#needed 2 change feel like rebranding

[blissfullyecho]

how to begin your rebranding journey (self-rebrand tips)

1. start following accounts (like mine🫶) that helps you with your rebrand. whoever you want to become, how you want to live, use social media as a way to constantly be reminded to upgrade yourself. subscribe to youtubers who live how you want to live and those who will help you with what you need help with. you use social media everyday so you might as well use it for a purpose rather than endless scrolling. change it up, it’s okay

2. this kind of goes hand-in-hand with number 1, but change your mental environment. you are the content that you consume. you are the music you listen to, you are the tv shows you watch, you are the social media you follow— all this media is being recorded in your mind. your subconscious mind perceives it as real. think about it: people who listen to sad music are generally always pretty sad. people who watch crime documentaries are usually scared and on high alert 24/7. it’s okay to enjoy your favorite music, tv shows, movies, books, etc., but be careful of how much of it you’re consuming. change it up, it’s okay

3. change your physical environment. redecorate, move, clean, organize, go outside more, do everything you need to do to change your physical environment. this can be as simple as letting in fresh air and sunlight rather than keeping the blinds closed and being in the horrible fake yellow light and air conditioning (unless it’s extreme heat or cold outside.. obviously). maybe try eating out at that restaurant instead of having it delivered. always look to change your environment and surroundings. change it up, it’s okay

4. i suggest doing the steve harvey 300 things list. if you don’t know what it is, you write down 300 things you want for yourself and for your life. read it every morning and every night. pray over it. meditate over it. and work on some of those things. it’s not enough to just read and pray, you have to do the work. feel free to look it up on youtube

5. start working on your goals today. do something. anything. maybe you can only handle one goal at a time. that’s okay. maybe you can work on multiple goals at once, that’s okay too. it’s not a race. do something right after reading this, it’s okay

helpful things to remember:

it's not going to happen overnight, relax

you must enjoy the process and not try to focus so much on just the end result

you're going to have good days and bad days. again, relax

#leveling up #personal development #that girl #femininity #hypergamy #level up #level up journey #self care #self love #leveled up woman #leveling up journey #self help #self care aesthetic #self improvement #self development #self healing #wellness #that girl aesthetic #clean girl #vanilla aesthetic #vanilla girl #rebranding #healthy living #high value woman #high standards #high maintenance #soft girl #glow up journey #glow up #advice

[thesirencult]

PAC : 2024. HOW WILL IT TRANSFORM YOU ?

This time of the year our spiritual senses are heightened. Possibilities, the past and the future, for a few nanoseconds we are in the in between. Throughout 2024 we will all be transformed. In this reading I will go over which parts of your psyche will be touched by the year that holds the meaning of number 8, transformative and abundant.

"New Year" readings ar available for 25€. If you are interested just shoot me a private message.

Hope you enjoy this general reading and may your soul find the guidance it has a thirst for... S

PILE 1

“The psyches and souls of women also have their own cycles and seasons of doing and solitude, running and staying, being involved and being removed, questing and resting, creating and incubating, being of the world and returning to the soul-place.”

― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, quote from Women Who Run With the Wolves

Dear Pile 1,

2024 will transform the way you see change . Up until now you may have been resistant to changing certain aspects of your life. This could have something to do with your childhood and the way you, transforming and letting your emotions and intuitive sparks control, got you shamed and alienated.

This year you will learn the power rebranding has. It is never ever too late to change our direction and to let our instincts take the wheel for a change.

You will be transformed and blessed through the need for constant change and movement this next year and your ability to adapt will be sharpened.

At the end of the year, you will no longer see change as something that cause insecurity and fear. You will see it as the catalyst of the process of creating, YOU.

I know that right now you might be scoffing 1. Getting out of your safe zone is not easy for you. You may have prominent cancer on your chart, Saturn touching your moon or a strong moon placement.

Trust the process and let your soul go through the movements and cycles of transformation. Growing pains.

PILE 2

“Asking the proper question is the central action of transformation- in fairy tales, in analysis, and in individuation. The key question causes germination of consciousness. The properly shaped question always emanates from an essential curiosity about what stands behind. Questions are the keys that cause the secret doors of the psyche to swing open.”

― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, quote from Women Who Run With the Wolves

Pile 2, we are all in this together.

I picked this pile too and I want to tell you how this energy makes me feel. Everything is possible, until you ask the question you want to ask and make your choice. Let me break it down for you.

We are in need of a deep self-searching period. For the next few days, until December 31st take your time to ask the right questions. First and foremost ask yourself "What do I really want and need?"

2024 will transform us because it will make us ask questions. Question everything and everyone. Having questions is not bad. Be humble. We don't have to know it all. This makes me feel like we are going to be learning something new this year that will put us in the position of "the student".

This year you will come closer to your inner child because, guess what? Children ask a lot of questions and they are the OG philosophers.

This is how philosophy and science came to be in our world, per Plato and Aristotle. Because humans dared to ask questions.

This year will transform you to your core. Be delusional.

The key theme here : This year will transform the prism through which we look at life. We will realise that it is much better to guide ourselves as a student and look at life as a big wonderful world. Believe in the impossible. Curiosity killed the cat but WISDOM brought it back to life. Take good care fellow Plutonians 🫡.

PILE 3

“When a woman is frozen of feeling, when she can no longer feel herself, when her blood, her passion, no longer reach the extremities of her psyche, when she is desperate; then a fantasy life is far more pleasurable than anything else she can set her sights upon. Her little match lights, because they have no wood to burn, instead burn up the psyche as though it were a big dry log. The psyche begins to play tricks on itself; it lives now in the fantasy fire of all yearning fulfilled. This kind of fantasizing is like a lie: If you tell it often enough, you begin to believe it.”

― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, quote from Women Who Run With the Wolves

This is your fake it till you make it year. Big imposter syndrome vibes will follow you around like a rainy cloud.

"Do I deserve all the good things which are happening for me?", you ask. The question you should be asking yourself is "Should I read Pile 2, too?" 😂. All jokes aside learn to question that voice that says that you don't deserve as seat on the table.

You are a master at setting the table, now it is your time to sit on your lil chair and relax while others bring you the food.

2024 will put you in a position of authority. You hold the wheel now so do what you gotta do and don't blame your little self (are you a Virgo/Scorpio/Capricorn?) for not getting all the way there. Little by little the castle gets built 🏰.

Disclaimer :

Tarot readings are for entertainment purposes only.

Tarot readings are subject to interpretation and should not be taken as absolute. A tarot reading is never 100% accurate. All tarot readings given by me are for entertainment purposes only, and no guarantee can be given as to the accuracy of a reading. A tarot reading does not replace professional medical/legal/business opinion and advice. It will not force you to follow a particular course of action, or attempt to exert any form of control over your free-will and common sense. The contents of a tarot reading are not legally binding. Any decisions made, or actions taken by you as a result of your tarot reading are your sole responsibility and have not been forced upon you, by me, your tarot reader. I assume no legal liability for any damages, losses, or other consequences of any client decisions, subsequent to, or based on, my tarot readings. Please use your own common sense and judgment at all times. Tarot readings are also copyrighted and their creative content belongs to the creator.

As always, you CONTROL your life.

You have FREE WILL.

Freedom comes with RESPONSIBILITY.

Anyone that tells you otherwise doesn't have your best interest in mind.

Lots of love and kisses xoxo ❤️

TheSirenCult

#astrology #tarot reading #tarot #pick a card #pick a pile #level up journey #pac reading #pick a photo #pick a picture #soulmate #predictions #2024 predictions #psychic #intuitive messages #intuitive readings

[cupcraft]

Ranboo rebrand stream important stuff in one single post!:

if anything i missed pls rb and add on!

chat etiquette! They are going to be more strict with this (but not for new chatters honest mistakes).

Ban 101 -> the number 1 rule:

racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia, discrimination. Instant ban, no excuse. Even bigoted jokes! 0 tolerance! you will be banned from even viewing the streams. This even counts on doing it on other streamer's chats/platforms if found out!

