#is worth the time and money to design and implement

[oflgtfol]

“Other shortcomings [in communicating science] are evident in television science fiction programming. Star Trek, for example, despite its charm and strong international and interspecies perspective, often ignores the most elementary scientific facts. The idea that Mr. Spock could be a cross between a human being and a life-form independently evolved on the planet Vulcan is genetically far less probable than a successful cross of a man and an artichoke… There must be dozens of alien species on various Star Trek TV series and movies. Almost all we spend any time with are minor variants of humans. This is driven by economic necessity, costing only an actor and a latex mask, but it flies in the face of the stochastic nature of the evolutionary process. If there are aliens, almost all of them I think will look devastatingly less human than Klingons and Romulans.”

- Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

[etheries1015]

In memory of the Apology Mug Story (and because I walked past a super old building recently; guess what it had on the facade)

Reader who knows how to carve rocks into specific forms and is very skilled in it makes Malleus a gargoyle for his birthday. He's so happy he ends up accidentally confessing his love to them.

Bonus points if that was Lilia's idea because he got tired of seeing them dance around each other and wanted things to happen already

This is really cute <3 for those who aren't certain what the apology mug story is; the link to that is Here!

A special birthday present for our favorite draconic prince <3

Being in Ramshackle with a limited amount of entertainment (being unable to afford many electronics) you had to resort to other forms of entertainment. Reading, cooking, sewing, board games, long walks outside, musical instruments, and your most recent of endeavors; rock carving. You had learned a few things here and there from Malleus, he was an avid crafter of gargoyles within his club and was more than happy to teach you a thing or two. Although most of your attempts seemed to fail in his eyes, you were actually secretly incredibly skilled at this. You were leaving your skills to set up a surprise present for the fae for his birthday; January 18th.

It wasn't hard to figure out what you were planning on doing for his birthday, Malleus was incredibly easy to read. Although money was scarce for you, using your skills to handmake something would be much more worth receiving than any amount of money could pay for. At least, that's what Malleus had said when you inquired what he would like at his celebration.

"A present is not necessary," He told you with a graceful smile, "Bring yourself, and your smile. That is enough for me." ...you were not going to take that as the final verdict, thus began your journey to create a gift he was surely going to enjoy.

His birthday came upon you, and your gift was finally completed. You did not hesitate to rush over to Diasomnia for the celebration, bringing over two things; A homemade ice cream cake, and your gift box. The cake was pretty much the start of Malleus's excitement, ice cream cakes exist?! It wasn't common in Twisted Wonderland much to your surprise, so sharing your handmade cake with his enjoyment of icecream implemented already sent him over the moon. The joy that was written all over his face was the easiest text to read, soon pouring out of his mouth in a theatric novel after unwrapping his second gift from you- two gargoyles. They were miniature and made for décor less than actual function, however, his excitement seemed to explode off the tip of his tongue.

His bright green eyes were sparkling, his mouth ajar, and a blush painted across his pale cheeks.

"It's us! See, one has your horns and the other-" Malleus immediately wrapped you into his embrace, much to the protest of Sebek nearby, yet the smiles of amusement of Silver and Lilia quickly hushed the student. It seemingly seemed the words held inside had burst at the seams, and Malleus had begun setting free the things he had been eager to share for some time now.

"I am in pure infatuation with you," Malleus blurted out, "I have not received a gift so heartfelt and beautiful," it almost sounded like he was holding back tears of happiness.

"Two gargoyles representing you and I, shall I take this as a declaration that you wish to be my pair?" He did not await your response, the tall fae was already shooting off at the mouth. "I reciprocate. Your beautiful craftmanship will forever be my treasure, next to you, of course." You could not hide the clear redness from your face, and the dumb smile that planted permanently at his sudden confession.

"it's about time!" Lilia laughed, "Now, let us celebrate not only our prince's birthday but also the union between these two lovebirds!" Malleus pulled away from the hug and smiled again at the gargoyles you intricately designed, turning to face his dormmates.

"Yes, let us resume the festivities. We shall celebrate all night long, this will be a birthday well worth remembering. Come now, my dearest." Setting down the Gargoyles in a safe place, he grabbed hold of your hand dragging you into the joyful celebration <3

Happy birthday, Malleus!!

[inkdragonworks]

Trying hard to work and post monthly again.

I haven't had as much that's worth showing on Bluesky as a majority of work is scripting cutscenes in areas that don't have backgrounds and tilesetting yet. I don't think folks would want to read a bunch of text on black backgrounds.

Chapter 3's Act 1 dialogue/cutscenes are pretty finished now. Which means all the progression flags and map transitions are in place. It's nice to see the map flesh out and the interpersonal conflict of the story starting to form. Here's a fun tram ride:

It's funny that while level design involves balancing exploration, combat, platforming, and puzzles, the dialogue stuff I have to balance plot, humor, characterization, progression guiding, gameplay hinting, and making sure it's not overtaking gameplay too long.

With shops and sidequests I figure it's okay to be indulgent though. Finch's collectible medals are now functional at her shop: these start popping out of half the chests you find starting in chapter 2. While working as a way to pace how much money you find, their main purpose is to unlock prizes at Finch's shop, with 7 in total.

These include modifiers involving tradeoffs with money, gadget cards, partner attacks, and a very special one for getting all of them.

For example, a "Customer Appreciation Award" that, once pinned, boosts how much money enemies drop (if they end up dropping money)... in exchange for increasing how much damage PnJ take.

You'll also notice Finch has a friend in her alley!

This is Eclair, a dragon chef who migrated from The Kingdom of Three Laurels. What kind of chef is he? Why's he in some random alleyway?

Unfortunately he won't tell Poppin and Jupa until they've tried out at least 12 different foods. But once they do it'll kick off a separate sidequest, involving the Fishing Rod Gadget!

These two have a lot to say, and a lot I need to implement for them still. Functionality on all of Finch's rewards, the fishing mechanic and eventual payoff for Eclair (which itself would have to wait until more of the game's map is complete). They also tell some lengthy stories that require images to draw.

