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Tuesday, September 16th, 2025 09:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stardust_rifleshaking my head while translating character profiles to let the audience know i don't support the concept of gender
stardust_rifle
MS Paint World: The Mascot Drip
Monday, September 15th, 2025 12:50 pmtepidsnake
From THE iDOLM@STER: CINDERELLA GIRLS, it's Riamu Yumemi for her birthday on the 12th! This is based on her outfit for a collaboration with Travas Tokyo- a lot of her other outfits are really complicated and involved, so I decided to draw something a little simpler, and as a bonus it focuses on Riamu's weird heart-shaped mascot. I think she's pretty fashionable here, although maybe next time she should get a fancier pair of socks... Anyway, Riamu is the worst girl (positive, affectionate) so it's always fun to draw her.
Temporary draft storage
Sunday, September 14th, 2025 02:08 pmmalyminThis is a post that I want to eventually cross-post to ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
anime_manga, but I last left it in an unfinished state in uh... 2024 on Cohost. Going over the color symbolism of every single Utena character is well-trod territory, so I do want to link to pre-existing analysese of that nature, such as Vrai's recap episode commentary from 2014. Jay Scott's analysis of how Utena uses color, by someone clearly not involved the anime's fandom culture but nonetheless deeply fascinated with the work to the point of having a massive number of articles on his personal site dedicated to the show, is also a great read - I think some of his reads are massive stretches, but you can't say he isn't thorough.
Image colors, part 3: Dyed Roses
( the post so far )
Really, I think I probably need to bring in at least a loose summary of the other main characters' image colors, as well as a note on how red and white roses are much more associated with ideas than with the specific characters they're tied to. (Red is more about sex than it is about the specific character of Touga, although Touga is The Red One; White is much more about idealized princehood than it is about the specific character Akio (or about Dios as specifically a past-Akio, versus Dios as pure symbol). It is noteworthy that Touga wears a lot of white and Akio a lot of red! Anthy has purple hair, and thus purple can be said to be "her color", but purple roses do not exist in the show - something to be said about how she is treated like an object within the system of Ohtori, framed as a passive doll-like subject by the Duels in contrast to how Duelists are framed as active free agents within the system? Obviously the Duelists are themselves manipulated by Akio towards his own ends, but their participation requires them to believe that they really can bring about Revolution for themselves by possessing Anthy as a passive subject, whether she be pure doll-princess or consumable sexual object in their eyes...)
Really wish my town had better cons
Sunday, September 14th, 2025 01:19 pmmalyminThe comic book convention in my town has videogame, anime, etc stuff, but ultimately a lot of floorspace is taken up by cape comics, because it's a comic book convention, and I just don't... care about that?
Anime offerings tend to be largely the same limited stuff every year. Sailor Moon is the one thing that isn't shounen that you can count on finding - otherwise it's Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball, Demon Slayer, YGO, etc. FMA, but I haven't found anything 03 specific when that's the version I care about. And anime girl figurines from popular gatchas and isekais. I've never seen any vocaloid merch that isn't Miku at this con, outside of a single "official art on a solid background" button pin of Teto.
The best bet for diversity is Artist Alley in the back, because the front is all cape comics, mass-popularity shounen, sailor moon as the one shoujo or mahou shoujo offering, and pokemon - but it felt even less diverse this year than previous years. A bunch of stuff that's currently popular with Millenials, Zoomers, etc was barely present. No Umamusume at the whole con! Like one table with Deltarune stickers or prints. There was a decent bit of KPop Demon Hunters at multiple tables, but still less than I expected? NO Amazing Digital Circus or Murder Drones. (Though i did see a kid cosplaying one of the Murder Drones characters, that was cute - they had the syringe tail and everything!)
For what it's worth, out of the things I've listed - I don't personally care about Umamusume, or KPop Demon Hunters, or ADC or MD. But I do notice that both "new things" I'm personally invested in (such as Deltarune) and new things I'm not personally invested in are lacking.