More rules: be funny (please!) and chill and kind and use emotes (including BTTV), dont spam chat (will be fixed/enforced bc of past issues),

other tidbits/news:

the vtuber/stuff will evolve over time, there are different vtuber outfits/costumes planned (ex they have an mcc outfit already!), the room in the background will change, they will be reaching out to ppl for collabs (feel free to recommend people but do not spam their chats!), planning to do more irl streams (will be weird/experimental and they will go wild! They will be making weird stuff!), they also have plans that they are excited to tell and its been a long time coming (this may be the cake video but i couldnt tell in stream), ranboo bakes a cake 2 will be coming TOMORROW on youtube (23 mins and incredible! they laughed at themself), ranboo plans to do experimental stuff on youtube (they have gotten into film lately!), founder's cut of gen 1 of genloss will be coming out 2-3 months ?? date/end of year, the vtuber ranjacket will be a part of the merch drop prototype at vidcon (physical jacket!), will be doing competitive/events with people (like organized little thing) (content/what it is undetermined) and he wants it to be obscure and random, ranboowaslive will start to ramp up a bit (more clips/compilations to come esp if you dont enjoy long vod watching), ranboo will be eating a nintendo DS cartridge live on stream (a joke!), MORE SURPRISES KEPT AS A SECRET + tiny plans in the works, they are moving into the new place/still have boxes to unpack (vtuber lore), he may finish the last of us part 2, subathon (really like back to back fun streams/long streams/playthrough of long games like omori) in january probably, splatoon may return,

What does the new era mean/qna stuff?

talking about old content is fine as long as you recognize that it is the PAST and not the kind of content ranboo makes now. Do not "put them back in the box".

Vtuber: will not be used all the time. They will do facecam streams too. Depends on how he feels.

why the r800: the 8 looks like a b LMAO

this is just the start of rebrand. He will re-establish a lot, things will be easier to find/reorganized, slowly over the weeks things will be changing.

what will happen tothe alt twitter (ranaltboo)?: new pfp, same energy (see below my shitty sc). art creds to mochi!

not only just a rebrand for him and the look of the content. But also it is a rebrand of how they act around and view their own content. they may not be as in the community as he has been (liking fanart/in chat/etc.) out of recommendation from people! If ranboo needs to be aware of something THEY HAVE PEOPLE to make him aware of important issues/emergencies and they will be focusing more on themself and the content overall. they are thankful to be allowed to do this, as they dont want to keep seeing things they dont want to see/have that anxiety. Less scrolling = more content!

They will probably have longer streams again!

will move to more mature jokes/phrases and may have content labels on the streams. Overall, streams will be pg-13 mostly.

TITS stands for twitch integrated throwing system [insert ranboo's giggle here]

All proceeds donated to ranboo's channel only go to charity! Not to them at all! They have a list of charities that he supports and will be changed 1-3 months at a time like usual!

Please make stuff. This is how he gets ppl who edit and the emote makers/artists. Not forced. Just encouraging ppl who make stuff to make stuff and he appreciates it and loves it! Even if it is not about him just make it! AND SUPPORT ARTISTS BOOBERS!

#ranboo.liveblog #ranboo #ranboolive #main tagging bc this is important i think! #pleek rb if you want!

[runwayrunway]

No. 5 - jetBlue 2: Electric Bluegaloo

I am writing this post on the 15th of June, 2023.

I was going to publish one post tomorrow. It was going to be about a completely unrelated airline from a different country. I wrote it already. I have several other posts written already, because I like writing them, and they make me excited. I had a partially written post on jetBlue. It was going to be finished soon and uploaded after that. Just one in a sea of many things people have painted onto their airplanes.

I did not plan to discuss jetBlue tomorrow. I did not plan to finish my jetBlue post today. But they have forced my hand by announcing an overhaul of their 20-year-old livery at the most inconvenient possible time for me specifically, and I suppose I'm someone who reviews airline liveries now so I'm not just going to not talk about it.

Okay, let’s see. What they’ve been doing has worked for them for two decades, so I am very curious what they...

(image: jetblue) 

Oh.

Huh. Not...sure what I expected. This is really taking a moment to sink in. 

Well, okay. My immediate thought is ‘neat, they finally extended it past the tail’. My second thought is ‘thank goodness they're finally moving past their Eurowhite phase’. My third thought is...

Obviously they don’t have an exclusive right to this shade of blue, but does...does Southwest know about this? You two are probably the two biggest players in the low-cost market on the East Coast, should you be...being nearly the exact same shade of blue? Like, the rest of the liveries are obviously very different, you wouldn’t confuse them even from a distance, and I'm pretty sure jetBlue's is slightly lighter, but it just feels, viscerally, like someone’s nose gear is being run over a little bit. 

Okay. No. We are forgetting about this. We literally just talked about not comparing beautiful blue girls to each other. They’re going to stall or soar on their own merits. Let’s take another look at N982JB “A Defining MoMint” (neé “One Mint, Two Mint, Blue Mint, You Mint”), who is patient zero for jetBlue’s new rebrand. 

(image: jetblue)

There she is in all her eyestraining glory. I mean, there’s bright and then there’s hard to look at. jetBlue has, for some reason, decided to unleash a migraine machine onto airports across America and beyond.

jetBlue? I know you're reading this. Can we talk, jetBlue? There are a billion shades of blue you could have picked from for the main body. 

(image: jetblue)

In fact, here are five of them from your own most recent tail design. And you chose the only one that is extremely painful to look at in large quantities. So, unfortunately, we’re taking off from the wrong runway. But let’s hear what you have to say for yourself, jetBlue. 

I can only imagine how badly tumblr is going to crunch this, so here’s a direct link to the PDF jetBlue put out explaining their design choices. 

Well, it’s definitely one of the bluest planes they’ve ever made. I think Blueprint might actually be bluer, but that’s a discussion for later. It’s a reasonably, maybe even unreasonably, blue plane, and I think we can all agree on that. 

They’ve made a lot of changes that seem almost like direct responses to my earlier complaints. Robin N. Hayes, CEO of jetBlue Airlines, are you in my head reading my mind? If you are, I think I at least deserve a couple of scale models for all the advice I’ve given you. Come on. I’ll even proofread your website for you.  

Sadly, I have yet to receive my rightly deserved 1:100 model of the jetBlue retrojet, but they’ve at least recognized that I’m correct about a lot of things. The all-white fuselage is boring and the tail designs need to be allowed to unfurl from their prison on the vertical stabilizer. I’m absolutely with them on that. I actually can’t say how I feel about this new ‘mint leaves’ tail pattern. I think that I don’t like it, but it’s very hard to tell because looking at this image for too long without my darkreader on genuinely hurts my eyes. I’m sure it’ll be fine in person, but I haven’t seen this livery in person. I’ve had all of a day to process this through my computer screen, and because of that I think I sort of really dislike it!

But I also can’t commit to that opinion because it’s been a day and a half and there’s so much we still don’t know. Well, I know that this is literally the worst shade of blue that there is, but my least favorite color is orange and I think there are plenty of decent looking orange planes out there. It’s not about the base color. It’s about what you do with it. And what will they do with it? It’s...not really clear. 

The thing about this launch is that if Robin N. Hayes, CEO of jetBlue Airlines, can read my mind, I can’t read his. All I have is this PDF and a couple paragraphs of copy that really raise more questions than they answer. I'm just going to paste the important bit here.

Aptly named A Defining MoMint, the first plane to sport our new livery (our first-ever Mint pattern, coming soon to all Mint planes) is an Airbus A321 with Mint—which rolls into service on 6/15/23. Look for refreshed versions of our existing patterns to make their runway debuts as the rest of the fleet is repaint-ready.

This leaves so many questions unanswered. Is this for all Mint planes? That's not an insignificant portion of the fleet. Are all the planes currently wearing the ribbon and streamer tails going to wear this exact design, or will there be multiple Mint liveries? Will the ribbon and streamer tails be retired completely? They're pretty new, that seems a bit premature to me. What about the non-Mint planes? I assume the implication is that they're going to get patterns that extend onto their main fuselages as well, but are they going to also be repainted now or will there be a gradual rollout where it'll only be Mint planes for the time being? What is even going on? Seriously, does Southwest know? How did nobody notice the two massive typos on the liveries page of your website when you updated it with this new information? Ya blue it!

This is sending me into a bit of a tailspin. This redesign is everything I should want. It's spitting in the face of the design principles that I hate so much I started this blog. It's addressing some of my complaints. But I just don't...like to look at it?

I think what's bothering me here, when my eyes adjust somewhat to the sheer piercing brightness of it, is the overwhelming amount of stuff happening. When I do focus in I can see things that I like. For example, the tail pattern seems to be almost spreading onto the main fuselage rather than being isolated on a tail with its own background color. Some things I just can't entirely process. Like the PDF says they're using a new font but I can't really tell the difference between it and the old one. I guess it doesn't matter that much.

Anyway, I'm not done complaining. On the old livery, the engines were a dark color which contrasted with the light fuselage. This is pretty common. That's for a good reason. It creates such a weird visual effect when the engines and the fuselage are the same color. When you look at them from the side they look like they're merging. Also, despite them mentioning that they made the text in the front bigger to make the livery look less rear-heavy, and the fact that it's worked to some extent, it hasn't worked nearly enough. It would really behoove them to add something else to the front.

(I'm just saying, jetBlue...if you want to be America's Fun Airline, I don't think any defunct airlines have a trademark on painting cute little faces on your airplanes. Just keep that in the back of your mind.)