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

Act 2 of Chapter 3 is coming along slowly. The pair of tasks that involve their own cutscene sets have been fully tested and seems to be working as intended, regardless of what order you complete them or routing you take.

I decided to add a propeller tutorial area, similar to the drill and the upcoming bomb gadget. It's short but feels more consistent.

The ending of the Act 2 is underway, with only Rickity's boss fight next.

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

Here's what I'm considering next month:

Complete Rickity boss and cutscenes

Chapter 4 obstacles and enemies

Chapter 3 backgrounds and tiling tests

Catching up on bugs/polish/to-do list

I do wanna take some time for drawings and other things I've been putting off though. Hopefully some of it can be shared on Bluesky, or here.

Have a nice summer!

[vivillainous]

Resident Evil - Mafia AU (Mother Miranda x Fraser)

more on my mafia au, since it seems to be garnering a lot of interest. i’ve had this planned out for quite some time, similarly to the royalty au. both are longfics, with tbd release dates as i iron out the kinks.

as i’ve said, in this world, miranda is a mafia don. she’s in control of the largest casino in the city. here’s a little info about her (and MiriFras essentially)

while she is the owner of this casino, it isn’t well known by any means. mostly everyone refers to the mysterious casino owner as “The Owner” and almost exclusively uses he/him, due to a rumor that an unknown man (who doesn’t exist) is behind the casino’s schemes.

She actually prefers it this way. it allows her to conduct business both discreetly, and right in plain sight while being undetected. she often poses at just another regular, all while chatting up her patrons to gauge if they’re worth roping into her scheme, or draining dry.

Miranda meets Fraser on one such night in fact. Fraser has become somewhat of a regular at this point.

The other patrons don’t know it, but Fraser has somewhat of a trickster nature. She’s been rigging the card games in her favor, each night taking more money than the last. Miranda’s taken notice, though.

Not only does Miranda know that Fraser’s cheating, but she’s intrigued by it. So much in fact, that she decides to play a game against her. Miranda loses a horrifically large sum of money due to Fraser’s cheating, but rather than getting angry she only gets more curious.

So, she lets Fraser in on the fact she knows she’s cheating. Not only that, but she tells her that she’s the casino’s owner. Scared shitless, Fraser offers to give Miranda her money back, but the latter is uninterested in it. Instead, she wants to know how Fraser’s gotten away with this for so long.

After all, it takes wit and guts to scam people out of thousands.

The rest is history. Together, Fraser and Miranda implemented an addictive gacha game like system into the casino’s slot machines, similar to Fraser’s own card game scam. While you may win games, hell, you might even win big—trust that it is truly them winning against you. The system is designed for it. “A little give, a little take” as they call it.

There is another reason for why anonymity is crucial for Miranda, though.

In this world, Miranda is publicly the ceo & head of the umbrella corporation. She is a revered & highly awarded scientist. Umbrella is known for pushing the boundaries of scientific research. She can scarcely afford the public knowing that she has her hands dirty by being the boss of a crime syndicate.

Miranda & Fraser both use the funds they make from the casino’s exploits to fund their illegal research into cell modification and biochemical + bioweapon advancement.

Why do they do this? They are searching for a cure for a mysterious illness that plagues their little Eva. It will eventually kill her, and the clock is ticking. They’ve both lost themselves in their research and schemes, and they will stop at nothing to save their little girl from her fate.

Even if that means reverse engineering living organisms or viruses to help.

Even if it means scamming, scheming, and killing.

[wolfcat-hybrid]

Various thoughts from over the course of my playthrough of KCD2, in no particular order:

I kept wondering why people were giving Han's theoretical future son the name Heinrich when Jitka of Kunstadt's codex page says she had a son with him named Hynce. Turns out, Hans literally tells Henry that he plans on naming a future son Heinrich in Henry's honor. What happened to that, huh, Hans? Where did "Hynce" come from??

I love how little impact Wenceslas and Sigismund have even though the war and the whole conflict of the game are about them. They are (for the most part) never even on-screen; they're just figureheads. I'm not invested in protecting Wenceslas' claim to the throne out of personal devotion to the guy, I'm fighting for ideals and principles and what his rule would represent. I thought that was cool :]

The fact that Godwin came back as a main character is so funny to me. He was a pretty minor side character in KCD1, though admittedly one of the funniest. I love that we got to see how the fuck he happened, as a person. That said, how fuckin old is he supposed to be?? We meet his FATHER, and he has a brother who looks, well, Henry's age. I thought he was in his 60s at least, maybe late 50s.

Speaking of my inability to identify ages, how old is Katherine?? In the ending Henry jokes that she's old enough to be his mother... is she??? ...Wait, how old is Henry?

I understand why there weren't any children running around—more models to design and implement, new NPC behaviors to code, more VAs, plus gotta deal with the unenviable challenge of "how do we handle player attacks on children," to name a few—but once I noticed their absence, I couldn't stop noticing it. This was a time before reliable birth control methods; the streets should be filled with roaming gangs of loud, annoying kids. I know why they aren't there, but it was still kind of eerie that they weren't.

It's funny how little the game reacts to the fact that I am carrying around a truly insane amount of groschen. It's hard to build a frame of reference, but at one point you ride through a burned down village, and someone (I forget who) estimates that the village would have produced a couple hundred groschen a year, iirc. I am carrying around several village's years-worth of money.

Similarly, it was kind of funny how I wasn't able to use any of the items I had stockpiled for the seige. I have enough armor and weapons to arm our men twice over at least. We don't need to melt down old horseshoes for ammunition, I have over 200 iron and scrap metal. I know it's not ideal, but if we're that pressed for food, I have nearly 1k dried dandelions, 400 dried mint, and almost 300 dried nettle. I even have 30 ginger. It takes me, like, a minute to brew a phial of moonshine. Surely any of that would be preferable to eating boiled leather...?

[st-peculiar]

@sleepy-spaceman thank you my creature. Thank you

In a different post, I went over the basics of how AI work in my little OC universe, Rift Saga (a tentative title for now) and I’ve recently come up with another subclass under the sentient AI category. These AI are called exoplanetary scope AI (EPSAI), and were made for scientific expeditions on unexplored or new planets.

