir, you are anything but annoying. If she doesn’t see how amazing you are, she’s missing out.” Her tone turns predatory. “And if she ever says you are annoying, or stupid, or anything you’ve said about yourself, I will NOT hesitate to send her a giant punch to the gut.”

Her empty threat causes a smile to break through his chagrined frown, and a chuckle to escape his larynx (yes he pays attention in science class).

“You always say the right thing, Princess. Thank you,” he admits.

Marinette was going to reply, but her mother called her name from downstairs. She sends her two kitties a nervous smile.

“Be right back.”

Then she exits the room, abandoning the symbols of bad luck on her bed. She just hopes they will behave until she gets back with a tray of yummy, cheesy pastries.

To her surprise, they do. It’s Chat, actually, who ends up falling asleep, while mini Chat Noir prances around her room. He was de-transformed, but luckily he had already turned away from the hatch, hiding his true identity from her. This made her sigh in relief.

A snore sounds through the room, and she shakes her head.

Poor kitty doesn’t get enough sleep.

She makes a point to grab a throw blanket from her chaise on her way up to him, then drapes it over him. Then she heads back down the ladder to catch the little kitten, before bringing him back up to the real superhero. Mini Noir immediately settles in next to him, curling into a little ball flush against his side. Marinette can’t help but mumble a tiny ‘awe’ at the sight.

“Psst, Chat. Can you hear me?”

Nothing. He’s out cold.

Plagg flies in front of her with crossed arms, grunting.

“What is the meaning of this, Pigtails?”

Marinette shrugs, “Meaning of what?”

Plagg rolls his eyes.

“Why is there another thing here? I thought I was the main event!”

“His name is Mr. Mini Noir, or Minou. You can call him Chat Noir Jr, for all I care, just whatever you want to call him, Plagg, but nothing disrespectful,” she looks at him with indignation. “It’s a small kitten. Please be gentle.”

Plagg scoffs, floating over to the cat. She wants to turn and see his interaction with the other cat, but then she’d risk seeing Chat’s civilian identity and she wasn’t ready for that yet.

“This is family, Pigtails. We’re the same breed—“

“No you’re—“

“—And I will always love my kittens. I just don’t always outwardly show it. My insults are laced with love, little lady.”

She tilts her head slightly in admission.

He floats back in front of her, that scowl returning on his magical features once more.

“Okay, now where is my cheese.”

It wasn’t a question, but a demand. She smiles and shakes her head.

“It’s on my desk. Be quick before Chat wakes up.”

She watches Plagg glance over her shoulder at the sleeping boy, before he nods and promptly takes flight. Then she feasts her eyes on the way he inhales a multitude of cheese triangles that have been sat on the desk in front of him.

Only one minute passes before he’s back at her side. His tiny arms are crossed over his chest.

“Thanks, Pigtails. Where’s Tikki?”

Marinette smirks, “If she didn’t come out, that means she doesn’t want to see you.”

He rolls his eyes, floating back to his chosen.

“Rude,” she can hear him mutter angrily.

Plagg zips back into the ring, and a flash of green light encases her room before fading away. She is left with two sleeping black cats and a heavy load of homework.

—

It most definitely was her idea to adopt her mini chat noir.

That’s certainly why she’s sneakily snapping a few photos of the pair, snickering as she does so.

What’s one kitten without another? Just lonely.

Something tells her that Chat is already lonely enough outside of the mask. She didn’t want him to feel that way anymore. Who is she to deny him of a friend?

She doesn’t regret it. In fact, she is very happy with this turn of events.

Things are now paws-itively purr-fect.

[yuseirra]

I saw a post going around about this movie a few days ago, so I got the artbook for the movie “Red Shoes and the Sever Dwarfs”! I’ve heard a lot of positive things about this movie but hadn’t got around to watching it yet, maybe I’ll watch it this weekend. 