I ultimately just can't reconcile my thoughts on this. I keep repeating myself and I can't seem to convince myself to like this even though I really, really want to find some way to decide that yes, this is good, actually. This is an improvement. I can't. I can't convince myself. Maybe if I chew on it a bit longer. Maybe when they show off new tail patterns they'll all look better than this. Maybe it's just the mint green that's throwing me off and it'll all be okay. Maybe I'll wake up and a perfectly designed new jetBlue livery will be standing by the side of my bed, and I won't even mind that geometry forbids every part of that scenario, and she'll be beautiful and I will remember what it felt like to first learn that jetBlue has a plane named Blue's On First. Maybe. But right now it's the 15th of June and I'm feeling an emotion I can only imagine myself sharing with cosmic horror protagonists who have stumbled on some horrible secret that destroys the foundation which until mere moments ago undergirded their entire concept of reality. I don't know how to reconcile any of this.

jetBlue...how could you blue this to me?

Provisional* Grade: D(on't Blue That)+

(provisional because I'm being very dramatic but as I've said this is brand new fresh off the livery printer, Mint condition if you will, and I've barely had any time to process it so I'll definitely revisit it at some point. But probably not soon. I'm just about jetBlued out at the moMint.)

#tarmac fashion week #runwayrunway blueses it #grade: d+ #region: north america #region: united states #era: 2020s #jetblue #low cost carriers #neelemanverse #southwest airlines

[samders-sides]

The Hunt for Prince Roman - Chapter Two

Summary: Roman has been in the Imagination for two weeks straight and Virgil has grown concerned. What starts as a welfare check on the wayward Prince turns into a full on quest to find him because things…are not adding up.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51469459/chapters/130071607

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 -

Chapter Two: The President

Virgil could have killed him. Still might, actually, after all this was over.

And, as Virgil charged ahead on his mighty stead along the tar sealed road that led him through each town, edging towards that castle on the horizon, he just might kill Roman too for good measure.

He was sure he had blacked out when Bertram had said “We don’t have a Prince anymore.” Bertram, oblivious to Virgil’s impending panic attack, had kept babbling away. Virgil had barely heard him over the blood rushing in his head. Virgil had leapt up and grabbed Bertram by the high-vis-vest, gripping his shoulders in an effort to ground himself and understand.

“Woah there, friend,” Bertram gasped. There were some shouts from the other workers in the town centre, who had just noticed the commotion by the fountain. Bertram had waved them away. “Easy there, the old prince is fine. You really have been away a while then, huh?”

Virgil opened his eyes at that, staring at Betram’s concerned face, looking for a hint of a lie. He closed his eyes, and with a massive effort, let go of Bertram.

“I’ve been away for a while. Please tell me what has happened.”

Virgil just about growled from his saddle as he pushed through yet another town in the throes of an infrastructure upgrade. He needed to get a handle on himself. He had just about panicked twice over nothing…Virgil truly was on edge. All he wanted to do now was lay eyes on his bonehead Prince, tell him to send a letter every now and then, go home and settle into a nice bath.

Roman had disestablished the monarchy.

“Yeah, came as a huge surprise to all of us,” Bertram had explained. Somehow, the man produced a cup of tea and offered it to Virgil, who took it with shaky hands. They were both sitting on the side of the fountain. Virgil focused on the warmth seeping through the porcelain and into his hands, grounding himself in the feeling. “Out of nowhere, the Prince publicly announced that he would be abolishing the monarchy and establishing a democracy. It was a whole thing – billboards, debates, voting booths. I’m more of a traditionalist myself but, hey” Bertram shrugged, “so long as it doesn’t affect how I live my life too much I don’t mind so much what they call the man in charge.”

“So, the Prince is okay? Did he run in your elections?” Virgil had croaked.

Bertram patted Virgil on the back. “He’s fine. Sorry for the scare – guess you are a monarchist too, eh?” Bertram chuckled lightly, but then continued upon receiving a flat stare from Virgil. “Yes, the Prince contested the elections. We have a ‘President’ now.”

As Virgil and his horse (aptly named ‘Chestnut’ for the colour of its fur) cleared another town, Virgil couldn’t help but roll his eyes. There was enough politics in the mindscape without Princey rebranding himself as the President. Though, Virgil couldn’t deny the image of Roman in a traditional white business suit with a gold tie and red lapels wasn’t an unwelcome one…

As the castle loomed into view, Virgil started to notice that it too was undergoing massive infrastructure changes. There were at least five cranes that were busy moving stuff around. Virgil could see scaffolding in the distance where a new building had sprung up – a tower that looked like it would be bigger than the castle and that wouldn’t look out of place in New York City.

It didn’t sit right with Virgil.

Virgil was no fan of change, and this was all just feeling a bit much.

The streets leading up to the castle were oddly empty, but, Virgil reasoned, they may have all just got jobs in construction. Virgil left Chestnut with a stableboy and mustered what courage he could.

~

“I’m here to see the President.” Virgil tried to sound more confident than he felt.

The security guards looked at him doubtfully.

“Tell him that Virgil is here to see him.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

Virgil tried not to stare too hard. Appointment? Princy was leaning into this corporate rebuild a bit too much for Virgil’s liking.

“Yes,” Virgil lied, not wanting to waste anymore time. He had been in the imagination for several hours now when several minutes was all he had prepared himself for.

“Okay come right through!” The guard smiled. Virgil bit his tongue and made a mental note to tell Roman to fire this dude because he just let a random vaguely hostile stranger into the castle without so much as a background check or a pat down. Really, he could have been anyone.

Though, as they moved through the castle halls, Virgil caught sight of himself in a mirror on the wall. Not for the first time he wondered why more people didn’t question why he looked like a spitting image of Roman who had got lost in a Hot Topic store.

Virgil shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders.

The President’s office was about the only room not actively under construction. From the looks of things, it had been the first to face remodeling. If the imagination had plonked Virgil down straight into the office, he never would have thought that he was in the Disney castle.

The outer wall had been replaced with floor to ceiling glass, which overlooked the realm behind the castle. It was clear that a large modern city was springing up, the roads and traffic lights having been laid already and concrete foundations in varying states of completeness sketching out the future buildings that would rise on top of them. Virgil fought to keep his NUMTOT side down (that did NOT look like a walkable city) and focused on the office itself. Plush blue carpet had covered the worn stone floor. A deep brown mahogany desk stood in the centre, set up so the person had their back to the brand-new world springing up behind them. One wall was completely lined with a moving map of the kingdom, with little road cone markers signifying where work was being undertaken. There were so many road cones. Another wall was completely covered in a floor to ceiling bookcase, filled with books and knickknacks. A guest chair, far less grand than the imposing black chair behind the desk, sat facing the desk. Virgil was suddenly reminded of the principal’s office.

It was very un-Roman.

Virgil sighed again, tapping his foot with impatience. If Roman truly didn’t want to see him, surely he would simply eject him from the imagination rather than ghost him and wait for him to leave on his own. The Prince was stubborn, but not as stubborn as Virgil could be. Virgil would win that staring match any day of the week.

The door behind him swung open, revealing two stereotypical secret agents in black suits and sunglasses. Virgil bit back his annoyance and held his tongue, lest any snarky remarks escaped when that would definitely not be helpful.

He was just going to say hi to Roman, smack him over the head for the radio silence (and for the imagination being a dramatic little bitch for making him believe the Prince was dead instead of just saying they had changed political systems), tell him to write every now and then, and be on his way. This little trip into the imagination had been unsettling and jarring enough.

“Mister President,” one of the secret agents announced as they entered the room. Virgil could not repress his eye roll. The secret agents stepped aside.

The man who stood there adjusted his glasses, then his blue tie. Virgil started to laugh because damnit, this imagination was just not finished with him, was it?

Though a spitting image of Thomas, this man was certainly not Roman.

The non-Roman and Virgil stared at each other for a solid ten seconds.

“Leave us,” The President commanded to the agents finally, as he strode into the office and took his seat at the desk, gesturing Virgil to take the spare seat in the middle of the room. Virgil slowly moved towards the chair, turned it around and straddled it (because damnit he wasn’t about to sit in a normal position for the first time in his life for this bozo), not taking his eyes of the figure in front of him.

“I expect you are surprised to see me” the President mused. He truly looked and sounded exactly like Logan. If Virgil wasn’t absolutely sure that Logan would rather walk through fire than voluntarily play a part in the imagination, he would have believed it was Logan.

There was a lot to unpack here.

“Where is Roman?” Virgil growled. The non-Logan frowned confusedly.

“Are you referring to the former Prince?”