They��ve got the bare basics to be considered sentient AI. Personality database, though only bland and generally lacking in any particularly notable attributes, separate memory cores (personal and functional), and a vocal system for language communications. The thing that makes exoplanetary scope AI unique, however, is the presence of a physical body that contributes to the work the AI is doing on their exoplanet. These bodies are quite barebones, all considering. They’re designed for functionality and not for appearance, and only vaguely have a “human” silhouette. Their anatomies (which is what the EPSAI’s physical vessels are called) are very geometric and shaped, and their appearances vary based on what the exoplanet’s environment consists of. Proportions can vary, along with different protective sealants and coatings applied to the anatomies that also gives a “painted” appearance, but again, it’s all for functionality. They aren’t even given names beyond a factory number or maybe being named after their exoplanet—it was all about their work, and they really didn’t have anything that was just for them.

EPSAI only have their one use. They are meant to do their job, testing the planets materials, taking measurements, everything that would need to be made known to humans to determine whether or not that exoplanet is able and worth colonizing. And after, everything is recycled, including the AI. Their processors are stripped of memories and personalities, reduced to the “factory settings” so to speak, and their anatomies are dismantled and reused elsewhere. They go through a processing checkpoint following their departure off-planet (that is only if the planet is deemed worthy of colonization, otherwise the EPSAI are left to deactivate on their own time, all forms of communication with humans cut), where they’re supposed to be cleared for dismantle. However, all that began to change once a new presence showed up.

They don’t have a name, but they’re referred to as “The Liberators”—humans who raid AI processing checkpoints who smuggle out the former scope AI to then bring them to a planet who has in recent years, built an economy based around tourism and bot rings. It is made clear following their escape that the Liberators don’t do anything for free, and the former scope AI are indebted to them. In return, the AI are given new lives as the hottest entertainment seen in recent centuries, even millennia, for money. It works as a pretty basic bet-and-pay system; put your money on a bot, and if they win you get your money back plus more, and if you lose, well, you’re outta luck.

Previously, the AI are considered to be the barest form of autonomous, but here? They’re figureheads for a different kind of life. The one physical requirement to be enlisted under the Liberators in a bot ring is the implementation of pain simulant nanites, much like how human pain receptors work, just to make it a little more real. Beyond that, there is a rising trend in flashy mods and paint jobs to draw in more betters and really put on a show. Here, they also gain a stronger sense of self, forging names and new identities.

After paying off whatever debts are owed, the AI are free to do whatever they like on-planet. The rings are a well-kept little secret, and they’d like to keep it that way. Many stay in the ring business, often getting employed under new organizations to keep fighting. But because the AI are only known for their fighting, it’s the only thing that the human settlers treat them as. Mere entertainment and an easy way to make some extra cash. It’s extremely difficult to “live a life” outside of the rings for bots, which is why so many tend to stay. I mentioned debt peonage in my original post about this. It was a common practice following the US Civil War for African Americans to work to pay off their debts, but because there was still widespread racial discrimination against them, the only places that would take African Americans into work were plantations in the southern US. It kept the labor needed to run plantations, just on a altered plane. Similarly, that is what happens here with the bots. And, at the same time, they’re put onto these pedestals because of their capabilities.

It’s a highly hypocritical practice, but that’s the way it’s been.

A lot of the inspiration for this came from a movie called Real Steel (2011), which I suggest looking up especially for visual designs, because it’s quite similar to how I imagine the designs of the AI looking.

[coral-nerd]

okay, super curious, since I can't decide and need inspiration (you don't at all need to actually answer)

what are your farm layouts? Do you have a plan for them or do you just throw stuff down wherever there's space? I'm trying to decide how to decorate when I have the money and stuff

Oh dear oh no, now that really is the Coral Island question for the ages, isn't it?

Every time I start a new farm i tell myself, "When I get enough money, I'll completely re-do the whole thing and make it so ~ aesthetic ~ so for now I can just put things in places that are easy for me to remember where everything is."

And then I get to 2million coins and go, "eeeeehhh well I'm used to where everything is now, it would be a hassle to change, I don't even know where to put anything, idk what Vibe I want-"

Right now my only farmer who actually has a planned layout that's unlikely to change is Morimiya, who's a weirdo in that the thought process was "How can I plant as many things as possible and also maximise profit? Oh and keep animals too ig."

And I mean, it worked! He's got 12million coral coins! And more crops than he knows what to do with.

Although actually maybe most of my farmers are weirdos; Juniper's farm is basically my testing place for all the new items I haven't tried.

That one I have no intention of fixing up, it just lets me decide what I want for my other farms. For example: I don't actually like the turnip shed. The Pufferfish decor items are not worth it. Mushroom trees are super fun, but hard to fit in. Getting a good grid for your crops actually really helps. Pathways make things easier AND prettier.

And most of all, the valuable lesson of "as long as the insect and fish thingies look pretty and organised, the farm has a fighting chance of looking decent."

What I learned from Newcomer Hestia's farm is that part of my design problems come from bunching together all of my useful things, which then leaves too much empty space that I always struggle with.

And like, practically speaking I don't want to separate the useful farm items too much because then it's a lot of running around holding materials, but how do I balance practicality with beauty?

I thought I had done a pretty good job of that with Maya's farm, but there's still a lot of Dead Space.

Grass is super helpful for prettifying farms, but doesn't really cover the dead space. And to be perfectly honest, each style category does NOT have enough to cover the dead space on it's own. You'd have to do a lot of mix-and-matching.

Fun fact, Maya's farm was designed around the Smithing area, which I just randomly slapped down in the beginning. But I think having a Focal Point to build around helps.

But the lack of decorating really comes down to one main thing...

You can't line things up correctly in Coral Island.

See this? First thing when you walk out of the door, you just CANNOT line up a walkway with your door.

It doesn't matter how many beautiful items you get, there will be a lot of frustration just trying to put things down, hammer it back up, give all your coins to the giants to fix it, give up on trying to align it. Decorating is not very motivating when you'll have to spend many in-game days cursing at how a Single Tile throws off the whole vibe.