(Also I do kind of wish that I could attend a con that had a nice array of actual panels, and not just merch...)
One nice thing is that there's a table just outside artist alley selling some 70's shoujo paraphernalia. They said they get the laminated magazine covers from a Japanese store that does the cover-lamination process to old magazines that are too damaged to sell wholesale. Looking at the inside side of the covers, you see all these vintage advertisements aimed at the target audience of the magazine - honestly just as neat as the gorgeous sparkle-eyed illustrations on the fronts, albiet in a different sort of way. A slice of pop culture history...
But yea, I wish my area had dedicated anime and videogame conventions.
Weekly summary: Sept. 7 - Sept. 13, 2025
Sunday, September 14th, 2025 08:35 amalchemicinkWe keep going from nice sunny days to dreary drizzly days here. Rollercoaster weather 😂 But it's better than extreme heat!
I have a variety of things to share this week:
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I have a variety of things to share this week:
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Saturday, September 13th, 2025 06:44 pmstardust_rifleWhile both me (utterly degenerate fujoshi) and my friend (cis bi dude who's not really a BL guy) ship DioPucci, I don't really care about the top/bottom order, while he's hardcore NO SWITCH NEVER EVER EVER for them.
I have a feeling that might confuse some people.
I have a feeling that might confuse some people.
I still can't think of a good title for these TV posts...
Saturday, September 13th, 2025 08:15 amalchemicinkThis week: a new sleepy Kamen Rider, a (hopefully temporary) goodbye to a Gozyuger, more 10 Things angst, and petty bickering with Ultraman Omega ðŸ¤
Some spoilers as always, but especially for Gozyuger this time
Kamen Rider Zeztz (episode 1)
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Gozyuger (episode 29)
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10 Things... (episode 11)
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Ultraman Omega (episode 10)
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Some spoilers as always, but especially for Gozyuger this time
Kamen Rider Zeztz (episode 1)
( Read more... )
Gozyuger (episode 29)
( Read more... )
10 Things... (episode 11)
( Read more... )
Ultraman Omega (episode 10)
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2025 IFComp entries: some thoughts
Sunday, September 14th, 2025 03:16 pmsnowynightThe Interactive Fiction Competition (IFComp) is an annual celebration of new, text-driven digital games and stories from independent creators. You can play as many of the entries as you like and vote for them in a ballot (requires a free signup). The vote is up to 15 Oct. I have played several of the choice based entries playable online.
Games I have finished and like:
Saltwrack: "A crew of three. A lost city, far in the north. A thousand miles of toxic ice. Plot your course, manage supplies, study apocalypse biota, and don't lose your mind. You'll find out why the world was ruined, or die trying. Content warning: This is a work of horror; it gets grim. Specific content warnings are available in the game's ABOUT page."
thoughts: I like it most. Very atmospheric, and the resource management gameplay really matches how grim and strange the world is.
Pharos Fidelis: "A romantic island getaway. CW: graphic violence, sexually suggestive content, toxic academia, denial of agency, hunger, death. Postmodern fantasy-horror gay demon melodrama"
thoughts: I find the world building with demon summoning intriguing. The gay reluctant summoner/demon romance is nice. I also like the check point system: saving me time to replay.
The Litchfield Mystery: "A wealthy businessman, dead in his study. Eight suspects, harbouring secrets and twisted truths. "There's always more to it than meets the eye..." To others, a tired cliché. To you, the cardinal principle that has successfully guided you in all your cases as The Sleuth. And you, Detective Pearce, are not about to let this one go cold."
thoughts: The walkthrough is very detailed and useful. The clues are reasonable, and the solution makes sense.