Virgil had to hold his tongue. He needed to keep his cool here, and his heart rate under control. But gods he never wanted anyone ever to describe Roman as the ‘former Prince’ ever again. Instead, he gave a tight nod.

Not-Logan smiled warmly – almost fondly. “Ah yes. The Prince. I used to be an advisor of sorts to him you know…not that he would listen very much.”

“Did you convince him to disestablish the monarchy?” Virgil couldn’t keep the note of accusation from his voice. This was so far from what he was expecting to find when he had ventured out from that hill.

“Heavens no,” Not-Logan chuckled. “Advice like that could have been seen as treason. No, it was as much a surprise to me as to everyone else when the former Prince made that particular announcement. A very brave choice, if you ask me. I always had admired the former Prince.”

The silence stretched between them. Non-Logan had a gentle smile on his face, not unlike a parent would have when explaining something to a child.

Virgil’s skin crawled.

Virgil could almost see the montage of events. Roman, stupid, self-conscious, fragile Roman, deciding that he needed to be more serious. Deciding that he needed to change his role up. So, he cast himself out into the unknown, giving up the title of Prince to go head-to-head in a popularity contest for his Kingdom with a faux-Logan.

And he lost.

The alarm bells ringing in Virgil’s head were difficult to hear coherent thoughts over. This could not be good. Roman must be absolutely crushed.

So why did the imagination look so perfect?

“Why did you do it?” Virgil asked instead, lifting his chin defiantly to glare at non-Logan, who blinked in surprise and adjusted his tie. “Why would you go up against someone you said you admired?”

“That is simple,” non-Logan smiled, a note of understanding in his tone. Virgil frowned. “The former Prince asked me too.”

Virgil felt like he had been doused in freezing water. He was out of his depth; he wasn’t sure why that was worse but that made it so much worse. He should leave, he should leave the imagination right now and get Patton and Logan and…

Virgil stared at the non-Logan as a cold stone dropped into his stomach. He couldn’t let anyone else see this. Roman was going through something here, something Virgil could not yet understand, but he didn’t have to understand fully to know that this was something raw and messy and that the worst thing for Roman would be if the others saw these exposed nerves. Roman would never forgive him…or at least would not trust him again in a hurry. A lump formed in Virgil’s throat.

“Do you know where he is now?”

Non-Logan cocked his head to the side, evaluating Virgil. “It appears you mean him no harm,” he commented. Virgil bit his tongue to stop himself from demanding what evidence he was basing that on, and would you be so lax in your security to allow someone who meant Roman harm to know this information…

“Nope.” Virgil grunted, popping the “p”.

“The former Prince informed me on his leave that he was intending to go on a quest to ‘find himself’ – though how one could lose oneself when he was standing in front of me is a mystery to me, I confess.” Non-Logan mused. “If you are searching for him, travelling to the fairy forest would be wise. It is where many a quest begins. Do you know of it?”

Virgil gave a slow nod, remembering the time Roman had taken him to the tree top café in the middle of the fairy forest for fairy tea. Virgil had yelled at Roman for a solid half an hour after Virgil had sprouted wings upon eating his first tea cake (because warn a dude first if you are going to change his body like that!), but he had secretly enjoyed the calmness and serenity of the forest (when he had stopped shouting).

“Here,” non-Logan said. Virgil looked up in surprise to see that the President was holding out something to Virgil. “The former Prince gave it to me on my first day in office. I think you should have it.”

Virgil blinked, forcibly reminding himself that it was not Logan before him. The real Logan would never give something that held clear significance and value to a stranger that had just barged into his office and demanded answers and vaguely accused him of regicide. Shaking himself again, he took the offered object and nodded his thanks. Virgil turned it over in his hands.

Video-game logic – accept quest items even when it made no logical sense that they would be offered for free or be lying about in abandoned boxes all over the show.

Virgil slid Roman’s crown into his satchel, swallowed the lump in his throat, and left without another word.

Next

#sanders sides #roman sanders #roman sanders angst #logan sanders #virgil sanders #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders side fic

[thewanderingace]

I hate this I hate this I hate this I HATE THIS

This whole renaming season 14 to season 1 weirdness Doctor Who/Disney/RTD is doing is so stupid and unnecessary.

First of all why would you call season 14, season 1? It made sense to call 2005 season 1 because Doctor Who hadn't been on the air in 16 years. But Doctor Who has not been off air at all in the last 13 years. It's been ongoing. There is zero reason to rebrand this season as season 1. What would be the point? Is it not still the doctor? Is it not just another regeneration and another new companion? That's been happening for decades. Big whoop. It's kind the whole thing about the show. It's also changed showrunners before and didn't feel the need to to do a weird reboot. So why?

If this is because there been lower viewers and Disney+ is going to have it now and for some reason they think it'll be confusing for new people to see a season 14 and no other previous seasons I have two thoughts on that. First, that's so insulting to the intelligence of your viewers. Seeing season 14 isn't as confusing as you think it'll be. Seeing season 14 means there are previous seasons so new viewers should watch those. And any new fans going into the show season 14 seeing that this is "season 1" are going to end up hopelessly confused because this is not season 1. There are 13 years before it and another 30+ before that. But leaving out classic who for a moment, how can you watch s14 as though its s1? It's not. Won't it reference things from previous doctors? Or is it just going to pretend those eras never happened which would be so fucking awful I can't even begin to state how much I hate that. So new viewers will have to figure out which season 1 is the actual season 1 and if they choose s14 as their s1 won't the be insanely confused about what's going on? Or is the story for this new season going to completely give a middle finger to those who have been watching all this time and treat every viewer like a new viewer? Cause that's dumb too

Also I have a simple solution, Disney+, if you're worried about new people being confused. PUT EVERY SEASON ON DISNEY+ INSTEAD OF JUST SEASON 14! If all the seasons are on there then people will know where to start and will be fine! Jeezus.

And if this is all to attract new viewers its incredibly insulting to the intelligence of your potential audience. As if new people watching the show won't want to start with the 2005 season 1? As if 14 seasons are too much to watch? People LIKE shows with a lot of episodes. This whole 6 episode season and theres only 2 season is old and annoying and no one wants that. People like shows with a lot of episodes to watch and anyone wanting to get I to doctor who should have no problem going to season 1! But you're just going to confused them even more by calling this season season 1. Because it isnt!! Its season 14! So they're go I to thinking everything will be just starting and it'll all be explained and what not and it wont! Because it isn't the start of a show it's the fucking middle!

And if they are taking the whole reboot start over version then your ignoring everyone who has stayed with doctor who for the last 13 years in order to cater to new fans who can just catch up. We've been here. We don't need another relaunch or to relearn everything about the doctor and the tardis because its been stated for the past decade!

The whole idea is awful, makes no fucking sense, and is insulting to both new and old fans. I hate it so much.

#doctor who #doctor who season 14 #rtd #season 14 #russell t davies #this is bullshit #stephs stuff #maybe delete later #im riled up

[northadawn]

NorthaDawn's Feb 2024 Update

Hello everyone, NorthaDawn here, and it's February here, I hope that your 2024 has been going great so far! Mine has been decent so far, and I wanted to write this important journal to give you some in-depth news into the latest happenings that I've been doing that I feel all of you deserve to know about!

1) PERSONAL HAPPENINGS

I'll get the elephant in the room out of the way first; on the health side of things, I've been doing much better and physically, this is the healthiest I've been in ages. Mentally? Let's just say that I've had to cut off someone really toxic from the community; they've caused a lot of trouble for me and my dear friends for months. I don't want to dive further into what happened to keep my friends safe, but I do want to say this: be there for your friends and stand up for them when they need you around.

Apart from that, I have been changing up things here and there and handling stuff in my university and in my family, but I do have some things cooking up for you guys that I'll share with you here later! But first, I want to go over my announcement from a handful of days back to clarify a few things.

2) THAT SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

You've probably already read my post where I announced my decision to continue making Titanic content in the future instead of retiring, but I think I should also explain why I contemplated retiring (again). To be honest with you, ever since my heart attack ages ago, things have gone poorly for me here; a partnership that wasn't meant to be, my ever-increasing workload in university, losing momentum and motivation for Titanic art in general, and feeling like a stranger here again has been a few reasons as to why I decided to quit once 2023 turns into 2024. However, a new partnership with smolnoodlekitty that soon turned into "Team Heartslash" (which includes people such as Matlock26th, caitlin._.art, Lacoeurdelamer, NWArtOfficial), getting more lovely people to voice act my characters, and the support from the newest batch of talented artists in the community made me rethink my decision to step away from doing Titanic art. That's why I decided to stay on! Unironically, I wouldn't still be here today without your support, so thank you all for continuing to support me even though I barely upload at all these days. I'm trying to work on that, I promise.

Speaking of characters...