Plus when you are finally satisfied with the set up, your farm will get obliterated by space debris. So.

Anyway, that was yet another incredibly long-winded round-about way of saying, "I just put things down randomly and build around them. Then I dream of someday being able to actually decorate it."

I'm constantly looking up other farm layouts for inspiration and then just never get around to implementing it.

But maybe with my NEW farmer-

[twaltersmindfulreflections]

Mindful Reflection Week 11: Given that prisons often worsen mental health (iatrogenic effects), is it ethical to incarcerate individuals with severe mental illness for nonviolent offenses? Should alternatives like mental health courts or mandated treatment programs replace incarceration in these cases? WHY?

Given that prisons often worsen mental health, I believe that it would be more ethical to mandate mental health court for cases of severe mental illness without violent offenses.

According to Hector (2022) and Khey (2022), mental health courts are designed to help rehabilitate people with severe mental illness to help them strive for optimal functionality. On the other hand, prison systems often serve more as punishment or free-labor than rehabilitation.

Mental health facilities would be more ethical and better to use because "studies have shown promising reductions in recidivism and violence" (Hector and Khey, 2022) and "recent meta-analysis of mental health court confirms sufficient evidence supportive of this program’s ability to reduce recidivism rates across 20 robust studies" (Hector and Khey, 2022). This shows promise as an alternative to the prison system.

Ideally, mental health facilities would be used instead of prison for severely mentally-ill offenders. This would be difficult to implement because of time and money but, it would be worth the effort to help people with severe mental illness function at their optimum. It would benefit the individual by helping them feel better and it would benefit the community because they are able to more easily manage the negative symptoms of their illnesses.

Word Count: 206

Reference List:

Hector, J., Khey, D. (2022). Criminal Justice and Mental Health, An Overview for Students (2nd ed.) Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15338-9

[cyle]

Honestly my big concern when it comes to the redesign is the sunk cost fallacy.

Even if the majority of users would prefer a toggle or a full rollback, Tumblr will cling to the mistake they spent a lot of time and money making, and frustrate those users by trying to fix something users didn't want to begin with. A toggle would probably be best, but if Tumblr's in financial trouble I can't see them supporting two separate layouts. And as you said, people who use extensions to get their preferred layout back will be outliers.

It boggles me that researching, funding, and implementing this change was greenlit with no public input from regular users at the start; one post on changes or WIP with a *mockup* of the new layout would've given you a preview of the backlash. But now that money has been spent on it, it feels like we're all stuck. :/

that's my fear as well, to be honest, and it's what we spend a lot of time internally fighting against. for what it's worth, that's exactly why we run A/B tests and experiments: to understand if we need to roll the whole thing back. we spent over a year building group chat and we rolled that entire feature back because it wasn't working, so that's never off the table as an option.

and while we certainly could've done a preview on @wip, we kinda sorta already knew what the reaction would be. we use the site ourselves every day, too. tumblr staff itself is a mix of casual and power users. my reaction to the layout change wasn't happy at first either, as someone who's been using this site daily for 10+ years.

so please don't assume we're stuck here! we've already been working through the feedback and have a lot of ideas brewing on how to iterate on the design, including the option to roll it all back and instead iterate on the top-based navigation.

[marcushollogay]

Hi everyone!

I am posting my friends gofundme on their behalf. With immigrants and TPS being threatened right now, I worry for those in my community. I’d greatly appreciate any reblogs and donations so they can reach their goal.

Here is their link & description on gofundme:

Hey Community! My name is Victoria, I’m 19 years old, and I’m queer and an artist and designer for my clothing brand Sepulchral (ig: @sepulkr4l). Honestly, I never thought I would be doing this, but I really need your help right now.

I was born and raised in Venezuela, and prior to migrating here, my family’s situation was pretty bad. The prices of everything were and still are skyrocketing, making life extremely expensive. The economy inflated to such a drastic rate that we have to send my grandparents money from a wage that we earn in the US. The corrupt government neglecting its duties left us with no electricity for 2 months. This affected schools and hospitals, which resulted in me having to stop going to school, my mom losing her job, and large amounts of food being spoiled. On multiple occasions, I had to share my half-made food with my classmates and friends because they didn’t have anything to eat and were begging me to give them anything. Gun violence and insecurity got worse to the point that we couldn’t be outside after 5 or sunset because you were at risk of getting killed and robbed, even by the police.

In an emergency, we decided to move here 5 years ago, and it’s been a struggle ever since COVID, but everything is worth it for a better future. Now I feel like that future is in danger due to my immigration status. We’re all aware of the plans that Trump is trying to implement in all aspects. Specifically for me and my fellow Venezuelans, he is planning on deporting people back to Venezuela because “there’s too many of us here,” and the reopening of political asylums, which is what I’m currently under, has a possibility of getting denied. I’m also under a Temporary Protection Status (TPS) which expires in September 2025, so as soon as this protection expires, I’m fully relying on asylum and taking a chance on it getting denied, risking deportation.

Fortunately, I’m able to apply for the Permanent Resident status or Green Card, and as soon as I’m pending for this legal process, I’ll fall under the Permanent Resident applicant protection to avoid deportation. Unfortunately, this whole process will cost us a lot of money that I currently do not have, and I won’t be able to save up in time before the TPS expires and Trump goes into presidency.

If you need the full breakdown of the goal, please don’t hesitate to DM me or my partner for more information or any questions that you might have.

With your help, you’re not only helping me but also the art that I have had the privilege to create all of these years that I wasn’t able to back in my country. I have so many plans for my future here, like moving out with my girlfriend, getting a car, being able to open a business, and continuing with my art and clothes. That is the only thing that I dream of to keep me going and creating and sharing my message through these creations. I’m terrified that the privilege of finally being able to be who I really am and be with the people I really love is at risk of being stripped from me. I will forever be grateful for the amazing connections, unconditional support, and lifestyle I have built with the people around me. Literally anything makes a difference, even if it’s $10 or $1, and if you’re not able to donate, please share it on any social media platform or tell your friends. I will really appreciate any efforts that push me to this.