※Contains spoilers for the movie!! Please read at own risk

I hope it’s okay to post some pictures from it, the book actually had a lot of info packed in it and it was a really nice read, it had interviews, and things about how making 3D animated projects worked, since making this movie was a huge challenge for this studio. I think it was their first major project and apparently it took them 10 years to develop it as a whole.

The first edition of the book came with a mini poster design that was unused, along with a small notebook, it was so cute!

Uhh so as you may know, the story of this movie revolves around the seven princes(dwarfs) and snow white, the princess. 

The princes were supposed to be something like the idols of this universe with great skills and looks-

but they’ve turned into dwarfs because they attacked a fairy princess mistaking her for a monster judging her only by her looks. She gave them a curse that’d make them shift into small green gremlins whenever someone “looks at them”. When they are alone they can return to their original selves, but if someone else is there they immediately have to change into this form ↓

and of course they’re in utter shock and they wish to return back to their pretty selves- and there’s only one way back: to find the most beautiful princess ever and receive a kiss from her. And then we get the princess, snow/red shoes.

Snow White is a princess who looks like the one on the left, and she’s actually pretty happy, fond and proud of how she looks. She somehow obtains this red shoes that turns her into this slim and pretty figure on the right though, and seeing how she is in that form, the dwarfs think “wow, she is the one we’ve been looking for” and tries to help her find her dad and help her return to the kingdom she’s from. So she starts to have her own internal conflicts too, thinking how she might be treated differently when she reveals how she originally is?? but she already loves herself as she is in general overall, and she’s pretty much a character that’s fully developed in terms of personality.

It’s the other main character, Merlin, that’s the one who grows throughout the story. Handsome as he is,(or used to be) he really cares about the way he looks and is so determined to get back being pretty. I kind of get him though, I’d want to go back too if I were to be him I mean look at how cute he looks! (although he’s still kinda cute as his little green self)

Really like how he turned out in the finalized design, tbh the reason I initially got interested in this movie was due to how good this guy looked?? he looks so cute

anyhow, he finds it really hard to accept that he isn’t “beautiful” anymore and emphasizes a lot on how he used to be the most handsome guy ever and believes if snow saw him as his original self she’d fall for him immediately as well. But in reality, she ended up loving him regardless of the way he looked (in fact, it says that she actually thought he was cuter as a dwarf)

and later on, he finds out that she is the most beautiful princess in the world for him too, not due to her looks or her kind heart or anything. He just ended up loving her as a whole, for being her. After he realizes it, his curse is finally lifted and him and snow ends up together as their true selves. 

the other guys seem to learn their own lessons too from their friend and find their own loves regardless of looks

Overall, really cute story. I already knew about the plot but reading about the director’s thoughts behind the making process and how this story came to be felt pretty meaningful, it isn’t perfect, but I like the message they’re trying to send!

They write that the reason they chose the fairy tale “snow white and the seven dwarfs” as a motif was because that story has a lot to do with “looks’ and “beauty”, with the stepmother trying to murder snow white for being more beautiful than her and snow white eventually being saved due to how beautiful she looks. They wanted to question what is true beauty then? and in that story, snow white leaves with the prince leaving the dwarfs behind (always thought about that too, I hope she remembered to thank and repay them) so they made the dwarfs take a more major role, and flipped the story around enabling the dwarfs and the princess to save each other, regardless of the way they look.

In short, the message this movie’s trying to deliver is “love yourself as you are”, as stated by the director. It could be an overused message by now but I still think they put a lot of thought into this to try and deliver a meaningful message, and it’d be nice if little children could feel more positive about themselves after watching a movie like this in their childhood!

other than that, the book in itself was really pretty on its own too!// looking at the artworks (the bgs especially) was really inspiring! This is my second time buying an artbook from an animated film (the first being zootopia and that movie as great!) and it felt really pleasant! a lot of beautiful concept artwork from production and there were quite a bit of words too? I was surprised it actually had some entertaining read about film production. Pretty convinced I’ll give this movie a try! If it’s good, I’ll recommend it! It seemed rly cute, the artbook was adorable and I loved it for sure.