3) MY FIRST OC: MASAKO HONDA

I finally made an actual original character that isn't a gijinka of some sort! I got the confidence to finally make a character that isn't limited to being a gijinka, and I'm happy with what I have. You've probably already seen her if you checked out my Twitter, but here she is: Masako Honda!

Masako Honda is a hyperactive, ADHD-ridden Japanese-Filipino girl who moved to the Philippines at the age of 10. Despite being a self-proclaimed nerd who is very geeky and hyperactive to the point where she can't stay still for 5 minutes, she is a very attractive girl who is way out of most guys' league. However, she doesn't have a boyfriend since birth. She took up the Game Development course in her university because of her self-taught ability in Unity and in C#. Just don't call her a Java developer.

That's a brief introduction of her, she'll soon have her place in my gallery, and I hope you'll be excited for that day to come as much as I am! The early reception I got from both my Discord server and my classmates has been insane and I couldn't be more thankful for the response I got for her!

4) SOCIAL MEDIAS (DISCORD SERVER + DA GROUP)

I've been going around and trying to update my social media pages and stuff, and I understand that there's a lot of links to keep up with, so I compiled them all in one page so you can quickly go to my profiles in certain sites! You can check them out right now through my Linktree here: https://linktr.ee/NorthaDawn

Speaking of updates, I've also been doing a little rebrand, which is why I've transitioned away from my old theme to the one I've had right now, I hope you like the new look!

I've also decided to take on a new tagline that I feel would represent not only me, but also all of you guys as a whole well. It's a simple line, yet it's a very motivational one, at least for me, and I hope it'll be motivational for you too. The tagline? "THERE IS STILL A VOYAGE TO EMBARK ON."

As a final reminder, I do have a Discord server up that also serves as a server for smolnoodlekitty and caitlin._.art! You can join through this link here: https://discord.gg/gsxGMPMPNb

5) VOICE ACTRESS ANNOUNCEMENT

Of course, I'd save the best for last. I'll keep it short and sweet...

RMS Olympic (Olyvia McLoughlin) - caitlin._.art

You probably know her as my Titanic's voice for a bit now, but she'll now be primarily voicing the Old Reliable now! She also did the absolutely gorgeous art for this announcement! As for who'll take her spot as Titanic?

RMS Titanic (Emily McLoughlin) - Lacoeurdelamer

She's the nice girl who'll play the Queen of the Ocean! If you've been around my Discord server, you know her as Maxine, and the amount of similarities she has to my Titanic is quite insane, which is why she's the perfect fit!

Masako Honda - moonglower.art + smolnoodlekitty

A 2-for-1! Weren't expecting that, were you? Either way, they're sharing duties to be the voice of the hyperactive college girl!

I hope you'll be looking forward to hearing them bring my characters to life!

FINAL REMARKS

Thanks for your continued support, and I hope that this has been a nice update so you're up to speed with what's going on in my end of things. Please do leave a comment, I'd like to know what you think! Also, go support every artist mentioned in this journal, they deserve it too! Have a wonderful day!

-Northa

THERE IS STILL A VOYAGE TO EMBARK ON

#northa talks #announcement #update

[literaticat]

Hi Jenn! For books that change titles after publication, who makes the decision? Is it solely up to the publisher, or does the author have a say, 1) that it should happen (like if a title becomes problematic) and 2) what the new title should be? Or will the book just not get another printing? How would a change affect book sales, would it be treated as a brand new book, does anything special need to be done like with ISBNs or catalogs? Example: Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.

First of all, this doesn't happen often at all, so it's probably not something that will ever come up, if you are reading this like !!! -- pls, calm down, you don't need to add this to your brimming catalogue of concerns.

Occasionally -- RARELY!!! -- a title will change after the book is already published. It's rare because it's a bit of a pain in the ass. IF this were to happen, it would most likely be at one of two times, for one of two reasons:

First: IF the book truly did NOT do well in hardcover, but they still believe in it and want to publish it in paperback but totally reimagine the packaging and "rebrand" to get a fresh start. (It does OFTEN happen that a paperback will get a new cover look from the hardcover -- but that rarely extends to the title itself. As in, over 500+ books I've had published, this has happened to me once.) In that case, the publisher said, hey, we want to rebrand this and give it a new title what do you think? And we brainstormed new titles and cover directions together. It was a good thing, because whatever confusion that might have happened in the marketplace (wait -- did I read this book already? Is this the same book or...??) was fleeting -- after all, hardly anyone DID notice the book the first time around, so there weren't very many people to confuse, that was the whole point! And it did say on the book "previously published as [former title]" so people could figure it out. And there was no issue with ISBN, because the paperback had a new ISBN anyway.

Second: If the book has done very well over the course of years, but for some reason the title has become A Problem. The case you mention, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, is an example of this; the original UK title was offensive even for the US in the 1930's and I'm certainly not typing it, click the link if you don't know. We published it under another name here, and it has changed to be more offensive and then less offensive and changed back a couple more times over the course of decades. Obviously they didn't want to put a popular book by an extremely famous author out of print, so different publishers over the years have opted to tackle this in different ways, and Agatha is famous enough and the book popular enough that everyone just rolled with it. (I think everyone has finally settled on AND THEN THERE WERE NONE for the book, play, and new adaptations!) These changes might have been the idea of the estate itself, or might have come from the publisher, but either way, they'd both have to agree. Yes, a new edition with a new title would have a new ISBN and the updated version would be in catalogues and able to be ordered, the old version would just go out of print.

This has also happened to me once over the years with a book I repped, MELISSA by Alex Gino. It was originally published under a different title and won many awards and I don't think it's a stretch to call it a Modern Classic of MG fiction. It's about a trans kid (the titular MELISSA!) -- but the title of the first version was her "boy name." This made sense back in 2010 or whenever the author first conceived of writing the book, and we (author, agent, editor, publisher) didn't think much of it even when the book was published in 2015; that was what everyone called the protagonist, so it didn't feel weird at the time -- but after a while, Alex came to feel that this title felt inappropriate since Melissa IS Melissa throughout the whole book, even if other people call her by a different name; they wanted to change it. And times by then had changed quite a bit, people's understanding of how to talk about gender and such was just different, so while the publisher did balk at first (after all, changing that book meant potentially confusing A LOT of people, as well as changing the covers of ALL Alex's books that mentioned this award-winning first book), eventually the publisher decided that the benefits outweighed the risks and did change it. So a bunch of things happened: All Alex's other books had their covers changed in reprints, MELISSA's cover and ISBN changed and the old version went out of print, and new jackets that said MELISSA were created so people who already had the hardcover with the old title could swap it out if they wanted, and they did a lot of PR around the name change so people would hopefully understand why and what was happening and be excited about it rather than potentially annoyed.

As you can see, doing this with a popular book is quite an undertaking and not something a publisher would take lightly -- and while the decision might come from the author OR the publisher, at the end of the day, EVERYONE would have to be on board.

I strongly suspect that a book that had a "huh, is that kosher these days?" title that was NOT popular would just end up going out of print and fading into memory.

[starlit-mansion]

i might make the post where i was very critical of laundry stripping specifically in one person's 50k note post unrebloggable soon because my problem with the original post is that it's a bad resource for probably 90% or more of people and situations, and i don't think mine is a sterling resource either. I just think that it's important to be really critical of life hacks, ESPECIALLY one's with really dramatic visual stim elements like seeing a bathtub full of brown sludge as proof it's worked.

So my slightly more articulated points are:

Based on OP's comments, OP has uncommonly hard water and issues with at least one of the big common detergents, and specifically was talking about very old worn clothes. All of these are probably not applicable to you if you don't think your clothes are gross right now. If they smell and feel clean as is, then you don't need to torture them for no reason.

You can make your own laundry soap, it's cheaper than storebought but also particulate inhalation is no joke, and you might be at some risk from it from borax... if you can buy borax; it's banned in some places. i'm not fucking doing that, because i want the laundry detergent that i like that already has blueing in it.

The particular practice of alkaline soaking isn't bunk, but it can be harmful to a lot of fabrics, is better for whites and lights rather than your dark clothes (again, dye leech!)