[k1rameki]

THE TIME HAS COME EVERYONE. ITS TIME TO TALK ABOUT MY EXTENSIVE LIST OF TABI HEADCANONS (hcs are under the cut plus this also counts as a little debrief of his human design bc jesus christ i put so much effort into making this man's design it went through a LOT of trial and error before settling on what i got now considering ive gradually made him less and less "human")

also quick thing b4 i proceed – please please PLEASE ask before making things w my tabi design bc ive seen a rlly cool papercraft made w/o my knowledge and that was kinda sucky so ya thats around it (other than the basics of no nsfw and such)

APPEARANCE HCS

first and foremost — hes half japanese because i remember his aside counterpart being japanese iirc and i thought that was really cool and wanted to implement that into my own little hc (also he speaks like a dozen languages bc of another thing i'll go into detail with in a bit

so many different facial features, scarring (theres a very elaborate reason for this tbh), moles, freckles, etc all bc why not?? (freckles is primarily bc of my bestie crow and now im obsessed)

lashes bc why not, give every man a pair of lashes i think theyre pretty

PIERCINGS. so many piercings. this is primarily because i am a very firm believer that tabi gets piercings done because he wants to feel human again so he finds comfort in decorating himself as much as possible for that reason and also the aesthetic

broken horn bc of the mod events, damage beyond repair and whatnot

HE HAS LONG HAIR BC I SAID SO ‼️‼️ i figured considering he's been invisible for so long he never really knew what to do when it came to cutting his hair, so eventually it grew out to around his waist, and he kept that hairstyle ever since (he prefers wearing his hair in a ponytail or smth bc sensory issues when it comes to hair touching his skin)

a lot of tater's hcs infected my brain hehehehehe especially the tail and his hands still being what they were when they were cursed (also. paw beans. /vpos)

HES TRANS ‼️‼️ hes also very dumb and has very little regard for his health and forgets to take his binder off a lot (trust me he gets scolded a lot for that)

GENERAL HCS

hes autistic and has adhd — the autism hc i lowkey stole from crow but the adhd hc ive had for a long long while now — one of his lifelong special interests is performing arts and musicals

chronic insomniac — sleep? never heard of her

plays like 5 different instruments but primarily specialises in piano and guitar

safe food is anything sweet or chocolatey — he has a massive sweet tooth and is obsessed w cookies and pastries in particular which ayana baked for him a lot (ill prolly make a whole other post for her in the near future but guys. pastry chef aya. hear me out)

an absolute boss at board games, especially monopoly, and he constantly loves screwing everyone over

extremely hyperfixated on pokemon and owns a bajillion folders filled with cards worth a buttload of money, and a dozen plushies + figurines (projecting bc pokemon is one of my hyperfixes dont judge me) his fav gen is absolutely johto

his eyesight is pretty bad but like. not bad enough for him to be needing glasses (unlike a certain someone cough cough agoti)

speaking of said certain someone, he and agoti do each other's hair a lot simply because its really fun and provides some stimulation, and also because it helps tabi practice with self care and such

VERY SENSITIVE TO SOUND AND TEXTURES, often times he will probably start crying if something sounds or feels wrong

sometimes he forgets certain words in english and has to resort to using what theyre called in russian

has the goofiest sounding laugh ever and i will die on this hill. when you get tabi cackling he will start rolling on the floor and making the most UNGODLY sounds

can speak like 6 languages fluently and a dozen others in simple conversation (NERD ALERT)

he sucks so hard at writing essays but is (for some reason) really good at maths

despite being the more serious one among his group of friends, tabis a dumbass and does a lot more stupid things than one would expect

[mygig1]

Benefits of Hiring a Graphic Designer in Ireland

Benefits of Hiring a Graphic Designer in Ireland

In today's competitive arena, a business must have strong visual branding to separate itself from others. Be it for an appealing website layout, social media graphics that compel attention, or logo design by a professional, hiring a graphic designer Ireland makes an impeccable difference. Here are a few pointers as to why finding a well-skilled designer is worth the investment for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Professional and Unique Branding

A high-quality and unique identity separates the company from its competitors. An expert graphic designer Ireland makes it rightful for:

Consistent Branding in All Platforms

From business cards to the webpage, a designer makes the brand elements uniform across all the credentials.

An Impressive Logo

As the face of the business, your logo stands out more professionally, courtesy of a designer.

Custom Tailored Designs Aligned With A Brand Persona

Custom graphics present a company's vision and mission to its focused audience.

Credibility and Trustworthiness

A professional brand creates a better perception and trust toward customers. Here's how:

Polished, Premium-Looking

Attractive branding sends out a message that looks good- a perception that forms the basis of professionalism.

The Conveyance of Clear and Effective Messages

Better-designed materials tell a story more eloquently than less professional designs.

First Impressions Stick Stronger

High-end visuals attract the viewer and develop a good impression.

Time and Cost Savings

Numerous companies attempt the DIY option, often spending more time and resources correcting their mistakes. A logo design Ireland professional could assist with the following:

Saving Time

Focus on the core of your business while letting the designer take on branding and marketing material.

Long-Term Value

Visually appealing graphics do not need updating as often, which saves you money in the long run.

Access to Design Expertise and Creativity

Graphic designers will have skills and creativity with technical knowledge. Benefits include:

Creative Problem Solving

They can produce ideas that would apply to your business needs.

Knowledge of Design Trends

Staying updated with modern style ensures your brand stays.

Better Marketing and Engagement

Visually attractive content is a key aspect of good marketing. A professional designer aids in this by:

Increasing Social Media Engagement

Attractive graphics mean more likes, shares, and interactions.

Boosting Website Conversions

A well-implemented design will keep visitors interested and encourage them to act.

Increasing Advertising Effect

When professionally designed, adverts have higher chances of being seen and can convert customers.

Conclusion

In this respect, the long-term benefits of hiring a good graphic designer Ireland are numerous; a well-branded firm creates better marketing skills. To have good social media visuals, marketing materials, or logos made professionally in Ireland, a skilled designer from MyGig.ie will ensure the work is high-quality, cohesive, and engaging.