[moonfox281]

What does Mob!Jaydick’s house look like?

Attention: long post!

1. The apartment itself:

So, imagine the floor of a 5 story apartment building that can hold up to 8 2-bedrooms apartments. Jason and Dick don’t just own the building, they also live on one whole floor of it.  

Let me repeat. Their apartment isn’t just on a floor, it takes up the whole floor. (For those who still remember, when Jefferson first came to their house, he was surprised when there’s only 1 door on the whole floor.)

2. The living room:

In the “Unluckiest thieves in the world” story, one of the thieve mentioned that the living room looked both luxurious and homie with a soft vintage style. 

The thief had also said there was a lot of brown in the house. Brown here is of brick, woods and leather. (Btw, there’re a lot of couches since you’re gonna need to sit down going around.)

Jason was the one who designed every single detail of their home. He was very much aware that the place is too spacious so he maximizes dark colors and tries to put every corner into use, which give the place a more homie feeling.  

Plus, it looks great when at night.

To give more life into the room, there are also a lot of plants litter around the place. 

And every guest visiting their house always finds themselves stumble into corner like this:

Dick is quite bad at keeping them alive since he only knows how to water them, so all the plants are Jason’s responsibility.

Also, if you stick close to the sequel, you’ll see I often describe Dick working at the reading area. Said area is also a part of the living room.

Actually, it’s more like their mini library. It has floor to ceiling bookshelves (and the building has very high ceilings). Dick keeps all his books, work files, and documents here. It has a wide view of the city, and it’s also convenient for Dick to move to the kitchen since he’s in charge of cooking.

3. The kitchen: 

Just like the living room, the kitchen area is huge and quite open. 

Again, there’re a lot of dark colors used to cover up how wide the area is (plus anyone can tell it’s a two men house just by one look). They have everything in the biggest size as the market can offer. (You don’t want to know what those two have done on that counter island)

They also have a wine cellar slash pantry room right next to the kitchen too.

(You don’t want to know what John has done in here.)

By the way, you’ll always found Beast lying around in close by corner watching everything.

(He’s checking if the hooman entering the kitchen is going to give him a treat.)

4. The master bedroom:

They have three guest rooms, but this is where all the magic happen ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Actually, they don’t have a lot of furniture or decoration in the room, but somehow it still stocks up with random thingies like books on the floor, clothes on the chair, chargers sticking out everywhere, Beast chew toys… 

Their connected bathroom is probably, like the kitchen, the only place that tells how luxurious the house actually is.

Marble floor and wall, black theme with golden sinks vanity (I think I’ve mentioned this once in the stories before). Jason usually keeps things on his side very tidy. And Dick is the type to have everything out but will tidy up everything in extreme once in a while.

And then they have this

You can climb in a beggar and walk out a god.

And there’s a dressing room connecting directly to it.

(You guys remember in the story? Jason’s side is left and Dick’s right, because Dick’s always right ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )

5. John’s room:

John’s room used to be a guest room, but after the adoption, this is the boy’s sanctuary. 

Because he doesn’t want to live like old men so his walls are all covered and painted. He has sport posters up on the walls, a wide screen, a strong PC and a collection of PS4 games. Btw, he’s currently in the age when kids start locking their bedroom from their parents, but must painfully acknowledge that the lock is completely useless with two top tier vigilantes in the house.

6. The office:

The office room is where Jason works when he’s at home. The room was originally designed for Dick to work in it too, but Dick seemed to prefer the reading area outside more. 

This is probably the most “Jason” place in the house. You can clearly see the nerd side of him and…um, you see those guns and swords in the cabinet? Yeah, Jason usually has to put the lights off.

7. The gym: 

They are vigilantes, of course they work out!

That’s the thing about having too much and resource to spend right? You start taking everything home just so you can bench press in a room and yell your kid to wake up for school in another.