You can just do this with oxygenated cleaners (oxyclean), and you don't need to make your tub unusable for 12-24 hours. the tub thing is a very bright white surface that you can see a very visible change in, but you can soak things IN YOUR WASHER. if it's modern, it probably has a setting for it. if there's not a reason for you to haul heavy wet clothes from your bathroom to your washer, you don't need to see the dramatic visual results of soaking, the same way you don't need to see your dirty dishwater when you've got a dishwasher right there doing the work for you

the real thing that experts have to say on it is just wash your clothes more effectively. don't overload the washer, use 2-3 tablespoons (or the 1 line in the cap) of detergent per load, don't use scented additives or fabric softeners, look up how to clean your washer, add white vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser or add it in and run another rinse to deal with any issues from your clothes not being rinsed out. this is not as tiktokable but it's easier and cheaper and overall a good choice for the environment

if you need to do this for stuff, you probably need to do it once before doing laundry in the above way to maintain it, to strip out buildup from fabric softener, deodorant, body oils, lotion, etc. I'd only bother with it if the laundry was gross! I don't actually have stuff that feels and smells nasty. I used to have a polyester dress that had a body odor funk, but i stopped wearing it and donated it to a thrift store. It probably could have stood a good presoak to get rid of the gunk. i'd have done it in the machine drum or a bucket next to the machine, personally.

really, this is just rebranded presoaking. it sucks that most of us aren't taught how to do laundry correctly and there is a genuine pitfall of residue-leaving products that make things worse, but i also think Big Laundry is less out to get you than it seems. washers are helpful and efficient and we don't need to start mistrusting them and doing laundry by hand

line drying in sunlight is genuinely nice and also good at getting rid of germs and saving power and wear on the dryer. I can't do it where i live now but i used to. If your really want to do something old-fashioned for the aesthetic, a line of nicely hung clothes is lovely. (You can pop them in the dryer for 5 minutes to get rid of crunchiness, esp on towels)

I would be hypocritical if i said wash stuff less. I don't, because something in my head says it's gross. i want my clothes clean and i won't rewear stuff after 8 hours of wear unless its an emergency or a polyester skirt. however, you can hang and air stuff for longer wear. just don't do it for stuff directly touching your junk and pits and feets. wash that.

...also fast fashion is not purposefully trying to get your clothes dingy to make you buy more. the other problems with it vastly outstrip those and that was the one part of the post that genuinely bothered me. why invent a problem when you already are dealing with another separate problem (people don't know how to do laundry effectively and rely on info from commercials, and also there's a lot of hard water in most places.)

finally: research this stuff on like at least one reputable news/interest site. they're gonna write articles about every trend some tiktokker popularizes, that's good clickbait right there.

[thebadchoicemachine]

All Orch residents can become original characters. Orch is relevant because Alex lives there and one of the Lenses is attempting to set up residence. Fundy was supposed to be from Ywscore originally but was dumped into Orch by the Lense, are we keeping this plot point? 

Should we change the Saponite family's best food from muffins to something else? 

Sleepy Boi Inc going down from four to three members, have a friendly older character, intimidating bounty hunter character, and a chaotic young character? Possibly? They are the main Traveler family that actually interact with Karl for any length of time, kinda like a stray feral cat.

Should we cut down the Quarry trio to just Saponite and the [Ender Knight]? George's character was kinda just there and never really added much to the story. Plus it makes it more angsty when we have the whole “I raised the devil and meant to betray you” thing.

Ranboo’s character is supposed to be an amnesiac Traveler. Perhaps Sap and Cue assume Karl doesn’t talk much about his home because he can’t remember it and we can show what the effects of amnesia have on a normal Traveler. Likely nothing good.

 Tubbo was a robot bug child. Do we keep him? How should we change him? His plotline was intertwined with Ranboo’s and depending on the direction that goes in, I can see us keeping or discarding this character.

I feel like we should try and remember Alex in the plotline of all of this. Like what are they doing during the Clemintine Lens? What were they doing before they found their family? What do they think about all this plot stuff?

We should add more of these side dimensions and stuff to this document, like Mary and the superhero dimension we talked about over discord. We don’t have to name every single one, but having a list to come back to and reference for jokes and such would be good. 

For Quarry, XD needs a new name. 

Should we change the Inbetween to just Between? The Other Side should be fine, plenty of media use that name for stuff, but to distance ourselves from ksq, should we change it?

Need to review Quarry’s dimension in general, I don’t think we got to change much, but we need to rebrand from “The Ender Dragon” and other Minecraft stuff.

Foolish needs a new name. I think a name that is also a describing word that you wouldn’t associate with a god would be nice.

Alright, that's everything I thought about needing to address for now. some are actual suggestions, some are points that likely deserve their own post, and some are just "hey we need to do this". If you don't have any ideas for something just put "tosses the ball to you" instead of an answer. I'll kick off the conversation.

1)Agreed. I think Alex could take up that storyline.

2)Yeah, if we need anything for it at all.

3)I was thinking we could change the dimension Sleep to Dream-something to better reflect it's ever-shifting nature. We could keep the three tavalers and then have their parent be the dimension itself, the way Phil was a personified version of it. Like a less evil version of Ego.

4) I'm okay with that. I like the worldbuilding of the Micealium Isles but story-wise it can be overcrowded for a character from each.

5) Im not sure what you mean? I need to refresh that plotline I've forgotten it It feels like.

6) I like keeping a child from Ywscore. Since Ywscore and Orch are pretty important for the Azure lens plotline, i'd like to keep just a regular person who remains from Ywscore.

7)Depends on what order we're going in again? I remember it was from Opal to Mauve, Indigo, Azure. Since we meet Alex in the Azure lens and the Traveler Trio (SBI) in the beginning we could seed out her storyline with the Ywscore Child who's with them having connections to her in flashbacks or with seeded moments?

The Opal lens I figured would be just the epilogue of the main three getting to know each other. Maybe 4-5 short chapters (Meeting Prowa, Meeting in Quarry, All three meeting, and all three going on a regular adventure-like adventure, setting up the formula. Then the "real" story begins where we meet the whole cast and expand the world.

8)Agreed. I haven't opened the document in a while.

9) We talked about this before a little but didn't settle on anything I don't think. We talked about wanting to keep two letters that could be the face, but I'm open to making anything. Especially if you want to redesign the God altogether or something! (Your DM design is inspiring)

10) I like Between. In Between has been used for a similar place in a lot of other media too so it's not as original as i'd have liked regardless. I noticed that close to the beginning but didn't want to change it to fit with the ksq lore.

Do you like the name Twixt? I like Between too if you don't, though.

11) I'd like to keep it as a dragon or dragon-like but not call it a dragon? Giving it a more creature-esq design to combat the otherworldly god design is cool. I've always loved the motiff of angels being so much less human than demons (creators being less earthy than destroyers)

12) Spitballing: Trite, Mundane, Daft, Inane,

#kaleidoscope dimensions

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 1: Rebranding Woes

Narrated by Vivian.

Narrator: During the filming break, Jiang Beixi and I go back to the hotel to rest. I doodle designs on my notebook while watching her organize some files.

Narrator: Then a message notification from my phone interrupts this rare moment of peace.

Jiang Beixi: "A video conference will be held in 5 minutes to discuss the optimization and development of the Miraland Geographic program."

Vivian: Come on!

Narrator: I immediately lean back in the chair and let myself spin like a stranded fish until I meet Jiang Beixi's frustrated gaze.

Vivian: I'm counting on you.

Jiang Beixi: They'll take attendance.

Vivian: But this is the 8th meeting this month. Every time, they just make us sit for two hours with nothing to show for it.

Vivian: I should be enjoying the afternoon sun right now instead of wasting my precious time on another endless debate!

Narrator: Sure enough, as soon as the meeting starts, the editor-in-chief starts his usual speech about the purpose and importance of program optimization.

Chief Editor: Miraland Geographic has been around for some time now. The program has gained some traction for being educative and aesthetically pleasing.

Chief Editor: But it needs to evolve with the times. Despite consistent quality from episode to episode, the ratings slipped in the last year due to a lack of creativity.

Narrator: I'm starting to feel drowsy. And thanks to a nudge from Jiang Beixi's elbow, I manage to hold back my yawn.

Chief Editor: How to cater to the young viewers, how to present something new to cater to young viewers, how to make the program critically and commercially successful.

Vivian: These are the questions that every member of the Miraland Geographic crew should consider...

You: What did you say?

Vivian: These have been repeated so many times I know them by heart now.

Narrator: Jiang Beixi shoots me a silent glance. I thought it was another cue, so I quickly check if my microphone is on mute.

Narrator: Seeing my reaction, she smiles more broadly and calmly returns her gaze to the conference screen.

Narrator: ...I am always impressed by her patience, even in absent-minded moments like this.

Chief Editor: Vivian. Vivian!

Narrator: ...

You: Chief is talking to you.

Vivian: Shh, I can hear it.

Narrator: I stay motionless to pretend the screen froze. Five seconds later, Jiang Beixi sighs and explains...

Jiang Beixi: Chief, Vivian got bad reception. Go ahead. We're listening.

Narrator: Atta girl!

Narrator: I disconnect the video call, turn around, and slip under the covers to watch a show.

Narrator: By the time I finish watching one episode, the editor-in-chief is still babbling.