The hiring of a designer will allow the business to have the proper visual identity, giving it more credibility and yielding long-term positive outcomes in a rather digital world.

[bts-polls]

hi. i know this blog is just for fun, and i don't want to be a downer, but jk rowling is a terf. she actively does not want trans people to exist. as a trans army, it makes me wildly uncomfortable when people who aren't fans are called 'muggles' or when people Sort the members. again, i know it's all supposed to be fun, but. i don't feel at all safe anymore whenever hp stuff is brought up. i hope you have a good day though <3

Hi anon,

First, before I get into the rest of my response I want to say that I while i can't truly empathize on this specific issue, I do sympathize with not feeling safe due to a marginalization from 'the mainstream'. I do apologize for any part my posts played into this for you and anyone else that may have seen them. I'm going to put the rest of my thoughts on this topic below a cut for anyone that isn't up for a discussion-type post from this blog.

HP was my first real fandom and as someone who was raised in an extremely conservative rural area, I'm unfortunately very familiar with this mindset and viewpoint.

I also had to do a hefty amount of soul-searching when deciding how much of hp-fandom I would continue to engage in. I've never been a merch-focused person (which honestly gave me some heartache getting into kpop..there are legit ppl out there that try to make you feel like a fake fan if you don't spend serious money on this interest... but that's a discussion for another day). Anyway, back to HP, I'm not into merch and I didn't like the movies, (I've still only seen the first two and a handful of clips from some of the others) so I'm personally not contributing anymore to the money channeling in but money isn't the only thing that fuels this massive engine.

Again, I had to have a very frank heart-to-heart with myself to see where I personally feel comfortable continuing to engage. For me, being involved in the Fandom to any degree and even having casual conversations about the themes and meanings was an essential part of learning to be curious enough to see more lifestyles different from the one I was raised in. And my story is not dissimilar from many that I knew in situations similar to mine. So I know that this body of work has actually had cases where it fosters discussions and mindsets for minority groups more than anything else of its time. I really cannot overstate how significant the HP books and fandom were in creating the first space where we were able to even explore the idea of being different from those around us, let alone feeling comfortable or even celebrating it. To us, HP was less about the magic of being able to move items without touching them but more about the magic of finding your own worth when everyone around you said otherwise. This concept takes different forms each generation, for some it's superheroes or musicians; for my generation, it was HP.

Do the unveiled viewpoints of the original creator now undo all of the progress that was triggered by her work? And should we all attempt to bury it as if it never happened? Another point of discussion, especially where I now live in the southern US with many entrenched systems of racial discrimination. (Again, another tangent but we're not here to talk about tearing down ugly statues that don't add any value to the current population).

There's also the literal logistical issue of deciding that I can't engage in anything because I don't agree with the views of the ppl in charge, then there will literally be no viable method to exist. My professional expertise is in systems design, implementation, and maintenance; and let me assure you, the world is legitimately run by people who have despicable beliefs. From entertainment, food manufacturing and distribution, to health care and politics; there are scummy mindsets infecting it all. The biggest lie in our society is that good ppl do good things and bad ppl do bad things. No. People with awful motivations do good things continuously. And the inverse is true as well. There is remarkably little black and white in the world, everything is on a spectrum.

Attempting to cut myself off from ALL of it is not possible, nor do I want to engage with ALL of it. So again, I need to decide where that line is. And it needs to be re-evaluated frequently as both myself and the world around me grows and changes.

But this really comes to my main point of this whole post. I had to do my own personal soul-searching to decide where my own boundary is with this issue. And each person should do so as well. We are all so beautifully different in our life experiences and thoughts and mindset. I would NEVER want to claim my personal boundary on any issue should be upheld for ANYONE else. That's where we must empower ourselves to understand our own sovereignty. I have complete control of how I choose to respond to a push of my boundary but not to dictate that others must place their own boundaries.

This is where we are right now. I recognize that my past actions have induced some harm, intentional or not. Again, I apologize for that. I've shared a few reasons why we have different viewpoints and may continue to create similar polls in the future. So, to move forward, I will be more diligent in tagging any polls so that anyone trying to avoid such content may do so. You will have to decide if that is sufficient for you or if you will need to also disengage here.

Whatever you choose, I do wish you the absolute best and thankyou for bringing this lapse to my attention. Like you said, this is intended to be a fun place where we can vote in meaningless tumblr polls about a group of guys in Korea that make music. I would never want to compromise someone's peace with something so trivial but I am just another stranger on the internet. The one thing I can do is try to give you the tools so that you can make informed decisions about what type of content you may encounter in my space.

I'm not looking to turn this blog into a discussion one, so if anyone wants/needs to chat further, please reach out in DMs or through my main blog @curio-queries . This blog will continue to focus on BTS polls.

BORAHAE 💜

[lunarsilkscreen]

Mobile Game design overview

A personal Journal Entry and pre-development path.

R&D Still Required based on style of game; touch screen and gyro controls. --preliminary research complete.

Design Overview;

Other Mobile games, no matter how well designed, have extremely cluttered interfaces. Some of this is because there are multiple games, mini-games, and events packaged into the game at any one time.

Some games have an coin based (energy use) version of their main game, and a sub-game that does not require energy.

Consider using this style for offline and online modes. It seems popular to use energy for the online. Portion, this way the player can enjoy the game as they wish without overloading the servers offline.

Other games have several Quest, Achievement, and Event menus that can be consolidated into a single main menu.

The reason they don't do this is still unclear to me; but is probably similar to the big flashy tags and sales sign at in-person retailers, and in the Sears magazine.

If so, they don't serve the purpose they're intended to.

However; it's probably more that the development team is inexperienced and using a framework or game template that they then reuse for added areas. Creating a package which is a copy of the template over and over again.

I had previously considered implementing an old-style arcade "life" system like Mario, but perhaps a more simplified energy system, perhaps one that tracks step through the accelerometer (or other apps) to refresh would be good.

Energy refreshments shouldn't be purchaseables except for in specific circumstances; Similar to Hearthstone's Arena Tavern Brawls that happen periodically.