The Secrets of Sylvan Gardens: "When you find yourself sleepwalking in the lush ornamental gardens of the Sylvan Villa, you must discover how to break the thrall of a mysterious trance. You will be aided in your journey by the gardens' keepers: a gardener, a botanist, a librarian, and an enigmatic hermit. Form bonds of friendship or pursue a slow-burn romance as you roleplay, helping these companions with quests that draw you deeper into their individual stories."
thoughts: It's a cosy fantasy adventure with a good mix of puzzles. The NPc are cute and I love spending time with them. I also like the thoughtful ending choices, The creator(s) also created Fantasy Opera: Mischief at the Masquerade (solving a mystery before an opera opening) & The Path of Totality (cozy fantasy road trip adventure), which are both enjoyable
Penthesileia: "Your husband is a very important man, he tells you; many would like to see his head on a silver platter. Content warning: Material may not be suitable for children; please note strong language, as well as allusions to death, sexual themes, and violence"
thoughts: It's linear and quite obvious how the plot will go, but it's satisfying to play to the end.
Games I have finished and like:
Saltwrack: "A crew of three. A lost city, far in the north. A thousand miles of toxic ice. Plot your course, manage supplies, study apocalypse biota, and don't lose your mind. You'll find out why the world was ruined, or die trying. Content warning: This is a work of horror; it gets grim. Specific content warnings are available in the game's ABOUT page."
thoughts: I like it most. Very atmospheric, and the resource management gameplay really matches how grim and strange the world is.
Pharos Fidelis: "A romantic island getaway. CW: graphic violence, sexually suggestive content, toxic academia, denial of agency, hunger, death. Postmodern fantasy-horror gay demon melodrama"
thoughts: I find the world building with demon summoning intriguing. The gay reluctant summoner/demon romance is nice. I also like the check point system: saving me time to replay.
The Litchfield Mystery: "A wealthy businessman, dead in his study. Eight suspects, harbouring secrets and twisted truths. "There's always more to it than meets the eye..." To others, a tired cliché. To you, the cardinal principle that has successfully guided you in all your cases as The Sleuth. And you, Detective Pearce, are not about to let this one go cold."
thoughts: The walkthrough is very detailed and useful. The clues are reasonable, and the solution makes sense.
The Secrets of Sylvan Gardens: "When you find yourself sleepwalking in the lush ornamental gardens of the Sylvan Villa, you must discover how to break the thrall of a mysterious trance. You will be aided in your journey by the gardens' keepers: a gardener, a botanist, a librarian, and an enigmatic hermit. Form bonds of friendship or pursue a slow-burn romance as you roleplay, helping these companions with quests that draw you deeper into their individual stories."
thoughts: It's a cosy fantasy adventure with a good mix of puzzles. The NPc are cute and I love spending time with them. I also like the thoughtful ending choices, The creator(s) also created Fantasy Opera: Mischief at the Masquerade (solving a mystery before an opera opening) & The Path of Totality (cozy fantasy road trip adventure), which are both enjoyable
Penthesileia: "Your husband is a very important man, he tells you; many would like to see his head on a silver platter. Content warning: Material may not be suitable for children; please note strong language, as well as allusions to death, sexual themes, and violence"
thoughts: It's linear and quite obvious how the plot will go, but it's satisfying to play to the end.
Weekend Cooking: Bird's Nest Pudding
Saturday, September 13th, 2025 02:02 pmsnowynight6 medium-sized apples, 5 eggs, 1 quart of milk, sugar, the rind of 1/2 a lemon and some almond or vanilla essence. Pare and core the apples, and boil them in 1 pint of water, sweetened with 2 oz. of sugar, and the lemon rind added, until they are beginning to get soft. Remove the apples from the saucepan and place them in a pie-dish without the syrup. Heat the milk and make a custard with the eggs, well beaten, and the hot milk; sweeten and flavour it to taste, pour the custard over the apples, and bake the pudding until the custard is set.