Chief Editor: So, we decided to change track. We're going to do two travel variety shows, or what they call "reality shows"...

Narrator: What? Reality shows?!

Narrator: That new keyword jerks me out of bed.

Chief Editor: As for the guest of the show, I've got a few candidates. Of course, recommendations are welcome.

Chief Editor: Evans, Lu Fangyuan, and Morrison. I think any one of them will make a good guest.

Narrator: Evans, historian, 80 years old, an accomplished scholar.

Narrator: Lu Fangyuan, geographer, a highly-respected old lady. Had a leg surgery this year.

Narrator: Morrison, biologist, 68 years old, the youngest of the three, erudite and well-informed.

Narrator: Jiang Beixi frowns. It seems that despite being an academic buff, she doesn't like the chief's choice of candidates.

Narrator: As I recall the scenery of Wasteland, a person came to mind.

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

#vivian #shining nikki #chapter 1 #transcript #rebranding woes #sr designer #wasteland #apple #apple federation #show #tv show #business #update #guest

[taffyforever]

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ HAPPY JUNE, DUNCIES !!!! ヾ(˵ •̀ ᴗ •́ ˵ )

happy summer, happy pride month, and a happy afternoon from me to you, duncies !! welcome to my BRAND NEW taffyblog !!!!!! i told yall i would do it and here i am !!!! ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

as my first order of taffyblog business, i encourage you to look around the site ! i havent edited tumblr html in ages so it was super fun going back to my roots for this project ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ you may notice a... new face in that header..... i didnt want to go thru the effort of creating 2 headers for when i redebut, so congrats ! you get a sneak peek at some new art for the new design ૮(˶˃ᆺ˂˶)

i need to make a dedicated tweet for it, but my comms are very open rn !! if you're looking for a last minute summer outfit, or a very early winter outfit, i'm your gal ! of course my strengths lie in gyaru and similar fashions, but ive done anywhere between elegant seamstress to gothic vampire. send an ask here or dm on twitter/discord if you'd like to comm me or discuss any other services (illust, reactive png, etc) (๑>ᴗ<๑)ぐ〜♡

aight, business out of the way. how have you been, duncies ? (seriously, send me an ask and let me know !) i miss yall a lot, but i know im making the right decision being on hiatus. there's been some recent developments in my life that are making things a lot nicer for me, so i'm doing very well as of late. my physical health is pretty good ! isnt it crazy how when you take medication it makes u feel better lol. i am scared for the summer, as last year's heat wave was a major factor in me getting as sick as i did. i do have air conditioning now ! so hopefully things will be a lot easier. my mental health is also better, though i still need to take many steps in ensuring the best for myself. like, im good now, but im not set forever just yet. we work hard one day at a time 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

ultrakill news: i've spent a loooottttt of free time cybergrinding......... like i might just guerilla soon because ive gotten much better since last you've seen. marksman my beloved im coinpilled now <3 i also got a p rank in clair de lune ! (haven't bothered to try the other levels yet i love cybergrind too much)

i have no geoguessr news that game is still as ass as ever </3 still love her tho (✿˶•ᵕ•)♡(• ᵕ •˶)

redebut is still set for august 25th ! very very excited to come back more cracked than ever ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ if you'd like to support me until then, follow my twitch if you havent yet ! you can also support me financially (IF YOU ARE IN A GOOD SPACE TO DO SO) by commissioning me or sending me a gift from my throne ! i am reworking my tipping page, so tips/donos are currently unavailable. i would heavily appreciate anything, but it is in no way necessary. you reading this and supporting me is enough <3 o(⸝⸝✦ᗜ✦⸝⸝)☆

thank you duncies for everything !!!! ⋆˚✿˖° i'll be updating this blog every so often before my redebut to keep yall posted on anything cool in my life. i really appreciate all of you for being here for me. i'm very excited for my return ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻) !!!!!!! ♡ ༘*. stay tuned on twitter for some rebrand changes (❀❛ ֊ ❛„)ಇ

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF BE KIND TO OTHERS KEEP IT P.L.U.R. ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝

#taffybrain

[anonymous-tals]

Okay, I’ve posted about my ideas for Tony becoming the Gay Magician before but I’ve had a better idea and I think it makes more sense with the show, honestly.

Part of my idea of what happened has stayed pretty much the same: So I feel like Tony was probably a rebellious teen. And with what he mentions in his magic show, his dad seems to be quite critical of him and compared him to his brother. And specifically, in reaction to him being gay(well, bi, as I interpret him) his dad says he doesn’t want to look at him and for Tony to get back to work. Now, as I said, I imagine Tony as kinda rebellious. So in an act of rebellion against his dad who also didn’t approve of his magician lifestyle, I picture that during the work day at the family bakery, they’re arguing or whatever and Tony, in a moment of anger, comes out to his dad as bi or gay(ya know, depending on where he was in his self discovery journey at the time). His dad says the thing about him not wanting to look at him and telling him to get back to work, wishing Tony was more like his brother, and Tony just sort of shuts up and does that, regretting his decision to reveal that to his dad. The fact that Tony said that, I think, is known among the family(most likely believed to be a phase among some), but it’s never brought up again. Tony resumes “being straight” like nothing had ever been said at all.

Time has passed and Tony becomes a magician, 1. because he likes it and 2. to spite his dad and show him that he can be a successful magician. Because his self worth is tied so directly to his career and proving his worth to his dad, it’s natural he would become a bit obsessive about becoming as successful as possible and staying as successful as possible. And as we see in the show, Tony is a very profit-driven guy. And ya know, it works. He’s successful.

(Here’s where things change from my original idea)

Tony hasn’t kept much contact with his family or at the very least, he hasn’t spoken at all with his dad. But I think in general, he’s sort of lost contact with them. Sparse contact if anything. He’s dating Sally Sitwell at this time and maybe he mentions getting an invite to some “stupid family event” and maybe she encourages him to go. So after thinking about it some more, he eventually decides to go. This is the first time he’s seen or talked to his dad in forever. His dad is very typical him, being rude and disrespectful of Tony’s choices and still goes and compares Tony to his brother, who is dead so it’s even worse, and Tony is regretting coming, just sitting there angrily and waiting for it all to be over. Then later on, something about gay people is brought up and Tony’s dad says something homophobic and that was just the final straw and Tony leaves with a plan. He goes to Sally and convinces her that he needs her to help him rebrand as the gay magician. And, ya know, just in case it crossed her mind, he clarifies that he’s not gay, he’s very straight, doesn’t like men at all, obviously, but it’ll be a great business move and will totally make them rich. Really, it’s to prove to his dad that he could not only be successful as a magician but a gay magician too(once again, not that he likes guys, he’s totally, definitely straight, it’s just to prove to him that he could if he was, which he isn’t, to clarify); although, if he didn’t think it was a safe enough move, he probably wouldn’t do this. From Sally’s perspective, the idea is a little weird, given them dating and all, and he’s clarifying that he doesn’t actually like guys a little too much for her to not think something was up but hey, she, a business, profit-driven person herself, thinks that, given how being gay was becoming more of an inspiration rather than something taboo, it could be a perfect way to revamp his image since making him a gay icon would propel his career even further and make him even more famous and make both of them even more rich. And thus, the Gay Magician persona was born and blah, blah, blah, the Gay Mafia gets him for “pretending to be gay”, you watched the show.

Let’s see how long it takes me to rewrite this whole thing again and claim I’ve “finally found the perfect idea that makes way more sense”.

#i was surprised to find out Tony canonically comes from a family of bakers #i thought it was a hc a fic writer made up #but no #it’s real #arrested development #tony wonder #sally sitwell #gob bluth #blunder #another day another arrested development essay written #‘the gay mafia’ is still so funny to me #who came up with that #so bizarre #i love it

[theclaravita]

Rebrand complete!

For over a year, I've had the name Clara Vitalia, but something always irked me. Details with pics below the cut for those interested.

So I designed new branding back in August 2021, back when I was known as TheClarosVita. I decided to lean really hard into my love for Golden Sun. Using lots of feedback from many hobbyist and professional artists, I came up with this.

If you're a fan of classic JRPGs like I am, you'll immediately see my inspirations for this piece.

A mixture of the logos from the first and third games in the Golden Sun series. I'm really proud of how it turned out!

But when I changed my name as part of coming out as no-longer-cisgender back in July 2022, I wanted to keep the same logo style but use a new name.

Unfortunately, "ClaraVita" was taken on every social media platform I used at the time, so that was out of the question. And for some reason that I can't recall now I didn't want "the" in my username anymore.

So I opted for ClaraVitalia... A choice that has haunted me ever since.

Since my name was now longer, particularly the last part, it didn't really fit my old logo design as well. In fact, it didn't fit the design at all.

It looks fucking awful in my opinion.