Players seem to enjoy "Season Packs" to purchase, and dislike an RMT (Real-money Trade) currency.

It also reduces clutter and increases understandability by reducing the options that a player has for a single game.

"Gacha Summons" shouldn't be purchaseables. meaning Gacha, or loot boxes, if used should be separated from the RMT purchase portion.

Rewards for skill shown in the online portion should be considered and given to players that perform well in whatever the online portion might be

Minor connectivity for offline achievements should be included for verification, but more or less separated from the online game entirely.

Some specific achievements may reward Skins and other abilities for the online portion.

A small game studio shouldn't really go whale fishing like happens in many games today. (Packs valued by studios worth $100+ are common and give little. Seems more like a wishful thinking menu item)

Entry into a crypto-based achievement system, whichever company is able to make a stable one; is key in future development. Releasing of items and achievements into a startup ecosystem will help the game to grow.

Without going into depth on any specific game mechanics; this covers everything about the interface design research.

The question still remains how to address monetization and store based items. Aside from releasing things into a gaming ecosystem where they can be displayed and reused in other places; I'm not sure what to sell.

Gacha games are a dime a dozen and have seemingly all the same pricing scheme. Without a reason to have seasons, theres no reason a player might want to purchase one.

Here's what I think;

Hosting Price and monthly expenses need to be taken into account, but $1-10 depending on what % the hosting service might take, for a "Premium Account" badge, either a one-time, yearly or monthly seems key.

Re-curring costs may be implemented for "seasonal" reasons based on when the majority of players tend to be actively interacting with the game.

Lastly; Data needs to be reduced to a minimum. Part of these sizes are voiced lines, raster graphics for the dozens of different menus, CGI cutscenes, and music.

All of this will help to make a game that will be able to make it into anybody's pocket.

[postgamecontent]

Nintendo Switch Weekly Round-Up for the Week Ending October 5th, 2024

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the Nintendo Switch Weekly Round-Up for the week ending October 5th, 2024. A little quieter this week than the last couple, at least in terms of things worth paying attention to. Plenty of garbage, but I don't feel like giving any of that oxygen. Still, any week with a new Q-Games release is one worth writing about. Let's check out this week in the world of Switch!

Select New Releases

Sword Art Online Fractured Dream ($59.99)

This is an action game that is mainly designed for online play, where up to twenty players are supported. It features a whole bunch of Sword Art Online characters, and the buzz from people who played the game via Steam Early Access is solid. Provided this Switch port has been handled well and the community is there for it, this could be a fun diversion. Those are some big provisos, though.

All You Need is Help ($19.99)

Okay, so first up and very importantly: this game is four players only. You can play local multiplayer, or you can play online multiplayer. But if you don't have four, you don't play. No single-player. None. Anyway, each player controls a different fluffy puzzle piece, and you have to work together to solve each stage. It's from Q-Games, so you can count on a certain degree of quality here. If you have the people to play it with, I'm sure you'll have a good time.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Game ($39.99)

Another effort from Outright Games, specifically the team behind the rather good Justice League: Cosmic Chaos. This appears to be a Patrick Star-flavored take on Human: Fall Flat, and if that's the case then I suspect SpongeBob fans are going to have a really good time with it. You've got an open world to play around in, and plenty of activities to do in it. What's the main goal? I have no idea. We'll have to see how this one plays out.

I*CHU: Chibi Edition ($29.99)

If you want to play this particular free-to-play mobile game at a premium price with the money squeeze removed, here you go. It's a rhythm game with some story bits in between the action, focused around an academy for idols in training. Unfortunately, with the gatcha-dependent progression and rather spotty localization, this isn't an overly pleasant experience. You get all of the grind, you just can't buy your way through it. I imagine this might appeal to fans of the mobile game anyway.

Picross Records of The Shield Hero ($10.99)

Another Picross game, this time themed around the manga/anime Rise of the Shield Hero. An episode mode has been implemented here to tell some of the story as you solve puzzles. You get a bit over two hundred puzzles in total, all related to Shield Hero in some form or another. More Picross for those who need it, or those who are piling up Picross games for a rainy day.

Skautfold: Into the Fray ($14.99)

Here's a third game in the Skautfold series ported to the Nintendo Switch. This one is a top-down action game with plenty of gore and lot of ways to dispatch your foes. While it's not exactly the same kind of game as the previous ones (or the ones that will follow it should the whole series get ported), I'm sure if you enjoyed those you won't have a bad time of it here.

Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel ($5.99)

So, first up: despite that screenshot, Zero's sprite hasn't been edited in the actual game. He is still sporting the rising sun headband, and the symbol is all over the place. I'll leave it to you as to how you feel about that. As for the game, this is the Aero the Acro-Bat spin-off featuring Aero's rival Zero, and it's a very challenging game thanks to its reliance on the player mastering Zero's rather unusual move set. It's in that nicer emulation wrapper that Aero 2 released in, so that's good. For those wondering, this is also the Super NES version of the game. I'll review it soon.

Kill Knight ($14.99)

If you're hunting for your next great isometric twin-stick shooter fix, Kill Knight is a good choice. It's a tough game and it has a lot of interlocking systems that you'll have to learn before you'll make any progress, but if you stick with it I think you'll find that this is a rather rewarding game.

Circus of TimTim ($9.99)

Another horror game that relies on people being creeped out by mascots, this time with an added circus twist for that clown phobia spice. Explore a ruined carnival and watch out for things who won't be kind to unwelcome visitors. Use a metal detector to find items, but be careful as its beeping will attract attention. Not my kind of thing. Maybe yours.

Planetiles ($12.99)

Another one of those games where you place tiles strategically in a landscape to try to produce the best results, this time planet-themed. I've been into this kind of thing since around a year ago, and this is another solid one. I wouldn't recommend it over Dorfromantik or anything, but if you're looking for another game that offers a similar experience then you might want to check this out.