From Dr. Allinson's cookery book, comprising many valuable vegetarian recipes by T. R. Allinson (1915)
Arcade Archives: Video Hustler
Friday, September 12th, 2025 08:31 amtepidsnakeThis week's Arcade Archives release is... Video Hustler (Konami, 1981)
Arcade Archives (previous-gen consoles)
PSN
Switch
EU
Arcade Archives 2 (current-gen consoles)
PSN
Switch 2
EU
Xbox
Just the one ROM and no Preference Settings this week, sorry, only the basics!
On the subject of basic...This week's game is an arcade adaptation of pool (sort-of) from 1981, so if you go in expecting Pocket Gal then you're going to be disappointed, try and keep those expectations realistic. You've got a joystick and a single button, with shot power controlled by a three-block bar that flashes between the different shot strengths and direction controller by a target that you move around the edge of the table, so there's no guideline to show where a rebound might go, you'll have to figure that out yourself. Of all things, this system reminds me of Champion Golf from a couple of years later in1983 on the SG-1000 which has the exact same targetting mechanics and it goes to show you that back in this era, developers were still in the process of figuring out how to adapt traditional sports like this into digital form. The way this game works as an arcade title is pretty fair though- each time you pocket a ball, you get given a number of shots to pot the next one before you sacrifice a life (you also lose a life outright if you pocket the cueball) rather than an overall shot limit which is nice. The scoring system is also novel, with higher multipliers for different pockets that change on each shot so you might be tempted to go for a trickier shot if it'll get you close to an extend. Konami would follow up on this many years later with Rack 'Em Up (The Hustler in Japan, making the title inspiration a bit more obvious) so you might want to wait for that game to get a rerelease instead, but this is doing its best for 1981.
Gamer...
Thursday, September 11th, 2025 03:33 pmmalyminStardew Valley's 1.7 update has been announced, although not what will be in it.
Picking back up Caves of Qud. Started a new file, once again using the "gunwing" preset character. For some reason there's way more lag in the Stiltgrounds now for me? Makes it really annoying to traverse the place. Shame because I loooove shopping in Qud.
I feel like I need motivation to complete the two color-meta posts for Utena and Princess Tutu I promised anime_manga ages ago. I never finished their cohost versions and now I'm slacking on the dreamwidth versions... sigh.
It's easy to get demotivated. X( Everything is stressful and I don't have much faith in myself to have interesting or worthwhile things to say...
MS Paint World: You Will Go Through a Live Inferno
Thursday, September 11th, 2025 06:01 pmtepidsnake
From the Dreamcast classic Illbleed, it's Eriko Christy! I missed the Dreamcast boat until it was well and truly dead, but since then, Illbleed's become a personal favourite. A vritual house of horror, as the incredible trailer describes it (watch out, this has a lot of gore and flashing images, as well as the phrase 'you'll shit with fear!' read out by Jon St. John, the voice of Big the Cat and maybe some other stuff), there's not many games out there like Illbleed, so it seemed like a perfect choice for Dreamcast Day (which is when I drew this, don't mind that this post is two days late). Eriko goes through a lot in that game, but she's a survivor, right? The bandages are a reference to official art and a figure of her with bandages in those places, and the bat is a nod to a weapon you get in the first stage, a talking baseball bat.
SMOF News, volume 5, issue 2
Wednesday, September 10th, 2025 07:45 pmpetrea_mitchellJust say no to helium hand syndrome. And somehow two weeks in a row the bonus link is about animal larceny.
Gingaman! (Episodes 15-26)
Wednesday, September 10th, 2025 08:26 pmalchemicink(Meant to post this last night, but *waves hands at life*)
Continuing my Gingaman watch, and this batch of episodes was really good! (It's already superior to Lost Galaxy, in my humble opinion)
Since my thoughts are slightly spoilery this time, they're all under the cut:
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Previous Gingaman thoughts: Episodes 1-14
Continuing my Gingaman watch, and this batch of episodes was really good! (It's already superior to Lost Galaxy, in my humble opinion)
Since my thoughts are slightly spoilery this time, they're all under the cut:
( Read more... )
Previous Gingaman thoughts: Episodes 1-14