It just looks like normally-skewed text with big first letters on the two parts. It utterly lacked all the zing and flair that makes Golden Sun's logo pop and really stand out.

But I settled for it. I couldn't change my name again for another 2-3 months, and didn't know what to change it to that I would like, AND completely forgot about my grievances with it when the time came that I COULD change my name, so... It stuck.

But now, spurred by a random post in a Discord server yesterday, I got the fire lit under me to make the changes.

I changed my username on everything that needed it. I redid my banner artwork to feature my lovely Clara/Jenna artwork made by the amazing @code-rage. I redesigned my logo. And this time, I removed the bounds within which the text was forced to fit.

This new design... Is super amazing. And I'm even more proud of this one than I was of the original from 2021.

It's far more in-line with the original's feel, with the great big V and the poppy colors, while still featuring my unique take on the design. It has way smaller a footprint, while still standing out loud and proud.

I also kicked that feeling that I had to have my exact username in my logo. I go by TheClaraVita on everything now, but I don't need the word "the" in my logo. My name is Clara Vita. TheClaraVita is just my username. :D

Welcome to the internet, Clara Vita! May you shine bright and long! >:D

EDIT: One thing that I just noticed a few hours later: the text in the original Golden Sun logo is stretched vertically. I didn't do that in my newest piece because I simply forgot. But now... I kinda wanna keep it the same? If for no other reason than I don't want to re-edit all my banners again. lmfao

#artwork #golden sun #branding #identity #update #happy #proud

[thesapphireprincess]

My next 5 years 💋

It is October which means that there are only 2 months left in the year. I feel like I just turned 23 and I am not use to it yet… Next year is around the corner and I’ll be turning 24. I’m rebranding my life this month using notion. I am changing my narrative and designing my life in the way I want it to be.

I will not be dating for the rest of the year or entertaining a single man it’s too close to the new year and it’s way too close to Valentine’s Day. I rather not take my chances. September was the last month I had open for dating. I am now focusing on myself and myself only. A lot can happen in 2 months but I will be going into 2023 with pure peace and the joy of knowing I have been working on my goals. I may not be where I want to be but I am where I need to be.

[estellamiraiauthor]

The Stars May Rise and Fall: The Annotated Re-read (Chapter 4)

Welcome back to my annotated re-read of The Stars May Rise and Fall. If you’ve missed the previous installments and want to get caught up: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

As always, SPOILERS ABOUND, possibly including spoilers for chapters beyond this one, so if you want to join in, care about spoilers, and haven’t read the book yet, get your copy here, or you can also order the paperback from your local indie bookstore!

Chapter 4 is going to be a fun one, folks… Chapter 4 has got a STORY!

In a welcome change from Chapter 3 (LOL), Chapter 4 is one of my favorite early chapters… this is where Teru sings for the band for the first time, and in the final published draft, it’s also the first time we get to “see” them play on-page at all. (A very early draft opened mid-concert, which is probably how I’d do that hypothetical anime, but wasn’t really needed for the book.) And so a lot of this chapter is a fun little nostalgia dive into visual kei.

I don’t know that I have much to say about the first third of the chapter, where they’re just in the sound check. It’s really just setting up how Teru feels and painting a little picture of how the venue looks. It’s fun for me to go back to, though, because those were fun times and I miss them!

The next part, though, when they actually have to play and the crowd is expecting to see Bara? That was largely inspired by something that actually happened.

I used to follow a little indie band called Replicant. When I first got into them, they had a little following… not enough to be filling venues on their own, but I think they were decently known and liked among people who were into indie visual kei. They had three members: a singer, a guitarist, and a bassist, and there was a drummer who wasn’t an official member but played with them. A month or so after I started following them, a different guy joined as their official drummer, and for like a week there were four of them. Then, one night, I went to see them play… and the singer just didn’t show. They actually just played the instrumental parts without the vocals that night, like karaoke tracks that no one sang along to. It was VERY awkward, and I felt VERY sorry for them, and it was really, really obvious that no one in the audience knew that the singer wasn’t going to show.

From other fans, I heard he just didn’t show up, and the other guys went to his house and couldn’t make contact with him. A couple of years later, a guy from another band said he “ran off with a girl,” but that doesn’t really explain playing one show, and then a week later, no-showing for another. A lot of these guys ends up quitting because they get married and want to get a real job, but they usually announce that they’re leaving and have a farewell show and everything. This guy just abandoned the band and disappeared. And I do think he was probably the most popular band member, so they lost a lot of fans after that happened.

The show AFTER that, I think the guitarist tried to sing while he played, and it didn’t go that well. They took a couple of weeks off after that, and when they came back they had kind of rebranded―the original guitarist sang, and played guitar solos on a few songs, and they had another guitarist join them as a guest to play the parts where he had to be singing at the same time. I liked the original guitarist/new singer… he was the band’s main songwriter, and I liked the songs he wrote. His voice was really different from the original singer’s, though, so they had to change their set lists up a lot, and the poor guy looked TERRIFIED during those first few shows. (Sound familiar?)

Ultimately, the band broke up, and the guitarist/singer/songwriter started a new band that played a lot of his old songs. When I learned about that, I went to see them… and this time HE just didn’t show up without notice. Why in the world would someone do such a shitty thing that had been done to them? I have no idea. It was a really bizarre story and I’m SURE I’m missing some key piece of it.

But, anyway, the whole “Um, hi? I guess I’m singing now?” bit was based on something that actually happened, and that I was in the audience for!

It’s also probably a good time to talk a little about the “oshi” culture here… no one called it “oshi” back then, but if you said that you liked a particular band, everyone would ask “Oh, who do you like?” or “Whose fan are you?” And you were expected to have a favorite band member―people would look at you like you were crazy if you said you just liked the music or liked the band as a whole! So if a popular member quit, a lot of the fans would follow them to their new band, rather than continuing to consider themselves fans of the original band. So Bara’s fans would’ve felt cheated, I think, to have come expecting to see him and them have him not show.

It’s a little bit of a fantasy, I think, for Teru to have won over a crowd who were mostly there to see someone else so easily… but what’s the fun of reading if it can’t take you away from reality for a bit?

So then we have the third part, when the show is over and they’re selling their demo tapes and photo sets in the lobby. Yes, bands were still selling cassette tapes into the 21st century here (even though we had texting before the rest of the world, I swear I double- and triple-checked the timing of all the technology and it’s accurate!). CDs were definitely the most popular way to buy music from major-label bands, but CD burners were still really expensive, so most indie bands still sold demo tapes. A lot of people had these little stereos that had a CD player, tape player, minidisc (MD) player and radio, and would buy CDs and tapes and then put the music on MDs to carry around.

The photo sets would just be photos of the band, sometimes taken in a professional studio but sometimes just in someone’s apartment with sheets thrown over the furniture. These days, I think a lot of bands and idol groups use Polaroid-type instant photos so that no two are alike, and they can sell a lot of photos to the same die-hard fans, but at the time they’d just print a bunch of the same photos and sell them either in sets of one of each band member and maybe one of all of them together, or individually.

And of course, also in this part, we meet Kiyomi. Looking at this as a Phantom retelling, Kiyomi is clearly the “Raoul.” She’s a childhood friend who is reunited with Teru here after they’ve both kind of grown, and I think she also sort of represents the class divide that was between Christine and Raoul in the original. I say “sort of,” because it’s complicated. There’s no nobility in modern-day Japan (although I guess there sort of unofficially is; I could have made her the daughter of an old landowning family or a politician?), but she’s sort of in an “upper” class just because she got a higher education (not a super elite one, based on her age and when she started her job she could only have gone to a two-year college, but it places her above Teru’s high school and WAY above Rei’s junior high in mainstream society’s eyes) and has a “normal” (i.e. salaried with benefits) job. She looks and dresses “mainstream” and while she probably doesn’t make a ton of money, she’d have a monthly salary that added up to more than what Teru made hourly, so while she’s not quite aristocracy, I think there is a kind of a class divide here as well―or at least the divide between subculture and mainstream.

And I think she also represents what Teru thinks he “should” be. He “should” like someone like her―why not? She’s pretty, she’s successful, she’s clearly interested in him.

But in the end, of course he rushes off to keep his promise to Rei instead of hanging around to talk to her.

In a lot of ways, of course, Kiyomi isn’t really Raoul at all―Raoul was trying to save Christine from a murderer, and since Rei isn’t a murderer in the first place, Teru doesn’t really need saving. And since Teru isn’t really attracted to her, as much as he thinks he SHOULD be, the final choice he has to make isn’t between Rei and Kiyomi at all, but between Rei and his career.

…but that’s maybe a discussion for a later chapter? ;)

#the stars may rise and fall #annotated #visual kei #retelling #writing process