Macho Shot ($5.00)

This new SAT-BOX release is essentially another spin on the ol' Suika Game concept, but with macho dudes instead of fruit. Merge your machos into bigger machos, but be careful not to overflow the field. Nothing new under the Sun, but the choice of theme was so odd I had to include it here.

Dawngrown ($5.99)

Is this top-down 2D PowerWash? Not really, but it is a game about cleaning up a messed-up world. It's cute, it takes about an hour and change to run through, and while the whole thing feels like it could have used a little more everything, it's an amusing enough ride while it lasts.

Arcade Archives Moon Shuttle ($7.99)

Nichibutsu scored its first big hit in 1980 with Moon Cresta, and for a good while after that it was all about the Moon. Here's 1981's Moon Shuttle, a very simple side-view shooter. I can't call it side-scrolling, because it doesn't. You alternate between two types of stages. The first sees you trying to shoot a path through a field of debris as your shuttle approaches. The second has you fending of waves of enemy attackers while dodging their attacks. Nothing special, but for its era it does its job. Not available in the North American eShops, for some reason.

EGGCONSOLE Silver Ghost PC-8801mkIISR ($6.49)

Yes, I'm still imagining the world where D4 Enterprise puts the extra resources into localizing all of these amazing Japanese computer classics it's tossing out onto the global eShop. Silver Ghost is a beloved strategy RPG for many Japanese gaming enthusiasts, and has been cited by one of the Shining series creators as a source of inspiration for those games. It would be really nice if fans outside of Japan could more easily enjoy this, but you're again dealing with a lot of Japanese text if you choose to tackle it.

Damikira ($7.99)

Sure, this is a pretty standard-looking run and gun platforming game, but it has a grappling hook! A grappling hook! The rules say that grappling hooks and/or web-shooters add an extra point to a game's score. That's a rule. That probably brings this up to a good three-and-a-half out of five.

Rolling Football Player ($3.20)

This is a goofy little thing. You have to roll your football player through five stages, trying to land him in a cup. It's a very short game, but it's more of a weird physics toy than anything else. For the price, that's probably fine.

That's all for this week, friends. We'll be back next Saturday with another Round-Up as we continue into October and the many games that will come with it. As ever, I will plug both my Patreon (where you can find lots of cool exclusive articles) and my Ko-Fi (tips help me run this blog). There, plugged. I hope you have a super Saturday, and as always, thanks for reading!

[exeggcute]

your blog is cool and youre the only person on tumblr i really follow on tech stuff. is the transition to manifest v3 really worth all the hubbub?

first of all thank you! and second of all, lol. to be honest I haven't had a major eye on the v2 > v3 transition but you may be unsurprised to learn that I'm not taking hard sides here and am both slightly suspicious of the changeover and also less than convinced by some of the "this is the worst shit ever" blowback. not to suck google's dick either (unless any recruiters are reading this...?) (jk my least favorite person on r/technicalwriting works at google so unless you can guarantee that I will not come into contact with that man, it's gonna be a hard no) but to some extent I think this is one of those things where google, as the de facto governing entity for how internet browsers are designed[1] is, for better or worse, in the seat to steer the ship right now and inevitably has to make design choices that will shape the future of (how people will access) the web.[2]

[1] insert comment about firefox here but considering firefox is almost singlehandedly bankrolled by google it works out the same in the end. hence my perpetual dislike of the way-oversimplified "maverick underdog mozilla singlehandedly holding the line again google" narrative... go tell me where the money is coming from!!!

[2] also I know the W3C is the actual governing entity for internet protocol design and has influenced browser design on a more abstract level but that's still a degree of separation away and tbh I'm not super familiar with W3C drama. although I can only assume there's drama lol.

and google being google has both real and imagined interests in shaping the web by virtue of their other business ventures (e.g. but not exclusively e.g., advertising) and so I think some amount of blowback is gonna be inevitable when they propose Big Fundamental Changes. which, like, I'm the last person who's gonna say "no we should definitely drop our defenses and approach this without an ounce of skepticism" lol so I think the knee-jerk Uh Oh impulse is totally fair and maybe even warranted. but after the initial jerk I also think it's worth hearing shit out and, you know, on the face of it I can see why the changes outlined in the v3 manifest bring positive changes to the table. security and performance and shit. but security and performance are relatively boring selling points, and when google has earned a poor public reputation thanks to the other shit they've pulled I think it's understandable that even well-meaning changes will be met with general suspicion.

buuuut I still get irritated by the verging-on-clickbait headlines where literally every change about v3 is framed as "google is finally killing ad blockers" and then you read the article and ad blockers aren't mentioned directly a single time. like it'll literally just be about v3 lol. arguably I'm just being naive/willfully ignorant because of course it's all really about ad blockers since google is an advertising business and the other benefits are a smokescreen and blah blah blah but I do kinda feel like that borders on conspiratorial thinking, especially since ad blockers will work in v3, albeit differently, and google is actively working with/taking feedback from extension developers (including ad block extension developers). a lot of it genuinely just seems like "major version change will require significant technical work to implement, more at 11".

who knows though, I could eat my words :shrug:

kind of related but I was always kind of surprised by the amount of pushback against the web integrity API thing because I read the proposal behind it and it seemed pretty well-intentioned to me. granted there were some fair/serious concerns that even the proposal pointed out and a lot unanswered implementation details (and tbf it was a proposal/WIP) but I got Why they were proposing it, invalid traffic being the bogeyman it is. and like I am not a cryptography guy in the slightest but as I understand it the WEI was basically just an SSL certificate in reverse?

a lot of it makes me think about the web3 article from a few years back where a guy talked about designing an NFT that looked cool on various storefronts but looked like a poop emoji in your actual wallet after you bought it, which, in the process of trying to google it to link here, led me to this substack post where someone summarized it as "NFTs are centralized and no one cares." which is pretty much exactly what I was getting at (and why I thought about it in this context) with how even ostensibly open protocols can devolve into walled gardens built around those protocols with bonus features tacked on, if the protocols themselves don't offer those features out the gates (and enough people want them). idk. food for thought I guess. I really am just rambling here though so let me humble myself by reminding us all that I have a B.A. in english and love to speculate lolol. not an expert!